George Clooney is not going to let his girlfriend’s web-based mini scandal get in the way of a good premiere. He posed jokingly with his relatively long-lasting love, Sarah Larson, 29, on the red carpet at the premiere of his new film, Leatherheads last night. Humor author A.J. Jacobs interviewed Clooney for last month’s issue of Esquire, and their entire session consisted of Jacobs showing Clooney the criticism and sites about him on the Internet. Clooney was really low-key and mildly amused by all the crap about him online, and you can bet he got a kick out of those drunken photos of his girlfriend. Compared to the other photos on the photographer’s site, which include a lot of wasted topless women making out, the photos of Larson on all fours and sort-of bikini wrestling weren’t that bad.

Clooney has been tirelessly promoting Leatherheads, which is out in the US on April 4. He has an interview in this week’s Life & Style that includes a lot of his deadpan witty comments, like saying he likes to wear women’s clothing and shoes. He also told a funny story about how he embarrassed designer Georgio Armani by wearing one of his suits until it started looking beat. Armani sent him a new one and told him to either wear it or not credit him with designing that old thing:

Are you into fashion?
It’s not that important to me. I’ve worn the same tux so long that Georgio Armani actually sent me a new one and said, “Please either wear this or stop saying you’re wearing Armani, because it’s frayed.” I’ve basically worn this sweater for three days. It’s easier for men than for women.

Do you have sympathy for women’s fashion woes?
I do wear a lot of women’s clothes. The thing is the pumps. I have Manolos in size 11 ^1/2. They’re hard on your calves.

[From Life & Style, print edition, April 7, 2008]

As for whether he dated Renee Zellweger, to which he said “a little bit” when asked, Clooney said he was joking and that comment was overblown, but he got in trouble with Zellweger for it. He says “No” when asked if it’s true that they dated a little.

Is it true that you and Renee Zellweger dated a little?
No. Someone went through a list of girls I supposedly dated. I replied. “Yes, no, yes, no, no, never heard of her, a little bit,” as a joke. If you take the list and what I said together, it looks like I said “a little bit” about Renee. She later said to me, “A little bit?” I was like, uh-oh, I’m in trouble.

[From Life & Style, print edition, April 7, 2008]

I still think they had something going on, though.

Leatherheads is a football comedy set in the 1920s and it’s getting mixed reviews. We’ll have to see how it does at the box office.

Zellwegger looks really good at the premiere in LA last night. Her face isn’t all bright red or ghostly looking and that’s a great vintage-cut dress. Also shown are John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer. I love Jenna Fischer, she seems so down to earth. Thanks to PRPhotos for these pictures.

Remember how Brad Pitt said last year that he had a custom 9 foot wide bed made to fit all his kids? He said it was “Just big enough. One more and we’ll have to go to 11 feet.”

The Jolie-Pitts have a giant custom bed in their rented compound in Cedar Creek, Texas outside of Austin, and it sounds bigger than their last bed. It was custom built for the professional wrestler the Undertaker who owns the home and the bedroom had to be built super big to create enough space for the bed. It sounds like they’ll have enough room for the two more than Angelina is rumored to be expecting. What’s more is that there’s a big old wrestling ring in their house:

“The best part of the house is a separate gym area with a real [World Wrestling Entertainment] ring in it,” contractor Ron Charlies, who worked on the home’s construction, tells Life & Style. “I’m sure Brad and the kids horse around in it.”

There’s plenty of space for dad Brad and mom Angelina Jolie )who’s more than five months pregnant) in the four-bedroom ranch, which Brad and Angelina are renting in Cedar Creek from its owner, the pro wrestler known as Undertaker. “The master bedroom is 28 feet by 48 feet,” says Charles. “It’s bigger than most houses here. It wasn’t that big originally, but Undertaker wanted a huge special bed, so we had to make the room a lot larger to accommodate it.”

[From In Touch, print edition, April 7, 2008]

Brad and Angelina were said to have chosen the estate due to the relative privacy and the fact that it was set off from the road, but I bet that giant bed was a selling point too. Can you imagine Maddox jumping around in the wrestling ring? That contractor is probably right that their kids enjoy playing on it.

