I have such mixed feelings about this casting choice. While I generally like Naomi Watts, I think she’s overhyped as an actress, and I get tired of people trying to make her “happen” as a lead actress. She’s pretty and talented, but there’s something so milquetoast about many of her performances post-Mulholland Drive. Naomi was just cast as Princess Diana in Caught in Flight, the bio-pic about the last two years of Diana’s life. I just… I don’t know. Jessica Chastain was originally cast as Diana, but she was either pushed out or she jumped out, and now Naomi is in there.

Naomi Watts will soon be morphing into the People’s Princess. The Oscar-nominated Australian actress, 43, has been cast as the late Princess Diana in Caught in Flight, an upcoming new biopic.

Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel and written by Stephen Jeffreys, the film will focus on the last two years in the life of Prince William and Harry’s beloved mother; after famously divorcing Prince Charles, Diana reinvented herself as a global humanitarian and was on the path to self-fulfillment before she died at age 36 in an August 1997 car crash.

“It is such an honor to be able to play this iconic role,” Watts said in a statement. “Princess Diana was loved across the world and I look forward to rising to the challenge of playing her on screen.”

Last November, it was rumored that Oscar nominee Jessica Chastain (The Help, Tree of Life) was attached to Caught in Flight, which also focuses on Diana’s relationship with Dr. Hasnat Khan, said to be the love of her life.

Diana met Dr. Khan in 1995, and they embarked on a two-year affair — breaking up in 1997. Diana rebounded with billionaire Dodi Al-Fayed, who died with her in the tragic Paris car crash.

[From Us Weekly]

There’s a similar look to Naomi and Diana, and if this was just about aesthetics alone, I wouldn’t be too peeved. But is Naomi “light” enough to play Diana? Meaning that the last two years of Diana’s life were good for her – she was in love, she was rebranding herself, she was free of Charles – she’s was a spiritually “lighter” person. Naomi can only play “morose” and dark. I just went back and read the synopsis of the film, though – apparently, they’re going for “damaged”. Ugh. I’m worried about this film.

Vintage Diana – her last photo shoot with Mario Testino, still one of the best photo shoots ever.

Photos courtesy of WENN, archival Mario Testino images of Diana.

Last night was the premiere of J. Edgar at the AFI Film Fest. All of the stars came out for the film except for Dame Judi Dench, who was in London doing press for the new James Bond film. Several of Clint Eastwood’s former stars and friends came out to celebrate his new film too – including Hilary Swank. This is Hilary’s first public outing since she got publicly slammed for attending the birthday party of a Chechen dictator, and accepting $1.5 million for the pleasure. Days after the scandal went international, Hilary canceled a charity appearance, claiming she was sick, but I guess she feels well enough to hang out with Clint Eastwood, right? There were reports earlier this week that Hilary fired her manager over the Chechnya incident, and now Entertainment Weekly reports that Hilary’s PR firm fired HER.

Hilary Swank’s bad month just got even worse. In the wake of the storm of bad press surrounding her paid appearance at a birthday event for Chechen president, and alleged human rights violator, Ramzan Kadyrov, the two-time Oscar winner has been dumped by her PR team at 42West, a source familiar with the situation confirms exclusively to EW.

The publicity firm parted ways with Swank over a disagreement on how best to deal with the fallout from the Oct. 5 event, which was also attended by Jean-Claude Van Damme, Seal, and English violinist Vanessa-Mae.

Earlier this week, it was widely reported that Swank fired her manager of eight years, Jason Weinberg, and two of his associates at CAA, though not her lawyer, Jeff Bernstein, who reportedly played a significant role in the Chechnya visit. Three weeks ago, Swank apologized for attending and promised to donate her fee to charity, but appeared to stop short of taking personal responsibility. “If I had a full understanding of what this event was apparently intended to be,” she said, “I would never have gone.”

Calls to 42West have not been returned, and Swank’s lawyer has not responded to a request for comment.

