May 2007 Archives

It breaks my heart that Tammy Faye Messner is losing her battle against cancer. But she gives an interview to "Entertianment Tonight's" Jann Carl today - I believe it's by telephone. Tammy Faye, a Christian woman who has been an outspoken supporter of the LGBT community, is down to 65 pounds but still keeps herself up - as always.
In part one of a two-part interview she says: "When they [the doctors] said there's nothing more we can do, for just about a minute I felt sorry for myself, had my little pity party. Then I said, 'I've got somebody bigger than the doctors, I know the Lord, Jesus Christ, and he can do something for it.' He's the only one that can, and so I just trust Him every day."
"I have really wonderful days, and I have really bad days," she says. "I would say I'm in pain almost 100 percent of the time. My back hurts, so I had to go to a wheelchair. And I have a very bad tummy all the time."
God bless Tammy Faye...

Carlos Moya won the French Open waaaaaaaay back in 1998, a year after he made the finals of the Australian Open. Not long after that, he briefly reached the number one ranking in men's tennis. Nowadays, he wins a few tournaments each year and gives those of us who admire gorgeous athletes the change to enjoy the scenery! Moya was among the winners Thursday at the French Open. To read my round-up of the day's action, check out Deuce!

Here's an afternoon snack for you! The latest picture of surfer dude Matthew McConaughey taken sometime, somewhere this week...

Dear readers,
I often get little notes of encouragement from readers of the blog (and a mean one from time to time) so once they pile up a little, I share them with you. Here is the latest batch...some are edited for space and last names are abbreviated. Thanks to all who wrote or contribute comments on specific items...please continue!
-- Greg

LOVES JACLYN SMITH
Hey Greg,
Gid day mate!
Thanks for that wonderful piece on Jaclyn. Love the article and the photos...She came here in Australia to promote her bedding collection years ago but missed her.
Anyway, good luck and hope to see more of her, too...
Cheers,
Alfo

LOVES OUT IN HOLLYWOOD BLOG
Hi Greg,
First of all, let me tell you that I recently became aware of your blog after reading an article about gay bloggers in The Advocate. Since then, I've added "Out in Hollywood" to my favorites and I read it religiously. I am an avid reader of everything related to film, music, pop culture and beyond. Oh, and I'm gay. I guess they go hand in hand.
I find your blog to be extremely entertaining and informative and a lot less snarky than others. (I'm sure you know who I mean. Of course, I still guiltily peruse it from time to time) ... I look forward to reading more of your blog. Maybe I'll see you out and about one night at a Hollywood event that I've been invited to or "inadvertently" crashed.
Take care.
David T.
P.S. Loved the Billie Jean King posts. She's a legend!

HE DOES TOO!
Hi Greg, my best friend Greg and I are HUGE movie fans. We even wrote a column in a GLBT rag for awhile covering movies and having some very dynamic conversations about what we thought about the movies and all that makes them up. Since I have been reading your blog I've gotten to really appreciate you and what you bring to the GLBT community. Just wanted to say thanks,
Paolo
p.s. Thanks so much for the scoop!

DOES NOT LOVE ROSIE
How can you defend a person who says on national television that 9/11 was done by the US government and our troops are terrorists? You are as pathetic as Ms. Big Mouth Bully.
Ferd B.

A ROSIE DEFENDER
Hello Greg,
I don't feel that what Rosie has said isn't really anything from the truth and i'd like to know when we the American people and people of the press are going to hold our Congressmen to be accountable for the thing's that they do and suffer the consequences of their action's.... Smoking pot, writing bounced checks, drunk driving and so on.
They are like organized crime gang's and get away with it no matter what they do.No one hold's them accountable for any thing it seems.
Thank You,
nancy

LOVES MATTHEW RHYS
Robbie's comments reaffirmed how lucky we are to have someone as committed and comfortable in the role of
Kevin as Matthew Rhys. He's such a find. As for the "other gay person in the family"...I'm thinking it has to be Saul. I was always curious about him as the uncle without a person life. Perhaps he's been in the closet all these years.
Scott

