The other day, we had Minka Kelly’s GQ interview to promote her role in The Roommate, the re-imagining of Single White Female set in college, with Leighton Meester in the psychotic Jennifer Jason Leigh role. The Roommate looks… wonderfully awful, like a girl fight cheesefest that will deliver hilarious and ridiculous lines for years to come. Anyway, The Roommate gets a wide release next week, so the premieres and screenings have already begun. Last night there was a screening in West Hollywood, and both Leighton and Minka showed up in their best “LOOK AT ME” dresses.

Leighton is wearing Michael Kors – and yes, that is a leather halter-belly top thing, which I don’t get. How is the whole belly-baring (even in cutouts) thing still a fashion statement? Ugh. I don’t know who Minka is wearing, but I like it better than Leighton’s dress. Minka’s dress just seems like a better “attending a screening” dress.

Also: Now that they’re standing side-by-side on a red carpet, it’s much easier to tell them apart. Last thing: is Minka giving anyone else a major Jennifer Beals vibe? I never saw that before, but Minka looks a lot like Beals.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Leighton Meester and Garrett Hedlund, both starring in critical and commercial flop Country Strong, are probably boning. So say eyewitnesses who saw Leighton and Garrett all up on each other during the Globes after-parties. Damn, I really wanted her with Anthony Mackie. Garrett just seems so… I don’t know. He doesn’t know Hollywood yet. He seems like a sweet kid, but he’s bugging me for some reason.

Country cuties! Country Strong costars Leighton Meester and Garrett Hedlund may be making their onscreen romance a reality.

Whooping it up after the Golden Globes at HBO’s party held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel’s Circa 55 eatery, Meester, 24, and Hedlund, 26, were “inseparable the entire night,” a partygoer tells UsMagazine.com exclusively.

As the duo chatted, “Garret wrapped his arm around her,” the observer says. “She wraps her arm completely around his neck and pulls him for a quick peck on the lips.”

When the pair called it a night, Hedlund was “massaging her shoulders” as they exited together.

Meester split with Gossip Girl costar Sebastian Stan last year and told Allure she wasn’t a fan of playing the field.

“I don’t see the point in dating,” the star said. “I hate it. It’s wonderful to be in love. And it’s definitely wonderful to cuddle and have sex and get to experience life with somebody. But it’s OK if you don’t find him and you’re 24. You can find it someday.”

[From Us Weekly]

Since there really isn’t anything scandalous about this, what is there to say? Two pretty, young, single actors are dating. Maybe that’s what’s bothering me – there’s a “meh” factor to this coupling.

I will say this though – if they’re boning, I bet it’s really, really hot. Okay, now I’m not feeling so “meh” about them.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Leighton Meester is the cover girl for the January issue of Allure Magazine, to promote her supporting role in Country Strong, the musical that was just SHUT OUT of the Golden Globes (poor Goopy). I know many of you don’t care about her, but I really like Leighton. I think she’s way prettier than Blake Lively, and more interesting too. I think she’s pretty in that really adorable/cute way, much like Rachel McAdams, who I think looks like she could be Leighton’s sister. But why did Allure take such a cute girl and make her pose like this for the cover? It’s so… awkward. And fug. It makes it seem like the real cover star is Leighton’s arm, not her face. Ugh. Here are some highlights from the interview:

On the Chuck and Blair love affair:
“I can really relate to it–not necessarily because it’s this dramatic, tumultuous relationship, but because the way they love each other is very real, and not for the sake of being dramatic. It’s actual love. There’s nobody for each other but them.”

On her former life as a partier:
“We had craaaazy parties, we had DJ’s, bands, an ice luge, a fire twirler. One of my roommates burned off her bangs on the stove trying to light a cigarette.”

On Country Strong:
Meester has a string of promising movies on the way, including Country Strong, a Nashville drama in which she sings and costars with Gwyneth Paltrow and Tim McGraw. “Gwyneth’s just chilled out, well-balanced,” Meester says. She’s not uppity in any way. She’s got a family and kids and a really healthy lifestyle.” And her take on McGraw? “He’s a prankster, a flirt. He’ll make up a little song about you. He’s got a devious twinkle in his eye.” When Country Strong wrapped, Paltrow and McGraw presented Meester with a meaningful parting gift: “A guitar,” she says, with a flicker of pride. It has become Meester’s constant travel companion; she’s teaching herself to play and has begun writing songs that are very different from the perky dance music she’s recorded in the past. “The stuff I’m doing now is a little more complementary to my heart and my vibe,” she says.

