Shia LaBeouf at the photo call for his new film, 'Transformers.' (photo: Eduardo Parra/FilmMagic.com)

Good Cop, Bad Cop

Timothy Olyphant is showing his range. Having gained notoriety as Sheriff Bullock on 'Deadwood,' the actor can be seen starting next week as the new villain in the latest 'Die Hard' movie. He plays a former government employee who'd warned his bosses that someone could hack into the cyber infrastructure and bring down the country. And now he's out to prove it. This follows Olyphant's stint as "Mr. Yummy," the dude who wins Jennifer Garner in the rom com 'Catch and Release.' "I'm feeling fortunate that Hollywood is looking at me and they haven't figured out exactly what to do with me," he says. "The good part is that I'm getting to play all sorts of characters. Please put it out there that, if Martin Scorsese calls, I'm there!" (photo: Harold Cunningham/WireImage.com)

[Denver Post]

Working Vacation

When Keala Kennelly took a hiatus from pro surfing to shoot 'John From Cincinnati,' she was grateful for the break: "I was already kicking the idea around when I found out Tahiti had been pulled from the women's tour. I was tired of my value as a pro surfer being decided in mediocre waves."

But, with the 2007 X Games adding its first year of women's competition at Puerto Escondido — known as the Mexican Pipeline — Kennelly's getting back in the game. "Puerto is dope-big," she says, "thick barrels with a sand bottom, warm water, laid back vibe, tacos, margaritas, hammocks — I'm stoked it's a venue that has real waves. We are going to have a blast." (photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic.com)

[EXPN.com]

Laugh Riot?

"Sorry Ocifer, I only had tee martwonis." The police in rowdy old Scotland may be tired of that old joke but they're lining up for a laugh. Police chiefs are being inundated with officers volunteering to work during their time off — doing security at Ricky Gervais' show at Edinburgh Castle on August 26th. But rest assured that the officers will be busting up trouble, not busting a gut. Said a spokesperson: "It is no surprise we were oversubscribed as he is one of the most popular comedians in the country but I am sure our officers will be watching the crowd and not Ricky." (photo: Fred Duval/FilmMagic.com)

[Sunday Mail]

Flight of the Conchords performing at Bonnaroo 2007. (photo: Jason Merritt/FilmMagic.com)

Living La Vita Dolce

Michael Imperioli has traded in his Cleaver for an ax. "I'd been in two bands awhile ago, and it was something I was missing and wanted to do again," he told the Buzz. So about a year and a half ago he dusted off his guitar and formed the trio La Dolce Vita, along with drummer Olmo Tighe and bass player Elijah Amitin. (Tighe and Imperioli met on a film years ago: "Olmo was 8 and I was 25....I hadn't seen him in a long time, and then I found out he was a drummer...and I was looking for a drummer.") Imperioli is influenced by "The NY punk bands of early 70s — Television, Patti Smith, Lou Reed," he explains. His bandmates, who are in their twenties, add the 90s post-punk and grunge flair and together they write all of their tunes — save for one Yoko Ono cover they occasionally break out.

They haven't recorded yet so the only way to hear cuts like 'In Pink,' 'Diamonds into Dust,' or 'Stanley,' is to check out one of their live gigs. Up next: Don Hill's in New York (Greenwich and Spring) on Wednesday June 27th at 10 pm when indie rock artist AJ Lambert, granddaughter of Frank Sinatra and daughter of Nancy, will open with her band. (photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage.com)

[Don Hill's]

Keeping It Real

It's been 30 years since Natasha Richardson told her mother Vanessa Redgrave ('The Fever'): "I want you back," when she was longing for more time with her activist-actress mother. And now in the film 'Evening,' she asks it again — in a scene written especially for the mother and daughter by screenwriter Michael Cunningham ('The Hours'). In the scene, sitting by her dying mother's bedside Richardson asks Redgrave to come back to her for just five minutes. "It was emotionally painful. It felt like the floodgates were opening. It evoked so many thoughts, resonances in my life, my past and my future. But at the same time, it was also kind of cathartic in a way because you had a place to put all that stuff that was on the screen," Richardson explained. (photo: Marcel Thomas/FilmMagic.com)

[CanWest News Service via Canada.com]

Trash Collectors

No one's getting Tony's espresso machine anytime soon, but fans willing to settle for Junior's spatula got lucky Tuesday. Posting a hazy Craigslist ad, former 'Sopranos' co-producer Henry Bronchtein drew a crowd to a Queens warehouse full of old props that were priced to move. "It's just 10 years' worth of HBO crap," he told the NY Daily News.

Dalida Price, a 43-year-old from Maryland, walked away with a copy of Dr. Melfi's psychiatry certificate: "I'm definitely going to frame this," she said. "I don't care if it's the real thing or not, as long as I get a bargain." Oddly enough, the doctor was in the house — Lorraine Bracco came by for a meeting, but Bronchstein wouldn't confirm whether she indulged in any shopping. (photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage.com)

[NY Daily News]

Shooter Jennings and Drea de Matteo at the New York premiere of 'Broken English.' (photo: George Napolitano/FilmMagic.com)

Shakespeare, In Love

She beat out Sienna Miller for one of the roles of a lifetime — Juliet in the Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park in New York City — and is playing the lovestruck virgin while breastfeeding. Lauren Ambrose explained the pros and cons to New York Magazine recently: "I read my lines while I'm eating my cereal and holding my baby in my arms and my husband is trying to go over what we're going to do for the day and then I do the same thing at night." But the literal juggling is worth it: "Having my son, I mean, I feel already that it makes me a better actress. Just the feeling and the love that expands in my ... being is more than I ever thought possible." (photo: Jeff Vespa/WireImage.com)

[NY Magazine]

Littler Pussy

Think it's stressful to direct the Emmy-studded cast of 'The Sopranos?' You haven't had to meet the demands of the orange cat. The now-famous feline — actually one of three identical siblings flown in from L.A. for the series finale — required a cleared set for its performances. Animal trainer Tasha Zamsky, who induced the animal's blank stare with a handful of treats, explains: "Cats will stare at something, but if they hear something ... forget it."