ANOTHER BRO & SISTERS FAN
Hello Greg
I just wanted to say Hello and to tell you that I Enjoy reading "Out in Hollywood" every day and I am a big fan of "Brothers and Sisters" to. Keep up the Good work. I hope you have a great Summer.
Take Care,
Jerry

Send any letters to greg.hernandez@dailynews.com

I'm a sucker for Maroon 5 ever since seeing them on The Today Show not too long ago. Obviously the handsome lead singer Adam Levine is to die for but I also like their music. And I'm not alone: the group's second studio album: "I Won't Be Soon Before Long" debuted at number one on the sales charts, selling 429,000 copies. It has been driven by the hit single "Makes Me Wonder" which is currently topping the singles chart thanks to 243,000 downloads sold. In addition to "Today," Maroon 5 also appeared on "The Tonight Show" and "Saturday Night Live" before the album's release.
Also, the straight but gay-friendly Levine recently did an interview with The Advocate and also spoke with Insintct magazine for its current issue. I like what he had to say about gay marriage: "Oh, it's the most silly, ridiculous law I know of. Honestly, people should really get their heads out of their asses. Is anyone really hurting anyone else if they choose to marry someone of the same sex? I don't believe they are. It's just so archyaic and ludicrous."

Well said Adam!

Is it possible for me to get tired of pictures of the cast of "Ocean's 13"? Kinda doubt it. Just came across this image from the terrace at the Hotel du Cap in Cannes, France. and excerpts from an interview in the new Time magazine via JustJared.com:

On the subject of charisma, you’ve each been called the last great movie star at one point or another. Are we really running out of movie stars, and is that, like, a problem?
CLOONEY: The last real movie stars were probably Redford and Newman. And things were different then. There wasn’t this amazing amount of magazines and information about them.
DAMON: We didn’t know anything about them.
CLOONEY: There was mystique. They’re 60 feet high, and you paid your buck and a half to go see them. But that’s gone. People know everything about everybody now.
PITT: Jaws came along and proved you could make huge money with blockbusters, and it set this thing in motion that has lowered the subject matter. People like George have been getting good stuff out there, but it’s an industry that pushes people out on the big stage too fast, before they’re ready, and it eats them up as well. It’s a different kind of arena now.
BARKIN: Think about it. Do we know anything about Robert Redford’s children? Does he even have any?
DAMON: I worked with him, and I don’t know.
PITT: I have four, if you haven’t heard.

I think Leonardo DiCaprio is the best actor of his generation, someone who is smart about working with great directors (especially Martin Scorsese) and who has transitioned from teenaged star to young hearthrob to leading man with real chops. My Leo faves of recent years are "Blood Diamond," "The Aviator," "Catch Me if You Can," and "The Departed."
Now Leonardo is filming "Revloutionary Road" which reunites with him "Titanic" leading lady Kate Winslet. He is oh-so handsome but even better, he is oh-so talented too.

Little dribs and drabs conitnue to roll in regarding the O'Donnell-Hasslebeck showdown on "The View" last week which resulted in Rosie leaving the show three weeks ahead of schedule. I could post as item each day about some of the idiotic things Donald Trump says on whatever show will have him, often resorting to junior high school insults about Rosie's appearance. But I've decided that Trump has no clothes. He's an embarrassment and obviously no one close to hiom will tell him so.
Anyway, jn the new issue of People Magazine, "Dancing With the Stars" hunk Maksim Chmerkovskiy (he was Laila Ali's partner) tells what he saw from backstage on that infamous day. He says there were producers running out of the room with stone faces trying to deal with the escalating situation (I wonder if any of them suggested cutting to a commercial) and that Alicia Silverstone was "hypervenilating" because she had to go on stage and be interviewed by these warring women in the segment after the blow-up. She pointedly did not greet Hasdslebeck when she came out, but warmly greeted Rosie and Joy Behar...By the way, I've been watching the hot topics of "The View" post-Rosie and well, kind of a snooze now isn't it?