On her ex, Sebastian Stan:
In her early 20s, Meester was in a relationship with actor Sebastian Stan, who appeared on Gossip Girl, but she’s enjoying being single these days. “I don’t see the point in dating. I hate it,” she says. “It’s wonderful to be in love. And it’s definitely wonderful to cuddle and have sex and get to experience life with somebody. But it’s OK if you don’t find him and you’re 24. You can find it someday.”

On the supposed rivalry with costar Blake Lively:
For years, the actress has batted away speculation of friction between herself and Gossip Girl costar Blake Lively. “It’s unfortunate when women are pitted against each other,” Meester says. “Like with Sex and the City. People say, ‘They’re jealous of each other.’ Come on! They’re all rich, successful, great actresses.” In a breathless voice, she mocks the male-driven stereotype of the Hollywood catfight: “‘When women fight, it’s usually with pillows and in bras and panties! Sometimes, they accidentally kiss!’”

On working out:
“I hate working out for the sake of working out—it’s a chore. I hate going to the gym, and I don’t really care to do it,” says Meester. “The one thing I love is yoga, and I do it at least four or five times a week. It’s pretty fast-paced. I never get bored.”

On her love life:
“It’s wonderful to be in love. And it’s definitely wonderful to cuddle and have sex and get to experience life with somebody. But it’s OK if you don’t find him and you’re 24. You can find it someday.”

[From Allure & HuffPo]

See, she’s a better interview too, as opposed to Blake Lively’s Anna Wintour name-dropping. I would like to see Leighton with someone really interesting too – part of me wants to see her with Ed Westwick, but that’s probably a no-go. Who is single? Let’s see… Garrett Hedlund? Ooh… how about Colin Farrell? THAT would be hot.

Photos courtesy of Allure.

Us Weekly has a great gossip tidbit about a backstage act of bitchery at the CMA Awards a few weeks ago. Carrie Underwood was the hostess of the event, right? And she was backstage, waiting for her next cue, sizing up the presenters. Her eyes fell upon Leighton Meester, who was there to promote her supporting role in Country Strong. Leighton looked nervous, so Carrie gave her a very special lesson in bitchy pep talks:

Tough love? Carrie Underwood, 27, struck a sour note with Leighton Meester, 24, at the CMA Awards November 10, a backstage source tells Hot Stuff.

“Leighton was nervous before presenting an award, and Carrie said, ‘Get out there and don’t f-ck up,’” says the insider. “It made Leighton more nervous.”

The source added, “Later, someone said to Carrie, ‘That was mean,’ and Carrie said, ‘She’ll get over it. Someone said that to me once and I got over it.’”

[From Us Weekly, print edition]

Okay, so maybe it’s not that bad. But it is on the bitchy-Southern-girl side of harsh. That’s like saying to your best friend, “Try NOT to act like a drunken whore tonight.” It’s casual bitchery, in the form of friendly advice. Plus, I pretty much think Carrie is kind of bitch anyway, so I believe this. I know, I know – there will Underwood defenders on here momentarily to say that she’s always nice and professional and she’s all sugar and no spice. If that’s what you want to believe, sure. She probably is professional, and she probably is nice… to certain people. But she always comes across as the kind of sorority girl who would start a rumor about your boyfriend and his small dong.

There’s a pretty interesting piece in this week’s National Enquirer about how Gossip Girl co-stars Blake Lively and Leighton Meester are in a blood feud. Supposedly Leighton is jealous over the recognition and fame that Blakes has been getting lately. The most interesting part of this story is that Blake’s rep doesn’t deny this but merely says his client “has never been best friends” with Blake and just “goes to work and does her job” as if that’s enough to dispel the story that she can’t stand Lively. She tolerates her, and that’s about it. Here’s the Enquirer’s take:

“They don’t even acknowledge each other when they’re not in a scene together,” a set insider told the Enquirer.

“Leighton thinks Blake is an egomaniac who views her time on the TV set as slumming.

“And Blake feels stifled. She’s just ignoring her co-star because she knows bigger things are in store…”

When asked about the feud, Blake’s publicist told The Enquirer: “Blake and Leighton have never been best friends and never professed to be. Blake goes to work, does her job, and goes home.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, September 6, 2010]

The Enquirer goes on to say that Blake “asked Gossip Girl producers to kill off her character because of cast infighting.” (I hope that’s not a spoiler for our GG fans.)

