Movies

Then I just heard KABC's Marc Brown say this stunner: Based on a nationwide poll, only a pathetic 9 (nine) percent of Americans saw all five movies nominated for Best Picture. And only 31 (thirty-one!) percent of Americans saw any of the the Best Picture nominees at all.

Wow.

I mean, don't get me wrong: I think "Letters from Iwo Jima" is the best movie I've seen in years; you'd have to go back to the Oscars of 2004 and "City of God" to find as compelling a film. But when the front-runner for Best Foreign Film ("Pan's Labyrinth") has out-grossed a Best Picture nominee like "Iwo Jima" by more than double, it doesn't bode well for the Oscar's Nielsen ratings. Even nominated "Iwo Jima" director Clint Eastwood looked like he was on total auto-pilot, absently responding to a question by ABC's George Pennacchio about whether award shows get tiring by saying, "We got 'Flags,' we got everything going." When his wife Dina pointed out to him, "That's nonsensical." Eastwood struggled on, "I'm just here... you know, I get some rubber chicken or something," walking away in mid-sentence. We wouldn't be surprised if viewers have the same reaction.

We're not talking about who designed Al's tux, or Tipper's gown; we're referring to the total 180 degree turn their image has taken in Hollywood over the past two decades: Back in 1987, Tipper's role in creating the much-derided Parents Music Resource Center would have made her a red carpet pariah. At the '87 Oscars, Tipper would have been dodging tomatoes, not walking on rose petals.

And even in 1997, a favorite Al Gore joke went, "How do you pick Al Gore out of a roomful of secret service agents?"

Punchline: "He's the stiff, unnatural one."

A few years and an Oscar-nominated documentary later, Gore's electrified the often-neglected documentary category. It's gratifying to see a smooth, relaxed and dare we say it, downright presidential Al Gore on the red carpet.

How come? Well, as Al put it, "I'm old enough to know that a red carpet is just a rug."

If only the Oscars were this much fun!

Sarah Silverman played host to the quirky Independent Sprit Awards last night, with "Little Miss Sunshine" dominating the ceremony. The film took home four awards, including top honors as Best Film.

Celebs like Rosario Dawson, Taylor Dayne, and a "bloodied" Neil Patrick Harris all sang ditties about each of the Best Film nominees in a brilliant attempt to break up the monotony of an awards show.

After cars that GM licensed for "Transformers" were unveiled during a pre-Academy Awards fashion event at Paramount Pictures, speculation has been rampant that GM may be debuting a line of specially-badged vehicles to coincide with the launch of DreamWorks' "Transformers: The Movie."

GM's cast of "characters" in the Michael Bay film include "Jazz," who's played by a Pontiac Solstice; "Ratchet," who's really a Hummer; and "Ironhide," who looks suspiciously like GMC's new TopKick.

Says Mike Jackson, GM North America Vice President of Marketing and Advertising, "'Transformers' is a compelling project and offers us a global platform for marketing GM products and building our brands; it represents the perfect intersection of entertainment, marketing and design."

Great.

Toyota expects to dramatically increase sales this year -- by half a million -- to 9.34 million vehicles. That's well ahead of troubled GM, which is actually in the throes closing plants and laying off 30,000 workers.

Rather than mulling some lame line of "Transformers"-badged cars, how about this crazy marketing idea, GM?

The "Charlie's Angels" stars obtained boarding passes, carried their own luggage and signed autographs as they made their way through LAX on Wednesday.

Drew was captivated by a furry new friend, as she petted a fellow passenger's puppy, almost forgetting to remove her shoes and sunglasses to go through the metal detector. See, even "Angels" have to go through security!

In the upcoming film "Reno 911: Miami," Niecy Nash is the butt of jokes, however it was her butt that was the big joke at the movie's premiere last week. Only thing is ... it wasn't her butt!

While fake breasts may be a dime a pair in Hollywood, Nash took to her red carpet premiere wearing a titanic prosthetic ass just to stay in character as Deputy Raineesha Williams. Now that's dedication!

Wilson flew down to spend Valentine's Day with Hudson, who is in Queensland filming "Fool's Gold" with the shirtless wonder himself, Matthew McConaughey.

Oscar winner Jamie Foxx is being sued by a fashion stylist for allegedly stiffing her on her salary.

In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, celebrity wardrobe stylist Stacy Young claims Foxx and Foxxhole Records failed to pay her for styling services rendered in 2006. Young says she was hired to work with Foxx for the BET Awards at a rate of $2,850 a day, as well as for "Miami Vice" press junkets at a rate of $3000 a day.

In the lawsuit, Young is asking for relief from the courts, but doesn't say the exact amount she is owed. Young claims she incurred "thousands of dollars in costs in connection with the services rendered," adding that she "turned down other employment offers" to work for Foxx. We ain't sayin' she's a golddigger!

