Louis C.K., Matthew Broderick and Denis Leary attend the 'Finding Amanda' after party at the Soho Grand Hotel in New York. (photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage.com)

Nice Crib

For 'American Girl' star Abigail Breslin, constantly impressing 40-year-old journalists with her knowledge of the Great Depression can get a bit tiring, so the Chicago Tribune threw the actress a bone and sent in a pint-sized correspondent for the interview. Oddly, the youngsters ended up talking real estate. "I've never had a treehouse because I live in New York City," Breslin explained. "It would be a little bit hard to fit a treehouse in a New York City apartment. But I went to my friends' house, and me and my friend and her little brother built a fort — with chairs and beanbags. We had a secret password and all that stuff." Sounds fabulous, Abigail. Now who's your broker? (photo: Todd Williamson/WireImage.com)

[Chicago Tribune]

Making New Friends

The runaway success of 'Flight of the Conchords' has landed the Kiwi duo in the enviable gaze of Hollywood's elite. "To think that we have had calls from Jennifer Aniston's people saying she really likes the show and Steven Spielberg requesting a copy of the series, it's pretty crazy," says Bret McKenzie. Despite the attention, the musicians are sticking to their mission, bringing the unique culture of New Zealand to American shores. "We are definitely going to explore the rivalry between Australia and New Zealand at a government ambassadorial level," he says. "One storyline is one of us ending up in a relationship with an Australian. Americans really latched onto it, and strangers keep coming up to me on the street and asking me about the rivalry, which we all know generally only comes out during a rugby match." (photo: Jason Merritt/FilmMagic.com)

[Stuff.co.nz]

Lauren Ambrose attends the 'Hamlet' Shakespeare in the Park opening night party at Belvedere Castle in New York City's Central Park. (photo: Jemal Countess/WireImage.com)

Picture Perfect

Most celebrity photographers blanch when they're told they have a photo shoot with three female stars, but those assigned to the 'Big Love' beat, can breathe easy. According to Ginnifer Goodwin, there will be no temper tantrums. "I am absolutely surprised that I've worked with these people now for five years and we have no drama. We have no divas. It's the healthiest, most collaborative, prioritized set," she says. "These women are women whose real lives and families, and what I judgmentally consider very good values, come first. ... People seem to be shocked when they do photo shoots with us." (photo: Lester Cohen/WireImage.com)

[Hollywood Reporter]

Exchange Student

The ever-expanding world of 'American Girl' always receives kudos for giving kids educational entertainment — which is good considering actress Julia Ormond showed up for work on the film with plenty to learn. Like, what exactly is an American Girl, anyway? "I was the only person in the cast who had no clue," she says. "It's like number one." Hailing from Britain also left Ormond a bit out in the cold when it came to the Great Depression. "It was really great to dive in there and learn about how horrid it had been," she says. "I learned about dust storms and one thing after another. In terms of perspective, I used it to see how far advanced people have come socially. Also, I think there is a relevance to this story today, not as extreme, but what a lot of people are facing. You lose your home or lose your job, it's a very personal thing for people to deal with, and be challenged by. I hope that we've done something that reverberates with people who are facing that." (photo: Jesse Grant/WireImage.com)

[Movies Online]

Carla Gugino arrives at the premiere of 'Get Smart' in Los Angeles. (photo: Chris Polk/FilmMagic.com)

Living Large

Ricky Gervais was completely fine with his physique — until he hit the spotlight. "I never knew I was fat until I got famous, then I suddenly realized I was overweight," Gervais says. "The papers can't simply put 'comedian Ricky Gervais.' They have to put 'rotund comedian' or 'chubby fatster.' The other day, I was trying to keep fit by going jogging with my iPod, and the paparazzi leapt out a bush and got me. The headline the next day? 'iPudge.' What can you do?"

Gervais can be seen in the US next month doing stand-up in LA and NY. (photo: Jon Furniss/WireImage.com)

[PunchlineMagazine.com]

Advancing by Degrees

Kevin Spacey has already taught MIT kids how to play blackjack ('21') and Democrats how to play hardball ('Recount'), so now he's taking his expertise to Oxford University, where he's accepted a one-year position as a theater professor. "It really is an honor for me to have been invited to follow such illustrious names and take up this role at Oxford," Spacey says. "The university is steeped in tradition and has a great heritage in the arts, and I look forward to working with the students and staff." But those who "teach" can still "do," and the actor's proving it with his next project: 'Shrink,' an indie flick about a pot-smoking Hollywood psychiatrist who can no longer help his celebrity patients. (photo: Dave M. Benett/Getty Images)

[Stuff.co.nz]

[Variety]

Kathryn Hahn, Mary McCormack and Gina Gershon attend the 62nd Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. (photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage.com)

Operation Semper Fidelis

Any Marine will tell you that making an authentic war movie isn't easy. And Sgt. Eric Kocher (pictured), senior military advisor to HBO's miniseries 'Generation Kill,' confirms that he fought to keep things real, starting with putting the actors through a boot camp that was still a little breezy for Kocher's taste. "Little pu**y Screen Actors Guild rules wouldn't let them do 18-hour days," Kocher complained to Rolling Stone in an article on stands now. "I made a two-page list of rules. Never take off your helmets, because that never happens. Never start shooting all over the place — cause it ain't f**king ever like that."

Says Evan Wright, who wrote the original Rolling Stone articles that became the book that David Simon and Ed Burns of 'The Wire' adapted: "If Eric hadn't been there, it would have been 'Generation Lame,'" says Wright. "He forced an authentic point of view."

Drinking on the Job

Most people only get to drink booze before noon when they're on vacation, but for 'Sopranos' star Lorraine Bracco — whose name also brands nine different varietals of Italian wine — the "it's 5 o'clock somewhere" lifestyle comes as a standard part of her job description: "I go to Italy and go to all the different regions and pick out the wine myself," she says. "It's really a labor of love. It's not easy tasting wines at 9 o'clock in the morning." (photo: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)

[DelawareOnline.com]

Rainn Wilson arrives at the premiere of 'The Rocker' at the 2008 CineVegas Film Festival opening night in Las Vegas. (photo: Michael Tran/FilmMagic.com)

The Buck Stops Here

Dennis Hof, the proprietor of the Moonlight BunnyRanch, has out-marketed Sam Walton in an attempt to capture stimulus rebate dollars. The legal brothel featured on 'Cathouse' will give the first 100 customers who present their rebate checks with a two-fer deal called "More Bang for Your Buck." Spend the entire $1200 and you get three women and a bottle of bubbly. As CNBC.com points out, you have to be married to qualify for $1200, so you might want to check with the little lady first, in case she had her heart set on a flat screen. (photo: Louis Dollagaray/WireImage.com)

[CNBC.com]

Mr. Ferrell's Neighborhood

HBO has joined forces with FunnyOrDie.com — the web-vid brainchild of Will Ferrell and Judd Apatow — but what exactly can viewers expect from the funnymen's 10 half-hour episodes? "We do know we want it to be in the same family of the comedy that we're doing on the website," Ferrell says, "just a wide range of anything from a funny offbeat talkshow to a maybe more-traditional-type sitcom to a show with puppets." Look out, Henrietta Pussycat. (photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic.com)

[Wired]