Kaiser reminds me that while Lively has been on the cover of Vogue a head-shaking two times, Leighton is still struggling for recognition. It seems like we’re always talking about Blake’s fashion or boobs, while Leighton is barely mentioned at all in the press. I remember when she was hot sh*t too, and when it was all about how she was born in prison to a convict mom. She also had some sort of half-assed pop music career that went nowhere. Now it’s all about Blake and her upcoming role in The Town and maybe-fling with married Ben Affleck. No wonder these ladies are fighting. One’s career is on the rise while the other one is struggling. It’s not rocket science.

Photos are from the set of Gossip Girl on 8/17/10, 8/9/10 and 7/14/10. Credit: Fame Pictures

Oh no! In Touch Weekly is reporting that Vesty McSparklepants (Robert Pattinson) is currently hooking up with Leighton Meester. Actually, I have no idea about the “currently” part. In Touch just claims that Vesty and Leighton have “shared at least one overnight rendezvous” but they don’t say when. Considering Sparkly Vest has been in Budapest since finishing the Remember Me promotional tour, I don’t think this alleged hookup happened recently, if at all. But In touch got a confirmation from one of Leighton’s friends, so who knows:

Robert Pattinson has shared at least one overnight rendezvous with Gossip Girl’s Leighton Meester. Rob was recently spotted entering Leighton’s New York apartment — and he didn’t leave until 11 the next morning, an insider tells In Touch.

“He ducked out of the building and hopped into a waiting car. He apparently spent the night with Leighton, and didn’t want anyone to know!” the insider says of the star, who even carried an overnight bag during his hasty exit.

A friend of Leighton’s confirms the affair, adding that the pair are still in constant contact.

“She’s having a texting romance with him, and is so into it. She talks with Rob almost daily,” her friend says. Leighton and her former boyfriend (and sometimes co-star) Sebastian Stan reportedly split earlier this month.

[From In Touch Weekly]

Yes, Leighton and Sebastian Stan only recently broke up, and I do believe it was Leighton who did the dumping. So did she dump Sebastian for Vesty? I had high hopes she would finally get with Ed Westwick, who also recently dumped his girlfriend. Ed and Leighton make a lot of sense together. Leighton and Sparkles… well, they would look cute together, but I don’t really see how their personalities would work together. Plus, I’m pretty sure Vesty is still with Kristen Stewart. After all, she just flew to Budapest to see him a few days ago, and Star Magazine is reporting this ZOMG BREAKING NEWS… Kristen and Sparkles have been photographed together right now, just this very moment in London (see photo here).

After a loooong separation, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart finally reunited over the weekend — and Star has exclusive photos of the couple together.

As we detail in our April 26 issue — on sale now — the Twilight sweethearts rendezvoused for her 20th birthday on April 9 in Budapest, where he’s filming the period drama Bel Ami, then traveled together to London, arriving holding hands — until they saw waiting photographers! Then “they parted like the Red Sea,” says an eyewitness.

After visiting Rob’s parents in West London, it was on to a private hotel, where they holed up inside their room – and Rob could be heard playing his guitar and serenading Kristen.

“Their love is impossible to hide,” says an insider.

[From Star Magazine]

So they’re still together. And Sparkles is probably not cheating on Kristen. Just because I think he just adores Kristen, and Kristen would shank him if he cheated.

More juicy news from the Gossip Girl cast! Ed Westwick isn’t the only one calling it dunzo on his relationship – OK Mag is reporting that Leighton Meester has dumped her boyfriend Stebastian Stan, best known (to me) as that creepy dude/prince from that canceled show Kings. I’m proud of my girl Leighton for being the dumper! According to OK, she was all “I don’t do relationships, bitches.” And Sebastian was all “yes, please.” Or something. Look at this photo of Leighton and Sebastian… she’s like, “I am so over this bitch.”

It seems that one of Gossip Girl’s many real-life romances is over: Leighton Meester and her boyfriend (and sometime co-star) Sebastian Stan have split, a friend of the actress-musician tells OK!.

So why the split now, when things seemed to be going so well? Leighton called it quits, because she “doesn’t know how to be in a relationship and doesn’t really like them,” explains the insider.

And since Leighton was the one doing the dumping, Sebastian isn’t taking it too well, with our source saying he’s “heartbroken” by Leighton’s decision to end the relationship.

Leighton’s reps have not responded to OK!’s request for comment yet.

[From OK! Magazine]

So the question is now “Will Ed and Leighton make sweet love?” I know you think he’s gay. I don’t. We disagree. Give me this. Leighton and Ed, together, doing kinky foot sh-t. I think Leighton is his type, actually, at least if we’re trying to guess his type in women (as opposed to men). Judging from Jessica Szohr, I think he likes petite brunettes who are almost as pretty as him. As for Leighton’s type? Judging from Sebastian, I think she probably goes for tall, lanky, goofy-looking dudes with creepy bug eyes. That’s not Ed. But I bet Leighton would still hit it.

