Melissa George, Cheryl Hines, and Lana Parilla attend Nicole Miller's 2008 runway show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York City. (photo: Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic.com)

But Do You 'Like' Him, Like Him?

Most actors will tell you they prefer to play villains — they're more fun. But every once in a while someone comes along who enjoys playing the good guy, like Clark Johnson (City Editor Gus Haynes on 'The Wire.') "As an actor, you can like playing Hitler because it's such a twisted character to play. But it doesn't mean you like the guy. But I actually like Gus. The guy's a right-thinking morally-responsible journalist and he has a passion for his job."

[Ottawa Citizen]

Stigma Busting

In his latest film, 'Canvas,' Joe Pantoliano plays a man coping with his wife's schizophrenia and the impact it has on his family. During the course of filming, Pantoliano recognized that his mother had likely suffered from bipolar illness and realized he needed to deal with his own bouts of depression. The actor founded a not for profit called 'No Kidding, Me Too!' focused on destigmatizing mental illness. At a recent screening of 'Canvas' to raise funds for his cause, Pantoliano explained how he got the name for his organization: "When I talk about the movie, or depression, or knowing someone with a mental illness, people say, 'Wow, no kidding, me too.' (photo: Jemal Countess/WireImage.com)

[Acorn-Online.com]

Becki Newton, Jamie King, Sophia Bush and Perrey Reeves attend Monique Lhuillier's Fall 2008 show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York City. (photo: George Napolitano/FilmMagic.com)

Ask Chloë

While 'Big Love' production is shut down due to the writers' strike, Chloë Sevigny is turning her attention to fashion. Party-goers were lined up behind the velvet ropes to get into the party celebrating Sevigny's new fashion line for the NYC boutique Opening Ceremony. Plus, she's serving as a style advisor to U.K. Elle, answering reader's questions. She's the magazine's March cover girl, and kicks off her 6-month stint with provocative comments about the red carpet style of fellow actresses. "These people are celebrated for their style and they don't even dress themselves. It's so unfair!" But she's just as critical about her own sartorial choices: "I'm more stylish in my day-to-day life. Lately, on the red carpet, I've been trying too hard. When I try to be overtly sexy, it doesn't work." (photo: Jamie McCarthy/WireImage.com)

[Women's Wear Daily]

[Catwalk Queen]

Happy Endings

How do you direct a movie about a billionaire with no budget? Bob Balaban managed to get 'Bernard and Doris' in the can for around $500,000 by paying his stars (Susan Sarandon and Ralph Fiennes) $100 a day, promising them a piece of the backend, and borrowing furs and mansions from friends.

The resulting flick was snapped up by HBO Films (at which point he paid his actors). But it's not a biopic, he insists. "We invented a fable of the older rich lady and the itinerant drunk butler. We don't know what really happened, so we made up a story of what might have happened." For instance? "I do know she had long affairs with different people. I cannot tell you how much she enjoyed her orgasms or not, but in our version, she loved them." (photo: Tana Lee Alves/WireImage.com)

[Washington Post]

George Clooney attends the 80th annual Academy Awards nominees luncheon in Los Angeles (photo: Steve Granitz/WireImage.com)

Nanny 411

It's so hard to find good help, so after Susan Sarandon landed a first-class butler in 'Bernard and Doris,' New York magazine stepped in to ply the actress for staff-hiring tips. "By the time I finally realized how to spot a good nanny, I didn't need them anymore," she said. "Don't pick someone you want to hang out with. Pick someone that has a way with kids." She also advises watching out for au pairs who equate long hours spent in your home with a license to put their feet up. "Some people can adjust to that," she says. "Others just completely lose their discipline." Speaking of discipline, not even movie stars get a pass for raising a brood of coddled brats: "My kids are on their feet, taking the train. If they're privileged, they don't think it's the norm." (photo: Jamie McCarthy/WireImage.com/WireImage.com)

[New York magazine]

Word on the Street

Finally, an explanation for all the oddballs wandering around New York City jabbering to themselves — they're just actors studying in the Kevin Spacey tradition. "If I go to a noisy train station or noisy cafe or noisy bar with my script it forces me to focus," the 'Recount' star told The Times. "Plates are falling, babies are crying, phones are ringing, people are ordering, and I can retain things that I can't if it's too quiet. I may look like a crazy bum, but I'm learning, learning, learning, then closing the script and mumbling away." (photo: Mike Marsland/WireImage.com/WireImage.com)

[The Times]

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt attend the SBIFF Outstanding Performance of the Year Award Ceremony for Angelina Jolie in Santa Barbara, CA. (photo: Lester Cohen/WireImage.com)

Going Postal

For all the 'Real Time' fans out there longing to give Bill Maher props, you'll just have to wait to cross paths with him at Whole Foods. "I don't read my mail. I stopped doing that years ago," the outspoken host told a student reporter who asked where the majority of his hate mail comes from. "I would guess religious people. I know I'm on the Catholic League's s*** list or whatever they call it ... But I never go after anyone or anything for no reason, and that would include meat and religion — and there are very good reasons to criticize both those topics." (photo: Michael Caulfield/WireImage.com)

[Los Angeles Loyolan]

The Devil Wears Fendi

After 10 years as Tony Soprano's conscience, Lorraine Bracco has finally turned to the dark side on "Lipstick Jungle," playing evil publisher Janice Lasher. "I'm in a whole bunch of episodes," she says. "I'm the nemesis. It's great fun for me!" Bracco's real-life publishing career, however, has taken a more compassionate turn with a memoir, 'On the Couch,' detailing her struggle with depression and family issues. "I really wrote it because all my friends asked me to, because they felt that things were really so screwed up and so bad, and the fact that I was able to come out on top and my kids are lovely and wonderful," she says. "I made it through. Everybody deserves a second chance." (photo: Jim Spellman/WireImage.com)

[DailyNews.com]

Vivica A. Fox attends the launch party for Verizon's new BlackBerry in Los Angeles. (photo: Vince Gonzales/FilmMagic.com)

Time on the Couch

Josh Charles has been in the game longer than he realizes. When a Baltimore Sun reporter reminded him that he first appeared in 'Hairspray' in 1988, the 'In Treatment' star responded: "Wait a minute, has it been that long? Wow. That's amazing. Are you sure it's been 20 years?" And if he keeps completing projects at the pace of his latest series, he might not get another chance to look up until 2028. "It was an intense capsule," he says, "not a six-year commitment. We went in and banged it for four months, and it's done." (photo: Eric Charbonneau/WireImage.com)

[Baltimore Sun]

Make 'Em Laugh - Or Else

Scribes and producers have been trading charges of strong-arm tactics in the current writer's strike, but we haven't heard about this issue being on the bargaining table. When asked for a favorite New York moment anecdote in a recent interview, Michael Imperioli didn't disappoint: "We did a play once and there was a guy outside the theater who claimed that he had been held hostage in Hollywood and forced to write sitcoms. And he was very serious about it. He wrote for 'Charles in Charge' and was very serious about it and was trying to get help." (photo: Michael Loccisano/FilmMagic.com)

[gothamist.com]

Signing Off

Marlo and Chris at a meet with Dets. Freamon and Sydnor?

It wasn't a bust, or a surprise plot twist. Members of 'The Wire' cast (from left, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Corey Parker Robinson, Jamie Hector and Clarke Peters) were on hand at the HBO store in New York on Wednesday signing everything from the new 'Wire' soundtrack CDs to customers' five-spots. Presumably those bills won't be laundered. (photo: Marion Curtis/StarPix)