Johnny Depp almost got edged out of his seminal role in Edward Scissorhands by none other than Tom Cruise. Prior to starring in fantasy suburban tale Edward Scissorhands, which came out in late 1990, Depp was primarily known as a hot detective on Fox’s 21 Jump Street and had a few small film roles along with his lead performance in Cry Baby, which came out in the Spring of 1990. Producers went back and forth between Cruise and Depp, and almost gave the role to Cruise, but ultimately realized that Depp was more suited to the quirky role:

Depp shot to fame when he landed the title role in Tim Burton’s 1991 fantasy epic, but insists producers were determined to cast A-list actor Cruise in the role.

The 44-year-old was a relative unknown at the time and admits he desperately wanted the job - but he was only hired after the team began to question Cruise’s suitability for such an edgy project.

He says, “They (movie bosses) were interested in me for the part, but had someone else in mind too. A few days later, they called me to say the studio preferred the other actor.

“(It was) Tom Cruise. I was really disappointed. From the moment I read the script, I knew I had to be in it. But I understood that the studio wanted a box office superstar.

“Then a miracle happened. My agent called to say they wanted me instead.

[From WENN via Hollywood.tv]

I thought Tom Cruise could only play jocks and jerks who reach a turning point and then find themselves, and maybe the producers realized that and took a chance on a newcomer who would go on to greatness. It’s hard to know whether Edward Scissorhands would have been the hit that it was with Cruise in the role, but it’s a good thing Depp got the role and built a friendship with director Tim Burton. Can you imagine if he remained on television instead?

The restraining order against Sam Lutfi, the svengali-like guy who controlled and verbally abused Britney Spears, bragging to her mother that he would mash up psychiatric drugs and mix them with her food, has been extended until July 31. People Magazine notes that it’s possible that the restraining order can be extended for years, essentially keeping Lutfi out of Britney’s life for the foreseeable future.

Last month one of Britney’s former assistants told In Touch a chilling tale of being contacted by Lutfi in early 2007 before he had made contact with the pop star. He grilled Britney’s assistant for a half hour, trying to figure out how to insert himself into Britney’s life. The woman got the creeps and left. She says that a few months after she stopped working for Britney she saw a picture online of Sam with Britney she “got a chill down [her] spine” because she found him “stalkerish” and did her best to keep him away from her employer.

It’s clear that Lutfi planned to gain access to Britney and her fortune, and took extreme advantage of under the guise of helping. Thank goodness her father is looking out for her now.

Britney has rehired her old manager Larry Rudolph and was seen at the recording studio and the gym yesterday. It might be a little soon for Britney to jump back into her career, but she has to keep busy and it could help her if she has her music to focus on now.

Britney’s father’s conservatorship lasts until July 31, and People Magazine reports that it is likely to be extended beyond that. The tabloids were ran stories last week about how Britney was drinking again, but it was wine with dinner and the tales seemed a bit overblown so I kind of shrugged and didn’t cover it. She deserves a little break whether she wants one or not.

Britney is shown outside a recording studio and Bally’s gym yesterday, where she had a private personal training session. Thanks to WENN.

Amy Winehouse’s record company, Universal, has decided that they really cannot release her album unless she can get drug free.

British newspaper The Sun is now reporting that the 24-year-old has been issued an ultimatum by her record label after she allegedly cancelled a recording session in the Bahamas - with label chiefs urging her to stay out of trouble or plans to release her highly anticipated third album will be shelved indefinitely.

A source tells the publication, “Amy has been reminded of her responsibilities. Unless she is clean she will not be allowed to release another album.

“They would never release her from her deal, they would just not put an album out. She has been warned about her behaviour and needs to keep the standards up.”

Contact Music

Now, we might assume that her record company has suddenly developed a moral compass, but in reality it is their best interests to make this album and its promotion flow seamlessly. If Amy’s album stinks, Universal may never recover the costs of recording. Not to mention Amy has a habit of canceling performances, and if she can’t meet her promotional commitments it’s going to cost the record company. Her sales might not be enough to cover these costs.

