When I first read this story I thought that Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt were pitching a variety talent contest similar to “America’s Got Talent,” but no, they want a variety TV show starring themselves as Sonny and Cher types with bigger teeth and without the talent. And they’re actually said to be in negotiations with ABC for this:

Fame hogs Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt think they’re the next Sonny and Cher. The annoying couple from The Hills believe they can make it big with a variety television sho, Star has learned exclusively. “There will be plenty of singing, rapping, skits and special guests,” an insider tells Star. “Heidi says that being able to recreate such a fun hit show would be a dream come true.”

Heidi, 21, and Spencer, 24, are currently in talks with ABC to develop a weekly hour-long show.

[From Star Magazine, print edition, July 18, 2007]

This couple routinely defends Heidi’s awful music completely straight-faced as if they’re not in on the joke, so this is easily something they would consider. There’s hope that it’s a fake story, though, since Star Magazine seems to make up so much. If by some chance it is true, let’s pray that executives at ABC and any other network they might pitch come to their senses and realize what a terrible show this would be. Maybe they’re counting on that though, and hope people will turn in just to make fun of these two. The cringe factor will easily outweigh any brief amount of entertainment these two are capable of scrounging up.

Photo Credits: Heidi and Spencer are shown below outside an appearance on The View on 6/26/08. Heidi is shown in the header performing at “the Boost Mobile Rock Corps at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City” on 6/20/08. Thanks to WENN.

Once the biggest box office draw in Hollywood, Eddie Murphy’s career over the last 10 years has been iffy at best. For every decent performance, like the ones he gave in “Bowfinger” and “The Nutty Professor,” there are 5 or six really horrible movies, such as “Norbit,” “Pluto Nash,” “The Haunted Mansion,” “Showtime,” and “Beverly Hills Cop 3.” If it weren’t for the “Shrek” movies, he’d have no successful films at all in the last decade. It looks like Eddie’s decided that film is no longer his medium of choice, anyway: the actor dropped some hints in a recent interview that he’s looking to get back into standup comedy instead.

Eddie Murphy has hinted he wants to retire from acting.

The ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ actor is considering returning to his previous career as a stand-up comedian.

He told US TV show ‘Extra’: “Thirty years and I have close to 50 movies and it is like, ‘Why am I in the movies? I’ve done that part now. I’ll go back to the stage and do stand-up.’ ”

Although Eddie, 47, confirmed ‘Beverly Hills Cop 4′ is in production, he admitted he didn’t want to do it because it “wasn’t ready to be done”.

The actor also confessed he isn’t a fan of ‘Beverly Hills Cop 3′ but was motivated to sign up to the sequel by the huge money on offer.

He said: “The third one was horrible, so I didn’t want to do another one.

“The producers wrote some s**t down on paper and I said, ‘Is this your phone number?’ and they said, ‘This is how much we’re going to pay you.’ I said, ‘Let’s go shoot it! I don’t care if the script isn’t right.’ ”

Meanwhile, ‘Beverly Hills Cop 4′ director Brett Ratner has hit out at reports that the movie will have a PG rating.

He said: “Don’t believe everything you read on the internet. Believe me, this is going to be a hardcore ‘R’ Beverly Hills Cop. I start shooting next year.”

[From Stv]

“‘This is how much we’re going to pay you.’ I said, ‘Let’s go shoot it! I don’t care if the script isn’t right.’” Well, he may be a money grubbing whore, but at least Murphy is honest about his motivation. I’ll bet that is the exact conversation that got Harrison Ford to do this last Indiana Jones movie. But I do have to wonder if Murphy could still cut it as a standup comedian after living the pampered Hollywood life all these years. Jerry Seinfeld tried it, and his new material just wasn’t the same. And something tells me that Eddie’s famous “She got half” routine just wouldn’t be as funny these days, what with a love child he doesn’t acknowledge and a wife of less than a week. And if he was only considering retirement before, perhaps after this latest movie, “Meet Dave,” comes out, he’ll really start looking into it. It looks like yet another steaming pile of turd.

Eddie Murphy is shown filming scenes in Santa Monica on 6/17/08, thanks to WENN.

Things aren’t looking so bad for Kevin Federline anymore. The former punch line to many a joke – and really anything involve the words ‘douche bag’ or ‘wifebeater’ – has actually managed to get a bit of a career going for himself, besides being a professional baby daddy. K-Fed’s musical skills are legendarily laughable, but he does have something going for him: his looks.

Before you yell at me… okay once you’re done yelling at me… in the right light - when you forget that he’s Kevin Federline – he can actually be kinda hot. I remember seeing him un-douched for the first time in Details magazine three or four years ago when he was still married to Britney, and I couldn’t believe it was the same person. He was damn hot. Then I read the accompanying interview, and all the hotness melted away. But if he does like a good model should: keeps his mouth shut and just stands there and looking pretty – he might have a good career for a little bit. And Federline’s recently received some offers.

