Fancast: dish 'n dat

Soap fans are a very loyal bunch. They'll become fervently attached to these intricate shows for years (and many of these shows have the lifeline of several decades, so that's a long time!). They also show their numbers in support when something goes wrong (like a hiatus! dear god please keep OLTL running until the end of time). This is exactly what has happened recently, as fans of As the World Turns are showing their distaste of certain scenes which feature two gay characters, Luke and Noah. However, their distaste may not take the form of what you might think. The problem? The two men have barely touched each other on the show! What the heck?

Watch Luke and Noah not kiss on the latest episode of As the World Turns, at Fancast.

MSN reports:
Fans of the fictional romance between Luke Snyder and Noah Mayer are baffled about why the two characters haven't kissed on-screen since September, wondering whether it's a sign of squeamishness by CBS or show sponsors Procter & Gamble Co.

"As the World Turns," which premiered in 1956, had the first gay male character in daytime drama in 1988. Last August was another milestone — believed to be the first time two gay men kissed on a soap — when Luke surprised Noah with the sign of affection.

By now you must have heard about Jimmy Kimmel's hilarious retaliatory answer to girlfriend Sarah Silverman's crazy joke vid (hint: it has something to do with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon and a dirty word. No we're not talking Gigli). Kimmel goes on the record with Newsweek to talk about the videos, his fantasy involving a Jennifer Garner/Sarah Silverman encounter, and the hilarity that was John Stewart at the Oscars.

NEWSWEEK: Could you tell me how this whole thing got started? Did Sarah go behind your back and record the video with Matt Damon?
Jimmy Kimmel: That was a genuine surprise. She brought it on the show and showed it. It was supposed to be for my 40th-birthday show. But instead, since we were on strike, we aired it during my fifth-anniversary show.

You saw it live for the first time with everyone else?
Yeah. I didn't even know what was on the tape. It may be the first time I've been actually surprised on the show.

Did you pee yourself laughing?
No. I have pretty good control of my bladder.

Then you decided to make a video with Ben Affleck?
To be honest, I didn't think, "What am I going to do to retaliate?" because it seemed pretty invulnerable. Somebody here had the idea of Ben Affleck, and [Affleck] said, "I was thinking the same thing," and it all came together very quickly. We only shot one day, Ben and I. The next day we did studio shots. We did it on a Wednesday. We started in the morning and finished at 7 o'clock.

Did you tell Sarah?
I tried to keep it a secret, but it became too difficult. Then I realized there's no point to keeping it a secret.

"I'm a big fan of The Wire. It's not a happy show, but it's addictive. Michelle really enjoys The Dick Van Dyke show." Barack Obama to US Weekly.

So you went on the American Idol audition in your hometown and what did your acerbic wit get you? A lousy t-shirt and a scowl from Simon? Not so much for Kevin Covais, a previous American Idol contestant who, 2 years after auditioning in front of America, landed a role in a new Lionsgate film.

“College” – a teen comedy set to be released nationwide on April 11, 2008 – focuses on three high school students who enjoy a wild weekend away while looking at a prospective college.

Spending a significant amount of time during his own senior year of high school shooting the film in New Orleans, Covais admits – without a hint of arrogance – that the role actually came pretty natural to him.

Though becoming a household name for his singing, acting was an activity that the young star devoted an equal amount of time to while growing up, even performing in various musicals while still in school.

Acting was put on the backburner as Covais was selected as a finalist on the #1 show in America, American Idol, when he was only 16 years old, and looking it. He laughs as he tells a story of showing his library card to assistants on American Idol, as they doubted his age.

Few adults who make it on Idol probably realize what they’re in for, and that pressure can only be magnified for a teenager trying to balance school and the grueling T.V. schedule all at once.

Fancast attended the 6th Annual World Poker Tour Invitational Kick Off this weekend at the Commerce Casino, and although we didn't get to play poker (which is fine because we would have completely embarrassed ourselves) we rubbed elbows with and talked to several celebs, all of whom were having a blast. First up, the cocktail hour, where Hollywood stars mingled with each other and traded tips and tricks with their favorite poker stars.