[From Entertainment Weekly]

Sucks for Hilary. I guess she’s doing her own PR now, thus this red carpet appearance for Clint Eastwood. She’s probably hoping that Clint will act as a human shield to protect her from the fallout. I can’t believe she’s using an old dude like that.

I’m including some more photos from the AFI premiere. Leo looks great, IMO. Clint looks old as dirt. Naomi Watts looks nice, but Liev looks rough. And Armie Hammer is so cartoon-handsome, it’s creepy. Oh, and my lover Ed Westwick was there! He’s in the movie too. He’s so smarmy and gorge.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

We’re covering the fashion of last night’s Elle’s Women in Hollywood event in three different posts as there were so many celebrities there. Kaiser has already mentioned Jennifer Aniston’s hot dress along with some of the other big names, Like Reese Witherspoon and Evan Rachel Wood. I’ll be covering some of the other celebrities here along with my favorite TV personalities.

First off we have Katherine Heigl in a beaded little black dress. It’s a bit “mature” looking, but it’s not bad at all for her. She looks very good, if kind of crazed here. I like what she’s done with her short hair too. Her husband Josh Kelly came with her and looked almost as thrilled to be there. After seeing these photos, I’m convinced that things are fine with them.

Jayma Mays in a one-shoulder ruched blue dress with ruffle detail. Compared to some of the horribly frumpy things she’s worn on the red carpet, this was a vast improvement. Her hair is gorgeous and that sideswept looked is popular now. Her eye makeup is a little overdone, but overall this was a win for Jayma.

Busy Phillips looked a little goofy with that very tight, very high little bun on her head. I want to give her a pass for just looking so happy and cute though. She’s adorable in this very simple black dress paired with silver jewelry. What was she thinking with those purple shoes?

Matthew McConaughey’s squeeze Camila Alves had her pose on in a navy blue polka dot retro-style dress. She used to be a model, so I guess that could explain her sourpuss face. I love the dress, hair and makeup. The shoes and purse aren’t my favorite.

Erika Christensen of “Parenthood” looked really drab. I love her on that show, she’s one of my favorite actresses. What happened to her here? I wear more makeup and do more to my hair to go to the store on a daily basis. She’s a Scientologist I’m sorry to say, but she was raised in it. Also, here’s her date:

In contrast, Gillian Jacobs from another one of my shows, “Community,” was way overdone. The bottom half of that dress would be cute with a nice solid color panel at the top, but the contrasting patterns and colors are just ridiculous. Paired with that makeup and poofy hair and she looks unhinged.

Amber Heard, Johnny Depp’s costar in the upcoming Rum Diaries, was a study in color. I’m perplexed at how an otherwise gorgeous girl can pair a form-fitting pepto pink dress with matte scarlet lips, brown eyeshadow, too-yellow hair and black t-strap heels and end up looking like this. It’s like all the lovely parts are there, but they don’t work together.

Elizabeth Olsen wore a silver tent-like Calvin Klein gown. It doesn’t do much for her, but I love how genuinely happy she looks here, and her makeup is so striking.

Abigail Breslin is still only 15! I can’t believe it, as I had to look it up and assumed she was 17-something by now. She had on a very tasteful loose orange dot dress paired with a canary colored clutch and nude heels. She’s wearing too much makeup for her age, but she looks cute here.

Naomi Watts in a nude-colored v-neck gown. The color washes her out, but she looks so hot. I love her hair and makeup, except her mascara is really clumpy. That’s happened to me when I let a makeup counter person do my mascara. I expect Naomi had something similar happen with her makeup artist.

photo credit: Juan Rico/Fame Pictures

These are some new photos of Naomi Watts last night at the opening of that new ballet – the one Paul McCartney wrote the music for. I really, really love Naomi’s “suit”. All too often, when women do the white-suit thing, I think they look a bit Tom Wolfe-ish. But this is just the right balance – great white pants, and this awesome little vest. It’s sexy, it’s sophisticated, it’s smart, it’s appropriate. Lovely. The only thing I dislike is how buddy-buddy she seems with Jessica Seinfeld. WTF?