I toured one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s homes that he designed and lived in outside of Chicago and it had a big playroom for his kids with a huge vaulted ceiling. That’s only tangentially related since Pitt toured one of Wright’s houses with Angelina, but you could see him having huge rooms built just for his kids to play in. In this case the house already came with one, you just need to watch your kids carefully to make sure they’re not jumping off the sides and body slamming each other.

Brad and Angelina are shown biking with their kids in New Orleans on 12/22/07, thanks to Splash News. The picture below is a scan from In Touch.

We reported that a New Kids on the Block reunion was in the works on Jan. 28 - a full two days before People Magazine “broke” the story. A lot of people didn’t believe it, but now it’s happening: the members of the late-80s/early 90s boy band will be appearing together for a performance on the Today Show- this Friday. Commence screaming, ladies!

Looks like the Today show’s got the right stuff: All five original New Kids on the Block members – Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, Danny Wood and brothers Jordan and Jonathan Knight – will appear together in the morning show’s courtyard on April 4, a source tells PEOPLE.

After months of speculation, PEOPLE confirmed in January that the band is reuniting – just in time to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of their mega-hit album Hangin’ Tough. The group also recently updated its Web site, nkotb.com.

The boy band, which made legions of tweens swoon in the early ’90s, selling more than 50 million albums, became a worldwide phenomenon before calling it quits in 1994. Since then, the oldest “Kid,” Jonathan Knight, 39, retreated back to Boston to become a real estate developer. Former members Wahlberg, 38, and McIntyre, 35, have seen acting success, while Wood, 38, has worked as a music producer and Jordan Knight, 37, has continued to record.

[From People]

One thing that surprised me after the first story we ran on the Kids was the number of closet fans who still carry a torch for the guys. “Juno” screenwriter Diablo Cody wrote a funny column in Entertainment Weekly a while back about how many female hipsters, herself included, still had a thing for the band. True story: Jordan Knight once hit on me in a Boston bar- and he was terrible at it. He was rather drunk and kept staring at my chest while he spoke to me. I didn’t know who he was until after I turned him down, when my squealing girlfriends informed me of his identity as we were leaving. I stand by my decision– I read a couple of days later that he was engaged.

Move over, rehab. There’s a new fad among celebs- these days, you’re not anyone in Hollywood unless you’ve got your own personal, creepy stalker. Not one to be outdone by the likes of Tyra Banks, Pamela Anderson and Catherine Zeta Jones, “Say Anything” cutiepants John Cusack has a female stalker who likes to show up unannounced at his home. And no, she doesn’t stand outside holding a boom box over her head, playing Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes,” just in case you were wondering.

A woman who showed up Sunday outside John Cusack’s Malibu home — despite a restraining order barring her from approaching the actor — was arrested on suspicion of stalking, Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials said Monday.

Deputies were called to the 24000 block of Malibu Road about 7 p.m. Sunday after a cab driver reported that a passenger was refusing to pay a fare for a ride to that area.

As deputies approached the scene, they were flagged down by Cusack, who told them that he recognized the woman in the cab and that she had been stalking him.

Emily Leatherman, 33, was booked on suspicion of felony stalking, violating a restraining order and petty theft. Leatherman, who was booked at the Malibu-Lost Hills station, was being held in lieu of $150,000 bail, said sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore.

“She was arrested and had violated a previous restraining order taken out against her by Mr. Cusack,” Whitmore said.

[From the LA Times]

She didn’t have a car, so she took a cab to John’s home- even though she didn’t have cab fare! That’s dedication right there. The mug shot of this chick is really creepy; her eyes look totally dead. John, if you need someone to keep you company and make sure the scary lady doesn’t come back, I’d be happy to help. I’m an excellent markswoman, and I make a mean meat loaf. Call me!