The crowd then headed into the main game room, which quickly turned into a sea of poker tables and blinding cameras. You couldn't look twice at a table and not notice the star power. Daniel Baldwin, who was out with his wife, told us this was a particularly special night because it was their first night out after the birth of their baby. At another table, Montel Williams and Don Cheadle looked particularly mysterious and in "poker mode," while in the other side of the room, Matthew Lillard joked around with the players and press around his table. Other players, like Lukas Haas, Jeremy Sisto and Trishelle Cannattella chose to play in peace by hooking up their iPods.

After the initial rounds, we chatted up a few of the stars.

Starlet/Model Gemma Ward spoke to the Sydney Morning Herald about her thoughts on Heath Ledger:

"I think he operated from the heart. He really, really knew that if he was going to make a decision to be in a film, then he needed to be really committed to it," Ward, 20, tells Australia's Sydney Morning Herald.

"He wasn't afraid to fight with people involved, he wasn't afraid to perhaps piss people off," she said of Ledger, 28.

Ledger also gave advice to Ward, who has a budding career as an actress and stars in the upcoming film The Black Balloon. "He told me to always be a punk and 'stand up for yourself'." [Sydney Morning Herald, via People]

I'm working out, I'm eating my healthy food I get prepared. It is so much easier being in shape when you're on the show because you have a chef and the gym is right there, so you really have no excuse. --Eva Longoria to People magazine on getting back in shape for the new season of Desperate Housewives.

Nicki's frocks on Big Love are abysmal (pastel blouses, beige pantsuits, aack!) but Chloe Sevigny has a knack for fashion. Click HERE to check out her latest line, Chloe Sevigny for Opening Ceremony.

Sample Nicki's matronly duds at Fancast:
Big Love preview: Roberta's Funeral
Big Love preview: Easter

The literary set doesn't seem to have much to do this week, because a fight has erupted over at the New Yorker, with one writer pitted against the other in an intellectual battle over...Gossip Girl? Eh?

In what could be the biggest literary catfight since Lillian Hellman versus Mary McCarthy, The New Yorker's Janet Malcolm has taken on New Yorker television critic Nancy Franklin, right there in the very pages of the magazine. The subject of their contretemps is a text we can all agree is one of extreme literary consequence: The Gossip Girl series.

You may remember that back in November, when Franklin reviewed the Greatest Show of Our Time in The New Yorker, she callously dismissed the original text, as crafted by Nightingale graduate author Cecily von Ziegesar. "I’ve been told that some kids in Manhattan’s private-school population resent the way they’ve been depicted in the show," she wrote at the time, adding parenthetically, and cattily, ‘Or maybe they just want to distance themselves from a Nightingale graduate who can write a paragraph like this: “There was a box of orange Tic Tacs in her pocket with only one Tic Tac left. Serena fished the Tic Tac out and put it on her tongue, but she was so worried about her future, she could barely taste it.’”

If you follow that mindset, you're a sheep, baaa baaa sheep--Whoopi Goldberg to Elisabeth Hasselbeck today on The View.

Casey Affleck has been wowing audiences as of late with his Oscar-worthy performances in The Assassination of Jesse James and Gone Baby Gone, having gotten his start thanks to his brother. But did you know that the lady standing behind him also comes from a family of stars? Casey is married to Summer Phoenix, sister to Joaquin and the tragically departed River. She's had her turn in films like The Faculty, Committed, Reservation Road, SLC Punk and The Believer.

With any luck, the Phoenix-Affleck babies will be just as talented as their parents.

Catch Summer on the trailer for The Believer, at Fancast.

"Who is she? Oh, that girl in 27 Dresses?" Said Kate Hudson to UK Elle about Katherine Heigl. The blogs are jumping on the diss bandwagon, purporting that this was Kate's subtle attempt at telling the world she's just too important to care about some silly little TV star. Except, that this has happened to all of us. Do we really expect all of Hollywood to know, you know, all of Hollywood? Not really. Kate probably truly didn't know who Katherine was. [AOL News via Defamer]

Days before Heath's death, Michelle Williams talked about their breakup to Elle magazine. Little did she know that her words would be more telling than she could ever imagine:

At the time, she was still mourning their breakup. "I didn't know where to go" after their 2007 split, she says in the magazine's April issue. "I couldn't imagine any place in the world that was gonna feel good to me."

Williams, 27, dove into work on several films, because "when I have too much free time, that's when things start to get a little messy."

