Isabella Rossellini and Annabella Sciorra at IFP's 16th Annual Gotham Awards (photo: Stephen Lovekin/WireImage.com)

Snow Bound

HBO stars head to Sundance

"We're on the cusp of a new era of independent film. It's not so much about innovation, but a whole new horizon of what independent film engages with." So said Sundance Film Festival director Geoffrey Gilmore as he announced the festival's 2007 line-up. Among the competing entrants are some familiar names:
'The Sopranos' Drea de Mateo is in Steve Berra's 'The Good Life' with 'Big Love' stars Bill Paxton and Harry Dean Stanton. She's also in the cast of Zoe Cassavetes' directorial debut 'Broken English,' starring Parker Posey, Cassevetes' mother Gena Rowlands, 'Six Feet Under' actor Justin Theroux and Dr. Melfi's shrink Peter Bogdanovich.

'Six Feet Under' alumni Lauren Ambrose and Lili Taylor star with 'Unscripted' 's Frank Langella in 'Starting Out in the Evening,' directed by Andrew Wagner.

And "Uncle Junior" Dominic Chianese stars with Heather Graham in Alfredo de Villa's 'Adrift in Manhattan.'

Sundance runs from January, 18-28 in Park City, Utah. (photo: Amy Graves/WireImage.com)

[Variety]

[E! online]

Object Oriented Programming

Peter Krause on the importance of things

Usually it's losing your keys that's frustrating, but in the new Sci Fi series 'The Lost Room,' premiering Dec. 11th, Peter Krause's character finds a hotel room key that causes him to lose his daughter. Talking to reporters recently, the NY Post reports, Krause ruminated on the meaning of objects in modern life: "Our human interaction with the objects around us is really a fascinating Rorschach test, whether it's in this story or in our own lives."

Some of the other objects the characters in 'Lost Room' grapple with include a comb that makes you disappear, a watch that cooks an egg and a electricity-charged pen. "For the characters in the [miniseries], their [true] character is revealed through their interaction with the objects," Krause said. Julianna Margulies, Kevin Pollak, Elle Fanning, Chris Bauer ('The Wire,') and Margaret Cho will also be coming into contact with those objects in the series. (photo: Jason Merritt/FilmMagic.com)

[NY Post]

George Clooney en route to the 'The Late Show with David Letterman.' (photo: Marcel Thomas/FilmMagic.com)

Strange Bedfellows

Davis gets permission to play Broderick's wife

"I think comedy is a strange, hard thing to do and I like that challenge," says 'Sex and the City' 's Kristen Davis, whose new movie 'Deck the Halls' — with Matthew Broderick and Danny DeVito — opened last week. Of course, drama isn't a whole lot easier. "The last drama they sent me, I got violently killed halfway through and I just can't go there. You have to feel it. I wasn't excited about that."

Speaking of 'feeling it' ...or not, according to Newsday, Davis' on-screen relationship with Broderick's character, Deck, is similar to Charlotte and Trey's tightly-wound marriage in 'Sex and the City.' Davis, who asked former co-star Sarah Jessica Parker if she'd mind her stepping in to play wife to hubby Matt, says of Deck: "I don't know if I'd be drawn to a man like that. He's so rigid and controlled and I'm not really that way." BTW, Sarah was all for the pairing, and checked out the Vancouver set to say hello. (photo: Steve Granitz/WireImage.com)

[Newsday]

Tambourine Man Talks to Millman

Ricky hits the airwaves with Bob Dylan

The times they are a changing for "background artist" Andy Millman...not to mention his alter ego. In a throwback to his previous life, Ricky Gervais will take to the airwaves next month. And he'll be interviewed by one of his heroes, Bob Dylan, on the music legend's XM radio show. Gervais, who managed a band before landing his first "office" job at London's XFM radio, eventually landed his own radio show with his one-time assistant, Stephen Merchant. Now he'll get to sit in the guest chair.