This is Leighton Meester at an American Eagle event two days ago. She looks… horrible. I have no defense of this outfit. I have no defense for the purple eyeshadow (really?) and the too-bright lipstick. I’ve always thought Leighton was so beautiful, in that adorable, dimpled, sweet way, much like Rachel McAdams. But Leighton tries too hard. I think she resents her dimples. I think she wants to be hardcore, like some vampy bombshell. And she’s not. I mean, I’ll buy that she’s not some sweet-as-can-be little darling. But by trying too hard, she just looks desperate and sad.

But these photos aren’t even the only time Leighton has tried to bang into our minds how hardcore she is. The girl also posed for GQ in a leather bustier and a vapid, drugged, trying-too-hard, glazed-over look. Oh, and her legs are spread too. Ugh. Leighton was declared GQ’s “Obsession of the Year” in the December issue, and they even sat down for a little interview with Leighton. The writer notes that she “lunges for a strip of bacon” which actually makes me like her a little. But not that much:

Right, we know, we hear you: the girl from Gossip Girl? There isn’t a single self-respecting male who watches the CW’s lusciously bitchy comic soap about juvenile stylistas navigating the social spiderweb of New York’s Upper East Side. Or at least that’s what we hear it’s about—because, of course, we have never seen this Gossip Girl, and honestly, we had to ask a young woman at work, because we’re always riveted by Ultimate Fighting and chain-saw competitions.

“Guys are like, ‘My girlfriend watches it, so I watch it,’ ” Meester says. “But sometimes they watch it on their own. Someone came up to me recently and said, ‘I’m a Washington, D.C., police officer, and I tell everybody I’m busy on Monday nights—but I’m really watching the show.’”

If you’re still pretending you don’t, Meester, 23, plays the decadent heiress Blair Waldorf, whose acid bons mots (“Haven’t you heard? I’m the crazy bitch around here”) float in the air like the cigarette smoke she’d surely exhale if the CW would let her. Gossip Girl is a showcase of unnatural beauty, but the delicate Meester stands out.

In person, Meester is free of pretension, arriving for a breakfast interview at Manhattan’s Chelsea Piers wearing a pair of thick glasses that Tina Fey might reject as being too clunky. This is the paradox of the Meester-verse—”Blair is so controlling and such a worrier; Leighton is relaxed,” says co-star Ed Westwick—and it surely speaks to her un-Park Avenue origins. As the tabloids giddily reported last year, Meester was born to a mother who was incarcerated at the time on pot charges, and she has spent the better part of her life on earth shuttling, Gypsy-like, from cramped apartments to soul-sucking auditions. Gossip Girl is the first stable job she’s ever had.

“I’ve finally unpacked,” says Meester, who next year will appear as Steve Carell’s babysitter in the romantic comedy Date Night. “I didn’t expect anything. I’m always like, ‘Is the show going to get canceled?’ ‘Am I going to have to move?’ It’s hard to have any kind of luck in this business.”

Meester lunges for a strip of bacon. Another one of her Gossip co-stars, Chace Crawford, has declared she’s a “guy’s girl.” Meester allows that she’s “not high-maintenance,” and while she won’t bullshit you with a Super Bowl prediction, she can give you five detailed minutes on Ray Liotta in GoodFellas—well, maybe not the whole movie, but one very specific moment in Martin Scorsese’s Mob classic. “It’s the look Liotta gives Debi Mazar in the bedroom,” Meester says. “He’s just thrown his girlfriend onto the bed, and when she runs out, he gives this look to his girlfriend’s friend—Debi Mazar—as he’s coming off the bed….” Meester blushes and fans herself with her hand. “It’s the sexiest thing.”

[From GQ]

So, is Leighton really this down-to-earth and cool? Or is she trying desperately to change up her image with some trying-too-hard vampy appearances. I guess it’s too much to ask that girls fall into either the “Kristen Stewart” or the “Megan Fox” categories. But doesn’t it seem like Leighton is actually more Kristen Stewart, but she’s trying to be like Megan Fox? That’s just sad.

Leighton at the American Eagle Outfitters flagship store preview party in Times Square on November 17, 2009. Credit: WENN. GQ photos of Leighton courtesy of Huffington Post.

