Actors James Franco and Anne Hathaway have been named as the co-hosts for next year's Academy Awards, according to the Guardian. Hathaway, 28, is currently in Love and Other Drugs with Jake Gyllenhaal, whom she also co-starred with in Brokeback Mountain. Franco, 32, who is earning raves for the movie 127 Hours, has also been in Milk and Howl, among many other movies. The Oscars will take place Feb. 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Calif.
Speaking of Franco, his appearance on Inside the Actor's Studio broke attendance records, according to TMZ.com . Tickets to the interview were in such demand that the show's staff had to reject a record number of people, including hundreds of industry professionals who tried to get free tickets to the show. After the taping, Franco stayed around for an extra 90 minutes, talking with every fan who wanted to talk.
The Broadway show Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark had its first preview Nov. 29—and caused as much buzz for its technical snafus as it did for his concept and cost, according to the Wall Street Journal. Because of all the acrobatics, cast members and stunt performers are more prone to injury. Ken Abdo, a lawyer for Spider-Man star Reeve Carney, said, "Our antenna is up. We don't want to see [Carney] in harm's way." However, investor Norton Herrick—who has put several million dollars into the production—said that there is enough time to smooth out the kinks. Opening night is Jan. 11, 2011.
Singer Pink has revealed that she and husband Carey Hart have decided to name their baby Jameson if the couple has a boy, according to TheCelebrityCafe.com . Pink said, "My dad's name is James, and my brother's name is Jason. [Carey and I] are both Irish, Carey's middle name is Jason, [and] Jameson—we like whiskey. That's a no-brainer." The singer announced her pregnancy Nov. 15 on Ellen DeGeneres' talk show.
The Kids Are All Right actor Mark Ruffalo said that he was told that Pennsylvania's Office of Homeland Security has placed him on the terrorist watch list, according to a Fox News item. He was put on the list because he screened GasLand, a documentary about natural gas drilling, in the state and said he was opposed to the practice. However, a Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman has denied that Ruffalo is on any list.
Anderson Cooper said that singer Lady Gaga got him drunk on whiskey when he interviewed her for a 60 Minutes profile, according to an Advocate.com item. Cooper said that Gaga got him to drink two glasses of Jameson, and "by the end I was ready to have the interview be over because I really sort of couldn't ask any more questions." The segment will air in February.
Madonna has opened her first gym, Hard Candy Fitness—in Mexico City. According to Advocate.com, the facility has images of the gay icon; however, the emphasis is on fitness. Madonna cut the ribbon to the facility, then taught a dance class for 20 people with music by DJ Paul Oakenfold. Membership at the gym, located in the upscale Bosques de las Lomas area, is about $160 each month after paying an $830 initiation fee. Madonna plans to open a chain of the facilities.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, actor Johnny Depp said that Disney was not fond of his flamboyant portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow in the movie Pirates of the Caribbean—with one executive even asking about Depp's sexuality, according to an Advocate.com item. Depp said that he told the executive "all my characters are gay," which reportedly "made her nervous." Depp will next co-star with Angelina Jolie in The Tourist, which will be out Dec. 10.
Elton John is slated to perform at a private anti-Prop 8 event Jan. 19, according to an Advocate.com item. The event will take place at the Beverly Hills estate of supermarket entrepreneur Ron Burkle. John's performance comes in the wake of an art auction in New York that raised $600,000 for the American Foundation for Equal Rights (the group funding the lawsuit against Prop 8) that drew support from Mayor Michael Bloomberg, among others. For more information about the Jan. 19 show, visit the American Foundation for Equal Rights website, www.afer.org, or e-mail events@afer.org .
On the Nov. 29 issue of the CW show 90210, high schoolers Teddy (who recently realized he was gay) and Ian shared their first smooch, making it the first time two guys have kissed on the show. (Two female characters, Adrianna and Gia, have already done so.) Trevor Donovan portrays Teddy and Kyle Riabko plays Ian.
On World AIDS Day (Dec. 1), Alicia Keys, Lady Gaga, Serena Williams, Kim Kardashian, Ryan Seacrest, Ellen DeGeneres, Justin Timberlake and Jennifer Hudson were among the celebrities who ended their digital lives and signed off from all social-networking platforms, including Twitter and Facebook, in solidarity for those in Africa and India affected by HIV/AIDS. The participating celebrities pledged to not come back online until their digital lives had been bought back and $1 million has been collectively raised for Keep a Child Alive (KCA), which was co-founded by Keys and Leigh Blake.
Gale Harold made quite an impression playing bad boy Brian Kinney on the U.S. version of Queer As Folk, but he said he was initially "terrified" of taking on the role, according to an On Top Magazine item. He said, "There's always, in my mind, this hesitancy to speak as Gale Harold about the life of this man, Brian Kinney, that I'm playing and how that relates to society and the gay community at large." The show ran for five seasons; the original version ran for two in England.
Design-show host Nate Berkus is reportedly resting comfortably after having an appendectomy Nov. 30, according to ABC News. He is expected to start taping his show in a few days. Berkus, 39, an Oprah Winfrey protege, launched his syndicated weekday show in September.
Dr. Laura Schlessinger has been known for her anti-gay views, but she can stunned some people by criticizing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," Advocate.com reported. She started her show by ranting against the policy for four minutes, saying, "When someone wishes to volunteer for relatively low pay and high danger to protect you and me, I say, 'Thank you and huzzah.'" She also said that gay men do not lust after every heterosexual man, and that those guys who think they do have their own issues.