[NY Daily News]

Seeing Reds

Neither Austin Nichols nor his high school pal Matt Belisle is from Cincinnati, but the Queen City features prominently in both of their lives at the moment. Nichols explains: "[Belisle is] one of my best friends...I find it ironic that he's pitching for the Reds when I'm doing a show called 'John from Cincinnati.' " Nichols hopes to see his friend pitch, but in the meantime, he's unraveling the mystery of John Monad along with everyone else. "Some people in the press have speculated that he's an alien, or Christ, or retarded. All I can say is he's one of those things," Nichols says. (photo: Derek Bauer/FilmMagic.com)

[Cincinnati.com]

Jeremy Piven, Kevin Connolly, Billy Joel and Adrian Grenier at the premiere of season 4 of 'Entourage.' (photo: Jason Kempin/FilmMagic.com)

A Finn Blue Line

According to actor ('A Mighty Heart') and writer ('Capote') Dan Futterman, Sarah Jessica Parker is lined up to star in his next screenplay. Futterman wrote the romantic comedy, 'Finn at the Blue Line,' with his wife. More details may be forthcoming after some financiers get out their pens. "We have a really good actress, Sarah Jessica Parker. Lasse Hallstrom said he wants to direct it. We're gonna try to get people to actually write a check for it. Hopefully that will get going shortly." (photo: WireImage.com)

[Cinematical.com]

Raising the Bar

While the events on 'John From Cincinnati' don't exactly scream "reality," rest assured the show's surf culture has been painstakingly recreated. "It's the most authentic show I've ever seen about surfing," says Brian Van Holt, who grew up catching waves on Huntington Beach before playing Butchie Yost on JFC. "From the setting to how people talk — they don't look or sound like your poster child Orange County/Blue Crush pretty people." As for the levitation and resurrection? "Every day we go to the bar and talk about the day's craziness," Van Holt says. (photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic.com)

[TV Guide]

The Blackout of '07

As theories continue to fly about the ending of the 'Sopranos,' Melfi's shrink has gone on record with his analysis. Peter Bogdanovich, who plays Dr. Elliot Kupferberg, told The New York Observer he was shocked by the ending. "It ends at that moment because that's his life," said Mr. Bogdanovich. "He's anxious about getting blown away, the F.B.I. is going to indict him, Syl is going to die, everything is insecure and tense. It kept going, and the insert shots kept making you feel it was the last thing he was going to do. Endings, endings, endings. The little things in life are the last thing you are going to do. In fact, that's his life."

Bogdanovich, who directed 'The Last Picture Show,' among others, summed up his take on the blackout: "You don't know what you're waiting for. It's the perfect use of suspense. You are trapped, not wanting anything to happen, but wanting something to happen. It's very vicious. You're left with any number of imaginings. What the f**k happened? Which shows you're bloodthirsty also." (photo: Mark Sullivan/WireImage.com)

[NY Observer]

Robert Iler, Edie Falco, James Gandolfini and Jamie-Lynn Sigler at a benefit for Saint Jude's Research Hospital in New York. (photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage.com)

Love Sounds

Listen up girls: if JT invites you snowboarding, pack your lingerie. Justin Timberlake, on tour with 'FutureSex/LoveSounds,' was named one of People Magazine's Hottest Bachelors of 2007 and according to London Net he has an inkling about why the ladies love him. "I'm well proportioned and nothing offends me when I look in the mirror. I defy a girl not to fall for me if I'm on a surfboard or snowboarding. It's my secret weapon if a girl resists me." Timberlake's Madison Square Garden concert date on this tour will premiere on HBO on Labor Day. (photo: Lester Cohen/WireImage.com)

[People.com]

[London Net]

Drummer Boy

Rainn Wilson has a new groupie. Christina Applegate has been cast opposite Wilson in the film 'The Rocker,' about a has-been drummer (Wilson) who gets a second chance at success when his high-school-age nephew asks him to join his garage band. Applegate plays the mother of the band's guitarist, and Wilson's love interest. (photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage.com)

[Hollywood Reporter]

Writers' Bloc

David Chase may have lammed it in France to dodge questions about his elusive 'Sopranos' ending, but his colleagues stepped in to fill the power vacuum: "I'm sure there is going to be a lot of heated discussion," says 'Entourage' writer Doug Ellin. "But that's David Chase's genius. It's what made 'The Sopranos' different from anything that's ever been on TV."

David Milch, who writes 'Deadwood' and 'John From Cincinnati,' pointed out that the ending paid allegiance to the show's twisted principles. "It was a question of loyalty to viewer expectations, as against loyalty to the internal coherence of the materials," he says "Mr. Chase's position was loyalty to the internal dynamics of the materials and the characters." (photo: Mark Sullivan/WireImage.com)

[New York Times]