Sarah Ball

So a couple of weeks ago I screened "I Love You, Man" -- thumbs up! -- and the first thing I did when I got back was stick the following in my gChat status: "i predict that it will take 24 hrs after 'i love you man' comes out before 'totes magotes' becomes the catchphrase of '09." I remember this so distinctly, because I was having this major geekfest of an internal debate about how to spell "magotes." A-a-anyway, apparently DreamWorks is either reading my mind, or wanting to clear up...

Coolio Cooks Up A Really Hair-Brained Idea.  Looks like Coolio won't be cookin' with us for a while -- the rap star and Grammy winner was charged with possession of crack cocaine and battery late yesterday after an incident over the weekend at LAX.  Apparently he put his luggage through for baggage handlers to inspect, then grabbed the arm of the inspector when he remembered he had the drug and a pipe stashed inside.  Oops.  [Reuters]Manager Crossing the Line?

Slashed Showings in TriBeCa This Year.  The Tribeca Film Festival has announced its lineup of films -- and its a dramatically smaller number than last year, down nearly a third to only 86 shows.  The festival made headlines earlier when at least two major sponsors -- Target and Cadillac -- yanked their funding.  Woody Allen will kick off the fest with his directorial return to New York, called "Whatever Works," on April 22nd. [Variety]More Twilight News That Will Amp Up Teen Girls.  Dakota...

 In which Barack can't get a break; McCain is all a-twitter and Limbaugh accepts an Obama challenge...

Check out this fantastic and fascinating analysis of the way the media has unfairly tried to categorize the alleged domestic violence between singers Chris Brown and Rihanna as a situation where both are to blame.  NEWSWEEK's Raina Kelly unpacks five of the biggest myths that surface in our discussion of domestic abuse, with Brown and Rihanna as a case study.  If you've been following this story at all, don't miss this piece.

Just as the "Watchmen" hype is reaching a fever pitch, Warner Brothers has released new footage from its other fanboy-favorite flick: "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," due out July 17th.

NEWSWEEK's Ramin Setoodeh makes Felicity Huffman nervous -- at least, he did in this fun chat the pair had backstage at David Letterman.  Setoodeh picks the "Pheobe in Wonderland" star's brain about her first audition, first date with her husband, first day on the "Desperate Housewives" set and more.  Click the player above to view!

Tom Colicchio Defends Hosea. After fans starting throwing fits that final cheftestant Hosea Rosenberg was selected "Top Chef" winner Wednesday night, head judge and Craft chef Tom Colicchio issued a statement to People magazine, saying he'd "If I had to do it all over again...

It could be just another Facebook vacation-photo album: a bunch of 20-something guys draped over a few beach chairs, knocking back some fruity-looking drinks and clowning for the camera.

Jerry Returns to Referee on NBC.  Jerry Seinfeld to come back to NBC -- but not for a "Seinfeld" redux.  Or a "Bees" commercial.  This time, it's for a reality show that he will produce and guest appear on.  Called "The Marriage Ref," the show is Seinfeld's brainchild: people whine about their marriage problems on air, and then celebrities tell them what they think.  Isn't that called "Dr.

'Green Hornet' Gets a Helmer. So now that Seth Rogen has lost approximately a bajillion pounds for his upcoming foray into superhero movies, "The Green Hornet," Columbia has decided to hitch a director to the project.  And it's an interesting choice -- Michel Gondry, of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and "Be Kind, Rewind," will be jumping for the first time into the blatantly commercial end of the pool.  Rogen and childhood pal Evan Goldberg, the pair of brains behind "Superbad," are...

Get kicked off the PCD reality show?  Just looking for your big break? Yours for three easy payments of absolutely nothing: a chance to appear on "The District!"  We're looking for some young, fun, up-and-coming bands to provide us with soundtrack for our hit satire of "The City" -- the angstier and more melodramatically melodic, the better.  Pop, rock and hip-hop artists of all stripes welcome to submit; just send music files to TheDistrictNW@gmail.com for consideration and a chance to be...

Freida Pinto Replaces Scarlett Johansson.  The gorgeous female star of "Slumdog Millionaire" will star as the young, impressionable ingenue in Woody Allen's latest film -- Scarlett, you have been auf'd.  She has signed onto the untitled project after Josh Brolin, Anthony Hopkins and Naomi Watts.  [Variety]All Jackman-ed Up?  After last year's ratings were the worst in Oscar history, the telecast improved to 36.3 million viewers over the first three hours in 2009.  Both ABC and Nielsen...

All Barack's new friends are totally flaking out. So he finds time to smooth things over with someone who's always been there for -- or against -- him. That's right: Hillary is back in the spotlight, y'all.  She and a Samsonite full of pantsuits make their way overseas to pageant-wave and make nice with world leaders.  Sometimes it's good to leave Washington "Drama Central" D.C. behind, as Barack finds when he also leaves the city -- for Canada.  Tune in!

Photo of Rihanna Leaked.  It is the policy of the LAPD to keep alleged victims of domestic violence anonymous -- so when celebrity site TMZ posted a photograph of a visibly battered Rihanna -- with contusions on her head and swollen markings -- the department immediately launched an internal investigation.  See the photo here.  [TMZ] Conan De-Pledges the Big Apple.  Bye, Conan -- we'll miss you in NYC.  But an interesting story in the Daily News about whether O'Brien's frenetic, "fratty"...

