Spencer and Abigail Breslin backstage at Live Earth New York at Giants Stadium. (photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage.com)

The Envelope, Please

'The Sopranos' are going out with a bang, again. The series received 15 Emmy® nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series (James Gandolfini), Outstanding Actress (Edie Falco), Outstanding Supporting Actress (Aida Turturro and Lorraine Bracco) and Outstanding Supporting Actor (Michael Imperioli). HBO Films' 'Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee' received 17 nods, more nominations than any other show, including for Aiden Quinn (Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie) and Anna Paquin (Oustanding Supporting Actress). HBO received a grand total of 86 nominations including original programming, documentaries, films and comedy specials. (photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic.com)

[The full list of HBO nominees]

[Baltimore Sun]

Rich Boy, Po-boy

Sometimes it takes a rich boy to make a good po-boy. Justin Timberlake has returned to his southern roots (he hails from Tennessee) to open Southern Hospitality, a new restaurant in New York City. According to Hello Magazine, diners can beef up with St. Louis-style ribs, chicken-fried steak, and a pecan pie chaser. Lance Bass and Jamie-Lynn Sigler were among some of the celebs at the opening night party on Wednesday to wish the new restaurateur well. (photo: Jason Kempin/FilmMagic.com)

[Hello Magazine]

Boss Hog

'The Sopranos' already brought you 'Cleaver,' and now it's time for a chopper. Vincent Curatola, who plays Johnny Sack on the show, has arranged the raffle of a 2006 Harley — signed by the entire cast along with creator David Chase — to benefit The Joseph M. Sanzari Children's Hospital in New Jersey. Tickets for the August 19th draw are available online for $100 each. (photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage.com)

[Hackensack University Medical Center Foundation]

Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Jessica Simpson backstage before Simpson's Swimwear show in Miami. (photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage.com)

Murder Ink

You name it, he done it. Actor-director-producer Blair Underwood ('In Treatment') has added another hyphenate to his résumé: mystery writer. Teaming with the husband-and-wife author team Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes, Underwood has published the first in what promises to be a series of murder mysteries: 'Casanegra: A Tennyson Hardwick Novel.' The protagonist is a former gigolo turned actor who gets caught up in the death of a rap star. Underwood is planning to turn the series into a film franchise as well: "Each book will hopefully come out once every summer... and then immediately, the vision was always, the book comes out and then we create a movie right away." (photo: Brandi Pettijohn/FilmMagic.com)

[DailyIndia.com]

[Read an excerpt at MSNBC.com]

Sexual Healing

It was a spec script for a TV show about Ad men in the 1960s, 'Mad Men,' that got Matthew Weiner his job writing for 'The Sopranos.' When they started wrapping up Tony's reign, Weiner dusted off 'Mad Men' and AMC jumped at the chance to bring it to life (it premiered last Thursday night). But it seems like Weiner's a lover, not a hater. "Talking can be heroic," he told The New York Times. "I loved 'The Sopranos.' But not every problem can be solved by killing someone. When you take that out of the mix, talking is kind of what you have left, although a lot of problems on this show are solved by sleeping with people."

[NY Times]

Stratford-upon-Kyoto

If the notion of Shakespeare induces delirious visions of Elizabethan men sporting tights and doublets, director Kenneth Branagh can offer a cure. Setting 'As You Like It' in 19th-century Japan gave the filmmaker a change of scenery, along with a historically accurate opportunity to mix Western and Eastern actors. "Lots of English people came as they were in all other parts of the Empire — India, Africa. They traded in silk and rice, and they often formed little mini empires so that the mixture of Japanese and English were sometimes exactly in the kind of proportion we have in the film," he says. "So it was inspired by a specific historical place, but then, as you would expect with a poet, it's an impression." (photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic.com)

[Hollywood Today]

Andy Roddick and Kristen Davis at the 1st Annual Celebrity Bowling Night in Hollywood to benefit the Matt Leinart Foundation. (photo: Jesse Grant/WireImage.com)

Blonde Ambition

Chloë Sevigny is doing her best to play a dumb blonde. The actress who earned her indie cred playing street-smart adolescents ('Kids,' 'Trees Lounge') is ready for some Hollywood success now that she's broken through to some slightly more mainstream fare ('Big Love,' 'Zodiac'). ''I have auditioned for, like, the last five Will Ferrell comedies!'' she told EW.com. ''I would like to play the girl in one of those dumb comedies. I passed on playing some supporting characters early in my career, and I feel like if I would have done them it would be a lot easier for me now. But there's still time.'' (photo: Sylvain Gaboury/FilmMagic.com)

[EW.com]