While if we banned every recording who takes drugs from releasing an album we’d only have a choice between James Blunt and Celine Dion, it seems to me that Amy’s life is absolutely falling apart, and that is the key here. Most people, and particularly those working in an industry where drugs are readily available, have tried drugs, and may even use them regularly, but mostly they seem to function reasonably well. At least until their life falls apart for whatever reason. And Amy’s life is certainly falling apart right now. She has been exposed smoking crack, her husband is in jail, she has visa problems, and appears to be self-harming. Amy, it’s time to pull your shit together, because soon the cash will run out and you won’t be a star, you’ll just be a junkie.

Your career may never recover. As your own mother says “It’s like watching a car crash - this person throwing all these gifts away”.

Amy’s new album is looking to hit stores sometime in 2009, after reportedly canceling recording sessions for the planned 2008 album.

Picture note by Celebitchy: Amy Winehouse is shown leaving her house and stopping at a kebab shop on 4/5/08. That must be all she eats all day. Thanks to WENN for these pictures.

Remember Saturday Night Live’s Rachel Dratch- who played Debbie Downer and did a dead-on impersonation of Harry Potter? Dratch left the show two years ago and has had small roles in a few movies and TV shows since then, including the Tina Fey comedy “30 Rock,” but she hasn’t found the same success as some of the other funny women from SNL. Adding insult to injury, Dratch was saddened by the recent Vanity Fair cover story on the rise of comediennes- the included most of her old co-stars, but not her.

Rachel Dratch is learning it’s not funny being an out-of-work comedian. She left Saturday Night Live two years ago and then was replaced on 30 Rock. What’s she up to now? “Maybe you can tell me,” she said at a Smart People screening on March 31. “I know you’re supposed to come up with fake stuff you’re doing. But honestly, I’m not doing much.” After SNL’s hectic pace, isn’t downtime nice? “It’s starting to get old,” she said. “I’m starting to go crazy. I’m ready for a job.” The low point came, she said, when last month’s Vanity Fair arrived with its cover story on women in comedy, featuring a dozen top comediennes—none of whom was Dratch. “Dude, that was a dark day,” she recalled. “I was like, Oh, there’s everyone I worked with.” She’s not picky about her next gig. “I’d work in a black-box theater company at this point,” she said. “I’d work with George W.”

[From NY Magazine]

I admit- I didn’t even think of Rachel when that story came out. I was so excited to see Amy Sedaris and Tina Fey on the same magazine cover that she slipped my mind. And I think, in a nutshell, that’s Rachel’s problem. She’s talented and funny, but not very memorable. If her greatest claim to fame is Debbie Downer- which was never all that funny and was done to death on the show- then it’s not a huge surprise that her career’s in trouble. But I do think she could be very funny in character roles, if given a chance. Hopefully some Hollywood casting director will read this and give Rachel a call. Because the thought of her working for George W. is very sad to me.

Rachel Dratch is shown at the “There Will Be Blood” premiere on 12/10/07, thanks to PRPhotos.

One of Lindsay Lohan’s next roles will be a stretch for her: a nymphomaniac waitress. She will command a whopping $75,000, which I would gladly accept for a full year’s worth of 40 hours weeks, so I shouldn’t make fun. Lohan was rumored to be appearing topless for her multiple Razzie-winning role in I Know Who Killed Me, but she ended up keeping her bra on. In this film she’ll be taking off her top, and wanted to be fully nude, but producers nixed that idea.

Star Magazine has learned exclusively that the 21-year-old will get naked again to play a nymphomaniac waitress in the indie film Florence. And she’s getting paid only $75,000 for her part - just 1 percent of the whopping $7.5 million she earned for Just My Luck! “Lindsay doesn’t care that she’s getting paid peanuts,” an insider tells Star “She just wants to remind people that she can act and she’s worth hiring.” The role requires her to take off only her top for a lust sex scene, but the source says Lindsay… volunteered to do more. “She said it would be no problem to go Full Monty.”

[From Star Magazine, print edition, April 14, 2008]

I wonder what her holy-rolling dad will have to say about his daughter getting naked for public consumption - again. Star also reports that Lohan has been drinking sick amounts of vodka out at clubs and has been seen popping pills. They even claim she did coke at a party, not like any of that is astonishing news.

As for the future of Lohan’s dwindling movie career - it’s not all bad, reports E! Online’s Answer Bitch. Lohan has that Manson movie coming up in which she plays one of his wide-eyed murdering sycophants, and she’s also signed on to work on a renaissance fair comedy with Jack Black called Ye Olde Times. She’s also supposedly reporting her third album.

