Liev Schreiber and Naomi Watts arrive at the 'Poiret: King of Fashion' Costume Institute gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. (photo: Michael Loccisano/FilmMagic.com)

Springtime for Winter

This spring Terence Winter (writer/producer for 'The Sopranos') is celebrating the premiere of his feature film 'Brooklyn Rules,' and the birth of his son Maximilian — and both are the result of collaborations with the same woman, girlfriend Rachel Rothman (the film's executive producer). "It's really because of her that the movie got made," Winter explained by phone from his LA home. "She's tenacious. She read my script in 1999 and wouldn't let it go." In fact, it was trying to get the script for 'Brooklyn Rules' to the big screen that brought them together. After a few false starts she introduced director Michael Corrente to Winter and everything fell into place.

Winter, who had been writing for TV for several years, started trying to write feature films that he thought would sell: "big buddy action movies, comedies, that sort of thing. But nothing really clicked for me until I started fooling around one day with something that I actually did know about which was the relationship between my best friends and I." 'Brooklyn Rules,' about three best friends whose lives are impacted when one of them gets involved with the mob, has been garnering nice advance buzz. "The movie is largely autobiographical. The relationships between the three friends are very accurate and then it veers off into fiction when it gets into mob territory," he explains. Really? "Or at least that's what I'm gonna swear to the police," he laughs.

Winter has watched the film with his two best childhood friends (from Marine Park, Brooklyn) who are still his two best friends. Freddie Prinze Jr. plays Winter's character, Scott Caan ("a revelation," says Winter) plays his friend Chris and Jerry Ferrara plays his friend Bobby. "That was bizarre sitting there with Bobby and Chris, watching three actors play us having identical conversations we'd had when we were teenagers and young adults. I'm very proud of it. It really works. People laugh and cry in the right places."

Winter acknowledges there's "'Sopranos'-style mayhem" in the film — pointing to a scene in which Alec Baldwin's character punishes a hapless guy who makes the mistake of trying to get a garbage contract in Brooklyn. "Alec cuts his ear off on a delicatessen meat slicer. I was saving that for my own movie. That never happened on the 'Sopranos.' You can't give everything away."

The movie opens May 18th in NYC, LA, Boston and Providence. (photo: Amy Tierney/WireImage.com)

Parent Trap

Hallmark may not have a card for this one. Adrian Grenier's always called his mother on Mother's Day, but for most of his life, he's also wished her a happy Father's Day as well. "Growing up, she was both a mother and father to me," he recently said.

In 2001 (three years prior to landing 'Entourage') he set out to reconnect with his father and made a documentary about it with his friend Jonathan Davidson. "I didn't necessarily think I needed a father," Grenier said, "but you start to wonder, 'Who am I? Does a father really matter?'" His doc, 'A Shot in the Dark,' which explores these questions, will air on Father's Day on HBO. (photo: Stephen Lovekin/WireImage.com)

[The Hollywood Gossip]

Cool and Refreshing

It seems obvious that Ice-T + Beach would make an ideal pairing, but Ice-T the rapper and Manitoba-born actor Adam Beach playing NYC detectives? That's the refreshing combo that Dick Wolfe has teamed up for next season's 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.'

"I think we have similar backgrounds in the sense of having to fend for yourself," Beach told the Montreal Gazette recently. "It's weird. Chemistry is something you can't buy and sell. When me and Ice work together, we understand each other."

In the meantime, Beach can be seen in 'Luna: Spirit of the Whale' this weekend on Canadian TV (based on the true story of an orca whale that appeared in the harbor of an aboriginal village on Vancouver Island) and starting Memorial Day weekend in HBO's 'Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.' (photo: John Sciulli/WireImage.com)

[The Gazette]

James Gandolfini with son Michael at the Toronto Raptors vs. New Jersey Nets game. (photo: James Devaney/WireImage.com)

She Got Game

Carly Schroeder won the respect of male soccer players the old fashioned way: she kicked some ass. The 16-year-old actress plays the title role in HBO Films' 'Gracie,' coming in June, about a girl who joins the all-boy's soccer team when her soccer-star older brother dies. It is loosely based on the real-life story of the Shue family (actors Elisabeth and Andrew) whose brother William died in 1988. The Shue siblings co-star and Elisabeth's husband Davis Guggenheim ('An Inconvenient Truth') directs.

