- After decades of supporting roles, Samuel L. Jackson has finally made it: He’s getting his own sidekick. As everyone of the nerd persuasion knows, Jackson plays Nick Fury in the upcoming Avengers movie, a movie that represents a personal pinnacle of joy … and it isn’t even made yet. Apparently, Jackson is getting a sassy assistant (comic fans know her as Maria Hill), and word is that “How I Met Your Mother” star Cobie Smulders is the front-runner for the role. In a related note: Cobie Smulders was my first choice for my porn star name.
- You get a lot of leeway if you win an Oscar, and word on the street is that David Fincher hopes he wins the award this year for directing The Social Network. Not just because that’s cool, but because he wants to put a topless Rooney Mara on the poster for his upcoming remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and he may be willing to cash in his Oscar swagger to get it done. It isn’t going to happen, on account of the prudish public and oppressive MPAA, but he’ll have a better chance if he’s gesturing with an Oscar.
- Robert Downey Jr. said “no” to mauling our childhood memories by turning down the role of the Wizard in Oz, the Great and Powerful. So far, so good. Producers then went to the guy you offer everything to, but Johnny Depp also said “no.” Nice. Now they’re on James Franco, who is considering things. If the “no” thing continues, we may just preserve our dignity as a culture. But I have a feeling that the guy 205th on the list will take it: Topher Grace is tired of unemployment.
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