Kevin Federline, a former struggling backup dancer, is now being offered a seven-figure endorsement job! Britney Spears’ ex-husband has been approached to be the new face of Christopher Brian Collection, In Touch can exclusively reveal.

“We feel Kevin would be a great model for the line,” Chris Stokes, a music producer who co-owns the denim brand, tells In Touch. Nothing has been set in stone regarding the modeling gig because the 30-year-old father of four is busy with other projects.

“Kevin is also working with Chris on his music and movie career,” an insider tells In Touch. After being named Father of the Year by Privé nightclub in Las Vegas on June 13, K-Fed may soon give Britney a run for her money. “He is in everyone’s good graces right now, so he feels like it’s the time for his career to shine,” the insider says.

[From In Touch]

Being a bad boy isn’t necessarily bad for one’s career, but being a joke sure is – and that’s exactly what K-Fed was. He’s right, now that everyone’s taking him a little more seriously, he should take advantage of it. Of course it’s worrisome that the same guy that’s offered him a modeling gig is also helping him make more music. That’s like offering someone a heart-healthy orange and a tub of lard to eat at the same time. The good from the former is easily canceled out by the bad of the later.

Federline has a little bit of modeling experience. He modeled for Five Star Vintage in 2006, but was dropped. I’m guessing because he wanted to focus on his rapping.

Here’s K-Fed arriving at Prive to be honored as ‘Father of the Year’ as part of Father’s Day weekend. I think he looks remarkably hot and un-douchy here (with the exception of the third photo). He suits up decently – and if you keep him from wearing a trucker hat and/or fedora, he’s pretty much good to go. Images thanks to WENN.

Lindsay Lohan had a brief stint on Ugly Betty this season, for which she was put on the long list of actresses who might eventually be nominated for a guest actress Emmy. Also sharing that list was Britney Spears, for her How I Met Your Mother spot. Like Katherine Heigl, Lohan has removed her name from the list of actresses in contention for a nomination. Her rep said that “We made a decision to wait” since Lindsay is planned for a 5-episode arc next season. I bet she just couldn’t stand it that Britney might got nominated for an Emmy while she could be left out:

Lindsay Lohan is following in the footsteps of Katherine Heigl by pulling her name from consideration for this year’s Emmy Awards.

Lohan, who made a guest appearance on the season finale of Ugly Betty in May, bowed out in hopes of increasing her chances next year, when she’s scheduled to appear in five episodes as a down-on-luck high school pal of Betty’s.

“The appearance was brief,” a rep for the actress told the Los Angeles Times Tuesday. “We made a decision to wait.”

Ugly Betty creator Silvio Horta raved about Lohan to Usmagazine.com in May.

“She was terrific – a pleasure,” Horta said. “She came in early and was very pleasant.”

[From US Weekly]

US also has quotes from Ugly Betty’s creator about how professional and charming Lohan is. She’s also been praised for showing up on set and actually doing the work for her new film, Labor Pains, in which she plays a young woman who fakes a pregnancy to keep her job. Lindsay has developed a new talent of faking to keep her job, so she surely can relate to her character. At least she’s hanging in there and trying to do her work, but it seems like she shouldn’t get any more chances at this point. There are plenty of brands she could represent and commercials she could do that would be more fitting for her at this stage of her career.

Lindsay Lohan is shown on the set of her I Know Who Knocked Me Up movie, or whatever it’s called, on 6/16/08, thanks to WENN.

“Grey’s Anatomy” star Katherine Heigl declined to be included on the list of potential Emmy nominees, citing bad material from the writers on the show. It was her second public statement against the script writers. She gave a snotty interview earlier this year calling her character Izzie’s affair a “ratings ploy” and saying that she wanted more “cooperation between the business end and the creative end” of the series. Now people who are close to the situation are speaking off the record to the New York Times. They say that writers and producers on the show are super pissed (I’m paraphrasing here) that she has the gall to so publicly diss them. It’s thought that Heigl wants out of her multi-million dollar contract, which extends until the 2009/2010 season, so that she can continue with her burgeoning movie career.

The latest disagreement flared on Wednesday, when a Los Angeles Times Web site devoted to Emmy coverage noted that Ms. Heigl, who last year won the award for best supporting actress in a drama series, was missing from the nomination ballot for the same award this year.

Asked why, Ms. Heigl said that she had decided not to have herself submitted for a nomination. “I did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination and in an effort to maintain the integrity of the academy organization, I withdrew my name from contention,” she said in a statement. “In addition, I did not want to potentially take away an opportunity from an actress who was given such materials.”