When she landed the part, Schroeder not only started training, she played pick-up games in the park on the weekends. "I wanted to make sure I was as believable (an athlete) as possible," she told the Boston Herald. "I scored a goal in the first game I played, and after that the boys were like, 'Blondie's got game. Let's not go easy on her,'" she added. "Yeah, I got kicked in the face a few times." (photo: Eric Charbonneau/WireImage.com)

[Boston Herald]

Soho Repped

Meryl Streep will be joining Lili Taylor, Joe Pantoliano, Matt Dillon and Tim Blake Nelson for an evening of play readings to benefit the downtown NYC theater group Soho Rep on May 14th. $250 - $1000 buys you various degrees of pre- and post-show hobnobbing with the stars. Also expected to attend are theater luminaries and Soho Rep angels Edward Albee, Olympia Dukakis, Buck Henry, Eileen Fulton and Mac Wellman. (photo: Alexandra Wyman/WireImage.com)

[Playbill.com]

Youthful Enthusiasm

Larry David has something in common with Heather Locklear, and it's not just sex appeal. It turns out both actors have logged a stint on The Disney Channel's 'Hannah Montana' after attending live tapings with their kids.

The show, which follows a pop star (Hannah) rolling incognito as a Malibu teen, captures David arguing with a maitre d' who bars him from a Hollywood hotspot. As David frets, Hannah's star wattage propels her through the line with ease. David's daughters, Cazzie and Romy, also appear in the scene, which airs May 18. (photo: Theo Wargo/WireImage.com)

[NY Post]

Ginnifer Goodwin and Chris Klein at the 'Poiret: King of Fashion' Costume Institute Gala at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. (photo: Jamie McCarthy/WireImage.com)

Take Five

Mexican directors Guillermo del Toro ('Pan's Labyrinth'), Alfonso Cuarón ('Children of Men') and Alejandro González Iñárritu ('Babel') are packaging themselves along with Rodrigo Garcia ('Six Feet Under' and 'Big Love') and Carlos Cuarón (co-writer of 'Y Tu Mama Tambien') in a five-picture deal for the bargain price of $100 million.

As part of the deal, the winning studio would have to green light all five movies at once. According to Variety, they are in the early stages of negotiations. Iñárritu's rep said discussions "are in the third inning of a nine-inning game." (photo: Jeffrey Mayer/
WireImage.com)

[L.A. Times]

Toying with Acting

Young ladies across the country have stopped decking out their dolls in favor of styling themselves. An open casting call has drawn hopefuls to New York, Chicago and L.A. to audition for a spot in a film based on the popular books, dolls and videos of the 'American Girl' world.

With a script from Ann Peacock, who adapted 'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' for a feature, the Picturehouse movie is set to debut in July 2008. (photo: Amy Graves/WireImage.com)

[Variety]

Something Fishy

After 50 years in the acting business, 'Big Love''s Bruce Dern decided to take to the couch, enlisting Jack Nicholson's biographers to "be my psychiatrists for a few months." The result is his just-released memoir, 'Things I've Said But Probably Shouldn't Have,' and the actor is in the midst of a book tour, regaling audiences with his tales.

Reviewers seem to be taking pleasure in agreeing with the title. In a recent review for EntertainmentWorld.us, Walter Reichert reports on one of the book's anecdotes about Dern being called in by Coppola to test for the role of Tom Hagen in 'The Godfather' (which would be played by Robert Duvall). Dern knew Duvall was up for the role, knew he was perfect for it, and told Coppola: "If you don't hire him (Duvall) to play the role of Tom Hagen ... you might end with a note in your box someday that smells like fish. And there's two things that smell like fish, Francis. And one of 'em's fish." (photo: Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic.com)

[EntertainmentWorld.us]

Luke Perry and Luis Guzman at the TAO Beach Club Grand Opening in Las Vegas. (photo: Seth Browarnik/WireImage.com)

Makeover Madness

There must be something in the bottled water in Hollywood. Style observers note that many of the British actresses who head to the land of red carpets are quickly transformed into perfectly hi-lited, well-toned glamour pusses.

