Alias- News Archive

Jennifer Garner: Every Day Is a 'Fresh Start' When You're a Working Mom

Oh, and her husband of nine years just happens to be the new Batman.

Just don't call Jennifer Garner "Supermom."

"No," says the mother of three on whether she has cracked the code of what it takes to be that perfect mother.

Speaking at the Los Angeles press conference for her latest film, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, Garner also said: "But the absolute [greatest] thing about being a parent is that every day is a fresh start."

And she means every day.

"You always can say, 'Today we're going to try this!' " Garner, 42, says. "And if it goes horribly, you can say, 'Today we're throwing that out, and we're trying this!' That's part of what I like about being a mom in general."

So what's it like being a member of the Affleck household?

"Our kids need to be allowed to have a bad day," she tells PEOPLE. "And you need to show them that it's okay to have the whole range of emotions. You should have it all: rage and anger and sadness, so there is a lot of room for joy and happiness as well."

And she's happy to show off what she's learned as a parent to Violet, 8½, Seraphina, 5½, and Samuel, 2½, when the cameras are rolling.

"I have enjoyed this new world of playing moms," Garner says. "This little kid whose mom is a teacher at my child's school said, 'Mrs. Affleck is a lot like my mom ... She gets to have a lot of other kids.' "

Ben Affleck Warned Jennifer Garner He's Naked in Gone Girl

"I was aware," Garner told me with a smile last night at the premiere of her new movie, Men, Women & Children (in limited release today and expanding on Oct.17.).

Not only does Affleck flash some of his tush in Gone Girl, but there's also a very quick flash of his manhood.

Garner couldn't tell us what it was like seeing Affleck in all his glory on a big screen because, she said, "I haven't seen it yet."

I couldn't help but crack, "Well, you have."

Garner smiled again and gave me a wink.

Love her.

"The penis is in there!" Affleck exclaimed during an interview with MTV News' Josh Horowitz. "It costs extra. It's IMAX penis! You've gotta pay fifteen bucks to see it in 3-D. It looks better in 3-D."

And he continued, "You should know it was very cold. It was a very cold set. It was freezing. It was subzero."

Affleck said he knew from the beginning he'd have to show his goods.

"I think there's some brief nudity in this movie," he said. "Director David [Fincher] said to me from the beginning, ‘This is a warts and all movie. It can have no vanity. You have to see the naked underbelly of this character.' It's gotta be like in Europe, they just don't give a s--t about any of that stuff and they just play real people. So that was the spirit of the thing and we kind of stuck to that, me and Rosamund [Pike]. There is some brief, um, very brief nudity, I think."

Affleck isn't the only one who strips down in the movie. Co-stars Rosamund Pike, Emily Ratajkowski and Neil Patrick Harris show some skin, too.

Bradley Cooper Reveals He Wants Kids: ''I Would Love to Be a Father One Day''

The hunky actor revealed to Square Mile magazine that he "would love to be a father one day."

"I'm sorry my father won't be around to see his grandchildren, but he knows fatherhood was something I was looking forward to," he shared. "That's my next big step in life."

Cooper, who is currently dating British model Suki Waterhouse, also opened up about finally making it big in Hollywood after being in the business for years.

"I struggled for a long time, and you never forget what you went through to finally make it. Even with the success I've had, I still fight for roles that I don't wind up getting, so there's still enough uncertainty to keep you hungry."

He continued, "There's this crushing anxiety you feel when you're not getting the parts you want, and you wonder if acting is your destiny."

But Cooper explains to the mag that there's one co-star who always seems to put him at ease on set: Jennifer Lawrence.

The two have starred opposite one another in two mega-successful David O. Russell flicks, Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle, and will have the Susanne Bier-directed film, Serena, released later this year.

"We've had so much fun working together, and I'm so proud of her success," he gushed.

"She's one of the most down to Earth and unpretentious individuals you could ever meet, and it's such a pleasure to spend time with her."

But his (platonic) love letter to J.Law didn't end there, he continued, "She's incredibly talented; she's one of those natural performers who are instinctively good at what they do."

J.J. Abrams To Receive VES Society's Visionary Award

Previous winners include Christopher Nolan, Ang Lee and Alfonso Cuarón.

Abrams’ credits include the Star Trek reboots, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Cloverfield and Super 8, and TV series Alias, Lost, Fringe and Person Of Interest via his production company Bad Robot. But by February he will be deep into finishing Star Wars: Episode VII, the reboot of the iconic sci-fi franchise. He co-wrote the script with Lawrence Kasdan and produces; production kicked off in May in the UK.

Star Wars is set for a December 18, 2015 release.

Jennifer Garner: Why I'm Not on Twitter or Instagram

"I have an official Facebook page. I'm not on Twitter, Instagram," she tells PEOPLE.

"I have a couple of reasons," says the star of Men, Women & Children, who posed with costar Kaitlyn Dever for PEOPLE's behind-the-scenes portfolio at the Toronto International Film Festival.

"One, I don't want any more guilt coming from my phone or computer. I have the hardest time answering emails, anyway, so the last thing I want to feel is indebted to my phone or computer. So it's time."

"And the other is, what would I Instagram that people would want to see. There is nothing I would put out that people would want to see. It's probably best to stay away. They don't want to see me and my mom friends after kindergarten drop-off."

In Men, Women & Children – a movie about how the Internet affects people's love lives – Garner and Dever play mother and daughter. "It was so easy," says Dever. "I feel like we're owed one more [film]," adds Garner.

For PEOPLE's exclusive photo shoots with Garner and Fever, Reese Witherspoon, Robert Downey Jr., Denzel Washington, Eddie Redmayne and more, pick up the new issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.

Ben Affleck Admits to Counting Cards While Gambling but Slams Jennifer Garner's Disapproval as ''Tabloid S--t''

In a no-holds-barred interview with Details magazine, the 42-year-old actor, along with his Gone Girl director David Fincher, opened up about the highly anticipated flick based on the best-selling book of the same name as well as the web of lies often spun by the media—a central theme in upcoming film to which the Oscar-winning actor can undoubtedly relate.

"I'm accustomed to all kinds of absurdity, so I expect that. No matter what," the Argo star tells the publication when asked if he felt weary taking on the role of Nick Dunne—who finds himself at the center of a media circus after he becomes a suspect in his wife's disappearance—due to the scrutiny that may possibly be placed on Affleck's own marriage to wife Jennifer Garner as he begins to make the press rounds. "So I know some people will react in a ridiculous way. And I'm just at a point now where it could have been about anything, it could have been about the most painful thing in my life—which this doesn't happen to be—but to me it's just all about the director. Who you work with...Are people going to ask me asinine questions, from the press? You just can't get away from that. I can promise you that will happen."

And while Affleck has years of experience shooting down those absurd press requests, he also knows when to set the record straight, opting to provide a refreshingly honest response when asked about the recent claim that the actor has been caught counting cards in casinos.

"That is a true story. I mean, that took place," he confessed. "I took some time to learn the game and became a decent blackjack player. And once I became decent, the casinos asked me not to play blackjack. I mean, the fact that being good at the game is against the rules at the casinos should tell you something about casinos."

Asked why he got so good at the game, the father of three replied, "I had always liked blackjack. I don't play any other games of chance. I don't bet on football games, and I don't gamble at all, really, outside of that. But I knew with blackjack that there's a way you can improve your odds. And so I started trying to learn. And then I just got to a point in my life where I'm like, 'If I'm going to do something, I'm going to try and do it really well.' It was sort of presented like I did something illegal. You know what I mean?"

As for the rumors that he was kicked out of the casinos? Affleck says that, unfortunately, those stories are only tabloid tales.

"I wish I could say they were afraid of me in every capacity, but they only said, 'No blackjack,'" he shared, adding "That would be awesome [if they threw me out]. 'Get him outta here! He's a magician!' Unfortunately, they just came up and said, 'We can't let you play blackjack. But we have other table games! We have Chinese poker!'"

Clearly, the Batman vs. Superman star isn't hesitant to chat about his supposed hush-hush habit in hopes of clarifying a few misconceived perceptions. "I get to correct the impression that there's something wrong with it or that it demonstrates some, like, compulsive activity. Usually, when you're a compulsive gambler, the casinos don't ask you to leave because you're beating them. You know?"

The author then cited one report which claimed Affleck look "disheveled and upset," causing the A-lister to mock the incessant media rumors.

"That's the thing: It's really hard for people to understand—it would be hard for me to understand—that people can freely write that s--t, almost completely fiction, and pass it off and run it. And you're going, like, 'I can't f--kin' believe this! Not only do they invite me over there, then they don't let me play, then they said I was, like, gambling, which also is not true, and then they said my hair was f--ked up. When will the indignities end?'"

However, rumors with regards to his family are an entirely different story as Affleck didn't hold back while slamming the false divorce reports that were supposedly tied to his gambling habits.

"See, that's tabloid s--t. That's all bulls--t," he said of the notion that his wife "can't take it anymore." "They completely lie. I mean, I can show you 10 articles of Star and OK!—those magazines feel totally comfortable absolutely fictionalizing every single element of the story. And there's nothing you can do about that. My only hope is that people with any common sense recognize that those stories are false. And, I don't know, there're worse stories..."

Still, Affleck's experience with the media circus has supplied him with the tools to play the charming, yet suspicious Nick Dunne. "I did not want to entrust that character to somebody who doesn't understand what that [the tabloid media] is," Fincher told Details. "Nobody signs up for this. If you showed people how absurd this kind of attention is, they would never sign up to be a movie star. They would go, 'Thank you, but no thank you.' What's Nick Dunne's mechanism? His mechanism is, 'I want you to like me, and I will use my charm to disarm any situation that starts to feel uncomfortable for me.' And you had to have an actor who understands what a slippery slope that is."

Jennifer Garner on Overnight Dates with Ben Affleck and Their 'Mindful' Marriage

"You can't expect to be courted all the time, and I don't want to court him right now – I don't have the energy!" Jennifer Garner says of husband Ben Affleck in InStyle magazine's October cover story.

"But we're definitely in a very mindful place where we're making an effort to be together, do things at the same time, and be loving."

Add three children into the mix, of course, and that further changes the dynamic.

"When we had our first [child] we had only been together a year. We were babies. It happened so fast, I hardly remember what we were like before the kids got here," says Garner, 42, of Violet, 8½, Seraphina, 5, and Samuel, 2. "Now we're just starting to go away for a night here and there."

She and Affleck, 42, who has been hard at work portraying a brooding, brawny Batman, may be in sync when it comes to making time for overnight dates, but they've got decidedly different roles when it comes to parenting.

"I know who wants what lunch, and I've done all the school paperwork and filled out the emergency cards. Ben doesn't know that stuff exists," says Garner.

"He is in charge of laughter. No matter how much I tickle them or toss them or chase them around, it's not the same. If I'm the slow, steady drumbeat, he's the jazz."

The October issue of InStyle hits newsstands Friday.

J.J. Abrams finds 'Star Wars: Episode VII' role for 'Heroes' Greg Grunberg

The pair have worked together on all of Abrams' biggest project, with Grunberg having major roles on "Felicity" and "Alias" and having cameo appearances on "Lost" and in "Star Trek." Now Grunberg has revealed Abrams has found a role for him in his biggest movies to date: "Star Wars: Episode VII."

Grunberg hosted at Twitter Q&A where he revealed the exciting news.

@greggrunberg: Yes @smgulz it IS safe to assume I have a role in #StarWarsEpisodeVII - If I say more than that, JJ will have me killed.

While Grunberg could have a larger role, it's more likely Abrams will sneak the "Heroes" alum into the movie in a way similar to how James Gunn cast Nathan Fillion as Monstrous Inmate in "Guardians of the Galaxy" -- aka in a very small part. In "Star Trek," Grunberg only voiced a stepdad character, which was similarly small.

But hey, any "Star Wars: Episode VII" role is better than no "Star Wars: Episode VII" role. And since Grunberg and Abrams shooting home movies together back in the late '70s is what got Grunberg into acting, it's fitting that they reunite on a project that's bringing one of the biggest franchises of their formative years back to the big screen.

"Star Wars: Episode VII" is slated for a Dec. 18, 2015 release date.

Jennifer Garner Discusses Her Marriage to Ben Affleck and Reveals Why She's Their Kids' "Only Hope"

This year alone, the actress starred in the movies Draft Day, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day and Men, Women & Children (the latter two are in theaters this fall). Her 42-year-old husband Ben Affleck, meanwhile, spent the better part of 2014 shooting Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in the Detroit area. The actor is also about to begin promotional duties for Gone Girl, adapted from Gillian Flynn's best-selling novel. How do the spouses of nine years find the time for each other, let alone their kids, Violet, 8, Seraphina, 5, and Samuel, 2?

"When we had our first, we had only been together a year. We were babies. It happened so fast, I hardly even remember what we were like before the kids got here," Garner, 42, recalls in InStyle's October 2014 issue. "Now we're just starting to go away for a night here and there."

"You go through phases," she continues. "You can't expect to be courted all the time, and I don't want to court him right now—I don't have the energy! But we're definitely in a very mindful place where we're making an effort to be together, do things at the same time, and be loving."

Garner filmed most of this year's movies in 2013, meaning she was able to spend more time at home with the kids while Affleck was on location as the Caped Crusader. "I keep things rolling and foster his connection to the kids. He'll always make time for them—he screwed up a week of production to take our daughter to her first day of kindergarten—but there's only so much, practically speaking, that he can do," she says of the downsides that come with being an actor. "I make sure that I am facilitating the most meaning for each kid out of whatever time he has."

To make life easier, the Daredevil co-stars play to their strengths.

So, who plays bad cop and who plays good cop in the Affleck-Garner household? "For better or worse, I tend to be the one who says, 'This is what needs to happen.' I know who wants what lunch, and I've done all the school paperwork and filled out the emergency cards. Ben doesn't even know that stuff exists. He is in charge of laughter. No matter how much I tickle them or toss them or chase them around, it's not the same. If I'm the slow, steady drumbeat, he's the jazz," she says. Still, she's got him beat when it comes movie roles. "My kids are always saying, 'Mom, you're our only hope. Dad does all these grown-up movies," Garner tells the magazine. "We can't see Argo or Gone Girl. Batman looks too scary. You have to do things we can see!'"

Garner may be a movie star, but she's a mom and wife first. "I'm still wiping a bottom, making three meals a day, dealing with sass—and also trying to work. I don't always do it all well. At bedtime last night my middle child said, 'I feel like you never have time to play with me.' I thought, 'My mom never played with me. I'm trying!'" she tells InStyle. "But you know what? She's right. So my goal is to play dolls with her all afternoon. I guess I would say for this stage of my life, I'm in the thick of it."

Jennifer Garner: Why I'm Waiting to Give My Kids Cell Phones

When it comes to her kids — Samuel, 2½, Seraphina, 5½, and Violet, 8½ — and cell phones, the mom-of-three doesn’t plan on giving over the goods any time soon.

“Not for a long time — they don’t need it. Until I really feel the need, but that’s where I’m strict,” the Men, Women and Children star, 42, tells Entertainment Tonight Canada.

“I’m not there yet … I know I’m a long way from feeling like that’s something we need in our lives.”

But the actress and her husband Ben Affleck aren’t just laying down the rules for their children. The couple are making an effort to curb their own phone use to stop technology from taking over their time together.

“We police each other, we police ourselves, we just try to have guidelines,” she explains.

“This movie was actually great. In making it … it made me say, ‘Gosh, we’re modeling for these kids what we’re going to expect from them at a certain point.’"

She adds, “We’re on the same page about it totally.”

CSI Recruits Heroes' Greg Grunberg

The Heroes and Alias alum will play Len Bryant, a white-collar everyman fighting addiction at a high-end rehab facility. He is determined to get sober in order to win back his children. Grunberg's episode will air in early November.

The actor is also known for his roles on Felicity and, most recently, Masters of Sex.

CSI returns Sunday, Sept. 28 at 10/9c on CBS.

Ben Affleck Takes Jennifer Garner Down with Him in Ice Bucket Challenge

In perhaps the most adorable celebrity Ice Bucket Challenge video yet, Ben Affleck gets soaked by Jennifer Garner – but then turns the tables on his wife – in a video posted on his Facebook page Monday.

In the 30-second clip, the couple both end up really taking the plunge as pint-sized giggles erupt in the background.

The Oscar winner, 42, who was tagged by Tyler Perry for the challenge – benefitting the ALS Association – has now called out Jimmy Kimmel, Neil Patrick Harris, Matt Damon and Garner herself to do their own videos. (He chose them, he said, because he knows "from first-hand experience [they] look good in a wet t-shirt.")

But hasn't Garner sort of paid her dues already?!

Jennifer Garner Not Pregnant, Says Rep

The actress's rep tells PEOPLE the reports that she and Affleck, 41, are expecting their fourth child are simply "not true."

Recent photos of Garner, 42, sporting loose-fitting tops while out and about in L.A., promoted the speculation.

Affleck meanwhile has been busy shooting the new Batman v Superman film in Detroit.

The couple are parents to children Violet, 8½, Seraphina, 5, and Samuel, 2.

The film stars, who wed on a beach in June 2005 after dating for 10 months, have been fiercely devoted to their family.

"She is by leaps and bounds the most important person to me in that respect," Affleck told Playboy of Garner's resolute support. "Over the past 10 years she has allowed me to have a stable home life while accomplishing my professional goals."

Bradley Cooper and Suki Waterhouse Share a Cozy Dinner in New Orlean

The pair, who were casually dressed, dined on veal parmesan and an Italian pasta dish at the upscale restaurant on Wednesday and "seemed like they were getting along fine," the restaurant's chef, Tyger Hale, told PEOPLE.

"Bradley was really nice," Hale added. "He agreed to pose for a picture with me when they came in."

The employee who served the couple said that PEOPLE's former Sexiest Man Alive "was having a good time," with Waterhouse, 22.

After dinner, while they were waiting for their car and driver, Cooper, 39 – who's playing a bad-boy chef in Adam Jones – talked with Hale, saying he'd been to the restaurant before and loved the food. "He also asked where I was from, how long I'd been cooking and how long I'd been here," Hale said.

Robert Downey Jr. Snags No. 1 Spot on Forbes' List of Top Earning Actors

The Iron Man star topped Forbes magazine's latest list of the top earning actors for the second year in a row after securing an estimated—wait for it—$75 million (!) between June 2013 and June 2014, the same amount as he earned last year.

His whopping intake is mostly due to his portrayal of the popular superhero character. Marvel movies starring Downey have earned almost $4 billion at the global box office and millions more on home video, not to mention the millions the movies have generated in merchandise, according to Forbes.

In fact, RDJ is expected to earn more than before for the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron after holding out during negotiations.

Coming in second on the list is former wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, with an estimated $52 million mostly thanks to his work in movies like the Fast and Furious franchise. Bradley Cooper, who is currently promoting Guardians of the Galaxy in which he voices the character of Rocket Raccoon, came in at No. 3 with $46 million.

Leonardo DiCaprio snagged the fourth spot an estimated $39 million in earnings, thanks to the box office success of The Wolf of Wall Street and The Great Gatsby. And rounding out the top five is fellow superhero, Chris Hemsworth, who earned an estimated $37 million for his work with the Thor franchise and the Michael Mann and Ron Howard-directed biopic, Rush.

Michael Vartan Divorce -- 'Alias' Star's Wife Files For Split

Lauren Skaar filed legal docs citing irreconcilable differences.

The two met at a Whole Foods in L.A. She says Michael had engaged in some "calculated stalking," with the help of her email address.

The two married 3 years ago. They have no kids.

She's asking for spousal support. She works as a real estate agent and filed for divorce herself ... without a lawyer.

Michael has appeared most recently as a recurring character on "Bates Motel" -- which by the way is awesome.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner crash superhero party

Ben Affleck, 41, and his actress wife, Jennifer Garner, 42, stopped Sunday at Detroit Kid City in Southfield and asked if they and their 2-year-old son, Samuel, could join the party.

The Detroit Free Press says the family welcomed the visitors.

Affleck is in Detroit for the filming of the Warner Bros. Pictures movie. The movie’s release is set for May 2016.

The indoor Detroit Kid City features a kid-sized market, cabin, auto factory, schoolhouse and other buildings.

Detroit Kid City worker Garrett Dixon says Affleck “was very interested in getting a Detroit Kid City out in L.A.”

Affleck and Garner have three kids together: Violet, Seraphina and Samuel.

Jennifer Garner Schools Us in Geek Chic

Mrs. Ben Affleck showed up at LAX rocking a combo fit for the teacher's pet...in 1955. We know the hipster uniform now includes these thick-framed glasses and dad plaid shirts, but we can't look at them without thinking of Paul from The Wonder Years!

Luckily, the Dallas Buyers Club star does it with some modern feminine flare. The frames fit her thin face perfectly. That top is actually adorable, especially when tucked into classic dungarees. And we've never met a simple, one-strap sandal that we didn't love.

A peppy high ponytail, easy necklace and chic weekender bag bring it all together.

Maybe it's time for a remake of Revenge of the Nerds? Somebody call Jennifer's agent.

Inside Jennifer Garner & Ben Affleck's Delicious Anniversary Dinner

The down-to-earth actors celebrated their ninth wedding anniversary Sunday with a cozy dinner at Bistro 82 in Royal Oak, Michigan — not far from where Affleck, 41, has been filming Batman vs. Superman in Detroit.

“They looked like a great couple. They paid a lot of attention to each other,” a restaurant source tells PEOPLE, adding that the stars shared “a great bottle of wine” at the local hot spot.

Also on the menu: steak, salad, and oysters. And Batman proved he’s a meat and potatoes kind of guy, telling staff that the french fries served with béarnaise sauce and parmesan were the best he’s ever had.

Garner, 42, and her hubby noshed on the French fare for about an hour and a half, ringing up a bill just over $100. The parents of three were both dressed casually (she in a black dress, he in a button-down and jeans) and thanked the bistro’s workers as they left smiling, another diner tells PEOPLE.

“Everyone was freaking out in the restaurant,” says the source. “I was starstruck.”

After seeing Hollywood’s cutest couple eating fries at your local haunt, who wouldn’t be?

Jennifer Garner Visits West Virginia Hometown with Kids Before Anniversary with Ben Affleck

Garner, 42, visited Charleston, West Virginia, where she relaxed with her family and surprised local fans. After grabbing dinner with friends Thursday night, the Draft Day star stopped by her alma mater, George Washington High School, on Friday. The next evening, Garner was spotted enjoying a minor league baseball game with her parents, sister and three children: Violet, 8, Seraphina, 5, and Samuel, 2.

The group cheered on the West Virginia Power to victory as spectators Tweeted their excitement at seeing the actress return to her roots. (She even posed with the team's mascot!)

But Affleck, who has been in Detroit shooting his role as the Caped Crusader in Batman vs. Superman, was nowhere to be seen.

Though his gambling has been making headlines, sources say he and Garner are still going strong.

"She never understood his gambling obsession and she doesn’t want him to be in the news [for it]," one insider "told PEOPLE of Garner. "[But] she's the most patient wife ever and is still very much in love with Ben."

Despite Affleck’s absence from the weekend getaway, the couple celebrated nine years of marriage together Sunday. Affleck, 41, bought Garner jewelry from Barneys in Beverly Hills last week, and she joined him in Detroit after sending their kids and nannies back home to Los Angeles from Charleston.

Mark Ruffalo Goes Silent When Asked if Ben Affleck Prevents Jennifer Garner From Having Male Friends

During an appearance on Watch What Happens Live this week, a fan called in and asked Mark Ruffalo if he still keeps in touch with his 13 Going on 30 costar Jennifer Garner. Ruffalo said no, adding, "We had a great time together, and I think we would, but then Ben [Affleck] came on the scene. And that was the end of that."

"I heard he doesn't allow her to have male friends?" host Andy Cohen asked, adding, "I made that up."

Ruffalo just shrugged and pleaded the fifth.

This is the second time Affleck has come up on Watch What Happens Live in the past week. Jennifer Lopez recently stopped by the show and Cohen brought up her former fiancé. "Was the transformation of Ben Affleck your doing?" he asked. "Did you dress him when you were dating him?"

"I did kind of like, say, 'You're a movie star! You should wear a suit! You should do this with your hair!' For sure. I mean, I do that," the singer admitted. "[He] was into it. He didn't do anything he didn't want to do...He had some good fashion moments when he was with me!"

'Alias' Alum Joins A&E's 'The Returned' Remake

Based on the French series by Fabrice Gobert, The Returned focuses on a small town that is turned upside down when several local people, who have long been presumed dead, suddenly reappear, bringing them into positive and detrimental consequences.

Lumbly will play Pastor Leon Wright, a kindly, perceptive man, the minister of a local church. Radiating compassion, he tries to guide Rowan (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) through difficult times.

Mark Pellegrino, Jeremy Sisto, Kevin Alejandro, Agnes Bruckner, Sophie Lowe, Sandrine Holt, Michelle Forbes, Tandi Wright, India Ennenga and Mat Vairo also star in the A+E Studios/FremantleMedia North America production. Carlton Cuse and Raelle Tucker executive produce.

Lumbly is repped by Kass Management. He is best known for portraying Agent Dixon in the J.J. Abrams spy drama Alias and recurred on Southland, also starring off-Broadway in last year's stop.reset and in the West Coast production of The Motherf—er With the Hat.

Actors, athletes speak up for girls' education

Jennifer Garner, Susan Sarandon, Alicia Keys, Anne Hathaway, Tyler Perry and pro basketball player DeAndre Jordan are among the stars speaking out about the importance of education for girls around the globe in an online video for the new Let Girls Learn initiative.

"A threat to girls' education anywhere is a threat to progress everywhere," ''Modern Family" star Julie Bowen says in the two-minute video, which premiered Friday.

The stars were moved to make the video after the recent kidnapping of hundreds of schoolgirls in Nigeria and the Taliban's 2012 attempted assassination of Pakistani schoolgirl and education activist Malala Yousafzai. The U.S. Agency for International Development is supporting the effort with $231 million in new education programs announced Friday that will help provide safe learning opportunities for girls in Nigeria, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Jordan and Guatemala.

"All around the world, people want to change the injustices but often times don't know exactly what they can do about it," Keys said in a statement. "I really wanted to participate in this (video) because empowering women changes the course of our world."

The Let Girls Learn website offers various ways for individuals and organizations to get involved.

Research shows that an educated girl is more likely to educate her children. A girl with a basic education is three times less likely to contract HIV. An additional year of education can increase a woman's earning potential by as much as 25 percent. More than 60 million girls around the world are not in school.

"An educated girl really is the key to a healthy, more stable, more prosperous country," said Cathy Russell, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues. "Educating girls is really one of the best investments we can make."

This is also true in the United States, notes Soledad O'Brien, who also appears in the video.

"Investing in girls can actually move the needle in communities," she said, "... and can actually benefit boys, because girls are the mothers of boys."

Research shows that countries where women constitute at least 30 percent of political representation are more egalitarian and democratic. Women comprise about 20 percent of American elected officials in the House and Senate.

Nick Cannon got involved with Let Girls Learn because becoming a dad made him a more passionate education advocate.

"It's really about equal opportunity around the world," he said, "and at the same time knowing how much anyone's life is furthered with the proper education."

Hollywood Walk of Fame 2015 stars

The Hollywood Walk of Fame Selection Committee announced that celebrities from film, TV, music, theater and radio. Check out the full list below.

In addition to the above, the TV category will also add: "The Simpsons" producer James L. Brooks, producer and director Ken Ehrlich, Food Network star Bobby Flay, "NCIS: LA" star Chris O'Donnell, Kelly Ripa and Sofia Vergara.

From the movie category: Jennifer Garner, Peter Jackson, Eugenio Derbez, Daniel Radcliffe, Paul Rudd, Christoph Waltz and Will Ferrell will all get stars, along with posthumous ones for screenwriter Raymond Chandler and Batman creator Bob Kane.

Kristen Chenoweth, Dick Gregory and Ennio Morricone will be added to the theater category, while music additions include Dr. Luke, Kool & The Gang, Pitbull, All Schmitt and Pharrell Williams. Larry Elder is the lone radio recipient.

Michael Vartan Joins USA's Satisfaction

The actor, whose credits include Alias and A&E's Bates Motel, has signed on to recur in USA's provocative new drama about the problems that arise when a marriage reaches its midpoint.

Starring Matt Passmore (The Glades) as investment banker Neil Truman, and Stephanie Szostak (The Devil Wears Prada) as his unhappy wife Grace, the series asks, "What do you do when having it all is not enough?"

If you're Grace, the answer is to hire a male escort! Unfortunately for viewers, Vartan is not playing said escort. Instead, he will play Dylan, a daring photographer who helps Grace gain exposure in the design world.

Satisfaction premieres Thursday, July 17 at 10/9c on USA.

Showtime Orders 'Roadies' Comedy Pilot From Cameron Crowe, Winnie Holzman & J.J. Abrams

Crowe wrote the script and will direct the pilot, with Holzman serving as showrunner. The two executive produce with Bad Robot’s Abrams and Bryan Burk, with the company’s Kathy Lingg co-executive producing. Warner Bros. TV, where Bad Robot is based, will produce the project, described as an inside look at the reckless, romantic, funny and often poignant lives of a committed group of characters who live for music and the de facto family they’ve formed along the way. Gail Levin who was the casting director for many of Crowe’s features including Almost Famous, We Bought a Zoo, Elizabethtown, Vanilla Sky and Jerry Maguire, will be casting the pilot.

This marks Showtime’s first comedy pilot order for 2014. Last year’s crop of pilots yielded one half-hour series pickup, Happyish. The network is yet to make a decision on the future on the project, which has been in limbo following the sudden death of star Philip Seymour Hoffman in February. On the drama side, the network greenlighted pilot Billions in March.

Crowe revealed that he and Abrams had been talking about the Roadies idea for some time. “We’re fans of crews, those workers up on the rigging towers, or walking feverishly with eight phones on their belt. Those quietly devoted people live huge lives, they’re often the real keepers of the flame,” he said. Added Abrams, “We had been talking about the series for so long, but when he actually handed me the script, it was funnier and sweeter and wilder than I had ever imagined. Roadies is Cameron Crowe at his most musically passionate, colorful character best.”

Roadies marks the first cable pilot order for Bad Robot, which had been focused on broadcast since its inception. In one of the company’s first major cable sales, last year it landed a pilot production commitment from HBO for Westworld, a drama series inspired by Michael Crichton’s 1973 sci-fi movie. It’s been an off year for Bad Robot on the broadcast side with only one returning series, CBS standout Person of Interest, as Abrams has been busy writing, producing and directing Star Wars: Episode VII. Crowe, Holzman and Abrams are repped by CAA.

Teen Choice 2014 Nominees

J.J. Abrams Unveils Charity Drive On 'Star Wars' Set: Video

Tony Winner Ron Rifkin Set To Catch 'Fire' In Reprise

The current Substance revival is being presented by Second Stage Theater, where Geldhardt is being played by John Noble. The Sleepy Hollow star will be out May 20-23 for filming of the show, and Rifkin, who also starred in the film of Substance of Fire, agreed to step in. The revival is staged by Trip Cullman and also stars Halley Feiffer as Gelhardt’s strong-willed daughter, a role created by Sarah Jessica Parker.

Cooper gets into character for 'American Sniper'

It's now a distant memory as the Oscar nominee preps for his next role, that of slain former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, in American Sniper. Clint Eastwood is adapting the late Kyle's memoirs.

Cooper has reportedly packed on 40 pounds of muscle and grown a Middle East-friendly beard to play Kyle.

The Texas-born Kyle, who served four tours in Iraq with the West Coast-based SEAL Team 3, professed to be the most lethal sniper in the U.S. military with over 160 confirmed kills. He was nicknamed the Devil of Ramadi by insurgents, who put a bounty on his head.

Kyle left the Navy in 2009 and started his own company, Craft International, which provided training to the military and law enforcement. He also became involved with FITCO Cares, through which he mentored other vets with war injuries or post-traumatic stress disorder. He and a friend were killed on Feb. 2, 2013, by a former Marine, Eddie Ray Routh, whom they'd taken to a shooting range for practice.

Sniper is due in theaters next year.

Hot Clip: TV Creators Get Their Close-Up In Docu 'Showrunners'

The Black Sheep Productions, Romark Entertainment, and Junto Entertainment production came together with support from Kickstarter and the Irish Film Board and is produced by John Wallace and Rock Shaink, co-produced by Ryan Patrick McGuffey, and exec produced by Jimmy Nguyen, Jason Rose, and Christof Bove. Submarine is repping US and worldwide rights:

Bradley Cooper Leaves Gym Looking Super-Buff-See the Pic!

The American Hustle hunk showed off his new buff bod as he exited a gym, just a day after he returned from his European vacation with model-girlfriend Suki Waterhouse.

The star sported a thick beard, dark sunglasses, a baseball cap and athletic shorts. Although, he attempted to remain incognito, it was definitely hard not to notice that the sexy 39-year-old could barely contain his massive muscles in his tight workout shirt!

The handsome actor has bulked up to play Navy SEAL Chris Kyle in Clint Eastwood's upcoming movie American Sniper, which began shooting today at Blue Cloud Ranch in Los Angeles.

Over the weekend, the Oscar nominee and his 22-year-old ladylove put breakup rumors to rest with a romantic stroll in Paris. The cute couple was all smiles while they visited the famous Pont de l'Archevêché bridge and Notre Dame Cathedral with the British beauty's little sister Imogen.

Jennifer Garner Celebrates Her 42nd Birthday at Disneyland With Family!

The actress and mother of three turned 42 yesterday and hit Disneyland to party with the beloved Mickey Mouse to enjoy a day at the Happiest Place on Earth.

Dressed casually in a stylish sweatshirt pinned with an "It's My Birthday" button and sporting a high-ponytail, the Draft Day star appeared exhausted from all the fun she was having and was spotted taking a break to let her daughter Seraphina revel in the rides.

And her daughters don't just love amusement parks, they delight in all parks.

The brunette beauty recently revealed she's raising a house full of athletes. "[Violet and Seraphina] are ready to try out for their sports and play hard and practice."

Even her 2-year-old toddler, Samuel, gets in on the action. "My little dude does love a football. He can already sit and watch an entire game. He really gets it."

Jennifer Garner: Ben Affleck Taught Our Son About His 'Bits'

His wife, Jennifer Garner, stopped by the Tonight Show to promote her new movie Draft Day and talk about their kids: Violet, 8, Seraphina, 5, and Samuel, 2. But things got a little more than G-rated when discussing what Affleck, 41, has taught his youngest child.

“He’s so psyched to finally have a boy. He loves his girls, but he’s serious about his son right now,” Garner, 41, told Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday’s episode. “So he taught him about his bits. He taught him about his P and two N’s.”

As it turns out, the newest Batman is all about teaching biology.

“Now every time we pass a dog who’s walking on the street, or if we’re at a zoo or something, our poor little son is crouching down, looking up, and he’s like, ‘Mama, does that have a vagina or a penis and two nuts?’” Garner explained, laughing. “That’s what Ben has been up to.”

Who needs health class with Affleck around? Samuel even knows technical terms, Garner revealed.

“Sometimes Sam will look at me, and he’ll say, ‘But Mama calls them testicles,’” she said.

Jennifer Garner Learned to Love Baseball After Dating Ben Affleck

"We're really a baseball house," she told PEOPLE during a press event in Los Angeles to promote her new film, Draft Day. "When I was first dating Ben, I'd never watched baseball. I didn't really care, I may say, about baseball."

"But if you watch three or four games in a row, you learn just enough to hook you in. And it's the same as a soap opera, right? If you watch three or four, you get just enough of a storyline to grab you, and that's why people are so into them."

"Now, I'm totally addicted to baseball. But believe me, when the playoffs happen, it's all about Tom Brady, all the time," she says.

Starring alongside Kevin Costner in Draft Day, which tells the story of the Cleveland Browns, the film allowed Garner, 41, to reconnect with her love of football.

"I grew up in West Virginia which is very much how you picture Texas, where Friday Night Lights [takes place]. Every Friday night, we're at the game," she says.

"I was at every single game because I was in the marching band. And then, my senior year, I left the marching band – which was a scandal at the time – and I was the water girl for the team. So I traveled with them. I didn't miss a game, and I loved it."

But even Garner's days as a football fan have changed since having a family.

"Now that I have kids, my husband will have the Patriots on, and I see what's happening," she says. "But I'm running around making sure that he can sit and watch calmly is really what's happening!"

Jennifer Garner Spills Details on Her Athletic Kids

The doting mom dished to E! News' Kristina Guerrero about her three adorable kids with hubby Ben Affleck during an interview for her upcoming sports flick Draft Day. The actress revealed that her cute 2-year-old baby boy, Samuel, is already obsessed with football just like his dear old dad.

"My little dude does love a football," she said. "He can already sit and watch an entire game. He really gets it." Wow, that's impressive concentration for a toddler!

However, the 41-year-old hopes that her youngest child ultimately pursues another less physical sport. Watch the video to find out which one!

The 13 Going on 30 star also admitted that having a son is an indescribable feeling. "With a little boy, you have somebody who is going to love his mama," she confessed. "There's nothing like it."

And her two daughters, Violet and Seraphina? The brunette beauty explained that despite being girly, they're "definitely athletes."

"They're out there," the proud mom said. "They're ready to try out for their sports and play hard and practice."

Go, Team Affleck!

Bradley Cooper and Suki Waterhouse Still Together Despite Breakup Rumors

Despite the recent split rumors, Bradley Cooper and Suki Waterhouse are still dating one another.

A source tells E! News, "Bradley and Suki are very much a couple," regardless of the speculation that the two have broken up.

The British model was seen arriving at LAX by herself over the weekend in a pair of gray sweatpants and a green sweatshirt.

The blond beauty carried her handbag, coat and iPad as she strolled through the arrivals terminal.

The last time that the couple was spotted together was at the Academy Awards, where Cooper was nominated for his work in American Hustle.

B.Coop's girlfriend looked radiant in a metallic Marchesa one-shoulder gown and couldn't keep her hands off of her leading man.

"I had such a great time," she told E! News as she made her way into the Governors Ball after-party in the Ray Dolby Ballroom. "I loved it. It was a lot of fun."

Just two weeks before they stepped out for the biggest night of the year in Hollywood, the loved-up duo attended a dinner at the White House.

The 39-year-old hunky star looked handsome as ever in a perfectly fitting tuxedo, while his ladylove looked appropriately chic in a Marios Schwab dress and blazer.

But Bradley and Suki weren't the only stars in attendance at the fete, held in honor of visiting French President Francois Hollande. Mindy Kaling, Julia Louis-Dreyfus,Stephen Colbert and J.J. Abrams were on hand as well.

'Bates Motel's Michael Vartan Checks Into New Line's 'Crawlspace

Vartan is currently playing the new romantic love interest to Vera Farmiga’s Norma in the A&E’s Psycho prequel series Bates Motel, which is currently airing in its second season. This guy is apparently not good at picking houses or women. He’s repped by UTA, Thruline Entertainment and attorney Frank Stewart.

Alias' Victor Garber, Lost's Sonya Walger Join Starz's Power

Created by The Good Wife's Courtney Kemp Agboh, Power chronicles the life of James "Ghost" St. Patrick (Omari Hardwick), a New York City nightclub owner who also runs a prosperous drug network. Unfortunately, when he tries to leave his criminal ways behind him, his marriage, family and business all come under threat.

Garber (Alias, The Good Wife) will recur as Simon Stern, a renowned club owner and events guru who has the successful legitimate lifestyle that Ghost covets. Walger (Lost, Parenthood) will play Simon's wife, Madeline Stern, who greatly enjoys the benefits and affluent lifestyle her husband's success has provided.

The series also stars Diane Neal, Naturi Naughton, Adam Huss, Katherine Narducci, La La Anthony, Sinqua Walls, Andy Bean, Debbi Morgan, Lela Loren, Joseph Sikora, Elizabeth Rohm and J.R. Ramirez.

Power will premiere this summer on Starz.

Jennifer Garner Joins Save the Children's Board of Trustees

After years spent serving as an ambassador for Save the Children, the actress has signed on to join the board of trustees for a six-year term, the organization announced Tuesday.

"In my new role with Save the Children, I hope to make an even bigger difference in the lives of children right here in America and around the world," says Garner, who often visits with families involved in the Save the Children’s Early Steps to School Success program, which coaches families on activities to help kids grow and learn in the early years.

"All children, whether they are born into poverty or affluence, have the right to grow up healthy, learn and make something of their lives."

Born in Houston, Texas, and raised in Charleston, W.Va, Garner, 41, is calling on politicians to step up to the plate and join her in providing a strong foundation for the country's youth.

"Three-year olds don't even have bootstraps to pull on. Our leaders in Washington and in the states must commit every resource to put all children on an equal path to success," she says.

As mom to Violet, 8, Seraphina, 5, and Samuel, 2, her three children with husband, and fellow humanitarian, Ben Affleck, Garner's passion comes from a place of understanding – a quality she hopes to use to her advantage.

"Working with Save the Children, I hope to help young mothers give the same educational boost to their children that I try to give my own kids," she says.

Melissa George To Star In ABC's Richard LaGravenese Drama Pilot

Beyoncé, Jennifer Garner Unite for 'Ban Bossy' Girl Empowerment Campaign

"Being labeled something matters," says Jennifer Garner in a new campaign – Ban Bossy – that's encouraging girls to be leaders.

The Girl Scouts of the USA and LeanIn.org have teamed up in partnership with Lifetime television to create a PSA featuring Beyoncé, Jane Lynch, Condoleezza Rice, Diane von Furstenberg, Garner and others that points out that girls are discouraged from taking leadership roles because of labeling and name-calling.

"Girls are less interested in leadership than boys," Beyoncé says, and that's because they worry about being called "bossy" while little boys who step up are called "leaders."

"I think the word 'bossy' is just a squasher," Glee star Lynch says. The campaign seeks to empower girls by encouraging everyone to sign a pledge to ban the five-letter word at banbossy.com.

"We need to recognize the many ways we systematically discourage leadership in girls from a young age – and instead, we need to encourage them," says Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, who founded LeanIn.org. "So the next time you have the urge to call your little girl bossy? Take a deep breath and praise her leadership skills instead."

"There are no limits on your horizon," former Secretary of State Rice says in the ad, while designer von Furstenberg encourages girls to "dare to be you."

But possibly the strongest Girl Power message of all comes from Beyoncé. The mother of daughter Blue Ivy, 2, says, "I'm not bossy – I'm the boss."

2014 MTV Movie Awards nominees

Ben Affleck Skips the 2014 Oscars But Joins Jennifer Garner at Vanity Fair's Party

Instead, his wife Jennifer Garner flew solo at the 86th Annual Academy Awards. The Dallas Buyers Club star modeled her custom Oscar de la Renta dress on the red carpet and chatted with E! News about her son Samuel's adorable reaction to the fun and flirty frock. "He made it just for me and I love it," the 41-year-old movie star told Ryan Seacrest of de la Renta's bespoke design. "When my 2-year-old saw me in it, he said, 'Mama, you look so pretty!' So I said, 'Okay, that's the one. There you go!'"

Garner was on hand to support her costars Jared Leto and Matthew McConaughey, who took home the Best Supporting Actor and Best Actor awards for their roles in the critically acclaimed drama.

Because their characters both had AIDS, Leto and McConaughey each dieted like crazy to lose weight.

According to Garner, however, their constant hungriness didn't ruin the mood on set. "I think there should have been more crankiness than there was. I have yet to see Matthew McConaughey cranky. I've done two movies with him [2009's Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and 2013's Dallas Buyers Club]. He is steady as a rock," she said of the actor, who triumphed over fellow nominee Leonardo DiCaprio. "But if it had been me, I would have been so cranky. I was cranky when my snacks didn't show up on time!"

Garner had no reason to be cranky after the Oscars: Affleck joined her at Vanity Fair's party. The couple, who tied the knot in 2005, mingled with Glenn Close, Chris Hemsworth and Liam Hemsworth.

'Bates Motel': Meet the new Season 2 characters

These new characters range from the new love interests for Norma and Norman to the upper echelon of the drug families running the town. The descriptions, courtesy of A&E, correspond with the above picture in order from left to right, top and then bottom.

George Heldens (Michael Vartan): George is a sensitive, kind and handsome divorcee and Norma's new love interest.

Christine Heldens (Rebecca Creskoff): Christine is a member of the upper-crust of White Pine Bay who takes the single-mother with the bad reputation under her wing.

Cody Brennan (Paloma Kwiatkowski): Cody is a tough, teenage party girl who gets to know Norman and bonds with him over dysfunctional family issues.

Caleb Calhoun (Kenny Johnson): Norma's estranged brother whom she hasn't seen since her youth. At once menacing and heartbreaking, Caleb is looking for something he doesn't even understand.

Jodi Wilson (Kathleen Robertson): The beautiful and mysterious head of the drug family. Jodi is a woman trapped in denial and in a family business for which she is not emotionally built.

Nick Ford (Michael O'Neill): The soft spoken but terrifying head of the rival drug family in White Pine Bay and also Miss Watson's estranged father.

Zane Carpenter (Michael Eklund): An ex-con who coms to take over the drug family. Zane is an emotional land-mine with an all-or-nothing sensibility when it comes to control.

"Bates Motel" Season 2 premieres March 3 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on A&E. Are you looking forward to the new season?

Greg Grunberg Joins ABC's 'Warriors'

Malcolm Goodwin To Star, Alex Krosney & David Anders To Co-Star In CW's 'iZombie'

Sightings

Bradley Cooper in Tonight Show Charades-Watch Now!

Bradley Cooper, Emma Thompson, Tim McGraw and Jimmy Fallon did just that on Tuesday's episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and the foursome got pretty competitive!

Oscar nominees Bradley and Emma partnered up against Tim and Jimmy for the game. "I'm stuck with you?" Tim asked the late-night host jokingly, to which Jimmy fired back, "No, you're lucky you get to work with me? Isn't that fun?"

Jimmy endearingly used his hands to gesture "I love you" to his facetiously reluctant partner, who couldn't help but laugh.

Emma was first up, trying to get charades partner Bradley to guess she was miming and dancing to "Walk Like an Egyptian." Bradley was comically unfamiliar with the tune, though, guessing, "King Tut? Kazbah?" Ultimately, he lost that round.

Equally entertaining was Jimmy trying to signify Cool Runnings to Tim. He first tried to act out cool by shivering, which only got him a guess of "cold." The late-night host then tried to walk in a cool manner, which was adorable, but didn't get his game partner any closer to the answer. Finally, Jimmy got down to the floor and acted out being in a bobsled and puffing on something as he squirmed from side to side! Tim was completely unfamiliar with the movie, though, so he and Jimmy lost this round.

Things improved for all four teammates in the third and fourth rounds, but it all came down to a Beyoncé song for the tie-breaker! Watch these clips to see for yourself whether Emma and Bradley or Tim and Jimmy came out on top!

Bradley Cooper Confesses to Going Commando to Meet President Barack Obama at the White House

During a Monday appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the American Hustle star admitted to facing a bit of a wardrobe challenge prior to attending the White House State Dinner last week.

"I'm prepping for this new movie and I'm trying to gain weight fast, so I've gained about 15 pounds in four weeks and nothing fits me anymore," the 39-year-old actor explained. "So I wore the tuxedo I wore to the Golden Globes. I just sort of threw it in the bag and brought it and went to Washington D.C. and then I'm getting dressed like 10 minutes before I was supposed go, and literally the pants go up to like here," he said, gesturing to his upper thighs. "And I just started laughing, like, 'This is hilarious, I'm going to meet the president.'"

So what's an Oscar nominee to do?

"I had to go commando...because there was no room at all. I did. I had to," Cooper admitted. "And you're sitting there and it's a lot of getting up [to greet people]. You know what I mean? And I couldn't stand up really."

He added, "It was a nightmare. But I made it through."

It was on Tuesday, Feb. 11, that Cooper and girlfriend Suki Waterhouse made their way to the formal event, held in honor of visiting French President Francois Hollande.

Mindy Kaling, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Stephen Colbert and J.J. Abrams were among the other famous faces on hand as well as, of course, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.

Bradley Cooper and Suki Waterhouse Shine at White House State Dinner

The Oscar-nominated actor, 39, was all smiles as he and his model girlfriend, 22, made their way in to a tent set up on the South Lawn. The American Hustle hunk looked handsome and classic in a standard tuxedo, while his model love looked appropriately chic in a Marios Schwab dress and blazer.

But Bradley and Suki weren't the only stars in attendance at the fete, held in honor of visiting French President Francois Hollande. Mindy Kaling, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Stephen Colbert and J.J. Abrams were on hand as well.

And of course, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama were welcoming to the European leader. They even switched up the traditional seating lineup so they could each be on either side of President Hollande, who arrived dateless following his very public breakup with longtime girlfriend Valerie Trierweiler.

And while Bo and Sunny didn't appear to be part of last night's formal festivities, they had their own fancy dinner! Mrs. Obama tweeted a photo captioned "Bone appétit! " of the dogs dressed up for the State Dinner, sitting in chairs at a fancily-set table.

Movie stars and politicians are interesting, but it's the dogs who are really très chic!

The Good Wife's Melissa George Welcomes a Boy

Melissa George, who is recurring on The Good Wife this season as Peter Florrick's in-house ethics counsel Marilyn Garbanza, welcomed a boy on Feb. 6, she announced on Twitter.

"Welcome to the world! Our beautiful son just born at the American hospital of Paris," she wrote. "There are no words to describe the love."

Son Raphaël Blanc is the first for the actress, 37, and her boyfriend, Jean-David Blanc. George's pregnancy was written into her character's story line on The Good Wife and became a major focal point midway through the season when her character revealed she was naming her unborn baby Peter after the child's father. After some digging, it was revealed the father of her child was famed director Peter Bogdanovich, not new Illinois Governor Peter Florrick (Chris Noth).

George is also known for her roles on Alias and Grey's Anatomy.

Jennifer Garner Reveals Family's Summer Plans (Hint: They Involve Ben Affleck Playing Batman)

Garner revealed recently that her family will be spending the summer in Detroit, where filming will get underway on the hotly anticipated Man of Steel sequel, starring her hubby as Batman.