In other Naomi news, she covers the new issue of More Magazine, and in the interview, she discusses her relationship with Heath Ledger. They dated for several years, circa 2002-2004. Then he got with Michelle Williams right after Naomi. Naomi has discussed Heath before – notably, in a Parade interview in 2009 – but she’s not trotting out his corpse for every interview, which I appreciate.

Naomi Watts has opened up about her ex Heath Ledger saying the late actor was a ‘very special soul’ who ‘made a great impact on my life.’ The 43-year-old actress – who is currently promoting her movies Dream House and J Edgar – dated the Australian star for nearly two years. Their relationship ended in 2004 and he died four years later at the age of 28. Although they were dating different people at the time of his death Watts has fond memories of the Brokeback Mountain star.

‘Good times,’ Watts tells America’s More magazine when asked about Ledger. ‘We had a beautiful relationship, only a couple of years, but he was a man who was completely full of joy, and there was a lot of laughing and affection. He was really a very special soul and made a great impact on my life. And a great actor, but I know there was so much more to come. And it’s such a tragedy for his little daughter.’

Ledger went on to date actress Michelle Williams, with whom he had a child, Matilda who turns six in October. Ironically, Watts – who has two sons with her boyfriend Liev Schreiber – lost her father when she was just seven.

Peter Watts was a sound engineer and road manager for rock group Pink Floyd. He died when she was a little girl and seven years later the actress moved from the UK where she was born to live in Australia with her mum, stepfather and brother.

Asked how the death of her father impacted her life, Watts is at first cagey, saying: ‘I don’t talk about him.’

According to the reporter she later says in an e-mail: ‘It’s too personal. Forgive me…’

But Watts eventually comments in another e-mail sent two weeks after the original interview.

She wrote: ‘Not knowing my father always made me feel like a piece of myself was missing or unknown. Not reachable. And growing up, there was this wondering what he would think of me or what I would think of him.’

Now the mother of two sons – Alexander, four, and Samuel, two – Watts is very clear about the legacy she wants to leave her children.

‘I want them to feel connected to me and me to them,’ she says. ‘Always. I want them, above all, to feel sure of who they are. That they are safe in the world and confident and happy people. And of course, connected – to their parents, their friends, their family, the world and themselves. This is the most important goal/dream in my life. Everything else is gravy.’

Aside from talking about her personal life, Watts also reveals that she has a ‘bawdy’ sense of humour.

‘Bawdy’ is apparently the word that actress Nicole Kidman used to describe her friend’s sense of fun.

Watts agrees, saying: ‘I do, I do. And it’s definitely heightened when I’m in the company of Australian women and a drink.’

[From The Mail]

I think Naomi was as classy as she could be. It would have been too hyper-dramatic for her to act all, “OH, I cannot discuss my great love Heath Ledger.” At the time of his death, they had both moved on and started families with other people, but for a time there, they were a surprisingly strong couple. I think she discussed Heath with a lot of maturity, and… I have to just say it and just get yelled at… I think Michelle Williams should take note of the way Naomi handled it. I get tired of how Michelle has actively allowed Heath’s death to define her. She (STILL) acts like they were still together when he died, and like she’s The Widow Ledger. Maybe that just bugs me, and I’m a raging bitch. But at the time of Heath’s death, he was spending his nights with Lohans and Olsens, and Michelle was rumored to have other lovers too.

Photos courtesy of Fame.

Betty Confidential has a new exclusive interview with Naomi Watts, in which she’s promoting her role as outed CIA agent Valerie Plame in the film Fair Game. I thought this movie was out and gone already, but I guess that’s because it’s been shown at several film festivals. It’s out in the US on November 5. As part of her preparation for the role, Watts had to go through actual CIA special agent training and she says it was grueling and she didn’t get any leeway. The way she described it reminded me of that Colin Farrel movie The Recruit, where his character goes through CIA training and thinks it’s a drill at first when his girlfriend (or colleague, I can’t recall) is kidnapped but then believes that it’s real by the end. Those scenes were pretty brutal from what I remember. Watts probably got the “light” version, but she says it was incredibly challenging although they gave her breaks to nurse her son every few hours. She had to watch videos of people being murdered and even suffered a little abuse. In this interview, Watts also talks a little about her home life with partner Liev Schreiber and their sons. While she shares a bit she’s very low-key about it, as is typical for her.