A spokeswoman for Ms. Heigl said Friday that the actress would not comment further. Spokeswomen for ABC Studios, which produces “Grey’s Anatomy,” and for the ABC broadcast network also declined to comment. And a spokesman for Shonda Rhimes, the creator of the series, said she would not comment either.

Two people involved in the production of the show said that the program’s writers and producers were angered by what they considered a slap by Ms. Heigl at the people in the writers’ room. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity, which was granted because they have been involved in discussions with the program’s top executives about the situation but were not authorized to speak on behalf of the series. The series is to begin production on its fifth season on June 25.

[From The NY Times via We Smirch]

The Times notes that “Grey’s” commercials are the second most expensive on television, and that a 30 second spot on the ABC show runs for $400,000, which is only behind Fox’s American Idol in ad costs. If Heigl leaves it could significantly affect revenue, and her statements have the potential to scare away advertisers even if she sticks around.

What is this woman going to do when she finds she’s not box office gold and can’t get another television job? She’s screwing over the show that made her a star, and she also dismissed the movie through which she had her big break, calling Knocked Up “sexist” and her character a “shrew.”

She has two movies coming up, including a romantic comedy with Gerard Butler, and a feature based on the memoir of a woman who escaped from the FLDS polygamist cult. She’s co-producing the polygamist movie, and as Helen pointed out in her earlier article about Heigl’s Emmy diss, it’s not exactly surefire hit material.

Katherine Heigl is shown out at lunch with her husband, Josh Kelley, on 6/6/08 in Los Feliz, California, thanks to Splash News.

Sarah Larson isn’t wasting any time spending the scant fame inheritance George Clooney left her with when he kicked her skinny ass to the curb. Yesterday she was seen walking along paparazzi-strewn Robertson Boulevard with a female friend on the way to lunch. Larson’s new boobs, which are rumored to have hastened the end of her relationship with Clooney, were hidden under a loose top, and she smiled and posed happily for the paparazzi sharks waiting to feed on her disintegrating fame. Maybe we’ll hear about it when she inevitably hooks up with another rich guy, someone a little kinkier and less prominent than Clooney, but every day that passes the less interest there is in this woman, and she’s got to work to keep herself in the tabloids.

She must realize this and is implementing her strategy here. She’s a candidate for more reality television, and stay tuned because I’m guessing that’s her next venture.

Thanks to WENN for these photos.

Courteney Cox confirmed at a charity event on Sunday that her FX show Dirt has been canceled and has not been picked up for a third season. I was surprised that it had a second season, because it was poorly reviewed and even a much talked about on-screen kiss at the end of the first season, between Cox’s character, tabloid editor Lucy Spiller, and a rival editor played by Jennifer Aniston couldn’t manage to boost ratings. Cox and her husband, David Arquette, produced the series together and she says they have plenty of projects in the works for the future:

Courteney Cox Arquette, akin to her Dirt alter ego, offered up some scoop at Sunday’s “A Time for Heroes” Celebrity Carnival, benefiting the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation: Her FX series is folding. “It just got canceled,” she shared when asked about the prospect of a Season 3 pickup. (Season 2 was cut short by the WGA strike.)

Cox, however, seemed optimistic about the future. She and hubby David, with whom she produced Dirt, have their own shingle, and as such, “We’re developing all kinds of stuff right now,” she said. “We’ll producing more stuff together, for sure.”

[From TV Guide.com via We Smirch]

Cox and Arquette made $23 million from the sale of their Malibu home last August, so they should have plenty of money to live on and use for business ventures.

According to IMDB, Cox’s sole upcoming film is Bedtime Stories, a family film that stars Adam Sandler and is out at the end of this year.

If Cox gets desperate to act, she can always ask good friend Jennifer Aniston to cast her in a movie. Aniston recently created her own production company and has at least six films in the works.

Courteney Cox and David Arquette are shown at “Time for Heroes celebrity carnival to benefit The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatic Aids Foundation” on 6/8/08, thanks to WENN.

Patrick Swayze is returning to work, in a new show on the A&E network titled The Beast. The show will debut in 2009, which suggests a good long term outlook for Patrick. Filming begins this summer.

Swayze will star in the police drama The Beast alongside Aussie actor and former Tarzan star Travis Fimmel, where the Dirty Dancing star plays a veteran FBI agent teaching his rookie partner (Fimmel) the ropes.

In a statement from the network, the 55-year-old actor said: “I have searched for quite a long time to find a character that is this multi-layered, unpredictable and downright entertaining, as well as a project this current and cutting edged.”

Fox News

It almost sounds like this character will do for Patrick what Dr House did for Hugh Laurie.