"I'll be there this summer," the Dallas Buyers Club star told Detroit sports radio channel 105.1 FM. "Yep, all summer...Batman is shooting...or whatever it's called. I don't know what it's called. Superman with Batman, or whatever it is. But he is shooting this summer, so we'll be there."

That's OK, Jen, nobody else knows what they're calling the film either. Warner Bros. Pictures has dubbed it the "Superman/Batman Movie" for now.

The studio also announced last month that it was bumping the star-studded sequel's release date back from July 17, 2015, to May 6, 2016, to better allow the filmmakers time to "fully realize their vision, given the complex visual nature of the story."

Since then, Jesse Eisenberg has joined the cast as Superman archnemesis Lex Luthor and Jeremy Irons is onboard to play Batman's butler, Alfred. They join the previously announced lineup that includes Affleck as the Caped Crusader, Henry Cavill as the Man of Steel, Amy Adams as Lois Lane and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman.

Meanwhile, Garner was in New York when she chatted with Detroit Sports 105.1 about her latest project, the football-themed Draft Day with Kevin Costner, about the humorous-and-heartbreaking struggle the GM of the Cleveland Browns goes through to secure the season's No. 1 draft pick.

"The NFL loves this movie," the actress and mother of three gushed to Matt Dery at Radio Row, the one-stop shop for sports radio set up at the Sheraton Times Square Hotel in NYC during Super Bowl week. "They have given us every bit of access that we could possibly hope for, so they love it, and behind that it's a fantastic story."

So will she be getting the summer off while Affleck is working?

"We try," Garner said. "We try our best."

"Look at this place," she added, looking around her. "It's like a boys' playground. It's like little boys all given money and a table and a place to sit to have their idols sit down and chat with them, and then I come and spoil it for them."

Bradley Cooper to Star on Broadway in The Elephant Man

No less than Bradley Cooper, currently Oscar nominated for his role in American Hustle, is bound for the Great White Way, in a revival of Bernard Pomerance's 1979 Tony-winning best drama, The Elephant Man, reports Entertainment Weekly.

The show is due to open in the fall. Further details and other casting news have yet to be announced.

Actor Philip Anglim was nominated for a Tony for his performance in the original Broadway production, and John Hurt was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar when he played the role in David Lynch's 1980 film, which was not based on the play. (The movie was also nominated for Best Picture.)

The most recent Broadway revival was a 2002 production with Billy Crudup and Kate Burton, who were both nominated for Tonys.

The story concerns the real-life John Merrick, a severely disfigured 19th- century Englishman who struggles to live with dignity.

Cooper, 39, played the role to excellent reviews in a summer 2012 limited run at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts.

"For anyone who has any doubts, Mr. Cooper is not just a movie star, he's an actor," said critic Jeffrey Borak of the Berkshire Eagle.

Cooper's last appearance on Broadway was in 2006, alongside Julia Roberts and Paul Rudd in the Richard Greenberg drama Three Days of Rain.

Earlier this week it was reported that Hugh Jackman and Daniel Radcliffe are also both returning to Broadway.

J.J. Abrams on Whether Felicity, Lost or Alias Movies Would Ever Happen

Creator J.J. Abrams was on hand at the NBC TCA Press Tour Sunday to promote his new "spiritual" thriller Believe (which looks jaw-droppingly good, by the way), and the TV mastermind gave the lowdown on big-screen possibilities for three of his fan-favorite TV series.

Could these shows ever come back as a movie? Here's what J.J. said:

Alias: No. "I feel like we did the Alias movie in doing the show. But I would consider working with everyone involved in that show again on anything. "

Lost: No. "I definitely feel that the work that [executive producers] Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse did on Lost, how do you do more cinematic work than that?" Abrams added that he's hoping to make Lost's 10th Anniversary panel at the Paley Festival in March, but isn't sure yet he can make it.

Felicity: "Yes, that's in the works." Of course, he's kidding. But he sure sounds up for the idea, saying, "You get The Americans off and I'll talk to Keri [Russell] about it." Truth told, we love Russell's FX series (costarring Matthew Rhys), but we will sure take JJ up on that offer as soon as it stops airing, whenever that may be!

Abrams also confirmed that Breaking Bad and Friday Night Lights star Jesse Plemons is one of the actors up for a role in Star Wars: Episode VII, however, "It's not often that I read about actors that I'm going to be meeting," he warned. "It's usually agents talking to people and it's just a lot of noise!" So don't believe every rumor floating around!

Abrams' new NBC series Believe premieres March 16 and centers on Bo (Johnny Sequoyah), a young girl who possesses supernatural powers, and the man who is broken out of prison (Savages' Jake McLaughlin) to protect her from those trying to hunt her down.

"There's a spiritual side of the show that's very deep, but we're not Touched by an Angel," Abrams said.

We are excited to see more.

SAG Award Winners 2014

OSCARS: 86th Academy Award Nominations

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Barkhad Abdi in “Captain Phillips” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Bradley Cooper in “American Hustle” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Michael Fassbender in “12 Years a Slave” (Fox Searchlight)
Jonah Hill in “The Wolf of Wall Street” (Paramount)
Jared Leto in “Dallas Buyers Club” (Focus Features)

BAFTA Film Awards 2014 Nominations

Sightings

Bradley Cooper Kicks Off 39th Birthday With Motorcycle Ride With Girlfriend

The American Hustle star and Suki Waterhouse were spotted zooming off on Cooper's bike Sunday, after starting their day with a trip to the gym.

And the thesp wasn't the only one celebrating a birthday.

As it turns out, his 22-year-old girlfriend was born on the exact same day (years later, but still) as her beau.

While the couple's double birthday plans haven't been revealed just yet, Cooper was in great spirits the day before, gushing over his American Hustle and Silver Linings director David O. Russell at the Palm Springs International Film Festival gala.

While surrounded by his costars Jeremy Renner, Amy Adams, Elizabeth Rohm and a few others, Cooper said, "No matter who you are when you walk onto the set, you are the main character in the film for that moment. For all of us actors out there, that is a wonderful feeling. Everyone here can attest to that.”

“That is why everyone comes back to work with [David], because they know that it's going to be something that's going to push them,” he continued. “Another thing that actors always want to do I think is go to a place that's scary and vulnerable and they don't really think that they can pull off. And he's always standing there say, 'Jump. Just jump, I got you.' And that's another blessing that actors dream for."

Speaking of Cooper’s acting roles, the thesp recently dished on his decision to sober up at the age of 29, telling GQ, "I was doing these movies, and I got to meet Sandra Bullock [his costar in 2009's All About Steve] and meet these people and work with them. And I'm sober, and I'm like, 'Oh, I'm actually myself. And I don't have to put on this air to be somebody else, and this person still wants to work with me? Oh, what the f--k is that about?' I was rediscovering myself in this workplace, and it was wonderful."

Cooper has since gone on to take Hollywood by storm, starring in the likes of the Hangover franchise, racking up an Oscar nomination for Silver Linings Playbook, and landing starring roles in Limitless and American Hustle among many other projects.

Happy Birthday, Bradley!

Michael Vartan Checks in to Bates Motel

"She's finally finding some stability with a partner after a pretty bad track record," Vartan says of Norma's new romance. "Hopefully she won't mess it up." The two meet at a party thrown by George's sister, who's trying to play matchmaker. "He is immediately taken by Norma and is very intrigued by how mysterious she is," Vartan says. "We go on a double date with the sister and her husband, and Norma struggles to fit in."

Vartan, a fan of the twisted series, naturally assumed the worst about George: "Before I accepted the job, I asked the producers, 'Be honest with me. He's going to turn out to be a complete psycho, right?' And they said, 'Sorry. He's just a really nice guy with no weird skeletons in his closet.'"

That doesn't mean there aren't a few significant questions that need answering. "I know George lives in a gigantic house and has a lot of money, but I never found out his last name or what he does for a living," says Vartan. "So stay tuned to see if Norma's happiness collapses."

Bradley Cooper on Getting Sober: I Didn't Want to 'Sabotage My Whole Life'

"If I continued it, I was really going to sabotage my whole life," the American Hustle star, now 38, tells GQ's January issue of why he got sober almost a decade ago.

The American Hustle star and PEOPLE's 2012 Sexiest Man Alive had a particularly bad run-in with drugs and alcohol around the time of his breakthrough role in Wedding Crashers – he has spoken before of intentionally smashing his head on concrete at a party and ending up in the hospital.

He was never late to the set, but "of course it hindered the work," he says now of that kind of behavior. And once he gave it all up, he experienced something of a personal renaissance.

"I was doing these movies, and I got to meet Sandra Bullock [his costar in 2009's All About Steve] and meet these people and work with them," he says. "And I'm sober, and I'm like, 'Oh, I'm actually myself. And I don't have to put on this air to be somebody else, and this person still wants to work with me? Oh, what the f--- is that about?' I was rediscovering myself in this workplace, and it was wonderful."

Some of his roles weren't creatively fulfilling, he adds, but he felt lucky anyway. "I was grateful and happy to be working," he says, "and filling that void in smaller moments."

Others could see the change, too. And today, his American Hustle costar Amy Adams both say there's a sensitive man underneath the guy whom many have always considered a party guy.

"I've just never seen him as a frat boy," Adams says. "I understand how people could perceive that. But he's a very soulful person, a very open person. I think that people can mistake a sort of laid-back quality for that frat thing."

Bradley Cooper Reveals Wanting to "Kill Myself" While Working on Alias, Talks Getting Sober

In the January issue of GQ, the 38-year-old Oscar nominee opens up about his decision to get sober when he was 29.

"If I continued it, I was really going to sabotage my whole life," Cooper tells the magazine regarding his past struggles with drugs and alcohol.

"I think work was getting f--ked up," the American Hustle star explains. "Yes, of course it hindered the work."

And for Cooper, his eventual sobriety became even more of an eye-opener.

"I was doing these movies, and I got to meet Sandra Bullock [his costar in 2009's All About Steve] and meet these people and work with them," he says. "And I'm sober, and I'm like, 'Oh, I'm actually myself. And I don't have to put on this air to be somebody else, and this person still wants to work with me? Oh, what the f--k is that about?' I was rediscovering myself in this workplace, and it was wonderful."

What wasn't so wonderful, apparently, was Cooper's time on the ABC series Alias.

"I would only work three days a week," he recalls. "And then for the second season, I got even more sidelined. I was like, 'Ugh.' And then next thing you know, I was like, 'I want to f--king kill myself.'"

So, against the advice of friends and colleagues, Cooper made the bold move of asking show creator J.J. Abrams to write him off. "J.J. was like, 'Okay.' He probably would've fired me, anyway."

BFCA's Critics Choice Movie Awards Nominations

The Critics Choice Movie Awards hosted by Aisha Tyler will air live for the second year on the CW network January 16th.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Barkhad Abdi – Captain Phillips
Daniel Bruhl – Rush
Bradley Cooper – American Hustle
Michael Fassbender – 12 Years a Slave
James Gandolfini – Enough Said
Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club

Australian Acad's International Nominations

AACTA INTERNATIONAL AWARD FOR BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Bradley Cooper AMERICAN HUSTLE

Joel Edgerton THE GREAT GATSBY

Michael Fassbender 12 YEARS A SLAVE

Jared Leto DALLAS BUYERS CLUB

Geoffrey Rush THE BOOK THIEF

Golden Globes 2014: Nominations

Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
Daniel Brühl, Rush
Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club

Basketball Prodigy, 2, Takes on Channing Tatum and Bradley Cooper

Two-year-old Titus Ashby originally came to the Internet's attention in February (almost half his lifetime ago) when the first video of his amazing trick shots gained more than 13 million views. Since then, little Titus has released several more videos, battled Kobe Bryant and been hit in the face on Fox & Friends. Ouch. (No worries, folks, he's fine.)

Now "Trick Shot Titus" is back with a new video, in which he nails even more impossible angles – seriously, he's somehow already a master of geometry – and even gets the chance to hang out with two former Sexiest Men Alive, Channing Tatum and Bradley Cooper. The dynamic duo challenged Titus for a Spanish TV show, and they ended up getting crushed.

"I thought you were going to let me win on that one," Tatum told the tot.

Better luck next time, Chan! Watch and learn from the master above.

Bradley Cooper and Girlfriend Suki Waterhouse Make Their First Formal Appearance Together-See the Pic!

The pretty pair have been spotted enjoying each other's company on the streets of Boston, at a park in Paris and in the waters of Hawaii (to name a few), but for the first time the couple made an appearance for a formal event! Cooper was joined by his leading lady for the American Hustle world premiere party presented in part by Grey Goose Vodka and Vanity Fair at Ziegfeld Theater in New York City on Sunday.

Cooper and Waterhouse coordinated their outfits, with the A-list actor wearing a gray suit and black tie, while Suki kept it simple and chic in a gray turtleneck.

Waterhouse recently spoke about her relationship with the actor for the first time since their romance went public.

The 21-year-old model graces the cover of Elle U.K.'s January issue and says that she doesn't talk about her boyfriend "because it's boring."

She added, "I'm not one of those girls who goes on about their boyfriends. I do think whatever I say will sound weird. But the truth is, if it start talking about him, I probably won't be able to stop. And I don't really want to talk about him, you know?"

Cooper, who plays FBI agent Richie DiMaso in American Hustle, became nearly unrecognizable while filming because of his new hair 'do for the movie—even with his own friends.

"I would go out and see some of my buddies at night and they would have no idea who I was actually, for the first two minutes. You get this weird feeling of, 'Oh, this is what it would be like if I didn't know you. They're kinda violent,'" Cooper tells E! News, and then continued to describe the hair transformation.

"Three hours every day. 110 curlers and then I'd sit under the thing [the dryer] and I would fall asleep so my head would hit the thing and so when they would take the rollers out, they'd be like, 'Is it gonna be finished?"

Sleepy Hollow Casts Alias' Victor Garber as Ichabod's Dad

Victor Garber, best known for playing Sydney's dad on Alias, has been cast as the father of Ichabod (Tom Mison) on Sleepy Hollow, TVLine reports.

The Emmy nominee will appear in at least one episode of the hit series. Ichabod shared a few memories of spending time with his dad while he was on break from teaching at Oxford in the most recent episode on Nov. 25.

In addition to Alias, Garber also played Will's dad on Glee. He is also known for his work in features such as Argo and will next appear as a judge on The Good Wife.

Sleepy Hollow airs at 9/8c on Fox.

Bradley Cooper gets in some holiday movie schmoozing

Jennifer Garner Is a Hot Coffee Mom!

This mom of three rarely looks dull when zipping around LA running errands for her friends or her fam, but this look is particularly trendy. Mrs. Ben Affleck is prepped for anything from lunch with a fellow actress to a cozy afternoon by the fire, aka the perfect transitional winter wear.

From our standpoint, this style works for three reasons:

1. That perfect red flannel shirt. A must for any cold weather wardrobe. Jen's is fitted enough to be appropriate for off-the-couch activities.

2. Skinny faded jeans. There's nothing wild about this denim, which is why it works. These are the kind of pants that last decades and never go out of style.

3. Flat lace-up oxfords. No doubt the trendiest piece of the combo and comfy enough to run around all day, with a dozen coffees in tow.

International Emmys to honor J.J. Abrams

Zachary Quinto, who recently reprised his role of Spock in Abrams' successful reboot of the "Star Trek" franchise, will present the honorary International Emmy Founders Award to the director-producer at Monday night's awards ceremony at the Hilton New York.

"J.J. Abrams is probably the most interesting creative talent in the industry right now. He's a great writer, producer, director and an amazing creator," said Bruce L. Paisner, president and CEO of the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. "He already at age 47 has a number of classic television shows like 'Felicity' and 'Lost' that have set a model for all kinds of shows that came afterward."

Abrams is executive producer of three currently running TV shows — the science-fiction series "Revolution" and "Almost Human" and "Person of Interest," the crime drama revolving around an omnipresent government-sponsored surveillance network that premiered well before the recent revelations about the National Security Agency.

"J.J. is very good at anticipating what's going to be in the headlines, and he also creates new ways of looking at people and situations like he did in reinventing the 'Star Trek' franchise," Paisner said.

The presentation to Abrams will highlight the awards ceremony, hosted by British comedian John Oliver of "The Daily Show," in which 36 nominees from 19 countries will be competing for International Emmys in nine categories. The awards honor excellence in TV programming outside the U.S.

Britain and Brazil shared the lead for nominations with six apiece, followed by France with three. South Korea, Mexico, Germany and South Africa each had two nominations. Angola and Uruguay received their first nominations.

BBC One's "Accused," a crime anthology series created by writer-producer Jimmy McGovern, is looking to repeat its 2011 win for best drama series. Sean Bean, recently seen in "Game of Thrones," is up for best actor for an episode of "Accused," in which he shed his tough-guy image to portray a schoolteacher by day who becomes a transvestite by night and gets involved in an affair with a married man that leads to a brutal crime of passion.

Sheridan Smith, known for her comedic roles on stage and TV, received a best actress nomination for playing the title character in the ITV drama series "Mrs. Biggs," based on the true story of the wife of Ronnie Biggs, who was involved in the 1963 Great Train Robbery, in which 2.6 million pounds was stolen from a mail train.

Brazil's Marcos Palmeira received a best actor nomination for his role in the HBO Latin America original series "Mandrake Especial" in which he portrays a Rio de Janeiro criminal lawyer who helps his wealthy clients deal with the local underworld, while Fernanda Montenegro, a best actress Oscar nominee for the 1998 film "Central Station," got a nod for her role in TV Globo's "Sweet Mother."

The other actor nominees include Japan's Shinichi Tsutsumi" for "A Single Father's Love Story" and Germany's Heino Ferch for "Anatomy of Revenge." China's Li Sun for "The Back Palace: Legend of Zhen Huan" and Sweden's Lotta Tejle for "30 Degrees in February" rounded out the actress nominees.

World heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko will present the honorary International Emmy Directorate Award to Germany's Anke Schaferkordt, co-CEO of the RTL Group, the leading European entertainment network.

Ahead of the awards ceremony, the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced a new International Emmy category for 2014 for non-English language U.S. primetime programs. It's expected that this category will include programs on the Spanish-language Univision and Telemundo networks, which, though eligible, get overlooked for U.S. primetime Emmy nominations.

Jennifer Garner juggles schedule for 'Dallas Buyer's Club'

"Yes, Butter was a movie with a very serious message," Garner says with a laugh about the butter-sculpture tale, while promoting her work in the awards-season head-turner Dallas Buyer's Club - a movie that marks her return from being a full-time stay-at-home mom.

"I was not in any hurry to get back to work," she says of her state of mind before accepting a role alongside Matthew McConaughey in the story of abrasive '80s AIDS activist Ron Woodroof.

"When this came along, I didn't even want to read it, because I had a feeling that it was one I couldn't say no to."

But she was won over by Canadian director Jean-Marc Vallee's project - about a homophobic, carousing rodeo-rat who turns his worst nightmare, an AIDS diagnosis, into a global scheme to smuggle experimental drugs.

The decision was partly personal. " I just lost a friend to AIDS not long ago, a really dear friend. I just think it's so important that it's brought back into the conversation. There's a lack of education and a sense that it's okay because there's a cocktail (treatment).

"But the cocktail is not fun, and you will die before you're ready to. It's not the death sentence it used to be, but it's not the flu.

"This movie woke something up in me. And my husband (director/actor Ben Affleck) has always said to me, 'You've got to work, go to work, go to work.' And I've said, 'I should be home, this is confusing, how do I do this?'"

Affleck freed her up, staying home with their three children in a hiatus between finishing Argo and taking it on an Oscar-bound promotional tour.

"We figured it out with the schedules and schools. He was home while I was doing this movie, and after I was done he had to travel and was busy getting his movie up and out and travelling for award stuff."

The schedule juggling was a wakeup call for the idle actress. "Doing this movie kind of reminded me that, ooh, I love my job!" she says. "I was really glad to go to work. I can see in my performance, I had a few days where I was creaky. It was hard for me to fully engage, my head was at home. But it all came back."

Garner plays a composite character named Eve Saks, an AIDS researcher who becomes frustrated over the medical establishment's embrace of the toxic AZT and heel-dragging over alternative treatments. She joins Woodroof's cause after her trans-gendered best friend Rayon (Jared Leto) effectively becomes his business partner.

"When I first started, they told me it was a true story. And I researched and Googled and I thought, 'Where was Eve Saks?' But of course, she was fictional.

"There wasn't a message. I just wanted to convey the arc of my character. She was part of the establishment and came from a black and white world. And her outlook changed."

Dallas Buyers Club marks Garner's return to the role of part-time mom. Since then, she's filmed the upcoming Draft Day with Kevin Costner, Imagine with Al Pacino, and the family film Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day with Steve Carell.

Not surprisingly, they are lighter than Dallas Buyers Club.

"I don't judge pop culture. It all has value," she says. "The job in general is to reflect society back to itself."

Jennifer Garner promotes early childhood education

The mother of three spoke Wednesday on Capitol Hill in support of legislation that aims to expand and improve early education programs.

Garner, who starred in the ABC series "Alias," said she supports early education to help level the playing field for all children.

"My kids have everything they need," Garner said, "so what I give my heart to — besides parenting my own kids — is early childhood education for kids all across America, especially for those growing up with less."

The Strong Start for America's Children Act is similar to what President Barack Obama has proposed, with the goal of expanding and improving early education programs for kids up to age 5. It seeks to accelerate the growth of state-funded prekindergarten programs and improve the quality of infant- and toddler-care programs.

Garner's advocacy isn't limited to education.

She was among the celebrities who testified this year before California lawmakers in support of legislation that they said would help them better protect their children from the paparazzi that follow them daily.

Garner also is an artist ambassador for Save the Children, an organization that provides aid to youth around the world.

TV Spot: 'American Hustle'

Bradley Cooper Attends 20-Year High School Reunion-All the Details!

The 38-year-old American Hustle star recently returned to his alma mater Germantown Academy in Fort Washington, Pa. to meet up with his old class of 1993 pals from high school, E! News has learned exclusively.

"It was a small, private event," a source tells E! News of the reunion party, which was held at MaGerk's Pub & Grill this past Friday. "There were about 30 to 45 people."

According to the source, Cooper, who was wearing an Eagles hat, a tan jacket, jeans, and Timberland boots for the event, arrived after 7 p.m. and was seen with "a couple of guys." The Oscar nominee "didn't have any security," says the source. "He was very casual," they added. "A super nice guy and seemed happy to be there."

"He took some photos with classmates," the source continued, adding that Cooper's Germantown friends "were just treating him as one of their classmates."

On Saturday, Cooper went to Germantown's football game. "He came back with Brian Klugman, who is an actor on the show Bones," a source tells us. "He is also GA class of ‘93. They stuck together for most of the reunion!" "He hung out on the fence," the source continued. ""He took some photos. The kids recognized him. He was very friendly."

Cooper, who also took a tour of the campus and visited some former teachers, was snapped walking around campus by some current Germantown students. One fan shared a pic of him walking around the parking lot with the caption, "Bradley cooper at the academy today. Nbd,"

Another shared, "Saw bcoop93 yesterday at the GA football game. #GAPC #BradleyCooper," with a side shot of him at the football game.

Lastly, a third alumnus tweeted a priceless photo of a teenage Cooper in the school's yearbook, writing, "#BradleyCooper's yearbook photo from the @GA1759 Germantown Academy yearbook of which I was Editor in 1990. #Oscars."

Jennifer Garner's Vandalia Films Picks Up New Allison Winn Scotch Novel

Bradley Cooper and Rachel McAdams Look Lovey on Set in Hawaii

Bradley Cooper and Rachel McAdams were photographed filming a scene for a new movie in Hawaii Wednesday, with Cooper, 38, gazing lovingly at McAdams, 34.

The stars, perhaps best known for their romantic starring roles in Silver Linings Playbook and The Notebook, are teaming up in an as-yet-untitled Cameron Crowe movie about an unlikely love story.

Cooper was recently photographed with another beautiful costar (and a very different hairdo) on the set of American Hustle.

This isn't the first time that Cooper and McAdams have shared the screen ... both had roles in the 2005 hit Wedding Crashers.

According to Variety, the costars' new movie is a romantic comedy also starring Emma Stone and Danny McBride.

J.J. Abrams Says "Time Frame" Of Getting New 'Star Wars' Movie Made Was Why He & Lawrence Kasdan Took Over Script

“Working with Michael was a wonderful experience and I couldn’t be a bigger fan of his or adore him more, He’s a wonderful guy and was incredibly helpful in the process,” Abrams said of Arndt. The director also noted that while he and Kasdan have taken over the script for the first of the three new Star Wars films that Disney has planned over the next few years, “that doesn’t preclude working with Michael again in the future.” Abrams added, “he is one of the best writers around.”

After pushing back its scheduled debut by two weeks, Fox now has Almost Human launching over two nights on November 17 and 18. The Bad Robot-produced near future android police drama stars Karl Urban and Michael Ealy as a LAPD cop partnered up with a lifelike android, as is the practice in 2048.

Jennifer Garner Looks Stunning in White Max Mara Gown-Take a Look!

The face of Max Mara's latest campaign stunned in a long white gown from the fashion house, whose dress featured a leg slit that showed off part of the actress' toned legs. The Dallas Buyers Club star complemented her dress with black Christian Louboutin stilettos, a black clutch and David Webb gold diamond earrings and bracelets. She completed the look with a braided updo and minimalist makeup—smokey eyes and a nude lip.

Jen was also later joined by Max Mara chairman Luigi Maramotti as she walked the black carpet!

In an interview for Redbook's August 2013 issue, the always classy Jen told the magazine, "The red carpet feels like a whole other side of me. What I wear during the day reflects utility. The red carpet is really fun. It's show business, and we're putting on a show. A lot of people are involved in the styling and my voice is one of the smaller ones in the mix. You should hear the conversations, ‘I think it's a smoky eye and a simple lip…' I make fun of everyone for being so invested."

However, Jen exudes an effortless elegance on and off the carpet that makes her the perfect face for the esteemed fashion label.

You go, girl!

People's Choice Awards Nominees

Jennifer Garner's Giant Engagement Ring Doesn't Fit in Her Pocket-See the Pic!

That's exactly what happened to Jennifer Garner on Tuesday, Oct. 29 as she made her way to an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in Hollywood.

The mother of three was grinning as she was photographed, but if you look closely, she was struggling to put her left hand, complete with a 4.5 carat rock from hubby Ben Affleck, in her jean pocket.

Ring issues aside, it was a fun appearance for the 40-year-old actress, who joked with Jimmy Kimmel that she uses the "no disrespect to Ben Affleck" hashtag frequently.

This is of course referring to Kanye West's now infamous tweet during the epic feud between the rapper and late night host: "SHOULD I DO A SPOOF ABOUT YOUR FACE OR YOU F--KING BEN AFFLECK #NODISRESPECTTOBENAFFLECK and #ALLDISRESPECTTOJIMMYKIMMEL." The tweet has since been deleted and the pair worked out their differences on the show. (Video)

"It's gotta be pretty great to have your own hashtag like that," Kimmel quipped.

"I say that all the time," Garner revealed. "I say it all the time, you look crazy. Hashtag, no disrespect to Ben Affleck."

Ha!

"Does he look crazy, is there something going on?" Kimmel said with a chuckle.

"I mean, you know, just on an average day," she answered. "That's just how I might greet him in the morning."

Jennifer Garner: Costars Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto Overshadowed My 50-Pound Weight Loss!

Costar Jennifer Garner says she shed 50 pounds of baby weight after giving birth to son Samuel for her role in the flick, something that was overshadowed by McConaughey and Leto's drastic transformations!

"They're skinny," Garner said of her costars on last night's Jimmy Kimmel Live. "And all anybody says is, 'All those boys lost 50 pounds.' Do you know how much weight I lost before I did this movie? Fifty pounds. Has anyone given me a ticker tape parade? No!"

Host Jimmy Kimmel quipped, "And part of that was the baby coming out, right?"

"Yeah, but whatever. Who cares?" Garner joked. "No one's asking me, 'Oh, how'd you lose all that weight?' Well, it wasn't easy!"

As for how McConaughey and Leto lost so much weight (McConaughey went from 185 pounds to 135 pounds!), Garner dished, "They didn't eat. Jared looked like he was going to blow over in the wind. He kind of had a dazed look and then they would say, 'Action!' and he'd be present and kind of then go back into [the daze]. That might just be how he is all the time. And then Matthew he just ate a few hundred calories a day."

J.J. Abrams & Lawrence Kasdan Take Over As 'Star Wars' Scribes

Ben Affleck Not Practicing His Batman Voice Around the House Yet, but Jennifer Garner Can Hardly Wait

E! News caught up with the actress last night at the L.A. premiere of her latest film, Dallas Buyers Club, and we asked whether hubby Ben Affleck has been practicing his Batman voice around the house yet.

"Not yet," Garner said, quickly adding, "But I'm excited!"

The actress, who was rocking a sleeveless navy dress that showed off her toned arms, said that she was on the carpet solo because Affleck is out of town working.

The future Caped Crusader's latest project, David Fincher's adaptation of the Gillian Flynn bestseller Gone Girl, started shooting in Missouri last month. 20th Century Fox announced this week that the film will be in theaters Oct. 3, 2014.

Garner also recently offered her opinion about the extreme amount of weight that Matthew McConaughey shed to play a man dying of AIDS in Dallas Buyers Club, a real-life story about a homophobic womanizer who contracts the disease and gets active in smuggling illegal but helpful anti-viral meds into the U.S. from other countries.

"I hated it," she told Yahoo! Movies. "I hated seeing Matthew so—I mean, he looked ill. He looked legitimately really, very ill."

McConaughey has said that he consulted Tom Hanks for tips on how to shed pounds, the two-time Oscar winner having done so for Philadelphia, in which he also played an AIDS patient, and Cast Away.

"I was going around and people were going, 'Hey, are you feeling all right?'" McConaughey told People. "But then I hit 135 pounds. I ran into somebody and they didn't just ask if I was all right, they said, 'My God, we need to get you some help.' And I thought, 'There we go. That's the perfect spot.'"

Victor Garber Heads to The Good Wife

The former Alias star is heading to The Good Wife, where he'll play a strict judge who's forced to handle a "madhouse" in his courtroom, according to the show's Twitter feed.

No further details on the role are available right now, but the episode is scheduled to air in early 2014.

Are you looking forward to seeing Garber on The Good Wife?

Jennifer Garner: My Director Said, 'I Don't Want You to Look Pretty'

"I am not someone who is driven by vanity. Even in ways that I should be. I'm not very good at the whole vanity thing," Garner, 41, told PEOPLE at a press day for the movie at the Four Seasons hotel in Los Angeles Monday.

"But I did love that [director] Jean-Marc Vallée came to me and said, 'I don't want you to look pretty.' He almost didn't give me the job because he just assumed . . . and I said, 'I don't care. Never touch my face with makeup. I don't care.' And he didn't. I never sat in the makeup chair."

The film takes place in the late 1980s, and Garner wears clothes from the period, but she was sure to point out that they weren't glamorous vintage pieces, and that her biggest costume concern was being able to breastfeed her son Samuel, who was an infant at the time.

"The clothes were from Goodwill. It's not like they were from a fancy vintage store or made to look vintage. They were straight up Goodwill, and I had this little baby. So, when I was in costume fittings, it was about, like, 'How can I get to my boobs?' And so I just could have cared less. It was great for me."

The film tells the story of an HIV-positive Texas man (played by Matthew McConaughey) who challenges the pharmaceutical companies and helps to provide medication and supplies to people with HIV.

McConaughey lost more than 40 pounds for the role and Garner said she tried to help him.

"I was there to support him, and Jared came in, and we all kind of went, 'Oh he's doing this. Okay. He's not joking around.' "

Victor Garber Joins Sci-Fi Indie 'Selfless'

Trailer: 'American Hustle'

Jennifer Garner Considered Leaving California if Paparazzi Bill Didn't Pass

In an Oct. 2 interview with Today, the actress revealed that if the bill didn't pass, she considered leaving the state with her husband Ben Affleck and their three children, Violet, Seraphina and Samuel.

"We had looked at all different things, moving out of California, you know all manners of things," the 41-year-old actress told Today correspondent Jenna Bush Hager. "I think that there's an idea that because our pictures are everywhere that we're complicit in it, when really what happens is they're waiting outside our door every single day. I can't go to the mailbox without getting my picture taken, so I don't."

Garner and Halle Berry testified in August on behalf of Senate Bill 606, which increases the possible punishment for harassing celebrity kids—and clarifies the legal definition of harassment in such cases. The law also makes it easier for a parent or legal guardian to sue a pap for damages over an incidence of harassment. Gov. Jerry Brown signed the bill into law on Tuesday, Sept. 24.

"One hundred percent I give this, this is all about Halle," Garner said. "I have to say that my husband and I, as much as we have wished for this, we truly were resigned to thinking that this was never gonna happen."

Garner is hopeful that now that the law has passed, her kids won't have "really aggressive men, yelling and screaming five feet away from their faces" during their daily lives.

"My kids take karate, for example, and we have our classes at the same time every week," Garner revealed. "So, the guys know when we have karate. And so 20 of them wait there for us every single class. So that's a lot of energy coming at little, little kids."

Garner was recently spotted with her kids at a farmers market in Pacific Palisades, Calif., where the mother of three decided to confront a troublesome shutterbug by taking a pic of the paparazzo with her camera phone.

Halle Berry Thanks Jennifer Garner, Adele & More Celeb Parents After Paparazzi-Deterrent Bill Passes

A bill meant to deter paparazzi from getting too close to the children of famous folks was signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown in Sacramento.

Both Halle Berry and Jennifer Garner had testified on behalf of Senate Bill 606, which increases the possible punishment for harassing celebrity kids—and clarifies the legal definition of harassment in such cases.

Now, according to the office of state Sen. Kevin de León, who sponsored the bill, harassment includes "conduct in the course of the actual or attempted recording of children's images and/or voices, without express parental consent, by following their activities or lying in wait."

Meanwhile, transmitting, publishing or broadcasting a child's image and/or voice does not constitute a violation.

Now, if shutterbugs are convicted of harassing a minor who has been targeted based on his or her parent's employment (i.e. famous actor, singer, personality, et al.), they can spend up to a year in jail instead of the previous maximum six months, and be fined $10,000 for their first violation, $20,000 for their second and up to $30,000 for their third.

"Kids shouldn't be tabloid fodder nor the target of ongoing harassment," de León said in a statement. "SB 606 will give children, no matter who their parents are, protection from harassers who go to extremes to turn a buck."

The law also makes it easier for a parent or legal guardian to sue a pap for damages over an incidence of harassment.

Berry has been seen more than once giving photographers a piece of her mind when they've come too close to comfort to her and daughter Nahla.

"I started this fight with a great deal of hope and a bit of uncertainty so I cannot express my immense gratitude that Gov. Brown has recognized, and acted to remedy, the plight of children who are tormented because of the identity or prominence of their parents," the star said in a statement. "On behalf of my children, it is my hope that this is the beginning of the end for those overly aggressive paparazzi whose outrageous conduct has caused so much trauma and emotional distress."

The Oscar winner also thanked her legal team and some fellow famous moms who threw their support behind the bill.

"I am forever in awe of the support I got within my community from the enormously talented musician Adele to fellow actor Jennifer Garner who traveled with me to Sacramento to share her children's stories, experience and her desire to give them a better life," she continued.

"I'm grateful to Nia Vardalos and the numerous parents who work as actors, musicians, as well as professionals in medicine, mental health, lawyers, judges and cops who have experienced their children being harassed, tormented or otherwise put in dangerous situations due to their parent's profession and therefore lent their support. It is for all of us that I rejoice today and hope that this fight will continue and that the proper enforcement of this law will truly make a positive impact on the daily lives of all children."

Garner said while testifying before the California State Assembly Committee on Public Safety last month that, while she chose by way of her career to have a "public life," her three children with Ben Affleck are "private citizens."

"They're beautiful and sweet and innocent, and I don't want a gang of shouting, arguing, lawbreaking photographers who camp out everywhere we are all day, every day, to continue traumatizing my kids," the Dallas Buyers Club star said.

Garner recently turned the tables on a paparazzo, stopping to snap a pic of him with her phone when he stopped to shoot video of her and her kids at an L.A. farmers market.

'Star Wars': J.J. Abrams promises 'Episode VII' will feel 'real' and 'authentic'

EW was able to squeeze a little bit of detail out of the director on Thursday (Sept. 19) when interviewing Abrams about his other upcoming project, sci-fi series "Almost Human," the main idea being that Abrams will strive to make the sequel feel real.

"It's been nice see that how important it is and to be reminded how important it is to so many people. We all know that [creator George Lucas'] dream has become almost a religion to some people," Abrams says. "I remember reading a thing somewhere, someone wrote about just wanting [the new film] to feel real; to feel authentic. I remember I felt that way when I was 11 years old when I saw the first one. As much of a fairy tale as it was, it felt real. And to me, that is exactly right."

And as for which of the previous "Star Wars" films best exemplifies what Abrams is aiming to do in terms of the spirit/tone of "Episode VII," the director was a bit more cagey with his answer. "Impossible for me to say because it's going to be an evolving thing," Abrams says. "I would say we are working really hard to make a movie that feels as emotional and authentic and exciting as possible. Whatever your favorite 'Star Wars' movie is and how to compare it is really sort of subjective."

"Star Wars: Episode VII" is expected to hit theaters in 2015.

Strip Club Drama Produced By Jennifer Garner Gets Fox Put Pilot Commitment

Shirtless Bradley Cooper Tries to Beat the Heat in Hawaii-Take a Look!

Whether it's the boyish grin or the Smurf-like style the actor had going on, Cooper was cute as ever after taking his blue shirt and turning it into a headscarf by wrapping it around his (handsome) noggin to beat the heat while hanging out at a beach in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Saturday.

Clearly, flaunting his biceps only added to the already hot situation, but we're not complaining.

Regardless of the high temperature, Cooper seemed to be enjoying a little solo vacation. Paparazzi caught the star relaxing on the sand and taking in the scenery before deciding to head out.

The Silver Linings Playbook star was spotted cozying up to his girlfriend Suki Waterhouse in Paris late last month.

The two lovebirds snuggled up at a park while reading what looked to be an amazing book, considering how focused they were on the paperback, before taking a stroll around the City of Light.

Jennifer Garner Confronts Paparazzo While Out With Her Children-See the Pic

Jennifer Garner was spotted with her kids at a farmers market in Pacific Palisades, Calif., where the mother of three decided to confront a troublesome shutterbug by taking a pic of the paparazzo with her camera phone.

The 41-year-old actress looked cute and casual in a pair of jeans and a black sweater with her hair pulled up into a loose ponytail. She faced the pap, who was taking a video of Garner, head on, holding up her camera to give the man a piece of her mind.

Garner, along with Halle Berry, recently testified before the California State Assembly Committee on Public Safety in support of a proposed antipaparazzi bill that would make it a crime for shutterbugs to photograph children without their legal guardian's permission.

"I chose a public life," Ben Affleck's missus told lawmakers in Sacramento. "My three children are private citizens. I love my kids. They're beautiful and sweet and innocent, and I don't want a gang of shouting, arguing, lawbreaking photographers who camp out everywhere we are all day, every day, to continue traumatizing my kids."

Senate Bill 606, written by Sen. Kevin DeLeon of Los Angeles, would change the legal definition of harassment to include photographing or recording a child without the permission of a legal guardian.

The proposed legislation is expected to be heard by the Assembly Judiciary Committee.

'Batman vs. Superman': Ben Affleck's wife Jennifer Garner reacts to his casting

Affleck's wife of eight years, Jennifer Garner, can't wait to see him take on the iconic role and don the cape. "You know, I was excited for him," Garner tells MTV News. "I was excited because he had a real take on what he wanted to do. I have to say, my husband is a pretty great storyteller himself, and I'm excited to watch him do it."

Garner may have a bit of a soft spot for watching Affleck play a superhero, considering that the couple first met while filming the 2003 Marvel Comic movie "Daredevil." They began dating after the film was released and were married in 2005, the same year that Garner took on the lead role in the superhero movie "Elektra."

J.J. Abrams Not Directing Next Star Trek Film, Calls Departure "Bittersweet"

J.J. Abrams has confirmed that he won't be directing the next installment in the franchise, telling Collider that it feels "bittersweet" to be leaving his baby in the arms of someone else.

But the 47-year-old TV- and filmmaker, who otherwise might have been headed for intergalactic overload if he tried to tackle another Star Trek and Star Wars: Episode VII, will be sticking around as a producer and doesn't plan to let that baby go without proper supervision.

"Whomever it is that directs the film will be someone we all know is going to keep the cast and crew in good hands," Abrams said.

"I feel very lucky to have been part of it, and it definitely feels like the right time to let someone come in and do their own thing. I certainly don't want someone to come in and try to do what I would have done. We want to hire someone who's gonna come in and bring their own sensibility.

"I'm very excited to see what comes next, despite feeling jealous of whomever that person is."

Simon Pegg, who plays Scotty, also told Collider that he feels Abrams did enough with the first two films that his "stamp will be very much on" the third.

"And whoever he gets to direct it will be someone [Abrams] trusts implicitly," the At World's End star added. "We've also got each other, as well. The whole cast is very united. It will be interesting. It will be fun to get a different take on it. We've gotta keep evolving it. I guess it can only be good for the story, as long as it's the right person."

Let the search for the right person begin!

Bradley Cooper American Hustle Movie Poster

Garner turns to dogs to soothe nerves at gala

Garner said her daughter Violet, 7, gave her advice on overcoming anxiety onstage at the event: to picture the audience as their family pets Martha Stewart and Gandhi “wagging their tails” and “waiting for a treat” — which would be Garner’s speech.The actress said the trick was working.

Hilary Clinton was among those honored at the event, sponsored by Calvin Klein, and guests included Victor Cruz, Caroline Kennedy, Whoopi Goldberg and Jenna Bush Hager.

Jennifer Garner & Ben Affleck's Son Samuel Has Awesome Pajamas

Jennifer Garner and her kids, Seraphina and Samuel, went out for a cute little breakfast outing this morning at the Brentwood Country Mart in Los Angeles, and while the trio were all dressed comfortably—the actress wore a pair of jeans with an ivory sweater while her daughter opted for a dress and leggings—it seemed like her little boy was the most laidback of 'em all, rockin' his pajamas (and looking absolutely adorable while doing it).

Ah, the things you can get away with as a toddler.

Samuel's pajamas were full of different cars, trucks and planes, which is great (obvs), but we're just waiting to see him strut some Batman pj's to support his daddy Ben Affleck's latest role. How cute would that be?!

Meanwhile, when she's not hanging out with her biological kids, Garner is spending time with her onscreen family.

The celeb was recently spotted shooting scenes for her upcoming film Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day in Pasadena, Calif., where she plays the mother of Alexander (Kerris Torsey), a young boy who has the worst day ever when everything goes wrong.

But you may have already gotten that from the title.

Audience stays up late for 'Dallas Buyers Club'

That was evident on Saturday, when ticket holders sat engrossed well past midnight for the late-night premiere. The true story (out Nov. 1) showcases Matthew McConaughey in a tour de force performance as Ron Woodroof, a homophobic Texas cowboy diagnosed with AIDS in 1986 and given 30 days to live.

Untrusting of his doctors (Jennifer Garner and Denis O'Hare), Woodroof begins smuggling FDA-unapproved, yet effective, drugs across the border for himself and a wide circle of AIDS-afflicted customers. For a time the scheme works, assisted by an unlikely ally: a transsexual man named Rayon (Jared Leto), who befriends Woodroof.

By 12:20 a.m., the Toronto audience was on its feet to cheer on McConaughey as he emerged for a Q&A session with director Jean-Marc Vallee, Garner and Leto. The actor bashfully took a bow.

An audience member asked Leto why he broke from his acting hiatus. "I have to say, Matthew McConaughey is doing something spectacular with his life. With his career. And I wanted to be a part of that. He's doing the most incredibly inspiring work. That was a huge part of my decision."

The heartbreaking story, told with an undercurrent of humor, was shot in just 27 days. "People always ask, 'What was the best prank?' There was no time for a prank," said McConaughey.

"If people could only see how this tiny crew scrambled around, and how we never stopped shooting," said Garner. "I remember those days, because I was eating. I remember very well the days that were hard."

McConaughey also referenced those 38 pounds he famously lost for Dallas Buyers Club, enabling a sickly and emaciated appearance on screen. "I actually had a lot of energy at that weight," he said. "My wife wasn't too fond of it. It's what was needed to be true to the role."

"They didn't bother with craft service," added Garner. "Just me and the crew sneaked doughnuts off to the side."

Jason Reitman Circling Adam Sandler, Jennifer Garner, Rosemarie DeWitt For 'Men, Women And Children'

The book focuses on a family with junior high school students and deals with the navigation of sexual awakenings in a digital age where the Internet has made pornography, blogs and social networking just a few clicks away.

If the pieces come together the way I’ve described them, this would amount to a reteam of the parties that made Labor Day, as Right Of Way is producing with Mr. Mudd. Spokespersons say nothing is done, and Indian Paintbrush is not committed. Stay tuned.

Bradley Cooper and Zoe Saldana to Reunite in Guardians of the Galaxy

The former couple, who called it quits right before the holidays in 2012, are reuniting for Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, an action flick that follows a pilot and his team of aliens as they battle cosmic threats, according to Deadline.

Lee Pace, Djimon Hounsou, Benicio del Toro, John C. Reilly and Glenn Close are also set to star in the film.

This is the second film Cooper and Saldana have starred in together, with their romance kicking off in 2010 after meeting on the set of their drama flick, The Words.

Both of the actors have moved on since their split, with Cooper romancing model Suki Waterhouse and Saldana linked to Italian artist Marco Perego.

It's not clear if there will be any awkward moments for the duo though, considering Cooper will only be voicing his character Rocket Raccoon in the film, rather than physically acting in it.

There's still the matter of the promo tour though, once the movie nears its premiere date.

Guardians of the Galaxy is set to be released Aug. 1, 2014.

Bradley Cooper joins Marvel's 'Guardians of the Galaxy' as voice of Rocket Raccoon

The "Silver Linings Playbook" star has officially joined the cast of Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy." He is set to voice to the fan-favorite raccoon, joining already cast Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Michael Rooker, Lee Pace, Karen Gillan, and Dave Bautista. Action star Vin Diesel is currently in talks to voice Groot.

"Guardians of the Galaxy" -- Cooper's first voiceover work -- takes place in the far reaches of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with an unlikely team of characters including Peter Quill, Gamora, Drax, Groot and Rocket Raccoon. The ragtag team of heroes must join forces to defeat a cosmic force of epic proportions.

Directed by James Gunn, the live-action "Guardians of the Galaxy" hits theaters August 1, 2014.

Jennifer Garner on Pre-Ben Affleck Divorce From Scott Foley: "We Just Imploded"

But before the 41-year-old actress said "I do" to Affleck, she was married to Scott Foley for four years. In the September issue of Allure (on stands now), Garner said the former spouses "didn't have a shot."

"Oh, he's a great guy," the Dallas Buyers Club star said of Foley, who now has two children with wife Marika Dominczyk. "We were full-on grown-ups, but looking back I'm aware we did not know what hit us...He's a really googd guy, and we just imploded."

Garner and her Felicity costar married in October 2000 after meeting on the set two years before. In March 2003, however, they separated, finalizing their divorce in March 2004. Months later, the actress met Affleck on the set of Daredevil, and the twosome tied the knot in June 2005.

And now that Garner and Foley have both happily moved on with their lives, there certainly doesn't seem to be any bad blood between them. Garner's ex-husband even went so far as to support her current one! When Affleck wasn't nominated for a Best Director Oscar in January 2013, Foley tweeted, "Travesty and injustice? A bit dramatic. But Affleck getting overlooked for a best director nod is just plain silly. That's right, silly."

Jennifer Garner and Steve Carell Make Funny Faces While Filming in L.A.-See the Pics!

While shooting their upcoming family flick Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day in Pasadena, Calif., yesterday, the costars were snapped making some funny faces while shooting scenes with costar Kerris Torsey.

In one pic, an opened-mouthed Garner looks shocked at something while carrying a toddler whose face is covered in a green mess.

A suited-up Carell stands beside her looking equally concerned while furrowing his brow and spreading out his arms.

In another on-set shot, Garner, wearing rolled-up jeans and a blue and white blouse, is seen holding a very lifelike doll upside-down in between takes.

The upcoming film is based on the book by the same name and follows the character of Alexander, who has the worst day ever when thing after thing goes wrong.

Jennifer Garner's Bangs: Are You Loving Them?

After years of rocking the same one-length, center-parted strands (straightened and parted to the side for fancy occasions), the actress was spotted out on the set of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day with newly shorter and layered strands and some eyebrow-grazing bangs. She also appeared to have traded in honey highlights for an allover chestnut color.

They say good things come in threes, so it seems fitting that Garner’s bangs debuted the same week as Jennifer Love Hewitt’s and Kelly Osbourne’s, both of which you loved.

Bradley Cooper Close To Joining Marvel's 'Guardians Of The Galaxy'

Bun in the oven

Bradley Cooper Boards Warner Bros' Lance Armstrong Film As Producer And Potential Star As Race To Mount Bike Pic Heats Up

Their intention is to ride a fast track toward production, and they are not alone. I’ve reported that Working Title has director Stephen Frears pedaling hard on an Armstrong film that will star Ben Foster as the champion cyclist, from a drama scripted by Trainspotting‘s John Hodge. That film could get underway as quickly as the fall. There is also a Paramount Pictures project with Bad Robot partners JJ Abrams and Bryan Burk, based on Cycle Of Lies: The Fall Of Lance Armstrong, a book by New York Times sportswriter Juliet Macur. Reports surfaced back when Armstrong copped to cheating that Cooper had been approached by Abrams to play Armstrong.

Cooper instead becomes the focal point of the Warner Bros project, which has a script by Side Effects scribe Scott Z. Burns. It will be produced by Atlas Entertainment’s Charles Roven and Alex Gartner, as well as Roach and now Cooper. Michael Radutzky, the exec producer at CBS News and senior producer at 60 Minutes who was involved in Hamilton’s TV appearance, is also going to be involved in a producing capacity. Cooper, who’ll next be seen in the killer ensemble cast of his Silver Linings Playbook helmer David O Russell’s American Hustle (which Atlas produced), is next scheduled to star in the untitled Cameron Crowe project that shoots in Hawaii in early fall. After that, he should be available to get on the bike. He and Warner Bros are recalibrating their film American Sniper after Steven Spielberg withdrew as director this month, and Cooper’s next firm commitment is to bring The Elephant Man to Broadway in the latter part of 2014. Cooper is repped by CAA.

