Jerry Sandusky – the disgraced former Penn State assistant whose alleged, despicable actions led to a cover-up that will forever tarnish Joe Paterno’s legacy – has issued a statement on the passing of the iconic football coach. “This is a sad day!” Sandusky said, exclamation mark included. “Our family, Dottie [Sandusky’s wife] and I would like to convey our deepest sympathy to Sue [Paterno] and her family. Nobody will be able to take away the memories we all shared of a great man, his family, and all the wonderful people who were a part of his life. “He maintained a high standard in a very difficult profession. Joe preached toughness, hard work and clean competition. Most importantly, he had the courage to practice what he preached.” Sandusky, of course, faces over 40 counts of child sex charges ; while the inability of Paterno and other Penn State officials to report their knowledge of Sandusky’s actions to the police has led to the biggest scandal in the history of college athletics.
Lindsay Lohan has been staying out of trouble lately, and has even been praised by Judge Stephanie Sautner at probation hearings. Dare we say she’s turning it around? Incredibly, it looks like she is. The only allegations she faces these days (save for that tax mishap ) are the typical celeb fare – frivolous lawsuits from crazy people. According to court documents, Thomas A. Green is suing Lohan for $300,000 for “unfair business practices” and allegedly defrauding him in some online business deal. Green claims he is a former U.S. Marine and says he recently spent time in a homeless shelter due to a “depreciated stage of delusion and hallucinations.” Green believes he began corresponding with Lohan on Facebook on July 18, 2010, and makes references to both public Facebook and Twitter messages that the actress had posted in an effort raise awareness and funds for the disaster in the Gulf Coast. Green seems to claim was duped by Lohan and when he pressed her about her true intentions, he uncovered a conspiracy about the killing of Osama bin Laden . He goes on and on and on , but we’re just gonna stop right there, because this is going to be thrown out in about two seconds, and we have other things to talk about. Like the sweater she’s wearing above. Wowza. [Photo: Fame Pictures]
Kate Beckinsale’s return to the franchise propelled Underworld: Awakening to a big box office win this weekend. George Lucas’ Red Tails came in second in revenue. Those out to see Kate, who plays leather-clad vampire warrior Selene, kick some serious behind managed helped the film bring in $24.3 million its opening weekend. Was it worth it, though? Movie Fanatic’s Underworld: Awakening review is mixed, but in strictly financial terms, it easily topped Red Tails ‘ $19.4 million haul. Underworld Awakening Trailer Mark Wahlberg’s Contraband grossed $12.2 million, causing it to fall from first to third in the box office. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close pulled in $10.5 million. Nos. 5-10: Haywire ($9.0 million), Beauty & the Beast 3D ($8.6 million), Joyful Noise ($6.1 million) , Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol ($5.5 million) , Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows ($4.8 million) , The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ($3.8 million).
As yet another incredible season begins to gradually wind down, we’re roughly 48 hours away from one of the year’s most closely watched, hotly competitive high-stakes all-star showdowns to date. But enough about the New York Giants’ journey on Sunday to battle their NFC-rival Green Bay Packers. We’ve got the 69th annual Golden Globe Awards to predict! While Jen Yamato and I invite you to join us Sunday at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT for Movieline’s Golden Globe livetweet extravaganza, now’s the time to apply everything you’ve divined through the Oscar Index , our 2012 Golden Globe subplots , your bum knee and/or any other reliable awards barometers you might have at your disposal. We’re focusing on the movie categories only at this time (*: carefully calibrated predictions from Movieline’s Institute For the Advanced Study of Kudos Forensics); weigh in with yours in the comments. And we’ll see you back here on Sunday! BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA The Descendants The Help* Hugo The Ides of March Moneyball War Horse BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL 50/50 The Artist Bridesmaids* My Week With Marilyn Midnight in Paris BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs Viola Davis, The Help * Rooney Mara, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA George Clooney, The Descendants * Leonardo DiCaprio, J. Edgar Michael Fassbender, Shame Ryan Gosling, The Ides of March Brad Pitt, Moneyball BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL Jodie Foster, Carnage Charlize Theron, Young Adult Kristen Wiig, Bridesmaids * Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn Kate Winslet, Carnage BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL Jean Dujardin, The Artist Brendan Gleeson, The Guard Ryan Gosling, Crazy Stupid Love * Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 50/50 Owen Wilson, Midnight in Paris BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn Arthur Christmas Cars 2 Puss In Boots Rango * BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM A Separation (Iran) The Flowers Of War (China) The Kid With The Bike (Belgium) In The Land Of Blood and Honey (USA)* The Skin I Live In (Spain) BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE Berenice Bejo, The Artist Jessica Chastain, The Help Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs Octavia Spencer, The Help * Shailene Woodley, The Descendants BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn Albert Brooks, Drive Jonah Hill, Moneyball Viggo Mortensen, A Dangerous Method Christopher Plummer, Beginners * BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris * George Clooney, The Ides of March Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist Alexander Payne, The Descendants Martin Scorsese, Hugo BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE The Artist The Descendants The Ides of March Midnight in Paris* Moneyball BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE Ludovic Bource – The Artist * Abel Korzeniowski – W.E. Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Howard Shore – Hugo John Williams – War Horse BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE “Hello Hello” – Gnomeo & Juliet – Elton John “Lay Your Head Down” – Albert Nobbs – Sinead O’Connor “The Living Proof” – The Help – Mary J. Blige “The Keeper” – Machine Gun Preacher – Gerard Butler “Masterpiece” – W.E. – Madonna*
Exciting news: Some Mila Kunis pictures that weren’t hacked! The gorgeous actress is joining the Christian Dior family in a new series of ads for the Miss Dior handbag, shot in New York by photographer Mikael Jansson. The Kunis ad campaign will debut internationally in Asian and European editions of Elle, Vogue and Madame Figaro on January 15, with U.S. versions to follow. Here are a couple of images from the campaign: “I am absolutely thrilled to be working with Dior,” Kunis said in a statement . “The brand is iconic in so many ways. It defines fashion, elegance and sophistication.” In signing with the French fashion house, Kunis joins Lady Dior handbags’ current face, Marion Cotillard, plus Black Swan costar Natalie Portman and others. Charlize Theron also models for Dior beauty and J’adore Dior fragrance, and Jude Law, Sophie Marceau and Sharon Stone have ties to the brand, as well. Sounds like talented, stylish company by any measure.
The Descendants, Bridesmaids, Midnight in Paris and other fan favorites lead the way in the just-released Writers Guild of America Awards, honoring the best of 2011. The biggest surprise may be the inclusion of the independent drama Win Win, while the big snubs appear to be War Horse , The Ides of March and The Artist. Diablo Cody (Young Adult), Alexander Payne (The Descendants) and Steven Zaillian (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) were among the scribes recognized. 50/50 Trailer Other nominees range from Kristen Wiig and Woody Allen to Will Reiser, Seth Rogen’s friend who adapted his own battle with cancer into a hit dramedy. The full list of WGA Award nominees 2011 : Original Screenplay 50/50, Written by Will Reiser Bridesmaids, Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen Win Win, Screenplay by Tom McCarthy Young Adult , Written by Diablo Cody The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Trailer (Extended) Adapted Screenplay The Descendants, Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash; Based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemming The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Screenplay by Steven Zaillian; Based on the novel by Stieg Larsson, originally published by Norstedts The Help, Screenplay by Tate Taylor; Based on the novel by Kathryn Stockett Hugo, Screenplay by John Logan; Based on the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick Moneyball, Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin; Story by Stan Chervin; Based on the book by Michael Lewis Documentary Screenplay Better This World, Written by Katie Galloway & Kelly Duane de la Vega If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front, Written by Marshall Curry and Matthew Hamachek Nostalgia for the Light, Written by Patricio Guzmann Pina, Screenplay by Wim Wenders Position Among the Stars, Script by Hetty Naaijkens-Retel Helmrich, Leonard Retel Helmrich Senna, Written by Manish Pandey