She als naturally focused on Matilda, 2, her daughter with Ledger. "She's bigger to me than any relationship, bigger than the awards," Williams says. "She's what came out of it." [People]

Daniel Martin over at the Guardian Unlimited is bemoaning the re-hashing of The Breakfast club into a younger, more updated version of itself (doesn't that happen like every day in Hollywood?) and into a film called Bumped. The fact that the producers of the new film dare to make a Breakfast Club comparison doesn't bode well with Martin.

I cannot decide whether this is wonderful news or terrible news. The seminal high school movie, The Breakfast Club, is going to be remade. Kind of. Ish. Nobody really seems sure.

John Hughes's 1985 cult classic saw five very different high school kids sent to Saturday detention (the very idea of Saturday detention lent the whole thing an exotic horror vibe). Each represented a different high school clique: a brain, a beauty, a jock, a criminal and a basket case. And after a day of conflict, recriminations, bitterness and bonding, they all learned they had more about them than could be contained by the strictures of their stereotypes. That one day was beautifully self-contained: a bubble in time. You knew that none of the five would ever speak to each other again - Hughes' screenplay was too real for that, the characters too well drawn and their circumstances too quietly devastating. It launched the careers of plenty of the Brat Pack - Emilio Estevez, Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy, Judd Nelson and Anthony Michael Hall - and this in spite of the freaky dancing segment in the gym. Quite rightly, Entertainment Weekly named it the best high school movie ever.

Heidi Montag and Natalie Portman are not the only stars getting their fashion on. Boys are jumping on the bandwagon too. Matthew McConaughey, shirtless and tanned man-about-town (seriously, if you hang out on Ocean Blvd. in Santa Monica you're bound to have at least one Matthew workout sighting) has launched his own line of swim trunks and t-shirts. Catch the line at matthewmcconaughey.com when it launches this summer.

Did you watch Hillary Clinton on SNL last weekend? Or Ellen Page's hilarious digital short and lesbian skit? If you missed it, watch the clips at Fancast. Never miss an episode of SNL again! Go out to that Saturday night party, don't worry, Fancast will always be there for you the morning after. We heart Fancast!

Digital short with Ellen Page
Watch the clip HERE

Democratic debate
Watch the clip HERE

Mayor Giuliani
Watch the clip HERE

Virginiaca
Watch the clip HERE

Editorial response from Clinton
Watch the clip HERE

TV Funhouse: The Obama Files
Watch the clip HERE

Two worlds have merged together today--a merge you probably never thought possible: Gangsta rap and wrestling (Run DMC doesn't count, they're too old school...and Limp Bizkit? Um, no). Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent are among the musicians added to the lineup at Wrestlemania XXIV. Do you smeeelll what the Snoop Dogg is cooking? You do? Ew. Wait, is that even the correct reference? Rolling Stone reports:

With the Grammys in the review mirror and the summer festival season still in the not-too-distant future, it’s time to focus on the next big event in pop music: Wrestlemania XXIV. The WWE’s annual fiasco, held this year at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, FL, will feature a bevy of musical performers and guests. John Legend will sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” to open the show, while Snoop Dogg will preside over something called the “BunnyMania Lumberjack Match,” which will involve four female wrestlers and possibly some woodcutting. It was also reported that 50 Cent will be in attendance as part of boxer Floyd “Money” Mayweather’s entourage. Mayweather uses 50’s “I Get Money” as his entrance music and will take part in a match against a gigantic man called the Big Show. Finally, the Red Hot Chili Peppers have provided the official song for the event: their “Snow (Hey Oh),” from 2006’s Stadium Arcadium, has been scoring promos for the show since January. Wrestlemania has a long tradition of musical guests, as groups like Motorhead, Limp Bizkit, Run-DMC, Salt-N-Pepa and P.O.D. have played the gig.

In the meantime, catch up on your wrestling watching WWE Monday night RAW at Fancast.

Fresh from the show Celebrity Rehab, finishing up Grey Gardens with Drew Barrymore and currently busy with his adorable new baby, Daniel Baldwin has quite a hectic schedule. Luckily, he has a little bit of spare time to watch TV. He shared his list with Fancast at the Celebrity World Poker Tour Invitational this past weekend.