Why is Hollywood so interested in the story of Armstrong when it was so recently in the news? His rise and fall is Shakespearean in nature. After nearly dying from testicular cancer in 1996, Armstrong fought his way back from chemotherapy and won all those Tour de France titles starting in 1998. He became one of the world’s most famous athletes and the poster boy for the U.S. Postal Service. His Tour de France wins were attributed to his iron will, but it became clear later on that PEDs were part of the mix as well. He was stripped of his titles and while Armstrong certainly wasn’t the only competitor doping, his admission obliterated the legacy of a great career. Sponsors fled after he admitted to Oprah Winfrey that he cheated, and he even had to remove himself from his cancer foundation Livestrong, which is still suffering a precipitous drop in donations.

Actresses urge support for Calif. paparazzi bill

The stars testified before the Assembly Judiciary Committee regarding SB606, which would impose tougher penalties on photographers who harass celebrities and their children.

It was Berry's second state Capitol appearance on the measure. The Academy Award-winning actress, who is pregnant, told lawmakers the constant presence of photographers yelling and snapping pictures has made her daughter scared to go to school.

"As mothers, as parents, we don't have the wherewithal or the law in place right now to protect them from this," Berry said. "What this bill would do is give us our rights back so that we can protect our children."

The bill from Sen. Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, would change the definition of harassment to include photographing or recording a child without the permission of a legal guardian by following the child or guardian's activities or by lying in wait. It also increases the penalties for people convicted of such behavior.

The bill passed the panel without opposition and now heads to the Appropriations Committee.

Garner, who starred in the ABC series "Alias," nearly cried describing how paparazzi aggressively follow her and her three young children as she takes them to school and to the pediatrician.

She told the committee that she understood she would make certain sacrifices when she chose a career in acting but that her children have not made the same decision to be in the public spotlight.

"I don't want a gang of shouting, arguing, law-breaking photographers who camp out everywhere we are, all day, every day, to continue to traumatize my kids," Garner said.

Media organizations are concerned the bill will restrict journalists who are conducting legitimate newsgathering activities.

Joe Berry of the California Broadcasters Association said harassment is already illegal. The legislation "is overly broad and overly reaches in order to rein in these bad actors," he testified.

De Leon told the committee he believes pending amendments will satisfy some concerns about the bill.

Jennifer Garner is 'action babe' on 'Allure' cover

In explaining why she and Oscar-winning husband Ben Affleck don't work together, she says she doubts people want to see them as a couple on screen.

"People see paparazzi shots of us together all the time," she says. "There's no mystery. … People are sick of us."

She's also careful not to attend every Hollywood event with him.

"It's a very conscious decision," she says. "Sometimes it's a pain because my heels are so high and it would be nice to have his arm. And he's such a great date!

"But it can be too much. I think especially for women, they can really lose their identity and just become 'wife of.' "

But that's not likely to happen to Garner, 41, an already established star in her own right.

And now, for the first time, she's a celebrity spokeswoman, becoming Max Mara's first. She gleams in the ad campaign for the label, now running everywhere, wearing a luscious camel coat and clutching Max Mara's new statement handbag, the JBag.

Inside Allure, Garner chats about why she doesn't do Botox or color her hair and definitely no tattoos. "Oh, my gosh, no! Garner girls don't have tattoos."

The issue includes an on-camera interview with Garner, plus a timeline slideshow.

The magazine is on newsstands Aug. 20.

Jennifer Garner: I Wouldn't Be Surprised If Ben Affleck Went Into Politics

"Sometimes it's a pain because my heels are so high and it would be really nice to have his arm," she says in September's Allure, available Aug. 20. "And he's such a great date! But it can be too much. I think especially for women, they can really lose their identity and just become 'wife of,' " she says.

But aside from Affleck being an Oscar-winning-actor-turned-director, Garner, 41, says becoming involved in politics may eventually be next for her husband.

"Right now [Ben] feels like he can do more good for people politically from outside the system," she says. Affleck, 40, founded the Eastern Congo Initiative in 2010. The organization works to raise funds and public awareness about the region.

"Would I be surprised if one day he did go into politics? No. But not now," she says, adding that she supports the idea. "I'm along for the ride."

Even if Affleck opts for a major career change, Garner says she's focused on her role as mother to Violet, 7½, Seraphina, 4½, and Samuel, 17 months.

Growing up, Garner says she "had a baby doll tucked under my arm everywhere I went." Later, when she became a teenager, "my friend and I ran a babysitting service, C&J Babysitting. I think we made $2 an hour. If you'd said to me, 'You could be a mom or you could be anything else in the world,' I would have been a mom."

Jennifer Garner Looks Incredibly Young on Cover of Allure

Ben Affleck's lovely 41-year-old wife is on the front of the September 2013 issue of Allure and, we must say...

Seventeen called and wants its cover girl back!

Apparently the Neutrogena is working.

OK, it's not as if Garner didn't sit through hair and makeup before smiling radiantly for the camera, but she really is the epitome of "anti-aging."

The mother of three was just spotted paying homage to where it all began, in fact—she was carrying an Alias tote bag while at a Los Angeles farmer's market with her family near their Brentwood home.

The only question is whether there was any room left for fresh produce among all the wigs and spy wear.

Jennifer Garner Takes Alias Tote on Farmers' Market Outing With Family

The actress was seen at a Brentwood farmers market, with Ben Affleck and their three kids in tow, carrying a tote bag with the hit series' name on it.

So basically, Jen's not afraid of a little brag swag, and that's something we can get behind.

We're not the only ones who miss seeing the brunette beauty light up the silver screens it seems.

But long gone are her days of being Sydney Bristow…

While her character normally would've concealed some type of weapon and a change of clothes (mainly a killer wig) in the canvas sack, Jen loaded her sack with tons of fresh produce from her local suppliers.

Jen had her two girls, Serafina and Violet, pick out their favorite fruits and vegetables while Ben doted on their son, Samuel.

From CIA spy to working mom, things have definitely changed for Mrs. Affleck!

Ben Affleck & Jen Garner's 'Fun' Double Date with Rose Byrne & Bobby Cannavale

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner managed to sneak in time for a couples outing on Tuesday night.

The lovey-dovey duo joined fellow pair Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale at Hinoki & the Bird in Los Angeles, where the quartet shared oysters, wine and several of the eatery's other signature dishes.

"They were very nice and cordial," an onlooker tells PEOPLE of the Academy Award winner and his wife. "It sounds like Jen is the one who always picks the restaurants when they go out together. They seemed to be having a fun double date night, and Jen told the server they'll definitely be back."

Jennifer Garner Is Very Pregnant in the Movie Imagine-See Her Big Fake Bump!

The mother of three, clad in a tummy-skimming maxi dress and wearing comfy clogs, was sporting a big fake baby bump today on the Los Angeles set of her new film Imagine.

Garner stars alongside Al Pacino, Bobby Cannavale and Annette Bening in the movie about an aging musician who, inspired by a letter once written to him by John Lennon and Yoko Ono about living life to the fullest, sets out to reconnect with his estranged son.

Dan Fogelman is directing his own original screenplay.

Also in L.A. today, Garner's hubby, Ben Affleck, was spotted out running errands near their home in Brentwood.

The Oscar-winning director of Argo recently hitched himself to the lead role in David Fincher's upcoming adapatation of the Gillian Flynn-penned best seller Gone Girl.

Rosamund Pike has signed on to play Affleck's wife, who, as the title implies, goes missing under increasingly suspicious circumstances. Production is expected to get underway in September.

Alias' Michael Vartan Checks Into Bates Motel as Norma's New [Spoiler]

TVLine has learned exclusively that the Alias alum has been cast as a new romantic interest for Norma (played by Emmy nominee Vera Farmiga).

His recurring character, George, is a charming divorcé who catches Norma’s eye. It’s one of three new roles the show is introducing in Season 2 (Bates is also surrounding Norma with a female BFF and an estranged brother).

Vartan most recently starred opposite Jada Pinkett Smith in TNT’s Hawthorne.

Production on Bates‘ 10-episode second season gets underway this week; the show returns in 2014.

Criminal Minds Taps David Anders for Season 9 Guest-Spot

Once Upon a Time star David Anders will guest-star on the upcoming season of the CBS drama, TVGuide.com has confirmed.

Anders, who plays Dr. Frankenstein on the ABC fairy tale drama, will play an UnSub named Anton Harris who has a knack for lobotomizing victims. The news was first reported by TVLine.com.

Anders, who currently recurs on Necessary Roughness, has also appeared on such shows as Alias and Heroes.

Criminal Minds returns Wednesday, Sept. 25 at 9/8c on CBS.

Is J.J. Abrams backing out of directing 'Star Wars: Episode VII'?

Long story short: Abrams isn't dropping out of "Star Wars." Sure, there's been no casting on the film yet and, yes, we haven't heard much about the movie for months, though that's allegedly only because Abrams and Michael Arndt are busy working on the script. The flick is slated to be released in Summer 2015, and thus far Abrams still seems to be on track to make that happen for Disney.

"There is no truth to the rumor," Lucasfilm says in the statement. "J.J. is having a great time working on the script and is looking forward to going into production next year."

Back in June, Abrams gave some hints on the approach he plans to take with the movie. "I think the key in moving forward with something like this is in honoring but not revering what came before," he said at the time.

As for Abrams' rumored return to "Star Trek 3," producer Roberto Orci tells Zap2it that he hasn't heard anything yet. "I'd love to have J.J. back. We're still talking to Paramount about what the scheduling might be and if we can all do it together again," he says.

Amy Acker Upped To Series Regular On 'Person Of Interest'

Jennifer Garner's Max Mara Ad: Go Behind the Scenes

The collaboration marks Garner’s first time as the face of a fashion brand, as well as Max Mara’s first celebrity spokesperson, according to WWD.

In the photos, Garner poses for photographer Mario Sorrenti wearing a luxe camel coat and Max Mara’s new statement handbag, the JBag, of which she’s now a big fan. “I like the size of the JBag,” Garner said in a statement. “I like that it’s big enough to carry anything you want to stuff in there, but it’s small enough that you won’t lose your keys!”

She also said that she’s a natural fit for the Italian fashion house. “My style is pragmatic,” she said. “I like to wear garments that have a real luxurious texture and feel good against the skin.”

And the line’s chairman Luigi Maramotti agreed, telling WWD, “Jennifer Garner is a real woman, not a cover girl, not a starlet, and she has different interests, a family and values. She is a real woman and embodies the Max Mara woman, she perfectly reflects our image.”

Greg Grunberg And Diane Farr To Star In USA Comedy Pilot 'Divide & Conquer'

Obama Names Former 'Alias' Producer To Ambassador-Level UN Gig

Despite all the dough that Hollywood raised for Obama and the Democrats last year, this is only the second member of the entertainment industry to be given a plum post. In June, HBO VP Global Licensing and Retail James Costos was nominated as the next US Ambassador to Spain.

Jennifer Garner inks production deal with Warner Bros. TV

The company was previously based at ABC Studios, but the only production to its credit so far is "Butter," the 2011 comedy about butter-carving in smalltown Iowa.

At Vandalia, Garner is joined by executive Juliana Janes, where they have several other projects in development. Per this production agreement, Garner will receive executive producer credit on projects that are developed and produced by her company for Warner Bros. TV.

There's no word yet on just what series projects Vandalia Films will produce. Garner is a veteran of TV, however, starring on "Time of Your Life" (1999-2001) and "Alias" (2001-2006).

Ben Affleck & Jennifer Garner Celebrate Baptism, Anniversary

In town for their son Samuel's baptism, which took place at Garner's family's parish, Christ Church United Methodist, on Sunday, the pair also celebrated their eighth wedding anniversary on Saturday night.

Affleck, 40, Garner, 41, and their daughters – Violet, 7½, and Seraphina, 4 – joined Garner's parents and her sister at an 11 a.m. service, where 16-month-old Samuel was baptized.

"He's really cute. He was wearing little blue overalls," a parishioner tells PEOPLE. "He kept trying to high-five the pastor as he was getting baptized."

As for Samuel's sisters, "Violet was very well-behaved," the parishioner says, while "Seraphina was funny – she was running around, and Ben had to keep getting up to run after [her]."

Dressed in their Sunday best – Affleck in a fitted suit, Garner in a white dress – "they looked really happy," the source adds.

They were in equally good spirits the night before at local pizza joint Pies & Pints, where the couple celebrated their anniversary with a low-key dinner of beer, pizza, salad – and a side of PDA.

"They were so cute, holding hands and kissing each other. She had her hand on his leg," says fellow diner Robyn Brammer. "They were really affectionate."

Pies & Pints owner Rob Lindeman says that the two are regulars. "Ben and Jen like to drop in when they're in town," says Lindeman. "They're just really solid people. They seemed like they were having a great time.

After dinner, the pair headed to Ellen's Homemade Ice Cream for dessert, where a source says Affleck tipped the five or six employees working at the time generously, "like $100 each."

The Good Wife Recruits Alias' Melissa George for Recurring Role

The Good Wife has cast George as Marilyn, Peter's (Chris Noth) smart, sexy and savvy new in-house ethics counsel, TVLine reports. The character, who will recur, is described as a stickler for honesty and observing the rules — sound similar to someone else in Peter's life?

However, it is unclear just how Marilyn will deal with master manipulator Eli (Alan Cumming) as well as the Florrick campaige's vote-rigging that was revealed in the Season 4 finale.

It is similarly unclear how George's new gig will affect a possible Hunted spin-off that is now in the works at Cinemax. George starred in the series last fall, and the new project is said to center on her character.

In addition to her role as Mrs. Vaughn, George has guest-starred on Grey's Anatomy, Friends and Lie to Me.

The Good Wife's new season premieres on Sept. 29 on CBS. Are you excited for George's role?

Jennifer Garner's Production Company Inks Overall Deal With Warner Bros. TV

Best moments backstage at the Guys Choice Awards

Bradley Cooper, Suki Waterhouse Together at Spike TV Awards Show

The two held hands as they appeared together on Saturday in Los Angeles, where they attended the 2013 Spike TV Guys' Choice Awards, held at Sony Pictures Studios.

PEOPLE's 2011 Sexiest Man Alive, 38, and Waterhouse, 20, stayed close backstage as they chatted with Amy Adams, Mark Wahlberg and Ben Affleck.

The Hangover Part III star is still sporting his short haircut, while Waterhouse wore a black leather coat and scarf.

The couple previously were photographed in April taking in Paris by motorcycle.

J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot To Develop Rod Serling's Final Screenplay Into Event Series

Emmy and Golden Globe winner Serling wrote and produced a number of TV and feature screenplays, including Rod Serling’s Night Gallery, Planet Of The Apes, and Requiem For A Heavyweight, but he is best known for his Twilight Zone anthology series, which was just named one of the top five Best Written TV Series of all time by the Writers Guild of America, West. A reboot of the TV classic is in the works at CBS TV Studios with X-Men director Bryan Singer at the helm.Event/limited series are red-hot at the moment, with four greenlighted in the past month alone, Fox’s 24: Live Another Day and Wayward Pines, FX’s Fargo and HBO’s Criminal Justice. Bad Robot has four series on the air next season, returning Revolution and Person Of Interest and upcoming Almost Human and Believe. Code Entertainment, which reps the Serling Estate, made the deal with Bad Robot.

Bradley Cooper Visits White House for Mental Health Conference With President Barack Obama

Bradley Cooper was spotted in Washington, D.C. earlier today to hear President Barack Obama's opening comments at the White House's National Conference on Mental Health.

The Silver Linings Playbook star has taken the cause very seriously since portraying someone with Bipolar disorder in the film.

Obama discussed mental health care plans for American veterans, a specific topic that had already drew Cooper to the nation's capital for back in January.

Cooper held a Q&A session with about 50 military vets after the film's screening earlier in the year at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

It looks like Cooper's onscreen life has translated into helping others in need—bravo!

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner Enjoy Family Dinner With Kids and Grandma

This weekend, Oscar winner Ben Affleck and his wife Jennifer Garner decided to enjoy a dinner out as one giant family.

Hollywood's beloved couple arrived at Toscana in Brentwood, Calif., with their kids Seraphina and Violet.

The Argo actor went casual with a plaid shirt and blue tennis shoes, Garner followed suit with a simple white shirt and denim jeans.

Sunday's Italian dinner also had a special guest. Affleck's mom, Christine Anne Boldt, joined in on the family festivities.

It certainly looks like a nice and tasty way to finish off the weekend!

Small-town stir

Bradley Cooper back for one last Hollywood 'Hangover'

Cooper returns to the comedy franchise, "The Hangover," which skyrocketed his career, after dramatic roles that earned him an Oscar nomination and praise for his more dramatic talents.

The 38-year old actor has been on TV since 1999 and landed some supporting film roles. But it wasn't until he was cast as the cocky Phil in the 2009 buddy comedy, "The Hangover," that he found mainstream success.

The movie, about four men who try to piece together the events of a wild bachelor party in Las Vegas, became an unlikely hit, grossing more than $467 million at the worldwide box office and spawning a franchise.

After "The Hangover Part II" took the actors - Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis and Justin Bartha - to Thailand on yet another wild bachelor party, they decided to return one last time in "The Hangover Part III," out in theaters on Friday.

"We really didn't let any day pass without taking stock of what we have because of these movies, and how special our bond is," Cooper told Reuters about filming the final installment.

"It really is a once-in-a-lifetime thing and to be able to do a third one and go out knowing it's over, hopefully we're going out on a high note."

In the final film of the franchise, the wolf pack are unwittingly lured back to Las Vegas in a full circle from the first film, in a hunt for the elusive and eccentric Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong).

Cooper said that while the first two films had become box office hits with similar storylines, it was important that the third film found a new plot.

"There was a lot of pressure to make sure it was going to be fresh, that it was going to deviate from the structure of the first two," the actor said.

DRAMA AND DIRECTING

After landing leading roles in 2010's reboot of "The A-Team" and 2011 action-thriller "Limitless," Cooper reached a career high this year with an Oscar nod for best male actor for his role as bipolar Pat in "Silver Linings Playbook."

Cooper credited the film for changing perceptions about his talents.

"There were people going 'wow, I didn't know you could do that,' and I thought 'yeah, did you think I was Phil?' It was interesting," he said.

"The Place Beyond The Pines" saw Cooper in a rare dramatic role, playing a police officer struggling to come to terms with killing a suspect while on duty.

Cooper said the role was "really tricky" and came to him at the right time in his career, when he was looking for a challenge and wanted to take risks with a complex character.

"It was not the role that a young male leading man would want to take, because there was nothing flashy...but it was a great acting challenge," Cooper said.

The actor, who was thrust into the spotlight in 2011 as People Magazine's 'Sexiest Man Alive,' said he has set his sights on stepping behind the camera one day, though for now, he is in demand for roles in upcoming films by Steven Spielberg and Cameron Crowe.

"I can't pass that up, but at some point I have to direct, because that's really the only way I think," Cooper said.

Sighting

Bradley Cooper gets cooking lessons from Gordon Ramsay for 'Chef' role

Cooper is set to star in "Chef," a drama directed by John Wells for Sony Pictures about a drug-addicted chef with Michelin-starred restaurant dreams. A source close to the project tells The Sun newspaper, "Gordon's going to be giving Bradley a crash-course in cookery and teaching him some flash tricks like knife-work so Bradley looks like an experienced chef."

Though "Chef" won't start production until 2014, the film has already been making headlines. Sony sent a cease-and-desist letter over a comedy project of the same name, which Jon Favreau plans to produce, direct and star in. Also attached to Favreau's "Chef" are Robert Downey, Jr., Sofia Vergara and John Leguizamo.

Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner Joke About Their Marriage on Saturday Night Live

On Saturday, he tried to make light of the moment while hosting Saturday Night Live – and even brought Garner on stage during his monologue to help.

"I thanked my wife while saying the essence of marriage is work," he said during the monologue, noting that giving an Oscar speech is "completely terrifying."

"Some uncharitable souls on the Internet took that to mean our marriage is some kind of manual labor," Affleck continued. "That's not it. You define what's important to you by what you dedicate your time to."

Garner then came on stage as her husband explained that by using the word "work" he meant to signify how they "talk privately" about their commitment as husband and wife.

"I'm not sure why you had to share it live to a billion people," Garner joked, adding that she wished he had called their marriage "a gift."

Growing sincere, Affleck told his wife, "I want to tell you how I wish I had ended that speech: I couldn't do any of the things I do without you, without your support. You're my angel, my life, my world."

And then the camera panned back – as Garner looked nonplussed – to reveal Affleck had been reading off a cue card the whole time.

Sighting

Jennifer Garner, Michael Caine Join 'Imagine'

UTA Signs Actor Michael Vartan

Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lopez, Jay Leno, Donald Trump and More Set to Appear on Inside the Actors Studio Special

Inside the Actors Studio will celebrate 250 episodes on May 29 with a two-hour special event, complete with highlights looking back on the best James Lipton interviews. From Will Ferrell's impersonation of Lipton to Angelina Jolie talking about her sensuality, viewers can relive the greatest moments from the most memorable interviews on Inside the Actors Studio.

Also featured in the special are new interviews with industry all-stars. Viewers will get revealing sit downs with Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro, Jennifer Lopez, Christopher Walken, Barbara Walters, Dave Chappelle, Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, Ellen Burstyn, Spike Lee, Katie Couric, Donald Trump and Sugar Ray Leonard, all like you've never seen them before.

Bradley Cooper Stars in Steamy Häagen-Dazs Ad-Watch Now!

Set in the "House of Häagen-Dazs," Cooper arrives at a glamorous dinner party (with a pint of ice cream in hand, obvs.) and catches the eye of the beautiful brunette.

Together, the two make their way to a private room to enjoy some alone time, but Cooper gets tricked!

Perez locks the one-time Sexiest Man Alive in the room only to grab his ice cream and enjoy it all to herself—clearly, this girl's got her priorities in order.

While we're not sure what sounds more enticing, the idea of locking eyes (and making moves) with a ready and able Cooper, or eating an entire tub of ice cream to ourselves.

Let's be honest, either one sounds like a win-win.

Bradley Cooper adds Steven Spielberg, John Wells movies to busy schedule

Spielberg has signed to direct Cooper in "American Sniper" based on the book "American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper In U.S. Military History" about Navy SEAL Chris Kyle.

Cooper optioned the New York Times bestseller himself with an eye toward playing Kyle, a passionate marksman and weapons enthusiast whose life recently came to a dramatic end.

Cooper will shoot "American Sniper" after completing Cameron Crowe's untitled film he's scheduled to shoot this fall opposite Emma Stone and Rachel McAdams.

Then, after "Sniper," he'll segue into "Chef" about a celebrated Paris chef with a substance abuse problem. Deadline reports that project reunites Cooper with "Silver Linings Playbook" distributor The Weinstein Company, who also produced Wells' upcoming Broadway play adaptation "August: Osage County" starring Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts.

Between the success of the blockbuster comedy franchise "The Hangover" and his Oscar-nominated turn in romantic comedy hit "Silver Linings," Cooper has been red hot in Hollywood lately. He's currently filming "American Hustle" opposite Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Jennifer Lawrence for "Silver Linings" director David O. Russell in Boston.

He also dropped out of a co-starring role in the troubled Natalie Portman Western "Jane Got a Gun" citing scheduling conflicts, which is even more understandable in light of these recent gigs.

Cooper quits 'Jane': report

The project hit headlines in March when Michael Fassbender quit due to scheduling conflicts with X-Men: Days of Future Past, and days later studio bosses were forced to hunt for a new director after Lynne Ramsay failed to show up on the first day of production.

Actor Jude Law and moviemaker Gavin O'Connor were called in to save the project, but the Brit then bowed out of the cast and Cooper stepped up to take his place.

However, The Hangover hunk has now walked away from the movie, according to Deadline.com.

The reason for Cooper's departure is not known but Jake Gyllenhaal, Tobey Maguire, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Tom Hiddleston are among the actors rumoured to be in talks for the lead.

J.J. Abrams to be honored with International Emmy Founders Award

Abrams is being honored with the Founders Award at this year's International Emmy Awards, which take place November 25 in New York.

International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences president & CEO Bruce L. Paisner made the announcement on Wednesday, calling Abrams "a master of all forms of entertainment."

Abrams, he said, "has made an indelible mark on our global culture," Paisner said. "Even at this comparatively early stage of his career, he has earned this international recognition and we look forward to presenting the Founders Award to him."

Abrams added that he's "deeply grateful" to receive the award, and will thank Paisner and the Academy "perhaps to an embarrassing degree, in person, in November."

According to the Academy, the Founders Award "recognizes an individual who crosses cultural boundaries to touch our common humanity."

Abrams, whose myriad TV credits include "Lost," "Fringe," "Alias," "Person of Interest," "Revolution," "Cloverfield" and "Felicity," has received two Emmy Awards for "Lost," in the Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series and Outstanding Drama Series categories. He also earned nominations for the "Alias" and "Lost" pilot scripts.

Previous recipients of the Founders Award include Steven Spielberg, Simon Cowell, Nigel Lythgoe, Dick Wolf and Al Gore.

Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner and Violet Cheer Seraphina to the Finish Line-See the Pic!

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner couldn't have been any prouder of little Seraphina Sunday! The famous parents (and big sister Violet, 7) cheered on the 4-year-old girl as she made her way to the finish line at the track in Pacific Palisades, Calif.

Dad Ben, 40, put both his fists up in the air as he cheered for Seraphina, while mom Jen, 41, captured the moment on her phone. Violet stood between her parents watching on, looking adorable in her Wayfarers.

The Afflecks are clearly big time in Hollywood, but it's their kids (including 1-year-old son Samuel) that take center stage in real life. Case in point? Before Ben accepted his Academy Award, he was cheering on Violet at her spelling bee!

"I was more nervous at the spelling bee than I am now, I don't know what that says," the proud dad revealed, prior to Argo's win. "There was a lot of words. Let me tell you something, you and me might have been in trouble. We belong in the stands."

Oh, sweet Ben, you belong everywhere!

J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot To Option Stephen King Novel '11/22/63' For TV Series

Jennifer Garner and Tobey Maguire: When Stars (Nearly) Collide

The actress, checking her phone, passed by Tobey Maguire in L.A. today.

Understandably, her thoughts were probably on the zillion things she had to get done later as a working wife and mother of three.

And Maguire, who was attending to his adorable 3 1/2-year-old son, Otis, (and manning the fire-engine lunch box and pint-size parka), seemed none the wiser!

So, now you've seen it. When stars collide...sometimes absolutely nothing happens.

Jennifer Garner Joining Steve Carell In 'Alexander And The No Good, Very Bad Day'

Garner stars in Dallas Buyers Club, the film that just got acquired by Focus Features, and she’s set to star in Draft Day, the Ivan Reitman-directed gridiron backroom drama that stars Kevin Costner. She is repped by WME, Management 360 and attorney Jason Sloane.

Jennifer Garner Slapped With a Parking Ticket

After celebrating her 41st birthday on Wednesday, the Odd Life of Timothy Green star found a parking ticket sitting on her windshield Friday morning.

The actress, who was in the midst of running errands, looked a bit bummed when she scooped up the ticket, dressed casually in jeans, a pink button-up shirt and a floppy white hat.

Things took a turn for the better later in the day though, when her hubby Ben Affleck took her out for a date night, according to the Daily Mail.

Garner was snapped smiling as the couple made their way to dinner in Hollywood sporting casual garb.

Bradley Cooper Visits Bombing Victim Who Lost Legs

But Bradley Cooper is giving it his best.

The Oscar-nominated star, 38, in town filming a movie, paid a visit to hospitalized Jeff Bauman Jr., who lost both legs below the knee in the blasts at the Boston Marathon.

A Twitter photo shows the smiling Cooper next to Bauman's bed at Boston Medical Center. Bauman is giving a thumbs-up sign.

Cooper also attended the interfaith service on Thursday where President Obama paid tribute to the bombing victims and their families.

Bradley Cooper: Why I Live With My Mom

"She's a cool chick," Bradley Cooper tells Details magazine. "We can hang. And she can roll with the punches. If that wasn't the case, there's no way."

There's a serious reason behind it all: The death of Cooper's father two years ago.

"My family is very close, and my dad dying was brutal for all of us," the Silver Linings Playbook star, 38, tells the magazine. "It was a schism, and its aftershock has not stopped. And we need each other. So here we are."

Still, having mom around is "not without complications."

"It's not like I live in a compound and she's in the guesthouse," he says. "No, she's in the next room."

But they're all making the best of it. "We're surviving. Both of us. Let's face it: It's probably not easy for her, by the way, to be living with her son," he says. "It's life."

Bradley Cooper Wants to Be a Dad, Is "Surviving" Living With His "Cool Chick" Mother

In Details magazine's May issue, the Oscar nominee opens up about living with his mom and wanting to be a dad himself.

"The best way I can answer that is to say we're [my mom and I are] surviving," he says, noting that the duo have lived together since his father's death in 2011. "Both of us. Let's face it: It's probably not easy for her, by the way, to be living with her son. It's life. And right now, two years after my father's death, this is where we are."

"My family is very close, and my dad dying was brutal for all of us," he explains. "It was a schism, and its aftershock has not stopped. And we need each other. So here we are."

"But don't get me wrong. It's not without complications," he adds. "It's not like I live in a compound and she's in the guesthouse. No. She's in the next room. But here's the thing: She's a cool chick. We can hang, and she can roll with the punches. If that wasn't the case, there's no way."

As far as becoming a father himself? The 38-year-old says he "of course" has thought about it. "I really hope I have that experience in my life," he says. "I saw how much joy fatherhood gave my own dad. So I hope it's part of my journey. You go through stages in your life, and fatherhood seems like a natural stage."

Aw. That is what we call a keeper.

MTV Movie Awards 2013: Winners

Best Kiss: Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper -- "Silver Linings Playbook"

Matt Damon to Renew Wedding Vows at Caribbean Resort: Ben Affleck & Jennifer Garner on Guest List

The actor and his wife of eight years, Luciana, plan to renew their wedding vows this weekend in the Caribbean and they have rented out the entire Sugar Beach resort on the isle of Saint Lucia to the tune of $600,000, E! News exclusively confirms.

A caravan of SUVs was seen ferrying people from a private airfield to the hotel, where, according to local authorities, there is an increased security presence.

The guest list includes best Damon bud Ben Affleck and his wife, Jennifer Garner, and there are whisperings that George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie possible received invites as well (though Brad's due at the MTV Movie Awards on Sunday, so he may have had to regretfully decline).

A private plane linked to Catherine Zeta-Jones, whose hubby Michael Douglas stars with Damon in the upcoming HBO film Behind the Candelabra, has arrived on the island. Stanley Tucci, whose sister-in-law is close Damon pal Emily Blunt, is also in the area.

Reports that the local beach has been closed due to the festivities are not true, Officer Defreitas of the St. Lucia Police Station in Soufriere tells E! News. But he says, "the hotel is what is closed down" for an event that will continue through midday Sunday.

We're told the entire party is booked under the name "Mr. Naff."

"In a case like with Matt Damon, you will see that even our Marine Police gets involved to ensure that no unauthorized boats can approach the resort beach," Karolin Troubetzkoy, president of the Saint Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association and owner with her husband of Jade Mountain, another luxury resort near Sugar Beach.

"Naturally in this day and age you never know who has a cell phone and who make take unauthorized photographs but I would imagine the resorts would have very strict rules in place. It will be a matter of great pride to the St. Lucian staff here to look after the Matt Damon renewal-of-vows party. Considering that pretty much everyone has a friend or relative working in the various resorts, it is amazing how very little gets out."

Damon's rep has remained mum regarding the imminent retying of the knot.

PDA of the Day: Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner Kiss Before Picking Up the Kids

The pair was spotted kissing in a Santa Monica, Calif., parking lot on Wednesday after driving around in Ben's classic red 1967 Chevy Chevelle.

And you can't blame 'em—the parents squeezed in a bit of alone time before picking up their kids from school. After a sweet smooch, Ben and Jen drove their daughter Violet to martial arts class, where the ambitious 7-year-old earned herself an orange belt.

And after a busy award season, life is looking pretty peachy for the Argo actor and director.

While he gave an emotional acceptance speech for the Best Picture nab, the actor is aiming to spend more time with his loving wife: "I've been able to really just enjoy my good fortune in the last couple of weeks and sit back and kind of just take it in and not do anything, just eat ice cream on the couch," Ben told reporters at John Varvatos Stuart House Benefit. "It's been a really nice time to hang out with my wife and that sort of thing, so we're just enjoying it."

Jen is a lucky, lucky, gal.

New Hangover 3 Trailer Features Crying and Cockfighting-Watch Now

In this new trailer for The Hangover Part III, Phil (Bradley Cooper), Alan (Zach Galifianakis) and Stu (Ed Helms) are forced to go searching for Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong), who apparently stole a whopping $21 million from John Goodman's baddie.

Obviously, the guys eventually track him down.

After all, what kind of sequel would this be without Chow snapping one-liners at our perpetually-in-hot-water pals or declaring his love for cocaine, right?

The Hangover Part III hits theaters on May 24.

Jennifer Garner Sends Ben Affleck Back to the Gym

After conquering Hollywood last year with his Academy Award-winning movie, Argo, the multi-talented Affleck, 40, is taking a step back from his own work to focus a bit more on the family life.

"Jennifer is going to work," a chuckling Affleck, 40, told PEOPLE Monday night. "And she told me to go to the gym."

That reference is aimed directly at Affleck's post-Oscar ice-cream diet that he has enjoyed in his down time after awards season. Affleck will now need his stamina to supervise his brood, including daughters Violet, 7, and Seraphina, 4, and infant son, Samuel, 1.

"I'm preparing myself to take on some more of the burden [at home]," Affleck said at the Los Angeles premiere of To The Wonder. "[Jennifer's] got a couple of movies coming up, so it's going to be a little Mr. Mom action, and I'm going to get back in the ring and we're going to see if I still have it."

Garner, who turns 41 April 17, stars next in the film Dallas Buyers Club with Matthew McConaughey, and will also begin work alongside Kevin Costner in the new film Draft Day about NFL football.

Cooper replaces Law in 'Jane got a Gun'

Less than three weeks after Law dropped out of the cast, The Hollywood Reporter has announced that the Silver Linings Playbook star has taken over as the movie's villain.

Law bowed out after director Lynne Ramsey quit over creative differences. Warrior filmmaker Gavin O'Connor has been drafted in to take charge of the project, which is now in production in New Mexico.

Cooper is currently shooting David O. Russell's next movie and is expected to film his parts in Jane got a Gun at a later date.

Portman will star as a woman forced to defend her farm after her outlaw husband is seriously injured in a shoot-out.

Jennifer Garner Explains Ben Affleck's Oscar Speech: "I Knew He Meant It as the Hugest, Warmest Compliment"

Some questioned whether the Hollywood couple were having some rocky times because of Affleck's acceptance speech at the Oscars, where he stated, "I want to thank you for working on our marriage for 10 Christmases. It's good. It is work, but the best kind of work and there's no one I'd rather work with."

But Jen wasn't worried, even if her loved ones were. "I know,'" Garner told The Telegraph about people interpreting Ben's speech a certain way. "I had a friend call and say, 'Are you OK?'"

"I know Ben, I knew he meant it as the hugest, warmest compliment in the world," she continued. "I think he was saying, 'Look, what we have is really real and I value it above all and I'm in it with you and I know you are in it with me.' That's the way I took it."

The actress and mother of three added, "Poor guy. It's so horrible to put yourself out there. He didn't have to worry about it from my point of view."

And really, her point of view is the only one that matters.

Finally, Bradley Cooper Takes His Perm Public! What Do You Think?

At long last, the wait is over. After looking like his usual handsome self at his N.Y.C. premiere last week, the star was back on the Boston set of his next David O. Russell film with super-curly locks.

The film is set in the 1970s, so Cooper’s funky do (especially when worn with that close-shaven beard and those aviator sunglasses) fits right in. And frankly, we’ve been wanting the star to go shorter for a while now — though we have to say this isn’t exactly what we had in mind.

Still, we’re just happy to have gotten a glimpse of that long-awaited perm. What do you think: Are you into Cooper’s new do?

Jennifer Garner and Brooke Burke-Charvet Carpool Their Kids Together

Brooke Burke-Charvet recently opened about the A-list actress she carpools her kids with and it's none other than mother-of-three Jennifer Garner.

"[Jennifer] is very normal," the Dancing With the Stars host told Us Weekly. "And she and I carpool together—so I trust her! Moms I know, I trust. And that's about it!"

Burke-Charvet, who's mom to son Shaya and daughters Neriah, Sierra and Rain, says it was lucky she had Garner and hubby David Charvet for support during her recent battle with cancer.

"I had to give up my carpool and driving duties, which is huge," she dished to the mag. "Everybody took over."

Garner, who has daughters Violet and Seraphina and baby boy Samuel, has also been vocal about her Hollywood mommy carpool crew.

While accepting an award at last year's CinemaCon, Ben Affleck's wife joked of her many mom duties, "[My mom] said, 'Can they take this back? Because every time I talk to you, you are breastfeeding, you are running carpool, you are on the library committee—you are not acting!'"

J.J. Abrams Talks Star Wars 7 Directing Gig: "We're Just Getting Started"

The director opened up to the U.K.'s (aptly named) Empire magazine about the challenges of directing Star Wars: Episode VII now that he's officially aboard and working with scribe Michael Arndt on the screenplay.

When asked how he—as a massive Star Wars fan—will be able to approach the post-Jedi era with the same objectivity he brought to Star Trek, Abrams admitted he's slowly finding his way.

"I don't know because we're just getting started. So it's a great question that I hope I'll have a good answer to when I know what the answer is. There are infinitely more questions than answers right now, but to me, they're not that dissimilar. Though I came at these both from very different places, where they both meet is a place of ‘Ooh, that's really exciting,' he said. "And even though I was never a Star Trek fan, I felt like there was a version of it that would make me excited, that I would think ‘that's cool, that feels right, I actually would want to see that.'"

The filmmaker also suggested that just as his passion for Trek helped him successfully reboot that series, his deep love for the universe George Lucas created will be his guide storywise for that beloved franchise.

"How we were going to get there, what the choices were going to be, who was going to be in it—all of those things I knew would have to be figured out, but it was all based on a foundation of this indescribable, guttural passion for something that could be," Abrams elaborated. "It's a similar feeling that I have with Star Wars. I feel like I can identify a hunger for what I would want to see again, and that is an incredibly exciting place to begin a project. The movies, the worlds could not be more different, but that feeling that there's something amazing here is the thing that they share."

While it's unclear whether he'll continue to helm future adventures of the starship Enterprise after this summer's Star Trek Into Darkness, Abrams revealed that he had a lot of unexpected support from Lucas' best pal, Steven Spielberg, to give Star Wars a go.

"I will say that Steven was very encouraging of Star Wars. It's funny because I talked to him about it and it turned out he knew all about what was going on," he told the magazine.

All we can say, J.J., is may the Force be with you.

Jennifer Garner: 'My Friends Used to Call Me Casper!'

“The more that I’ve worked with Neutrogena, the more I’ve learned about skin cancer,” the brand’s ambassador told PEOPLE at Wednesday’s Neutrogena Sun Summit. “It’s our most common… and most preventable form of cancer.”

Garner admits that in the past, she wasn’t as cautious about it. “When I was really young, no one thought of the sun as being a problem,” Garner says. “We would put on baby oil and lay in the sun to try to get brown.”

As it turns out, however, being a theater kid “saved” her complexion. While her friends spent afternoons tanning, “I was inside in the theater geeking out. My friends called me Casper!”

These days, Garner’s daily makeup routine isn’t complete without SPF. “Right after brushing my teeth and washing my face, I put on sunscreen immediately,” she says. “It has to be in my moisturizer, in my makeup.”

And speaking of her beauty regimen, she shares that she’s happy to have a break from super-glam awards season. Though she says she loved having “such great reasons to get dressed up” (see: husband Ben Affleck’s Oscar win), the late nights out took a toll on her skin.

“There would be nights where we would get home so late for me, like 3:30, 4 in the morning,” she says, “When you’ve been wearing that much makeup for that long, you absolutely have to get it off your skin. There were a couple of nights where I used the Neutrogena makeup remover wipes … Worst case scenario, that’s the way to go!”

Now that it’s all over, Garner has happily returned to her low-maintenance look. “I had a blast,” she says, “but I was certainly fine with just going back to washing my face, a little sunscreen in my moisturizer and putting my hair in a ponytail."

To learn more about skin health, including how to get free skin cancer screenings, visit ChooseSkinHealth.com and tell us: How do you practice safe sun?

Bradley Cooper Spotted Out With Rumored Girlfriend Suki Waterhouse

The actor was spotted enjoying Boston and it's freezing temperature with with his possible new love interest, 20-year-old model Suki Waterhouse earlier today.

The couple braved the cold weather at the historic tourist spot in beanie hats with Suki dressed in a hipster-chic black jacket, skirt, tights and boots while Bradley was dressed in Khaki cargo pants a winter peacoat and a beanie.

"They were having a good time together, touching and teasing each other," an eyewitness told E! News. "People were recognizing them so they walked quite quickly to avoid the crowds."

Our source added, "They were laughing a lot and couldn't keep their hands off each other."

Cooper was last romantically linked to actress Zoe Saldana, but the couple confirmed their breakup just before the holidays.

Jennifer Garner: I Bribe My Kids to Put on Sunscreen

“Of course it’s a struggle!” the actress, 40, tells PEOPLE Wednesday at the Neutrogena Sun Summit. “The kids do not like getting sunscreen put on, especially at at a certain age, at least not mine. If you have kids out there who like sunscreen, hallelujah!”

Garner, who admits she luckily missed out on the “major baking-in-the-sun years” by mostly staying inside when she was younger, wants to ensure that her children with husband Ben Affleck — Violet, 7, Seraphina, 4, and Samuel, 1 — also avoid future skin damage by educating them about the dangers.

“We talk about skin health, and they know why they have to wear sunscreen,” she says. “If someone forgets, they’ll say ‘Hey, did you forget to put sunscreen on me?’”

She also praises Neutrogena’s kid-friendly SPF application options for making things a little easier at home: “I give them a stick that they can rub on their faces. Or they can do a spray if they want it fast. I’ve used everything.”

And Garner admits she’s not above rewarding her kids for remembering their sunscreen.

“I know it’s horrible — and I’m admitting to bribery — but I’ve given them an M&M [for putting] sunscreen on before,” Garner reveals. “I’ve [also] done a sticker chart. I’ll do whatever it takes — it has to be a non-negotiable part of life.”

Jennifer Garner loves pictures of bearded Affleck

"It's not good for my self-esteem," she said Wednesday while in New York to open the Neutrogena Sun Summit.

The exception was after the Oscars last month. Garner's violet-colored, custom-made Gucci gown was a winner — but that wasn't what she was looking for after husband Ben Affleck's film "Argo" won best picture. "I reveled in all those good pictures of him," she said.

Garner, a Neutrogena spokeswoman, practices what she preaches when it comes to sun safety. Her children make sure of it.

In her household, sunscreen is like seat belts: non-negotiable. Garner said while she was away Wednesday, the kids surely would remind their dad if he dropped them at school without their daily slathering.

"I think I once told my kids it was against the law not to wear sunscreen," she said.

Garner's appearance was followed by a panel discussion that included dermatologists, a NASA scientist and Mexican actress Sandra Echeverria.

An eager science student growing up, Garner, 40, said the conference's terminology — and warnings — about the ozone layer and ultraviolet rays isn't lost on her. She joked, though, that she wouldn't want to be quoted on exactly what the Helioplex formulation is or what vitamin C can do for the skin.

But she had her "a-ha" moment about sun damage in her 20s, when she was out with friends. "They all had big hats on, and I didn't."

"Suddenly you look one day and the sun damage is there ... and then you see it increase exponentially."

She'll take little credit for that Oscar night look — calling it a team effort led by Rachel Zoe. The partnership between Zoe and Garner goes back more than a decade, with Garner as the stylist's first big Hollywood client.

"She knows I'm not going to wear super-crazy fashion," said Garner. Where Garner leans toward comfort, Zoe goes for fancy — and "she usually wins."

Garner's outfit Wednesday — an Oscar de la Renta sheath dress and pointy-toe pumps in black patent leather — hit the right balance. In her casual style, Garner, wearing a smile, described the look as "just a little purple Oscar number."

Awkward Adds Felicity Vet Amanda Foreman as [Spoiler]'s Mom

TVLine has learned exclusively that the Felicity fave will guest-star in a Season 3 installment of the acclaimed MTV comedy (bowing in April), playing Matty’s mom.

Described as very conservative, Foreman’s maternal character will appear in an episode that centers on Jenna and Matty’s parents meeting for the first time. (Expect sparks to fly between the vastly different family units.)

Foreman’s most recent TV credits include Parenthood, Private Practice and House.

David O. Russell's Jennifer Lawrence-Bradley Cooper Abscam movie gets Christmas release

Formerly titled "American Bullshit" but currently untitled, the film will chronicle the 1970s FBI Abscam sting operation, which ultimately led to the conviction of a U.S. Senator, five Congressmen, and other government figures.

Jeremy Renner, Christian Bale and Louis CK also star in the film.

Russell will also direct "Hunger Games" star Lawrence in the Weinstein Company film "The Ends of the Earth," about oil tycoon Ernest Marland and his downfall after he is caught in an affair.

Ben Affleck on Jennifer Garner, Life After Oscars: "It's Been a Really Nice Time to Hang Out With My Wife"

"I've been able to really just enjoy my good fortune in the last couple of weeks and sit back and kind of just take it in and not do anything, just eat ice cream on the couch," Ben told reporters at today's 10th Annual John Varvatos Stuart House Benefit about life post-Oscar. "It's been a really nice time to hang out with my wife and that sort of thing, so we're just enjoying it."

Doesn't sound very rocky to us. Both Ben and Jennifer stepped out as honorary co-chairs for the fundraiser in support of the Rape Treatment Center.

"There's a good period of time that I see as an extension of the movie and the work that you put into the movie continues through that time and it's great in a lot of different ways. And then it ends," Ben told us about things returning to normal after the chaos of awards season.

He continued, "And now when I spend my time coming out to do events, I choose events like this that have some cause or some benefit other than just trying to go after something for my movie or what have you. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it's also important to balance it with this kind of activity too. It just feels good."

In fact, Ben wasn't just supporting the Stuart House today, but also his wife, who was the reason he got involved with the organization in the first place and who, for the record, he gushed is "great":

"This is an organization that my wife got involved with. She hosted this event eight years ago. She told me about it and what she saw at Stuart House," he explained. "That really stuck with me and I wanted to support it. Particularly, because these kind of causes are thought of largely as women's issues…If it is just women that stay supporting that and they don't get any support from men it will always be a little bit marginalized as a women's thing. And violence, sexual or otherwise, against our fellow human beings is a crime against all of us."

Jennifer Garner Enjoys Lunch Date with Son Samuel

Jennifer Garner and son Samuel, who turned 1 last week, enjoyed a lunch date together in Los Angeles on Tuesday – dining at the rustic, wine country-inspired Napa Valley Grille in Westwood Village.

Garner, 40, was dressed casually in navy blue trousers, a white crew neck sweater and snakeskin flats. Samuel was matching adorably in a navy and gray striped outfit.

Ten days removed from husband Ben Affleck's big night at the Oscars, Garner enjoyed chef Taylor Boudreaux's chicken kale salad and sipped on an iced tea. Samuel had the grilled chicken and steamed veggies off the kid's menu.

Garner was in good spirits, smiling to everyone, and was joined by a girlfriend.

Melissa George To Star In ABC's 'Gothica'

MTV Movie Awards 2013 nominees

BEST MALE PERFORMANCE
--Ben Affleck - Argo (Warner Bros. Pictures)
--Bradley Cooper - Silver Linings Playbook (The Weinstein Company)
--Daniel Day-Lewis - Lincoln (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
--Jamie Foxx - Django Unchained (The Weinstein Company)
--Channing Tatum - Magic Mike (Warner Bros. Pictures)

BEST ON-SCREEN DUO
--Leonardo DiCaprio and Samuel L. Jackson - Django Unchained (The Weinstein Company)
--Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence - Silver Linings Playbook (The Weinstein Company)
--Mark Wahlberg and Seth MacFarlane as Ted - Ted (Universal Pictures)
--Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo - The Avengers (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
--Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis - The Campaign (Warner Bros. Pictures)

BEST KISS
--Kerry Washington and Jamie Foxx - Django Unchained (The Weinstein Company)
--Kara Hayward and Jared Gilman - Moonrise Kingdom (Focus Features)
--Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper - Silver Linings Playbook (The Weinstein Company)
--Mila Kunis and Mark Wahlberg - Ted (Universal Pictures)
--Emma Watson and Logan Lerman - The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Summit Entertainment, LLC)

BEST MUSICAL MOMENT
--Anne Hathaway - Les Misérables (Universal Pictures)
--Channing Tatum, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Kevin Nash and Adam Rodriguez - Magic Mike (Warner Bros. Pictures)
--Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, Alexis Knapp, Ester Dean and Hana Mae Lee - Pitch Perfect (Universal Pictures)
--Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence - Silver Linings Playbook (The Weinstein Company)
--Emma Watson, Logan Lerman and Ezra Miller - The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Summit Entertainment, LLC)

Bradley Cooper Talks Death of His Father, Not Wanting to Win an Oscar

"I don't want to win an Oscar," the Silver Linings Playbook star told British GQ (via U.K.'s Metro) in its latest issue. "It would change nothing. Nothing. The things in my life that aren't fulfilled would not be fullfilled."

Such a perspective clearly stems from seeing his father pass away in 2011.

"I watched him dying and I was there by his bed watching him, breathing with him, and then I saw his last breath and he was gone. I experienced the whole thing," Cooper recalled. "And that was a watershed moment that I was privileged to experience. And it changed everything. Nothing has ever been the same since."

The actor added, "You know William Blake's Songs of Innocence? Well, right there, in that moment, the innocence was gone. Done. Never to return. The beauty is that I just don't sweat s--t anymore."