For a tennis fan, this is kind of embarrassing. And as a gay tennis, it is REALLY embarrassing. I make it my business to not only know what is gpoing on in pro tennis, but to knowing which players are really hot! But I had no idea who Mikhail Youzhney was before seeing this pictures of him playing in the French Open today. His name is difficult to say, but he is oh-so easy on the eyes. Mikhail, the 13th seed, won his second-round match over Nicolas Lapentti. To see my round up of other winners on Wednesday at the tournament, check out my tennis blog DEUCE!

This is great! While it's not secret that David Hyde Pierce is gay, it's wonderful to have him publicly acknowledge his partner, actor-writer-producer Brian Hargrove. According to AfterElton.com, the outing came in the form of a routine Associated Press-provided description of Pierce’s career with AE then getting confirmation from his publicist.
Hyde Pierce, best known for his four-time Emmy-winning role as Niles Crane in "Frasier," has had many films roles ("Down With Love") and his Broadway credits include "Spamalot" and the current hit "Curtains" for which he is up for a Tony Award.
I'm not going to quibble with how and when he came out because, unlike Out Magazine and others, I think it's each person's right - gay or straight - to decide how public they want their personal lives to be.

Despite an unsightly spider bite, I made it to the ArcLight Theater last night to catch an early screening of "Knocked Up." Snuck in after everyone had been seated and the lights went down. The movie was a hoot! I will say this right away: there are three scenes that I noticed with homophobic humor, none of which I found veyr offensive EXCEPT for one horrid exchange outside a nightclub: Leslie Mann, who plays the older sister to Katherine Heigl's pregnant lead character, goes off on a doorman and among the insults she hurls are calling him the f-bomb a few times. It wasn't funny and it wasn't necessary and as a gay man, I did not appreciate it.
The movie tells the story of slacker Ben (Seth Rogen) who meets E! television reporter Alison (Katherine Heigl) at a bar where both get drunk and end up having sex without a condom. Alison gets pregnant and decides to have the baby and raise it. she calls Ben, a jobless stoner who livews with four wacko stoner roomates, to let him know. They begin to get to know each other and the movie follows their journey to parenthood which is not without its sweet moments and major hurdles.
Heigl is absolutely perfect in the part and so different from whiney Izzie on "Grey's Anatomy." This is a real breakout role for her in a movie that I am sure will be a major box office smash when it opens on Friday. Rogen is certainly a change-of-pace leading man and while his character can be maddening, he is also endearing and very, very funny. Leslie Mann is an absolute revelation as the older sister. Her comic timing is a wonder and every time she is on screen, you are in for a treat. The oh-so-handsome Paul Rudd (is there a more perfect nose on any other man alive) has some very, very funny moments - especially when he and Ben have some magic mushrooms in Vegas and start to freak out in their hotel room. It's some of Rudd's best work.
Look for a terrific Ryan Seacrest cameo in which Mr. Meterosexual has a total meltdown. This bit and other scenes really make the movie an up-to-date pop culture experience with references to everything from "Spider-Man 3" to Matthew Fox. Steve Carell, who starred in writer-director Judd Apator's "40 Year Old Virgin" two summers ago, has a funny bit playing himself. And, the first gynecologist the couple sees is played by out actor Tim Bagley who had a recurring role on "Will & Grace" throughout much of its run as one-half of that nauseatingly happy couple who gets married then has a baby.
In the end, I laughed a lot during "Knocked Up." There is a lot of talent on the screen and the movie would have been even better had there not been those f-bombs in it. NOT NECESSARY.

I'm not endorsing this, merely sharing the news. A new site has been launched called FireElisabethHasslebeck.com which seeks to have the co-host of "The View" replaced after her on-air showdown with Rosie O'Donnell last week which resulted in Rosie leaving the show three weeks early.

