Penelope Cruz has dated some of the most famous leading men in Hollywood, including Tom Cruise and Matthew McConaughey, but has somehow managed to escape settling down with any of them for too long. Now, sources say her under-the-radar romance with recent Oscar winning actor Javier Bardem is really heating up. The couple met while filming a Woody Allen movie together last summer. They were photographed back in October taking a romantic vacation together, and have been occasionally snapped by paparazzi walking together, but neither of them will comment on the relationship. Since Javier’s career exploded after his star-making performance in “No Country For Old Men,” the couple have had to work a lot harder to keep their relationship under wraps.

Penelope Cruz doesn’t want to publicly show off her relationship with Javier Bardem, but he’s showing her off to his family. Cruz, who was snapped with Bardem’s mom after the Oscars, threw a private party for her trophy-toting beau at Villa on Sunday night. Bardem’s family flew in from Spain to meet Cruz and partied with the couple - along with the Oscar-winning Coen brothers - at the West Hollywood hot spot. One onlooker told us, “He took Penelope for a spin on the dance floor in front of all his family. It’s getting pretty serious.”

[From Page Six]

Friends say Penelope is the one who is trying maintain privacy, after her previous relationships with Cruise and McConaughey were splashed across tabloids and ended so publicly. Penelope and Javier both attended the Oscars this year, but walked the red carpet separately- Javier told interviewers his date for the evening was his mom. The next day, photos emerged of Penelope and Javier trying to sneak away after the ceremony in the same car.

Penelope doesn’t have much of a long-term track record, but I am rooting for this couple. They are just gorgeous, and they both have that exotic flavor in common. I bet they’d have adorable babies.

Note by Celebitchy: Here’s Penelope Cruz out with Javier Bardem’s mom after the Oscars. When I saw these pictures I thought “Wait until she marries that guy, she’ll be fighting with his mom in no time.”

you can watch the video on the website for Ellen’s show
Ellen Degeneres was emotional and in tears on her talk show again– only this time, it was over a situation much more distressing than an adopted puppy.

Ellen spoke out on her show about the recent murder of a gay high school student. The boy was shot in the head by another student after he ask him to be his Valentine.

Ellen DeGeneres took a rare political stance – though she was careful to call it a personal stance, because, she said, “this is important to me” – on her show scheduled to air Friday, regarding the murder of 15-year-old Lawrence King, shot in the head on Feb. 12 by a classmate in a suburban Oxnard, Calif., junior high school.

King was killed because he had asked another boy to be his Valentine, DeGeneres reminded her audience about the news story that sent shockwaves across the country.

As the 50-year-old show host, emphasized, “To be gay you can get killed for it … we need to change the message.”

Choking back tears, she added, “Larry is not a second-class citizen. I am not a second-class citizen. It is okay if you are gay.”

DeGeneres said the country must change the subtext of hatred aimed at certain groups as is found in jokes, movies, speeches and other elements of the culture. “All of it is unacceptable,” she said. “Laughing at someone because he’s gay is just the start of it.”

Noting that change is on the minds of people this political season, DeGeneres said, “We can do it with our behavior … Fight hate.”

[From People]

I can’t understand why anyone would feel the need to kill another human being because of their sexual orientation. It just makes no sense to me. I keep hoping that our society has evolved enough that this sort of behavior would be a thing of the past, but then another story like this comes out and proves me wrong. My heart goes out to Larry’s family. I can’t even imagine what they are going through.

You can see the video of Ellen talking about the incident here.

Note by Celebitchy: This made me tear up too. I love how Ellen says you should vote for someone who is going to treat us all equal.

Brad Pitt showed off a new crew cut in Texas yesterday for his role in the film Tree of Life Sean Penn. According to Variety, Heath Ledger was at one point attached to the role, but it was offered to Pitt in early December, before Ledger’s death. The plot synopsis on IMDB is empty for this film, and I couldn’t find any more details about the story. It’s written and directed by Terrence Malick.

It’s being filmed in Smithville, Texas, and The Austin American Statesman notes that Angelina has been seen in the town of Barstrop nearby looking for a chef for her family.

Queen of Hollywood Angelina Jolie has been spotted around Bastrop, according to several credible reports.

The actress has also been polling local chefs for a cook to service the Brangelina crew while her partner, Brad Pitt, is making “The Tree of Life” in nearby Smithville. Filming on the Terrence Malick movie is scheduled to start Monday.