File this one under “Worst (and Most Insulting) Ideas Ever”. According to Production Weekly, someone idiotic is pitching a remake of Thelma & Louise. Only this one will be, in Moviehole’s words “pre-menopausal”. Insulted yet? Director Jessica Manafort wants to do the remake with Amber Heard (who I had never heard of) and Leighton Meester (from Gossip Girl). I just looked Amber Heard up, and I think I can safely say she’s just another blonde “It Girl” wannabe, someone who just looks like all of the other girls. She was in Pinapple Express, and I have absolutely no recollection of her. As for Leighton, I think she’s a very pretty girl, and she’s got some acting chops, but I still feel a big, fat “NOOO!” when thinking of her in this project. Here’s more from Moviehole:

Amber Heard (“All The Boys Love Mandy Lane’’) and Leighton Meester (TVs ‘’Gossip Girl’’) will star in a pre-menopausal version of ‘Thelma & Louise’, according to Production Weekly.

Jessica Manafort is attached to direct ‘’Cowgirl Bandits’’, with Paul Schiff producing.
Manafort worked with Heard on the 2007 comedy ‘’Remember the Daze’’. The movie, which Manafort also wrote, revolved around the relationship dynamics of a group of suburban teens on the last day of school in 1999. Heard played a cool “stoner” chick who is looking for direction and meaning in her life.

Heard is known for playing the lead role in the popular but mistreated ”All the Boys Love Mandy Lane”, as well as for her performances in ”The Pineapple Express” and ‘The Informers”. She next appears with Johnny Depp in ”The Rum Diary”.

Meester is best known for her role on CW’s ”Gossip Girl”. She also has a top ten track in the charts at the moment – Good Girls Go Bad.

[From Moviehole]

Here’s the thing about Thelma & Louise - it was a really, really good movie. Maybe it’s not cool to admit that now, or maybe it’s been so long that people forget how groundbreaking and awesome that film is, but it’s totally worth it’s iconic status. First of all, it’s one of Ridley Scott’s best films, and that’s saying something. The way Scott directed it – with the washed out desert colors, the twists and cuts in the story, the two women against the larger (epic) landscape, it’s all pretty amazing. Plus, he got two of the best performances ever out of Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon, two of the best actresses working at that time. I could go on, but do I need to? This film doesn’t need to be remade, and it really doesn’t need to be remade with some asinine commercial director with two actresses with little more to offer than dimples.

Amber Heard is shown on 10/13/09. Leighton Meester is shown on 9/13/ and 9/16/09. Credit: PRPhotos.

Leighton Meester, who plays Blair Waldorf on Gossip Girl, has gotten a music deal with Universal Republic. Her sound has an “electro-pop edge,” and the studio gives a bullsh*t statement about how excited they are about Leighton’s “tremendous presence and spirited approach to her musical artistry.” Leighton herself says that she is happy that she will be given license to explore her “creative boundaries.”

Leighton Meester, star of the CW Network’s teen drama “Gossip Girl,” has signed a deal with Universal Republic through Time-Act Music to release her debut album in the fall. The 23-year-old actress began recording material– described as having an “electro-pop edge”–for the project in March and has clocked studio time with producers Polow Da Don (Usher, Fergie), Harvey Mason, Jr. (Justin Timberlake, Pink) and Spencer Nezey (Jupiter Rising).

“I’m thrilled to be welcomed into the Universal Republic fold,” said Meester in a statement. “Their reputation for nurturing artists combined with a willingness to break new ground makes it the ultimate environment for me to enjoy making music and explore my own creative boundaries.”

“Leighton Meester’s tremendous presence and spirited approach to her musical artistry is a perfect fit with her new Universal Republic home as we introduce current and new fans to this unique facet of her immense talent,” added Monte Lipman, President and CEO of Universal Republic Records.

[From Billboard]

Electro-pop does not equal breaking new ground. How many other actresses and celebrities have tried breaking into the same genre – and failed? Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton are the first that come to mind. Scarlett Johansson tried a different approach altogether by recording an album of Tom Waits covers, but she also famously failed. I really would like Leighton to defy my expectations. She does seem to have a decent voice, with a Goldfrapp-esque lilt and smoothness to it. But in this business, having a good voice doesn’t mean anything. What I am not looking forward to is her record company paying Gossip Girl to have an episode where she has to sing in a talent contest or something. I can see it now: “Oh, Blair, I had no idea you sang!”

Here’s a clip of Leighton singing “Bette Davis Eyes” if you want to get an idea what she sounds like.

Here’s Leighton at the CHLOE Los Angeles Boutique Opening in Los Angeles yesterday. Images thanks to Fame Pictures .