The site states: Iif you have watched the actual footage of the discussion that occurred on 05/23/07, you can see that it was Elisabeth who was the aggressor throughout the entire discussion. Elisabeth began by interrupting Joy with sarcastic comments as Joy attempted to provide some facts about the George Bush presidency, and then continued as Elisabeth angrily defended her refusal to respond to the Republican pundits who incorrectly said that Rosie called the U.S. troops terrorists. As the discussion progressed, Rosie repeatedly tried to de-escalate the situation and not get into a disagreement. However, Elisabeth angrily continued in her blind defense of this administration and her criticisms of Rosie’s views. While many have portrayed this fight as one over politics, it was really a fight about friendship and Elisabeth’s refusal to support Rosie by denouncing what these pundits were attempting to say about her.

Well, I guess lighting up the Cannes Film Festival last week as one half of the most glamorous superstar couple since Burton and Taylor is technically work. But Brad Pitt has resumed shooting "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" in Old Montreal, Canada. According to JustJared.com, the shooting of exterior shots marks the tail end of a long shoot, which included four months in New Orleans and another two months in Los Angeles. The film is due out in fall 2008.

No, this is not an item from 5-6 months ago. I was scrolling dow the "Ask Ro" section of Rosie.com and several of the former View co-hosts fans asked her about Donald Trump's recent appearance on "Larry King Live" in which he calls her, among other things: "sick."
Of this, Rosie writes: "From him, it is a compliment. He is everything I abhor."
She is also disgusted with Larry King for even giving Trump a forum to bash her: "Stick a fork in him, Larry is done. And the [Trump] dump truck, a dumb rich boy who wishes to be king."

I gotta say, maybe one positive thing in all this is now that Rosie is off "The View," Trump will have to find another way to stay in the public eye. His show "The Apprentice" got cancelled even though he pathetically tried to make it seem as if HE had decided to move on. He's been exposed to be a very pathetic man.

Also in the Ask Ro section, Rosie writes that she has exchanged emails with Joy Behar and Barbara Walters but reiterates that she has only exchanged a single email with feud-mate Elisabeth Hasslebeck who on Tuesday's show (Whoopi Goldberg guest hosted) indicated that they had been in constant contact.

This will all fade soon, I'm sure. But until then, it's kinda fun dishing about all of it!

Spotted this pic of Cleveland Brown Quarterback Brady Quinn on Kennethinthe212.com. These are from his first practice! According to press reports, his first session wasn't stellar as he was a bit tentative. I'm sure it was just first-day jitters...

Once again, Andy Roddick is an American in Paris with feet of cllay. He crashed out earlier today in the first round of the French Open despite being ranked third in the world. It's a shame. Maybe he needed those fake muscles that were photoshopped onto his recent Men's Fitness cover? Anyway, he should still do just fine nextg month at Wimbledon where he has twice been the runner up. Meanwhile, his fellow American James Blake, ranked 9th, also lost as did the fifth seed, Spaniard Fernando Gonzalez who had made the Australian Open final in January.
But on the bright side, top-seeded Roger Federer won as did two-time defending champ Rafael Nadal, former number one Lleyton Hewitt and, one of my personal favorites, the appealing Russian, Marat Safin (pictured below), former winner of the U.S. Open and the Australian Open...

Jennifer won the Oscar, Beyonce was already the star but Anika Noni Rose managed to carve out her own special moments in "Dreamgirls." The Tony winner (for 'Caroline, or Change') has a key role in the upcoming miniseries "The Starter Wife" starring Debra Messing and Judy Davis. She has a cool interview in the new issue of Instinct magazine and I am sharing with you a few tidbits:
On Dreamgirls being a gay man's movie: "Yes, it's YOUR musical. [laughs]. It was important that gay men accept it because they're the group that made it happen, that made it stay around. Gay men are the fans that kept Dreamgirls alive...I have never, ever been in a theater with as many gay men as I was at the New York premiere and with people who were so ready to love something. It was really wonderful to sit there and have all those fans of Dreamgirls excited and thrilled and take part in what was being done."

Andy Baldwin and Tessa Horst from "The Bachelor: an Officer and a Gentlemen" are my favorite heterosexual couple right now! Here they are on the beach in Hawaii over the weekend. Aren't they beautiful??? If this relationship doesn't work out, I may have to swear off reality shows forever...except "American Idol," of course, and maybe "Dancing With the Stars." I also have to reserve the right to watch anything on Bravo and "Amazing Race" if they have another hot gay couple like Chip and Reichen. But other than that, I'll be THROUGH!