The Answer Bitch quotes a public relations expert as saying “”We’ll have to wait another six months to a year to finally see she if she can recover from her past, but she’s managed to keep herself out of the press more lately, and that’s good for her. That’s exactly what she needs.”

Lohan hasn’t managed to keep out of the press so much as she’s kind of reached saturation point. Just wait - she’ll do something outlandish to get our attention again soon.

Lohan is shown leaving the salon after she got a new hairdo on Friday. She is also shown out at Dominic’s restaurant, where she was seen with Samantha Ronson. A “friend” of Lohan’s recently told In Touch that they’re just friends and are not gay.

Thanks to WENN for these photos.

There was a photo that was online late last year of Tom Cruise bald and wearing a fat suit. The NY Times reports today that it’s from an uncredited cameo in the upcoming Ben Stiller comedy “Tropic Thunder” also starring Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black, Matthew McConaughey and Nick Nolte. They wanted to keep Cruise’s appearance a secret, but the news got out at an industry screening of the film, put out by Paramount Pictures.

Paramount head Summer Redstone decided to cut ties with Cruise’s production company in August, 2006 after public outburst against pharmaceutical drugs. Redstone made it clear that Cruise was no longer working with him due to his behavior, and said “His recent conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount.”

Cruise and Redstone had lunch last week in what many people thought was a bid to patch things up, and now it’s known that he plays a character in “Tropic Thunder” that is thought to be a parody of Redstone. The screening audience was howling with laughter at Cruise’s scene:

At an industry screening Tuesday night of the forthcoming comedy “Tropic Thunder” from Paramount Pictures and its unit DreamWorks, Tom Cruise brought down the house with his surprise portrayal of a bald, hairy-chested, foulmouthed, dirty-dancing movie mogul of the kind who is only too happy to throw an actor to the wolves when his popularity cools.

The several hundred Hollywood agents, managers, publicists and reporters at the screening on the Paramount lot here couldn’t have missed the joke. In August 2006 Mr. Cruise — after spending many years at Paramount and appearing in some of its biggest hits, including “Top Gun” and the “Mission: Impossible” series — was sent packing by Mr. Redstone, the chairman of Viacom, the studio’s parent.

Two years later Mr. Cruise is back in a Paramount movie, playing a craggy ingrate in what is shaping up as one of the studio’s best prospects for the summer. The movie, a raunchfest directed by Ben Stiller, about a bunch of actors whose jungle war movie turns unexpectedly real, also stars Mr. Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black, Matthew McConaughey and Nick Nolte.

The humor may have been heightened by knowledge that Mr. Cruise and Mr. Redstone only last week kissed and made up over a very public lunch at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

[From the NY Times via Huffington Post]

Why do you have to go endear yourself to the industry like that, Tom Cruise? You’re supposed to be a batshit crazy cult leader, not a funny guy who pokes fun at his career setbacks.

Robert Downey Jr. is also said to have brought down the house. Downey plays an actor playing a soldier in blackface, so it’s more of a meta-role and not a straight case of a white actor playing an African American role.

“Tropic Thunder” will be out in the US on August 15, and is about a group of actors filming a Vietnam war movie who get abandoned in an actual war. It’s thought that the film will be a real hit for Paramount, and it could do wonders to revive Cruise’s image.

Header image is of Tom and Katie pre-shorter haircut out at The Cut restaurant on a double date with Will Smith and Jada on 2/27/08, thanks to WENN.

Here’s the trailer, which does not include Cruise:

PETA has extended an olive branch to Britney Spears and offered the poptart a job. Considering how much Britney’s life seems to have stabilized as of late, a regular old job could be a great thing for the girl. Unfortunately the offer only stands for a one day gig, but the pay is pretty good: $1000 to the children’s charity of her choice. Though PETA has been criticized for the extremity of its anti-animal cruelty protests, I actually have to commend them for a pretty classy move. The letter they sent Spears is both honest and kind, and without bitterness for their past “disagreements.” They also complement her on the positive changes she’s made in her life, and politely ask that she reconsider some of her previous stances on animal welfare. A few excerpts from the letter:

After seeing your excellent performance on How I Met Your Mother, PETA would like to offer you a real job as a receptionist. It could be for as little as an hour, and you would see—from the inside—why we are so concerned about issues like fur and homeless dogs and cats. As a “thank you” for your willingness to learn and help, we would donate $1,000 to a children’s charity.