You went through real CIA training. How tough was it while breastfeeding?
The first half an hour, they showed a video of people being killed in the most gruesome ways just so you would get used to it. The next thing I knew they had me handcuffed with my hands behind my back and thrown into a truck. My job was to get out alive.

So no pampering for the movie star?
I was allowed to have my baby every few hours to feed him, but it was clear that they were going to be mean the rest of the time. The minute my director Doug walked out, they kicked me in the shins and threw me to the ground. When I winced, I was warned, “Don’t say ‘ow’ again unless you need to go to the hospital.” I did incredible things I would never wish to do like setting off explosives, ramming cars without a seatbelt on and fighting. I couldn’t be even a little bit soft. I did one thing I’m not even allowed to talk about with you. They didn’t want anyone to know what people in the CIA are trained to do.

Is there an extra responsibility when it’s a true story and the woman you’re playing is on the set?
When you play someone who is a true, living person, it definitely ups the ante. The pressure is tenfold. Everyone in America is familiar with this story. I just wanted to tell it as truthfully as possible.

Valerie didn’t hide out after her identity was released. Could you believe that she didn’t just disappear?
The thing about Valerie that you learn very quickly is that she doesn’t wear her heart on her sleeve. She’s not an emotionally driven person. She was a brilliant covert agent, so she’s quiet and reserved. Nothing broke her as an agent and having her identity revealed didn’t break her. She’s not a victim or a martyr. She just formulates a plan and deals with things.

Did Valerie have a soft side?
I never got to see her with her kids, but she talked about them endlessly. She came into my hotel room in Cannes and she was such a natural mother. My kids were there and they don’t really pay attention to anyone unless they’re holding some fantastic toy. They did pay attention to Valerie. She’s commanding.

How do you and Liev combine work and a private life?
We are just a normal couple. We like to walk around the city with the kids and go to the beach on vacation. At home, we do talk about our work. I help him and he helps me.

Do the kids ever worry when you do dangerous movie scenes?
I’m filming The Impossible with Ewan McGregor. It’s another true story based on the tsunami. This was quite different because now the boys see Mommy in a very bad position. I had to explain that my “owies” were just pretend. I had to take fake blood and put it on the boys. They loved their fake owies.

[From Betty Confidential]

That’s cute that she let her kids try the fake blood and they liked it! Naomi is mom to sons Sasha, 3, and Sammy, who turns 2 in December. I’m really curious to know more about how she was trained, and maybe some of it will be shown in the film. Fair Game is getting very positive reviews, and is currently at an 88% aggregate rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I hope it’s a box office success as well.

Here’s a trailer for Fair Game. It looks good and this trailer is better than an earlier version that was out.

Many of you may be too young to remember the halcyon days of the mid-1990s, but that is when I was growing up and first becoming obsessed with celebrity culture. And around that time – say 1995, just to pick a year out of the air – there was no one bigger than Cindy Crawford. She was like, the biggest supermodel in the world, EVER. Everyone went on and on about Cindy. You had to have an opinion about Cindy. You had to know that Cindy was actually a model who was SMART, and nice, and she and Richard Gere were for real and there was never, ever a GERBIL, okay? Anyway, that year, 1995, was when Cindy’s film debut came out, a little film called Fair Game. It also starred Billy Baldwin and Salma Hayek (!). Well… the film was a disaster. Everyone hated it and everyone started making fun of Cindy because she’s a terrible actress and soon after that, Cindy and Richard Gere split up and Cindy was still an in-demand model but there was definitely an asterisk by her name: *can’t act for sh-t, isn’t so smart after all.