Baldwin's favorite TV series:
1. All in the Family - One of the old sitcoms that I watch once in a while.
2. Discovery Channel shows
3. History Channel shows--I've always been a Discovery and History channel type person, a lot of documentaries.

What's the best series he's never seen?
Monk--I think is a great show that I don’t see that often. But, when I do watch I think it’s really well shot and an interesting show.

What one series does he always recommend to others?
Homicide: Life on the Street: I did a show once called Homicide: Life on the Street for Barry Levinson and Tom Fontana. I think it had the three elements that are imperative…the writing, the acting, but it had some of the most interesting and ground-breaking camera work done in television probably in the history of TV. So go ahead and check out Homicide Life on the Streets…

Who doesn't use MySpace as a confessional? Ashley Simpson sure does, and she used it to set the record straight about rumors surrounding a recent Washington D.C. radio appearance. The charge? That she was supposedly drunk. Not so, she says on her MySpace blog:

I just wanted to address the rumors from a couple days ago at a morning radio show. It was very upsetting to hear that people are saying that I was intoxicated when I came in for my morning interview. I take my work very seriously and would never disrespect anyone and come into an interview that way. Here is the honest to God truth and this is for none other then my fans:
The night before I had a good friend come to my hotel to give me a tattoo. When I arrived to the radio station I showed them the tattoo I got the night before. It is my belief that they automatically assumed that because I got a tattoo I must have drank that night. I would never get a tattoo after drinking nor would a reputable tattoo artist do a tattoo after someone was drinking. When I walked into the radio station I was thrown into the interview.

Adriana Lima and Karolina Kurkova at Victoria's Secret Unveiling of The New Biofit Uplift, in Los Angeles, CA, March 4, 2008. Models hamming it up for the camera.

Watch the Victoria's Secret models get goofy backstage at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show:

Adriana Lima profiled

Karolina Kurkova on Making the Collection.

Victoria's Secret Fashion Show Medley.

And more...

More photos after the jump.

The diss heard round the blogs:

"Dear Ex Lover. Perhaps you didn't understand the last time I told you to stop contacting me, so I'll do my best to spell it out for you. I do not wish to have you in my life anymore. I don't know how much more clear I can be about it. It would serve you best to move on with your life and find someone who can put up with you, because I'm done trying." --John Mayer to an anonymous ex, on his blog.

Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt never cease to amaze us. The couple's ups and downs and music videos have us glued to our chairs and our fingers tingling with excitement at the thought of blogging about any news about them that comes our way. Us Magazine has the latest scoop on the terrible two-some, including relevations on what's coming in the upcoming season (Spencer cheats!)

Watch the duo in real-time at Fancast.

In the explosive new trailer for the upcoming season of MTV's The Hills, it's evident the tension and drama between Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt has escalated. "When we get back to L.A., I need you to move out... I gave up everything for you!" Montag declares. "I'm not the one who wanted to see other people!"

Did Pratt give his number to another girl – or worse?

Montag and Pratt open up exclusively in the latest issue of Us Weekly, on newsstands now, about how another girl rocked their relationship, what to expect from the new season, and the death of Montag's step-brother.

Project Runway winner Christian Siriano talks to People about his MySpace page, his age and designing for Victoria Beckham:

Congratulations on winning! Earlier, you won the audience award. Did you expect to win that title?
I was a little surprised. I knew I was up there just because my sassy commentary. Don’t get me wrong! I have lots of MySpace friends. I [thought] it was going to be me or Chris or Sweet P . . . I’m glad people don’t think I’m a sassy diva. I’m nice, and I love people. I just like to be sassy and funny. I know I made a lot of comments, but you know, every comment I made [about another designer], you heard it from the judges! So, I wasn’t worried.

A lot has been made of your age and you being the youngest Project Runway winner. Do you think that ever overshadows your work?
The fact that I am young is wonderful because a lot of young designers and people who watch the show are really supportive . . . I’m glad I can be a mentor for them. But in general, yes, my age comes up a lot. But as you can see on the show, age has nothing to do with it. Jillian’s 26 — and Sweet P’s 46 . . . Even though they’re successful, [it] doesn’t mean that I can’t be as successful even though I don’t have as much so-called experience. I don’t want people to think my age hinders me . . . [And] I forget how old I am sometimes. I’m kind of like, “Oh, I am still really young.”