Patrick and his wife Lisa Niemi have been seen out since his diagnosis, and in late May released a statement saying he was doing well, and had been on holidays in Mexico. He and his wife were photographed at a Lakers game a few days before this statement.

I hope that Patrick will be one of the 5% of Pancreatic cancer patients who live for many years following his diagnosis. Like many people suffering from a terminal illness, Patrick got his affairs in order with a living will, and like many people who go into remission they realize how precious life is and change the way they live their lives. These career plans suggest to me that he plans on enjoying every day of his remaining life, no matter how long it might be. It’s a wonderful lesson to learn, hopefully everyone can develop a bit of this attitude, the joy of life can so easily get lost in the daily grind.

Patrick Swayze and Lisa Niemi are shown at the opening of Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on 11/16/07, thanks to WENN.

Most insurance agencies refused to cover Lindsay Lohan’s new film, Labor Pains, due to the actress’ bad reputation and history of multiple DUI and rehab stays. It was only after the producer, Rick Schwartz, vehemently vouched for her that he was able to find a company that was willing to back him. Producers swear that Lohan has been nothing but professional during their meetings the past few months and that she’s always been early and is “rehearsing every day with energy and focus”:

“Labor Pains” producer Rick Schwartz kept getting turned down by insurers, an informed source tells us.

“[Schwartz] could only find one insurance company to cover her, and even then he really had to vouch for her.”

As Carrie Fisher wrote in “Postcards From the Edge,” actors with a history of drug and alcohol abuse, to which Lohan has admitted, have difficulty getting film insurance. Lohan is still on probation for two DUI arrests last year…

The movie will be made whether or not there’s an actors strike, since the union gave Schwartz a waiver, Variety reported.

“Lindsay is a tremendously talented actress,” said Plum Pictures’ Celine Rattray, who’s co-producing the film. “We have spent a lot of time with her over the last three months, and she has really impressed us with her work ethic.

“She comes to every meeting 15 minutes early, to the point where she has shown up a few times before we were ready for her. She is rehearsing every day with energy and focus. She is lovely to her co-stars and the crew.

“We got her insured in the film, and our insurance and bond reps have also been impressed with her good behavior.”

[From The NY Daily News]
Labor Pains stars Lohan as a woman who fakes a pregnancy in order to save her job. The NY Daily News says that the script “is hilarious,” and that it could be “just the sort of romantic comedy that could turn [Lindsay's] career around.”

Lindsay may seem to have mellowed out for now, but the minute she has trouble in her relationship with Sam she’s going to hit the skids. Maybe she’ll prove everyone wrong and pull some big career comeback out of her skinny ass, but the odds are stacked against her. That’s why virtually every insurance company turned down her movie. The insurance company they ended up with is probably full of old dudes who don’t have wives, daughters or sons who pay attention to celebrity gossip who could inform them that they were making a massive mistake. Even if she completes this film without a lot of drama, it’s not like she has the star power to draw an audience. All her films last year were flops.

Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson are shown waiting with a friend while Lindsay’s car is cleaned yesterday, thanks to WENN.

Congratulations are in order for Tara Reid, who got herself a job. The job is in Australia, where I come from, which has so few celebrities even Tara Reid is considered.

Producers have broadened their search for star talent after receiving knock backs from several high-status celebrities, the Daily Telegraph reports.

The production company for Dancing with the Stars, Freehand, is reportedly keen to snare a celebrity star to increase interest in the show since taking over producing rights from Granada.

C-list actor Reid — who pocketed $3500 when she turned up to parties after hosting a “Hooker’s Ball” in Darwin last year — has reportedly been asked by Freehand to star on the eighth series of the show.

Potty-mouthed chef Gordon Ramsay and US fashionista Carson Kressley have both rejected similar such offers.

Kressley’s Sydney agent Max Markson confirmed he had been approached twice by the show’s producers.

Ninemsn

Unfortunately, Dancing with the Stars is a few years old now. It’s in its eighth season, and I suspect that Tara Reid isn’t going to be a big enough draw to bring the ratings up. I also love the fact that she’s not even the networks first choice, coming behind Gordon Ramsay and Carson Kressley. The network is obviously confused – Gordon and Carson have jobs, you need to find a celebrity who is currently unemployed. If Tara turns you down, give Lindsay Lohan a try.

Last year Tara had a great holiday in Australia while appearing at the Hooker’s Ball, where there was speculation she had been paid as little as $3,500 to attend, dressed as a prostitute. The event also infamously had the word ‘American’ spelt incorrectly on the posters advertising Tara’s appearance.

Tara Reid is shown at the Race to Erase MS Gala on 5/2/08 and outside Foxtail Restaurant on 4/10/08, thanks to WENN.