Will Ferrell attends the premiere of 'Semi-Pro' at the Scotiabank Theatre in Toronto. (photo: Tyrone Kerr/FilmMagic.com)

Sex, Therapist?

For all the sensitive guys out there crying into their lonely TV dinners, 'In Treatment' star Gabriel Byrne offers hope. It turns out the beleaguered therapist has become a bit of a sex symbol among the complex women who tune in for the show: "What could be sexier than somebody who knows how fragile you are because he's so fragile himself," Chicago writer Diane O'Rourke posited to a New York Times reporter. But the doctor's empathy and couch-side manner play less of a role on the HBO.com community boards, where a fan called Therealzenobia posts the simple truth: "I could lick Gabriel Byrne all over." Sounds like an urge to discuss with one's therapist. (photo: Jeff Vespa/WireImage.com)

[New York Times]

Counterculture's Old Coot

George Carlin, old enough to be somebody's grandfather, still expects kids to disrespect their elders. In fact, the discontented comedian insists "It's the duty of a parent to teach a child to question authority." But they don't, according to the vulgar-loving stand-up whose new HBO special "GEORGE CARLIN: IT'S BAD FOR YA" airs March 1, because "parents are authority figures themselves, and they don't want to undermine their own bullshit inside the household. So they stroke the kid, and the kid strokes them, and everybody strokes each other, and they are all stroking each other, and they grow up f**ked up and they come to shows like mine."

[HBO.com]

Zuleikha Robinson ('Rome') arrives at 'The Other Boleyn Girl' premiere in New York City. (photo: Jim Spellman/WireImage.com)

The Song that Never Ends

'Way Down in the Hole,' the Tom Waits tune that's been continually repurposed for the opening credits of 'The Wire,' has developed a life of its own throughout the course of the show. The show's music supervisor, Blake Leyh, says he ran out of existing renditions of the song after the second season, so he turned to the Neville Brothers and then an ad-hoc group of Baltimore kids to record versions for seasons three and four.

For the final installment Steve Earle (pictured) — who plays Bubs' sponsor, Walon, on the show — put his own spin on the music with producer John King, one half of the hip-hop duo the Dust Brothers. "It's actually the only time Steve has recorded a cover version of someone else's song," Leyh says. "He's never done that before. He only writes and sings his own material."

[HBO.com]

Kill the Cheerleader, Save the World

Amanda Seyfried is about to start filming the role of "Needy" in 'Jennifer's Body,' the next feature film from Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody (of 'Juno' fame). Needy has to save her small Minnesota farm town from the evil cheerleader (Megan Fox) who is literally feeding off local boys. Talk about your man-eater who makes you work hard. (photo: Barry King/WireImage.com)

[Hollywood Reporter]

Steve Buscemi and Patricia Clarkson during the 2008 Film Independent Spirit Awards at the Santa Monica Pier. (photo: Jeff Vespa/WireImage.com)

Flight of Fancy

Fasten your seatbelts: Sarah Jessica Parker has joined the cast (including Christine Baranski, Bradley Whitford, Mary McCormack and Mark Rylance) of 'Boeing-Boeing' a farce headed to Broadway this April. Parker will play an Italian stewardess but don't expect her to be wearing any Jimmy Choo's while instructing passengers on emergency exit etiquette. As the actress explains of her latest career choice: "Everything I've done since 'Sex and the City' ended on TV has been completely different." (photo: George Pimentel/WireImage.com)

[Hollywood.com]

[NY Post]

Red Carpet Ride

Before Nancy Oliver headed back to work penning scripts for Alan Ball's new HBO series 'True Blood,' she took a stroll on the red carpet. Oliver was one of three women nominated for Best Original Screenplay on Sunday, as the screenwriter of 'Lars and the Real Girl.' Oliver told the Herald Tribune: "There's a lot to deal with fashion, hair and makeup and the glamour end of it. I'm totally not used to it. The red carpet is such a freaky experience and nothing can prepare you for it, for the lights going off and everybody screaming at you, even though they don't want to talk to you. They're waiting for George Clooney." Even though the Oscar went to Diablo Cody ('Juno'), Oliver intends to reap the benefits of the nomination: "It will jack up my price for sure." (photo: Frank Micelotta/WireImage.com)

[HeraldTribune.com]

Josh Hartnett and Amy Ryan at the 2008 Film Independent Spirit Awards at the Santa Monica Pier. (photo: Jeff Vespa/WireImage.com)

La Vie en Rosy

Life was looking pretty rosy for Marion Cotillard at the 80th Annual Academy Awards on Sunday night. After receiving the Oscar for Best Actress in a Motion Picture for her portrayal of Edith Piaf in 'La Vie En Rose' Cotillard gave a heartfelt acceptance speech, followed by even more effusiveness backstage: "It feels so good. I'm totally overwhelmed with joy and sparkles and fireworks and everything which goes like bom-bom-bom." (photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic.com)

[Associated Press]

Award-Winning Docs

Two upcoming presentations from HBO Documentary Films received Oscars®. Alex Gibney's 'Taxi to the Dark Side' about the murder of a taxi driver in Afghanistan received the award for Documentary Feature; it will air on HBO in September. 'Freeheld,' directed by Cynthia Wade (pictured), which chronicles the legal battle of a dying woman to transfer her pension to her domestic partner, won in the category of short form documentary. 'Freeheld' will air on Cinemax in June. (photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic.com)

[Variety]

[NY Times]

Retail Therapy

Fire the shrink and kick up your heels. In an exclusive interview with HBO.com, Melissa George muses that perhaps by watching her character Laura on 'In Treatment' go through therapy with Paul (Gabriel Byrne), viewers can reallocate their mental health budget. "A therapist is $250 a session; you watch 'In Treatment' and maybe Paul has actually saved you — and you can buy a pair of Manolo Blahniks or something, which makes you just as happy, I think." (photo: Jeff Vespa/WireImage.com)

[HBO.com]

Adrian Grenier with his band The Honey Brothers at the LEIBER 45TH Anniversary Celebration in Los Angeles. (photo: Stefanie Keenan/WireImage.com)

Surprise Ending

According to Dominic West, some of the cast members of 'The Wire' (namely, Wendell Pierce and Sonja Sohn) are so sad to see a good thing end that they've been lobbying David Simon to do a movie. When Simon told them it would have to be a prequel, West says he replied: "... well, in that case I would have to have surgery, and you would have to write in that McNulty looks astonished the whole time." (photo: Jim Spellman/WireImage.com)

[LA Times]

Batman Returns

Jeremy Sisto gets to play Batman and he doesn't have to put on a pair of tights to do it. The actor is the voice of the Dark Knight in the animated movie 'Justice League: The New Frontier,' coming out on DVD tomorrow. (Kyle Machlachlan is the voice of Superman).

Sisto enjoys the complex psychology of the caped crusader. "Batman is a bit of a loner. He's very intuitive and, while the rest of the Justice League are using their super powers, he uses his detective skills to get to the heart of the matter and, in this case, help save the world. Throughout the course of the story, though, I think he learns that it's not such a bad thing to have friends." Sisto admits he learned the same kind of lesson himself, growing up. "When I was a kid, I liked Superman; when I got a little older, I liked Wolverine; and then I found girls," he said. (photo: Gregg DeGuire/WireImage.com)

[iesb.net]