Blogs and outlets are reporting Kat Von D and 1980's musician Nikki Sixx may be an item, following the posting of pictures of the couple on Kat's MySpace page with the following caption:

"Never thought I'd fall in love like THIS. He OWNS my heart."

Check out Fancast's LA Ink goodies:

L.A. Ink: Kat Von D
Tattooing superstar Kat Von D spends quality time with Reality Chat. Kat gives us the inside info.

L.A. Ink: Kat Von D: Reality Chat
Tattooing superstar Kat Von D spends quality time with Reality Chat.

Corey Miller Interview
Kat Von D interviews friend and mentor Corey Miller.

When Miley Cyrus gets bored, she does what every red blooded American teen does. She vlogs! (video blogs) Except that she goes viral, getting 1 million hits in the process. Catch the clip below, in which Miley dances and goofs off with her best friend to Akon's Lonely.

Watch Miley Cyrus goof off with her pal on Hannah Montana, on the clip 'You Are So Sue-able to me'

Bourne Ultimatum star and Sarah Silverman's faux lover, Matt Damon, is having a baby. We hope someone broke it to Silverman very gently.

"They couldn't be happier," says Allen. "They're so excited!"

The current PEOPLE Sexiest Man Alive, 37, and his wife, 32, stepped out Sunday night at the Empire Film Awards in London – with Luciana glowing (and sporting a baby bump).

This is the third child for the family: Daughter Isabella was born in June 2006, and Luciana has a 9-year-old daughter, Alexia, from a previous marriage.

The actor is currently shooting the CIA thriller Green Zone in Morocco. [People]

It's fashion week in LA, which means the celebs will be out and about in full force, either showing off their fashion or showcasing their fashion lines. The Hills' Lauren Conrad is said to be getting ready for Tuesday's runway soirée at Smashbox Studios in Culver City, where she will be showing off her line.

The Hills star — who just turned 22 — picked the models to walk in her fashion show at a casting call yesterday at the People Revolution PR studios in L.A.

Also there to help: Pal Whitney Port, who works at the powerhouse public relations firm.

Conrad, who makes her L.A. Fashion Week debut Tuesday, ran into another reality star at the call: America’s Most Smartest Model contestant Andre Birieanu. [Us Magazine]

George Clooney sat down with Esquire and conducted a Google search of his name for the April issue. It ends up stirring up some very interesting discussions about Fabio, gay gay gay rumors, and the height of Donald Trump.

When asked about his alleged feud with Fabio last fall (in which the model said he could beat Clooney up), the actor responds, "Yeah, that's probably true. He's a big guy. There is a moment when you are actually in the argument and you're thinking, 'If I do get beaten down by Fabio, that will be far worse than the pain. I wouldn't shake that."

Also found in the magazine's Web search:

• When Esquire discovers a Web site that calls Clooney "gay, gay, gay," the good-natured actor quips, "No, I'm gay, gay. The third gay – that was pushing it."

• Donald Trump's recent "short guy" comments about Clooney. George, who is 5- feet 11-inches tall, responds, "I saw Donald Trump on Larry King and he was saying, 'Clooney is a very short guy. I mean he's a tiny guy.' I've met Donald Trump once, and I was sitting at a table. He came over, shook my hand, and walked away. I guess I looked about three foot five sitting at that table."

• They also surface a quote from Rupert Everett criticizing Clooney's Ocean's movies as a "cancer," to which Clooney replies: "Where did that come from? You kind of go, Dude, weren't you in Dunston Checks in?"

Tina Fey is a hard worker. So much so that she takes her work--and her writers--home with her after the day is done! She talks to Parade magazine about that delicate home-work balance.

Watch Tina work all night on 30 Rock.

Tina Fey is talking about princesses. Plastic princesses. As in the Disney series of figures and accessories, which her 2-year-old daughter is crazy about—and which, it must be said, Fey is not. “I think this is ingenious marketing, but that princess thing sets off an alarm bell for me,” Fey says. We’re having lunch at a café not far from her home on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

“You’re afraid...,” I begin.

“All that might creep back into our culture,” she says. “That a girl would really aspire to be the Little Mermaid, a beautiful redhead with no legs who waits for her prince! Who literally gives up her voice!” She laughs. “What are we doing? What’s going on?”