[From Statesman.com via US Weekly]

Maybe we know now why Pitt was growing out his hair while cultivating that 70s look for a few weeks. He needed enough on top for his character’s goofy cut. I think he looks better than he did with the floppy hair though.

Thanks to Splash News for these photos.

The Daily Mail had these humorous photos of Justin Timberlake in the upcoming comedy The Love Guru, which stars Mike Myers and also features Jessica Alba and Romany Malco. Myers plays a goofy Indian spiritual guru while Timberlake is an athlete who tries too hard to be sexy. Here’s the plot synopsis:

Pitka (Meyers) an American raised outside of his country by gurus, returns to the States in order to break into the self-help business. His first challenge: To settle the romantic troubles and subsequent professional skid of a star hockey player (Malco) whose wife left him for a rival athlete (Timberlake).

[From IMDB]

There are rumors that Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel are on the rocks because they don’t have time to see each other with their busy careers. For now it sounds like speculation as the story I read about it wasn’t well sourced. Timberlake was also recently spotted out having lunch with Kate Hudson, but it’s possible they’re just friends.

Here’s the trailer for The Love Guru. It was co-written by Mike Myers and directed by Marco Schnabel. It looks a lot like Austin Powers, which was also written by Myers and directed by Schnabel. I never thought those films were particularly funny, but a lot of people love Austin Powers, and this will probably be a hit.

The Love Guru is out in the US on June 20.

New mom Nicole Richie is in talks to star as the lead in the Broadway musical Chicago, according to US Magazine. She has a lot on her plate right now with 6-week-old baby Harlow she told People Magazine that she has a perfume, maternity line, children’s line, and a jewelry line in the works. Sources tell US Magazine that she’s considering the role:

Nicole Richie has been offered the lead role of Roxie Hart in the Broadway production of Chicago, Us Weekly reports exclusively in its latest issue, on newsstands now.

Richie, 26, who welcomed daughter Harlow with Joel Madden on Jan. 12, is undecided.

“She’s definitely interested and weighing it out with the timing of the baby,” a Richie pal tells Us. “It is in the super early stages of discussions and no decision has been made yet.”

“It would give her a reason to really show her talent and to stay in the new place in NY Joel just got,” the source says. “It also shows people are really excited about Nicole right now.”

[From US Weekly]

Chicago originally ran on Broadway in 1975 for 936 performances. It has been running since 1996 in its current form, making it the longest running musical revival on Broadway.

Ashlee Simpson drew praise for her post nose job performance as Roxie Hart in London’s West End in the fall of 2006.

Other celebrities to play the role of Roxie Hart include Brooke Shields, Lisa Rinna, Melanie Griffith, Bebe Neuwirth and Rita Wilson. [Details from Wikipedia]

Richie is best known for reality television and showing up for stuff so can she act, sing and dance? She might be able to sing.

I remember hearing a song she did called Dandelion. She has a good voice and it doesn’t sound too heavily remastered. This is a cover from a few years back, and features photos of Richie set to the song. It’s not a video for the song.

Richie is shown out at the Opening Celebration of the Broad Contemporary Art Museum on 2/9/08, thanks to PRPhotos.

- New pictures of Jamie Lynn Spears & her uncle says she was unplanned too [DListed]
- Rihanna in Paris [Bossip]
- Drunken Oscar moments [Pajiba]
- Kirstie Alley couldn’t afford to get her hair blown out at the salon [Celebslam]
- Mary-Kate Olsen wearing giant bug glasses [yeeeah]
- Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo at a Celtics game [I’m Not Obsessed]
- Gsbrielle Union on the beach making terrible faces [Bastardly]
- Courteney Cox at the “Dirt” premiere [ICYDK]
- Would you rather sleep with Lohan or Paris? (site NSFW) [Drunken Stepfather]
- Britney Spears still dressing inappropriately, gets to see her boys again [Hollywood Rag]
- Kelly Osbourne drunk [Seriously? OMG! WTF?]
- NME Awards declare Pete Doherty hero of the year [Agent Bedhead]
- Iron Man trailer in HD [The Blemish]
- Arctic Monkeys lead singer Alex Turner took care of his girlfriend Alexa Chung when she puked right before he was supposed to perform at the NME Awards [Crazy Days and Nights]
- What happened to James Franco? [Evil Beet]
- Ellen Page is going to play a lesbian werewolf in a new movie. [Glitterati]
- Tom Brady to be an underwear model for Calvin Klein [Derek Hail
- Tilda Swinton’s Oscar bling [popbytes]
- American Idol Amanda Overmyer had a DUI in 2006 [Right Celebrity]