Ashley Jensen who went from Ricky Gervais's frumpy sidekick to Ugly Betty's stylish confidante is the latest makeover casualty. Even Jensen admits to the change: "I do sometimes look at myself and think this wee Scots girl from Annan's been superimposed on a glossy American thing." (photo: Jordan Strauss/WireImage.com)

[Pak Tribune]

Back to School

James Gandolfini was back at school last week — talking to the students at Paramus Catholic High School about how he got his start acting. He was raising money for a scholarship fund in honor of his father, who worked as the school's custodian and in food services for 40 years. "His wisdom came out of himself, and I'm proud of that," Gandolfini said of his father (also James).

He was joined by co-star Tony Sirico (Paulie Walnuts) and the two joked about how the series was going to end: "I kill Tony Soprano and I kill Carmela the same night," Sirico said. "I touch his hair, and he kills us all," retorted Gandolfini. (photo: Bobby Bank/WireImage.com)

[NorthJersey.com]

Fed to the Lions

Kevin McKidd has enjoyed success since his tour on 'Rome,' and he's earned the scars to go with it. With routine 14-hour days on the Italian set, even a soldier's constitution takes a beating: "It became so exhausting and intense that I got headaches, especially when we were shooting a battle scene in the hot summer," he said. "The heavy iron chain mail that we wore was very uncomfortable, and we had it on for more than 10 hours daily." (photo: Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage.com)

[New Straits Times]

Stella Keitel and Robert Iler at the after party for a screening of 'Away From Her.' (photo: Joe Kohen/WireImage.com)

Pop Royalty

Justin Timberlake, whose August tour stop at Madison Square Garden will fuel an HBO special, has been caught cavorting with ex Cameron Diaz — in the magical kingdom of 'Shrek the Third,' that is. Voicing a dorky King Arthur in the film, the former *NSYNC pop prince says he drew the character's insecurity from the bottomless well of adolescence. "I used to get picked on all the time," he says. "I had terrible acne, weird hair. My arms were too long." (photo: Joe Kohen/WireImage.com)

[MSNBC]

[AllHeadlineNews.com]

Along Came Polley

The day before leaving for the set of HBO's miniseries 'John Adams,' actress Sarah Polley attended the New York opening of her directorial debut 'Away From Her.' The accomplished 28-year-old cut her teeth on a film adaptation of an Alice Munro story about a couple dealing with the wife's Alzheimer's after 45 years of marriage. It stars Julie Christie, Gordon Pinsent and Olympia Dukakis. As Polley noted: "...the first day of rehearsal was completely intimidating. All of a sudden, I realized I was making this film and directing Olympia Dukakis and Julie Christie, which was kind of an insane way to start. So it was certainly terrifying but they just sort of dispelled all that stuff pretty fast."

Polley took two years off of acting to direct the film but is returning to acting with her role as John Adams' (Paul Giamatti) daughter Maggie. As for her future directing and acting careers, she says: "I have this very optimistic fantasy that I'll somehow be able to juggle both and do both equally, and I think I'll just see how it works out. I don't think I can know at this point." (photo: Joe Kohen/WireImage.com)

[About.com]

[ComingSoon.net]

A Lot of Talk

If you watch a lot of PBS, Discovery Channel or HBO, the voice calmly informing you about nature, history, sports or secrets of the dead may be the dulcet tones of Liev Schreiber. Turns out the actor has a substantial second career as a voice-over narrator. Currently he's recording the narration for 'Brooklyn Dodgers,' for HBO, as well as some of the 'De La Hoya-Mayweather 24/7' episodes. "It's a calm voice that cuts through," said Ross Greenburg, president of HBO Sports. "He reads a line with passion, but with a distant passion, like your grandfather telling you stories." Schreiber, who hits the sound booth on his down time from starring in 'Talk Radio' on Broadway, likes the perks of on-the-job learning: "It's like graduate school," he said, "and you get paid." (photo: Thomas Concordia/WireImage.com)

[New York Times]