…You would also tell people about the misery that foxes, chinchillas, and other animals suffer on fur farms and explain how mother animals caught in traps are so desperate to return to their young that they will often chew off a limb to escape. You will tell callers about the number of animals killed to make one fur coat and how these animals—like us—would prefer to love and enjoy life rather than be strangled, poisoned, or electrocuted. And you will never be the same again.

We might have criticized you in the past for contributing to the dog overpopulation crisis and wearing real fur, but perhaps now that your own crisis has abated, a new day calls for a new relationship, a new outlook, and a new understanding.

[From PETA’s blog]

While I doubt there’s any chance in hell Britney will be showing up to work at her local PETA office, I think the letter was pretty tasteful. Britney has made some shockingly large changes in her life in a relatively short period of time – though a lot of people attribute that to her father’s influence. Maybe PETA should have addressed the letter to Jaime Spears instead. Supposedly he’s trying to find Britney some type of television work, as he thinks having a steady 9-to-5 type job would be good for her and provide stability. If that fails, I’m pretty sure the PETA receptionists work a standard 40 hour week too. And it might not tax Britney’s acting skills quite so much.

Images from Britney’s guest role as a receptionist on “How I Met Your Mother” last week.

Jennifer Aniston has founded her own production company with partner Kristin Hahn, who worked with her in Plan B Entertainment, the production company Aniston formed with her ex, Brad Pitt. Aniston’s new production company is called “Echo Films,” and they already have several projects in place with Universal films to adapt books for the big screen. Hahn and Aniston explain:

“We particularly like working from books and real-life stories about distinct characters that embody something relatable and relevant about human nature’s double-sided coin of vulnerability and mettle,” Hahn said.

That theme prompted the company’s name, Aniston said.

“We’re drawn to stories about people finding their voice and finding their way because they help us as listeners and viewers do what we feel we’re all trying to do, which is making sense of our lives through the stories of others,” Aniston said. “That’s why we chose the name Echo, to echo back an idea, a challenge, something that resonates through all of us.”

[From Variety]

The Variety article states that most of the films “will be developed as star vehicles for Aniston,” and isn’t that why actors and actresses start production companies? It’s a smart move for her and one that will keep her employed in the industry for years to come. They have at least six projects currently in the works, only one of which Variety notes isn’t going to include her as an actress.

They’re producing two films about marriage problems: “Getting Rid of Matthew,” based on a British bestselling novel about a publicist who tries to befriend the wife of the man she’s having an affair with in order to get rid of him, and “The Divorce Party,” based on an upcoming book about a husband and wife who hold a party on their 35th wedding anniversary to announce their divorce.

Other films in the works from Echo include “Counter-Clockwise,” based on an aging study at Harvard, and “Love: Todd,” about a tennis instructor and his precocious student. Aniston will not appear in “Love: Todd.”

There’s also “Chemistry,” a dramedy about the brain chemistry similarities between obsessive compulsive disorder and romantic love, and “The Goree Girls,” about a all-female band formed from Texas inmates. Aniston will star in that one, according to Variety.

Aniston is shown on set on 3/17/08, thanks to Splash News.

Just when you thought she was about to succumb to the mind-numbing effects of too much niacin, Katie Holmes may make her debut on Broadway. The Daily Mail is reporting that she’s in final talks to star in a revival of Arthur Miller’s dramatic play, “All My Sons.” John Lithgow and Dianne Wiest have already committed to the play, and it sounds like Katie is about to sign on:

Katie Holmes is in final negotiations to make her professional stage debut on Broadway.

The producer of a revival of All My Sons, Arthur Miller’s heartbreaking, post-World War II family drama, is clearly hoping Holmes (aka the third Mrs Tom Cruise) will create some sizzle at the box office later this year.

It would be the first major revival of a Miller play since the dramatist’s death three years ago.

All My Sons, to be directed by British-born Simon McBurney, would also allow Holmes to be more than “Mrs Tom Cruise” for six nights a week.

