Rosie Returns to Nip/Tuck
After her contentious and much-discussed departure from morning chat show The View, Rosie O'Donnell has been the focus of lots of media attention regarding her next career move. The notion of Rosie taking over for Bob Barker on The Price Is Right didn't pan out, but fret not for the lesbian icon's livelihood: On the heels of another successful R Family Cruises sea voyage this summer, O'Donnell has announced that she is returning to FX's Nip/Tuck. She'll reprise her role as lottery winner Dawn Budge for several episodes in the hit show's upcoming fifth season. Gay Nip/Tuck creator Ryan Murphy says he's still in talks with O'Donnell to create a spinoff show, which Romeo reported on earlier, that would revolve around Dawn, but nothing concrete has been set.
Freddy Loves Betty
Freddy Rodriguez may no longer be playing mortician Federico Diaz on the much-missed HBO show Six Feet Under, but his career has been anything but dead lately. In Grindhouse earlier this year, Rodriguez mowed down zombies and turned a gun into an artificial leg for Rose McGowan in the double-feature-in-one-movie's first half, Planet Terror. Now comes word that Rodriguez will be a new love interest for our orthodontically challenged heroine on the hit gay-fave Ugly Betty. Rodriguez will join the ABC show in the fall as Gio, Mode magazine lunch-cart man and master of the panini. He'll be complicating Betty's long-gestating relationship with Henry by becoming a rival for her affections. Nothing like straight intrigue on network TV's gayest show.
Candy for Photography Fans
You may not know the name 'David LaChapelle,' but you almost certainly know the gay photographer's work, which generally features hot stars like Pamela Anderson, Drew Barrymore, Jim Carrey, and many more, shot against bright, candy-colored backdrops in witty and outrageous positions. LaChapelle's provocative, eye-popping work is the subject of a new German documentary, Candy in the Eye: The Crazy World of David LaChapelle. Director Hilka Sinning follows the photographer from L.A. to Barcelona to Milan to Manhattan as he shoots everyone from leggy Vogue models to Shakira to transgender va-va-voom girl Amanda Lepore. No word on a U.S. theatrical or DVD release, but domestic audiences will have a chance to witness the mania at gay and lesbian film festivals nationwide this summer.
Perez Hilton Comes to VH1
Internet gadfly and sister-in-gossip Perez Hilton has been making headlines lately, for everything from lawsuits about photo usage to his participation in boy bander Lance Bass' coming out of the closet. And if Hilton ( né Mario Lavandeira ) knows anything, it's how to spin attention into more attention. So perhaps it's no surprise that the Internet just wasn't big enough for him - he recently signed with VH1 to host a series of celebrity news specials for the channel. ( Given the network's love of edgy fluff like Celebrity Fit Club and Flavor of Love, Hilton's brand of saucy swagger should fit in perfectly. ) His first special has been slated to air in September, giving celebrities enough time to go into hiding, lest they make it onto Hilton's bitchy radar.
Romeo San Vicente thinks that the only thing worse than gossiping about Romeo San Vicente is not gossiping about Romeo San Vicente. He can be reached care at DeepInsideHollywood@qsyndicate.com .