This not an April Fool’s joke as far as I know, but I am one of those naive people who is easily fooled by jokes told with a straight face, which helps explain why I gossip for a living. Mr. T is said to have told Empire Magazine that he once visited a young boy in the 80s who was a huge fan and had fallen into a coma. The boy would make a movement whenever someone said “Mr. T,” so the tough actor arranged a visit to the boy’s hospital room - after which he miraculously woke up from the coma:

Former The A-Team star Mr. T once stunned a sick child’s family by bringing him out of a coma - after doctors begged the actor for help.

The poorly kid fell unconscious in Detroit, Michigan in the mid-1980s - and the only physical movement he made was in response to hearing Mr. T’s name.

And when the mohawked star was in town, he stopped by the hospital to visit the ill boy - with miraculous results.

He tells Empire magazine, “His family put toys around him and one of them was a Mr. T doll. And whenever my name came up, the boy moved his arm.

“Somebody told the doctors I was in town, so they called me down there. I closed the curtains and prayed. Then, as I was walking down the hall, the kid suddenly came out of the coma and hollered out.

[From WENN via ONTD]

Mr. T supposedly told this to Empire Magazine, and I searched and couldn’t find the interview on their website. It could be true that he said this though it might not have gone done like he claims. If anyone can bring someone out of a coma, it’s Mr. T.

Mr. T starred in a TV Land reality show in 2006 called “I Pity The Fool” in which he traveled from town to town giving people advice about communication. It aired for six episodes in the fall. A devout Christian, he got rid of his trademark chains out of respect to Hurricane Katrina victims and no longer wears them apart from commercial appearances when he needs to reprise his character. He would wear over a quarter million dollars worth of bling at one time.

Here in the Boston area, the number-one afternoon radio show is WBCN’s Toucher and Rich show, which gained popularity after the NYC duo Opie and Anthony were thrown off the air. Over the last couple of weeks, Toucher and Rich have been hosting their own version of March Madness, pitting stand-up comedians against each other and urging listeners to call in to vote for the least funny comedian. Boston’s own Dane Cook is set to be named the winner today, after a record number of local listeners called in to vote.

THERE’s nothing amusing about Dane Cook, according to fellow comics and two Boston radio personalities who are about to name him “The Unfunniest Comic” this afternoon.

WBCN jock Fred Toucher, who co-hosts a talk show with Rich Shertenlieb weekday afternoons in Boston, says Cook is the overwhelming favorite in a tournament patterned after NCAA basketball’s March Madness, where he’s ahead of Jay Leno, Jeff Foxworthy, Carlos Mencia and Paula Poundstone.

“We were talking about how people laugh out loud at nonsense and Dane is a good example of that,” Toucher told Page Six. “We’d listen to him and at the end of four minutes he’d change subjects, and that was it. We couldn’t figure out when the joke was.

“And he’s actually hated. People don’t hate others they way they do him. At least Foxworthy panders to rednecks. Dane’s stories are so weak you wouldn’t want to hear them over lunch.”

Cook, 36, has been accused of stealing jokes by Louis CK, Demetri Martin, Joe Rogan and others. And the big-headed comic is also known for his huge ego and his diva-like demands.

The star of such movie stinkers as “Employee of the Month” and “Good Luck Chuck” allegedly was also once tossed out of Smith & Wollensky steak house because he was so difficult. “His assistant ordered for him. He got a steak and sent it back three times,” said one employee. “The chef was furious. Eventually we told him enough is enough.”

And one insider on the set of the TBS World Series commercials Cook filmed last year said he demanded blocks of tickets for postseason games in return for filming the commercials for free.

“He doesn’t recall ever being to Smith & Wollensky,” said Cook’s spokeswoman Ina Treciokas. “He did go to Houston’s when he was in town a few weeks ago and ordered chicken, which he did not send back. As for the [baseball] campaign, he did it for free. In return, they gave him two tickets to any baseball game over the next three years, and he’s been to five games so far.” Treciokas added: “He is a triple-platinum artist who’s sold 32,000 tickets on his last tour in Boston and 365,545 tickets in 25 cities over the course of the entire tour.”

