exclusives
‘View’ Catfight Of The Century Part 2: Joy Tells Hasselbeck ‘You Make A Fool Of Yourself!’
2:24AM Kyle Buchanan | To your left, witness Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Joy Behar in happier times at the 2006 launch party for Behar’s book, which was for some reason entitled Sheetzucacapoopoo: My Kind of Dog. Sadly, peaceful scenes like that may be few and far between now, thanks to constant on-screen warring and, most especially, backstage battle royales. Yesterday, we brought you word from a Defamer operative about a behind-the-scenes fight between Behar and Hasselbeck that went down after cameras for The View stopped rolling. Now, another tipster has written in to corroborate the account, as well as add new details: More »
EXCLUSIVE: Former MTV VJ Dave Holmes On The Demise Of ‘TRL’, MTV’s Current Programming Slate
8:00AM Kyle Buchanan | When we heard the news that MTV mainstay TRL was headed for that great cancellation box in the sky, we decided to get some inside scoop from one of the people who knew it best: former MTV VJ Dave Holmes. The music buff first appeared on the channel as the runner-up to Jesse Camp on MTV’s 1998 Wanna Be a VJ contest, but he outlasted the offbeat Camp and hosted multiple shows on MTV, eventually ascending to his own major place in the TRL firmament. So what does Holmes make of the cancellation — and the current state of MTV in general? Lauren Conrad, you’ve been warned:
Exclusive: David Cronenberg Knows What Defamer Is And Still Lets Us Interview Him
7:25AM Defamer Hollywood | When you think of opera, be honest, you start to nod off a little bit. Well, David Cronenberg is about to change all that. The director who made the more watchable of the two Crash movies has turned his 1987 cult classic, The Fly, into a full-blown opera. It’s getting its US premiere this weekend at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and, for some reason, Cronenberg agreed to tell Defamer all about it. Join us after the jump as the notoriously oddball auteur opines on everything from the Oscar race to who’s freakier, him or David Lynch. More »
Exclusive: ‘Tropic Thunder’ Writer Stops Making Fun Of Mentally Challenged People Just Long Enough To Let Us Interview Him
8:10AM Defamer Hollywood | Take a good look at that Tropic Thunder poster. Go past the glossy, airbrushed photos of the film’s many stars, past the lush jungle setting, past the fiery explosions, and you might notice something. See there? Down at the bottom? It says “Screenplay by Ben Stiller & Justin Theroux, and Etan Cohen.” Sure, other more “legitimate” media outlets may give all the ink to those first two dudes, but here at Defamer we like to dig a little deeper. Just who is this Etan Cohen fellow and how did he get roped in to working on the biggest comedy of the summer? Stick around after the jump to hear one of Hollywood’s newest writing stars dish the dirt about meeting Tom Cruise for the first time, what it feels like to suddenly have people kissing your arse, and why you shouldn’t be offended by all that Simple Jack stuff.
EXCLUSIVE: Dennis Hopper Pleased With New Film, Not So Much With Career
2:30AM STV | For all the talk about Sir Ben Kingsley’s sex scenes with Penelope Cruz and Patricia Clarkson, the new film Elegy arguably features an even more up-front intimacy between the Oscar-winner and Dennis Hopper — Kingsley’s sidekick in academia who counsels him through an intense romantic relationship with an ex-student (played by Cruz). We won’t spoil it for you; let it suffice to say the role is Hopper’s latest in a marathon of work that has seen three films released this year and finds the 72-year-old halfway through shooting Starz’ adaptation of the Paul Haggis film Crash. We tracked Hopper down this week to run through Elegy, Crash and the 50-plus turbulent years that preceded them — all in five convenient questions (and a few surprisingly candid replies) after the jump. More »
Exclusive: So Kirsten Dunst, Josh Hartnett And An Olsen Twin Walk Into A Bar…
6:20AM Molly Friedman | Silly Kirsten Dunst. Temporarily living outside of her natural celeb-friendly West coast habitat where any late-night messiness is handily kept on the DL by celebrity-catering club warlords, the recently rehabbed star is currently staying in New York while filming All Good Things. And the many sightings sent in by helpful Manhattanites haven’t exactly painted Dunst as the soberific poster child perfected of late by Miss Lindsay Lohan. The NY Post chimes in today reporting that Dunst continued her boy-crazy habits of yore by making out with the DJ at the celeb-infested Beatrice Inn two nights ago. But a Defamer tipster had the pleasure of spotting Kirsten last night at the same bar, and rather than cozying up to the same DJ, the actress spent the entire night flirting, following, and eventually frisking another Beatrice regular: that talented thespian, Josh Hartnett. Details on what our tipster witnessed, and which Olsen twin watched the romance blossom from afar, after the jump. More »
Exclusive: Debunking The Marilyn Monroe ‘Sex Tape’ Hoax
11:00AM Mark Graham | Yesterday, news broke that an ancient sex tape allegedly showing Marilyn Monroe giving a blowjoy to an unidentified male had not only surfaced, but had also been sold to an anonymous New York collector for $1.5 million. The NY Post’s Hasani Gittens broke the story after interviewing Keya Morgan, a memorabilia collector who claims to have brokered the sale of the 15 minute reel. However, what the Post failed to mention in their story is that Morgan is well-known within the tight-knit circle of Marilyn Monroe memorabilia collectors for being a sycophantic, press hungry namedropper (check out his likely self-penned IMDB bio) whose main objective is to promote himself and the Monroe documentary that he is working on. Not only has he been known to casually claim that he has dated both Mariah Carey and Renee Zellweger, he has thus far refused to disclose either the names of either the seller or buyer of the tape; additionally, he has not been able to provide evidence that this alleged sale even occurred. More »
Exclusive: Sony Execs Tried To Pressure MSNBC Into Killing Will Smith Scientology Story
8:40AM Molly Friedman | Defamer has learned that executives at Sony tried to have an MSNBC story outing Will Smith as a closeted Scientologist killed. With the Smith tentpole Hancock slated for a July release, execs are clearly worried their big summer blockbuster will turn into another Mission:Impossible 3 conundrum, when Tom Cruise’s anything-but-glib antics spurred petitions against the film and damaged the film’s B.O. on both the domestic and international fronts. In an effort to prevent a similar shitshow come July, our source claims Sony forced a denial statement out of Smith after MSNBC stuck by their original story: “After word got out that Will was a secret Scientologist, reps from Sony [the studio behind Hancock] completely flipped out, and asked that the online exclusive be taken down immediately. After being refused, Sony forced Smith to speak out and release a denial statement.” But how did his friends in the Church take the news? Find out after the jump.
Exclusive: Scientology ‘Straight’ening Closeted Actors For Years, Says Author
3:28AM Defamer Hollywood | Is Scientology just a fancy term for reparation therapy? That’s what investigative journalist Ian Halperin, author of books on Kurt Cobain’s death and the underbelly of the modeling world, is claiming in his new tome, Hollywood Undercover, out today. After claiming to be a gay actor afraid that revelations of his homosexuality would ruin his career, the Church took him in, promising they could “cure him of his sexuality through auditing,”or, you know, asking him to pay up. We asked Halperin if he had any dirt on the usual suspects (Tommy C. and Johnny T., natch), and learned way more than we wanted to. Hear why Travolta remains a smiley scientologist out of fear, why bisexual Anna Nicole Smith refused to join the tribe, and details on founder L. Ron Hubbard’s proven contempt for these “sexual perverts” after the jump. More »