In addition to returning to 'Extras' in January, Ricky makes his mark stateside on this week's 'The Office.' He co-wrote an episode with Merchant, and according to the NYPost's Linda Stasi, it's "throw-your-back-out-funny in that hugely embarrassing, please-don't-go-there sort of way." (photo: Ferdaus Shamim/WireImage.com)

[NYPost]

[Ricky's bio]

Digging for Gold in Tinseltown

'Deadwood' 's John Hawkes on the modern gold rush

If you want to make a living as an actor, head to LA, says Minnesota native John Hawkes, who's in New York filming Ridley Scott's 'American Gangster' with Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe.

"I always equated actors moving to L.A., and this was long before 'Deadwood,' to a modern-day gold rush, with people panning for creative gold. It's a different thing to try your luck out there. And it's a bit like 'Deadwood' was, where a lot of people come with a plan and a little bit of money, just kind of falling off the turnip truck. And just like 'Deadwood,' there's people shooting at each other."

Hawkes, who made the move 16 years ago, added, "The odds are probably about the same, too. But the best way to do it is to try." (photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage.com)

[Deadwood Magazine]

The Kindest Villain

Ciarán Hinds is probably longing to wear a pair of Air Jordans about now. Fresh from the set of 'Rome,' the actor was forced to keep his sandals on for his next part — he plays King Herod, the Rome-appointed ruler of Israel, in the just-released Biblical film, 'The Nativity Story.'

The set was "a mini-United Nations," according to Oscar Isaac, the Guatemalan-born actor who plays Joseph. Mary is played by New Zealander Keisha Castle-Hughes, other actors hail from Iran, and Hinds is actually from Northern Ireland. Isaac spent a lot of time on the set "bedeviling" his austere Irish colleague with questions about how to portray scenes. "And he answered them all...the kindest people wind up being the best villains." (photo: Steve Granitz/WireImage.com)

[Catholic News Service]

[Variety]

Star Turns in London

The prestigious 2006 London Evening Standard Awards took place at the Savoy Hotel on Monday, and on hand to celebrate the best of London theatre were 'Sex and the City' star Kim Cattrall, 'Deadwood' actor Brian Cox and Dominic West of 'The Wire.'

West recently took over the lead in Tom Stoppard's 'Rock 'N' Roll,' which won Best Play and Best Actor (Rufus Sewell). Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori's 'Caroline, or Change' took the prize for Best Musical. And Kathleen Turner took home the Best Actress award for her performance as Martha in 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe.' "As an American actress I have had Tony nominations before," Turner told the crowd, "but I have such great admiration for the quality of British theatre that I am truly thrilled." (photo: Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic.com)

[Broadway World]

[The Independent]

Nicole Kidman at the London premiere of 'Happy Feet.' (photo: Chris Uncle/FilmMagic.com)

Date with Destiny

A Tenacious journey to the middle

Now that their "rocudrama," 'Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny' (the 83% true story of the Greatest Band of All Time), hit the big screens over the weekend, the not-quite-right rock duo of Jack Black and Kyle Gass are set to amp it up at Madison Square Garden on Friday.

Asked about their slog up the ladder of mediocre success, Black outlined their trajectory: "We started performing live in '94, three years later we had an HBO show, three years after that we had a record." Gass continues their story: "Two years after that we had a DVD and two years after that, we were making a movie. We're very consistently slow."