[From Page Six]

I listened to a lot of the contest, and I must say, Dane Cook may not be the funniest stand up comedian, but I don’t know what he did to deserve so much vitriol. There was a time when Cook was the pride of Boston- selling out the Fleet Center (now the TDBanknorth Garden) in record time and starring in a top-rated HBO stand-up special. But all that changed when he started doing crappy movies and secretly dating Jessica Simpson. Still, I don’t think he deserved to be voted “Unfunniest.” Even the show’s DJ’s were stunned- they had their money on “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno.

Note by Celebitchy: A lot of comedians accuse Cook of stealing their material, and there’s evidence that he does. Red Ban links to an audio comparison of a set that Dane Cook did in 2003 with a 2001 CD put out by Louis CK. Dane did the same jokes in the same set as on Louis CK’s CD. I listened to the comparison and neither was particularly funny.

I wonder if Cook is going to respond to this unfunniest title on his myspace. Either Cook or one of his people got in an extended flame war through myspace last year with Best Week Ever blogger Alex Blagg after he wrote a negative article about him. Dane claims that his myspace was hacked and that it wasn’t him sending all the obnoxious messages.

Dane Cook is shown performing on 12/1/07, thanks to PRPhotos.

Kate and Owen last year
The currently on-again romance between Kate Hudson and Owen Wilson may be getting serious. The couple is reportedly apartment hunting in New York City and looking to move in together as soon as Owen is done filming “Marley and Me” with Jennifer Aniston. There’s even talk that Kate wants to have Owen’s child.

Kate Hudson is apartment- shopping in New York with an eye to living here part-time with her rekindled flame Owen Wilson, according to a pal.

“She is ready to nest and has even been talking about having more little ones,” a friend of the actress tells me.

The pal says she credits getting back together with Wilson for ending a wild period in her life, during which she was linked with Justin Timberlake and Dax Shepard.

“She is relieved to be more settled again,” says the friend. “She really felt as if she were testing her limits going out while she and Owen were separated.”

Hudson is in New York shooting “Bride Wars,” about best friends who fall out over setting the same wedding date, with Anne Hathaway.

But that doesn’t mean Hollywood’s most famous blond couple are ready to make Manhattan a full-time home.

“Kate is a great businesswoman,” says the friend. “If she bought an apartment, it would be to sell [later].”

[From NY Daily News]

So…which is it? Is Kate a good businesswoman, currently working in NYC and seizing the opportunity to buy an apartment while the market is in a lull, or is she all lovey dovey and nesting and looking for a place to lay another egg? These so-called “friends” and “insiders” never give away anything good. Personally, I’d like to see Kate Hudson go a few months between boyfriends. Girlfriend must have a revolving door on her bedroom. However, Owen does seem to be much more upbeat, post suicide attempt, since getting back with Kate- I just hope they don’t go rushing into the whole “let’s have a kid” thing.

Hipster anti-sweatshop clothing firm American Apparel is being sued by Woody Allen for billboards advertising their company that feature a photo of Allen dressed as a rabbi in a scene from the 1977 comedy Annie Hall. There was also Hebrew writing on the billboard, and commentor TedSez on Gawker notes that it “means something like ‘The Holy Rabbi,’” and could indicate that American Apparel owner Dov Charney is “praising Allen as the king of the Jews.”

The Jewish Daily Forward confirms that the writing means “der heyliker rebe” or “the holy rebbe,” and contacted American Apparel for comment when the billboards first came out. American Apparel spokesperson Alex Spunt said it meant that “Woody Allen is our spiritual leader.”

You can’t heap praise on Woody Allen and expect him to give you a free pass to use his image for advertising, and he’s predictably taking the firm to court over it:

Woody Allen on Monday sued American Apparel Inc, claiming the U.S. clothing company used his image in advertising on billboards and the Internet without his consent.

The billboard ads, which depict Allen dressed as a rabbi, appeared in New York and California, according to the suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

Allen, an Oscar-winning U.S. director known for his work in films such as “Annie Hall” and “Crimes and Misdemeanors,” said in the suit he was neither contacted by the company, nor compensated for the use of his image.

