Kevin Spacey and Kate Bosworth attend the premiere of '21' in Las Vegas. (photo: Eric Charbonneau/WireImage.com)

Hanks for the Support

'John Adams' author David McCullough understands that the world of Hollywood can be nearly as brutal as 18th Century America. But when the historian met Tom Hanks, who produced the HBO mini-series based on his book, he knew his story would survive the voyage. "He understands that character is what counts, above all," McCullough says of Hanks. "We met in a little cafe in Ketchum, Idaho, for breakfast one morning. He had a copy of the book in which he had underlined scenes — pages after pages, and he had written marginal notes. The thing looked like an autumn-leafed blizzard of Post-its all the way through it. So I knew he had really done his homework and that he knew exactly what he hoped to achieve — and he wanted my opinion. As he later told the director and the cast and the screenwriter, 'This is to be David McCullough's John Adams.'" (photo: Paul Morigi/WireImage.com)

[Statesman Journal]

A Stormy Future

With Chris Partlow packed away for a lifetime bid at Jessup, 'Wire' actor Gbenga Akinnagbe has moved on to a new city: New Orleans. Performing in an off-Broadway production of 'Lower Ninth,' Akinnagbe plays one of three men fighting to survive in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. His co-stars include Gaius Charles of 'Friday Night Lights' and James McDaniel, who's appeared in NYPD Blue and Six Degrees of Separation. (photo: Jason Kempin/WireImage.com)

[The Flea Theater]

Chris Noth and Sarah Jessica Parker on location for Annie Leibowitz's Vogue 'Sex and the City: The Movie' photo shoot in New York City. (photo: James Devaney/WireImage.com)

Take a Letter Miss Jones

Abigail and John Adams wrote more than 1100 letters to each other over the course of their nearly 40-year relationship. That may be a drop in the bucket compared to the daily email inbox and text messages of modern romance, but this was from an era when going postal was referred to as the pony express, not snail mail. The US Postal Service wants to remind you that pen and ink vs. thumbs and qwerty keypads is apples and oranges. In a cross-promotional campaign between HBO's 'John Adams' miniseries and the Post Office, people are being urged to break out their quills and put a stamp on some lasting impressions. "Letter-writing is an art," Joyce Carrier (her real name) of the U.S. Postal Service points out. " 'L.O.L.' is not something you're going to stick in a drawer."

[NY Times]

[Poweroftheletter.com]

The Message

With the long-awaited finale of 'The Wire' behind him, creator David Simon has bid farewell to the show's fans in an open letter. As usual, Simon dresses the moment with plenty of context: "The true stories that The Wire traded in are out there, waiting for anyone willing to take the time," he writes. "And it is, of course, vaguely disturbing to us that our unlikely little television drama is making arguments that were once the prerogative of more serious mediums."

Pointing out that Americans too often expect simple solutions to complex problems, he suggests to viewers, "If you followed us for sixty hours, and you find yourself caring about these issues more than you thought you would, then perhaps the next step is to engage and to demand, where possible, a more sophisticated and meaningful response from authority when it comes to such things as the drug war, educational reform or responsible political leadership." (photo: Brad Barket/WireImage.com)

[HBO.com]

Dominic West and Sonja Sohn celebrating 'The Wire' season finale at a party at Tao Las Vegas last Saturday night. (photo: Jeremy Womack)

With a Lot of Help from Her Friends

Samantha Morton ('Longford') revealed in a recent interview that the reason she'd taken an 18-month hiatus from work in 2006 was because she was recovering from a life-threatening stroke. The actress suffered the stroke after head injuries incurred when a portion of the ceiling in her London home collapsed on her. She had to pull out of the film 'Transsiberian' at the time, but kept the reason for her withdrawal secret in order to protect her career.