Not without some modesty, the two concede their movie is not quite as good as some, but is definitely better than the Orson Welles classic 'Citizen Kane.' Gass sums up: "If you put on our movie, 'Click,' and 'Citizen Kane'...well, you'll have a big mess. But if you play Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' during 'The Wizard of Oz,' while listening to D on the headphones, you'll find the meaning of life." (photo: Soren McCarty/WireImage.com)

[AP via Quad City Times]

[NY Daily News]

Jolly Teen Giant

Stephen Merchant on the couch

"I've always wished I had more neuroses," says Stephen Merchant, Ricky Gervais' collaborator on 'The Office' and 'Extras.' "Some kind of religious upbringing I could rebel against, or that my father was a drunk." He's had to settle for being stilt-walker tall, 6'7" by his teens, a traveling freak show. "People's heads would be turning and looking at me and I'd think — well, if they're going to look at me, it may as well be because I've been on telly, and I'm a comedian," he tells the UK's Observer. Sure enough, Gervais, who hired Merchant to be his assistant at a fledgling alt radio station in '97, says he can't look at his sidekick without cracking up.

Despite his recent success, Merchant has been enjoying a second stab at youth. He likens appearing in 'Extras' to "dressing up when you're a kid...playing cowboys and indians." And he still lives like a student, "but with nicer carpets. That's a lovely position to be in." (photo: Alison Buck/WireImage.com)

[The Observer]

All in the Family

Casting the net for kids without parents

She's put together some of the most legendary and award-winning ensembles on the screen, and this past Sunday, Emmy-winning casting director Sheila Jaffe ('The Sopranos' and 'Entourage') gathered a few of her talented friends to serve Thanksgiving dinner to 50 orphans and foster kids as part of the Felix Organization/Adoptees for Children, a nonprofit she founded with Darryl McDaniels.

Edie Falco, Steve Buscemi, Dana Delany, Aida Turturro, Piper Perabo, Steve and Maureen Van Zandt, and Joe Gannascoli were among those pitching in to give the kids a special family-style feast. The organization also raises money for holiday gift certificates and summer camp for foster kids. (photo: Theo Wargo/WireImage.com)

[Liz Smith/The New York Post]

[Adoptees for Children]

Sarah Jessica Parker, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton and Matthew Broderick at the opening of Patricia Broderick's art show. (photo: Jamie McCarthy/WireImage.com)

Robert Altman (1925-2006)

Robert Altman, who passed away last Monday due to complications from cancer, had spent his last months on the road with his last film 'A Prairie Home Companion,' (a Picturehouse release). The revered director, who settled into his film career later than most (he was 45 when his first big screen success, 'MASH' came out) received five Academy Award nods for best director but never won — though he was given an honorary award at the 2006 ceremony.

Meryl Streep, who starred in 'Prairie' reflected: "Bob's restless spirit has moved on....I have to say, when I spoke with him last week, he seemed impatient for the future. He still had the generous, optimistic appetite for the next thing, and we planned the next film laughing in anticipation of the laughs we'd have." (photo: Eric Charbonneau/WireImage.com)

[Chicago Sun Times]

[Monsters & Critics]

Watching Clea

Talking to TV Guide, 'Heroes' star Greg Grunberg sang the praises of his partner in crime-fighting on the show, Clea Duvall. When TV Guide commented on how Duvall was "sort of sneaked" onto the show in the role of Grunberg's boss, he replied, "I was absolutely beside myself. She is so talented, she underplays everything.... There are actors who just "have" something, and she has a watchable, magnetic quality. She brings it."

Duvall will also be bringing it to the big screen starting Dec. 1 when 'Two Weeks' a "bittersweet" family comedy opens. Duvall plays one of the family members who returns home to bid farewell to their dying mother (Sally Field) who takes longer than expected to say goodbye. (photo: Gregg DeGuire/WireImage.com)

[TV Guide]

[Hollywood Reporter]

Sleeping in Seattle

Charlize Theron and Outkast's Andre 3000 have been sleeping in Seattle this month, shooting 'Battle in Seattle.' The film — based on the turmoil created by the 1999 World Trade Organization meeting where peaceful protests morphed into riots that led to a state of emergency — also stars Woody Harrelson and Ray Liotta.

Actor Stuart Townsend (Theron's beau) makes his directorial debut with the script he also penned. (photo: Rick Diamond/WireImage.com)

[Access Hollywood]