“Allen does not engage in the commercial endorsement of products or services in the United States,” according to the lawsuit.

He is seeking damages in excess of $10 million, according to the suit.

[From Reuters]

38 year-old American Apparel founder and CEO Don Charney is a controversial figure and has been taken to court unsuccessfully four times for sexual harassment. He masturbated in front of a reporter for Jane Magazine multiple times, and former employees say that he created a hostile work environment in which he slept with employees and propositioned others. Charney admits having relationships with female employees and defends it by saying it was all consensual. He takes many of the sexy photos for the ads himself and The NY Times reports that he hires women he meets at parties.

Charney sold the company in December, 2006 for $360 million and remains on as CEO. As for how he built such a clothing empire in under ten years, Charney claims that “Everything we do is based on intuition.” And not common sense apparently. Why did they veer so far away from the sexy ads that are their trademark? If they wanted to use an image of a Jewish celebrity, they could have picked Natalie Portman instead. She seems to be a more natural progression.

Thanks to The Jewish Daily Forward for the header image taken in New York’s Lower East Side at Houston and Allen and to Curbed LA for the middle image, taken on Alvarado and Sunset.

American Apparel owner Dov Charney is shown below. Ad below via CherryFlava

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.

An undated photo of Britney, Larry and Sean Preston
The behind-the-scenes campaign to revive what’s left of Britney Spears’ career- that is, if she still wants one- has taken another positive step. Britney’s longtime manager, Larry Rudolph, is in talks to begin representing the fallen star again. Rudolph got the cold shoulder from Brit after working with her parents to get her checked into rehab the first time around. After Brit stayed at Promises just long enough to realize she didn’t like being bossed around, she went off on a bizarre tirade against Rudolph and her parents. This was shortly before the head-shaving incident. After Britney dropped Rudolph as her manager, the door was wide open for faux-manager/creep extraordinaire Sam Lutfi to worm his way in.

As Britney Spears continues to strive to get her personal and professional lives back in order, OK! has learned she’s turned to a familiar face for help — former manager Larry Rudolph. Though the pair had parted company a year ago, sources confirm exclusively to OK! that the “Toxic” songstress has once again been taken under Larry’s wing.

Larry and Brit share a long and bumpy history. He was the visionary who discovered the young star Britney and shepherded her career from teen pop tart to international superstar. And when her life began to spiral dangerously out of control in the weeks and months following her Oct. 2006 divorce from Kevin Federline, it was Larry who Britney’s parents, Jamie and Lynne Spears, turned to for help getting her into rehab.

After her brief stint at the Promises clinic in Malibu, Brit went public with her ill-feelings toward Larry, chastising him on camera in a bizarre, disjointed rant, for what she viewed as siding with her folks against her.

However, Brit’s dad has always been open about his positive feelings toward Larry, even publicly thanking Larry for his efforts. And now Jamie, who has continued to think the world of Larry both as a manager and as a friend who has Britney’s best interests at heart, has finally convinced Britney to let him take over the reins of her recently resurgent career.

[From OK! Magazine]

Let’s just pause to examine this for a moment, shall we? “Recently resurgent career.” Britney has had one guest appearance on a mediocre sitcom. For other popstars who’ve sold as many CDs as she has, that kind of career move would be deemed pathetic, bordering on desperate. But I suppose it’s all relative. I hope Larry Rudolph realizes that this is not the Britney of 1999. Putting her back in that grueling schedule of recording a CD and going on a massive world tour is not what she needs right now. Hopefully he gets that, and gives her just enough work to keep her out of trouble but not so much that she cannot take care of herself. He does seem to care about her welfare, and even tried dodging the subpoenas of K-Fed’s attorney, Mark Kaplan, during their custody battle, saying at the time that he “never wanted to do anything to hurt Britney.”

Update by Celebitchy: I forgot that I downloaded this photo of Britney going to the dentist on 3/26/08, from WENN. It’s a really crappy photo but I may as well include it. She needs a new weave.