Jennifer Garner and Baby Samuel Enjoy Lunch Date in Brentwood

The Argo winner's wife was spotted taking her children Seraphina, 4, (not photographed) and Samuel (who's celebrating his first birthday tomorrow!) out to lunch in Brentwood today.

Garner kept it super cazh in jeans, UGG boots, a sweater and shades, while she carried her handsome little man out of the car.

The actress is coming off of a very eventful weekend at the Oscars, where her main squeeze took home an award for Best Motion Picture, and gave a heart-tugging speech that included a shout-out to his lovely lady.

"I want to thank you for working on our marriage," Affleck said. "It's work, but it's the best kind of work, and there's no one I'd rather work with."

Kleenex, please!

Jennifer Garner Reveals Ben Affleck's Pre-Oscars "Mayhem": He Took His Daughter to the Spelling Bee!

"It was mayhem at our house. Our daughter was in a spelling bee at the local rec center," Jennifer told E! News on the red carpet. "I was in hair and makeup so I couldn't take her, so Ben took her in the middle of everything."

She happily continued, "She won! Our family has already had a great day, so congratulations to our sweetie. And then she had a basketball game. Life goes on. No one really cares! It's just all about trying to keep the dogs and kids from getting stuff on the stuff."

"I was more nervous at the spelling bee than I am now, I don't know what that says," Ben revealed when Ryan Seacrest asked him about the bee. "There was a lot of words. Let me tell you something, you and me might have been in trouble. We belong in the stands."

And for one final awww: "This is the only show that my kids are watching. Violet, Sara and Sam, I love you so much!" Ben shouted them out. "Thank you so much! Your mother loves you. Even Ryan Seacrest loves you!"

As for his big night (Argo is a frontrunner for Best Picture), Ben explained, "It is excitement, it's nerves! I'm old enough now where I can view this as, no one is going to put me in the World Series of baseball or put me on a football team, this is the shot that I have to be part of a World Series-like event."

Steady as she goes

The incident is very much on her mind.

"Oh, and the way I almost fell all the way down, do you remember that?" Garner asks Chastain, laughing with her eyes wide as they stride onto the stage.

The two check out the place cards. Chastain is thrilled to be sitting next to her The Help co-star Octavia Spencer. "Did you see my photograph?" she says later, giggling. "Everyone else out there is like (smiling). Mine is so dramatic."

They're instructed to make sure nobody exits to the left.

"They might try to go off stage left, but we'll stop them," says Garner, as the two throw their hands up like football linemen.

"We'll block them," adds Chastain, laughing.

Joining them in the wings, Affleck is impressed by their vibe. "You guys are set," he says. "You're a tandem. Boom."

How Ben Affleck & Jennifer Garner Are Making a Hollywood Marriage Work

Well, almost: "He's just like a child!" Garner lovingly joked to a friend as she tugged her still-schmoozing husband–who won the night's two biggest honors for his film Argo – toward the exit. Could an Oscar for Best Picture be his next stop? "This is a second act for me," he said in his London acceptance speech. "I am so grateful and proud." As he told PEOPLE recently, "I am very lucky. I have to knock on wood about my life."

Especially about the woman who's a lock for Best Supporting Spouse. After seven years of marriage and three kids–Violet, 7, Seraphina, 4, and Samuel, who turns 1 on Feb. 27–Affleck and Garner, both 40, seem to have struck that rarest of things for a Hollywood couple: balance. It's an old-fashioned arrangement, with Garner handling most of the day-to-day responsibility for keeping the children's schedules humming while Affleck rides his Argo hot streak – including Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe wins, despite a snub for the Oscar directing category.

"I've got a great family; I'm really inspired by where my career is," Affleck says. "I've seen a lot of different things rambling around in this business, and I'm just really, really happy to find myself where I am."

Several sources who know the couple well say that both stars are at ease in their "quite traditional roles," as a Garner friend puts it. Garner dialed back on her own career to commit herself to making the ballet-karate-playdate rounds.

"She blows my mind," says Affleck's Argo costar Clea Duvall. "She's such an amazing mom and such an amazing wife and so supportive of him. It's just . . . they're kind of the ideal." Although Affleck has made his share of school runs during a busy awards season, in many ways he's an old-fashioned dad.

Says a source who knows the couple: "Have you ever seen Mad Men? That's how he approaches [marriage and kids] – providing for your family is your priority, and raising the kids day-to-day is the wife's priority." But when he's not working, he's plenty hands-on, reading to the girls at bookstores and taking them to the farmers' market. "His wife and family are the best things that ever happened to him," says an Affleck pal. "They have always come first and always will."

'Portal' or 'Half-Life' movie on the way: J.J. Abrams and Gabe Newell team up

"There's an idea we have for a game that we'd like to work with Valve on," Abrams told the crowd, as reported by Wired. Even more exciting: Newell added, "We're going to figure out if we can make a 'Portal' movie or 'Half-Life' movie together."

Abrams confirmed the film news to Polygon after the keynote, saying, "It's as real as anything in Hollywood ever gets, which is that we are really talking to Valve, we are going to be bringing on a writer, we have a lot of very interesting ideas."

"Portal" and "Half-Life" are two of Valve's most popular franchises, with fans clamoring for a long hoped for -- and never confirmed -- "Half-Life 3." The idea of a film based on either of these series is very exciting, especially with a creator like Abrams working on them. On the flip side, the idea of Abrams working with Valve to create a game is also something very much worth looking forward to.

The surprise announcement came after Abrams and Newell gave a joint DICE keynote speech called "Storytelling Across Platforms: Who Benefits Most, the Audience or the Player?" Hopefully more news about this collaboration will be revealed in the coming year.

In Vegas, Abrams gives few hints about 'Star Wars'

The reference was a throw-away joke from his last franchise reboot.

The director played a scene from his 2009 "Star Trek" film to illustrate the importance of embroidering films with subtle details, and freeze-framed on a shot of a familiar "Star Wars" robot peeking from space junk.

"So they're looking at all the debris that's out there, and curiously, it's R2D2," he said, drawing a roar of laughter.

Gabe Newell, president of video game developer Valve, shared a stage with Abrams at the Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain Summit at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

"So now I have to go back through your movies looking at all the debris to figure out what movie you're going to direct next?" Newell asked.

Abrams has given die-hard fans few clues about his vision for the seventh live-action "Star Wars" film. He was announced as its director in January.

The Sin City appearance left fans of The Force hungering for more insight.

"I'd love to know who they'll focus on, what character, how far in the future it will be set, things like that," said Sadierose Schwartzmiller, 19, a comic-book creator who won her ticket to the event in an art contest.

Abrams has made a name for himself as a trusted steward of beloved fantasy universes, directing well-received additions to the "Star Trek" and "Mission: Impossible" franchises.

"Star Wars" creator George Lucas opened the door to the latest round of spin-offs when he sold his Lucasfilm empire to The Walt Disney Co. for $4.05 billion last fall. The company is planning three sequels and two peripheral movies focusing on characters.

"Episode VII" is tentatively scheduled for release in the summer of 2015.

Last month, Abrams told a group of reporters that he wanted to make sure the sequel was "something that touches people."

On Wednesday, he did give his audience of nerds and gamers one revelation when he announced his intention to collaborate with Newell — the man behind the hit games "Portal," "Half-Life" and "Counter-Strike."

"There's an idea that we had for a game that we'd like to develop," he said.

Fans wanted more information on that, too.

"If they would reveal even the genre," said Kellen Smalley, 32, a gamer. "If they would bring what J.J. does with stories to the 'Star Wars' games, it would be very fun."

Abrams' development company, Bad Robot Interactive, has released apps related to his movies. Newell said his company would like to work with Abrams on a movie adaptation of "Portal" or "Half-Life."

'Star Wars' reboot director Abrams speaks in Vegas

The acclaimed science-fiction filmmaker is expected to give an opening talk Wednesday at an annual video game industry conference in Las Vegas.

Abrams has become a trusted steward of beloved fantasy universes after his well-received additions to the "Star Trek" and "Mission: Impossible" franchises.

"Star Wars" creator George Lucas facilitated the latest round of "Star Wars" spin-offs when he sold his Lucasfilm empire to The Walt Disney Co. for $4.05 billion last fall.

"Episode VII" is due out in the summer of 2015.

Abrams is expected to discuss multiplatform storytelling with Valve president Gabe Newell at the Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain Summit at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

H'wood to Miami

Bradley Cooper: Awards Season 'Just Gets Crazier'

In the past two weeks, Bradley Cooper, the Oscar-nominated star of Silver Linings Playbook, has flown from L.A. to Madrid to Paris to Rome to Manchester to Tokyo, L.A. again, New York, Washington D.C., New York and then finally L.A. (third time's the charm).

But on the road, Cooper tells PEOPLE his most poignant stop this week was Thursday's talk with military veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. It was the first time he has visited the hospital, but has traveled to deployed soldiers three times with the USO. "A lot of vets have reached out saying they can really identify with Pat Solitano (his Silver Linings character). So we screened the movie last night – we thought 50 people would attend, and there were 200! We spent three hours there talking with them."

"We made this movie knowing it was personal for [director] David [O. Russell], but it's also become personal for so many people who have watched the movie."

While he was in the air, the rumor mill kicked into high gear. Cooper quips, "It's been quite a week. Apparently I'm shirtless while Soul Cycling and then high-flying after being heart-broken by a model who I send pictures of my feet, or she sends pictures of her feet to me. It's just unbelievable."

Cooper is referring to two separate reports, one that he ripped off his shirt after a SoulCycle class in Manhattan, causing a frenzy among cyclers. At the same time, word spread that he was allegedly dumped by model Laura Simpson because he was obsessed with her feet.

The truth? "The two things that are true about that are: I love Soul Cycle. But I would smack a guy if he took his shirt off at the end and then ran around saying, 'get after it.'"

And then the girl he did not date: "She is a friend of Jen's (Lawrence, costar and fellow Oscar nominee) and we'd done the app Draw Something. We did a couple of Draw Somethings, a half a year ago, that's it."

So, did they draw any feet? He laughs, responding, "We'll, only if BIGFOOT was a clue."

With three more weeks until the Oscars, Cooper is just focused on enjoying the ride, adding, "It just gets crazier and crazier."

Bradley Cooper Talks Mental Illness, Visiting Troops in Washington, D.C.

"I've gone around to many cities around the country and people are talking about, how, 'I actually feel like this film sees who I am,'" the 38-year-old actor told Chris Matthews on Hardball today, talking about the way the David O. Russell-directed film treats mental illness—as something that doesn't have to beat you if you have the right support system.

"It's heavily stigmatized," Cooper continued. "It's not a very treatable disease. It's a condition, if we liken it to cancer, diagnosed at stage four, well...that's way too late. So hopefully, a movie like this will help it become, you know, [more treatable] in the onset."

After his Hardball sit-down, Cooper had plans to attend a screening of Silver Linings Playbook—in which he plays a bipolar man "with mood swings and weird thinking brought on by severe stress"—and Q&A session with about 50 military vets, many suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

"That's the best part about this thing is that it's able to reach out and make people feel included," he said. "I can't wait to go."

The Georgetown University alum was spotted earlier in the day at local coffeehouse Saxbys.

Super Bowl: Stars Weigh In on the Big Game

'Playbook' talk

Cycle sex appeal

Ben Affleck, Bradley Cooper in Vanity Fair's Hollywood Issue

The big top-themed bonanza features all sorts of wild, crazy, unpredictable beasts—and we're just talking about the actors featured inside.

And what a bevy of A-listers they are: You've got cover trio Emma Stone, Ben Affleck and Bradley Cooper, the latter two yukking it up as a bear and gorilla. (It's the wilds of Hollywood!)

The mag certainly pulled out all the stops for this one: The portfolio, shot by ringmaster Bruce Weber, includes 75 stars comprising veterans and newcomers, upstarts and old guards.

Oscar winners Tom Hanks, Halle Berry and Alan Arkin up the prestige factor, while Selena Gomez, Eddie Redmayne (as a magician—presto!) and Jonah Hill rep the next gen of promising stars.

Newly engaged Olivia Wilde slinks by as a sultry showgirl, while 9-year-old Beasts of the Southern Wild wunderkind Quvenzhané Wallis bangs up a storm as a drummer.

A three-ring-circus, indeed.

Jennifer Garner on Martha Speaks: Star Gets Animated, Provides Voice for PBS Guest Spot-Watch Now

Indeed, Mrs. Ben Affleck has lent her lovely voice to the PBS KIDS series Martha Speaks, in which she mugs it up opposite the show's titular talking dog.

(Let's see how Pop's snazzy Producers Guild and SAG awards stack up against that with the kids!): Video.

In the episode, which airs on Feb. 4, Garner's character can't seem to find her dog, who happens to also be named Martha. But when both pooches show up at an animal fundraiser, all sorts of mayhem ensues—cue the hijinks!

Based on Jen's voice-over gusto here, we're betting her appearance on the show will bark up quite the memorable guest stint.

Victor Garber on Deception, His "Coming Out"

The show marks a return to the small screen for Garber, a veteran stage and screen actor whose long list of TV credits that includes regular and recurring roles on Alias, Justice, Damages and Eli Stone. So, what drew him to the role of Robert?

"I was sent the script of Deception ... and I found myself actually reading it," Garber tells TVGuide.com. "I usually after about five pages stop, but this script compelled me to go on and I thought it was really smart and intriguing. So I said, 'I would love to be considered for this part,' and I was, and here I am. But it's really the writing. That's what attracts me to anything."

Lately, however, it's been Garber's offscreen life that has garnered more attention, after he made a passing reference to being gay at the Television Critics Association conference.

"It was a surprise," Garber tells TVGuide.com of the media tongue-wagging that ensued. "To me, it's old news, and I don't really talk about my personal life because frankly, I'm not really interested in other people's personal lives. It's the world we live in and I understand it, but I don't participate in it. It's just sort of this insatiable appetite the public has to know things and I just find it, frankly, sad."

Read our full interview with Garber to get his take on Robert's capacity for evil, his on-screen marriage, and the one thing he thinks could tear the Bowers family apart.

TVGuide.com: One of the fascinating things about the show is how morally ambiguous all the characters are. It seems like everyone is implicated at some point. Do you know who killed Vivian? And is it hard to shoot certain scenes, knowing you're privy to information that the audience might not be?

Garber: I didn't know until the last script, which is what we're shooting now. Frankly, it doesn't really affect anything other than the moment that you're in, where you either find out or you don't. It's like anything. You do one scene at a time and you play that as truthfully as you can in the moment, and then you find out, 'Oh, well, I guess something has changed,' and so you adjust to the next scene. So it's been a really fun experience because the characters are kind of all deceptive and multileveled and layered, and that's what makes it fun to act in and also fun to watch.

TVGuide.com: What's your take on Robert? What are you trying to convey about him in these early episodes?

Garber: Robert is the patriarch of a very wealthy family. He runs a pharmaceutical company. And I think his intentions are honorable in that he's always trying to protect his family, and sometimes his means are questionable. Like so many rich people ... or so many people, period, and politicians we've witnessed over many countless years ... they believe they're justified in their behavior because it's for the greater good. And then it's a question of, do we think that's true or do we think you're just a selfish idiot?

TVGuide.com: So... in Robert's case, is he just a selfish idiot?

Garber: No, of course not! No, no. See, that's what intrigues me about this character, is that he's dimensional and he's not perfect, and he's doing the best he can. And like all people, he makes mistakes. That, to me, is the quintessence of drama. That's really why it's a great story and that's what I think this show is.

TVGuide.com: How smart is Robert, in terms of Joanna? His family is telling him to be careful around her and yet, he's the only one who seems to be fully in her court for the first few episodes? Is he really just naïve about her intentions, or is he starting to get suspicious about her motives?

Garber: Well, you'll find out, won't you? [Laughs]. No, here's what I can tell you. I think that Robert is grieving his daughter, and Joanna represents someone that he feels can unify the family, and that's his intention. He also says early on that he believes there's a reason she came. So he has some sort of high-falutin' notion that this was 'meant to be' — a phrase I hate, by the way. But also, as the series progresses, he will encounter things or witness things that possibly aren't as he thinks they are, just like everybody else on the show. Nothing is as it seems.

TVGuide.com: Well, Robert is clearly no saint. In the third episode, he's already sent an employee to disable someone with a hammer. How much evil is he capable of?

Garber: It's really, how much evil is anybody capable of? If he's capable of that, he's capable of more. Again, it's all in his mind justified. So he's capable of doing bad things and good things, and he will do both. I'm not going to give away anything! I'm tap-dancing here, as you can tell. But that's the fun of the show. The audience finds out as you go along what's really going on, and sometimes that's not even real. So that's the strength of the show, I think.

TVGuide.com: In the first three episodes, every time you think you know a character, something happens to change your perception.

Garber: Just like in life, it's complicated. There's just more going on, which is what I think makes the show unique.

TVGuide.com: Obviously Robert knows what his family is capable of, yet like you said, his main motivation for his actions is love and devotion and loyalty to them. If one of them did kill Vivian, will that change? What kind of rift could that create?

Garber: Well, I would think so. [Laughs]. I think that would be a deal-breaker, as they say. We don't know — but we will know by the end of the first season — who killed Vivian, and then the next season will be about how everyone deals with that, and how Joanna can prove that that is, in fact, the person who did it.

TVGuide.com: What's the atmosphere like on set?

Garber: I have to say, and I know you hear this from everybody, it's really a very happy set. We lucked out with Meagan Good. When I read the script, I thought, well, that's the show. If they cast the right person, the show has a chance. And I think they did. She's remarkably gifted and such a pleasure to work with. So that sort of sets the tone. And then Tate Donovan, a nightmare. [Laughs]. He's my good friend and I like to torture him. Wes Brown, who I didn't know [before], lovely, and Ella Rae Peck, who plays Mia, is just I think a phenomenally talented young actress who is going to do great things. Katherine LaNasa [who plays Garber's on-screen wife, Sofia] is great. We are perfectly matched. I like to call them the Macbeths. So we're in very good shape. And Laz [Alonso] is a dream. He's just a dreamboat. He's so talented and so nice to work with and so good. So really, we're lucky, because you spend that much time with people and if it's not working it can be really torturous. And this has been wonderful.

TVGuide.com: Your reference to Macbeth is interesting. How do you see the marriage between Robert and Sofia? Is there any love left there, or are they really just staying together to keep up appearances?

Garber: I think like all marriages, there are days when you want out and then there are days when you don't know how you'd live without them.

Deception airs Mondays at 10/9c on NBC.

Bradley Cooper: Lance Armstrong Movie Rumors Are "So Nuts"

The Silver Linings Playbook star insists there's no truth to him wanting to play Lance Armstrong in a movie version of the disgraced cyclist's life.

"Oh my God, that's so nuts!" he told Access Hollywood.

Although the 38-year-old actor revealed to BBC News earlier this month he "would be interested" in playing Armstrong, he explained he actually "had no idea what [the interviewer] was talking about."

"I didn't even know that J.J. [Abrams] has the rights," he added. "I had no idea."

Sigh. Guess that means we won't be seeing 2012's Sexiest Man Alive in bike shorts anytime soon.

J.J. Abrams on His "Wildly Surreal" Star Wars 7 Ride

If for some reason you haven't heard, it was announced earlier today that the mega-director will direct Star Wars 7.

"It really is an incredible thing," Abrams just told me on the red carpet at the Producers Guild of America Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

Even more so, he said, "It's wildly surreal."

We can only imagine.

And, of course, we had to ask if the original cast (you know, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill) would be coming back.

"It's obviously way too early to talk specifics," he said. "But I'm excited to actually start it."

Needless to say, we're excited too.

Abrams was honored tonight with the Norman Lear Achievement Award, which was presented by his Alias star, Jennifer Garner. Sweet!

J.J. Abrams directing the new 'Star Wars' movie? - report

The Wrap certainly seems to think so, claiming Abrams has signed on to direct the first movie in the new "Star Wars" trilogy. Ben Affleck, director of "Argo," was also in contention for the coveted film.

Speculation about Abrams directing the new movie first popped up soon after Disney bought Lucasfilm, and promised more installments were on the way. J.J. has gone on record as saying he wouldn't take the job, though.

If this report is correct, something obviously changed. Abrams plans to produce a film about Lance Armstrong, but currently has no other directing jobs lined up as he waits for the release of "Star Trek Into Darkness" in May.

Cooper to play Armstrong in movie

The sports star made headlines last week after telling talk show host Oprah Winfrey he had spent years taking banned substances to help him win cycling races.

Director J.J. Abrams has secured the rights to turn Armstrong's fall from grace into a new movie, and Cooper admits he would be open to playing the lead role.

He tells the BBC, "I would be interested in that. I think he's fascinating. What a fascinating character."

Abrams and partners at his production company Bad Robot have bought the rights to Juliet Macur's forthcoming book Cycle Of Lies: The Fall Of Lance Armstrong.

The cyclist, who spent years denying doping allegations, was stripped of his seven Tour De France titles by officials at the United States Anti-Doping Agency, and he was also ordered to return the bronze medal he won at the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000.

Jennifer Garner Wears Sticker on Her Forehead, Trumps Ben Affleck's Hand Scribbles for Adorableness

Except for the Golden Globes, in which case they'll clean up real nice and probably steal the show and all the cute podium moments. As it is, Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck are in danger of earning themselves yet another award: Most Humoring and Adorable Parents.

Because while the Argo director last week earned a universal aww when he turned up at the Critics' Choice Awards with scribbles all over his hands (courtesy of his daughter, and for good luck, obviously), this week it was Garner's turn to gamely accommodate the whims of her girls.

While en route with her daughter Violet to a park in their Palisades neighborhood yesterday, Garner was sporting a somewhat unusual accessory: a sticker smack-dab in the middle of her forehead.

It's unclear what exactly is on the sticker, but really, that's a bit beside the point.

Clearly, it's the children that are wearing the (big-kid) pants in the Affleck household. Can't wait to see what they make their parents show up to the Oscars in.

Bradley Cooper Gets a Perm!

Heck, he'll even perm his hair!

"I permed my hair today," the Silver Linings Playbook Oscar nominee told me at the BAFTA Tea reception. "We did a camera test today and we were playing with the idea of him having curly hair."

The test was for his second movie with director David O. Russell, a real-life drama costarring Christian Bale and Jeremy Renner about Abscam, the FBI's 1970s operation that led to the conviction of U.S. congressmen.

Sounds like this was no mild perm. "Like rollers!" Cooper laughed. "Oh, yeah bro, like rollers in the hair!"

He politely declined to show me pics of his curly coif stored on his iPhone.

The night before BAFTA, Cooper met Daniel Day-Lewis for the first time at the W party at the Chateau Marmont hotel in West Hollywood.

Cooper was left speechless.

"We had this very Robert De Niro-esque interaction actually," he said.

And what's that? Cooper smiled, "I sort of just grabbed and massaged his shoulder a bit."

Victor Garber Confirms He's Gay

Yes, he is gay.

"I don't really talk about it, but everybody knows," Garber, 63, told Greg Hernandez of the blog Greg in Hollywood, and was later confirmed by E!.

The actor, who has been nominated for six Emmy Awards, including three for Alias, has hardly kept it a secret.

In an interview last year with a magazine in his native Canada, Garber said: "My companion Rainer Andreesen and I have been together almost 13 years in Greenwich Village. We both love New York."

Andreesen, an artist and model, accompanied Garber to this year's Golden Globe Awards.

Garber also appears in Ben Affleck's Argo, and spoke to Hernandez about the joy of his connection to Affleck and his wife Jennifer Garner, who costarred on Alias.

"It's such a gratification ... to see him emerge now as one of the great directors," Garber says. "And the fact that people love the movie so much means the world."

Bradley Cooper's new movie deal: Historical spy thriller 'Dark Invasion'

The actor will also produce the true story of foreign attacks on U.S. soil in 1915, when German Secret Service launched a "covert war" in the hopes of preventing America from intervening in fighting in Europe. According to Deadline, Cooper will play NYPD Captain Tom Tunney, who heads up a team dedicated to stopping the Germans.

The "Dark Invasion" book, written by Howard Blum, is scheduled to be published on Sept. 11, 2013. The symbolism of the date is strictly intentional.

Cooper is currently in serious demand. He already finished filming a Depression-era drama with "Silver Linings" co-star Jennifer Lawrence, is wrapping a threequel to "The Hangover," is attached to Cameron Crowe's next movie and another project with "Silver Linings" director David O. Russell and has drama "The Place Beyond the Pines," co-starring Ryan Gosling, due for release soon.

Not bad for a guy we still remember best as Will Tippin on "Alias."

Bradley Cooper on Jennifer Lawrence hookup: 'It's not gonna happen'

“If it didn’t happen by now, it’s not gonna happen.”

Cooper, who at 38 is 16 years older than Lawrence, told Entertainment Tonight on the Golden Globes red carpet, “I could literally be her father.

Still, the duo looked seriously cozy inside the awards, where they were seated side by side and spotted sharing laughs throughout the night.

Lawrence split from her boyfriend of two years, Nicholas Hoult last week. Cooper, meanwhile, broke up with Zoe Saldana earlier this month.

Bradley Cooper Reveals His Date for Oscar Night

"Oh, yeah, that was done," the newly minted Academy Award nominee told E! News on the Critics' Choice Movie Awards red carpet last night when asked if he had already promised his Oscar night plus-one to his mom, Gloria.

"One night, when I started the profession, [mom said] 'If you ever [get nominated] I am the date,'" he assured us.

"She was freaking out," Cooper said of his mother's reaction to finding out her son was up for Best Actor. As for the Silver Linings Playbook star himself, however...

He was already too spent to freak out.

"When David O. [Russell] got nominated [for Best Director]," Cooper recalled, "I got emotional because he put his whole heart into this movie and every frame, and the DGA didn't recognize him, so...I was so happy and he was the first name they said. So, I was reeling from that and by the time my name came around...I didn't make any reaction!"

Twice As Nice

18th annual Critics' Choice Movie Award Winners

Oscar nominee reactions

2013 Oscars Nominations

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Denzel Washington, Flight
Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master

Meet Oscar's best-actor nominees

His role: Abraham Lincoln, who spends what would be the final four months of his life working to pass the 13th Amendment and abolish slavery before the Civil War came to a bloody end.

Oscar history: Won best actor as disabled Irish painter Christy Brown in 1989's My Left Foot and as the despicable yet compelling oil tycoon Daniel Plainview in 2007's There Will Be Blood; nominated for best actor as the barbaric Bill the Butcher in 2002's The Gangs of New York and as wrongly charged Irish prisoner Gerry Conlon in 1993's In the Name of the Father.

Why he might win: Day-Lewis shows no fear as he seamlessly embodies one of history's greatest leaders and turns him into a flesh-and-blood human being.

Why he might lose: No reason at all. He is the closest thing to a sure bet this year.

Denzel Washington, 58, in Flight

His role: Whip Whitaker, a seemingly heroic commercial pilot whose audacious landing of an out-of-control plane exposes him as an alcoholic who drinks on the job.

Oscar history: Won best actor for his corrupt detective in 2001's Training Day and supporting actor as a Civil War soldier in 1989's Glory; nominated for supporting actor as South African activist Steven Biko in 1987's Cry Freedom; nominated for best actor as the controversial black leader in 1992's Malcolm X and boxer-turned-convict Rubin "Hurricane" Carter in 1999's The Hurricane.

Why he might win: Since making history as the first black actor to take home a lead Oscar since Sidney Poitier won in 1963, Washington hasn't had such a rich opportunity to flex his acting muscles in ages.

Why he might lose: Flight isn't as first-class as its star.

Hugh Jackman, 44, in Les Miserables

His role: Jean Valjean, an ex-convict in 19th-century France who assumes a new upstanding identity after breaking parole.

Oscar history: Hosted the ceremony in 2009.

Why he might win: Best known as Wolverine in the X-Men franchise, this Aussie multi-talent has been mostly keeping not only his musical abilities but his flair for drama under wraps on the big screen, until tackling one of the most challenging roles in theater history.

Why he might lose: This rough-hewn version of the still-touring stage show might not be for all tastes.

Joaquin Phoenix, 38, in The Master

His role: Freddie Quell, a traumatized Naval veteran who allows no primal urge to go unanswered, tries to temper his ways with the help of a charismatic leader of a new philosophical movement.

Oscar history: Nominated for best actor as country singer Johnny Cash in 2005's Walk the Line and for supporting actor as sadistic Roman emperor Commodus in 2000's Gladiator.

Why he might win: Phoenix's no-holds-barred performance further confirms his status as one of the most original actors of his generation.

Why he might lose: Since The Master opened in September, the actor has maintained a low profile except for occasionally bad-mouthing the process of campaigning for awards.

Bradley Cooper, 38, in Silver Linings Playbook

His role: Pat, who suffers from bipolar disorder and is newly released from a mental health facility, misguidedly believes he can win back his cheating wife.

Oscar history: None

Why he might win: Fans who only know Cooper from the outrageous Hangover comedies might be pleasantly surprised to see him tackle such a multi-layered role that involves dramatic breakdowns and outlandishly laughable eccentricities.

Why he might lose: Funny guys need to get much more serious than this to win an award.

BAFTA nominations

LEADING ACTOR
BEN AFFLECK - Argo
BRADLEY COOPER - Silver Linings Playbook
DANIEL DAY-LEWIS - Lincoln
HUGH JACKMAN - Les Misérables
JOAQUIN PHOENIX - The Master

Sightings

Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck Throw 4th Birthday Party for Daughter Seraphina

The A-list couple celebrated their second child's 4th birthday with a big party over the weekend at Kidville USA in L.A.'s Brentwood neighborhood.

Seraphina looked absolutely adorable on her big day in a pink dress, white cardigan and coordinating pink shoes.

Mama Garner looked casual chic in skinny jeans, a gray button-down shirt and a sweater while Affleck, who was spotted carrying a little box into the shindig, looked handsome in a brown coat.

In addition to her proud parents, Seraphina's uncle Casey Affleck and his sons Indiana and Atticus were all in attendance for the occasion.

2013 Palm Springs International Film Festival honorees

Bradley Cooper's Fans Sing 'Happy Birthday' in Palm Springs

The Silver Linings Playbook star, who turned 38 on Saturday, was greeted by a slew of screaming fans when he arrived on the red carpet at the 24th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala in Palm Springs, Calif.

"Bradley started interacting with his fans and then they broke out into song, chanting 'Happy birthday to you,'" an onlooker tells PEOPLE.

Running late into the event because of the fan holdup, Cooper whisked by many of the reporters, and when asked about his birthday plans, answered with a smile, "I'm here!"

But the birthday surprises didn't end there.

After being honored with a Desert Palm Achievement Award presented by Playbook director David O. Russell, PEOPLE's former Sexiest Man Alive was given a shoutout by event host Mary Hart, who insisted the entire room sing "Happy Birthday" to the actor.

"It seemed very unexpected," the onlooker adds. "He seemed a little shy and embarrassed by it, but while managing to smile still."

Zoe, Bradley in second split

We’re told that the Queens-raised beauty and “The Hangover” star Cooper split up before the holidays, which they had planned to spend together.

Saldana, 34, and Cooper, 37, originally dated for three months after filming “The Words” together and split in March last year, but they reconciled in September.

A source told us, “Zoe had planned to spend the holidays with Bradley and his family in Europe. They all were going to Paris, but things didn’t work out between them. Zoe spent New Year’s Eve with friends in Miami."

Things are believed to have fizzled out between the pair while Cooper has been busy promoting his movie “Silver Linings Playbook,” which co-stars Jennifer Lawrence and is getting serious awards buzz.

Handsome Cooper, who was voted People’s “Sexiest Man Alive” last year before the honor was bestowed on Channing Tatum, is currently believed to be in Prague shooting a commercial.

Meanwhile Saldana, who has been shooting “Star Trek” and “Blood Ties” with Mila Kunis, celebrated the countdown to 2013 in South Beach. She enjoyed a private dinner with family and friends at Catch Miami, before counting down the new year poolside at the James Royal Palm on Collins Avenue. Saldana was later seen dancing with friends to music from female DJ duo Nervo.

A witness added, “If Zoe was upset over the split with Bradley, she didn’t show it.”

Saldana, who split from fiancé and love of 10 years Keith Britton in November 2011, was joined by supermodel Karolina Kurkova, the Miami Heat’s Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, along with their partners Adrienne Bosh and Gabrielle Union.

Reps for both Cooper and Saldana didn’t get back to us last night.

Garner named celeb mom of 2012

The 40-year-old actress, who has three kids with Affleck, beat out Reese Witherspoon and Beyonce for the title in Today's Parent magazine's annual poll.

Jessica Simpson and Jessica Alba also made the top five.

King of Capri

We Hear...

'Touch': Ron Rifkin cast in the season 2 finale

As first reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Rifkin will play Isaac, an imposing rabbi who crosses paths with Kiefer Sutherland's Martin Bohm in some assuredly complicated way. Isaac is described as a believer in destiny and is a man clothed in a black suit, a tallit shawl with gold tzitzit of gold, and a gold yarmulke.

Rifkin, who most recently was seen as Marvin Exley in several episodes of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," also co-starred as Saul Holden on "Brothers & Sisters." He is one of several announced guest stars for the upcoming season of "Touch," including D.B. Sweeney, Maria Bello, Lukas Haas and Mykelti Williamson.

"Touch" Season 2 debuts after a long hiatus on Friday, Feb. 8 on FOX.

Bradley Cooper Pranks Ellen DeGeneres With Third, Fourth and Fifth Nipple!

Bradley Cooper gave The Ellen DeGeneres Show host a taste of her own medicine on Tuesday when he showed her his third, fourth and fifth nipple.

"Hey, do you remember when you asked me last time if I could take my shirt off?" the Silver Linings Playbook star asked, eliciting cheers from the crowd. "I remember thinking—well, I don't know if I should reveal this much about myself."

"I didn't [take my shirt off then] because—I'll show you why," he said, unbuttoning his red button-down. "I actually have a third nipple…It's disgusting!"

"You have three nipples?" Ellen exclaimed.

"I do," the Hangover star said. "Is that weird? I actually have—this is so sick—I have a fourth nipple actually." He then showed Ellen a fake nipple on his arm, and a fifth nipple on his leg.

Later, of course, the former Sexiest Man Alive 'fessed up to his prank, admitting to Ellen he really only has two nipples.

Hey, two, five, 14? Nothing about Bradley Cooper could be wrong!

Golden Globes 2013 Nominations

Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Les Misérables
Moonrise Kingdom
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Silver Linings Playbook

Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Jack Black, Bernie
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables
Ewan McGregor, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Bill Murray, Hyde Park on the Hudson

Screen Actors Guild Awards 2013 Nominations

Male Actor, Lead
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
John Hawkes, The Sessions
Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables
Denzel Washington, Flight

Critics' Choice Awards 2013 Nominations

BEST PICTURE
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Misérables
Life of PiLincoln
The Master
Moonrise Kingdom
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty

BEST ACTOR
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
John Hawkes, The Sessions
Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Denzel Washington, Flight

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
Argo
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Les Misérables
Lincoln
Moonrise Kingdom
Silver Linings Playbook

BEST COMEDY
Bernie
Silver Linings Playbook
Ted
This Is 40
21 Jump Street

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Jack Black, Bernie
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Paul Rudd, This Is 40
Channing Tatum, 21 Jump Street
Mark Wahlberg, Ted

Bradley Cooper & Zoe Saldana Celebrate Silver Linings Playbook in West Hollywood

At the candle-lit dinner party, De Niro enjoyed a Purity Vodka martini, while Cooper posed for photos with Zoe Saldana. De Niro spent part of the night talking with Mel Gibson and Jane Fonda, who were also in attendance.

Diane Keaton was also at the event, but upon arriving, entered the room "looking a bit puzzled," an onlooker tells PEOPLE.

When asked if she was looking for someone, she responded, "No, I'm looking for a drink," the source adds.

2012 Satellite Awards

Motion Picture
• Argo
• Silver Linings Playbook
• Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Les Misérables
• Skyfall
• Moonrise Kingdom
• The Sessions
• Lincoln
• Life of Pi
• Zero Dark Thirty

Actor in a Motion Picture
• John Hawkes, The Sessions
• Omar Sy, The Intouchables
• Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables
• Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
• Denzel Washington, Flight
• Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
• Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook

2013 Independent Spirit Awards

Best Male Lead
Jack Black, Bernie
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
John Hawkes, The Sessions
Thure Lindhardt, Keep the Lights On
Matthew McConaughey, Killer Joe
Wendell Pierce, Four.

Bradley Cooper and Zoe Saldana Join Actor's Mother for a Doggy Stroll

Bradley Cooper, his on-again girlfriend Zoe Saldana and his mother Gloria took the actor's dog Charlotte out for a walk together on Thanksgiving Day, for what we're guessing is a little cardio exercise to prepare for the massive caloric intake for that day.

The three were all smiles as they strut down the street in casual sweats and sneakers.

"Can't wait to spend Thanksgiving with my family & friends. Hope u have a great Thanksgiving & holiday weekend. -ZS," Saldana tweeted on Wednesday, and then followed up on Thursday with a photo of her turkey. "As promised! Here's the 'after'. It was delicious! Only bones left now for turkey noodle soup. ZS"

The couple's second chance at love went public after Zoe and Bradley were spotted out together multiple times in late September, including leaving the ArcLight movie theater in Hollywood, walking around arm-in-arm.

Bradley Cooper Talks "Sexiest Man Alive" Channing Tatum: "He's Got It Going On"

NFL sacks H'wood segment

The star of the Weinstein Company’s “Silver Linings Playbook,” with Jennifer Lawrence, was to headline tonight’s “Rich Eisen Thanksgiving Special” with co-star Chris Tucker. But after the segment was approved, and taped, the net was abruptly told on Wednesday by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s office to scrap it.

The reason? That Robert De Niro’s character in the film is a part-time bookie. The decision has left host Eisen and his team scrambling harder than Mark Sanchez to re-edit the show. An NFL Media rep confirmed, “The segment was pulled because the movie included content related to gambling on NFL games.”

“This interview was planned for weeks,” countered a source. “The network requested the interview.”

Until yesterday, the segment was promoted online as the pigskin special’s top interview, with a picture of a smiling Cooper, Tucker and Eisen. It was replaced on Thanksgiving by a picture of Eisen and another guest, John Slattery.

Weinstein said, “We are deeply disappointed in the NFL’s decision, and we are quite frankly surprised. Pulling a pretaped interview with our stars is nothing short of censorship . . . [‘Silver Linings’] is not a film about gambling in the NFL. It’s a film about fathers and sons and football bonding a family together.”

He added that he’s a football fan and that his wife, Georgina Chapman, designs clothes for NFL charities and works pro bono.

Despite the NFL diss, the film has attracted league fans after screening for owners Steve Tisch and Woody Johnson. Player DeSean Jackson tweeted a photo with Cooper at a practice last week and made a video with Michael Vick about game-day superstitions inspired by De Niro’s Eagles-obsessed character.

Bradley Cooper on Thanksgiving Day Plans

People's Choice Awards: 2013 Nominees

Favorite Dramatic Movie Actor
Bradley Cooper
Channing Tatum
Jake Gyllenhaal
Liam Neeson
Zac Efron

Bradley Cooper mines Philly childhood in "Silver Linings"

In the film, which will be released on Friday and won the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, Cooper plays Pat Solitano, who has just been released from a mental institution and is trying to put his life back together.

Directed by David O. Russell and based on the novel by Matthew Quick, "Silver Linings" sees Cooper's character move back home with his parents, played by Robert DeNiro and Jacki Weaver, with hopes of reconciling with his ex-wife. Things get complicated when an abrasive widow, actress Jennifer Lawrence, enters the picture.

Cooper, who is shooting a third installment of the "Hangover" films, spoke to Reuters about his role, why it is unlike anything he has done and what he thinks of all the Oscar talk.

Q: You were born and raised in Philadelphia. Did you use your childhood experiences growing up there to create the character?

A: I upped the Philadelphia accent a little bit. Everything about it is where I come from. So yeah, I was able to mine what I'd grown up with. For example, Lenny Roberts was a guy in high school that dressed like the way we decided Pat would dress like. And my grandfather had an art deco face of Christ on a necklace, which we made Pat wear.

Q: Is this the first time you've played a character from your home state?

A: It's funny because when I was doing the role I thought, I don't know how I'm going to be able to pull this off. We were shooting one day and my mother was (visiting the set). We had just shot a really demented scene and she said, "Oh my God, Bradley, it's like you're not even acting!" I thought, "What do you mean, that Pat Solitano is me?"

Q: The film deals with mental illness, yet there are a lot of laugh-out-loud moments. Was it a fine line straddling the two?

A: Well, any traumatic event that's happened in my life was riddled with comedic circumstances, from my father's death (in 2011) and everything. Any great tragedy has a lot of humor in it. So it wasn't that hard, really. If you play it real, comedy will come, especially if you're playing extreme situations with an extreme character, but playing it real.

Q: You're primarily known for your work in comedies like "The Hangover" franchise and action films like "Limitless." Is this role unlike anything you've portrayed before?

A: On film, for sure. No question about it. This character has to go from A to Z in the emotional landscape, which is heaven for an actor. I've never been able to do these kinds of things on film, so it was a huge opportunity.

Q: What kinds of things are you referring to?

A: To play a character that's telling the viewer the story - right there that's an honor to be able to take on that responsibility. Secondly, to play a character who is emotionally colorful and dynamic. Pat Solitano has no filter, for example. To get under that skin, to play somebody who has a trigger and can create an emotional response outside the box, that's very gratifying. Because you get to explore a lot of things in yourself with your imagination that you never get - that I don't normally get to do.

Q: Do you feel typecast by Hollywood as a particular type of actor that only does certain genres?

A: I don't feel that. I do theater so I've always felt fulfilled in the acting jobs I've gotten. But perhaps I was naive to the fact that maybe people did think I just do one thing. Since doing this movie, people are like, "Oh, he actually is an actor," and not just think I show up to the "Hangover" set and that it's not a character."

Q: Your performance certainly is making people stand up and take notice, and there has been some early Oscar buzz. Are you feeling that excitement around you?

A: I don't. What I feel is excitement and hope that people go out and see this film and love it. I really hope the movie lives. That's all I think about. In terms of all that Oscar stuff, honestly that would be absolutely insane. I very much doubt that it would happen. But it would be insane.

Bradley Cooper Ends Sexiest Man Alive Reign by "Decompressing" With Matt Damon

Tomorrow morning, People is announcing its new male specimen par excellence (here's looking at you, Channing Tatum), but how is The Hangover star celebrating his swan song?

Well, in reality, on the promotional circuit for The Silver Linings Playbook. But in our collective dreams, which Cooper seems more than happy to foster, he'll be decompressing with fellow one-time sexy titleholder Matt Damon.

Obviously.

"This is a very important day in your life for another reason. This is the last official day of your reign unless you somehow repeat," Matt Lauer told Cooper on the Today show Tuesday, not letting the sense of occasion pass him by.

"You know, I was talking to Bloomberg last night, and I said, 'How can I pull this off?'" Cooper joked. "I said, 'Teach me, oh wise one.''"

Lauer then asked how, traditionally, the outgoing Sexiest Man Alive spends the final night of his reign.

"I think it was instituted back with [George] Clooney, but there's a whole decompression you go through," he told the Today host. "After this, I get whisked away to somewhere in Wisconsin, and they talk me down for about a week."

"Somehow I don't think it's you alone in this room," Lauer interjected.

"I think Matt Damon runs it now," Cooper replied.

Something for Channing to look forward to, then.

"Lost" creator J.J. Abrams to receive lifetime award

Abrams, whose current credits include TV shows "Fringe," "Revolution" and "Person of Interest," and the 2009 film "Star Trek," will receive the award at a Beverly Hills ceremony in January.

"J.J. Abrams has produced some of the most iconic and highest-rated television shows of the past decade and longer, series that have changed the landscape of television," Producers Guild Awards Chairman Michael DeLuca said in a statement.

Abrams, 46, was one of the driving forces behind the 2004-2010 international cult TV series "Lost" - a part-science-fiction, part-supernatural story of a group of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island.

Abrams not only co-created the show with Jeffrey Lieber and Damon Lindelof but also composed the theme music, served as an executive producer and director, and won an Emmy Award for best director in 2005.

Abrams created his first television series, "Felicity," in 1998 with Matt Reeves and went on to write "Alias."

Abrams directed the Tom Cruise action thriller "Mission: Impossible 3" in 2006 and was a co-producer of its 2011 follow- up "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol." He also wrote and directed the 2011 science-fiction film "Super 8."

Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence Talk Dirty in Silver Linings Playbook

In a new clip released from The Silver Linings Playbook, their upcoming drama about a man (Cooper) just released from mental institution who gets involved with a woman (Lawrence) who has plenty of her own issues, the two are eating in a diner when their chat turns to sex.

Lawrence tells Cooper she's having sex with "a lot of people" at work.

Not only does Cooper ask for a head count, but he also asks if any are women.

A disinterested Lawrence tells him she did engage in some girl-on-girl action and it involved her sitting on another gal's lap.

Cooper is beside himself. "You sat on her lap?" he says. "She told you what to do?"

Sadly, that's where the clip ends.

Fortunately, we don't have to wait too long to see the rest. The David O. Russell-directed movie is is in theaters on Nov. 21.

Bradley Cooper Nominates Richard Gere for Sexiest Man Alive

"I'm in therapy three times a week, but I think I'll get through it," the star of already critically-praised Silver Linings Playbook told PEOPLE at the Hollywood Film Awards in Beverly Hills on Monday.

While Former Sexiest Man Alive (and Argo director and star) Ben Affleck also made an appearance at the gala, Cooper had his eye on another past winner when asked who should be 2012's Sexiest Man Alive.

"Maybe [Richard Gere]," he said, pointing as the dapper actor, who was 1999's winner, walked the carpet nearby.

Gere was given the Hollywood Career Achievement Award at Monday's awards gala, but Cooper had a slightly different reason for his decision.

"He's sexy," he said of Gere. "You could take it from there."

De Niro, Gere, Affleck feted at early film awards

Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper, director David O. Russell and writer-director Quentin Tarantino were among the honorees Monday at the 16th annual Hollywood Film Awards, which bills itself as "the official launch of awards season." The event recognizes films that are likely positioned as awards contenders, such as Tarantino's anticipated "Django Unchained."

In accepting his award for screenwriter of the year, Tarantino remarked that it was strange to get an award for a film he's still working on, but added that he could use it as ammunition to defend long dialogue scenes during the editing process.

"I'll be able to say, hey, you want to take a line out of my AWARD-WINNING screenplay?" he joked.

Seth Rogen presented the comedy award to writer-director Judd Apatow, whose film "This Is 40" opens at Christmastime.

"Perhaps the most amazing thing about this awards show tonight is that none of these movies have come out yet," Rogen said. "I haven't even heard of some of these movies yet. That's how far out they are.

"It's nice because it kind of feels like these are the new Golden Globes," Rogen continued. "No one knows what it is. Who voted for this?"

Festival founders say the awards are based on "bodies of work and/or a film or films released during the calendar year."

"No one has seen my movie," Apatow said as he accepted his trophy. "This is just based on an assumption that it's good."

De Niro, Cooper and Russell were honored for "Silver Linings Playbook," set for release later this year.

Other honorees at the starry dinner at the Beverly Hilton Hotel included Ben Affleck and the cast of "Argo," Amy Adams, Dustin Hoffman and Marion Cotillard. Richard Gere received a lifetime achievement award.

Bradley Cooper Wants Role in Hunger Games Movies

The Hangover hottie has already worked with Jennifer Lawrence in two upcoming films, the much buzzed-about The Silver Linings Playbook as well as Serena.

And he might be ready to threepeat.

"I have now seen Hunger Games," Cooper said at last night's Hollywood Film Awards, where he was honored with the Hollywood Actor Award. "That is a brutal movie. Are you kidding me?...Oh, my God!"

He said he's not surprised Lawrence could play "bad ass" so well. "She's amazing," Cooper said.

And, he joked, "You know, I've put myself on tape for four of the roles. I haven't heard back yet."

Meanwhile, fashion designer and movie director Tom Ford presented Cooper with his award at last night's ceremony.

Ford gushed that his "good friend" Cooper was "handsome…charming and most importantly, very, very talented."

"I just hit the jackpot," said Cooper, who looked dashing in a—what else?—Tom Ford suit. "I hit the jackpot that I could make a living as an actor. I'm the luckiest guy in the world."

Seth Rogen isn't so lucky—at least he wasn't last night—because, he complained, he had to follow Ford and Cooper on stage to present the Comedy Award to genius funnyman Judd Apatow.

"Awesome, I get to go up after two of the most handsome men in the universe," Rogen said, before cracking, "I would f--k both those guys in a second."

Also honored last night were Robert De Niro, John Hawkes, Amy Adams, Marion Cotillard, the cast of Argo and Quvenzhané Wallis, the 9-year-old breakout star of Beasts of the Southern Wild.

'Hunted's' Melissa George: 'Why I get these parts has baffled me'

She also doesn't mind getting "shot," which happens to her not once, but twice in the opening moments of "Hunted." The action series premieres Friday (Oct. 19) on Cinemax, which is aiming for a successor to its successful "Strike Back," recently renewed for Season 4. The new show's elements were big lures for Australia-born model turned actress George, who co-starred on "Alias" for a time and also did stints on "Grey's Anatomy" and "In Treatment."

Arguably, though, her biggest calling has been the running-jumping-punching-kicking movie genre ... confirmed lately by such pay-cable staples as "Triangle" and "A Lonely Place to Die." They've proven to be good warm-ups for her new role as Sam Hunter, a covert espionage agent seeking those who tried to kill her before they can succeed.

Such a scenario can have its price. "I have a very bad left hip," George tells Zap2it of the results of her "Hunted" work in a call from Corsica. "If you want to rotate your leg to rock-climb or whatever, that's definitely not very good at all. And [I hurt] my right hand, but everything else feels great.

"You dream of the day when you can have a great character piece that encompasses all the things you've done in your career, put into one role, and I feel that's Sam Hunter," adds George, who applauds "Hunted" writer-producer Frank Spotnitz for creating the part.