Long story short, some genius decided to make another movie called Fair Game, and unfortunately for all of us, it’s not a remake. This Fair Game, which comes out later this year, is about the Valerie Plame saga, where Plame, an undercover CIA agent, was outed by Bush Administration officials after Plame’s husband, Ambassador Joe Wilson, was out-spoken of his criticism towards the march to war in Iraq. Basically, it’s a story of war, politics, influence, the media, ethics, terrorism, betrayal, espionage, and a marriage. So why does it look kind of boring? I have to admit, though, I like seeing Sean Penn like this – clean-cut and in a suit. He looks nice. Naomi Watts… um… did she jack her face with something?

Okay, here’s my problem, and I’m about to talk about politics, so whatever. It’s a political film, so it’s right there. I get that Naomi and Sean look like the real Plame and Wilson, but this casting is making me itch. The real Plame is still, in my mind, a very sympathetic figure, a competent and intelligent woman who did her job and got taken down by powerful men and a not-so sympathetic husband. Naomi is simply too wispy and fragile… girlish, I guess. I don’t like the way she’s playing Plame. As for Sean – well, he’s an a–hole playing an a–hole. Maybe that’s brilliant, maybe it’s type-casting, maybe Sean is a legend in his own mind playing a man who is like-minded. I don’t know – I would like to see a different version of Joe Wilson, honestly. Tom Hanks would have been interesting.

Back in April, there were some rumors flying around that Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber were on the verge of splitting up. The reports at the time seemed to indicate that Liev was kind of douche, and that Naomi was tired of dealing with him. They have two young sons, and the whole thing was kind of sad, although both seemed to make an effort to deny that they were having problems, and they stayed together for the time being. I theorized at the time that if someone wanted to start a rumor about Schreiber and his Broadway costar Scarlett Johansson, I would be up for it. Anyway, long story short, the “impending breakup” rumors have started anew. The NYDN claims that Liev has flown to Tahiti to get some space while he considers their relationship.

When there is trouble in paradise, head to another one. That seems to be Liev Schreiber’s plan.

A source close to the actor says Schreiber took an early-morning flight yesterday out of Newark to Palm Beach, where he boarded a private plane to Tahiti for “about a week.”

Schreiber is traveling with friends, but the source says one purpose of the trip is to contemplate the state of his five-year relationship with Australian actress Naomi Watts, who will soon portray CIA spy Valerie Plame on the big screen in “Fair Game.”

According to the source, Schreiber, who has two sons with Watts, is technically “together” with the blond beauty, and the couple have appeared in public frequently, most recently at the Tony Awards and a Shakespeare in the Park gala.

But, the source adds, the two have not been getting along lately and Schreiber has decided he needs some space from tensions at home.

Schreiber, who stars alongside Angelina Jolie in the spy flick “Salt” next month, was scheduled to be in Cancun for the big-budget blockbuster’s press junket.

But our insider says the actor is skipping the publicity-go-round for some free time away from work and family, to “sort things out mentally.”

A rep for Schreiber calls our story “ridiculous,” saying: “Liev went on a diving trip with a group of friends, and his boys are too young to go.”

But isn’t that what nannies are for?

[From The New York Daily News]

Hm… I don’t know. I would like to think that they’re very solid, but I’m honestly surprised that they’ve made it work thus far. They’re two working actors, and they both work constantly. Back in April, there was a theory that Schreiber didn’t like being with someone more famous than him, but I don’t know. People know who he is, don’t they? I’ve always liked him as an actor too – and I find him sexy. But will I still like him if he dumps Naomi? Eh. His image might take a hit. But he’s never billed himself as Mr. Family-Friendly, so I think he’ll be okay.

Header: Liev and Naomi at the Tonys on June 13, 2010. Credit: WENN.