Singer Janet Jackson, in a new public service announcement for the Trevor Project, says that she can relate to gay teens who have considered suicide, according to On Top Magazine. At one point, Jackson says, "I can relate because I was one of those kids that internalized everything. I held everything inside, all of my pain. And I didn't release it. I wasn't able to let it go until I finally met that person that I could trust and who was truly willing to listen." She then urges teens to talk with adults they trust.
Michael Urie, who played Vanessa Williams' assistant on the TV show Ugly Betty, is joining the TBS comedy pilot Brain Trust, according to an Advocate.com item. Brain Trust focuses on a disgraced police detective, played by D.B. Sweeney, who works with brainiacs from a think tank; Urie plays one of the geniuses. It's Urie first role since "Betty."
Legendary singer Aretha Franklin is reportedly doing fine after undergoing surgery for an undisclosed condition, according to People.com . In a statement, Franklin, 68, said, "The surgery was highly successful. God is still in control. I had superb doctors and nurses whom were blessed by all the prayers of the city and the country. God bless you all for your prayers!" She has cancelled all of her scheduled shows through May 2011.
Oprah Winfrey has launched her first advertisement for the Oprah Winfrey Network, and it features Black Eyed Peas rapper Will.I.Am singing a bonus track from his group's newest CD, The Beginning, while Winfrey narrates, according to CDInsight.com . In the commercial, Winfrey asks, "What if I could take every hero who inspired me; every lesson that motivated me; every opportunity that was ever given to me; and give it to you? Now here we are. This is our day. This is our moment." The network launches next month.
Speaking of Winfrey, she, Sir Paul McCartney, country-music legend Merle Haggard, Broadway composer Jerry Herman and revered choreographer Bill T. Jones were the most recent group to receive the Kennedy Center honors, USA Today reported. At a reception Dec. 5, President Obama said of Winfrey, "She has shown millions of people around the world—people she probably will never meet—what it means to believe in 'the dream of your own life.'" Herman, 79, who is gay, rose to Broadway fame as the composer and lyricist for Hello, Dolly and La Cage aux Folles, according to WNYC.org . Jones, who is also gay, founded the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company in 1982 and has won a Tony for his work in the rock musical Spring Awakening.
A group of female singers joined forces to tape the "VH1 Divas Salute the Troops" concert Dec. 3 at a Marine Corps air hangar in San Diego, Calif., according to Popeater. (The show ran on TV Dec. 5.) Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj duetted on a cover of Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, and R&B singer Keri Hilson sang with country act Sugarland on a cover of Aretha Franklin's "Respect." Kathy Griffin hosted the event.
Just Kids, rock singer Patti Smith's memoir about her relationship with the late photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, recently won the National Book Award for nonfiction, according to USA Today. A teary-eyed Smith said that she always wondered "what it would be like to win a National Book Award. Thanks for letting me find out." She also urged people to "never abandon the book, no matter how much we advance technologically." Mapplethorpe, known for his homoerotic works, died in 1989 at age 42 from AIDS-related complications.
Four decades after the late Doors lead singer Jim Morrison was arrested for indecent exposure at a concert, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist is working to have the entertainer pardoned, according to the Washington Post. Morrison was convicted in 1970, and was appealing the sentenced when he died the following year. Crist said that he will submit Morrison's name to the state's clemency board, which would have to approve the pardon. The board meets Dec. 9, according to Rolling Stone magazine.
Lesbian tennis icon Martina Navratilova is climbing the highest peak in Africa, Mt. Kilimanjiro in Tanzania, for a good cause, according to CBS Sportsline. Navratilova is scaling the 19,340-foot mountain to raise awareness and money for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. Navratilova has not climbed higher than 12,000 feet but is used to high altitudes, considering she resides in Aspen, Colo. The fundraising goal of the climb is $134,000.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has released the 10th video of the "New Yorkers for Marriage Equality" campaign—and it features Whoopi Goldberg, according to a press release. HRC has released videos from Goldberg, Moby, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Julianne Moore and Kenneth Cole, among others. An equal-marriage bill failed last year in the New York state Senate by eight votes.
Chris Colfer, who plays the openly gay Kurt on the TV show Glee, will make his film debut in Struck by Lightning, which he also wrote, according to Advocate.com . The movie, set up with David Permut, is described as a coming-of-age comedy in the style of the late director John Hughes, the mind behind classics such as Pretty in Pink and The Breakfast Club.
And speaking of Glee, Katie Couric—known for being the anchor on the CBS Evening News—will guest-star on an upcoming episode of the Fox show, according to Access Hollywood. The episode with Couric will air Feb. 6, right after the Super Bowl. Jane Lynch, who plays coach Sue Sylvester on Glee, said that Couric would perform "Tea for Two" with Matthew Morrison, who plays McKinley High glee-club coach Will Schuester.
At the recent Hollywood Reporter's Power 100 Women in Entertainment breakfast, Sherry Lansing Leadership Award recipient Dame Helen Mirren credited her parents for her success, according to NPR. Mirren, who received the award from fellow Oscar winner Halle Berry, said that her parents raised her to aim for economic independence in whatever career she chose to work. She also said that Hollywood "continues to worship at the altar of the 18- to 25-year-old male, and his penis" as she said she was seen "the survival of some very mediocre male actors and the professional demise of some very brilliant female ones."