"I loved 'The X-Files' (to which Spotnitz also was central) -- it was mind-blowing, it was so clever -- and when I first met him in L.A., I'd never tried to impress somebody so much. I tried to show him I could speak Spanish and Portuguese, I could do a British accent, I could do an American accent ... he laughs about it now. The showrunner is the most important person for me, and if you don't have respect for each other, I think you can see that in the show."

Having also done such comedies as "Swinging With the Finkels," George deems it "weird" to be cast as an action heroine so much of the time. "It's hard to be judgmental about yourself. Different fans watch different parts of your career, but the consistency for me is definitely in playing troubled women in situations they have to fight to get out of.

"When people meet me, I''m always dressed in pinnacle skirts and heels, and my nails are always done. And I'm always very quiet and generous and lovely and sweet ... so why I get these parts has baffled me and my family and my friends. I just don't know why."

George played it a bit more docile last year in the A&E miniseries "Stephen King's Bag of Bones," which she explains she did "to work with Pierce Brosnan and a great director (frequent King-story adapter Mick Garris). Sometimes you take parts for that, and other times, you take it for the script. It's amazing: The ones that change your career are the ones that pay no money and where you ask yourself, 'If I get this, would it make a difference to me personally?'"

Also being made for England's BBC One network, "Hunted" could become the signature project for George, who allows she hasn't had "that one thing that people associate you with. In New York and Paris, people relate me to 'In Treatment' (for which George earned a Golden Globe Award nomination), but I haven't had that one key role. And in a way, that makes me lucky, because I can constantly keep trying new things."

TNT Orders Six Episodes of Frank Darabont's Period L.A. Noir Drama

The show is based on the John Buntin book L.A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America's Most Seductive City, which focuses on the battle between gangster Mickey Cohen and legendary L.A. police chief William Parker. Darabont (who mixes fictional and real-life figures from the era) takes a look inside the seedy underbelly of Los Angeles cops and villains in the 1947, the heyday of L.A. noir and scandals (such as the Black Dahlia). Darabont wrote and directed the pilot, which was shot earlier this year.

"I've loved noir my whole life, and I've always wanted to go into that area of storytelling. I'm a huge Raymond Chandler buff, which is actually why I grabbed this book off the shelf at LAX in the bookstore as I was about to get on a flight," Darabont told TV Guide Magazine earlier this year. "It seemed right up my alley. I read it on the flight, and then the following day after I couldn't put the darn thing down."

Darabont first came up with the character of Joe Teague — and as soon as Bernthal could sign on, he did. "He's caught in that moral gray zone between the William Parkers of the world and the Mickey Cohens of this world," Darabont said of the character earlier this year. "And what a great, fun gray zone to be in. Caught, as he puts it, between the white hats and the black hats."

Another former Walking Dead castmember, Jeffrey DeMunn, plays Det. Hal Morrison, who heads up the LAPD's new mob squad; Jeremy Strong (Lincoln) is Det. Mike Hendry, Morrison's second in command; Neal McDonough (Desperate Housewives) stars as Capt. William Parker, Teague's boss; and Milo Ventimiglia (Heroes) plays Ned Stax, who fought alongside Teague during World War II but who now works as a lawyer with connections to the mob.

Ron Rifkin (L.A. Confidential) is also on board as Los Angeles Mayor Fletcher Bowron; Pihla Viitala (Tears of April) is Anya, the head bartender at Bunny's on Central Avenue; and Alexa Davalos (Clash of the Titans, The Mist) plays Jasmine, a woman with a mysterious past. Thomas Jane (Hung) guest stars as Bugsy Siegel in the pilot, while Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead) guests as comedian Hecky Nash.

"This series is an intense, exciting drama that takes viewers back to a truly fascinating time in the history of Los Angeles," says Michael Wright, president, head of programming for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies (TCM). "They have woven an engrossing tale of heroism in the face of greed and corruption."

Michael De Luca (The Social Network) and Elliot Webb (Tall Time Tales) executive produce with Darabont. TNT Original Productions is producing the show.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner Shop and Dine in Paris

The adorable duo, who recently packed on the PDA in Hollywood, were all smiles as they strolled hand in hand around Paris on Monday.

The two were spotted partaking in some retail therapy by way of a trip to the Chanel store.

Later that evening, the happy husband treated his ladylove to a romantic dinner at La Fontaine de Mars.

Of course, while the two are in Paris—where Affleck is promoting his new film, Argo—we can't help but wonder if it's also a pit stop on the way to Italy, where Garner's good friend Jessica Biel is rumored to be getting married to Justin Timberlake soon.

Ben Affleck Talks Wife Jennifer Garner, Bromance with Matt Damon, and Staying in Touch With Ex Jennifer Lopez

The Academy Award-winning actor is currently working hard to cement his transition to esteemed Hollywood director with his latest film, Argo, a political thriller based loosely on the true story of the rescue of six U.S. soldiers during the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis.

Gracing the cover of The Hollywood Reporter this week, Ben sat down with the mag to discuss the good and the bad in Hollywood biz, and it turns out this world-famous face is just your average 40-year-old dad to his three children.

"There are so many decisions to be made, and it's more than you can get to each day," he says of trying to balance work and family life. "There is this underlying anxiety not just about getting the movie done but getting it done really well. It keeps my head spinning—even when I am giving the kids a bath. I can be giving them a bath or feeding them, and sometimes they say, ‘Dad, pay attention!'"

He openly admits that his life is consumed by work and family, and he now chooses to spend his free time with Jen and their children—daughters Violet, 6, and Seraphina, 3, and 7-month-old son Samuel.

"Kids eat up that kind of hobby time," he admits. "I used to ride motorcycles. I used to play basketball. And now basically I'm at home with them, or I work."

Luckily, Ben has a lifelong partner in wife Jennifer Garner to lend a helping hand, and he can't help but gush over his beautiful wife of seven years:

"She truly is kind," he says. "She means no one any harm. She doesn't have ill will for any person. She's not competitive with other people. She's not spiteful," he shares with pride before adding, "It's one of those things where it becomes almost aggravating at times. Every time I go, 'F-- him!' I see in her face that she just thinks that's petty and small."

The filmmaker credits his wife with being a major support system, and it may come as a surprise that he still keeps in touch with ex-Jennifer Lopez, as well as Gwyneth Paltrow and his high school girlfriend, Cheyenne Rothman:

"We don't have the kind of relationship where she relies on me for advice," he says of J.Lo, "but we do have the kind of relationship where there'll be an e-mail saying, ‘Oh, your movie looks great.' I remember when she got American Idol. I said: 'This was really smart. Good luck.' I touch base. I respect her. I like her. She's put up with some stuff that was unfair in her life, and I'm really pleased to see her successful."

Although Ben appears to have aged with a unique Hollywood grace, he does admit that turning 40 was tough (remember, Blake Lively made him feel old!) for the A-list star:

"It was not fun for me," says Affleck of the milestone age. "It's this moment of bifurcation between youth and middle age. One wants to think of oneself as young. One does not want to think, "Wait a minute! How can I be halfway to death?'"

Even though Ben might feel like he's getting old (his looks certainly aren't fading!), we bet his bromance with Matt Damon gives the dude a youthful glow:

"[Matt and I] see each other almost too often," Affleck admits of his friendship with Damon. "I wonder if his wife is thinking, 'Is he really going to come over every night?'"

Aww, talk about one of the coolest Hollywood hunks in the biz! We're officially Ben Affleck lovers for life.

J.J. Abrams lands "Adulting" comedy With Fox

The "Lost" and "Revolution" honcho is spreading his wings into the comedy arena with a new project, "Adulting," that has landed a put-pilot agreement with Fox, an individual with knowledge of the situation told TheWrap.

The single-camera, half-hour project is based on the upcoming Kelly Williams Brown book "Adulting: How to Become a Grown-up in 387 Easy(ish) Steps."

Abrams will executive-produce the project, which comes via his Bad Robot production company and Warner Bros. Television. Abrams' partner Bryan Burk will also executive-produce, with Kathy Lingg of Bad Robot serving as co-executive producer. Bad Robot's Athena Wickham will also serve as a producer.

Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein, whose credits include the big-screen offerings "The Vow" and "Valentine's Day," will write and also serve as executive producers.

Scheduled for release in May 2013 by Grand Central Publishing, Brown's book is billed as "an incredibly wise, absurdly relatable, totally hilarious guide to all the things that young adults think that they should know already - but don't."

PDA Alert! Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck Share a Kiss on Argo's Red Carpet

At least it certainly looks that way, as not only did George Clooney and Stacy Keibler quiet the breakup rumors that perpetually plague them by strolling arm-in-arm in front of reporters (and, more importantly, photographers), but the movie's star and director, Ben Affleck, exhibited some PDA of his own, puckering up for his leading lady, wife Jennifer Garner.

The duo stole the smooch (and the spotlight) after walking the red carpet for Affleck's new flick, and we can't say that we blame Ben for making a move: Mrs. Affleck was looking red-hot in her Monique Lhuillier gown and Bulgari clutch.

The red carpet never seemed so steamy.

Argo is set for release Oct. 12.

'Butter': A recipe for stale laughs

And just about any jab works here: Butter is (a) indigestible (b) overdone (c) prone to induce lactose intolerance.

For now, though, let's lay off the cheap comedic shots. Butter has that in spades.

It's been a long time since a movie wasted this much talent. Anchored by Jennifer Garner, Hugh Jackman and Ty Burrell (Modern Family), this story about competitive butter carving should have been a slam-dunk, at least as a cute diversion. Especially in the hands of Jim Field Smith, director of nine episodes of the sublime Showtime series Episodes.

But Butter is a film more enamored of its premise than interested in making it work. Set in small-town Iowa, the movie centers on a butter-carving competition that pits 10-year-old Destiny (Yara Shahidi) against cliched town locals.

Garner plays Laura Pickler, a Sarah Palin-esque character determined to win the butter-carving crown held for 15 straight years by husband Bob (Burrell). Garner is a terrific actress, but here she's asked to cackle her lines in a voice a full octave above her natural one.

Jackman is similarly wasted as Boyd Bolton, a used car salesman with an ambiguous moral compass and accent. Olivia Wilde plays Brooke, an unlikely competitor and hooker with a heart of soot.

Butter is a film informed and inspired by brainless TV. The movie is peppered with talk show and reality show references and includes a tedious scene featuring Howie Mandel and Deal or No Deal.

Similarly, Butter doesn't try that hard. Nowhere do we learn how Destiny became a Picasso with the butter knife. The jokes follow a similar set-up: Have town folk act stupid, then have a straight man observe how stupid they are.

The jokes work at first, as they're delivered with Simpsons-style dryness. And Rob Corddry and Alicia Silverstone acquit themselves as the film's only Iowans who aren't backward and racist.

But they're no match for this mess of a concoction that could have been a simple recipe for comedy: a dash of wit, a sprinkle of observation and a hint of earnestness. Mix well.

Just don't add Butter.

Jennifer Garner Talks Brangelina, Ben Affleck's "Wonder Sperm" With Ellen DeGeneres

Appearing on Thursday's episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Jennifer Garner offers a powerful glimpse into hubby Ben Affleck's powers of procreation when DeGeneres asked the actress if she's pregnant and whether she thinks the couple would ever expand their brood beyond the three kids they have.

"No, I definitely…I plan to be done. But my husband is kind of a wonder sperm kind of guy," says the Valentine's Day star.

Considering the twosome met on the set of their 2003 superhero flick, Daredevil, maybe super spawn isn't out of the question.

Garner also tells the host about how much she enjoys taking care of their 6-month-old son, Samuel, and Ben playing with their two daughters, 6-year-old Violet and 3-year-old Seraphina.

"You know his girls are so into him," said Garner. "He's all about…"

"Tea parties," quipped DeGeneres.

"He kind of excels at playing baby doll," the 40-year-old actress said.

Garner is quick to add that she and Affleck are no match at parenting compared to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

"Oh man…talk to Brad and Angie. They seem to have it together," joked Garner.

"I don't know how they remember all the names," cracked Ellen. "They have like 10 kids."

Said Jen: "I call my kids Shiloh sometimes."

Garner returns to theaters in the upcoming ensemble comedy, Butter, opening Oct. 5.

Bradley Cooper & Zoe Saldana's Movie Night in Hollywood

On-again off-again couple Bradley Cooper and Zoe Saldana were spotted leaving the ArcLight Dome Theater in Hollywood on Saturday.

Cooper, 37, and Saldana, 33, who were first spotted getting cozy in January, costar in The Words where their chemistry can be seen on screen. While promoting the film at Sundance in January, an onlooker told PEOPLE they were "being very affectionate." Then in February, Saldana was photographed spending time with Cooper's mom, Gloria.

In the film Cooper – who was named PEOPLE's 2011 Sexiest Man Alive – plays Rory, a writer who takes credit for another man's literary success.

Jennifer Garner Takes Baby Samuel, Seraphina and Violet to the Plant Nursery!

Jennifer Garner spent some quality time with her and Ben Affleck's three kids on Sunday. The 40-year-old actress pushed 6-month-old baby Samuel in his stroller, getting a helping hand from 3-year-old Seraphina. Violet, 6, held onto a small red carrier (possibly containing a furry friend) as the foursome headed to a plant nursery in L.A.'s Pacific Palisades neighborhood.

And while the Odd Life of Timothy Green star certainly looks like a parenting pro, she told iVillage recently that figuring out "if I'm getting it right" raising her kids is a "conundrum that keeps me up at night."

Ben also takes his role as a parent very seriously. "Work is very important to me. I like to work. So does my wife," he told Details magazine. "But I need my work to mean something to me in order for me to not be home with them."

Well from the looks of Samuel, Seraphina and Violet, Jen and Ben are both doing a great job raising three happy, well-adjusted kids in Hollywood.

PDA of the Day: Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck Keepin' the Love Strong

Whether it's the funny face Justin Bieber makes after a fan gets a little too close or seeing the budding romance between soon-to-be newlyweds Anne Hathaway and Adam Shulman, little kisses and signs of affection are sweet.

Especially when it's between a married couple of seven years with three kids, like Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck.

Ben and Jen were spotted with their daughter Seraphina in Brentwood having breakfast, and cameras were able to catch the couple as they were just about to give each other a quick smooch.

And they say true love doesn't exist in Hollywood.

Bradley Cooper Kisses Hangover 3 Costar

The Hangover 3 has officially commenced filming here in Hollywood (we celebrated the announcement with some shots and a blood-brother pact, how 'bout you?) and yesterday Cooper was seen swapping spit with costar Gillian Vigman, who has played his wife Stephanie in all three films, while shooting scenes at The Grove.

The plot of this third installment—which (gasp!) does not feature a wedding—is top secret ("it's like the CIA," one costar said!) but, if the coziness between Cooper and Vigman, as well as Ed Helms and his onscreen wifey, Jamie Chung, is any indication, things are going tip-top with these couples.

Wonder how long that'll last!

J.J. Abrams inks new deal with Warner Bros

Continuing a collaboration that began in 2006, WBTV and Abrams' Bad Robot Productions - which he runs with Bryan Burk - have reached a new multiyear, overall deal. It calls for Bad Robot to continue developing new TV projects with Abrams and Burk serving as executive producers.

Bad Robot's current shows include the hit CBS drama "Person of Interest," Fox's "Fringe," which is entering its last season, and NBC's new drama "Revolution."

All Bad Robot shows produced by WBTV will continue to be distributed globally by Warner Bros. International Television Distribution.

Bad Robot also has a first-look film deal with Paramount Pictures, which produced Abrams' "Star Trek" reboot and its upcoming sequel.

News of Abrams' new deal comes just a day after word of a new deal with Warner Bros. for Chuck Lorre, co-creator of "Two and a Half Men" and "Big Bang Theory."

'The Words' is a literary scoundrel itself

An early novel is rejected by a publisher on the grounds that it's "too artistic and subtle."

The same accusation could never be made of the film (** out of four; rated PG-13; opens Friday nationwide).

Writer/directors Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal chose to make The Words as bland and obvious as its title, wringing out any subtlety or artistry.

Cooper plays Rory Jansen, a man hellbent on being an author. When that doesn't seem to be happening, he grows increasingly despondent, despite the supportive ministrations of his wife, Dora (Zoe Saldana). Then he happens on a yellowed manuscript tucked away in a satchel Dora bought for him while they honeymooned in Paris.

The commercials and trailer have already given away that Cooper's character is a literary scoundrel, a poser who steals another writer's words. So what is there left for the movie to reveal?

As the tale unwinds, dialogue is clichéd, the musical score overpowers, and moments meant to be surprises are either telegraphed or overplayed, as if the filmmakers didn't trust the audience to get it.

Oh, we get it. Though the characters are rather obtuse.

Rory somehow never notices an old man in a hat and trench coat lurking near him at a climactic point, following him on a city bus, then walking a few steps behind him and finally sitting next to him on a bench in a park. For a writer, he's not very observant.

Some of the film takes place in the 1940s, another segment in the present and another in the very recent past. Or is it that some is in the present and another part in the not-too-distant future? It's never quite clear. But the convoluted timeline is only one of the film's shortcomings. The concept would have worked better if there was a real element of mystery.

Jeremy Irons, as the man who wrote the manuscript, conveys regret, but not much more. If the audience is meant to be deeply invested in his saga, why didn't the screenwriters bother to give him a name other than "the old man"?

While The Words does hint at the insecurity of writers everywhere, it's not clear why this tale of fraud could not have been more straightforward.

Cooper is given little to do but brood. He and Saldana have a modicum of chemistry, but no one shines, mostly due to the plodding material.

Annoying voice-over narration is layered in throughout by Dennis Quaid in a smarmy role as celebrated author Clay Hammond. His story line as an arrogant writer who romances the much younger Columbia grad student Daniella (Olivia Wilde) is the least compelling and most mired in atrocious banter. She proclaims herself to be "young, spoiled, impetuous and American."

Ironically, the dialogue in The Words is its chief failing.

The Words ** out of four

Stars: Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana, Jeremy Irons, Dennis Quaid, Olivia Wilde
Director: Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal
Distributor: CBS Films
Rating: PG-13 for brief strong language and smoking
Running time: 1 hour, 36 minutes
Opens Friday nationwide

Bradley Cooper: Why I Chose to Become Sober

The actor, 37, who stars alongside Zoë Saldana in The Words, has calmed down a lot since his 20s.

On one occasion, "I was at a party, and deliberately bashed my head on the concrete floor," Cooper recalls to The Hollywood Reporter in its Sept. 14 cover story. "Like, 'Hey, look how tough I am!' "

The incident, which occurred while he was under the influence, left Cooper with blood dripping from his body, but still wanting more.

"I did it again," he says. "[And] I spent the night at St. Vincent's Hospital with a sock of ice, waiting for them to stitch me up."

This was just one of many moments that led Cooper to much healthier decision-making.

"I don't drink or do drugs anymore," he says, adding that he gave them up at age 29. "Being sober helps a great deal … I remember looking at my life, my apartment, my dogs [when I was still using], and I thought, 'What's happening?' "

Before becoming an actor – and PEOPLE's 2011 Sexiest Man Alive – Cooper wasn't comfortable in his own skin.

"I was so concerned what you thought of me, how I was coming across, how I would survive the day," he says. "I always felt like an outsider. I just lived in my head. I realized I wasn't going to live up to my potential, and that scared the hell out of me. I thought, 'Wow, I'm actually gonna ruin my life. I'm really gonna ruin it."

Beyoncé Remaking A Star Is Born With Bradley Cooper: "Just a Rumor!"

But it's not exactly good news if you were excited about reports that the Hollywood legend is going to direct Beyoncé and Bradley Cooper in a remake of A Star Is Born.

"Just a rumor," Cooper told us last night at the premiere of his new drama, The Words, at the ArcLight Hollywood.

Asked if he'd be interested in doing it, Cooper, 37, chose his words carefully, only saying, "I mean, Clint Eastwood is one of the best directors alive."

But maybe we don't need another Star Is Born. "There are like three versions already," Cooper said.

That's true. The first was in 1937 followed by a version starring Judy Garland in 1954. The third costarred Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson.

While we ranked Streisand's version as the best, Cooper wasn't so sure.

"Even better than Judy Garland?" he asked.

Now, back to The Words, which stars Cooper as a writer who finds a lost draft of a novel and publishes it as his own. Zoe Saldana costars his wife with Jeremy Irons playing the book's actual writer. Rounding out the cast are Dennis Quaid, Olivia Wilde and Ben Barnes.

Cooper grew up with the film's codirectors and cowriters Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal in the Philadelphia suburbs.

"I've known them since I was like 10 years old," Cooper said. "Brian used to come and play at my house."

It really did turn into a hometown reunion. Cooper beamed, "My mom was there for most of the time when we were shooting."

Cute!

Cooper nervous over 'Words' role

In the cautionary drama, The Words, Bradley Cooper plays an aspiring novelist who comes across an old unpublished manuscript that he passes off as his own, with unexpected consequences. And that change of pace was what drew him to the role -- even if he admits he was afraid he might not be able to do it justice, especially since one of the film's co-directors, Brian Klugman, is a childhood buddy from back in Philly.

"I was very scared that I was going to fail these two guys when they asked me to do it," admits Cooper, looking very much his easygoing, baby blue-eyed handsome (with great hair) self. "It was a week before shooting started and I didn't really get the character until I read the script one last time and finally got the hook."

Ignoring the plagiarizing aspect, you'd think Cooper, 37, could have identified with a character whose early work was constantly being rejected.

"Actually, when I first started auditioning I didn't realize that you could actually book a job," confesses Cooper. "If I got a couple of call-backs, that was a very successful week. So when I booked Sex and the City I was very frightened because I actually had to do the job. I came at it from another side where rejection was normal and getting the part was odd."

So he's never experienced that feverish, pulse-quickening drive to succeed at all costs?

"I remember when Meryl Streep came to our acting school and she said that the easiest thing is to do your first good movie but then to do your second -- that's the hardest," relates Cooper. "I don't really look at it that way. If your goal is to just grow as an actor, then everything's an opportunity."

So he doesn't ever feel any nagging pressure?

"I'm lucky that I get a lot of the thrill out of simple things," he says. "I was like a pig in s--- working a graveyard shift and doing those auditions and getting callbacks. It's all relative."

Then he won't be feeling any pressure having to top himself in the role of Phil when The Hangover III starts shooting Sept. 10 -- in Vegas, among other undisclosed locations?

"Todd Phillips, is, in my opinion, the best comedic director around. We've got an incredible cast and great actors coming aboard this third one, too. And I love Phil. So I can't wait."

OK, then how about his current status as People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive? Let us guess -- no pressure, right?

"It was ... very shocking," he replies, stammering slightly. "I think maybe somebody made a mistake. But I do try to start every conversation by saying, 'You do know ...' but I haven't really reaped the benefits yet."

One more thing: When you were a not-so-struggling actor working that graveyard shift, what was the gig?

"I worked at the Morgans Hotel in New York as a doorman," he volunteers, before shouting across the room. "YOU GUYS NEED A TAXI?"

"I still got it!"

Fall TV Preview: Revolution

Time-Slot Competition: The Mentalist (CBS), Sunday Night Football (NBC), Homeland (Showtime)

Cast: Billy Burke, Tracy Spiridakos, Graham Rogers, Elizabeth Mitchell, Giancarlo Esposito, J.D. Pardo and David Lyons

Status: We've seen the pilot episode

The first word that comes to mind about Revolution? Amibitious. We know post-apocalyptic futures are all the rage right now (Thanks, The Hunger Games!), but we like the unique twist Revolution puts on the drama, which is basically reverting people back to a time before technology, where warlords rule and militias rise.

The series centers on Charlie Matheson (Spiridakos), who (spoiler alert!) after the death of her father, takes off on a journey to find her brother Danny (Rogers), who was taken by militia leader Captain Neville (an awesomely evil Esposito). Why? Because her father knew something about the whole blackout (flashbacks are so handy!)…and possibly a way to turn it all back on.

Charlie seeks help in the form of her mysterious uncle Miles, played by a truly badass Burke, who steals the hour with his gruff attitude and (So long, Charlie Swan!) killer fighting skills. Revolution totally wins the best action sequence in a pilot award, so there's that.

Revolution makes a smart move in replacing Andrea Roth with Lost alum Mitchell (aka She Who Can Do No Wrong) as Charlie and Danny's mother, while Pardo makes a lasting impression as the bad and arrow-totin' hottie who makes moon eyes at Charlie.

While the show takes on a pretty big beast of a premise, we like that Kripke kept it relatable by focusing on a broken family and the complicated dynamics within it. Charlie is kind of a female version of Supernatural's Dean Winchester, though we hope to see more of a spark from Spiridakos going forward in the series.

Alas, with any serialized drama, the concern is always whether or not audiences are going to stick around when they don't receive the answers right away. Just look at FlashForward, The Event, etc. Here's hoping Revolution can find the perfect balance between family drama and mysteries to placate viewers.

Verdict: With a strong lead-in (The Voice), we think Revolution's future looks bright.

Susan's watching you

Bradley Cooper Brings His 'Little Polar Bear' on Live! With Kelly

When The Words star first met Charlotte, his chow/retriever mix, "She was on the streets of Compton, actually," he told Kelly Ripa and Sam Champion during a Thursday appearance on Live! With Kelly.

"She has no bottom teeth," he continued, as he described the "little polar bear" and "little toughie" he found through Much Love Animal Rescue.

It may have been love at first sight between the pair, but Charlotte was apparently unimpressed with Cooper's acting credits when he adopted her that day.

"When she saw you, did she recognize you?" Ripa asked. "And was she like, 'I am hitting the jackpot!' Can you imagine?"

In fact, Charlotte had no previous knowledge of her new owner's past work. "I was like 'Hey, I was on Alias,'" he said. "She's like, 'Nope.' I'm like, 'Wedding Crashers?'"

It didn't keep Cooper from forming a lasting bond with the well-behaved pooch, and he told the audience, "She's the best."

Michael Vartan Going On Matthew Perry's Go On

NBC confirms that Alias star Michael Vartan will be guest starring on Matthew Perry's new NBC comedy Go On, and the two will be playing hockey together.

Wait. What did you think when we said knocking sticks? You didn't...Oh, you naughty little bird you.

Vartan will appear in one episode opposite NHL star Jeremy Roenick and Perry. He shot scenes for the series Wednesday and the Alias heartthrob will be playing himself

Bob Costas also will be guest starring as himself in an episode, presenting a new career opportunity for Perry's character.

Go On stars Perry as a sports radio host, Ryan King, who is forced to sign up for group therapy after his wife's death.

The show got a sneak peek preview on Aug. 8 after the Olympics, and it drew roughly 16 million viewers. Go On will debut in its regular 9:30 p.m. Tuesday slot on Sept. 11.

Jennifer Garner's Post-Baby Body Is 'Strong and Sexy,' Says Trainer

"I was working out with my trainer this morning," Garner, 40, said at the premiere of The Odd Life of Timothy Green, which hits theaters Aug. 15. "And she was like 'Yeah, I think it's time. I think we need to put some pleather on!' "

Trainer Valerie Waters credits Garner's enviable figure to the actress's consistent workouts during and after pregnancy.

"She's looking so amazing right now," says Waters, who's worked with Garner for more than a decade. "She looks strong and sexy, and I like that she's rocking her Lycra again!"

Garner may have jumped back into exercising four weeks after having Samuel, but she started slow. "The first couple workouts were 15 to 20 minutes," says Waters, who has since increased the sessions to 40 minutes, three to four times a week.

Aside from cardio twice a week, a typical workout might include a strength training circuits using weights, exercise bands and Waters's ValSlide training tool.

"Getting out of the sweats and into the leggings was a big step," says Waters.

Kids Exercise, Too

When it comes to staying fit, Violet, 6, and Seraphina, 3, look to be taking after their mother.

"We have tiny little weights for them, and they'll come in and lift them over their heads," says the trainer. "They're so cute and they definitely like to do what Mommy likes to do, for sure."

As for her diet, Garner eats mostly organic, with a minimum of processed foods. To curb cravings, she keeps bowls of fresh veggies and fruit – like cantaloupe and raspberries – around the house for easy access.

"Jen can cook, so she's able to make healthy meals that are balanced," says Waters. "She makes the most perfect scrambled eggs, with a little avocado on the side."

"We're at a fine-tuning, sculpting stage now," she adds. "She's strong and can kick it into gear – no question, bring it on!"

'Hunted's' Melissa George 'really wanted' to star in 'Alias'

Largely known for grueling roles in movies that have become cable staples ("30 Days of Night," "Triangle," "A Lonely Place to Die"), the actress did a stint on ABC's "Alias" as traitorous spy Lauren Reed. She'll be back in the world of espionage as private-security operative Sam Hunter -- on the run across Europe while seeking whoever tried to kill her -- in Cinemax's original series "Hunted," premiering Friday, Oct. 19.

"It was down to Jennifer [Garner] and me for 'Alias' a long time ago, and I really wanted it," George tells Zap2it while resting up from the demanding "Hunted" shoot on vacation in Corsica. "Then I got 'Thieves,' which was on the same network. They put me on that when I didn't get 'Alias' ... and then, of course, 'Thieves' got canceled.

"Then, ['Alias' creator] J.J. Abrams said, 'Perfect. We'll put you on as the evil Lauren Reed.' I knew everyone was going to hate me, but I said, 'OK. I'll do it.' Then when I got this, I thought, 'If I could take the role of Sydney Bristow but put it in a world that's European, making it a little more like 'The Bourne Identity' and 'Taken' but be less polished, I would be thrilled.'"

That's pretty much what "Hunted" is, and George maintains she has no worries about Ashley Judd's somewhat similar ABC series "Missing" having come first -- and having met its fate relatively soon.

"I'm not an expert on network vs. cable," George allows, "and I'll be back on a network show one of these days, but they don't sit on the set tearing out [script] pages when you're working for an HBO or a Cinemax. They hire the right people, then it's a collaboration where there's not a lot of input from second parties.

"They allow you to create, and there's something about being left alone that I think brings a bit of magic."

Jennifer Garner Has Emotional Reunion With Alias Costar Victor Garber

Jennifer Garner broke down in tears upon seeing her erstwhile Alias costar Victor Garber Monday in New York City.

The 63-year-old had just finished a performance of his cabaret show at 54 Below right off Times Square when Garner made a beeline for him backstage, gave him a tight hug and then broke down in tears.

But before you get all alarmed and send Jen some Kleenex, rest easy: These are tears of joy.

The two, who worked together for five years on Alias, are incredibly close. Garber officiated at her wedding to Ben Affleck back in 2005, and he's also godfather to their 6-year old daughter, Violet.

Garner, 40, has been keeping pretty busy these days, recently signing on as a celebrity guest blogger for iVillage's "CelebVillage."

In her first post, which ran yesterday, the mother of three talks about the pride a parent feels watching a child achieve a dream.

"If I ever see Michael Phelps' mother at a Subway," she wrote, "I will burst into hysterical tears from some kind of deep sense memory."

Now, now, Jen: All this crying you're doing is gonna make us burst into tears ourselves!

Big ideas fail to sprout in well-meaning 'Timothy Green'

But for many it will be hard to overlook the unfortunate combination of mawkish sentimentality and gaping plot holes that characterizes this well-intentioned film.

There's certainly a place for suspending disbelief in films steeped in magical realism. Drama/comedy fables such as Big and 13 Going on 30 effectively transported viewers to their whimsical alternate reality. But Timothy Green (**½ out of four; rated PG; opens today nationwide) feels more predictable than other-worldly.

Devoted married couple Cindy (Jennifer Garner) and Jim (Joel Edgerton) have been unable to conceive, despite a host of procedures. To honor their efforts, they write a list of wishes for the child they dreamed of having. The traits they cite include bravery, big-heartedness, honesty to a fault and being musically "rocking." They bury this list ritualistically in a box in their garden in the scenic small town of Stanleyville, USA.

Later that night, in the midst of a freak storm, a sweet-natured, mud-slathered 10-year-old boy knocks at their door. He acts a little odd and has leaves growing out of his legs, but otherwise he's like a regular kid. He does seem particularly fond of the garden and raises his arms to bask in the sun at unlikely moments. It's no coincidence that the couple's last name is Green.

Flummoxed only briefly, Cindy and Jim embrace this wide-eyed boy and alternately celebrate and smother him. Strangely, no one in their town questions the sudden appearance of a new child. He's clearly there to impart his earthy wisdom and teach adults important life lessons.

There's a calculated quality here that is off-putting and surprising, given that it was directed and co-written by Peter Hedges, who wrote the masterful What's Eating Gilbert Grape and nimbly adapted About a Boy from Nick Hornby's novel.

CJ Adams as the sprout-turned-boy is winning in a role that couldn't have been easy for an 11-year old to play. Garner is convincing as a warm-hearted, if tense, mom and Edgerton is also likeable. But naysayers like David Morse as Jim's dad, Ron Livingston as Jim's boss and Rosemarie DeWitt as Cindy's sister are little more than caricatures.

The film touches on bigger issues such as helicopter parenting and coping with an emotionally distant father. Subplots are packed in, including the economic woes of a town powered by a pencil factory that is struggling with layoffs.

What Timothy Green does best is capture the sadness of infertility, celebrate the eccentricities of an endearing child and probe the longings, fears and worries of parents.

Still, this fable about a magical child undoubtedly worked better on paper, allowing for more introspection and emotional exploration.

Mostly, The Odd Life of Timothy Green feels contrived , if undeniably sweet.

The Odd Life of Timothy Green **1/2 out of four

Stars: Jennifer Garner, Joel Edgerton, CJ Adams, Dianne Wiest, Rosemarie DeWitt, David Morse, Common, Shohreh Aghdashloo
Director: Peter Hedges
Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures
Rating: PG for mild thematic elements and brief language
Running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes
Opens today nationwide

Bradley Cooper Shaves Body, Strips Down on Stage

No, the Hangover hottie isn't going to be starring in the Magic Mike musical.

The extreme manscapping would be for a revival of The Elephant Man, the stage adaptation of the film about the real-life 19th-century story of a severely deformed man who was saved from the streets by a London surgeon.

Cooper shaved down earlier this summer to play Merrick at the Williamstown Theater Festival in Massachusetts.

"We're going to try to do it on Broadway next fall," he told me at last night's premiere of his new movie, Hit & Run (in theaters Aug. 22). "We're going to try to nail it down and do a limited run."

As for the smooth bod, Cooper said, "We wanted to make it like a blank slate. I didn't wax it. I just shaved it."

Meanwhile, he cracked of being directed by Parenthood star Dax Shepard in Hit & Run, "It's like really horrible surgery on your teeth."

Not only did Shepard codirect the very funny—and smart!—action comedy, but he also wrote and stars in it alongside fiancé Kristen Bell. They rounded up a bunch of their friends to be in the $1.3 million flick, including Joy Bryant, Sean Hayes, Jason Bateman, Kristin Chenoweth, Tom Arnold and more.

"It was exactly how I expected it to be," Bell said. "Dax has a very consistent personality so I didn't expect to meet a different human being on the set every day. He's a very good communicator. He's very self aware and that's the kind of director he was."

"The Odd Life of Timothy Green" doesn't get too gooey

"The Odd Life of Timothy Green" will only help these parents. This is a movie about a boy who has delicate green leaves growing from his ankles and feet.

It's not due to a lack of soap or scrubbing. Rather, it's magic; Timothy Green was born that way.

Yes, we're in the Land of Whimsy with "Odd Life," which can be delicate and often dodgy territory for a filmmaker. Director-screenwriter Peter Hedges ("Dan in Real Life") is to be congratulated for nearly pulling it off in this gentle comic fantasy.

Cindy and Jim Green (Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton), a married couple living in a small Midwestern town, are applying to adopt a child at the start of the film. They explain to the adoption agency social workers that they feel ready to adopt because of their experiences with Timothy (C.J. Adams), and then they begin telling his strange tale.

To wit, after learning they couldn't have kids, the Greens wrote down all the qualities they'd want in a child, put the slips of paper in a box and buried the box in the backyard. That night, during an unexpected and ferocious thunderstorm, the box popped out of the ground and a young, mud-covered boy appeared in their house. Cindy and Jim take him in, name him Timothy and treat him as a son. They also make sure that he always wears high socks so that no one can discover the foliage sprouting from his lower limbs.

So far, so good. It's at this point that the movie has to rev up a plot, manufacture conflict and try to draw meaning from everything that happens. That's when the strains in this slender tale begin to show and one's tolerance for whimsy is tested.

That said, as family films go this is low-key, heartfelt and mostly not too gooey. And there's not a single chase scene or over-the-top scary villain, which is, in itself, refreshing when so many kids' films these days play like training movies to turn younger viewers into adult action and comic book movie fans.

Garner and Edgerton make for model parents, showing understanding and patience. Neither actor's low-key but convincing work here is likely to turn up in a career highlights reel, but both performances effectively serve the film.

Disney is smart to release "Odd Life" in August, when families are slowing it down while on vacation or looking for a break from back-to-school shopping. It's a feel-good film (with a few moments of sadness) that delivers sweetness without tipping over into treacle.

Jennifer Garner cherishes 'The Odd Life of Timothy Green'

She waves from the hostess stand, slides into her seat and orders a skim latte. Her brown eyes aren't glazed, but they should be: Baby Samuel, 5 months, issued a 3 a.m. wake-up call last night. "I'm seven hours into my day, but it's looking up," she says in her characteristically upbeat tone.

Minutes later, Cougar Town co-creator Bill Lawrence strolls in with her keys, joking that parking cars is his new VIP service. Before her no-fuss arrival, Garner had been attempting to park on the street, with the latest swarm of paparazzi informing her that it was street-cleaning day. Lawrence gallantly offered to re-park her car, relieving Garner, momentarily, of the flashing cameras.

"One of my first early jobs, I did a tiny role on (Lawrence's) Spin City," Garner says. "I worked with Stephen Colbert, and I ended up babysitting for him — he had an even smaller role." This is a slice of the odd life of Garner, who, by all accounts, is the most "normal" movie star you'll ever share a fruit plate with.

In The Odd Life of Timothy Green, out Wednesday, she plays Cindy Green, one half of a childless couple who has run out of ways to conceive. At wit's end, she and her husband, Jim (Joel Edgerton), split a bottle of wine and dream up attributes ("Picasso with a pencil") of the perfect child they'll never have. Overnight, the Greens are magically gifted with 10-year-old Timothy (CJ Adams), who embodies all of their handwritten notes.

The magic sprinkled over breakfast today is a result of Garner's resplendent candor. Makeup-free, Garner, 40, credits her cute black dress to a stop at her longtime stylist's, Rachel Zoe. She smiles wryly at the mention of her much-touted relatability quotient.

"It's because I always look like I'm wearing the first thing I could find, which is the truth," she says. "I don't understand how you can make breakfast, feed a baby, get hair braided, get a lunch put together and get an outfit on. And I don't have that gift anyway, to just put something on and have it look good. I just wasn't born that way."

Garner's toughest critics are of the pint-size variety. "My kids have a lot to say about the appearance of how I look naked," Garner says with a laugh, describing the three to four workouts she has been squeezing in with a trainer a week to lose her last 5 pregnancy pounds. In past pregnancies, "I've always kind of eaten what I wanted and gained 40 pounds," she says. "And it's a bummer to gain that much weight and then (have to lose it). But this time, I didn't want to gain that much weight, so I was really super-careful. And I gained 60." She shrugs and smiles, the universal what can you do?

"Jen's just such a regular girl," says Edgerton, extolling her "kindness" and "uncomplicatedness."

"Everything you feel about her on-screen in this movie or in Juno… that's just her nature."

Says director Peter Hedges (Dan in Real Life): "I've never met an actor who cares more about each member of the crew, who's more thoughtful in the gifts she gives." He wanted to instill the journey of being a parent in the film, which warns to be careful what you wish for. In Timothy Green, Hedges says, Garner is "Lucille Ball-funny, but then she comes around and breaks your heart."

As a new parent to Timothy, who arrives under a cloak of E.T.-like magic, curiously caked in garden dirt with green leaves sprouting from his ankles, Garner's character becomes a helicopter mom, smothering and worrying constantly. "She's willing to go to those places that are certainly unflattering and extreme," Hedges says.

Garner recognized the universality in Cindy Green and fought to play her. "I also floundered so much in the beginning," she says, recalling watching her and Affleck's lives change with the birth of their first daughter, Violet, now 6, and "falling in love again" with Seraphina, now 3.

"Now," she says, sharing a photo of her chubby-cheeked, blue-eyed baby boy, "I just have crazy, crazy baby love." Adding a boy to the family, so far, hasn't changed much, Garner says. "My husband says that I'm different with him, but I think I've always been crazy about babies. But he thinks that. What does he know?" she jokes.

Suddenly, Affleck calls and Garner apologizes as she answers; he's flying from shooting Runner, Runner in Puerto Rico. "Hi, sweetie," she says, learning he'll be home for dinner. "The girls are going to lose their minds," she says to him.

Cooking with Ben and Jen

At the Affleck-Garner house, "something is in the oven or about to come out of the oven," Hedges says. "You just kind of don't want to leave."

"When I first met her, I went to her house in L.A., and she was experimenting with making roast chicken," says Jim Field Smith, who directs her in Butter, an indie film due this fall. "And she had made, like, five different types of chicken using different recipes and insisted that I try a little piece of all of them."

("As it happened, they were all perfect," he quips.)

Garner and Affleck, 39, have a his-and-hers October in store; Butter, Garner's off-center comedy about an acid-tongued butter carver's wife, will be released a week before Affleck's newest directorial effort, Argo. The couple regularly screens the other's work. "I've seen (Argo) 15 times," Garner says. "Every cut."

Married seven years, both have "gotten better at it," she says. "It's really fun. I probably am up in his grill less about stuff. I don't think I'm a particularly controlling person, but I probably work less to make things fit a mold in my head. And he exceeds my expectations anyway."

What lies outside their Brentwood gates, however, is a study in the darker side of fame.

Garner's everyday activities are, like many Hollywood moms', excessively photographed. In her case, it's "every day," from 7 a.m. until bedtime, she says cautiously. Celebrities complaining about paparazzi is a tricky business, and not something she likes to "give energy to." In her world, nannies at the park act as tipsters. Garner shares a photo showing 14 photographers pressed sardine-like against a pottery shop's glass storefront, a row of lenses aimed straight at her.

Outwardly, she keeps calm, smiling, she says, for her children. "So inside, I rage, and outside, I go through it. I mean, life is good. I cannot complain. I would give anything for my kids not to be exposed, not to have to deal with this." At this, her eyes water, but she steadies herself. "It's just constantly a choice. Is it better for them to get (photographed) in the parking lot of this place but for me to be with them? It's just something that I try my best to navigate."

Leaving L.A. could help, "but it's complicated," Garner says. "Then we would be separated so much more."

Says Edgerton: "When she says that family and being a mum is more important than being a movie star, she really means it. I know that the paparazzi are a big concern to her. … She's very concerned about protecting her kids. She handles it exceptionally well considering that they go as far as trying to provoke her."

A choosy working mom

only she could call upon Butter's devilishly mannered Laura Pickler, whose spiteful verbiage is delivered with relish by Garner. "Butter is kind of the other side of my personality," says Garner, who produced the R-rated comedy that features Hugh Jackman as her lover, Olivia Wilde as a stripper and Ty Burrell as her philandering husband. "Like, The Odd Life of Timothy Green is me, it's the nice side of me, and Butter is the naughty side of me." She raises an eyebrow and grins. "But it's not me, obviously, because she's a horrible person, but I love that she's horrible. It's so much fun."

It has been tough for Garner to decide on a next role. "I definitely get pickier with every baby," she says. "But I do still want to work." And Affleck is "really pro-me working. I think he thinks I'd go crazy if I didn't, which is probably true."

Coffee drunk, toast eaten, Garner stops on her way out to chat with fellow mom Reese Witherspoon, who's dining nearby. Outside, cameras wait.

But for Garner, Timothy Green was worth the trip. "I feel an evangelical need to let people know that they have to see this film. This movie is for people who don't leave the house very often, but this is so worth their while. I get it. I don't leave the house very often, but I would for this."

Garner steps out from 'mama land'

Garner and Edgerton (Animal Kingdom) are co-stars in a film called The Odd Life of Timothy Green, a magical fable about parenting and the many ways that children come into our lives. Garner, in real life recently back at work after the birth of her third child with husband Ben Affleck, plays a wife and first-time mother in the movie: "Yeah "¦ If I couldn't get THIS role," she jokes.

Garner, 40, who is tall and beautiful, says that one of the things she likes about The Odd Life of Timothy Green (in theatres Wednesday) is that the movie tells some truths about parenting.

"It doesn't shirk from the fact that sometimes when you're trying your hardest as a parent, that's when you're screwing up the most."

With daughters aged six and three and an infant son, Garner is currently living in what she calls "mama land." Like all working mothers, she tries to find balance.

"I kind of take it one thing at a time. I do get pickier with every kid," she says of the roles that interest her, "but I'm ambitious in a different way now than I was before. I'm ambitious for my family and I sneak off and do something to fill me up. And I've realized, having been home as long as I have been, which is a huge luxury, that I do need this job. I do need to do this ... and it's got to be something I need to do in order to leave my kids and do it. And my partner's pretty busy, so we can't all just get up and go."

Domestic bliss aside, Garner says she'd be willing to take on some edgier work.

"I 'd like to do some action or something where I shock myself a little bit. I was just visiting my husband's set in Puerto Rico, and it's a lot of the same camera guys as on The Kingdom. They see me," she says, adopting a tough-guy male voice, "and they're like, 'Hey Jen! What's up! Remember that fight scene!' And I felt like I was a different person from the person they were talking about. And I thought, 'I kind of need to do something like that for myself.' "

Garner got her big break kicking butt as one of the leads in TV's Alias and made her presence known in film from around 2000 onward, thanks to roles in Daredevil, Pearl Harbor, Catch Me If You Can and 13 Going On 30. Her other major movies include The Kingdom, Juno, Valentine's Day and Arthur, among others.

Would she do the action-packed work of an Alias again?

"Of course I would!" she exclaims. "I had the time of my life. I don't know if I'd be as cavalier about jumping off a building again," she says, laughing, "but the rest of it, for sure."

Garner grew up in Charleston, W. Va., one of three daughters of an English teacher mom and a chemical engineer dad. She was an avid ballet student growing up.

"So what there was to do in my little town was ballet and community theatre and the same woman ran both and still does," says the actress. "That's what there was to do in Charleston. I loved to perform and I loved to be backstage. And I still do."

Garner describes an idyllic childhood in Charleston but says that a bit of sibling rivalry is probably what led to her career as an actress.

"My older sister is so exceptional, and I definitely grew up in her shadow," says Garner. "She's so beautiful, and she was valedictorian, and incredibly academically successful -- in our state! And recognized all the time, and when she composed a little piece on the piano, she played it with our state symphony, and she's just one of those gifted people."

Performing was one way to differentiate herself from her sister and claim something for herself.

"I worship her, and I've never had an issue with her," adds Garner. "And I have to say, my sisters have never once made me feel they have an issue with the luck I've had."

Meanwhile, Garner says she's very happy in mama land but knows a return to work is inevitable.

"I'll just feel ready when the right thing comes along," she says, cheerfully. "And when the right thing comes along, I'll do it."

Jennifer Garner: Yes, Ben Wants More Kids

“The fact that Ben wants another [baby] is true,” the actor’s wife Jennifer Garner told EXTRA Monday, adding that since giving birth to their third child earlier this year — they’re already parents to daughters Violet, 6½, and Seraphina, 3½ — it’s “been absolute chaos” in their home.

Given the apparent madness, it only makes sense that Garner, 40, is in disagreement with her hubby’s hopes.

“I can tell you that would be a pretty uphill battle with me,” she says. “I am not anticipating having any more kids!”

But she does appreciate how Affleck, 39, is there to help out when she’s busy with a movie role, including her most recent one, The Odd Life of Timothy Green.

“Ben took a break,” she says. “He came, he did the school drop-offs and pick-ups and bedtimes.”

Jennifer Garner Says "Yes!" to More Action Movies (Alias Fans Rejoice!)

And while Jennifer Garner kicked some serious booty after Alias ended—Elektra, anyone?—she's since turned her attention to roles that require less, as Sydney would say, "jumping over canals in 3-inch heels while napalm explodes around me."

So when we caught up with Ms. Garner on the AstroTurf carpet at the world premiere of her latest movie, The Odd Life of Timothy Green, we had to ask if she'd be returning to the world of action movies anytime soon.

"Do I think there will be a return to the action? I hope so!" Jennifer excitedly revealed to us. "Yes! I was just working out with my trainer this morning, and she's trained me for 12 years and she was like, 'I think it's time. I think we need to put some pleather on.'"

Hear that? That was the sound of every Alias fan ever rejoicing. But does a return to ass kicking mean fans might finally see Sydney return to the field in a big-screen feature? We sure hope so.

"I know, wouldn't that be fun?!" Jennifer agreed, before noting, "I think J.J. [Abrams] is pretty busy for that."

He couldn't fit in a little ole spy thriller between Star Trek sequels, his television series (Fringe, Person of Interest and the impending Revolution) and the two dozen or so other projects he has in development?!

For now, Jennifer is leaving the espionage behind for more warm and fuzzy fare. The actress, who said she forced her parents to attend this premiere with her, said her favorite scene in Timothy Green is, "The soccer scene, because I haven't been that mom on the sidelines yet but I think I could get there."

Especially since the ever-growing family (Jennifer and husband Ben Affleck have two daughters, Violet and Seraphina) just welcomed another addition: 5-month-old Samuel! Kiddos who, we're sure, would love to see their mama in full-on spy mode. Just sayin'!

Bradley Cooper Goes Shirtless for Elephant Man-Sneak a Peek!

But this time, the actor has stripped down to a pair of skivvies for a different reason, which will also explain the peculiar look on his face.

Cooper is currently playing Joseph Merrick alongside actress Patricia Clarkson in a revised version of The Elephant Man at the Williamstown Theatre in Massachusetts over the weekend.

His lead role portrays a man who suffers from extreme deformities during the Victorian era in London, and goes from being the local freak show to becoming the star of the town with the help of Mrs. Kendall (Clarkson), an actress hired to befriend Merrick.

The show will run at Williamstown Theatre until Aug. 5.

Jennifer Garner & Ben Affleck Take Baby Samuel to the Beach

Nearly five months after Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck welcomed their new addition, the whole family – including daughters Violet, 6, and Seraphina, 3 – hit the beach in Puerto Rico.