Her 21 , which debuted nearly a year ago, sold more than 144,000 copies. By James Montgomery Adele Photo: Getty Images New year, same story: Adele ‘s unstoppable 21 sold more than 144,000 copies to claim the top spot on the first Billboard albums chart of 2012, easily outpacing Drake ‘s Take Care, which landed at #2 with sales of nearly 72,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. As it approaches the one-year anniversary of its release, 21 — which was 2011’s biggest seller by a huge margin — shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, with this week’s numbers, it has now sold some 5.8 million copies in the U.S., making it the best-selling album since Usher’s massive Confessions, which moved 7.9 million copies in 2004. Young Jeezy ‘s TM 103: Hustlerz Ambition holds strong at #3 on this week’s chart, selling more than 67,000 copies in its second week. Lady Antebellum ‘s Own the Night is up next at #4 with sales of nearly 54,000 copies. And buoyed by the chart-topping success of single “Sexy and I Know It,” LMFAO ‘s Sorry for Party Rocking leaps from #16 all the way up to #5. Florence and the Machine ‘s Ceremonials (sales of more than 47,000 copies), the Black Keys ‘ El Camino (more than 45,000), Coldplay ‘s Mylo Xyloto (more than 44,000), Rihanna ‘s Talk That Talk (more than 42,000) and the 40th installment of the ubiquitous Now collection (more than 41,000) round out the top 10. The week’s biggest debut belongs to Skrillex , whose new Bangarang EP opens at #19, with sales of nearly 24,000 copies. The Trent Reznor / Atticus Ross “Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” soundtrack makes its chart debut at #44, selling more than 14,000 copies. And, in a true sign that the holidays are officially over, Canadian crooner Michael Bubl
Her 21 , which debuted nearly a year ago, sold more than 144,000 copies. By James Montgomery Adele Photo: Getty Images New year, same story: Adele ‘s unstoppable 21 sold more than 144,000 copies to claim the top spot on the first Billboard albums chart of 2012, easily outpacing Drake ‘s Take Care, which landed at #2 with sales of nearly 72,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. As it approaches the one-year anniversary of its release, 21 — which was 2011’s biggest seller by a huge margin — shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, with this week’s numbers, it has now sold some 5.8 million copies in the U.S., making it the best-selling album since Usher’s massive Confessions, which moved 7.9 million copies in 2004. Young Jeezy ‘s TM 103: Hustlerz Ambition holds strong at #3 on this week’s chart, selling more than 67,000 copies in its second week. Lady Antebellum ‘s Own the Night is up next at #4 with sales of nearly 54,000 copies. And buoyed by the chart-topping success of single “Sexy and I Know It,” LMFAO ‘s Sorry for Party Rocking leaps from #16 all the way up to #5. Florence and the Machine ‘s Ceremonials (sales of more than 47,000 copies), the Black Keys ‘ El Camino (more than 45,000), Coldplay ‘s Mylo Xyloto (more than 44,000), Rihanna ‘s Talk That Talk (more than 42,000) and the 40th installment of the ubiquitous Now collection (more than 41,000) round out the top 10. The week’s biggest debut belongs to Skrillex , whose new Bangarang EP opens at #19, with sales of nearly 24,000 copies. The Trent Reznor / Atticus Ross “Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” soundtrack makes its chart debut at #44, selling more than 14,000 copies. And, in a true sign that the holidays are officially over, Canadian crooner Michael Bubl
Often forgotten during the Mel Gibson-Oksana Grigorieva drama of recent years was the fact that he and wife Robyn were married, albeit separated, the whole time. No longer. Mel’s net worth of $850 million will be divided evenly between the pair, who were married for 28 years, according to those familiar with their divorce settlement. The dissolution of their marriage was finalized late last week. Robyn filed for divorced in April 2009, but she and Mel, who have seven children, remain close. Gibson split with Robyn after announcing he was having a baby with Oksana Grigorieva. Gibson’s baby Lucia with Oksana was born October 30, 2009. That couple split a short time later as documented in the now-infamous Mel Gibson rants . Gibson has since worked out a custody deal with Oksana. Robyn has asked that her maiden name of Moore be legally restored, but there is clearly much more than restoring her good name involved here. Believed to be by far the largest divorce settlement in Hollywood history, the actor’s payout to Robyn dwarfs others in the nine-figure range even. Challenge extended, Vanessa Bryant .