Serial Resurrection

Highlighting a prime example of his onscreen neuroses leaking off the 'Curb' set, Larry David shed some light on how he found himself following his character's death with a slate of new episodes. "Every season that I do is my last season," David says. "That's the only way I can get through the season. If I thought that I had to come back and do it again, I would never do it in the first place. So the way I trick myself is to tell everybody that it's my last season. And then after it's over, I go, 'Oh, maybe I'll do another one.'" (photo: Michael Tran/FilmMagic.com)

[The Star-Ledger]

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

If the husband surprises you with a spa weekend, look out. According to the Moonlite BunnyRanch, there's an uptick in customers over the summer. Owner Dennis Hof (aka "America's Pimp Master General," left) credits HBO's 'Cathouse' with the rise in popularity, and also the convenience for families vacationing at nearby Reno. Yes, families. "What happens is they put Mom in the beauty salon or send Mom and the kids to the beach or some outing, and Dad sneaks down to the ranch."

[Nevada Appeal]

Luke Perry and Bryan Anderson attend the HBO Summer TCA after party in Los Angeles. (photo: Jason Merritt/FilmMagic.com)

Video Surveillance

Steve and Connie Sigler (as well as brothers Adam and Brian) have always been supportive of daughter Jamie-Lynn's acting career but apparently the hi-light for the family wasn't Meadow's parallel parking, but Sigler's stint playing Belle on Broadway in 'Beauty and the Beast.' "We saw the show 19 times," her father told Newsday. "And we paid every time because there were no comps. It was a four-month limited engagement and it was great. The play was the highlight of our lives." It seems all those years of FBI surveillance on the 'Sopranos' may have taught the Siglers a thing or two. Her brother Brian, smuggling a video camera in: "They asked me three times to shut off the camera. But I got the song my mom wanted."

Up next for Sigler is 'The Gathering' a series for Lifetime in which she plays the teacher of a child whose mother has mysteriously disappeared. (photo: Jason Merritt/FilmMagic.com)

[Newsday]

Man of His Times

One of the original Kings of Comedy, D.L. Hughley has popped in and out of the spotlight over his 17-year standup career. His latest endeavor, a one-hour HBO special 'Maybe It's Just Me' (airing in September), comes at an opportune moment for the comedian. As he puts it: "It's a great time to be a comic, since there is so much to talk about. There is so much social and political upheaval. This is what the '60s must have been like. I was too young to understand what was going on then, but it was volatile, and so is this period." (photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage.com)

[NorthJersey.com]

Passion of the Atheist

When Bill Maher shoots a documentary covering the world's religions, it's pretty easy to divine the outcome. But, throw in 'Borat' director Larry Charles, and the heavens are the limit for cringing laughter. "Comedically, the topic of religion is hitting the side of a barn — it's literally hard to miss," Maher says. "This movie will make you laugh so hard you'll pray for it to stop." (photo: Michael Bezjian/WireImage.com)

[ElitesTV.com]

Kevin Dillon, James Gandolfini and Kevin Connolly at the HBO Summer TCA after-party in Los Angeles. (photo: Jason Merritt/FilmMagic.com)

Comedy Club

Dane Cook spreads the love to his fellow comics

"Bachelor No. 2, if you had to choose between me, and a chance to appear in the next Dane Cook movie — what would you choose?" Luckily the comics auditioning for Dane Cook's 'Bachelor No. 2,' co-starring Kate Hudson, didn't have to decide. Cook, who earned his wings playing the Comedy Connection at Faneuil Hall Marketplace for 15 years, decided to give back by holding auditions at the comedy club last week in which a dozen local comics got to vie for a spot in his movie. As the club owner said: "This is like getting a shot at the 'Tonight Show' or Letterman — something that just doesn't happen for most comics." (photo: Jason Merritt/FilmMagic.com)

[Boston Globe]

Feeling the Churn

Toni Collette ('Tsunami: The Aftermath') was experiencing a different kind of wave when her band, 'Toni Collette and The Finish,' performed in Sydney's Live Earth concert. "I was nervous leading up to it. I was having the pounding heart and the churning stomach, and then as soon as I got there I just calmed down," she told The Brisbane Times. "But it's an amazing feeling to stand up there in front of so many people, especially knowing why everyone was there."

The actress makes time for her band (her husband Dave Galafassi plays drums) whenever she can. But she plans to take some time off from both careers, having just announced that she and Galafassi are expecting a baby. (photo: Tony Barson/WireImage.com)

[Brisbane Times]

One-Two Punch

Entourage exec-producer Mark has jumped in the ring with retired boxer "Irish" Mickey Ward to sponsor a night of amateur pugilism in Boston on July 25 — complete with hors d'oeuvres, open bar and giveaways. Throwing the weight of his charitable foundation behind the event, Wahlberg will help add to the more than $200,000 Ward has already raised for inner-city kids.

(photo: Marcel Thomas/FilmMagic.com)

[SecondsOut.com]