Photographs from earlier this week show Affleck, 39, on break from filming Runner, Runner with Justin Timberlake, cooling off in the waves as Garner, 40, hangs on tight to her baby boy.

Garner "is an incredible, spectacular, world-class mom," Affleck said last May. (Photo)

Samuel Affleck: See First Photo of Jennifer Garner & Ben Affleck's Son

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner stepped out to celebrate the Fourth of July in Pacific Palisades, Calif., with all three of their kids in tow – providing the first glimpse of their youngest, son Samuel, 4 months.

The couple was joined by daughters Seraphina, 3½, and Violet, 6½, at Wednesday's patriotic party.

Garner gave birth to Samuel on Feb. 27, and Affleck has since raved about what a wonderful mother she is. In a recent Mother's Day greeting, the actor called his wife "an incredible, spectacular, world-class mom."

At Wednesday's Independence Day parade, Seraphina was treated to some blue cotton candy. She also cheered on the festivities with pompoms in hand. Violet, meanwhile, held on to her dad's hand as she took in the parade.

Not just business

Bradley Cooper to make "American Sniper" film

Cooper will produce and potentially star in an adaptation of "American Sniper," the tale of "the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History."

In the memoir, Navy SEAL Chris Kyle recounts his record-setting military history, during which he claims to have killed more than 150 people.

The Texas native learned to shoot on childhood hunting trips with his father and later served in during the Iraq War.

Jason Dean Hall, who penned "Spread," will write the script while Cooper will produce with Andrew Lazar and Peter Morgan.

Cooper has a busy schedule ahead with three movies coming out later this year - "Hit and Run," "The Place Beyond the Pines" and "The Silver Linings Playbook" - as well as two more set for 2013 - "Serena" and "The Hangover Part III."

"The Hangover" franchise is a Warner Bros. property, one reason Cooper set up his production company at the studio earlier this year.

Ben Affleck & Jen Garner Tip Big During Low-Key Date Night

The happy couple recently stopped by Whiskey Blue inside the W Los Angeles – Westwood hotel, where they sat at the bar and had drinks together.

Garner, who sipped on red wine; and Affleck "were smiling, laughing and very affectionate towards each other," an onlooker tells PEOPLE. "Jen's post-baby body looked amazing!"

Money was apparently no object for the married pair, who left a generous $20 tip for a $30 bill. But there's a chance Affleck had some extra cash laying around after competing in the "Playing for Good" poker tournament benefiting the Geffen Playhouse just a little bit earlier.

Ben Affleck Shares Mother's Day Tribute, Calls Wife Jennifer Garner a "Spectacular, World-Class Mom"

The Town star hit Facebook to share the special Mother's Day video message, which was dedicated to his wife Jennifer Garner, his mom, Chris, and mothers across the globe.

"Happy Mother's Day to all the amazing Moms in my life," Affleck wrote. "Please share this video for the Mothers and Grandmothers in your lives in honor of their sacrifices, selflessness and courage."

The video, which was shot during Affleck's recent trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo, featured footage of moms and children in the Congo.

The 39-year-old thesp founded the Eastern Congo Initiative (ECI) in 2009, which focuses on helping the residents of eastern Congo develop community-based, local approaches to create a sustainable society.

"I want to say Happy Mother's Day to all the moms in my life--my mom, Chris, and my amazing wife, Jennifer, who is an incredible, spectacular, world-class mom, and I want to thank her," Affleck said in the video.

"And I want to say Happy Mother's Day to all the moms I've met in the Democratic Republic of Congo who are on this video that I hope you watch," he continued. "I urge you to share it, to post it to Facebook, to celebrate all the moms in the world, including the ones in your life, as well as those out there in the world working at the very hardest job there is every single day."

Affleck and Garner have three children together, Violet, 6 Seraphina Rose Elizabeth, 3, and Samuel Garner, 2 ½ months.

How sweet!

NBC Orders Ryan Murphy Comedy, J.J. Abrams Drama to Series

The network has picked up The New Normal, from Glee and American Horror Story boss Ryan Murphy, and Revolution, from Lost and Fringe executive producer J.J. Abrams, TVGuide.com has confirmed.

The New Normal is a half-hour family comedy about a gay couple (The Hangover's Justin Bartha and The Book of Mormon's Andrew Rannells) and the cash-strapped single mother who becomes their surrogate (Georgia King). Ellen Barkin is set to co-star in the series, co-written by Murphy and Ali Adler (Glee, Chuck)

Revolution, from Abrams, Supernatural's Eric Kripke and Bryan Burk, is a high-octane action drama that follows a group of people struggling to survive and reunite with their loved ones in a world where all forms of energy have mysteriously ceased to exist. Giancarlo Esposito, Billy Burke, David Lyons, Tim Guinee, Graham Rogers, Tracy Spiridakos, Andrea Roth, JD Pardo, Zak Orth and Anna Lise Philips will star.

The New Normal and Revolution join previously announced new series, Matthew Perry's comedy Go On and Anne Heche's comedy Save Me.

Will you watch The New Normal or Revolution?

Amy Acker Is a Person of Interest

Acker will play an attractive psychologist who caters to the rich and powerful. When the machine spits out her number, Reese (Jim Caviezel) must keep her safe from several clients who could potentially kill to keep their secrets safe.

Besides her work on Angel and Alias, Acker has also recurred on such series as Dollhouse and Happy Town. Most recently, Acker guest-starred on Grimm and Once Upon a Time. She's currently appearing on the big screen in The Cabin in the Woods.

Person of Interest airs Thursdays at 9/8c on CBS. The season finale is slated to air May 17.

Cooper, Saldana reportedly split

The Avatar beauty split from her partner of 11 years, fiance Keith Britton, last year and she went on date Cooper after bonding on the set of their upcoming drama The Words.

News of the couple's relationship emerged at the start of the year, after she was spotted ringing in the New Year with The Hangover hunk - but neither Saldana nor Cooper commented on the romance.

And now it appears the lovers have parted ways.

A source tells Us Weekly magazine, "They're definitely no longer together. She and Bradley weren't super-serious at all."

Cooper, who was briefly married to actress Jennifer Esposito, previously dated actress Renee Zellweger and has been linked to stars including Olivia Wilde and Jennifer Lopez.

Jennifer Garner Emerges for First Time Since Giving Birth-and Where's Baby Samuel?

Literally.

The mom of three emerged this week for the first time since giving birth on Feb. 27. So what'd she get up to? And did little Sam make his debut appearance?

It's a no on the latter—at least, not that we could see.

Wearing sunglasses and dressed casually, Garner looked to be riding solo on this particular excursion, as X17 caught the mama behind the wheel of her Range Rover while driving near her home in the Pacific Palisades Wednesday.

It didn't look like any of her kids, Sam, Violet or Seraphina, were with her at the time. Hey, a mama—especially a new one—has to take those quiet moments where she can get 'em.

Can't wait to see you, little Sammy!

Ben Affleck Couldn't Be Prouder of His Family

"Jen is feeling good," a source tells PEOPLE. "She's so thrilled to have a little boy, and the girls already love him so much."

Their son Samuel joins big sisters Seraphina, 3, and Violet, 6.

While the actress told Ellen DeGeneres that "it would be so weird to have a boy," Garner seems to be taking it all in stride.

"Jen is such a natural mother," says a source close to the couple.

The proud parents, both 39, have always put family first.

"He couldn't be happier," Affleck's friend tells PEOPLE. "He loves his wife. He loves his family and he's proud – he's legitimately proud – you can just see it."

As for Affleck, who has been acting less to focus on directing lately, his most important role is being a father.

"He's gets to spend a lot of time with his family and the idea that they have three kids right now is something that makes them both feel really good," the source adds.

The couple, who wed in June 2005, announced they were expecting their third child in August.

For more on Affleck and Garner's growing family, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.

Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck Name Son Samuel

Ben Affleck revealed the name of his and wife Jennifer Garner's newest addition – a son – Wednesday morning on his Facebook timeline.

"We are happy to announce on February 27, Jennifer gave birth to a healthy baby boy, Samuel Garner Affleck," the actor, 39, writes.

The newborn, who arrived Monday, joins his elder sisters, ages 6 and 3 respectively.

"Our girls are working on names. At first they were definitely Disney. It was like, Donald Duck, Minnie Mouse Affleck,” the actress, 39, told Jay Leno recently. "And then they've moved on. Then it was Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Smee."

The couple, married since June 2005, announced the pregnancy in August.

Victor Garber Books Pilot

Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck Welcome Their Third Child

Garner gave birth to a baby boy in Santa Monica. No other details have been made public.

The latest addition to their family joins sisters Violet, 6, and Serafina, 3. Garner and Affleck, both 39, have been married for seven years.

A rep for the actress did not immediately respond to TVGuide.com's request for comment.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner Take Violet and Seraphina to Disneyland

Earlier this week Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner (who's pregnant with baby number three!) had a Disneyland adventure with their adorable daughters Violet and Seraphina.

The whole family looked like they were enjoying themselves at the theme park, but Violet and Seraphina love Disney so much, they want to name their future sibling after a character!

"Our girls are working on [baby] names," Garner told Jay Leno on The Tonight Show last month. "At first they were definitely Disney. It was like, Donald Duck, Minnie Mouse Affleck. And they they've moved on. Then it was Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Smee."

What about Aladdin or Aurora Affleck? We've heard much stranger celebrity baby names!

Greg Grunberg To Co-Star In CBS' Greg Malins/Greg Berlanti Comedy Pilot

Bradley Cooper & Ben Affleck: How Sexy Men Do Sushi

Bradley Cooper and Zoe Saldana Steam Up Sundance at The Words Premiere!

So, did the sexiest man alive and his lady love finally heat things up in public at Sundance?

Not at all.

But the duo did dish on what they were doing in Park City, Utah, leading up to their big night at the film festival (separately, of course).

And Saldana, who is slated to present at the SAG awards Sunday, made sure to get plenty of rest.

"I completely relaxed," the Avatar star, who looked dashing in Alexander McQueen, told E! News. "I have to go back to work Monday so I came here...and even though I came for the amazing celebration of selling ‘The Words' here at Sundance, I still have to rest to go back to work."

And while the starlet stayed mum on what she'll don for the SAG awards, she did let us in on how she gets red-carpet ready.

"I leave it to my stylist," Saldana went on. "She picks out the outfits and I just blindly put them on. So I think she's working diligently on finding the best outfit for Sunday."

Cooper, who sported a blazer and thick gray scarf for the occasion (and some very gnarly facial hair) was in the mood for action prior to the premiere, opting for the slopes rather than days of relaxation.

"I skied for the first time three weeks ago and I went up to Deer Valley and skied and I loved it. I didn't fall yet. I fell the first time but not this time," Cooper said.

But, seriously, what's up with Cooper's thick 'stache?

"This is for a role," Cooper said with a chuckle. "I could lie, but it's for this movie called Serena with Jen Lawrence in a couple of weeks."

And speaking of roles, Cooper said he was very excited to be in The Words, mainly because it is a film that his friends developed.

"I'm so happy for this movie," Cooper went on. "My friends Lee [Sternthal] and Brian [Klugman] created it and directed it…That I could be a part of it is awesome. It's the reason why you do this stuff in the first place. So I'm very excited."

When it came to discussing his experience working with Saldana on the flick, though, Cooper played coy, simply saying, "It was great. The whole cast was incredible."

The thriller flick, which scored bragging rights when it became the first major sale of Sundance last Sunday, tells the story of a young author who plagiarizes from a forgotten manuscript and later pays the price.

Alias' Kevin Weisman Joins NBC's Upcoming Awake

Weisman will play a mysterious character named Mr. Blonde, opposite Jason Isaacs' Detective Britton. The series tells the story of Britton, who, after a car accident, lives in two very different realities: one where his wife died in the accident but his son survived, and the other where his son died but his wife lived.

Weisman's recurring character will appear in both realities and will have crucial information about the car accident that changed Britton's life.

While he's best known for playing Marshall Flinkman on Alias, Weisman has also appeared on episodes of CSI and Fringe.

Awake is executive-produced by Lone Star's Kyle Killen and 24's Howard Gordon. NBC has yet to schedule a premiere date for the series.

'Hangover 3' update: Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms bank $15 million each

Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis and Ed Helms are signing on for a second sequel to the 2009 hit and making a cool $15 million each in the process. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the deals are nearly signed after a four-month stall in which the three actors banded together to fight for a $15 million payday.

The trio made just $1 million each for the first "Hangover" movie, which wound up grossing $467 million worldwide. 2011's sequel, "The Hangover Part II," netted each of the debaucherous dudes $5 million each. Frankly, though, we think they deserve the cash. The first two movies made buckets and buckets (like, really large buckets) of money, and they deserve to get in on that action. Besides, would you see another "Hangover" movie without them? We wouldn't.

Cooper said in December of 2011 that he expected filming on the threequel to begin in September. "I hope we're going start shooting in September," he says. "I know Todd Phillips is working on the script. We adhered to the formula in the second one, [and] the third would close the trilogy. I think it'll take place in L.A. and not adhere to the structure, it might be different."

Bradley Cooper's The Words Snapped Up in Sundance Bidding War

The Words, a thriller that made its debut at Sundance Saturday morning (and stars the 37-year-old Hangover thesp), just sold to CBS Films after a "heated" bidding war that lasted until 4 a.m. on Sunday, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The hot commodity, written and directed by Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal, is the first major sale of Sundance.

The project, which tells the story of a young author (Cooper) who plagiarizes from a forgotten manuscript and later pays the price, was sold for about $2 million, with a $1.5 million print and advertising commitment.

The Words also stars Cooper's on and off-screen lady love Zoe Saldana, as well as Dennis Quaid, Olivia Wilde, Ben Barnes and Jeremy Irons.

Victor Garber to Guest-Star on Showtime's The Big C

The Alias and Eli Stone actor, who currently co-stars on Web Therapy, will make a guest appearance in the third season premiere. He'll play a foil for Sean (John Benjamin Hickey) after an accidental phone call turns into a harassment situation.

The last we saw of Cathy (Laura Linney), she had finished running a marathon, only to learn that Paul (Oliver Platt), who suffered a possible heart attack, may have died.

The Big C returns April 8 on Showtime.

Jennifer Garner: Violet and Seraphina's Baby Name Choices 'Definitely Disney'

Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck are learning this as they prepare for their third child — and are getting an avalanche of suggestions for names from daughters Violet, 6, and Seraphina, 3.

“Our girls are working on names. At first they were definitely Disney. It was like, Donald Duck, Minnie Mouse Affleck,” the Butter star, 39, said Wednesday on The Tonight Show.

“And then they’ve moved on. Then it was Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Smee.”

With those character names not really cutting it, the girls moved on to other strategies.

“They’re coming up with lists, and coming in and saying, ‘Let’s have a baby-naming contest! Let’s have a baby-naming poll!’” Garner, who’s due in the spring, says. “They ask everyone, cause they just want to know. But we’re not telling.”

Garner knows the sex of the baby, but declined to reveal it on the show. Asked if her husband wants a boy, Garner — who has said she wants a third girl — said she actually didn’t know.

“I would have thought so. At first I think I really thought so,” she said. “And then he kind of said, ‘Well, we have girls. We know how to do girls. My girls love me. I’m the big guy in the house.’ So, now I’m not sure.”

Cooper's 'Grey' area

Bradley Cooper Parties in Hollywood, but Was Girlfriend Zoe Saldana by His Side?

Last night, the hunky actor stopped by the The Grey's L.A. premiere to support his A-Team pals Liam Neeson and director Joe Carnahan before hitting the Weinstein Company's star-studded Pre-Golden Globes bash at Chateau Marmont.

So was Cooper's gal Zoe Saldana by his very good-looking side?

Nope.

The Avatar actress was not out and about with her man, but Cooper was kept company by stars like Michelle Williams and Busy Philipps. The trio spent most of the night chatting with Weinstein head honcho Harvey Weinstien.

Also at the Audi and Grey Goose-sponsored fete were Jane Lynch and Lisa Kudrow, who joked and laughed together most of the evening. Jamie Foxx and Jeremy Piven also palled around while chatting with several ladies.

Hung star Thomas Jane arrived to the bash with Rose McGowan around 9:45 p.m. The twosome hung out with each other while mingling with other partygoers late into the night, leaving shortly after midnight.

Lindsay Lohan even popped into the party for a little while, snapping a pic with Hunger Games starlet Leven Rambin before heading out.

Bradley Cooper and Zoe Saldana: More Than Just Costars?

Amid growing rumors of a romance, the actors, who costar in the upcoming movie The Words, were spotted enjoying each other's company Saturday night in Los Angeles, arriving and leaving the supper club Greystone Manor together.

"They were flirting and talking by the DJ booth," says an onlooker, who notes they were sitting by Paris Hilton and DJ Afrojack, her rumored beau.

It appears PEOPLE's Sexiest Man Alive, who turned 37 last week, and Saldana, 33, already got close during filming – as new publicity stills for The Words show the pair lounging pensively in bed together.

Cooper was linked to Jennifer Lopez and Olivia Wilde last year, following his split from Renée Zellweger in March.

Saldana separated from her boyfriend of 11 years, entrepreneur Keith Britton, in November.

'Alcatraz': J.J. Abrams reunites with Jorge Garcia for supernatural drama

At the Television Critics Association Press Tour on Sunday, executive producers and cast members revealed that the mid-season launch actually afforded them to make some improvements upon an already great pilot. The most significant change is in Sarah Jones' character, Detective Rebecca Madsen.

The original concept introduced Madsen as a rather icy, buttoned-up detective with some misconceptions about her family's background and connection to Alcatraz -- she reminded us very strongly of Olivia in early seasons of "Fringe." In the new version, she's loosened up considerably and given a more complicated history with her grandfather, a former inmate of Alcatraz.

"One of the advantages of being a midseason show is... you actually have the time, if you're lucky... to make changes," executive producer J.J. Abrams says. "We wanted to invest more in a specific thing with Rebecca so we had a stronger connection to Alcatraz. Rather than say 'Let's suck it up and move on,' we realized we had the chance to make some changes and improve upon it."

The premise of the season is that a large number of dangerous criminals and guards vanished from Alcatraz Island as the prison was closing, and that they're now reappearing in the present day, as if they time-traveled. This, executive producer Jennifer Johnson says, elevates the series from a traditional crime drama. "[The inmates] have the same venom and the same urgency in the crimes that they're perpetrating that they did in the past before they disappeared," she says.

Given the time-travel aspect, the law enforcement team faces some interesting hurdles. These characters have no friends, no family, no relationships, and no credit card trails. "They don't even know what a credit card is," Johnson adds.

Obviously a major pull for the series is the reunion of Abrams with "Lost" star Jorge Garcia. Garcia says that joining the series was a no-brainer -- his girlfriend was, at the time, writing a book about Alcatraz, and Abrams' involvement sealed the deal. "If J.J. asks me to do anything, I say yes first and read second," he admits.

As for comparisons to "Lost," Abrams says that "Alcatraz" will be easier to follow for a casual viewer with a mystery of the week format as well as a strong mythology threat. And no, the fact that Alcatraz is on an island did not factor into his interest in the concept (yes, the question was asked). "In theory, any land mass is an island, so you could argue any show ever made -- the Mary Tyler Moore show is much like 'Lost,' honestly."

At the heart of the show, of course, is the prison, which functions as a sort of character of its own, coming to life in flashbacks and serving as a looming reminder in the present day. "Just the name puts a shiver down my spine. The charisma of that strange place is something that I believe has permeated this show," says star Sam Neill. Upon visiting the prison, he says he was overwhelmed by the "cruelty of a prison where you sit behind bars looking at something as lovely as San Francisco, and San Francisco's looking at you."

"You feel like you're in a haunted house," adds Abrams. "The look of it and the feel of it. Having filmed in other prisons, this place does not feel like any other prison that I've either visited or served time in."

The series premieres Monday, Jan. 16, at 8 p.m. EST.

Saldana spotted kissing Cooper

The Avatar star revealed in November she had ended her longterm relationship with fiance Keith Britton, stating they "amicably separated".

And Saldana rang in the New Year with a new man - a report on UsMagazine.com suggests she was seen kissing The Hangover star at a private 1940s-themed party in Los Angeles on December 31.

A source tells the website, "They were making out for 20 minutes! They're dating, but Zoe just left an engagement. She's just looking to have fun."

Saldana spent a lot of time with Cooper last year - they filmed upcoming 2012 drama The Words together.

Bradley Cooper Works on His Abs (and Conversational Skills) at the Gym

Sexy Item Alert: Bradley Cooper Is "Totally Dating" Zoe Saldana!

The reigning Sexiest Man Alive and Zoe Saldana are dating and they're extremely happy about it, sources exclusively tell E! News. And we hear that the pair are just now starting to tell family and friends that they're an item.

What? You didn't expect either one of them to remain on the market for long, did you?

A rep for Saldana, who recently filmed The Words with—and got to practice kissing—Cooper, denied that the costars were anything more than friends a month ago, after their appearance together at a Manhattan nightclub prompted romantic speculation.

But as recently as last week, a source tells E! News, they were telling friends that they had plans to go skiing in the Rockies together over the holidays.

"They are totally dating," the source says.

Reps for both stars did not immediately return requests for comment.

Saldana and her boyfriend of nearly 11 years, Keith Britton, called off their engagement and revealed that they had broken up in early November.

Bradley Cooper -- Now 39 Times More Likely to Die in a Car Crash

Sources tell TMZ, Cooper hit up an L.A.-area DMV earlier this month -- where he successfully passed his test for a motorcycle license ... permitting him to hit the streets on whatever overly-priced vintage chopper he inevitably decides to buy.

But he better be careful -- according to some random motorcycle crash statistics we looked up, "Motorcyclists were 39 times more likely than passenger car occupants to die in a crash ... and eight times more likely to be injured."

Hey, if you're gonna lose a leg -- may as well look damn cool doing it.

Jennifer Garner: I 'Would Do Anything' for Ben Affleck

"We both know we couldn't do what we do without each other," the actress says in the January issue of InStyle, on sale Friday. "Ben always says, 'If you love it, we can make it happen.' "

Of course, jewelry helps, too! Affleck, 39, enjoys showering his wife with diamonds. He gave her a pair of pink and white diamond Harry Winston bands, one for each of their two daughters, Violet, 6, and Seraphina, who turns 3 next month.

"He knows when to swoop in with the gesture. He's sweet that way," Garner says. "Honestly, I would do anything for that man, because I know it's not taken for granted."

Also not taken for granted is their growing family. The actress, who is expecting her third child, calls pregnancy at age 39 "a game changer."

Garner admitted to having a difficult first trimester, complete with nausea, exhaustion and junk-food cravings.

"My kids had never seen Doritos before. They would say, 'Mom, where did you get that orange chip? I really want that,' " she says. "I wish I was one of those cute pregnant girls who wear skinny jeans throughout their pregnancies. But I just gain weight."

J.J. Abrams and 'One Tree Hill' creator Mark Schwahn join forces for CW pilot

J.J. Abrams and Mark Schwahn, creator of "One Tree Hill," are joining forces for a pilot at The CW. Titled "Maine" (for now), the show will revolve around the staff and guests at an inn in Maine.

Schwahn would write and executive produce the series, with Abrams and Bryan Burk also serving as EPs.

Deadline compares the series to Schwahn's "One Tree Hill" and Abrams' "Felicity," so basically, we are so happy we might cry. After a nine-year run of "OTH," it's no surprise that The CW would want to stay in business with Schwahn, and "Felicity" was one of The WB's most critically acclaimed series.

We're already assembling our dream cast. It begins and ends with Scott Foley.

Cooper thinks Gosling is sexier

The Hangover hunk has claimed the 2011 crown but admits Gosling is a more deserving winner as the Canadian actor always looks groomed.

He tells U.K. talk show host Graham Norton, "It's so awful that I'm admitting this but the hell with it - there was such a backlash to when they announced it. Ryan Gosling, who I love and I just did a movie with him, he's the greatest, but we were both in Paris this last week and a friend of mine showed me photographs (of us) from the paparazzi. When I say friend I mean me alone in my room looking at the computer!

"There's him walking around and he literally looks like he's in a photoshoot, like he just came off the runway. And there's ones of me and I literally look like the neighbour who never really comes out of his house. And when he does you're like, 'Maybe he should just stay in! We don't know what he does in there!' So it's been interesting."

Cooper admits he's still coming to terms with all the adulation, adding, "It's the worst! It's just so awful. I'm finally at an age, I'm 36 years old, where I really don't care about anything like that anymore, which is a wonderful thing. Then this (People magazine title) happened and I started to realize how not sexy I am. I have a lot of moments where I'll be walking out, I open up the door and think, 'I could do that a lot sexier. That was not very sexy at all!'"

Bradley Cooper and Zoe Saldana: Hot New Couple?

And now reports are swirling that Bradley Cooper and Zoe Saldana have gone from costars to real-life lovebirds.

So are they?

No, sorry.

"They are not dating," Saldana's rep tells me. "They are just friends."

The two are costarring in the upcoming indie flick, The Words. Cooper plays a successful writer who claims another man's long-lost work as his own. The film also costars Olivia Wilde, Jeremy Irons and Dennis Quaid.

At the same time, Cooper is also being linked to Melanie Laurent, the French actress known in the U.S. for Inglourious Basterds and this year's awards season favorite, Beginners.

The two were photographed together in Paris. Us Weekly reports they enjoyed some lunch and theater in the afternoon followed by dinner at his hotel Plaza Athenee. Reps for Cooper and Laurent did not immediately comment for this story.

Romance or not, at least Cooper gets to practice his French.

Bradley Cooper's All-American Meal in Paris

Bradley Cooper Steps Out with Melanie Laurent in Paris

Bradley Cooper was spotted out on the streets of Paris with stunning French actress Melanie Laurent on Monday night.

But perhaps the fluent French-speaking actor – and PEOPLE's reigning Sexiest Man Alive – was just working on his language skills.

Though they looked cozy after attending a short play together, the pair are simply friends, a source tells PEOPLE.

Cooper and Laurent, who had roles in Inglourious Basterds and the more recent Beginners, were bundled up and looked deep in conversation at times.

Amy Acker Heads to NBC's Grimm

Acker, 34, will portray an everyday housewife who suffers from rapid aging. The cure: Becoming the Black Widow, who needs to suck the life out of three men in three days before expiring.

Acker, also known for her roles on Dollhouse and Alias, will appear in one episode slated to air

Sexiest Man Bradley Cooper With a Mohawk! Get a Look at His Cool Crow Costume

However, some newly released concept art shows by Diego Latorre what the production team was considering, and we have to say it looks pretty amazing....

Check out the mohawk version (our favorite), as well as the guitar -slinger style they came up with. While the movie looks to be on hold, these shots suggest that there's still life in this tale of a vengeful murder victim back from the undead.

Bradley Cooper Is PEOPLE's Sexiest Man Alive!

Ladies, take note: this Georgetown grad can whip up dinner, take you for a spin on his motorcycle and whisper sweet nothings in French (he's fluent!). Just don't try convincing him what a catch he is.

"I think it's really cool that a guy who doesn't look like a model can have this [title]," says the Hangover actor, 36. "I think I'm a decent-looking guy. Sometimes I can look great, and other times I look horrifying."

Another reason to love him? Cooper, whose father Charles passed away in January, is especially close with his mom, Gloria. When he learned he'd been crowned Sexiest Man Alive, the "first thing I thought," he says, "was, 'My mother is going to be so happy.' "

So what's the truth about his dating status?

Cooper, who was with Renée Zellweger for two years until their split in March and has been spotted out with Jennifer Lopez in recent months, says he's a "single 36-year-old male."

"If you're a single man and you happen to be in this business," he says, "you're deemed a player. But I don't see myself as a ladies' man."

For more on Cooper – and more than 100 of the sexiest men around – pick up this week's issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.

2012 People's Choice Award Nominations

Favorite Comedic Movie Actor:
Adam Sandler
Ashton Kutcher
Bradley Cooper
Ryan Reynolds
Steve Carell

Jennifer Garner's "Moan and Groan" Session With Hugh Jackman: "It Was So Horrifying!"

Not so for Jennifer Garner.

The baby-bumpin' actress tells us having to get hot and heavy with the Aussie actor was—believe it or not—"horrifying!"

While filming their new indie flick Butter, Garner and Jackman had to record an off-camera sex scene in which both actors had to vocalize the sounds of their character's lovemaking.

"Of course, it was like the first day we worked together," Garner told us at last night's AFI Festival premiere of the film in Hollywood. "It's always like that. It's always like, 'It's nice to meet you, now let's moan and groan.'"

"I'm such a huge fan of his," she laughed. "It was so horrifying."

As for the ongoing speculation that Garner's character in the dark political comedy is strikingly similar to conservative Republican figures Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann, she said, "I didn't look at the political figures of today at all. As far as the political stuff, that you'll just have to read into yourself."

Netflix extends streaming deal for ABC content

With the extension of the existing license agreement, Netflix will also add new TV show episodes from ABC Studios, Disney Channel and the ABC Family to its existing library, it said in a statement.

Netflix will now also carry episodes of ABC's "Switched at Birth," "Alias" and prior season episodes of Disney Channel's animated series "Kick Buttowski."

Netflix will continue to carry every episode of ABC shows including "Lost," "Ugly Betty,," "Grey's Anatomy," and "Desperate Housewives" and a number of programs from the Disney Channel.

Friend of Jennifer Lopez: Bradley Cooper a Good Boyfriend..."for Now"

Between her nasty divorce and rumor-fueled relaysh, the gal definitely deserves a smoking-hot rebound like rumored fling Bradley Cooper.

Problem is, we're worried Cooper may not be the perfect gentleman for Miss Lopez. Behind those deep blue eyes, dude can be a heart breaker.

So are the rumored couple meant to be, or should Jenny take a walk down a different block? And what do Jenny's friends have to say?

"Are you kidding?" asked one close chum to the American Idol star, "Anybody would be an improvement after [Marc Anthony]. He did not treat her well."

OK, we get that. But is Bradley good for Jennifer?

"For now," the friend told us.

If you ask us, we also say Cooper's a fine choice—but only for the immediate future.

After all, dude is known for his gentlemanly ways, something Jen definitely needs after insecure Marc reportedly couldn't handle Jen's success.

No doubt, J.Lo is a bit of a hopeless romantic (she's has been married three times), and her emotional performance over the weekend and tribute to her lost loves proves the gal is still down from the split.

And while Us Weekly reports Bradley is pursuing Jen like crazy, we're worried the Limitless star may reach his limit with Lopez—after all, his career is what reportedly put an end to his relaysh with Renée Zellweger, and we certainly know J.Lo won't take a backseat to any man's career.

So for now, Cooper does seem a fine, and most importantly, a safe choice for Jen, but whom should she go for when this romance fizzles?

Last time we checked, you all had some interesting choices for J.Lo, namely Alex Rodriguez, Eva Longoria and Lopez's smoldering video costar, William Levy, who's currently single and getting super sweaty and toned in the new man-candy flick Magic Mike.

Well, Jennifer, we still think this is a super-hot (and smart) suggestion!

How about it, babe?

Breakfast With Baby-Bumpin' Jennifer Garner

The baby-bumpin' actress was positively glowing this week when she took part in a stage reading of The Breakfast Club.

Garner joined fellow actors Aaron Paul, James Van Der Beek, Mindy Kaling, Michael Chiklis, Patton Oswalt and J.K.Simmons for Film Independent at LACMA's special sold-out one-time performance of the classic 80s flick. Seriously, how brilliant is that?!

Garner, who played Molly Ringwald's character Claire during the Jason Reitman-hosted event, sported a loose fitting floral top that draped over her bump, a white blazer, jeans and high heels. She stood up from her seat and clasped her hands right under her tummy at the end of the performance when the cast received a standing ovation. She's expecting her and hubby Ben Affleck's third baby.

Cooper offered 'U.N.C.L.E.' role

Steven Soderbergh is set to remake the classic TV show for the big screen and Clooney reportedly signed up to step into the role of Napoleon Solo, made famous by Vaughn.

However, Clooney has since exited the project and the director has now offered the part to The Hangover star Cooper, according to Variety.

The film is reportedly set to start shooting in the spring.

Jennifer Lopez spent the night with Bradley Cooper?

Sources tell Us Weekly that Cooper's plane had arrived in Los Angeles at 1:30 a.m. the night before, while Lopez had left a family function at 2 a.m. When they were photographed in the car the next morning at 10 a.m., Lopez reportedly looked disheveled but happy.

"Bradley hit the gas pretty hard and she began to laugh as they went flying down the road," a source said. He apparently drove her home.

According to the magazine, Cooper, who broke up with Renee Zellweger in March, has been in hot pursuit of Lopez, who split from husband Marc Anthony in July.

"[He is] really trying to woo Jennifer in a big way," a source says. "Considering how depressed she's been since her breakup, it's no surprise that she finally decided to let him in. She needs a boost and he really wants her."

Back in late September, Cooper allegedly visited Lopez in Miami, checking into the Boca Beach Club resort the day after she did. Earlier that month, the two sat next to each other at a Tommy Hilfiger fashion show.

On September 10, Lopez and Cooper were spotted on a date at Per Se in New York, as Page Six reported. "He waited 10 minutes for her to arrive, and she turned up in a white bandage dress looking ridiculously hot," a source squealed. "They sat at a corner table smiling and chatting. It looked like they were heavily flirting. They left together out of a back door."

Watch Now: J.J. Abrams' New Series Alcatraz Looks Amazing!

Out of all the 2011-12 drama pilots we've seen, J.J. Abrams' midseason thriller Alcatraz has us the most excited.

Tonight, Fox is unveiling the first promo for the highly anticipated Alcatraz during Game 1 of the World Series. But we have the exclusive video for you right now... the Video Clip.

Alcatraz, starring Jorge Garcia (Hurley!), Sam Neill (Jurassic Park, and the devil from Reaper, word) and Sarah Jones (Sons of Anarchy), is an action-thriller series about the reappearance of 302 inmates who went missing 100 years earlier. What happens when the nation's worst murderers, rapists, kidnappers and thieves reappear in the present day? Where did they go? Why are they back? And how can they be stopped? Those are just some of the mysteries Alcatraz will unveil.

Creepy island. Mysterious forces. Jorge Garcia. J.J. Abrams.

We are so in.

You?

Jennifer Lopez & Bradley Cooper - Together Again?

A source close to Lopez says the two spent time together on Saturday. Reps for both did not respond for comment.

This isn't the first time Lopez, 42 has been seen with the Hangover star, 37. The pair had dinner last month at Per Se in New York City but quickly asserted that the meeting was nothing more than just business – but was it?

"After their date in New York, Bradley and Jennifer stayed in touch," says a source close to Lopez.

The source also says: "She does like his attention, and it makes her feel good that he seems so into her. She has a fun time with Bradley and he makes her laugh."

Adds another source: "She likes him."

Sweet! Jennifer Garner Shows Off Her Baby Bump

The expecting star kept it cool and casual as she stepped out to get some exercise this week. And then yesterday, the star braved the rain to grab a bite to eat with a friend with her expanding baby bump on display, just months after confirming she and hubby Ben Affleck are expecting their third child.

The couple hasn't revealed whether or not their daughters Violet and Seraphina will have a baby brother or sister...

The couple has also stayed mum on Jen's due date, but looking at the picture, can you guess how far along she is?

We're thinking it can't be too much longer until the newest addition to their family arrives! We're wishing them all the best.

Studs Night Out

J.J. Abrams and Eric Kripke Set up Thriller at NBC

Currently titled Revolution, details remain limited other than being described as an "epic adventure thriller." Abrams, Kripke and Bryan Burk are executive-producing with Abrams' production company Bad Robot and Warner Bros. Television.

Abrams has a full slate this TV season. Besides his returning show Fringe, he has the new series Person of Interest and Alcatraz, which debuts midseason. Kripke, meanwhile, is writing and executive-producing Deadman, a DC Comics adaptation of for The CW.

Jennifer Garner: 'It Would Be So Weird to Have a Boy'

"Three girls is a great way to grow up," the pregnant actress, 39, says during an interview on the Ellen DeGeneres Show scheduled to air Tuesday. "I'm one of three girls and my little sister is awesome."

Even though Garner says, "It would be so weird to have a boy," she also thinks the experience would be "cool and different."

But Garner also takes hubby Ben Affleck, 39, into consideration, acknowledging that it would be "fun" for him to have a boy because "he likes baseball and all that stuff."

As for the duo's daughters – Violet, 5½, and Seraphina, 2½, "They don't really care about the gender as long as we name it what they want it to be named."

And if the girls have it their way, they could end up with a sibling named "Ralphie, Frankie, Minnie Mouse, Daisy Duck, or Rosemarie."

"Daisy Duck Affleck," Garner says with a laugh. "I can see us going that way."

Check Out Baby Bumpin' Jennifer Garner Talking Pregnancy...and Thongs?!

By now, she knows what to expect, right?

Well, after explaining that the first trimester is always "just yuck," Jennifer Garner tells Ellen DeGeneres, "But after that, yeah, it's no big thing, except, there is one big thing..."

"...and that is my bottom," she says.

"You know how once you have kids you never pee by yourself again? They're always, at least one of them is always in there with you at all times. So, the other day, I had on a dress, and my daughter was in there with me, and all of a sudden, she went, ‘Gasp! Mom, we have to have a talk.' "

What could the almost 6-year-old feel was so urgent to bring to her attention?

"'Mom your bottom has gotten so big that your panties don't even begin to cover it.'"

Now that's hilarious. Garner says she had to explain to her daughter that "it's called a thong, you wear it when you're a grown up," to which Violet responded, "Gross."

Aside from panty conversation, the actress talks about possible baby names her daughters are rounding up (how does Daisy Duck Affleck, sound?), her thoughts on having a boy or another little girl and her hubby Ben Affleck playing with dolls.

How Victor Garber Became Charlie's Angels' Charlie

The next day, Garber hurried to an L.A. recording studio to dub his dialogue, having neither seen the pilot nor finished reading the script. "I was really walking in off the street," he says. "They showed me the opening title sequence where I introduce the Angels and tell the story of how it all happened, which is sort of the most important thing." Then Garber recorded his lines for the scene where Charlie gives the Angels their assignment. "It was challenging at first, but once we got going it was fun. And I can sort of do it from anywhere."

True to the original series, there are no plans to reveal Charlie's face, but Garber was told a secret mythology about the character will be explored. "There will be implications that he is more involved than in the original series. He's an interesting, complicated guy and it will be fun to explore that as the series goes on."

Alias' Victor Garber Cast as New Charlie

Victor Garber, who starred opposite Jennifer Garner as Alias' Jack Bristow from 2001-2006, will take over the off-camera big boss role previously played by John Forsythe on the original 1976- 1981 series and its big screen reboots in 2000 and 2003.

It had previously been announced that Hart to Hart veteran Robert Wagner — who owns a stake in the Angels franchise via an early partnership with veteran producers Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg — would be assuming the role, but his deal fell through.

As of press time, Garber's deal was still being negotiated and ABC refused to comment. Producers have said there will be a back story mythology unfolding involving the mysterious Charlie, with speculation brewing that he may have fathered a former angel killed in the line of duty who'd had a romance with the Bosley character now played by Ramon Rodriguez. But we'll have to tune in and see if that early story suggestion will indeed play out.

Jennifer Garner to Produce Cartooning Comedy for ABC

Cartoon Marriage is about a New York cartooning couple, told through each of their perspectives. It's based on the eponymous book by Michael Maslin and Liza Donnelly.

Garner will executive-produce and Less Than Perfect creator Terri Minsky will write.

This is the second project that Garner's production company, Vandalia Film, has signed on for with ABC. The company is also adapting the book The Greeks Shall Inherit the Earth as a half-hour comedy.

Jennifer Garner Shows Off Baby Bump

"Snacks. We have snacks in the car. We have candy in the car," the actress, in Toronto where her well-received new movie, Butter, played the film festival, tells USA Today.

More advice? "Find ways to be as comfortable as possible and just go with it," says Garner, who wowed in Valentino. "It's not an illness, being pregnant. I'm in the easiest part of it."

Besides the satisfaction of having a happy family, Garner is also delighted with the response to her movie.

"Pleased doesn't begin to describe [it] – relieved, grateful, surprised, shocked when we got the first big laugh," she says.

J.J. Abrams to Direct Star Trek 2

Star Trek 2 will bring back Chris Pine as Capt. Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Spock. Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci will write the screenplay with Damon Lindelof producing. The film was slated for a June 2012 release, but will likely be pushed back.

Abrams' reboot, which chronicled the early days of Capt. Kirk and his USS Enterprise crew members, grossed $385 million worldwide.

New Couple Alert? Here's the Real Reason Jennifer Lopez and Bradley Cooper Were Out Together.

Speculation kicked into high gear over the weekend that there's a new celebrity power couple ready to assume the ranks after none other than Jennifer Lopez and Bradley Cooper were spotted intimately dining together—and with no other hangers-on—at New York's Per Se Saturday night.

So what's the deal? Was the meet-up strictly business, all pleasure…or both?

Exhale, ladies: the Limitless star is still, as far as we can tell, on the market. Despite his penchant for fiery Jennifers (lest we forget, he had a blink-and-you'll-miss-it marriage to Jennifer Esposito in his pre-Hangover days), E! News has learned that this particular meeting was nothing personal.

A source close to the newly-single Lopez tells E! News that she was simply in New York doing promotion for her new Kohl's collection (with ex-hubby Marc Anthony) and took full advantage of being on the East Coast, taking several meetings for various creative endeavors.

One of those meetings, the source says, was her dinner with Cooper. The duo was simply discussing a possible future film project together.

And while they're just friends—and possible colleagues—for now, they would make a pretty stunning couple, if we may say so.

Are Jennifer Lopez and Bradley Cooper Dating?

After keeping close company with Olivia Wilde in May and then receiving an honor from Charlize Theron last week, The Hangover star is generating the most talk because of his dinner companion this weekend.

She was no other than the recently available Jennifer Lopez.

Although the Internet lit up with reports of a budding romance between Cooper, 37, and Lopez, 42, a source tells PEOPLE that the dinner Saturday at the New York restaurant Per Se was all business.

The pair, according to the source, are "in discussions regarding a project."

Bradley Cooper Honored in London - by Charlize Theron

Presenting him the honor? His friend Charlize Theron, who happens to be in town filming her new movie, Snow White and the Huntsman, in which she plays the Evil Queen.

Reps for the event say the actors arrived and left separately but were friendly as they shared a table at the ceremony, which was held at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.

Other honorees at Tuesday's ceremony included Duran Duran (who received a Lifetime Achievement award) and Hugh Laurie (honored for his music).

Cooper's Boy Talk

Saldana offended by kiss refusal

The couple plays lovers in the new action film and Vartan didn't want to upset his new bride by getting too close to his co-star.

The Avatar actress scolds, "I was offended... I'm a girl and no matter how you think about it, if a guy doesn't want to kiss you... 'It's because of me'.

"He's very professional, such a sweetheart, a gentleman, but he was sweating profusely. I kind of thought, 'You must've been nervous...' I guess love scenes are not scenes that he likes to do.

"I remember at one point in between takes I'm like, 'You know Michael, you can slip your tongue in my throat...' and he was like, 'No, I don't do that. In 25 years of a career, I've never slipped my tongue in someone's mouth.'

"I was like, 'Is it OK if I slip mine in yours?' and he said yes, so I did a lot of that."

Sighting

Garner, Hayek, Pitt TIFF-bound

Also confirmed are the charismatic homegrown actors Ryan Gosling, who is in the midst of his breakout year as a potential Hollywood superstar; Jay Baruchel, Canada’s most enthusiastic fan-boy; and Seth Rogen, who mines his Vancouver childhood for unique and twisted laughs in American comedies. A classy Canadian institution, Christopher Plummer, will also be featured on screen in the documentary Barrymore and live on stage for a conversation about his extraordinary career.

Another component of the guest list will transform TIFF from an Oscar-like party into a rock legends showcase. The members of both U2 and Pearl Jam are set to be here for films featuring their bands. So is Neil Young, the Toronto-born singer-songwriter who was twice inducted into the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame, once as a solo artist and a second time as a co-founder of 1960s ensemble Buffalo Springfield.

Among the celebrity filmmakers coming are Francis Ford Coppola, comic Bobcat Goldthwait, Davis Guggenheim, Gus Van Sant and William Friedkin, along with Canadian icons Sarah Polley, David Cronenberg, Jean-Marc Vallee and Jason Reitman. Hugh Dillon, a Canadian musician turned actor turned short film director, will be in focus with his directorial debut.

The elusive Indo-British author Salman Rushdie — who is still living under a fatwa proclaimed in 1989 by then Iranian spiritual leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini — will defy his absurd death sentence to appear with Toronto filmmaker Deepa Mehta. She is currently adapting his second novel, Midnight’s Children, into a film.

Another unique visitor will be Mohamed Nasheed. He is the sitting president of the island country the Republic of Maldives, which is slowly sinking into the Indian Ocean. Nasheed is the focus of a documentary film, The Island President.

The eccentrics list is headed by Woody Harrelson while Jason Statham is the most famous genre action star coming. James Gandolfini arrives with his Sopranos menace still intact while Sarah Silverman remains one of comedy’s most caustic performers.

There will be plenty of former Oscar nominees (many of whom ended up winning the golden guy for their work). In addition to some of those already named, including Pitt and Clooney, that illustrious Oscar-nominated group boasts Philip Seymour Hoffman, Geoffrey Rush, Mira Sorvino, Tilda Swinton, Nicolas Cage, Terrence Howard, Catherine Deneuve, Juliette Binoche, Jane Fonda, Marisa Tomei, Willem Dafoe, Albert Brooks, Catherine Keener, Carey Mulligan, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michelle Williams and Glenn Close (who has been nominated five times, although she has never won an Oscar).

A triplet of Jennifers is gracing TIFF 2011: Jennifer Garner, Jennifer Hudson and Jennifer Lawrence. Emerging star Jessica Chastain is festival-bound, too.

Jon Hamm (of Mad Men fame) is TIFFing, as are Jonah Hill, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Antonio Banderas and Ethan Hawke. Kirsten Dunst will represent Danish director Lars von Trier’s Melancholia but won’t have to put up with von Trier’s madman outbursts. After scandalizing the Cannes Film Festival with pro-Nazi babblegab and sexually inappropriate comments about his actresses — to Dunst’s obvious embarrassment — von Trier is not coming to Toronto. He never does anyway, even when not suffering foot-in-mouth disease, because he hates being in airplanes and has not come up with an alternative for the Atlantic crossing.

As for eye candy at TIFF, Megan Fox, Evan Rachel Wood, Alison Pill, Bryce Dallas Howard and Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire) should both get fan-boys’ blood boiling while Emily Blunt (last seen at the filmfest in The Young Victoria) returns with her touch of class. Robin Wright shows up Penn-free, now that her marriage to Sean is over and she has dropped her double last name from her official credits.

Affleck, Garner expecting 3rd child

A one-sentence statement released Monday says the actors are "thrilled" to have another baby on the way. The couple has two daughters, 5-year-old Violet and 2-year-old Seraphina Rose Elizabeth Affleck.

No other details were released.

Affleck and Garner, both 39, were married in 2005.

Garner, who rose to fame after starring in the television series "Alias," appeared over the weekend at a Disney expo to promote her upcoming film, "The Odd Life of Timothy Green."

Affleck won an Oscar for co-writing the screenplay to "Good Will Hunting" and recently wrote, directed and starred in the thriller "The Town."

Cooper flies from 'The Crow'

The Hangover hunk was hired to play Eric Draven, who returns from the dead to track down the gang who killed his wife, in the re-imagining of the 1994 cult movie, which famously cost star Brandon Lee his life after a prop gun accident.

However, Cooper is already contracted to start work on David O. Russell's Silver Linings, as well as the adaptation of John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost, and can no longer commit to The Crow shoot, according to TotalFilm.com.

The website reports Mark Wahlberg and Channing Tatum are now in the running to take over from Cooper when shooting starts in 2012.

Bizarre New Couple Alert: Russell Simmons and...Melissa George?!

But Melissa George and Russell Simmons made head turns—and not just because of their unabashed PDAs—when the suddenly (and quite unexpectedly) loved-up duo made their public debut as a couple over the weekend at a Hamptons charity event hosted by the hip hop mogul.

Yeah, this is one coupling we're pretty sure no one saw coming. Least of all George's husband…

Though, at this point, it's probably safe to call him her estranged husband. At least, we hope that's what he is.

There was never any formal announcement of a split or separation, but George was last seen in public with her husband of 11 years, Chilean film director Claudio Dabed, in Los Angeles in March.

Cut to last Wednesday, when the 34-year-old Grey's Anatomy alum and the 53-year-old Simmons were caught kissing it up in the stands of a MLS All-Star soccer game against Manchester United in New Jersey.

Then, on Saturday, the duo made it official, marking their public debut as a twosome by arriving arm-in-arm to the 12th annual Art for Life Benefit in East Hampton. The couple didn't seem shy about their burgeoning relationship, and happily mingled in a crowd that included Simmons' ex-wife Kimora Lee and her new husband, Djimon Hounsou.

Color us baffled. Happy for them, but baffled all the same.

David Anders to Guest-Star on Once Upon a Time

The 30-year-old actor — whose credits include playing the villain on Alias, the villain's son on 24 and the heroine's father, also a villain, on The Vampire Diaries — will play a doctor who goes on a date with Mary Margaret (Ginnifer Goodwin), aka Snow White.

Anders first tweeted the news, joking about the secrecy: "Can't tell u anymore as it's a secret so SHHH &/or tell the world." He will first appear in Episode 3.

The series, executive-produced by Lost's Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, stars Jennifer Morrison as Emma, Snow White's long-lost daughter. Emma returns to the small town of Storybrooke, where her son, whom she gave up for adoption, is being raised by the Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla), and every fairy-tale character has been frozen in time.

Once Upon a Time will premiere Sunday, Oct. 23 at 8/7c on ABC.

Cooper wants third 'Hangover'

The Hollywood hunk played teacher Phil in 2009's The Hangover, and reprised the role again for this year's follow-up, The Hangover Part II.

And Cooper has called on director/producer Todd Phillips to make a third and final movie - as he's convinced a trilogy will help wrap up the characters' adventures.