Naomi Watts is the cover girl for the new issue of Blackbook Magazine, and these are all of the photos from Blackbook’s site. The theme seems to be “dominatrix lite” which kind of works for Naomi, surprisingly. I always think she’s so pretty, but she seems so delicate and fragile, I wouldn’t have chosen any sort of whips and leather props. Anyway, the interview (full piece here) is very interesting if you’re a fan. Naomi talks about her early struggles, and she’s rather brutally honest about how she feels like she’s “failing” at balancing motherhood and work. Here are the best excerpts:

Naomi on motherhood and balance: “Every single day, I second-guess myself as a mother. I chose to be a mom. It’s something I’ve always wanted, but I feel torn between two worlds. I am not reaching the same depths and heights that I used to reach in movies because I’m a parent of two small children who desperately need me. It’s frustrating because I feel like I’m failing a bit on both ends.”

On possibly having more kids: “I would love to have an endless brood of children. I grew up in chaos. I feel comfortable in chaos. Whether or not I’ll ever adopt remains to be seen, but I totally believe in adoption.”

On fame: “I never get recognized. I’ve literally had people come up to me and say, ‘You look just like that actress Naomi Watts.’ And when I’m with Liev, who is so unmistakably him, girls will push past me shrieking, ‘Is that the guy from Scream?’”

Working with Sean Penn for the third time, in this fall‘s Fair Game: “I was so nervous the first time I had to share a scene with him. Now it’s like, let’s get on with it already!”

On working with Woody Allen: “Woody has this reputation of not talking to his actors, but we never stopped talking. I kept thinking, Does this mean he’s never going to work with me again?”

On her early days as a model: “I was never a model. With good lighting, I could pass, but I never had that fashion edge, that je ne sais quoi.”

On early rejections: “I wasn’t used to going around from person to person, and being rejected by everyone based on the way I looked. It’s not the same as getting turned down for a job at the bank. It’s so personal.” When I suggest that perhaps it was a gift—suitable preparation for what she would next encounter in Hollywood—Watts looks down at her empty soup bowl. “No,” she says, shaking her head. “Nothing prepares you for that.”

On moving to LA: “As soon I got to L.A., I remember some guy at a bar being like, ‘I work in TV and I can get you a show.’ It just felt grotesque,” she says and then adds, joking, “In retrospect, maybe I shouldn’t have slept with him!”

Naomi met a lot of skeezes: “There was a very powerful agent, whose name I won’t mention, who took me to dinner one night to discuss working with me,” she says. “It seemed weird, but I thought maybe it was how things were done. He kept asking me if I had a boyfriend, and then insisted on driving me home where he tried to kiss me. I felt mortified, stupid and totally bamboozled.”

Naomi denies every working for Nicole Kidman: “That was never, ever the case. I wasn’t even her assistant. I stayed with Nic for a few days during the week that she and Tom split up, but that was it—nothing more than a case of broken telephone. But there were times when I thought, Shit, I’d love to earn some money not doing anything.”

Being desperate to work: “I was so afraid of judgment that I had diluted myself into an intense ball of nothingness and neediness. I was so desperate to please everyone: You want funny? I’ll be really funny! You want sexy? I’ll be sexier than you could ever imagine!”

On the Blackbook photo shoot: “I can’t put that on,” she says, apologetic but unwavering in her refusal to wear a Coco de Mer horsetail belt. “I’ve got two kids. I can’t be doing this bestiality stuff.”

Doing full-frontal nudity: “I’ve never done full-frontal nudity before,” she says. “It was so hard for me to do that. I had just had a baby, so my body was completely different. But I thought that if I was going to play this ballsy woman, I needed to go for it. Someone in the crew tipped off the paparazzi and now there are photos of me on that website—what’s it called—Perez Hilton. Isn’t that awful?”

[From Blackbook Magazine]

That sucks about her naked photos. I must have missed them, because I don’t remember that being a thing at all…? Plus, Naomi has done nudity in other films too – memorably in Mulholland Drive and 21 Grams. After I saw Naomi in 21 Grams, I actually decided to stop watching her films for a while. Not that she was bad in it – she was very good – but she just plays such depressing characters, it’s like I’m suicidal after watching a Watts film. But then, the other day, I caught Eastern Promises on TV, and I ended up liking her again. She’s not even that great in the film, but Viggo Mortensen blew me away… sigh. VIGGO! Anyway, I am looking forward to Fair Game, so I’m sure I’ll see it in the theatres. That’s the one where Naomi plays Valerie Plame. Interesting factoid: Julia Roberts wanted to play Plame, but they gave it to Naomi. Chuckle.