A rep for Foxx could not be reached at press time.

A radiantly healthy-looking LiLo is playing a woman who develops a dual personality after enduring a brutal kidnapping. She is seen here on a night shoot for the thriller.

Lindsay had an appendectomy on January 4, and entered Wonderland rehab on January 17.

If you don't have kids, or aren't currently using Clearasil, you probably don't know that 2006's original Disney Channel movie "High School Musical" reached 100 million viewers worldwide. Or that its soundtrack -- RIAA certified as quadruple platinum - was the number one album for all of 2006. Or that 6.5 million DVDs of "High School Musical" have been sold. And you definitely aren't aware of the sold-out 42 city concert tour that featured most of the principal cast, or that some 2,000 high schools will be licensing the production to perform locally with their own students. In other words, these aren't deals Disney wants to see go asunder.

Apparently, Kevin Federline's recent self-effacing Superbowl stunt has inspired Tom Cruise.

Insiders tell TMZ that Tom Cruise has been talking with Ben Stiller about starring in an updated version of "The Hardy Boys" at Twentieth Century Fox. Tentatively titled "The Hardy Men" -- a comedy that would be directed by Stiller's director on "A Night At the Museum," Shawn Levy ("The Pink Panther," "Cheaper By the Dozen").

"The Hardy Boys" detective novels date back to 1927, though a variety of ghost writers using the pen name of Franklin W. Dixon kept Frank and Joe Hardy perpetual teenagers. "The Hardy Men" would have them finally grown up, but up to their old tricks once more.

While nothing is set in stone, (like, say, that T. Rex skeleton from "Museum") the discussions do reveal a larger, more interesting development stemming from Cruise's L'affaire de sofa d' Oprah: What to do next when your public image has taken a public beating?

While shooting continues today, the squeaky-voiced funnyman gets to enjoy the beautiful L.A. weather, while office workers in the area aren't so lucky; some won't be allowed to leave their buildings all day!

Dressing like your favorite film characters is now just a mouse click away. After allowing millions of viewers to buy outfits from their favorite TV shows like "American Idol" and music videos from artists like Fergie and The Game, StarStyle.com has just launched the new film section of their site.

Charge-aholics around the world can now purchase ensembles and accessories seen on the big screen. Parental guidance suggested! Fashions from "Because I Said So," the new romantic comedy starring Mandy Moore and Diane Keaton, are the first to appear on the website -- and feature everything from Diane von Furstenberg wrap dresses to Ernest Sewn jeans.

So if you don't feel like dodging paparazzi on Robertson Blvd., you can still get Diane's sexy sexagenarian swag and Mandy's mid-twenties mystique ... at the touch of your fingers.

In the wake of harsh criticism that Lindsay Lohan has not been taking her recovery seriously, TMZ has learned that Lindsay has decided not to star in the upcoming "A Woman of No Importance" so she can focus on getting better.

Lohan's publicist, Leslie Sloane Zelnik, tells TMZ that Lindsay is putting herself first and "decided not to push herself." Lohan, says Sloane, will be taking a few more months of downtime before she embarks on the press tour for the upcoming "Georgia Rule."

"Importance" is set to star Annette Bening. This is the second time Lohan has missed on an opportunity to work with the Oscar-nominated actress. Bening was originally cast as Lilo's mother in the hit "Freaky Friday," but had to bow out.

Breaking News: TMZ has learned that Russell Crowe has just come aboard a new project called "Nottingham," which just sold to Universal Pictures in a feverish, multi-studio bidding war that included Sony Pictures Entertainment and New Line Cinema.

"Nottingham" refers to the legendary town so often pillaged by English folk hero Robin Hood, and the script, penned by "Sleeper Cell" executive producers Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris, does for the Sheriff of Nottingham what the muscial "Wicked" did for "The Wizard of Oz": It shows the traditional antagonist in a far more sympathetic light.

With the sale of "Nottingham" estimated to be in the low seven figures, Reiff and Voris are, no doubt, exceptionally merry men, as is Crowe: He'll be taking his usual $20 million against 20% of the gross.

For anyone living under a rock for the last thousand years, Robin Hood operated in medieval times with a band of "Merry Men" - roughly 140 pious and courteous archers who robbed from the rich to feed the poor. It's a measure of the times we live in that the sheriff, who'd be played by Crowe, is now the sympathetic character.

The 26-year-old Gothy gamine has been spotted at various "Casino Royale" premieres around the world sporting ghastly manes that appear to be bloodcurdling homages to Morticia Addams and The Bride of Frankenstein. Boo!

Sadly, even the Rosie O'Donnell-spawned man-bob would be an improvement over Green's macabre bird's nest bristles.