Asked by BBC Radio 1 presenter Fearne Cotton whether he's keen to do another movie in the series, he replies, "Yes please, I hope so - can you write in? I'll do whatever Todd wants to do - he's the best, he's the greatest.

"I love Phil the character. I would do it in a heartbeat. There's gotta be a trilogy, you have to close it up. One more."

Lindsay Sloane, Greg Grunberg to Spoof The Bachelorette on Psych

Sloane will play Melinda, the star of the pseudo dating show Missed Connections, on which guys she's crossed paths with — but never met — compete for her love. Grunberg will play the show's producer, Dimitri, a ruthless, ratings-obsessed mastermind who Shawn (James Roday) suspects may have orchestrated an attack on one of the men.

Also appearing in the episode is WWE star/Real World alum Mike "The Miz" Mizanin, who'll play Mario, your cookie-cutter, hotheaded contestant.

The sixth season of Psych premieres in October.

U2 doc, Pitt, Clooney films head to Toronto fest

Organizers say the Canadian festival will launch Sept. 8 with "From the Sky Down," a chronicle of the Irish band led by singer Bono. The film was made by "An Inconvenient Truth" director Davis Guggenheim and marks the first time in its 36-year history that the Toronto festival has opened with a documentary.

Other highlights for the 11-day event include Brad Pitt's baseball tale "Moneyball;" George Clooney's political saga "The Ides of March;" Jennifer Garner, Hugh Jackman and Olivia Wilde's comic story "Butter;" and Keira Knightley's Sigmund Freud-Carl Jung drama "A Dangerous Method," with Viggo Mortensen and Michael Fassbender.

Melissa George Joins A&E's Stephen King's Bag of Bones

George will play Mattie, the mother of a young child embroiled in a custody battle. Brosnan's widowed character, a novelist, winds up helping Mattie as she fights her father-in-law to keep her child. Anabeth Gish also stars in the miniseries, which is set to shoot in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Bag of Bones is based on a 1998 King novel, which has been adapted by Matt Venne for the mini-series. Mick Garris is directing.

George's other credits include In Treatment, Alias, Thieves and Roar. Bag of Bones will premiere on A&E in late 2011.

Bradley Cooper to star in 'Paradise Lost'

The government of New South Wales, where Sydney is located, announced Wednesday that the movie will be directed by Australian Alex Proyas, who also directed I, Robot starring Will Smith and Knowing with Nicholas Cage.

Paradise Lost, an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th century English poet John Milton, will be shot predominantly at Sydney's Fox Studios, and is targeted for release in 2013, said New South Wales Acting Premier Andrew Stoner.

He said the production was lured to Sydney with financial incentives from the state government, beating competition from rival locations in the United States and Canada.

"Had we not done this it would have been opportunity lost, not Paradise Lost," he said.

Paradise Lost tells the story of Satan tempting Adam and Eve, and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. The character of Satan is the focus of the plot.

Bradley Cooper Gets a Good Waxing-See for Yourself

Well, on his wax likeness, anyway.

Madame Tussauds Las Vegas unveiled this dummy resembling the actor on Monday and, from the looks of it, they did a pretty good job capturing the studly star's fabulous features.

The real Cooper (that's him on the left, by the way) attended the ceremony and stated he was "honored to be added to the collection."

Of course, we'll just assume that, unlike his character Phil in the Hangover flicks, he was able to recall this particular event the following morning.

'HawthoRNe': Michael Vartan on love, marriage, guns and tattoos

The crew has taken over the facility -- with the production offices housed in the former mental-health ward -- and when the A/C is turned off to quiet the area for shooting, it's about as warm inside as it is outside.

And yet, star Michael Vartan, who plays surgeon Dr. Tom Wakefield, is wearing long sleeves under his scrubs. It's not that he's chilly, it's that he has tattoos -- and TNT does not approve. Luckily, the sleeves don't bother him.

"It's much better than makeup," Vartan tells Zap2it, resting between scenes in the hospital lobby. "I've had tattoos my whole life. I got my first one when I was 18. I have a rather well-developed dark side, not anything too much. I don't have any major elements in the closet or anything -- nor am I coming out of it.

"I just think they're kind of fun, and I like them."

Fans have gotten to see a bit of Tom's dark side this season, as an attack on his brand-new wife, nurse Christina Hawthorne (Jada Pinkett-Smith) -- whom he wed in the season premiere -- injured her, killed their unborn baby and caused vengeful Tom to get a gun.

"Yeah," Vartan says, "a Glock. Fits into my scrubs nicely."

As far as we know, he hasn't yet killed anyone with it, unlike his previous TV job.

On 'Alias,'" he says, "we shot guns all the time. That was fun. I do miss having a good gun scene. Tom -- he just pines over his woman."

Although Tom's brief marriage has been through some serious turmoil, Vartan's real marriage -- he wed in April, so it's only a few months older than his TV one -- to Lauren Skaar, a woman he met in a Whole Foods parking lot, is going well.

"It's fantastic," Vartan says. "I really thought it would change things more, but it hasn't, which is a good thing. It's been great. It's really nice. It's just a little ounce more of, 'Oh, you and me forever, cool.' It's just really relaxing."

Asked if there will be any little Vartans, the actor says, "Soon, yeah, soon. I gotta get on that quickly. I still want to be able to skate with my kid. It's funny, we talk about it all the time, and then once in a while, we'll bet at Target, and there'll be a single mother with three yelling kids, and we're like, 'Forget that. no chance.'"

While the Vartans are still working out that issue, they did decide on taking out the trash.

"That's my job, obviously," he says, "as it should be."

Vartan isn't currently contemplating adding significantly to his tattoo collection.

"Now that I'm actually thinking about kids, it's going to be hard enough to explain these," he says. "I've already had a few lasered off -- an ex-girlfriend's initials. I got [tattoos of] both my dogs. Never regret dogs."

Because Tom is dealing with all of his emotional trauma, Vartan doesn't have to spend all that much time pretending to do actual medical procedures -- except for today, that is.

"In this episode," he says, "actually, one of my friends, who was in the Gulf War with me, has a giant pole stuck through his abdomen. We're trying to decide whether to remove it."

At the same time, the patient has ALS, a progressive, debilitating illness sometimes called "Lou Gehrig's disease."

"This scene deals with his wife finding out [about that]," says Vartan. "She doesn't know he has ALS. He's kept that from the family, but he's told me."

When it's remarked that one can't hide having ALS forever, Vartan says, "I know. That's what I keep telling him. But, hey, it's TV. It's good drama."

Jennifer Garner & Ben Affleck Celebrate a Family 4th

The couple – along with daughters Violet, 5½, and Seraphina, 2½ – enjoyed the local procession after brunching at Shutters on the Beach in Santa Monica.

During the festivities, Seraphina sat on her mother's lap and enjoyed a snack while Violet leaned on her father.

Garner, 39, wielded the spray sunscreen for the family, while at one point Affleck, 38, reached over for his wife's hand for a kiss.

Teen Choice Award Nominations

Cooper to star in 'Crow' remake

The actor, looking unrecognizable, was spotted Tuesday cradling a big cat, but it wasn't for the next installment of The Hangover franchise. Cooper is working on a new project by Dax Shepard, and is sporting a soul patch and dreadlocks on set.

Cooper, a noted dog lover who's also worked closely with a tiger and a capuchin monkey, spent his down time getting to know the 2-month-old tiger cub, whose name is Anastasia.

"He just took her and she immediately fell in love with him," says Anastasia's caretaker, Karl Mitchell of Big Cat Encounter. "He has some kind of an animal connection inside of him that's fairly obvious."

Perhaps there's a cameo in store for her in the next Hangover movie.

Cooper to star in 'Crow' remake

Watchmen screenwriter Alex Tse has been hired to revamp the script for Relativity Media, the studio behind the new film, and 28 Weeks Later director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo will helm the movie.

Cooper will play Eric Draven, the film's central protagonist who returns from the dead to track down the gang who murdered his wife.

Brandon Lee famously lost his life in a prop gun accident while filming the original film in 1994.

Garner, Cooper, Beyonce and a Bunch of Your A-List Faves Get Academy Invite

For Oscar, that is.

Jennifer Garner, Jesse Eisenberg, Beyoncé Knowles, Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Russell Brand, Ellen Page, Mila Kunis and 170 other artistes have been invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which of course doles out the Academy Awards every year.

So, why now, and why them?

"These individuals are among the best filmmakers working in the industry today," Academy President Tom Sherak said in a statement. "Their talent and creativity have entertained moviegoers around the world, and I welcome each of them to our ranks."

Sadly, one of the new memberships is only honorary, as for the first time ever the Academy has extended a posthumous invite. Documentary filmmaker Tim Hetherington, who was nominated for an Oscar earlier this year for Restrepo, was killed in April while covering the unrest in Libya.

A few of the household name directors who will presumably be accepting their invites include The Kids Are All Right helmer Lisa Cholodenko and Tom Hooper, who scored the big win in February for The King's Speech.

A few of this year's break-out acting nominees made the cut, including Eisenberg, incoming Hunger Games hero Jennifer Lawrence, her Winter's Bone costar John Hawkes, and Animal Kingdom's Jacki Weaver.

Rooney Mara, Mia Wasikowska, Rosemarie DeWitt, Nastassja Kinski, Téa Leoni, Lesley Manville and Connie Nielsen also make for lovely additions to the group, while Gerard Butler, David Duchovny, Avatar's Wes Studi, Peter Dinklage, Thomas Jane, John Corbett, Robbie Coltrane and Vincent Cassel round out the beefcake section.

Whoever accepts the honor will be among the only additions to the Academy this year. Happy decision-making, stars!

Jennifer Garner Teaches Kids How to Eat Fresh This Summer

Well first off, she's a celeb mom who actually dresses like a mom.

Secondly, she does awesome stuff like teaming up with Frigidaire to teach parents and kids how to eat fresh this summer!

Led by Adam Kaye, chef and kitchen director for Blue Hill at Stone Barns restaurant, the farm fresh cooking experience was in full force! Together, they kicked off the Frigidaire Kids' Cooking Academy Summer Session, which gave families some insight into the seasonality of food and experience in preparing meals from just-picked ingredients.

"I'm a huge fan and avid supporter of my local Farmers Market," said Garner. "Showing kids how foods go from farm to table is an important first step in creating healthy eating habits. The Frigidaire Summer School is a great way to educate kids and their parents about the importance of eating fresh."

See what we mean! Awesome.

J.J. Abrams raises curtain on scary 'Super 8'

He shows a quarter in the palm of his outstretched hand. He closes his fingers, flashes the back of his fist, reopens his hand, and presto — empty.

Abrams was so taken with the trick when he saw a magician do it years go that he hired the performer to show him the handling and, more important, the secret.

"The guy still didn't want to give it up," he says. "He didn't show me how to do it until the third lesson."

It may have irked the young director, but Abrams is pulling the same trick now, on Hollywood.

Not only has he kept his latest cinematic sleight of hand, Friday's thriller Super 8, low on the Hollywood radar, but he did it with childhood hero Steven Spielberg as his Oz, producing the film and acting as adviser on all things smoke and mirrors.

But the curtain comes up now, and Abrams knows the pressure is on to pull another rabbit out of his box-office hat.

He has done it before. He produced 2008 sleeper Cloverfield, a $25 million movie with a no-name cast and an out-of-frame monster that did $80 million in ticket sales. After 40 years of dwindling returns over 10 movies, Star Trek re-entered warp drive when he piloted the reboot to $258 million in 2009.

Whether he can pull off a similar feat with Super will depend on how much audiences share his love of monsters, vintage electronics and Spielberg's films of the 1970s and '80s.

All are on warm display in the picture, which takes its cues from Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. and adds an Abrams specialty: a fearsome, misunderstood monster that comes to represent an inner demon.

You'd think that after successes such as Star Trek and television shows such as Alias and Lost, Abrams would have lost his butterflies before showtime. With B-list casts and often indie-film budgets, Abrams joins Christopher Nolan and Quentin Tarantino as one of the few young directors whose name goes above the title and draws its own fans.

But this marks his most personal film to date, and Abrams, 44, concedes he struggled with how much to promote his movie in a business that feeds on self-campaigning.

"It's not a matter of keeping things a secret for the sake of keeping them a secret," Abrams says of Super's early trailer campaign, which featured little more than an angry beast pounding dimples into his freight-car prison. "But I think the audience ought to have a sense of discovery. That's what was so magical about the movies for me as a kid."

That sense of wonder has driven Jeffrey Jacob Abrams since he was growing up in New York. The son of television producer Gerald Abrams, J.J. Abrams remembers splitting time between his father's television sets and Lou Tannen's Magic Shop, a New York hole-in-the- wall where J.J. and grandfather Harry went weekly.

Abrams remembers once buying Tannen's Mystery Magic Box — "$15 for $50 of magic!" the ads would proclaim. The catch: Unless you were a mentalist, you didn't know what was inside the package. Abrams still has the box and says he has never opened it in memory of his grandfather.

"There was something about magic, about seeing that little disbelief in their eyes," says Abrams, who began doing birthday parties and impromptu classroom shows for younger kids when he was 10. "I loved creating any kind of illusions."

The family moved to Los Angeles when Abrams was 8, and he remembers accompanying Harry Abrams to Universal Studios, where the boy learned he could create magic on-screen with stop-motion photography of his toy monsters. When he was 10, he got his first 8mm camera.

He recruited friends to act in 20-minute horror movies, such as The Possessed Doll, and disaster flicks that consisted of Abrams "blowing up the models I had just built."

Still, he was showing a knack for his Super 8 work, and won a local film festival called The Best Teen Super 8mm Films of '81. It also won him and pal Steve Reeves (who would go on to direct Cloverfield and Let Me In) a call from Spielberg's office.

Spielberg's assistant said that the filmmaker, who had just finished Raiders of the Lost Ark, had read a story in the Los Angeles Times about the teens and wanted the boys to restore his old Super 8 films.

The job would pay him $300, but the real perk, Abrams recalls, was seeing Spielberg hamming it up with buddies for movies about aliens, monsters and Schwinn-pedaling zombie hunters.

"I was doing what he was doing," Abrams recalls. "Using every possible friend, every possible resource to make a cool Super 8 movie."

After finishing the project, Abrams and Spielberg would develop a friendship that included Spielberg dropping by the set of Star Trek to act as confidant and mentor.

"There were days when that was actually pretty horrifying," Abrams says. "I mean, he's a hero of mine, and we're supposed to be collaborating. It's hard not to just stand there being sycophantic with your idol."

But as he found his own success, Abrams became more comfortable approaching Spielberg with ideas, including one that had been with him for years about a group of friends who capture their life on Super 8.

"I didn't have a real structure in mind," he says. "I didn't know if it would be a drama, a horror movie or what. I just wanted it to be about these boys."

Spielberg wasn't a tough sell. "We started talking about the kinds of films we love to see," he says. "We landed immediately on our mutual history of making 8mm films."

But Abrams knew that wasn't enough, so he added another long-percolating idea about a train derailing while hauling an extraterrestrial from Area 51.

Again, Spielberg didn't need the hard pitch. He says the tale, set in a 1979 Ohio steel town rife with album rock and personal cassette players, reminded him of "the '70s moviemaking culture."

Indeed, Super takes its visual cues from Close Encounters and employs some low-budget horror techniques that would make Hitchcock proud. As he did in Cloverfield and Lost, Abrams uses grainy video footage and crackling audio clips to paint his creature. In a high-definition world, Abrams knows that what really scares is the fuzzy picture.

"Part of the fun of not answering everything is letting people place their own bets," says Abrams, who counts among his favorite scenes the opening of Jaws with an unseen shark and the muted conversation between Ben and Elaine in The Graduate.

The unknown is doubly effective in horror, Abrams says. Moviegoers will "paint their own picture, and it can be scary if it's not made crystal clear."

If Abrams' monsters aren't always transparent, his love of movies is. Kyle Chandler, who plays the single father of the filmmaker who captures a train derailment and alien escape on his Super 8, took the job script-unseen.

"Some things you do for the adventure of it," Chandler says. "I have no problem jumping into a project like that with someone like J.J. and Steven. J.J. isn't hiding anything; he just wants people to genuinely discover things."

Including on the set. Co-star Noah Emmerich, himself a childhood magician who patronized Tannen's, says he and Abrams took turns trying to impress the young stars of the movie.

"I'm sure he was mortified," Emmerich says. "I'm terrible, but the kids thought I was the coolest one on set. I'd hear J.J. telling the kids to come over if they wanted to see a real trick. He's a classic entertainer."

Which includes tantalizing. The mysterious trailer campaign behind Super "was brilliant," says Scott Mantz, film critic for Access Hollywood.

"Think about the movies this summer," Mantz says. "Hangover, HarryPotter, Transformers. You know what you're getting. This is a test of J.J. as a filmmaker, because this is an unknown quantity." Analysts have predicted the movie could do as much as $180 million. Paramount executives say privately they'd be happy with a $25 million debut and $100 million haul.

Abrams' interests are simpler.

"I'm really not a guy with a bag of tricks who thinks about things like a mathematician and what's going to keep people guessing," he says. "I just want people to see the emotional point of view. A story about a fractured family. A monster that takes whatever form. It's got to come from your imagination, from the inside out. There's no secret."

If there is, Abrams isn't telling.

Greg Grunberg appears in pal JJ Abrams' 'Super 8'

Grunberg previously said only that he'd beg for a part in the film. But he told The Associated Press on Wednesday that people will have to "really, really search to find me" as he portrays a sitcom actor in "Super 8."

Grunberg and Abrams have been friends since kindergarten. Grunberg starred in Abrams' home movies growing up and has appeared in most of his professional films and TV shows, including "Felicity," "Alias," "Lost" and "Star Trek."

Grunberg says of Abrams: "He calls me his lucky charm."

Grunberg stars in the comedy "Love Bites," which premieres on NBC Thursday at 10 p.m. Eastern.

Grunberg gets a mile high in 'Bites'

Now that’s really heroic, even for a guy who used to be on Heroes.

Love Bites, which debuts Thursday, June 2 on NBC and Global, is an anthology series with loosely connected tales about modern romance. Think Love, American Style for the 21st century.

Anyway, one of the story lines in the first episode sees Grunberg (as a married character named Judd) trying to hook up with Hewitt (playing herself) on a plane. Hewitt is on the “celebrity exempt” list that has been agreed upon by Judd and his wife, i.e., a list of celebs that you can have sex with if you ever get the opportunity, and it isn’t considered cheating.

“Everybody jokes about (having an exempt list) but my character in the pilot really gets into that situation,” Grunberg said. “There’s Jennifer Love Hewitt. She’s beautiful. She’s on your list. You’ve talked about it a million times.You’ll never get her. You’re the average guy.

“And then she says, ‘I’ve always wanted to do it on an airplane. I’ll meet you in the bathroom.’ Do you follow her? Do you act on it? What do you do? That conflict is, like, the best thing ever.”

Cooper dating Wilde?

Pals tell Life & Style magazine the couple went on two dates over the weekend - and there are early signs the stars are together.

One eyewitness at the recent The Hangover Part II premiere after-party says, “Olivia was Bradley’s date. He was always taking her hand or putting his hand on her lower back, it was really sweet. He took care of her all night.

“They were definitely together... (and) they left together. They seemed really comfortable with each other.”

Both stars have been romantically linked to fellow celebrities in recent months - Wilde, who split from her husband last month, has been tied to Justin Timberlake, while Cooper recently split from girlfriend Renee Zellweger.

ABC cancels 'V,' 'Brothers & Sisters' and more

ABC has decided to cancel "V," "Brothers & Sisters" and rookie series "No Ordinary Family," "Off the Map," "Detroit 187" and "Mr. Sunshine."

The announcement came just after Deadline reported the network was attempting to bring back "Brothers & Sisters" for a sixth and final season.

ABC also announced they're picking up drama pilots "Good Christian Belles," "Pan Am," "Charlie's Angels," "Once Upon a Time," "Revenge," "Scandal" and "The River" to series. Comedies "Apt. 23" and Tim Allen's "Last Man Standing" were also picked up.

BROTHER'S & SISTERS (5/5) SEASON FINALE

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Gilles Marini as Luc Laurent, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige Whedon, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Mark Ricks as Evan McCallister, Marika Dominczyk as Tyler Altamirano, Richard Chamberlain as Jonathan Byrold, Isabella Rae Thomas as Olivia, Ryan Devlin as Seth, Beau Bridges as Nick Brody, Sonia Braga as Gabriela Laurent, Trieste Kelly Dunn as Lori Lynn, Bradley White as the Minister and Garrett Backstrom as Andrew.

"Walker Down the Aisle" was written by David Marshall Grant and David Babcock and directed by Ken Olin.

Spotted

Jennifer Aniston & Bradley Cooper Reconnecting?

A month after splitting with Renée Zellweger, Bradley Cooper is getting back in touch with Jennifer Aniston.

"In the past few weeks, they have stayed in contact," a source tells PEOPLE.

The two were first linked in 2009, when they stepped out for dinner in New York, but they didn't really seem to click until now.

"Jen always had a soft spot for Bradley, and she thinks he is very attractive and charming," the source says. " Jen appreciates that Bradley is low-key, loves dogs and is focused on his movie career."

Cooper, 36, is back in L.A. after promoting his new thriller Limitless in Europe, and the source says the actor plans to spend time with Aniston, 42.

Adds the source: "They have a lot in common."

Bradley Cooper Eyes The Crow, in Remake of Tragic Brandon Lee Film

A source confirms to E! News that the Limitless star is in talks to star in a remake of the 1994 revenge thriller The Crow, based on a cult-favorite comic book series but sadly far more notable for the fact that 28-year-old star Brandon Lee was killed during filming.

The story centers on a rock musician who is murdered along with his fiancée and, through supernatural forces, comes back to life to dispatch the evildoers in increasingly creative ways.

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (28 Weeks Later) is on board to direct.

A critical and box-office hit that featured some fierce performances, the 1994 original would have been a gut-wrencher even without the back story: Lee died on The Crow's North Carolina set in 1993 when a blank cartridge was fired in his direction and a piece of bullet somehow flew out along with it, hitting him in the abdomen. The fragment lodged in his spine and he died of his injuries at a nearby hospital.

Director Alex Proyas had to rewrite various scenes that hadn't been completed yet and had to ramp up the special effects to place Lee in the posthumously shot scenes.

Two uneventful sequels were made and, it goes without saying, we hope to not hear one word from the set of the remake until the entire movie is in the can.

BROTHERS & SISTERS (5/1)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Gilles Marini as Luc Laurent, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Christine Garver as Young Nora, Robbie Amell as Young William, Marika Dominczyk as Tyler Altamirano, Isabella Rae Thomas as Olivia, Beau Bridges as Nick Brody and Chris Sheffield as Young Brody.

"For Better or for Worse" was written by Stephen Tolkin and Matt Donnelly and directed by Michael Morris.

Writer-director J.J. Abrams' new frontier: novels

Abrams has a deal with Little, Brown and Company to write a thriller, currently untitled. The publisher said Wednesday that the book would be a collaboration with award-winning novelist Doug Dorst and come out in the fall of 2012 through the Mulholland Books imprint.

Abrams' movie credits include "Star Trek," "Mission: Impossible III" and the upcoming "Super 8." For television, he is the co-creator of "Lost" and "Fringe."

BROTHERS & SISTERS (4/24)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Gilles Marini as Luc Laurent, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Isabella Rae Thomas as Olivia, Roxy Olin as Michelle McGregor and Deirdre Lovejoy as Marissa Crandall.

"Father Unknown" was written by Molly Newman and Gina Lucita Monreal and directed by Matthew Rhys.

BROTHERS & SISTERS (4/17)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Gilles Marini as Luc Laurent, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Isabella Rae Thomas as Olivia, Beau Bridges as Nick Brody, Roxy Olin as Michelle McGregor and Evan Jones as Dan, Julia Murney as Kendra, Scot Zeller as Hans and Jenny Phagan as TSA agent.

"Wouldn't It Be Nice" was written by Michael J. Cinquemani and Marc Halsey and directed by Ken Olin.

Michael Vartan Is Married

The former Alias star married Lauren Skaar, whom he met two years ago at a Whole Foods in L.A., at The Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Beach, Calif., on Saturday.

"My family was thrilled," Vartan tells PEOPLE. "They love Lauren and could not be happier. Now all my mother talks about is grandchildren."

Adds Skaar: "Our families both took an immediate liking to our partners and knew probably before we did that this was serious and going somewhere."

Vartan, who currently stars in Hawthorne, popped the question in New York in March of last year. But according to Skaar, the two didn't start dating immediately.

"We met at a grocery store in L.A.," she says. "Michael approached me after some well calculated "stalking," as I like to call it. We didn't date right away. I wouldn't give him my number but did take his e-mail address, and we didn't see each other until a few months after our first meeting. That was almost two years ago."

At Saturday's ceremony, the groom's Alias costar Victor Garber was a groomsman, and Vartan, 42, wore a two button Giorgio Armani tuxedo with a classic white pique tuxedo shirt and black bow tie.

Best Friends

Skaar wore a Vera Wang dress that was customized by her bridal shop, L'atelier Couture, in Saint Paul, Minn., converting what was once a one shoulder gown into a strapless dress with a sweetheart neckline. She also added an Oscar de la Renta belt detailed with mother of pearl and Swarovski crystals.

"It was much more couture than I ever thought I'd wear," she says of the dress, "but I just fell in love with it."

While Skaar did much of the wedding planning, she says Vartan "had a lot of input."

The wedding's theme was "evening spring," Skaar says, and the couple, who wrote their own vows, picked an eclectic assortment of music and had their first dance to a song by Icelandic band Sigur Ros.

As for honeymoon plans, Vartan has to report back to the set of Hawthorne on Tuesday. "Just bad luck with the timing," he says, "but at least we have three months to plan something very romantic."

Looking ahead, he says, "Our plans for the future are to live a happy, simple life, have kids, lots of dogs and go with the flow. I married my best friend; [it] shouldn't be too hard!"

Garner is Miss Marple

The Alias star will play a younger version of the elderly spinster sleuth in a new Disney movie based on Christie’s famous book series.

Miss Marple has made numerous appearances in films and TV shows over the years and she has previously been portrayed by actresses including Dame Margaret Rutherford, Joan Hickson and Angela Lansbury.

Garner will produce the new movie with her Vandalia Films production company, according to Deadline.com.

'Trek' captain Abrams revisits youth in 'Super 8'

The director of 2009's "Star Trek" and creator of TV's "Lost" revisits his childhood with this summer's "Super 8," about a band of kids shooting a monster movie who end up documenting a train wreck that unleashes an alien force.

The movie is the most autobiographical he has worked on, Abrams said in an interview at CinemaCon, a Las Vegas convention for theater owners where he showed off footage Monday night.

The youths in "Super 8" are doing exactly what the 44-year-old Abrams was doing three decades ago, when he was obsessed with making his own horror films and monster flicks.

"It was sort of an uncanny thing shooting it, because it felt like I had gone back to my childhood in a way that was just incredibly surreal and oddly disturbing," Abrams told The Associated Press. "There are moments where I was like, 'My God, this is exactly what it was like.' The set dressing, the costumes. Certainly, some of the subject matter was just very transportive."

Due in theaters June 10, amid Hollywood's onslaught of visual-effects and action tales, "Super 8" began as a quiet drama about teen filmmakers in a small town. Abrams decided that while he loved the characters he had created for that scenario, it needed something to make it an event audiences would want to see.

At the same time, he was working with distributor Paramount Pictures on a sci-fi adventure about a train that crashes while carrying an alien presence from Area 51.

"The problem with that premise is I didn't have characters that I loved and cared about inside that world. So I had a sort of premise on the one hand with no characters I could get inside of, and on the other, I had characters I was inside of with no story. So I thought, fit them together," Abrams said. "Why don't they answer each other's problems and become one thing?"

Abrams has been making sci-fi movies for decades. He fondly recalls a visual effect he created by making an alien ship out of papier mache and model parts, then suspending it in front of a makeshift rear-projection screen displaying footage shot from a moving car, so it looked as though the ship was flying.

"I was always trying to do things that any kid now with a computer would fall over laughing at the preposterousness of it," Abrams said.

"Super 8" has an alien master among its producers in Steve Spielberg, whose blockbusters include "E.T. the Extra-terrestrial" and "War of the Worlds." Spielberg also gave Abrams an early job as a teenager.

After reading a news story about Abrams and other young filmmakers, Spielberg's office contacted him with an offer: repairing and restoring the super-8 films Spielberg shot in his own youth.

Abrams said the offer flabbergasted him, figuring Spielberg must have had a huge team devoted to preserving his early work. Why would he hire unknown kids?

"It was because he knew we would take care of them," Abrams said. "He had done the same thing we were doing."

BROTHERS & SISTERS (4/10)

In the second part, "Never Say Never," emotions are running high in the Walker family when Nora and Saul find out their mother, Ida, has passed away.

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Gilles Marini as Luc Laurent, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring in "Olivia's Choice" are Edwina Findley as Jill, Anita Finlay as Judge Marsha Forrest, Douglas Spain as Brian Garcia, Isabella Rae Thomas as Olivia, Ryan Devlin as Seth and Stephanie Lemelin as Beklee Makowska. "Olivia's Choice" was written by Cliff Olin and Stephen Tolkin and directed by Michael Morris.

Guest starring in "Never Say Never" is Richard Chamberlain as Jonathan Byrold, Isabella Rae Thomas as Olivia, Beau Bridges as Nick Brody and Jayne Brook as Bertha Wandell. "Never Say Never" was written by Sarah Kucserka and Veronica Becker and directed by Bethany Rooney.

Bradley Cooper & Renée Zellweger Split

Cooper, 36, and Zellweger, 41, who met in 2009 and moved in together last fall to become one of Hollywood's most glamorous couples, have broken up, sources tell PEOPLE.

Although the pair never officially confirmed their relationship, they were frequently spotted out together and Cooper has been vocal about his feelings.

"I can't say enough about her," he said in September while promoting the couple's film Case 39. "I just love her. I [loved] coming to work. I love acting with her. I can learn so much from her."

Zellweger even skipped the Golden Globes in January at the last minute to be with Cooper when his father died. She was also close to Cooper's mom, Gloria.

But in February, there was speculation about their relationship when they each attended a pre-Oscar party but didn’t hang out together.

Their reps have no comment.

Cooper dazzles in `Limitless'

Cooper stars as Eddie Morra, a struggling and depressed New York writer living in a cluttered, rundown apartment. He's already divorced and his latest girlfriend, Lindy (Abbie Cornish), has just dumped him. These early scenes, in which he stumbles around the city in a shlubby, stubbly haze, reveal a depth we hadn't seen from Cooper in his previous films, like "The Hangover," "The A-Team" and "He's Just Not That Into You." And that makes them just about as exciting in their own way as the ones featuring the amped-up version of Eddie we'll see later on.

One day, he runs into his former brother-in-law, Vernon (Johnny Whitworth), on the street. Turns out Vernon is a pharmaceutical rep with a new wonder drug called NZT, which allows you to tap into your full brain potential. Eddie thinks, why not? He's got nothing to lose.

Suddenly, he's not only pounding out chapters on his long-languishing novel, he's cleaning up, picking up new interests, learning new languages and wowing everyone he meets. He loses weight, gets a haircut, buys some stylish new clothes and looks like ... well, he looks like Bradley Cooper. More importantly and more realistically, though, he does the thing we'd all do with frighteningly expanded brain power: He turns it into a way to make millions of dollars. Fast.

Director Neil Burger, whose first feature was the intriguing "Interview With the Assassin" from 2002, moves the story forward with an infectious energy. "Limitless" recognizes the insanity of Eddie's predicament and has a little fun with it — that he's seemingly unstoppable, even as he sinks deeper into addiction and discovers some troubling side effects. Burger didn't need to rely on some of the visual tricks he employs, though — words dropping from the ceiling to indicate a break in Eddie's writer's block, or multiple Eddies accomplishing tasks around the house. The fact that Eddie's world is brighter, faster and more sensory is enough.

Still, Cooper is surprisingly good as the down-and-out version of his character in the beginning, and as the wildly improved version of himself on NZT. Robert De Niro is quietly fierce (and does some of his best work in a while) as the financial guru who's fascinated by Eddie, and has a couple of scenes with Cooper in which he reminds you of just how formidable he can be. Cornish, meanwhile, probably doesn't get enough to do as Eddie's on-again, off-again girlfriend, who's skeptical of the new him.

You could probably scour the film for deeper themes: an indictment of the pharmaceutical industry, or our need to have it all and have it now. You could pick the script apart for impossibilities. But why bother? It's much more enjoyable to shut your brain off and have a good time.

"Limitless," a Relativity Media release, is rated PG-13 for thematic material involving a drug, violence including disturbing images, sexuality and language. Running time: 105 min. Three stars out of four.

Cooper shows his brainy side

As the character Eddie Morra, Cooper, 36, begins the movie as a good-natured, scruffy writer who's a bit on the dorky side. After he takes an experimental drug called NZT, he turns into a handsome super-man -- a smarter, richer, more polished interpretation of himself.

Anyway, it's the first version of Cooper who turns up at a press conference to promote the movie. (What does Renee Zellweger see in the guy? That's a little joke.) Rumpled, cheerful and enthusiastic, Cooper says he loved playing the character of Eddie, who happens to be in every scene.

"I loved that pressure. To me it's excitement. I couldn't wait to get up and play him every day. And I enjoyed the aspect of the drug," says Cooper, referring to playing Eddie when he's in genius form. "I tend to speak very fast, and I liked the complex paragraphs I had to memorize and speak. When he's on the drug, there's no pausing, no 'um', or 'ah', or anything like that. He speaks in these succinct paragraphs that just come out and I loved that. Some were shot in one take. It was (like) doing a play."

What would he do if he had access to a smart drug like NZT?

"I'd try to learn as many languages as I could, right away, much as Eddie did. Then, as many instruments as I could. Then I'd try to get money so I could utilize all that, 'cause it would be incredible to just start jamming with all these musicians, and communicating with people wherever you are. But I'd still be an actor," Cooper says.

"And maybe finally get off my ass and become a director. That's what I really want to do. Just to do stories I love. That's the engine. You have to love some nugget of what you're telling to be a filmmaker."

On the storytelling front, Cooper studied English literature at Georgetown University, then entered an MFA program at the Actors Studio Drama School in New York. He was working in television by 1999 and made his film debut in 2001 in Wet Hot American Summer; by 2005, between his recurring role in Alias on TV and his success in Wedding Crashers, he had arrived. The success of The Hangover in 2009 meant it had only taken him a decade to be an overnight success.

What The Hangover provided, says Cooper, is more opportunity. And OK, a higher profile and paparazzi, "And that's a new thing you just have to learn to navigate." But, he adds, "The great part is that I get to do a movie like Limitless, and maybe they wouldn't have hired me if The Hangover hadn't been so successful."

There's a Hangover 2 coming out in May, but Cooper has no fear of being typecast. "That doesn't scare me, only because I operate pretty simply: I want to work with great filmmakers and great actors and get better as an actor. That's basically it. So, by hook or by crook I'm going to try to get different roles, just because I'm operating under that premise."

And, adds Cooper, people will judge him by his roles anyway. When he was on TV's Alias he played a sweet-natured guy, and in real life got feedback at auditions that he was too nice and had no edge. "Then David Dobkin took a big chance and hired me to play the sociopathic bad guy in Wedding Crashers, and people were like, 'Bradley, he's an a--hole, right?' " He laughs. " 'You can tell he really wasn't acting. Something deeper going on.' It's beyond my control who's going to cast me or in what, but for me it's basic. I just want to keep doing different things because I want to get better. So hopefully I'll be hired to do them. Hangover was a huge success, so does that mean I'll be cast only in movies like that? No, because I won't do movies like that." He laughs again.

"But then it might also mean I won't work, so we'll see."

Good excuse

Female shield

Who Would Dare Reject Bradley Cooper?!

The Limitless star told me last night, at the movie's NYC premiere, about getting totally denied:

Entry into a prestigious college, that is.

"I got rejected from Georgetown in high school," he said at last night's NYC premiere.

But now B. Coop is totally getting the last laugh, since he tried again and managed to make the cut.

"And then I reapplied again and got in," he finished.

Now he's a Georgetown grad and a major movie star, who's dating another celeb—and the rest is history.

Bradley attended the premiere sans Reneé Zellweger last night, and instead he mingled with castmates Robert De Niro and Abbie Cornish at the afterparty at Buddakan.

Also rolling solo to the soiree was Justin Long, who didn't look too upset that his ex-girlfriend Drew Barrymore just so happens to be in the Big Apple with her new man Will Kopelman.

Probably the DeLeon tequila that was being served helped dull any post-split pain he might have been feeling?

Old School Ties

BROTHERS & SISTERS: Call Mom (3/27)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Gilles Marini as Luc Laurent, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Jeremy Davidson as Jack Randall, John Apicella as Frank, Debra Monk as Alexandra Kirby and Brianne Davis as Vanessa.

"Call Mom" was written by Veronica Becker and Brian Studler and directed by Michael Schultz.

Amanda Foreman Returning to Private Practice

Foreman, 44, played Katie Kent, a mentally unstable pregnant patient who lost her baby and then convinced herself that she could get it back by cutting Violet's baby out of her belly in the Season 2 finale. Katie was last seen in Season 3 on trial for drugging and attacking Violet (Amy Brenneman), who told the court that Katie was delusional during the attempted C-section, a testimony that would help her avoid jail.

Details on Foreman's return are scarce, but Katie will reappear in Episode 19.

Among her other work, Foreman has appeared on Grey's Anatomy, Star Trek and Alias.

BROTHERS & SISTERS: A Righteous Kiss (3/13)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Gilles Marini as Luc Laurent, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Ken Olin as David Caplan, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Mark Ricks as Evan McCallister, Stephen Collins as Charlie, Jeremy Davidson as Jack Randall, Sarah Rafferty as Gloria Pierson-Davenport, Emily Hahn as Margaret Hartley and Sophina Brown as Bitsy Fairbank

"A Righteous Kiss" was written by Stephen Tolkin and Cliff Olin and directed by Ken Olin.

BROTHERS & SISTERS (3/6)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Gilles Marini as Luc Laurent, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest stars are Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige Whedon, Mark Ricks as Evan McCallister, Isabella Rae Thomas as Olivia, Evan Pedro Pascal as Zach, Edwina Findley as Jill, Evan Jones as Dan, Paul Ganus as handsome man and Robert Maffia as policeman.

"Home Is Where the Fort Is" was written by Geoffrey Nauffts and Brian Studler and directed by Bethany Rooney.

Unlucky Seven

CBS Picks Up J.J. Abrams Pilot

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Person of Interest follows an ex-CIA hit man and a scientist who team up to prevent crimes before they happen.

Nolan is the brother of Academy Award nominee Christopher Nolan, and himself received an Oscar nomination for writing his brother's 2001 film Memento. He's also a writer on The Dark Knight Rises, due out next year.

This is the second pilot order that Abrams' company Bad Robot has received. Fox previously picked up his Alcatraz.

J. Paul Getty III Dies

A father of two and a grandfather of six, Getty was 54 and "taught us how to live our lives and overcome obstacles and extreme adversity," said Balthazar, 36, reports the Los Angeles Times.

At the age of 16, Getty was abducted in Rome by kidnappers who said he was being held by the Mafia. His father and grandfather, then the richest man in the world (and notoriously the cheapest, with a pay phone in his London mansion), thought it a hoax and refused to pay the $3 million requested ransom. Four months later, they received a package containing a lock of hair and a human ear.

Threatening to dismember their victim "piece by piece," the kidnappers also sent photos of the young Getty. Eventually, the grandfather paid $2.2 million and lent his son the remainder of the $3 million – with interest. Getty was released on Dec. 15, 1973, his grandfather's 81st birthday.

Reportedly, immediately after his ordeal Getty III attempted to contact his grandfather, who refused to come to the phone. The young man severed relations with both his father and grandfather.

A year later, at age 18, Getty wed Martine Zacher, six years his senior, says The Times. When Jean Paul Getty learned of the union, he disinherited his grandson for marrying so young. Upon his death at age 83 in 1976, Jean Paul Getty left his son $500 and nothing to his grandson. (The father, known as Paul Getty, died in 2003.)

After a near-fatal, drug-induced stroke in 1981, J.Paul Getty III was left partially paralyzed and nearly blind. He spent his later years attempting to rebuild his life.

Besides his children and grandchildren, he is survived by his siblings, including AIDS activist Aileen Getty.

Russell Brand: What It's Like to Kiss Jennifer Garner

Aside from being married to Katy Perry, he gets to make out with Jennifer Garner and share a bed with Helen Mirren in his latest film, Arthur. In it, Brand plays a wealthy guy who woos lots of beauties, including Garner, whom he likens to a "fairy princess."

So what was it like kissing his leading lady?

"There’s a brand of red-velvet cake; her mouth is made of that," he tells NextMovie.com. "She smashes you in the mouth [in] those kissing scenes. If I was Ben Affleck, man, I'd be pissed off."

Brand also shares some sexy scenes with screen legend Mirren, who, as it turns out, also has a naughty side.

"I was in bed with her and she was reading me one of those bedtime stories," Brand says. "And she did a dirty version of it. She was like, 'Toad took Frog and mounted him from behind and amounted him smoothly with a rhythmic pace.' "

BROTHERS & SISTERS (2/20)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Gilles Marini as Luc Laurent, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Balthazar Getty as Tommy Walker, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige Whedon, Cara Buono as Rose, Beau Bridges as Nick Brody, Alice Evans as Dr. Felicity Milton and Pedro Pascal as Zach.

"Brody" was written by Molly Newman and directed by Matthew Rhys.

BROTHERS & SISTERS: The One That Got Away (2/13)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Gilles Marini as Luc Laurent, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Balthazar Getty as Tommy Walker, Richard Chamberlain as Jonathan, Cara Buono as Rose, Michael Gross as Edward LeMonde and Jeanette O'Connor as Shirley.

"The One That Got Away" was written by Gina Lucia Monreal and David Babcock and directed by Michael Morris.

Greg Grunberg Is A&E's Big Mike

The Heroes actor will play a plus-sized detective detective with the San Diego Police Department. Although he's the best in his work field, his biggest challenge is the dating field.

Grunberg was originally cast in NBC's Love Bites but no premiere date for the show has been set.

Happy Madison and Sony Pictures TV will co-produce the project with Doug Robinson as executive producer. There's Something About Mary's Ed Decter and John Strauss co-wrote the script.

Garner drunk on Christmas special

The actress found herself getting tipsy as she continued to sip bubbly on an empty stomach.

She says, "By the time we get to cooking and having our champagne, I hadn't had anything to eat... and I got drunk.

"They needed it (champagne drinking) for continuity and it tasted good... and whenever I'm around her (Stewart) I suddenly get really West Virginian and southern... and so I got drunk and southern, and it was the worst combination.

"I can't bear to watch it because I just started talking faster and faster."

Bradley Cooper's Dad Dies

The elder Cooper, who was a stockbroker with Merrill Lynch, died Saturday after a long illness.

Bradley Cooper's girlfriend, Renee Zellweger, pulled out of Sunday's Golden Globe Awards, where she was scheduled to present, to be with him.

Besides his actor son, Charles Cooper is survived by his wife, Gloria; a daughter, Holly; and his sister Nancy Peacock.

An e-mail to Cooper's rep was not immediately returned.

Zellweger, Cooper escape house fire

The blaze was sparked at the residence in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania while the two stars and Cooper's mother were at home watching the Golden Globe Awards on TV.

Fire trucks were called to the scene and the blaze was extinguished. No injuries were reported, according to TMZ.com.

J.J. Abrams Developing Pulp Fiction-esque Series

Not exactly.

Abrams' production company, Bad Robot, is developing Pulp, a crime drama set in a slightly heightened reality, not unlike Quentin Tarantino's neo-noir classic, TVLine reports.

Monica Breen and Alison Schapker, veterans of Abrams' Alias, Lost and Fringe, wrote the script and would serve as executive producers.

Bad Robot will begin pitching Pulp to networks next week, making it the fourth Abrams project that could receive a series order for next fall. His other projects are Alcatraz, starring Jorge Garica, at Fox, the Michael Emerson-Terry O'Quinn starrer Odd Jobs at NBC, and an untitled crime thriller with screenwriter Jonathan Nolan at CBS.

BROTHERS & SISTERS: Faking It (1/23)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Gilles Marini as Luc Laurent, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Ken Olin as David Caplan, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper, Jeremy Davidson as Jack Randall and Susan Blakely as Celia Calmartin.

"Faking It" was written by Veronica Becker and Geoffrey Nauffts and directed by Michael Schultz.

'Brothers & Sisters' spoilers: Tommy's coming, but who's going?

Here's a look at some of the comings and possible goings in the new year:

Nora: In Sunday's (Jan. 2) episode, Nora (played by Sally Field) turns into the green-eyed-monster as she sees just how popular her current beau, Dr. Karl (John Terry), is with his female fans. She'll reveal something at (surprise!) a family dinner that scandalizes everyone. Will she ruin the most viable relationship she has had in years? We're not sure, but we know Dr. Karl becomes scarce for a few episodes.

Holly: The memories are flooding back, but they might be too much for Holly (Patricia Wettig) to handle. She may want a timeout from the Walkers when she considers leaving California. In the Jan. 9 episode, she'll probably make up her mind when she and Nora have a startling revelation.

Kitty: Kitty (Calista Flockhart) continues her torrid affair with her boss' son, Seth (Ryan Devlin). But just as things are starting to get serious, gossip bloggers find out about the romance. The tables turn, though, when Seth's mom ("Heroes" star Cristine Rose) has an interesting reaction to the news. Nevertheless, the relationship will get deeper for several more episodes.

Kevin: Kevin's (Matthew Rhys) marriage may have fallen on hard times after Scotty's (Luke Macfarlane) affair, but things are looking better. In fact, they're moving forward on becoming foster parents. And we'll be meeting the first candidate soon. Olivia (played by tween Isabella Rae Thomas) will make her first appearance in the Jan. 2 episode and she's sticking around for a bit.

Tommy: Tommy (Balthazar Getty) comes down for a visit and brings along his new girlfriend. Cara Buono ("Mad Men's" Faye) guest stars as Rose, who rubs the Walkers the wrong way when she tries to talk about the family's history.

Justin: Things are getting serious between Justin (Dave Annable) and Annie (played by Annable's real life wife, "Cloverfield's" Odette Yustman), especially after an emergency situation bonds them. But in the Jan. 9 episode, Annie's handsome ex, Dr. Rick (Robert Kazinsky of BBC's "EastEnders"), pays a visit. Will Justin be able to contain his jealousy?

Saul: After watching Saul (Ron Rifkin) complain about his love life for a couple seasons, he's about to have his hands full of silver foxes. First, he'll find some forgiveness for Jonathon ("The Thornbirds" star Richard Chamberlain), who he suspects gave him HIV years before. But the show throws a wrench in the works as E!Online reports that "Family Ties" dad Michael Gross shows up as a food critic who takes a liking to Saul.

BROTHERS & SISTERS: Safe at Home

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Gilles Marini as Luc Laurent, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Balthazar Getty as Tommy Walker, Odette Yustman as Annie, Isabella Rae Thomas as Olivia, Cara Buono as Rose and Rob Kazinsky as Dr. Rick Appleton.

"Safe At Home" was written by Michael J. Cinquemani and John Kazlauskas and was directed by Richard Coad.

BROTHERS & SISTERS: Thanks for the Memories (1/9)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Gilles Marini as Luc Laurent, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Ken Olin as David Caplan, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige Whedon, Richard Chamberlain as Jonathan Byrold, Rob Kazinsky as Dr. Rick, Ryan Devlin as Seth, Odette Yustman as Annie, Edwina Findley as Jill and Isabelle Rae Thomas as Olivia.

"Thanks for the Memories" was written by Cliff Olin and Brian Studler and directed by Michael Mayers.

BROTHERS & SISTERS: Scandalized (1/2)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Gilles Marini as Luc Laurent, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Edwina Findley as Jill, Evan Jones as Dan, John Terry as Dr. Karl Banks, Odette Yustman as Annie, Isabella Rae Thomas as Olivia, Helen Eigenberg as Mona, Tina Huang as the E.R. doctor, Ryan Devlin as Seth, Ann Marie Lee as Trisha, Ingrid Walters as Leah, Cristine Rose as Dean Danielle Whitley, Cantrell Harris as Michael and Damon Dayoub as the firefighter.

"Scandalized" was written by Veronica Becker and Sarah Kucserka and directed by Bethany Rooney.

Ben Affleck Leaves the Christmas Shopping Up to Jennifer Garner

"I'm not particularly proud of it. But it's a bit of a '50s thing, I guess," Affleck, 38, tells Ellen DeGeneres of the couple's holiday-shopping arrangements in an interview airing Wednesday on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

"Because my wife is so capable and because I'm less so, she does a lot of that work, and I kind of root her on. I'm encouraging."

Affleck explains that Garner, 38, is just an efficient Christmas-shopping machine, while he sits around sputtering over the single gift for which he's most responsible.

"It takes her as much energy and effort to buy like the 20 gifts we're going to buy other people as it does [for me] to buy her gift," he says. "I spend the whole time fretting about that and being nervous and hoping she likes that."

And often, it doesn't end well. "I end up at like CVS on the 24th being like, 'Maybe she'd like a little Godzilla that goes around,' " he says.

"You talking about your wife or your kids?" DeGeneres asks.

"My wife," Affleck replies. "My kids actually would like that."

BROTHERS & SISTERS: Cold Turkey (12/12)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Gilles Marini as Luc Laurent, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are John Terry as Dr. Karl West, Ryan Devlin as Seth, Odette Yustman as Annie and Richard Chamberlain as Stephen.

"Cold Turkey" was written by Stephen Tolkin & Geoffrey Nauffts and directed by Michael Morris.

Garner to help open children's centers in W.Va.

The charity says Garner and Mason County superintendent Suzanne Dickens are going to participate in a press conference Friday in Ashton.

Garner, who's married to actor Ben Affleck, grew up in Charleston.

Save the Children offers early education, literacy, physical activity and nutrition programs for children. The charity says its programs reached more than 70,000 kids in the country this year.

