Garret Dillahunt and his wife, Michelle Hurd, attend the premiere of 'Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles' in Los Angeles. (photo: Todd Williamson/
WireImage.com)

Something Fishy

Is that a codpiece Sacha Baron Cohen is wearing as Signor Adolfo Pirelli in 'Sweeney Todd,' or is he just "happy to be doing a musical" (as the film's director Tim Burton quipped to the Daily News). According to Burton it was Cohen's idea to pad his tights, but he's mum on what he used. "I didn't ask," he says. "But I was happy when I saw it."

Presumably the only enhancements needed for his turn as Abbie Hoffman in Steven Spielberg's upcoming film about the Chicago Seven will be some hair extensions. (photo: Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic.com)

[NY Daily News]

Old School

After a lifetime in show business, stand-up legend Don Rickles is happy to share the secrets of his pre-show ritual with inquiring minds: "After you do it 55 years, you don't prepare. You just sit in the dressing room, have a vodka and go onstage." Just don't ask him about the mafia — he doesn't seem to like it. ""I'm not talking about the mob," the comedian chastised a Philadelphia reporter. "You wanna hurt my family? That's what you're trying to do. You're trying to get me killed!" When the interviewer switched tactics with a comment about how well Rickles gets around for an old guy, the comic pulled out all the stops: "I'm gonna come to Philly, get a gun, and find where you live. That's what I'm gonna do. And I'm gonna shoot you!" It's ok, though; he was probably joking. (photo: Kevin Parry/WireImage.com)

[Philadelphia Weekly]

George Clooney, DL Hughley, and Don Cheadle at the 13th Annual Critics' Choice Awards in Santa Monica, California. (photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage.com)

Keep Your Pants On

We haven't seen Adam Scott's new film 'August,' from director Austin Chick ('XX/XY'), about two brothers (Scott and Josh Hartnett) trying to keep their new company afloat on Wall Street one month prior to 9/11. But if Scott's New Year's resolution is any indication, the brothers' casual Friday attire could be interesting. The film bows at the Sundance Film Festival next week and Scott attended an advance-swag event at the "Pre-Sundance Lounge" where he wrote out his resolution for 2008: "I promise to wear pants every day." Of course, that might also have applied to 'Tell Me You Love Me.' (photo: Kevin Parry/WireImage.com)

[/film]

Burden of Leadership

Could the pressures of management be getting to 'Flight of the Conchords' star Rhys Darby? In an interview with the San Francisco Examiner, the actor said that after his latest role as Jim Carrey's supervisor in 'Yes Man,' he hopes to slip a few rungs down the corporate ladder: "I'm hoping my next role won't be someone's boss. But I like being bossy, and some characters in my stand-up are bosses as well. I like that, I don't know why, maybe it's my personality. I used to be a boss among my friends, now I'm a boss that no one listens to."

[examiner.com]

George Clooney and Sean Penn at the 13th Annual Critics' Choce Awards in Santa Monica. (photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage.com)

Campaign Promises

Larry David's many opinions may not qualify as "popular," but when it comes to his favorite for the 2008 presidential race, the 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' creator's support of Sen. Barack Obama falls right in line with the polls. As usual, Larry has some pointers: "He needs to avoid saying [expletive] in his speech and sexual come-ons to women around him. He also needs to avoid going 'I dunno if I can do this, I'm scared.' Other than that, it'll be alright." Coaching Obama accounts for only half of David's electoral strategy, however; he's also throwing his own political weight behind the senator. David pledged to a room full of Dartmouth students, "If you don't vote for Obama, I'm never doing the show again." (photo: Paul Morigi/WireImage.com)

[The Dartmouth]

Brian's Song

When you're a first-time feature filmmaker and can't get your $10 million epic financed, what do you do when Brian Cox suggests he'll sign on if you write something "more contained"? If you're Rupert Wyatt, you rack your brains until you come up with "an idea and a setting which when it came to me would sing its potential from the rooftops." Wyatt finally settled on a prison story, inspired by the plot of Ambrose Pierce's story 'An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.' The resulting film, 'The Escapist' is set to premiere at Sundance this month. As Wyatt told IndieWire, "I wanted it to be a story I fell in love with, it couldn't be any old dross, not least because I knew Brian wouldn't sign on to a piece of crap." (photo: L. .Cohen/WireImage.com)

[IndieWire]

Snoop's Dawg

When asked by the LAist what he most enjoyed about shooting 'The Wire' in Baltimore, Jamie Hector (who plays Marlo Stanfield) didn't have to think long: "In one word, Snoop. Snoop is Baltimore. If we weren't shooting in Baltimore we would have never known her. She's got a story to tell, she actually has a book out right now about her life. Getting to meet her has definitely been a highlight of my time on this show. She is hilarious, she keeps me laughing." (photo: Jemal Countess/WireImage.com)

[LAist]

Sonja Sohn (center) and daughters arrive at 'The Wire' Season 5 Premiere in New York City. (photo: Jim Spellman/WireImage.com)

Cover Goyl

The winner of Heeb Magazine's Goy Cover contest is....Cheryl Hines. The "accidental shiksa" beat out worthy contenders like Borat, Conan O'Brien, Ned Flanders, the Pope, and Ann Coulter. In the cover story, Hines reveals her early exposure to Judaism, which occurred long before she met Larry David. She was working as Rob Reiner's assistant in Hollywood and, explains Hines: "I had to buy coloring books for his kids for Passover and on the way back to his office, I read them at all the red lights because I wanted to know more. I had never even heard of matzoh ball soup." (photo: Jason Merritt/FilmMagic.com)

[Heeb Magazine]

On Island Time

Shooting has long wrapped for the final season of 'The Wire,' but for Tristan Wilds, who plays upstart soldier Michael Lee, the ride has yet to slow down. On the day leading up to the show's New York premiere, the actor bounced between Manhattan and his family's home on Staten Island, making appearances on BET's '106 & Park' and KISS-FM's morning show, while stopping to record a track for his forthcoming R&B album. Wilds is also slated to appear in a second Jay-Z video, and the beekeepers' training for his first major film role, 'The Secret Life of Bees,' is about to begin. It's almost enough to make the streets of Baltimore look relaxing. (photo: Jim Spellman/WireImage.com)

[Staten Island Advance]

Vincent Pastore, Brenda Braxton, Michelle DeJean, Aida Turturro, Sharon Angela, Maureen Van Zandt and Steven Van Zandt backstage at 'Chicago' on Broadway. (photo: Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic.com)

Word on the Street

Maybe Method Man should have been cast in 'Deadwood.' When the hip-hop star, who plays Cheese on 'The Wire,' sat down with MTV to talk over his new role on 'Law & Order,' he dropped enough four-letter words to make Al Swearengen mighty proud: "I found out [the show's producers] hired a lot of mutha-f**kas from 'The Wire,' " he said. "So they probably seen my 'Wire' reel and was like, 'Let's f--- with this dude.'" And what of Meth's upcoming indie flick, 'The Wackness,' with Ben Kingsley and an Olsen Twin? "It's cool as shit," he says. (photo: Jim Spellman/WireImage.com)

[MTV]

Three Wise Men

Writing for the National Post, Robert Cushman slayed us with an observation about HBO's TV drama creators. "If you look at U.S. television as a Goliath, then it makes a sort of sense that the writers who have most successfully challenged the conventions of the drama series should all be called David. David Chase gave us The Sopranos, David Milch Deadwood and David Simon The Wire." Throw Larry David in there, and it's starting to look like a conspiracy. (photo: Mathew Imaging/FilmMagic.com)

[National Post]