Facebook Founding Fathers Pen... Bill of Rights?  An interesting essay today from Washington Post tech columnist Rob Pegoraro about Facebook's ongoing terms-of-service debacle -- he suggests Wikipedia-style group editing to come to a legalese-free set of terms.  The column, here.

It has not been fully appreciated how deliciously ironic—and yet how appropriate—two of this year's Oscar nominations are. The first is, of course, Kate Winslet's sixth nomination, for her role in Nazi drama "The Reader," which comes after her send-up of the Academy's Holocaust obsession on BBC show "Extras." And the second is Robert Downey Jr.'s supporting nomination for his "Tropic Thunder" turn, a role that was intended to lampoon the robotic way Oscar gets doled out.But if the Academy...

Hayek Says 'Oui' in Paris.  Salma Hayek got married in a secret ceremony -- but that's not a plot twist in her "30 Rock" cameo.  The 42-year-old actress married her longtime beau and French billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault on Valentine's Day at a small, intimate ceremony in Paris.  The pair have a child together and have been dating on-and-off for three years.  We hope the honeymoon won't disrupt her filming -- she's brilliant on the show. [People]Rihanna Torn Over Brown Testimony? ...

When Judd Gregg tries to throw more salt on Team Barack's economic game, 44 realizes that there's a whole lotta drama-rama associated with being the president.  His pals over at "The City" usually assuage cat fights with champagne brunches, but our hero finds catharsis in, uh, Peoria.  Guest-starring Helen Thomas and that shoe-throwing Iraqi celeb -- how can you not want to tune in?!

Continuing our video series -- see last week's chat with Chris Evans from "Push," if you haven't already -- we've got former American Idol finalist Melinda Doolittle this week, who spills seven things we don't know about her.  Simulated elliptical dancing -- to Flo Rida's "Low," no less -- may or may not be included.  Click to find out!

Is Chris Brown Done?  You Decide. Further silence from singer Chris Brown's camp after he was charged with making criminal threats (allegedly against his girlfriend Rihanna) has tabloids and industry press assuming the worst about the star's future career.  An unnamed industry source told People that since "a lot of his fans are female," that the impact on his soaring popularity could be devastating.  Wrigley has already temporarily canned his spokesmanship for Doublemint, and Brown has...

And blurs his words.  And doesn't crack a smile, laugh, or remove his sunglasses.  The most responsive Phoenix ever becomes is when he takes his gum out of his mouth and sticks it under Dave's desk.  The must-see video of the day.

Just finished re-reading Devin Gordon's breathtakingly confident story from last March about why people hate Duke -- and since Today Is The Day, you should, too.  Re-read, that is.  Consult your physician before taking up the hatred part -- to hate like this can cause windbagitis.

Say 'Sussex Spaniel' Three Times Fast.  We were pulling for the Puli Pulik -- tee hee! -- but the sprightly spaniel from Sussex took the top prize at last night's Westminster Kennel Club Best in Show.  Of course, the most adorable thing about winner Stump isn't his name or his milk-chocolate tresses.  It's his age.  Stump is 70 in dog years, which makes him an old gray mare in the dog show world.  The AP compared it to " coming back to make one more jumper, or returning to toss a final TD...

Get ready to geek out, America -- not only is Team Barack back for a second installment of "The District," but the first episode will also make a guest appearance on the aftershow of "The City" tonight.  That's right: the show that spawned the satire will air the satire after the show.  (Phew.)  Meanwhile, in part deux, there is trouble afoot in Washington as the gang decides to bail on Olivia's dinner party their tax returns.  Watch above!

  ...whether my morning commute tune—Chris Brown's cover of "Try A Little Tenderness"—is/was an ironic choice on the part of my iPod's shuffle.  Maybe it knows something the LAPD does not.  The singer was released on $50,000 bail after an arrest for alleged battery of an anonymous, "visibly injured" female.  Brown and the other half of the world's most beautiful couple—singer Rihanna—both bailed on the Grammys last night, causing some connect-the-dots theories that she was on the...

Check out our photo gallery of 19 of the most memorable Oscar snubs, all actors and actresses who gave some of the most enduring and iconic movie performances of all time (Judy Garland?  Jimmy Stewart?  Ingrid Bergman?) but failed to earn a nomination for their roles.  Pictured also are the eventual winners.

We're kind of excited to see how Hugh Jackman performs as Oscar emcee on Feb. 22 -- but Wolverine is following a lot of big names. To ease his nerves, here are a few hosting gigs that got panned by audiences and critics alike (including some we at Pop Vox HQ secretly admired):Oprah!  Uma!  Oprah!  Uma!  Poor David Letterman -- this 1995 joke is still incomprehensible, and earned the comedian the lowest marks in Oscar host history.  Only the Keanu Reeves potshot was funny.

Entertainment critic Ramin Setoodeh unpacks the self-help behind "He's Just Not That Into You," the comedy-turned-SATC episode-turned-book-turned-movie.  He's not that into it.  Are you?

Upon Further Review, the Earlier Ruling is Overturned. The Super Bowl gathered 98.7 million viewers, not 95.4 million, Nielsen reported this morning -- a fact it took them overtime to nail down and a new record for most-watched.  If you were one of the 200 million who didn't catch it -- or happened to be watching the other, extremely close sporting event of the evening (ESPN's replay of the Australian Open final, Nadal v.