Well, we already heard this from Rosie and yet, I still feel the need to share what Kathy Griffin, who co-hosted "the View" the day after the big fallout, had to say about it all.
According to TMZ.com: It was the show's technical decision to sensationalize the recent on-air fight between Rosie and Elisabeth Hasselbeck with a split screen graphic. that pushed O'Donnell over the edge. "I said, 'What was it really?'" recalled Griffin. "'The split-screen." She said, 'I don't want to do "Hannity and Colmes."
Griffin also revealed that O'Donnell's hard feelings toward Hasselbeck might not run so deep. When Rosie heard that Donald Trump had called Hasselbeck "stupid," she expressed sadness. "She doesn't even hate Elisabeth," said Griffin.

My doctor retired last week. He was a nice, older man who I felt comfortable with. He reminded me a bit of Dr. Marcus Welby from the 70s television show. Those of you under 35 have no idea what I'm talking about. But you DO know who Dr. McDreamy is, right? The hot doc played by Patrick Dempsey on "Grey's Anatomy." Well, meet my new doctor!
I wake up this morning, feel a bump on my forehead. Dash to the mirror to check it out and it is this huge, red size-of-a-quarter tumor thing. I call my medical group, explain that my doctor has just retired but I need to see someone about this tumor thing on my forehead. Maybe I have flesh-eating disease?
They can squeeze me in at 10:15 so I put on a baseball cap and sunglasses and drive to Beverly Hills, find a street space and walk to the office just sure that people are looking at me: "What is that on that dude's forehead?" Check in and after only a short wait, in walks my movie star doctor. He inspects my forehead and thinks it's a spider bite of some kind. He thinks I'll live but can tell I'm embarassed and makes some jokes. I don't usually get spider bites or mosquito bites or whatever joking to friends that they just don't like Hispanic blood. Well, obviously one was in the mood for Mexican Food last night!
Anyhow, McDreamy has agreed to be my regular doctor which makes me happy not just because he's a dreamboat, but he is thorough and has a terrific sense of humor. I feel like I'm in excellent hands. Hopefully I won't have to see him much but if I do, them's the breaks!
So why share this story? 1. An opportunity to post a pic of Patrick Dempsey. 2. Wanted you to know why there hadn't been any postings this morning.

Melissa Etheridge!!!

This Grammy and Oscar winning musician turns 46 today...she makes us all so proud with her courage and grace...

And look who else has a birthday today...Rupert Everett!!! He is the voice of the evil Prince Charming in the "Shrek" movies, starred in "The Ideal Husband," "Inspector Gadget" and other films but is best known for his trilogy of gay roles in "Another Country," "The Next Best Thing" and, of course, "My Best Friends Wedding." Mr. Everett turns 48 today...

Television and Broadway star Charles Nelson Reilly died over the weekend of complications from pneumonia and it is a big loss for the entertainment industry and for his fans. He really was one of the few gay people we saw on television in the 70s when he was a regular on "Match Game" and enjoyed such delicious repartee with Brett Somers.

Reilly was 76 and survived by his longtime partner, Patrick Hughes. He gained fame in 1962 with a Tony-winning role in "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" and had more recently toured in a one-man show titled "Save it for the Stage: The Life of Reilly" which included a run at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood. A feature film based on the show was released in 2006 and Reilly also appeared as one of the "talking heads" in Rick McKay's documentary film "Broadway: The Golden Age" which I highly recommend.

This guy has got the life...skateboarding, surfing and being a big movie star. These pictures were taken recently as McConaughey filmed his latest movie which revolves around the surfing world...

Love the surfer dude hair...

Whaddaya think of the stripped swim trunks??