The actress has committed to taking part in a private workshop of the play in May. She will play the part of a woman who visits her former neighbours, the family of a missing pilot she once loved.

Producer Eric Falkenstein has already cast Broadway veterans John Lithgow and Dianne Wiest, which has had the desired effect of making Ms Holmes more comfortable about taking on her first play since high school.

Holmes has told McBurney and Falkenstein that she is serious about working in the theatre.

[From The Daily Mail]

Do you think Katie Holmes has the chops to star on Broadway? I read through the plot synopsis on Wikipedia (spoilers), hoping that there would be a kissing scene that would cause Tom to reject her bid for Broadway, but unfortunately that doesn’t seem to be the case. Like Miller’s other work it’s not a very uplifting story, but it’s probably moving and thought-provoking. I think Katie will play the character Ann Deever, who is a 26 year-old woman interested in the brother of a man she used to date who is missing in action. It takes place during WWII and involves a family torn apart by the war and an ethical dilemma.

Doesn’t Katie have a $35 million mansion to decorate and thousand dollar shoes to buy? She doesn’t have the time or the energy to play a character on Broadway. Maybe she can hire a more talented actress to do the role for her and slip in for the end part where she bows on stage. There are plenty of other mousy women that look just like her. She could get away with it.

Katie Holmes is shown on 3/16/08 after having lunch, when she stumbled and Star made a cover story about it. Thanks to WENN for these pictures.

Owen Wilson is not doing any interviews or going on talk shows to promote his upcoming comedy, Drillbit Taylor, which is out in the US on March 21 and features Wilson as a bodyguard to three kids who are bullied at school. Producers made the decision to let Wilson sit out all press for fear that he would get grilled about his personal life and suicide attempt last year. The official reason that Wilson isn’t promoting the film is that he’s busy filming Marley & Me with Jennifer Aniston in Miami.

The LA Times has a good overview of how films have failed when stars haven’t promoted them, and although it’s hardly scientific it does point to the need for Wilson to do some sort of press for the film. It might not matter for Drillbit, though, because the audience is adolescent boys and The Times points out that they’re not exactly watching the night time talk shows:

On Friday, Paramount Pictures will release “Drillbit Taylor,” a new comedy starring Owen Wilson as a bodyguard hired by several high school students looking for bully protection. The film has been accompanied by most of the marketing efforts typically associated with a national theatrical release — including television promotions and coming attractions previews — but you can look far and wide and not find Wilson conducting the kind of interviews that stars of his caliber usually do when they have a big movie to promote…

In some ways, the film doesn’t really need Wilson’s publicity help. Although the actor has a following among older, well-read filmgoers (his credits include “Meet the Parents,” “The Royal Tenenbaums” and “Wedding Crashers”), “Drillbit Taylor” is aimed at pre-pubescent boys, many of whom aren’t setting their TiVos for “Late Show With David Letterman” and are not reading this or other newspapers. The interviews Wilson didn’t give, in other words, weren’t really missed.

But that hasn’t always been the case with Wilson or other actors who for personal reasons either weren’t able to publicize their films or faced uncomfortable inquiries when they fielded journalists’ questions.

[From The LA Times via The Huffington Post]

The article goes on to note that Owen’s first film that came out after his suicide attempt, The Darjeeling Limited, wasn’t promoted by him and didn’t perform well at the box office, taking in just $11.9 million in the US.

Eddie Murphy starred in the film Holy Man which was released in 1998, about a year after his tranny hooker bust. He didn’t do press for it either and it was a bomb at the box office.

But Hugh Grant’s film Nine Months came out just two weeks after his arrest for getting a BJ from a hooker named Divine Brown. Grant owed up to his conduct and did an “aw shucks” press circuit that earned him a lot of publicity. The film with Julianne Moore was a hit and took in $70 million.

Maybe Wilson should make a couple of appearances on the talk shows. You have to think they won’t ask questions about his suicide attempt if his publicist works it out ahead of time and it would help clear up some of the mystery. He could crack jokes and show everyone he’s doing fine. (And fighting off two women, by some accounts.)

Here’s the trailer for “Drillbit Taylor.” It looks pretty stupid to me, but I’m not the intended audience.

And here are photos from the film, thanks to Allmoviephoto.