After a year of rehabilitation which included having to learn to walk again, Morton had her second child, and is now back on the big screen. She credits her family and friends Jason Pierce (from the band Spiritualized) and his girlfriend Juliette Larche with helping her recover. Pierce had recently recovered from a serious case of pneumonia when Morton had her stroke. "Their friendship knows no bounds," says Morton "[Jason] was the only person I knew who understood what that was like, being near to death. He is very courageous and he helped me get through it all." (photo: Mike Marsland/WireImage.com)

[People.com]

A Real Pro

Gina Gershon has been building quite a service-industry résumé lately. Apparently her role working as Larry David's dry cleaner on 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' led to other exciting opportunities, like serving the skies as an Italian stewardess in the upcoming Broadway production of 'Boeing-Boeing.' But even with all that experience, she's fallen on hard times and adopted the world's oldest profession in 'Love Ranch,' a drama set in a Nevada brothel. At least the tips are better. (photo: Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage.com)

[Hollywood Reporter via Reuters]

Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter (center) hosts cast members Brandon Young, Clarke Peters, Jermaine Crawford, Michael K. Williams, Clark Johnson, and Christopher Mann at a screening of the season finale of 'The Wire' at Philadelphia's City Hall. (photo: Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic.com)

A Beefy Role

As if shooting on location in Botswana weren't enough of a perk for Jill Scott, the singer-turned-actress found an extra layer of joy as she prepared for her role as Mma Ramotswe, the heroine of 'The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.' "We have this thing in Philadelphia, where I come from, called a cheesesteak," she told the UK's Observer. "It's steak and melted cheese in a roll. I ate at least two of those a week. I've never been a small woman, but I put on 30 lbs. Even then, they added padding to the hips, the heiney, the arms and the boobs." Based on the books by Alexander McCall Smith, the show marks HBO's latest collaboration with the BBC and The Weinstein Co., and when Smith caught sight of his main character on set, all those sandwiches paid off: "He just looked at me and said, 'Mma Ramotswe, it is so nice to meet you. You are exactly as I imagined you to be.'" (photo: Johnny Nunez/WireImage.com)

[The Observer]

Lip's Service

Fredo's Alfredo? Look out Artie Bucco, Carmine Sr. is elbowing his way into the kitchen. Tony Lip, who played NY boss Carmine Lupertazzi on 'The Sopranos' has co-authored a cookbook: 'Shut Up and Eat: Mangia with Family Recipes and Stories From Your Favorite Italian-American Stars.' Also dishing up their favorite recipes are 'Sopranos'' co-stars and Italian-American actors James Gandolfini, Drea de Matteo, Lorraine Bracco, Edie Falco, Chazz Palminteri, Joe Mantegna, and Danny Aiello.

Perhaps Lip, who views meatballs as the "first and most important ingredients to a happy marriage" will tackle relationship advice next. "Now my mother made a great meatball. But when I met my wife, Dolores, she didn't need any cooking lessons. Her meatballs were out of this world." (photo: Bobby Bank/WireImage.com)

[DailyRecord.com]

Michelle Borth attends an event at the Bebe store in Beverly Hills. (photo: Toby Canham/Getty Images)

Not So Bad?

Long before he was putting words in the mouths of Baltimore's dealers and cops for 'The Wire,' Richard Price had established himself as one of the most authentic storytellers of inner city life ('Clockers,' 'The Wanderers'). And now his current novel 'Lush Life' about Manhattan's Lower East Side is garnering rave reviews. But who knew that he had written a script for a Scorsese film? New York Magazine reminded Price that he was responsible for the eight-plus minutes before Michael Jackson goes Technicolor á la Dorothy in Oz in the Scorsese-directed music video for 'Bad.'

"Listen, it sounded like a great idea," explains Price. "Martin Scorsese came to me and said Quincy Jones came to him on behalf of Michael Jackson to do a music video. This was when music videos were just becoming a big thing. So Jackson wanted to show people that he's 'down.' Think about it: Richard Price, Scorsese, Michael Jackson, who the hell is going to say no? ... Jackson is not a bad actor, and Scorsese, well, he's great. I wrote a really good eight-page script. Problem is that Michael Jackson is Michael Jackson ... he looks like Minnie Mouse. And you forget the whole thing has to end with a song. Looking at it now, I think it's cool I did it. No one holds it against me, anyway." Watch the full uncut video to the end to check out Wesley Snipes' reaction shots. (photo: Eric Charbonneau/WireImage.com)

[NYmag.com]

[Watch 'Bad']

Back to the Day Job

Cheryl Hines and John Krasinski both took a break from acting to direct their first feature films in the past year, but they are set to report back to work in front of the camera in April. The two actor-directors are joining Maya Rudolph in an untitled comedy about a couple (Krasinski and Rudolph) traveling the country in search of a place to settle down and raise a family. The two will no doubt be comparing notes and watching for pointers from their director — seasoned pro Sam Mendes — for any sophomore directing projects. (photo: Mark Sullivan/WireImage.com)

[Variety.com]