Photos originally posted on JustJared.com

You can learn a lot by reading the "Ask Ro" section of Rosie O'Donnell's blog on Rosie.com. I was sitting here waiting for Memorial Day weekend box office numbers and started scrolling down just to pass the time and wow! Then I watched the video blog she made Saturday night and there really are no questions left unanswered.
Of her stint on "the View" Rosie said: "I was really like the foster kid for a year, I came and we considered adoption, but I really didn't fit into the family, and then it was time for the foster kid to go home."
It is clear that she feels betrayed by Elisabeth Hasselbeck ("friends...in show business...it's hard to tell sometimes" and "A mom bond truly isn't enough for a friendship")), the two have been briefly in touch via e-mail. She says: "She called and Kelli spoke to her for a long time. And I haven't spoken to her, and I probably won't and I think it's just as well. And I wrote her an email, and she wrote me back. And there you have it...I never tried harder to be friends with someone than I did with her fro, the get-go, but I don't think we ended up there, anywhere close."

I have a friend who, whenever he is in town from overseas, things turn out to be some kind of episode of "I Love Lucy." On Friday, we decided to leave Ricky and Fred at home to have some lunch at LA's Farmer's Market then do some shopping at The Grove.
I'll call my friend Ralph because, as he put it, 'I don't want you using my name in that blog of yours." After some pizza, we stop at Banana Republic and as Ralph tries on belt after belt, I'm getting this bored, glazed look in my eyes. Then I notice some sales items! They have these really nice sweaters for just $10.99, some kind of clearance thing. I pick up a light blue one and a grey one. Ralph, belt in hand, says: "You should get one in every color!" I look at him: "I'd look like an avocado in that green one." I guess Ralph considers himself the glamorous Lucy while I'm dumpy Ethel. We make our purchases and as we walk out, my bag sets the alarm off, I know I've paid so no panic here put Ralph jokingly flees the store in an obvious effort to distance himself from me. The sales kid disappears with my bag for so long that we ask his co-worker where the heck he is. She says he's cutting off tags. We start in with the Winona Ryder shoplifting jokes. Then we hear this voice off in a distance: "I can't BELIEVE these sweaters are only $10!" It's the sales kid. Ralph: "What's he doing? PAWING through everything in your bag?"
I felt so exposed.
Next up: Nordstrom. Ralph needs "product." We get this very chatty Brit with exploding cleavage who sweetly asks Ralph what his skin issues are. "Oh, I have a little dryness maybe," he says. She starts pulling out some samples of her line (called "Anthony") then keeps coming back to Ralph and noticing some new alleged imperfections with his skin: "Oh, I see you have some acne...you need some of this." "Oh my, there's some redness." "Well, you have an oily problem...you didn't really give me a proper assessment of your skin." All the while she's building up this huge bag of goodies for Ralph to take with him because she assumes he's a local and will return in a week or so to make a big purchase. No chance sister! He doesn't even live in this country! Still, she had made poor Ralph, whose skin looks just fine, feel like an red and oily-faced, pimpled-headed teenager. He is mortified. I, on the other hand, cannot stop laughing.
Then a woman who looks like Janet on "Three's Company" charges at us with a look of feindish glee holding teeth wightening samples and just puts it right on us! She starts to tell Ralph and I about our astrological signs (she completely has us reversed by the way) and says these qualities are what make us a good couple...which we are not! In the end, I agree to buy 10 days worth of this teeth wightening stuff (supposed to last for six months...we'll see) for $89. I'm a sucker for Janet because she never got as much screen time as Chrissie and now she has to work at Nordstrom. I wonder if she's in touch with Mrs. Roeper.
Next: Abercrombe & Fitch. Why? Because there is a shirtless stud standing at the door greeting people. That's it, we're in! He is quite a dish. We feign interest in the clothes but really we just wanted to check him out. We're outa there in minutes and about to get a coffee when Ralph gets a look of euphoria on his "oily" face: "There's Kiehl's!" Huh? Ralph wants more product so he dashes in. The woman at the counter was not as direct as the brassy Brit at Nordstrom but she does note the "oily skin" thing. We walk out nearly crying with laughter because up until this shopping trip, Ralph had spent four decades in this Earth thinking his skin was "just a little dry." It reminds us of the Lucy episode when she and Ethel go to get makeovers and the snotty woman tells Lucy that her face powder gives her a weird unnatural look. Lucy says with shame and embarassment: "I'm not wearing any powder."
We've had enough shopping and decide to head to West Hollywood for some margaritas and dinner at Fiesta Cantina. It's 2 for 1 prices from 4-8 and we get there at 7:50 p.m. The place is packed, no time to find a waiter so I push my up to the bar and manage to order two margaritas at about 7:54. We soon get a table and ask a waiter if we can order a few more margaritas before happy hour ends. He says: "Oh, that's way over. You have to pay full price now." (It's 8:02 p.m.).
We have some dinner there then hit The Abbey where we order drinks then spot John Amaechi, the former NBA player who I had lunch with and profiled some months back. I introduce him to Ralph and we all chat. John confesses that he never reads any of the articles written about him but he agrees to check out Out In Hollywood. We see John again later on and he meets our other friends Michael and Ray who are also in for the weekend.
We have a prime table but are only using half of it when we bump into Jackie Warner from Bravo's 'Workout" show. She asks if she can borrow some chairs from our table and I jokingly say "No!" But she and her entourage take it seriously and seem miffed at me! Sheesh, these reality show divas just don't get my humor. But later, I went over and chatted with Jackie and she was actually quite lovely and nice. So it's all good. We closed the place down and the Memorial Day weekend had officially begun!