Photos courtesy of Blackbook online.

Yikes! One of my favorite undercover couples may be on the verge of splitting up! A very, very gossipy “source” close to Liev Schreiber and Naomi Watts went to Radar and basically wouldn’t shut up about all of the problems they’re having. Naomi and Liev have two sons together – Alexander (or Sasha) who will be three years old in July, and Samuel (Sammy), who is about 16 months old. Liev and Naomi have been together since the spring of 2005, and although I really thought they were married, it looks like they never did make it official. Naomi admited last year that Liev had given her a ring, but that they weren’t too concerned with getting hitched.

As far as Radar’s source, and whether or not this source is just talking out of his or her ass (I think it’s a her, because the source seems to be identifying with Naomi and bashing Liev), I’ll let you be the judge. I think there might be something here, though:

Rumors have been swirling for years about whether Liev Schreiber and Naomi Watts are married or not. But it seems that any speculation surrounding their relationship could soon be moot, as a source tells RadarOnline.com exclusively that the New York based couple, who have two sons together, are going through a rough patch.

“Liev is kind of arrogant and snobby,” a source close to the situation tells RadarOnline.com. “And it grates on him that Naomi has the higher profile, bigger, better career and higher earnings.

“Despite the rumors that are out there, they are not married, and they haven’t talked marriage plans in a good two years.”

“They’ve already been through two real relationship crisis’s, in January 2008 when Heath Ledger died and then last Spring/Summer time, and they came extremely close to splitting but they decided to go to couples’ counseling and work it out for the sake of the kids. When Heath died it really rocked Naomi’s world and she totally withdrew. Liev just isn’t the kind of guy who will hold Naomi’s hand to get her through a tough period. Instead he acts like he doesn’t need the relationship and can walk out at anytime. But he better be careful because if he keeps it up he could lose Naomi and I do think that would devastate him.”

“But, it looks like they’re slowly deteriorating, and finding themselves back in a bad place once again. Basically, it’s a total clash of the egos between the two of them. It’s always tough to make a relationship work when it’s between an actor and actress. Both tend to be self-obsessed to a degree, and Naomi and Liev fit that description to a T.”

“Liev would like Naomi to take more of a back seat when it comes to her career, he wants to be the major star and breadwinner and he would like her to be more of a stay at home mom. But Naomi knows that her movie making days are running out fast and she wants to capitalize on her looks and fame while she still can – while she’s still young enough.”

“Plus she loves being an actress, and loves the validation she gets from the fans and the critics. They’re kind of in a no win situation and basically at a stalemate, neither side wants to budge or compromise. I really don’t see how they are going to work this one out and reach a resolution that keeps both sides happy.”

“I know for a fact that if they didn’t have the kids they would of split a long time ago. It seems that now, the only thing holding them together is their two sons, who they both love very dearly. Unfortunately, it seems that they no longer love each other very dearly though.”

[From Radar]

I always wondered how Liev felt about his girlfriend/partner being so devastated at the loss of her former boyfriend. I have no doubt that Naomi was distraught when Heath died, and I also would think that Liev’s ego would take a hit. Still, I like them so much as a couple, and I really want to believe that Liev can handle his girlfriend’s fame and career, and that he’s wants a partnership of equals. Maybe not though.

Quite honestly, my first thoughts when I skimmed the article for the first time was that Liev was screwing around. My first guess was Angelina Jolie – Jolie and Schreiber worked together last year on Salt, but the tabloid gossip about any hookup between them ended pretty quickly. Now, Liev has been on Broadway with Scarlett Johansson the past few months… what do you think? I little ScarJo-Liev action? That would be juicy. And tragic. But juicy!