Mark Phillipoussis has spent much of his tennis career fighting injuries but he has still been good enough to make it to the finals of the U.S. Open and Wimbledon losing to Patrick Rafter and Roger Federer, respectively. Now the Aussie hearthrob is spreading his wings with a new reality dating show "The Age of Love." premiering on NBC June 18.
Read all about it in my tennis blog, Deuce!

Trying to do a little blogging, finally, but not easy with friends visiting this weekend. My college roomie from SDSU days - who knows NOTHING about Hollywood, was looking at this photo of Eric Bana as I was checking it out on JustJared.com and he says: "Whose Eric Banana?"
Of course we all know exactly who this handsome movie star is: it's Eric BANA who was at the premiere on Sunday of his film "Romulus, My Father," at Theatre Royal in Castlemaine, Australia. Indoors or outdoors, Eric is a stunner AND a heckuva actor...

ABC has just announced that Rosie O'Donnell will not be back on "The View."
The network issued the following statement:
"We had hoped that Rosie would be with us until the end of her contract three weeks from now, but Rosie has informed us that she would like an early leave. Therefore, we part ways, thank her for her tremendous contribution to 'The View' and wish her well."
Barbara Walters said "I brought Rosie to the show. Rosie contributed to one of our most exciting and successful years at "The View." I am most appreciative. Our close and affectionate relationship will not change."
For her part, Rosie said "I'm extremely grateful. It's been an amazing year and I love all three women."

Maybe she loves Elisabeth Hasselbeck a little bit less than the other two, huh?

Anyway, Rosie posted this on her blog today: And on her blog, Rosie said:
"When painting there is a point u must step away from the canvas as the work is done."

This is one of those actions speak louder than words kinda things so take it for what it's worth.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney insists that his opposition to same-sex marriage should not be interpreted as intolerance of gays. After all, an actual gay man actually served in his administration when he was Massachusetts governor.
"What you look for in a leader is someone who will welcome and treat with respect people who made different choices and have different beliefs in their lives and have differences. I have nothing but respect and feelings of tolerance for people with differences from myself and feel that way with regards to those who are gay," he said before a crowd of 400 at a campaign event, according to the Associated Press.
Gee, that meakes me feel so warm and fuzzy. So...tolerated!
"I oppose discrimination against gay people," he added, with a straight face. "I am not antigay. I know there are some Republicans, or some people in the country, who are looking for someone who is antigay, and that's not me."
Romney said he is opposed to marriage equality for same-sex couples because it's not in the best interest of children. Children like the son born to Mary Cheney and her female partner this week I suppose.
Who knows how this man really feels because he changes so often, depending on which way the political winds are blowing. But no matter what he SAYS, here are his ACTIONS: In 2003, after the Massachusetts supreme judicial court ruled that same-sex couples could wed in the state, Romney pushed for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.
Sounds like anti-gay to me!

The photo above really has nothing to do with this post except that it's a hoot! Anyway, the boifromtroy.com blog points out something pretty interesting: In California, the President of the United States has a 26% approval rating according to the latest Survey USA poll. That means that he is barely more than half as popular as Gay Marriage–which is supported by 48% of California voters in the latest survey–confirming a trend that a plurality of Californians are now supporting marriage equality.
Boi From Troy notes that this is important to note because it is very likely that California voters will ultimately have to vote on whether to recognize gay marriage in California, again–either as a referendum on a potential Supreme Court decision or as part of a compromise between the Legislature and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

This item, posted on Queerty.com, sounds like something out of a kindergarten class: Page Six reports:
Yesterday, Rosie O'Donnell's chief writer, Janette Barber, was allegedly escorted from the building after she was caught drawing moustaches on photographs of Hasselbeck that hang in the "View" studios.
The Post's Adam Buckman reports ABC confirmed in a statement only that "photographs at 'The View's' offices were defaced.

The Post's gossip column also reports that Rosie may not be returning to The View to complete her contract:
When one fan wrote [to Rosie], "Work isn't worth that battle," Rosie replied, "Agreed." Another wrote, "Please walk away. It's not worth it." Rosie replied, "Well, you know when it's time to go."
To a fan who asked when she would return, O'Donnell answered, "No idea."
O'Donnell's contract officially ends on June 20th.
I wonder about Hesselbeck now. She showed that she is a tough cookie in her showdown with Rosie so she will never again be thought of as helpless. She is backing such an unpopular administration that I imagine she is becoming quite unpopular herself. I've been reading accounts that two of the show's guests, Doug Savant and Alicia Silverstone, pointedly avoided Elisabeth when greeting the rest of the panel.
I hate her politics...but a mustache? C'mon!

So "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" is taking multiplexes by storm. The reviews have not been too kind but that pretty much means nada tro fans of this stupendously popular franchise. I write about the movie's prospects and about what else is going on in the movie biz in today's BOX OFFICE BUZZ column which celebrates its one-month birthday today!

I should put a candle on a Hostess Snowball and have a little party....

RELATED EARLER POST: Our Night at the Pirates of the Caribbean premiere ...

The only season of "Survivor" I ever watched in its entirety was season two in the Outback. Hmmmmmm. I wonder why? It was because this handsome Texan by the name of Colby Donaldson won just about every challenge week after week and kept himself in the game to the bitter end until the jury picked Tina Wesson over him as champion. Colby had the chance to eliminate Tina instead of the unpopular Keith but he put friendship in front of $1 million...HUH? Anyway, Colby was too good looking to go back to Texas and work as a mechanic once the show wrapped so he did some commercials and episodic guest spots but hasn't really broken through. But it seems that perky Rachel Ray is giving him a break and is going to use him as a correspondent on her hit morning show. On Thursday morning, Colby did a piece on how men think about women which included interviews in the field with three of his buddies and an in-studio follow-up interview.

He's still got that killer smile, a nice speaking voice and would be a nice addition just for the eue candy alone! So guess who is pictured with Colby (above) from "Survivor" days? It's Elisabeth Hasselbeck of "The View"who I remember as being quite gritty and shrewd as she finished in fourth place that season...

So why am I posting all of these pics from the Cannes Film Festival of Pitt, Clooney and the rest of those connected to "Oceans 13" other than the fact that these people are beyond gorgeous? It's because I love the old-fashioned movie star glamor that they brought to France this week and I love that we can look at these images for a change as opposed to just Britney buying a new wig (stop the presses!), Lindsey walking into a club (so exciting!), Paris carrying her dog or a bible (alert the media!) or Jessica Simpson spilling out of a dress (yawn). So I'm sharing with you these fabulous i