Here’s Liev and ScarJo. It could be happening:

And here are some cute photos of Liev with his sons, out and about in New York on Friday. Those boys really take after their mom, don’t they?

Naomi Watts is rumored to have signed on to play Valerie Plame, the CIA operative who was outed in 2003 by, as it turns out, Karl Rove, Scooter Libby and Colin Powell’s deputy at State, Richard Armitage. Her outing lead to a federal prosecutor (Patrick Fitzgerald) being named to investigate the crime. Scooter Libby, Vice President Cheney’s aide, ended up indicted, prosecuted, sentenced and commuted for federal charges of obstruction of justice and perjury. All of this because her husband, former ambassador Joe Wilson wrote an editorial questioning pre-Iraq War intelligence in the spring of 2003.

The film is tentatively titled Fair Game. This is because several people in the Bush administration (like Libby) called journalists and outed Plame, saying “Joe Wilson’s wife is fair game.” For months, the name I kept hearing for casting Ambassador Joe Wilson was Tom Hanks, but now it looks like Sean Penn is interested. Variety has more:

“Fair Game,” the drama about the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson, has come together with Naomi Watts starring, “Mrs. and Mrs. Smith” helmer Doug Liman directing and William Pohlad’s River Road financing.

But the big question is whether Oscar-winning “Milk” star Sean Penn will close a deal to play Ambassador Joseph Wilson.

Penn is negotiating, but no deal has closed. Pohlad has a strong relationship with Penn: he was a producer on the Terrence Malick-directed “Tree of Life,” which stars Penn and Brad Pitt, and Pohlad also was a producer and financier for “Into the Wild,” which Penn directed.

Wilson watched his wife’s CIA status become compromised after he wrote op-ed columns that accused the Bush Administration of manipulating intelligence about weapons of mass destruction to justify the invasion of Iraq.

The project, based on Plame Wilson’s memoir, landed at Pohlad’s River Road after Warner Bros. put the project in turnaround. Pic is being produced by Weed Road’s Akiva Goldsman and Jerry and Janet Zucker of Zucker Productions.

Plame Wilson left the CIA in 2005 and she and her husband filed a civil suit against Vice President Dick Cheney, Karl Rove and Cheney’s ex-chief of staff, Lewis “Scooter” Libby. While Rove and Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage admitted they leaked her agency status to journalists, Libby was convicted of lying to a federal grand jury about his role in compromising her covert status.

Then-President George W. Bush commuted Libby’s 30-month sentence in 2007, but stopped short of granting him a full pardon, despite aggressive lobbying by Cheney before Bush left the White House in January.

From Variety

Sean Penn playing Joe Wilson makes me queasy. If the producers wanted to actually create sympathy for Wilson, they should have gone with Tom Hanks, but maybe Hanks wasn’t interested. Hanks actually looks like Wilson, and I fear Penn will bring too much political baggage to the role. Although, to be fair, Wilson really isn’t all that sympathetic (in my opinion).

Valerie Plame, a CIA operative who worked on nuclear proliferation matters in the Middle East while undercover as a State Department employee, was always the sympathetic one. Her career was destroyed. Naomi Watts is actually great casting – she looks a lot like Plame, and Naomi is a great actress. The first actress who was mentioned for Plame was… Julia Roberts. Now, that would have been horrible casting.

Now comes the guessing game for the rest of the cast. Who will play Richard Armitage, the big, bald Marine turned diplomat turned gossip? You know who would be great? Bruce Willis, I kid you not. And what about Libby? Maybe Chris Cooper. Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald will be hard to cast though… I have no idea who would be good for that.

Note by Celebitchy: Watts has just been publicly announced as the newest addition to Woody Allen’s unnamed new project – which will also star Freida Pinto in her first post-Slumdog role.

Valerie Plame is shown testifying before the US House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Capitol Hill on 6/13/07. She is also shown with her husband, Joe Wilson, at an event on 10/9/06. Joe Wilson is also shown on 10/31/05. Naomi Watts is shown on 2/9/09 outside The Late Show. Credit: WENN