BROTHERS & SISTERS: Get a Room (12/5)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Gilles Marini as Luc Laurent, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are John Terry as Dr. Karl West, Ryan Devlin as Seth, John Apicella as Frank and Cristine Rose as Dean Danielle Whitley.

"Get a Room" was written by Marc Halsey and Matt Donnelly and directed by Eli Craig.

People's Choice Awards 2011 Nominees

FAVORITE ACTION STAR
Angelina Jolie
Bradley Cooper
Jackie Chan
Jake Gyllenhaal
Robert Downey Jr.

BROTHERS & SISTERS: BRIEF ENCOUNTER (11/28)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Gilles Marini as Luc Laurent, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Ken Olin as David Caplan, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige Whedon and Bobby Soto as Mateo Paresa.

"Brief Encounter" was written by Molly Newman and directed by Jonathan Kaplan.

BROTHERS & SISTERS: The Rhapsody of the Flesh

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Gilles Marini as Luc Laurent, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are John Terry as Dr. Karl, Sara Erikson as Kimberly, Jessica Parker Kennedy as Angie and Sonia Braga as Gabriela Laurent.

"The Rhapsody of the Flesh" was written by Molly Newman and directed by Matthew Rhys.

BROTHERS & SISTERS: Resolved (11/7)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Gilles Marini as Luc Laurent, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Ken Olin as David Caplan, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige Whedon, Mark Ricks as Evan McCallister, John Terry as Dr. Karl, John Apicella as Frank and Odette Yustman as Annie.

"Resolved" was written by David Babcock & Gina Lucita Monreal and directed by Michael Schultz.

Jennifer Garner Slightly Scared About Halloween with Her Girls

"It seems like every time we ask her, it's a different farm animal," Garner told PEOPLE recently. "My oldest daughter [Violet, 4] has a very clear idea, but it's contingent upon my younger daughter."

She adds: "Costumes are not ready in my house. Now, I'm realizing I need to at least get the orders in."

Garner, who earlier this month launched a campaign with Frigidaire to support Save the Children's work for kids in need, is also already prepared to counter any potential sugar rush.

"I'll make up some rules," she says.

Juggling family life, work and philanthropy, Garner says she's doing her best to strike a balance. "No matter what, it is very tricky and difficult – just to be a good parent at all," says Garner, who had been filming Arthur with Russell Brand and Helen Mirren. "I have a lot of help. And for that I'm very grateful.

As for looking put-together, she recognizes one great perk. "I wish every mom could have a hair and makeup team once a week to show up and fix them up," she says.

Sighting

BROTHERS & SISTERS (10/31)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Gilles Marini as Luc Laurent, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Jeremy Davidson as Jack Randall and Christopher J. Hanke as Marcus.

"An Ideal Husband" was written by David Marshall Grant and Michael J. Cinquemani and directed by Bethany Rooney.

BROTHERS & SISTERS: Call Mom (10/24)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Gilles Marini as Luc Laurent, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Jeremy Davidson as Jack Randall, John Apicella as Frank, Debra Monk as Alexandra Kirby and Brianne Davis as Vanessa.

"Call Mom" was written by Veronica Becker and Brian Studler and directed by Michael Schultz.

Bradley Cooper Gushes over Renée Zellweger

"I can't say enough about her," Cooper, 35, gushed to Entertainment Tonight about his Case 39 costar, whom he first met while filming the supernatural thriller. "I just love her. I [loved] coming to work. I love acting with her. I can learn so much from her."

Echoing Cooper's sentiments, Zellweger, 41, who recently moved into a newly renovated $4.7 million home with her beau, told ET, "[Bradley]'s a great, great actor. I just got so excited, not believing that I was going to go to work with him."

Rachel Nichols Books Guest Arc on Criminal Minds

Nichols will play FBI cadet Ashley Seager, who's invited by Hotch (Thomas Gibson) to consult on a case after learning her family history will bring a unique insight into a serial killer's mind.

Nichols' character was originally conceived as a replacement for departing cast member A.J. Cook's JJ, according to Deadline, which first reported Nichols' casting. However, Nichols' role has since been reduced to a three-episode arc to air later this season. Cook's last episode airs Wednesday.

Nichols, who played computer genius Rachel Gibson on the fifth season of Alias, has also appeared in such films as P2, Star Trek, and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.

Jennifer Garner Skips Booze, Interviews at Pink Party

The hot mother of two hit the Pink Party on Saturday at Drai's wearing a loose pink blouse that conveniently hid her stomach.

She also skipped interviews with all of the media outlets, even though she was the host of the charity soiree. Could it be that she doesn't want to answer any questions about whether she's expecting a third child with hubby Ben Affleck?

Dunno, but inside the party she wasn't spotted sipping any cocktails or bubbly either...

"She was seated at a cabana where you couldn't really see inside," one partygoer tells me. "But when she was on stage and walking around, she wasn't drinking anything."

Also partying for a good cause were Nikki Reed, Denise Richards and Julie Benz. The Pink Party raises money for the Cedars-Sinai Women's Cancer Research Institute.

After getting glammed up Saturday night, Jen was back in her mom jeans on Sunday, when she was spotted toting daugther Seraphina to the park for a playdate.

Blogs were buzzing back in June that Jen had a baby on board, but her camp denied the rumors at the time. Her rep didn't respond to our latest request for comment. (Or maybe we should just try asking Victor Garber?)

So will her girls have a new sibling soon? Stay tuned!

BROTHERS & SISTERS: A Righteous Kiss

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Gilles Marini as Luc Laurent, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Ken Olin as David Caplan, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Mark Ricks as Evan McCallister, Stephen Collins as Charlie, Jeremy Davidson as Jack Randall, Sarah Rafferty as Gloria Pierson-Davenport, Emily Hahn as Margaret Hartley and Sophina Brown as Bitsy Fairbank

"A Righteous Kiss" was written by Stephen Tolkin and Cliff Olin and directed by Ken Olin.

Will Brothers & Sisters' Time Jump Reinvent the Show?

"There are a lot of things we need to catch the audience up on, and there's a lot of closure we need to acknowledge and let the audience share in," executive producer David Marshall Grant tells TVGuide.com. "We are doing a lot to deal with that finale and get us into a place where we feel that we understand what happened and move beyond it, just as the Walkers are beginning to move beyond it."

Season 4 ended with a massive car crash that seemed to seal the fate of departing cast member Rob Lowe's Robert McCallister and left William Walker's ex-mistress Holly (Patricia Wettig) in similarly critical condition. Plus, Saul (Ron Rifkin) revealed that he was HIV-positive and Justin (Dave Annable) and Rebecca (Emily VanCamp) came to a crossroads in their young marriage.

The events of the finale are still very fresh in the minds' of the characters, but Grant says the jump in time will quickly allow them to move on and grow. "We are starting these characters in new worlds," he says. "These characters are really trying to reinvent themselves or to get through some really significant hurdles," he says. "I think we're going to really hold these characters' feet to the fire in terms of figuring out what they need to deal with and what they need to get past."

So, how will that reinvention work? Let's break it down character-by-character.

Kitty (Calista Flockhart)

The season premiere is really her story, as she comes to grips with finally letting go of Robert. "She's not only without Robert McCallister, but she's without the life she knew," Grant says. "We open with her trying to maybe understand who she is now. She has to rediscover herself and that will lead to more varied experiences for Kitty." Those experiences include being offered a job by the Republican National Committee and a new romantic relationship with Jeremy Davidson (Army Wives), who is unlike any guy Kitty has dated. "We're not going to see the Kitty that lives in rarefied air and wears Prada dresses and rides in helicopters," Grant says.

Nora (Sally Field)

When the season starts, Nora's gone back to work at a flower shop. "For Nora to be working anywhere is a huge step for her. I think she's exploring what it's like to spread her wings," Grant says, noting that Nora too may find some romance. "Nora wants to get out of the house and I think she's finally admitted that she wants a man in her life. She's had a lot of possibilities over these seasons, but I don't think she's ever been ready." Nora won't stay in the flower business long, however: This season she'll take a job hosting an AM radio show called "Ask Mom."

Justin

He ended last season wanting a break from his troubled marriage with Rebecca. Even though he talked of going to Haiti to help with earthquake relief, the show resumes with Justin returning from another tour of duty in Afghanistan. Changes in him are instantly noticeable. "He is going to be returning a man," Grant says. "He's been a troubled person on our show. He's never really been able to figure it out in some ways, but I think, over the year, he has. He's become a big source of help to his family now, and he's become more a part of the solution than the problem."

Holly and Rebecca

Even though the new mature Justin wants to patch things up with Rebecca, he won't be so lucky. Emily VanCamp is leaving the show after a two-episode arc to wrap up her character's story. Her problems with Justin are compounded by a new health issue plaguing Rebecca's mother, Holly, following the accident. "Rebecca's episodes are going to try to really honor her relationship with Justin, which has been very important for us," Grant says. "And they also honor her relationship with Holly. It's an exciting story, and a heartbreaking one."

Saul

Saul revealing that he has HIV could have been a dark and gloomy story line, but Grant says he isn't looking at it that way. Rather, Grant wants to continue to explore Saul's intergenerational relationship with Kevin (Matthew Rhys) and Scotty (Luke McFarlane) by having Saul and Scotty open a restaurant. "This season is a way of examining a man who grew up in very different times come to terms with what he missed out on so he can move forward in the most positive and exciting way," Grant says. And Uncle Saul is also getting a love interest: 7th Heaven's Stephen Collins. "We're focusing on Saul's search for intimate connection. The fact that he's HIV-positive is going to complicate that search, as if it wasn't complicated already," Grant says.

Kevin and Scotty

Despite a season-long attempt to adopt a child last year, Kevin and Scotty are still baby-less after another surrogacy fails. After that and the accident, Kevin shuts himself off from Scotty, throwing himself into his work as a pro bono lawyer. "He's hung his own shingle and he's taking a lot of clients who can't afford lawyers," Grant says. "He's much more about being a lawyer for people who need him, because he now appreciates how the fickle finger of fate can hurt you." When one of Kevin's clients needs a place to stay, however, Kevin and Scotty's wish to adopt is revisited. "That's an important new shift for them and I think it's great to tell a story about raising child who isn't an infant," Grant says.

Sarah (Rachel Griffiths) and Luc (Gilles Marini)

Sarah will debate what to do with the Narrow Lake land, which could lead to a lot of money for all the Walker family members. Luckily, her rocky love life seems to be on solid ground. "They're very much in love. It's become a great relationship for us," Grant says. "They seem to have the same kind of chemistry as Scotty and Kevin, and it's just been really fun to watch." Look to see a lot of Luc, as he has become an underwear model. Also, his mom will pay the Walkers a visit this season.

Brothers & Sisters returns Sunday at 10/9c on ABC.

BROTHERS & SISTERS: Faking It (10/10)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Gilles Marini as Luc Laurent, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Ken Olin as David Caplan, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper, Jeremy Davidson as Jack Randall and Susan Blakely as Celia Calmartin.

"Faking It" was written by Veronica Becker and Geoffrey Nauffts and directed by Michael Schultz.

Getty talks about Miller affair

The Brothers & Sisters star hit headlines two years ago when he was accused of cheating on his wife Rosetta with the British actress.

The scandal dogged the pair for months and Miller recently admitted she suffered a "semi-breakdown" because of the furore surrounding the doomed love affair.

Getty separated from his partner after his fling with Miller was revealed, but admits they have now reconciled for the sake of their four children.

He tells Harper's Bazaar magazine, "Here's the bottom line: It was a very challenging time for everybody involved. But I loved and missed my family too much not to make it work. Rosetta is understanding enough and spiritual enough to let us try."

J.J. Abrams' Alcatraz project lands at Fox

The network has given a pilot commitment to Abrams' latest mysterious TV endeavor, whose official logline is as cryptic as one might expect: "A show about mysteries, secrets and the most infamous prison of all time: Alcatraz."

Abrams is reteaming with veterans from his other island-based show, "Lost" -- Elizabeth Sarnoff is the lead writer and joins Abrams as an executive producer, and Bryan Burk is an executive producer.

If greenlighted, the project will join Abrams' "Fringe" on the network. Abrams is also shopping a crime thriller with "Inception" director Christopher Nolan.

Amy Irving and Dylan Baker to Guest-Star on House

Irving and Baker join previously announced guest stars Matthew Lillard (Scream, Scooby Doo) and Dirty Dancing's Jennifer Grey.

The casting news was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

Season 7 of House premieres Monday, Sept. 20 at 8/7c on Fox.

BROTHERS & SISTERS: Brief Encounter (10/3)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Gilles Marini as Luc Laurent, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Ken Olin as David Caplan, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige Whedon and Bobby Soto as Mateo Paresa.

"Brief Encounter" was written by Molly Newman and directed by Jonathan Kaplan.

Students Swoon as Bradley Cooper Returns to Georgetown

The actor, 35, a 1997 Georgetown grad, described his euphoria upon visiting the college as a high-school student. "I swear to God, Socrates was teaching in the corner, and there were tons of Frisbees and Golden Retrievers. All the women were from California," he said. "And then I got rejected."

After a year at Villanova, Cooper managed to transfer to his dream school, where he was an English major in the honors program. And soon he got bitten by the acting bug in a Georgetown production of Dangerous Liaisons.

The star of Wedding Crashers and The Hangover exhorted students not to be afraid of failure. "Just fall on your face," he said. "Who cares? Really, it's the only way you're going to learn. God help you if you never fail."

For their part, the students were more interested in the heartthrob actor's personal effects than his professional experience. According to student newspaper the Hoya, one student asked for, and received, his water bottle. Another asked him to take off his shirt. Cooper, who is dating Renée Zellweger, declined. So, the student asked for a sock instead.

He politely turned down one student's request for him to escort her to the school's Diplomatic Ball next spring. And when another stepped to the podium, she prefaced her question by simply declaring: "I just want to say that you're the most gorgeous man on earth."

Marisol Nichols Romances NCIS: LA's O'Donnell

"The role's booked as guest star/recurring," says Marisol, who debuts in the sixth new episode, titled "Stand-Off." Word is the two characters, who share a very complicated past, will lock lips. This comes as great news to Marisol, who first fell for O'Donnell in 1992's Scent of Woman.

Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck Enjoy Playtime with the Kids

She has been filming Arthur in New York, and he is set to begin promotion of his new film, The Town due in theaters Sept. 17, but the couple are making sure to get in some quality family time together.

Garner and Affleck, both 38, along with daughters Violet, 4, and Seraphina, 1, met up with Affleck’s brother Casey, his wife, Summer and kids Atticus and Indiana at The Huntington Gardens in Pasadena, Calif. on Thursday.

The adults, along with Affleck’s visiting parents, reportedly beat the heat as they lounged in the shade and watched as the little ones splashed around in the children's garden. The brothers also had some fun laughing and playfully pushing each other. Ahhh, male bonding.

BROTHERS & SISTERS: The Homecoming -- SEASON PREMIERE (9/26)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Gilles Marini as Luc Laurent, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest stars are Ken Olin as David Caplan, Bobby Soto as Mateo, Grant Albrecht as Joe Corvus and Terry Walters as Lacy.

"The Homecoming" was written by David Marshall Grant and David Babcock and directed by Michael Morris.

Ryan Reynolds & Bradley Cooper to Buddy Up

The actors, both strong candidates for the title of PEOPLE's Sexiest Man Alive, will play cops in the as-yet-untitled action-comedy, in which they recruit their fathers – former police officers themselves – to crack a case, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Both leading men have been exploring the action side of Hollywood lately, with Cooper, 35, recently starring in The A-Team and Reynolds, 33, playing the title role in the upcoming superhero picture Green Lantern.

Greg Grunberg: I starred in JJ Abrams' home movies

Grunberg has known Abrams since they were 4. He says Abrams began making movies during playdates when they were 10, using friends and family as cast members.

Grunberg has appeared in most of Abrams' professional films and TV shows, including "Star Trek," "Felicity" and "Lost." Grunberg says he does not know yet if he has a role in "Super 8," a film that Abrams is now making with Steven Spielberg.

Grunberg next appears in the TV movie, "Bond of Silence," which premieres at 9 p.m. EDT Monday on Lifetime. He also stars in the new NBC midseason show, "Love Bites." His film "Group Sex" comes out Tuesday on DVD.

Hugh Jackman Butters Up Jennifer Garner

There isn't any, according to Jennifer Garner, 38, who once again takes on the role of an ambitious A-type personality in Laura Pickler, the disillusioned wife of Iowa's best butter carver, in the forthcoming 2011 comedy Butter. The movie takes place in the competitive world of the popular state-fair craft.

"He can do something for her, or will do something for her," Jackman, 41, tells Entertainment Tonight.

Jackman plays Garner's former beau, a prom king who gives up his wife and kids to be with the woman he thinks is the love of his life.

"The moment she turns up on his doorstep, he drops them all and says, 'Thank you, God, this is my second chance,' " the leading man says. "So he's – very briefly – very happy."

Couple Watch

Getty quits 'Brothers & Sisters'

Lowe bid farewell to his TV family earlier this year and now Getty has also decided to leave the series ahead of the upcoming fifth season, according to EW.com.

Sources tell the website the star's departure was a "creative decision" and the absence of his character, Tommy, will be explained in the premiere episode, which airs in the U.S. next month.

Bradley Cooper, Renee Zellweger a workout duo

'HawthoRNe's' Michael Vartan gets it on with Jada Pinkett Smith

Spoiler Alert: If you haven't seen it yet, stop reading now.

It began with an auto accident that injured Wakefield and killed his pal Paul (Kenneth Choi), and ended with Wakefield in a passionate clinch with head nurse Christina Hawthorne (Jada Pinkett Smith) that culminated in him proposing marriage.

"The good doctor is having a hands-on relationship with the head of nursing," Vartan tells Zap2it. "It's television. I guess it was just a matter of time, and they decided to do it now rather than later. Tom and Christina are getting it on."

Asked if this plot twist is going to cause any problems with Smith's husband, actor Will Smith, Vartan says, "I don't think so. Even last year, we liked to joke that Will is our ghost producer, because, although his name isn't on the actual project, he definitely lends his talent to it, which is great.

"The more Will Smith you can get, the better off you are. He, from the get-go, realized you can go two ways on TV. You can either do the 'Moonlighting' thing and keep the characters apart forever and let the audience beg for them together -- 'Alias' kind of did that between my character and Jennifer Garner's -- or you can just do it.

"I think the reason they chose to go for it, in our case, is the work environment is is so intense that a peaceful, sweet little love story is almost impossible. That's why they decided to do it, because it does bring so much conflict in between the two, with the power struggle in their positions, the hierarchy, all that stuff."

As for not-so-sweet love story itself, Vartan says, "They have a full-on, very complicated, very passionate, very physical, very messy, very aggressive, full of fights and make-ups and break-ups, very fun, kind of nuts, relationship."

Since Will Smith is fine with all this, that leaves the question of Vartan's fiancee, Lauren Skaar, whom he met in a Whole Foods parking lot when he "went up to her and begged her to take my email. She did, and the rest is history. She had no idea who I was, which made it even better."

According to Vartan, the "HawthoRNe" love scenes won't be a problem for Skaar.

"She's a mature, wonderful young lady," says Vartan, "who understands the sometimes not-so-fun part of my business."

But the future might be another matter.

"I'll tell you this," Vartan says, "now that I am getting married, I will definitely not be down for that anymore. Before, I didn't care; it was part of the job. If it's going to make the person I'm in love with feel really uncomfortable, I totally get it. I wouldn't want her to do it, so I have to honor that commitment."

But Vartan is still a showbiz realist.

"Look," he says, "if someone comes knocking on my door for 'Titanic 2,' and they're offering me $2 million to do it, and there's a love scene, I'll sit my fiancee down and say, 'Honey, this will pay for the kids' college tuition, so let's just do it.'

"Love scenes, they're so completely unromantic. As you know, there's a crew of 30 around. There's a boom microphone up your rear end. It's more of a mechanical exercise than anything. But it's still not fun for the other person.

"This is the first time I've ever been committed and having to do a love scene with anyone, and I can only imagine how it would make her feel. Can't be fun. I wouldn't like it, for sure."

Vartan says that the women in question have a relationship of their own.

"Lauren has met Jada several times," he says, "and they love each other. They're good friends. Lauren knows what a wonderful wife Jada is to Will and what an amazing relationship they have. This is so not dangerous, because these are two people who are madly in love with their spouses.

"They're just going to have to do this for a couple of hours on set, and both parties understand that it's completely a professional situation."

As for Vartan's real-life romance, he says he and Skaar are planning to wed next April in Newport, Beach, Calif.. It might be by the sea or in a hotel, but it won't be on a boat.

"A boat could be a logistical nightmare," Vartan says. "Can you imagine, at the moment where the bride is supposed to say 'I do,' she vomits on me?"

Jennifer Garner Has a Gas Playing Good Samaritan

Earlier this week, Ben Affleck's better half (of five years!) took time out from her exhaustive tour of Westside farmers' markets to lend a helping hand to a couple of gas-challenged motorists stranded on the side of the road.

After refueling herself at a lunch with pals in Brentwood, the actress did the same for her neighbors' car, driving to a service station and returning to provide the two women with enough petrol to send them on their merry way.

Hopefully, their merry way included a stop at a gas station.

Jennifer Garner 'Absolutely Not Pregnant'

Speculation has been swirling around the Internet that Jennifer Garner is pregnant again as evidenced by photos of her wearing loose-fitting clothes of late. Not so, her rep tells PEOPLE exclusively.

"Jennifer is absolutely not pregnant," the rep says.

Garner has two daughters, Violet, 4, and Seraphina, 1, with husband Ben Affleck. She will next be seen in the comedy, Butter, which she also produced, due out in 2011.

HawthoRNe Hot Doc Michael Vartan Tells All

TV Guide Magazine: Big changes this year, huh?

Vartan: Yeah, it's almost like a different show. This season is really amped up. My relationship with Jada's character...those two are getting it on, and it's messy and brutal and emotional.

TV Guide Magazine: Didn't Christina's husband just die?

Vartan: I know. [Laughs] TV time is like dog years.

TV Guide Magazine: And it gets messy?

Vartan: The actual lovemaking hopefully isn't! The emotional aftermath and the toll it takes on them is. I'd like to think the lovemaking is expert and quite wonderful.

TV Guide Magazine: So what's your take on this rumored Alias remake?

Vartan: It seems completely preposterous to me. It's too early. I'm sure Jennifer [Garner] can still run down a hallway, and I can still shoot a gun. If they want to do it in 20 years, I'll understand, but come on!

TV Guide Magazine: Jada, Jennifer, J.Lo — when are you gonna work with a hot chick?

Vartan: Yeah, I am so sick of working with these "character" actresses. They're really hard to look at, and I have to create all of this chemistry that's not there.

'HawthoRNe': Michael Vartan starts new season without ghosts, with asbestos

In the season opener, called "No Excuses," Trinity has closed, and many of the staff have moved over to James River, a rundown hospital in a low-income area of Richmond, Va. It means starting over for Chief Nursing Officer Christina Hawthorne (Jada Pinkett Smith) -- the capitalized RN in the title stands for Registered Nurse -- who butts heads with the ER's head nurse (Vanessa Bell Calloway).

Meanwhile, former Chief of Surgery Dr. Tom Wakefield has stepped down from his administrative position and gone back to merely treating patients. So the fun is just starting for Wakefield, but it's already all over for the actor who plays him, former "Alias" star Michael Vartan.

"We just wrapped," says Vartan. "Gosh, it feels like a year ago already. Fingers crossed; we'll see what happens. Now here comes the part we have zero control over."

"HawthoRNe" formerly shot at a closed hospital in Inglewood, Calif., not from from Los Angeles International Airport. But with the change in locale for the show came a change in location for the cast and crew.

"The new one is in North Hollywood-ish," Vartan says. "It's an old medical building. I'm not sure it was ever a full-fledged hospital, but it's definitely a medical facility that we transformed. Our crack set-decorating department did a great deal of making it look real."

The move may have an extra benefit, since there were rumors that the former location was haunted.

"There are all these stories," Vartan says. "In the space of one year, they've become urban legends. None of us in the crew even knows if they're true or not. There are stories that, when the initial locations department got there, there was a body decomposed in the morgue, a skeleton, that they left a body behind somehow. That seems almost impossible, but that's what they said.

"There are stories of a dolly grip walking down one of the hallways and hearing a door shut right next to him, and there was no one there, that kind of stuff. One night, one of our poor electricians got stuck in the elevator overnight, and apparently he heard all sorts of shenanigans going on.

"Let's put it this way -- if you got lost in that hospital late at night, and you're walking around, the hairs on the back of your neck would stand up a little. It was definitely creepy.

"This hospital's not quite as creepy. It's a lot smaller, so the hallways aren't quite as long or as dark. But we're apparently battling a serious asbestos problem, so that's always fun. If you come visit, bring a mask."

Also with the new location comes a new look for "HawthoRNe."

"We have a new director of photography," says Vartan, "so it's a little more documentary style. I wouldn't say it's a different show, because obviously the characters are the same, and it's the same subject matter, but it definitely has a different feel.

"It's a little grittier this year. Somehow it feels like the blood's a little redder, and the cuts are a little deeper. Everything this year has a heightened reality to it. It's hitting the ground running."

Fans can also expect some big drama for Dr. Wakefield.

"Yes, yes," says Vartan. "My character is no longer a Chief of Surgery. He's just a plan old surgeon, which is exactly where he wants to be. He also has a life-altering experience that happens in episode three. Some heavy-duty stuff happens to my character, so that was fun to play."

Asked if Wakefield perhaps loses a limb or goes blind, Vartan says, "Well, I can't tell you, but it's not good, and it does put his career as a surgeon in complete jeopardy."

Sighting

Bradley Cooper to star in baseball comedy-drama

The untitled comedy-drama centers on a baseball player who gets injured and has to go back to the minors where the only place he can find lodging is in a senior citizens' home. There, he meets an old baseball guru who helps lead him back.

Producer Andrew Panay concocted the idea with colleague Adam Blum. Screenwriter Allan Loeb, whose career has been on fire since writing the upcoming "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps," took to the idea and carved time in his busy schedule to develop the story.

The trio then pitched the idea to Disney, which appears to have room for movies with heart even amid its much-ballyhooed focus on brands and big "tentpole" pictures.

Sighting

Double Date Paris Style: Renée Zellweger & Bradley Cooper with Kate Hudson & Matthew Bellamy

Sources tell PEOPLE that Hudson, 31, and Bellamy, 32, the English frontman of the rock band Muse, arrived with a group of friends at around 9 p.m. at L'Ami Louis, a '30s-style traditional French bistro. About two hours later, Zellweger, 41, and Cooper, 35, arrived.

Cooper and Zellweger – whose reps recently denied rumors that couple are engaged – were seated next to the larger group, but soon they pushed the tables together. The group dined until about 12:30 a.m., when they moved the party to the hotel bar at the Plaza-Athénée.

A source tells PEOPLE that Zellweger was "very smiley, very happy to be here," and at one point left the table with Hudson for a private chat in a corner of the restaurant. Cooper was in town to promote The A-Team, and was spotted earlier in the day strolling the Champs-Élysées by himself.

Hudson, meanwhile, had attended Muse's concert in Paris on Saturday and was spotted around town with Bellamy on Sunday.

Bradley Cooper and Renée Zellweger Are Not Engaged

Bradley Cooper and Renée Zellweger are not engaged to be married, their reps tell PEOPLE exclusively.

Rumors the couple were set to walk down the aisle swirled last week after reports surfaced that Zellweger was spotted allegedly shopping for wedding dresses and the two were seen dining with her parents.

The couple, who costarred in Case 39, have been dating since last July, but haven't spoken publicly about their relationship.

Cooper, who currently stars in A-Team, recently told PEOPLE he finds it "fascinating" to read about his romantic life in the press.

Renee Zellwegger and Bradley Cooper getting married?

QUOTED: Bradley Cooper Can't Get over His Hot, Toned Body

Sighting

Is This Alias 2.0 News Too Good to Be True?

Nothing is even close to being anything official yet, so don't go dying your hair bright red in celebration or anything, but:

A reliable insider at ABC tells me that there is talk of the network doing a "reboot" of one of the greatest TV series of all time, J.J. Abrams' Alias.

How? When? Where? Why?

Again, it's only very initial talk at this point, but I'm told that the development folks over at the Alphabet network are considering doing a new version of Alias that would borrow some elements of the original series that starred Jennifer Garner (and Michael Vartan, Victor Garber and some guy named Bradley Cooper who must have slipped into oblivion since). But the series would most likely not include any sort of complex mythological throughline such as the Rambaldi prophecy (a storyline that lost some of the fans).

According to this source, ABC is hoping to hold onto its lost Lost audience with a re-envisioned J.J. Abrams series, in light of FlashForward not working out so well. (It was canceled last week.)

In the meantime, J.J. is of course working on another new spy series for NBC—Undercovers, about a retired spy couple who gets back into the espionage game after opening a catering business. Those who've seen it are reporting back great things.

And that's not the only spy series in the works for this fall. The CW also is already garnering some buzz for its new spy thriller Nikita, based on the film La Femme Nikita, and starring Mission Impossible 3's Maggie Q. (Alias was accused of borrowing some elements from La Femme Nikita back in the day.

ABC's Fall Lineup: Familiar Faces Anchor 10 New Series

The network will introduce 10 new series, including four dramas for the fall: Body of Proof, No Ordinary Family, Detroit 1-8-7 and The Whole Truth. Family and Detroit will bookend a Dancing with the Stars results show, My Generation takes the canceled FlashForward's pre-Grey's Anatomy Thursday slot, and Body of Proof will air on Fridays. The Whole Truth will follow the network's Wednesday night comedy block, which adds the new comedy Better Together.

The network also picked up former the Fox reality show Secret Millionaire, which will kick-off the network's Friday nights in the fall.

Shonda Rhimes' Medical drama Off the Map, as well as comedies Happy Endings and Perry's Mr. Sunshine, will debut at midseason.

"Our passion for great storytelling is at the core of everything we do," ABC President Steve McPherson said in a statement. "Finding and supporting writers, directors, producers and actors who share that passion is critical to our success. Our shows are the product of these collaborations, and we are thrilled to add 10 new series to our schedule next year."

The network also welcomes back returning series Dancing with the Stars, Castle, The Middle, Modern Family, Cougar Town, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, V, America's Funniest Home Videos, Extreme Makeover:Home Edition, Desperate Housewives, Brothers & Sisters and Supernanny. The network still has the option to renew Jamie Oliver Food Revolution and Shark Tank for midseason.

Descriptions of the new fall shows and ABC's fall line-up are below:

Better Together: This comedy stars Jennifer Finnigan and Josh Cooke as Maddie and Ben, who have been dating for nine years and are thrown for a loop when Maddie's sister Mia (JoAnna Garcia) announces her engagement after dating a guy for only seven weeks.

Body of Proof: Dana Delany stars as Dr. Megan Hunt, a brilliant neurosurgeon who is forced out of the operating room by a devastating car crash. She becomes a medical examiner who uses her sharp instincts to solve murders, but her methods don't always please the police and her interactions with the living are often uncomfortable. Jeri Ryan (Star Trek: Voyager ) Geoffrey Arend (Trust Me) and Sonja Sohn (The Wire) also star.

Detroit 1-8-7: Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos, Life on Mars) stars as Detective Louis Fitch, a wily homicide vet who is the most respected — and most misunderstood — man in the Detroit Police Department's homicide division. Jon Michael Hill plays his new partner, Damon Washington, whose first day on the job turns out to be — you guessed it — a trial by fire.

My Generation: This ensemble drama follows a group of friends 10 years after they filmed a documentary during their high school years in Texas. The show stars Michael Stahl David, Kelli Garner, Jaime King, Keir O'Donnell, Sebastian Sozzi, Mehcad Brooks, Anne Son, Daniella Alonso and Julian Morris.

No Ordinary Family: The Shield's Michael Chiklis and Dexter's Julie Benz play the Powells, a couple who, after a plane crash in the Amazon during a family vacation, discover they have superpowers. Tate Donovan (Damages), Romany Malco (Weeds), Autumn Reeser (The O.C., Entourage) also star.

Secret Millionaire: An hour-long reality series that follows some of America's wealthiest people for one week as they leave behind their lavish lifestyles, sprawling mansions and luxury jets, conceal their true identities, and go to live and volunteer in some of the most impoverished and dangerous communities in America.

The Whole Truth: Starring Rob Morrow (Numb3rs) and Joely Richardson (Nip/Tuck), this legal drama chronicles the way a case is built from the perspective of both the defense and prosecution. Richardson plays Kathryn Peale, the deputy bureau chief in the New York State District Attorney's office, and Morrow plays Jimmy Brogan, Kathryn's longtime friend and a criminal attorney.

ABC's schedule:

MONDAY
8 p.m. Dancing with the Stars
10 p.m. Castle

TUESDAY
8 p.m. No Ordinary Family (new)
9 p.m. Dancing with the Stars Results Show
10 p.m. Detroit 1-8-7 (new)

WEDNESDAY
8 p.m. The Middle
8:30 p.m. Better Together (new)
9 p.m. Modern Family
9:30 p.m. Cougar Town
10 p.m. The Whole Truth (new)

THURSDAY
8 p.m. My Generation (new)
9 p.m. Grey's Anatomy
10 p.m. Private Practice

FRIDAY
8 p.m. Secret Millionaire (new)
9 p.m. Body of Proof (new)
10 p.m. 20/20

SATURDAY
8 p.m. Saturday Night College Football

SUNDAY
7 p.m. America's Funniest Home Videos
8 p.m. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
9 p.m. Desperate Housewives
10 p.m. Brothers & Sisters

Sightings

'Super 8' trailer: J.J. Abrams' no longer top-secret new project

J.J. Abrams' next movie, which has been a closely guarded secret until Friday (May 7), when a teaser trailer debuted in front of "Iron Man 2." And, as you can see, it's also on YouTube.

What we can glean from the trailer -- and from statements by Abrams, who's writing and directing the film for producer Steven Spielberg -- is that it's not related to "Cloverfield," the last top-secret project from Abrams' Bad Robot production company. It is an alien story, with on-screen text noting that in 1979, the government closed down part of Area 51 and transferred what was held there to a "secure facility" in Ohio. (That may or not be a twist on the oft-repeated story that aliens from Roswell were transferred to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton.)

But of course, that's not going to go so well, thanks to the suicidal driver of a pickup truck.

Whatever the finished product ends up being, the "Super 8" trailer proves one thing yet again: J.J. Abrams is a master at creating buzz. We're really interested in seeing what comes out of that train car.

What do you think of the trailer? Will you be buying a ticket to "Super 8" next summer?

'Brothers & Sisters': EP says time leap is likely for Season 5

As we reported first, Gilles Marini will return next season as a regular and Balthazar Getty may come back full-time.

Now, we learn the chances that the show will do some kind of one-year time jump next season are high.

"At this point, the odds are strong that we will do [a jump]," Executive Producer David Marshall Grant tells EW.com. "Or something like that that would shake us up in some way.

If the jump were to happen, Grant gives a couple clues as to what the reboot will look like.

With Rob Lowe leaving, Kitty will be single. Jumping a year probably gets us past her initial adjustment period. So when we meet up with her, she'll be single and ready to mingle.

Luc and Sarah will be well into their relationship, which could be interesting. In the last episode, Sarah and Luc butted heads over the "real" ramifications of the young hunk dating a woman with kids. Will he have won tween Paige over like he did young Cooper?

We've seen time jumps used before to refresh a series (such as the one on "Desperate Housewives"), but the producer says he's not afraid of the move being considered gimmicky.

"You always battle that 'it's been done before' notion," says Grant. "It's all about the execution. An idea can be interpreted as a gimmick but if it's executed in a way that creates new and exciting stories then it becomes worth it and people forget it was done a thousand times before."

NBC announces 'Undercovers,' a new drama for fall

The network said Monday that "Undercovers" is a spy drama from prolific producer J.J. Abrams, whose series include "Fringe," "Lost" and "Alias."

The official announcement date for NBC's fall lineup is May 17. The date kicks off the so-called Upfront Week, when all the major broadcast networks unveil their schedules for next season.

"Undercovers" focuses on two of the CIA's best spies, who fell in love five years ago and retired to open a catering firm. But when a fellow spy and friend goes missing, the couple set off on an undercover mission to rescue him.

Stars include Jessica Parker Kennedy, Carter MacIntyre, Gerald McRaney and Ben Schwartz.

'Brothers & Sisters': Balthazar Getty returning full-time?

An inside source tells Zap2it that ABC is considering bringing Getty's character, Tommy Walker, back full-time next season.

While Getty has remained on the opening credits, he only just returned to the series as the threat from Dennis York was reaching a critical impasse.

Currently living in Seattle, Tommy's life fell apart after he illegally tried to acquire enough shares in Ojai to overthrow Holly. He then ran off to Mexico and joined a commune before deciding to follow Elizabeth and their daughter to Seattle.

This wouldn't be the first of the cast shake-ups for next season. Rob Lowe leaves this season. And earlier this week, we reported that Gilles Marini is officially a regular for the next season and Luke Grimes, who plays half-brother Ryan, is out.

Report: J.J. Abrams-Steven Spielberg collaboration in the works

Abrams, who recently was helmsman on the "Star Trek" reboot, is going to make his next silver screen project a Spielberg tribute and collaboration, so says Vulture.

Details are hazy, as is studio confirmation. The report claims that the film will be in the vein of Spielberg's most successful '70s and '80s films, where ordinary folk encounter extraordinary circumstances, possibly fantastical/science fictional.

Spielberg's involvement seems assured since "J.J. wants to make sure Steven is properly paid homage to. This is really an interpretation of some of Spielberg's earlier films, but done in a personal way." No title, working or otherwise, has been released yet, much like the mystery that surrounded "Cloverfield."

Although we don't doubt that such a partnership could happen, Abrams would have to work hard to fit this in his schedule. It's a good thing "Lost" is ending on ABC, but "Fringe" on FOX is still going strong, and he has that NBC "Undercovers" pilot in the works.

On the big screen, he's producing "Mission: Impossible 4" and a Rachel McAdams comedy, along with developing a ton of other film projects such as the sequels to "Cloverfield" and "Star Trek."

Spielberg has been wearing the executive producer hat for a while, so it would be quite fitting if he did the same for this project. As for directing, he still has "The Adventures of Tintin" coming.

Julia, Kristen, Reese, Anyone Named Jennifer and R.Pattz Among "Most Beautiful"

The first, well, if you don't already know, then congratulations on finally managing to get out from under that rock. The second, well, it's all about the pretty.

That's right, People has unwisely chosen today to unveil the aesthetically pleasing crop of superstars that make up this year's list of Most Beautiful People, with the much coveted cover shot going to Sandra Bullock Angelina Jolie Halle Berry Julia Roberts, her fourth such time as the Most Most Beautiful Person.

She's called a Pretty Woman for a reason, folks. And it's not just because it makes for a good pun. Of course, she's not alone in the genetic winners' circle, getting joined this year by everybody's favorite sparkle vamp Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart (they're kind of a set), Jennifers Aniston, Garner and Lopez, Jake Gyllenhaal, Zoe Saldana, Scarlett Johansson, Bradley Cooper and the dreamiest, wittiest deodorant hawker out there, Isaiah Mustafa, to name a few. Now here's the rest:

First, the ladies. Joining the lookers in the list proper is Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, small-screen babe Sofia Vergara, newly engaged songbird Katy Perry, suddenly prolific starlet Amanda Seyfried, Good Wife's Julianna Margulies and Gossip Girl star Jessica Szohr.

As for the fellas, Ryan Reynolds, Johnny Depp, front-sweeper extraordinaire Justin Bieber and Grey's Anatomy hunks Patrick Dempsey and Kevin McKidd also made the cut.

Among those forced to bear the title of Hot: our own Kim Kardashian and Kendra Wilkinson made the cut. They're joined by Glee's Dianna Agron, Adam Lambert, Christina Hendricks, Gabourey Sidibe, Kelly Osbourne and Miley Cyrus.

The magazine's round-up of Beautiful at Every Age is where K. Stew makes the scene, and she's joined by...well, just about every hot young star you can think of (hey, every year has a publicist-appeasing catch-all category, and this is 2010's).

Joining the ranks are Vanessa Hudgens, Blake Lively, Megan Fox (no hot list is complete without her!), Freida Pinto, America Ferrera, Anne Hathaway, Beyoncé, Jessica Alba, Rosario Dawson, Kate Hudson, January Jones, Reese Witherspoon, Amy Adams, Eva Mendes, Jenny McCarthy, Taraji P. Henson, Gwen Stefani, Lucy Liu, Kate Walsh, Cindy Crawford, Marisa Tomei, Mariska Hargitay (still with us? Hang in there!), Demi Moore, Sheryl Crow, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Michelle Pfeiffer, Annette Bening, Christie Brinkley and Meryl Streep, among other decade-spanning beauties.

This year's crop of stars who we hate look good without makeup are Ashley Greene, Diane Kruger, Heidi Klum, Kerry Washington, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Robin Wright and Selena Gomez.

People also helpfully took the guesswork out of naming Hollywood's All-Time Screen Beauties (until next year, that is), dividing the stunning leading ladies into decade-size bites.

The Noughties are well represented by Natalie Portman, Charlize Theron, Angelina Jolie, Penélope Cruz, Drew Barrymore and Jennifer Lopez. The '90s were apparently blinded by the beauty of Gwyneth Paltrow, Cameron Diaz, Michelle Yeoh, Winona Ryder, Nicole Kidman and Meg Ryan. The '80s belonged to Brooke Shields and Kim Basinger.

Oddly absent from the list—or at least from the online preview of the list—is Sandra Bullock, but we're guessing (hoping) that the magazine's editors didn't want to oversaturate the market. We're sure she'll make the cut when the issue hits newsstands this week...right, People?!

'Hung' books 'Alias' star Merrin Dungey

Dungey will have a "major" recurring part in the dark comedy's second season, according to Deadline.com. She'll play a woman named Liz who is one of basketball coach/male prostitute Ray Drecker's (Thomas Jane) clients -- and maybe more than that.

Dungey guest-starred on "Castle" earlier this month and appeared in several episodes of "Better Off Ted" over the course of its two seasons. Her credits also include recurring roles on "The King of Queens" and "Malcolm in the Middle" and, of course, "Alias," where she played Sydney's (Jennifer Garner) best friend Francie.

She also starred in the back-door pilot for "Private Practice" but was replaced by Audra McDonald when the show went to series.

"Hung" premieres June 27 on HBO.

BROTHERS & SISTERS: On the Road Again -- SEASON FINALE (5/16)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Grimes as Ryan Lafferty, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Ken Olin as David Caplan, Gilles Marini as Luc Laurent, John Aylward as Rawling and Patrick St. Esprit as Bill Stanton.

"On the Road Again" was written by David Marshall Grant and Geoffrey Nauffts and directed by Ken Olin.

Sightings

BROTHERS & SISTERS (5/9)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Grimes as Ryan Lafferty, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Richard Doyle as Benjamin Wright, Wayne Lopez as Pedro, Nigel Havers as Roger Grant, Gilles Marini as Luc, Patrick St. Esprit as Bill Stanton and Tim Ransom as the human resources representative.

"Lights Out" was written by Brian Studler and Molly Newman and directed by Michael Morris.

BROTHERS & SISTERS: Love All (5/2)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Grimes as Ryan Lafferty, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Daniel and David Oshionebo as Evan McCallister, John Aylward as Joe Rawling, Gilles Marini as Luc Laurent and Patrick St. Esprit as Bill Stanton.

"Love All" was written by Michael J. Cinquemani and Sarah Goldfinger and directed by Michael Schultz.

Sightings

BROTHERS & SISTERS (4/25)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Grimes as Ryan Lafferty, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Marion Ross as Ida Holden, Gilles Marini as Luc Laurent, Justin Henry as Dr. Lewis, Bre Blair as Ms. Nadine, Kathe Mazur as Ann Waterman, Alliosn Wedintraub as Alison and John Aylward as Joe Rawling.

"Where There's Smoke..." was written by Michael Foley and Jason Wilborn and directed by Michael Morris.

Sightings

Garner ready to churn 'Butter'

“It’s about butter carving in the Midwest, believe it or not,” Smith tells us. “Google it, you’ll be amazed. It’s like the NASCAR of dairy.”

In fact, the comedy — which begins shooting this month — is admittedly more than a mere weird form of local competition. It’s a metaphor for the 2008 U.S. Presidential election, with Garner as the Hillary Clinton of the piece, the Butter Carving Queen whose coronation is considered a mere formality.

That is, until a 12-year-old African-American butter-carving prodigy turns up (Yara Shahidi), who pulls the competitive rug out from under her despite a lack of experience.

It’s Garner’s first film under the aegis of her new production company. “I can’t wait to start churning,” she says.

Accused Affleck-Garner stalker deemed insane

Stars Tease Matt Damon For Bad Breath, Hair Plugs

"He doesn't deserve this award," Damon's pal Jimmy Kimmel teasingly told PEOPLE. "I don't know who they weren't able to get, but I'd go with Tom Selleck before I'd go with Matt Damon."

Sarah Silverman, who joked that she gave Damon, 39, "his first really big break" with their crudely funny 2008 viral video hit, said she was going to have a hard time roasting him.

"The worst thing I could say is, you know, Matt Damon is like, maybe he's a perfectionist," she told the audience, which included Don Cheadle, former President Bill Clinton and Damon's Invictus director Clint Eastwood. "And his breath is like, Jesus! And his hair plugs are really obvious. Besides that, there's like nothing. So sorry, roast not possible!"

Damon also took some barbs from his best friend Ben Affleck – and Affleck's wife, Jennifer Garner.

"Ben is half of one of the greatest love stories ever told. Not with me," Garner said. "The actual prototype for the great Hollywood Bromance . . . Here's proof that love is alive and well in Hollywood. At least for my darling husband and my husband's darling husband."

Cracked Affleck: "Matt always said to me, 'Ben, there are two things that are more important to me than anything else in this world.' Folks: fame, money. You did it, Matty! You got there!"

A good-natured Damon took it all in stride.

"I can honestly say that there's a good chance that next year Ben will be here, presenting this award to someone else," he told the audience as he accepted his award. "There's a lot of buzz about Vanessa Hudgens."

Matt Damon Gets Honored Roasted

Charlize Theron got into the blame game, faulting Damon for one of Will Smith's few failures…

"In 2000 Matt and I starred in The Legend of Bagger Vance along with Will Smith, the only Will Smith movie that didn't make like a gagillion, million dollars," Theron said. "I reunited with Will in Hancock, which did great. So I guess it's you, Matt."

And she didn't stop there.

"That's not the only thing Matt and I have in common," Theron continued. "We're both Academy Awards winners. Of course, I won mine in a real category and Matt's was just for typing up [Ben] Affleck's thoughts."

Affleck cracked that Damon recently called his father to tell him he finally snagged the role he's been waiting to do since he was a kid...

Damon will play Liberace's boyfriend opposite Michael Douglas. Papa Damon's response, Affleck said, "Terrific Matt. I can't wait to see you up there blowing Michael Douglas under a piano while he's playing 'Stardust.'"

Jennifer Garner thanked Damon for his wife Lucy, "for keeping us sane," while their husbands talk endlessly about their beloved Red Sox. Garner also described Damon and Affleck's relationship as "one of the greatest love stories ever told." Damon would later call his best friend, "my hetero-lifemate." (P.S., Garner was looking better than ever in a teeny black dress and killer heels!)

Casey Affleck showed a photo from a vacation he and Damon took together. What did the pic show? Damon and Affleck sitting naked on a couch with a small black bar covering Damon's manhood but a much larger one over Affleck's.

Of course, Damon was praised for his wide-range of work and the effort he puts into each of his characters. "Matt has the ability to transform himself into any character," Jimmy Kimmel said. "He lost 40 pounds in a hundred days to play an opium addict in Courage Under Fire. He gained 30 pounds for his role in the Informant and the metamorphosis he underwent to play Precious...I didn't even know she was him."

The oddest moment of the night had to be a video message from George Clooney, which he delivered while undergoing a mock proctology exam. A perplexed Damon said, "That was particularly enjoyable—and strange!"

President Bill Clinton also sent in a video to praise Damon for his humanitarian and philanthropic endeavors. Others at the gala, which took place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, included Clint Eastwood, Robin Williams, Olivia Wilde, Don Cheadle, Greg Kinnear, director Paul Greengrass and Ocean's franchise producer Jerry Weintraub.

No word if Kimmel and his statesque date ran into his ex, Sarah Silverman, who was seated a couple of tables away from them with her date. "I was surprised Jimmy came, to tell you the truth, given everything that's gone down," Damon told me.

And then he smiled, "But I'm sure he just wanted to support Ben."

The tribute will air next month on ABC.

BROTHERS & SISTERS: Time After Time, Pts. 1 & 2 (4/11)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Tommy Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Grimes as Ryan Lafferty, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring in Part 1 are Peter Gerety as Dennis York, Daniel and David Oshionebo as Evan McCallister, John Ross Clark as the judge, Colin Egglesfield as young William Walker, Kay Panabaker as young Kitty Walker, Anna Wood as young Sarah Walker, Cody Longo as young Tommy Walker, Kasey Campbell as young Kevin Walker, Dylan Larsen as young Justin Walker, Dan Watkins as Patrick Shuman and Tyler Neitzel as young Aaron. Part I was written by Sherri Cooper Landsman and Jennifer Levin and directed by Ken Olin.

Guest starring in Part 2 are Peter Gerety as Dennis York, Christopher Thornton as Aaron, Elena Campbell-Martinez as the housekeeper, Kasey Campbell as young Kevin Walker, Andre M. Johnson as the sheriff, Mickey Maxwell as the deputy and Kay Panabaker as young Kitty Walker. Part 2 was written by Alison Schapker and Monica Owusu-Breen and directed by Ken Olin.

Michael Vartan: Puppy Love Led to Engagement

"She has a dog that fell in love with my dog," the Alias actor joked to E! News at Saturday's Genesis Awards. "It's the only reason I proposed!"

He also confirmed that, yes, he actually did meet his future wife in a Whole Foods parking lot...

"We did indeed!" he told E!, adding that he approached her. "I guess it's better than some bar or nightclub."

So the lesson of this love story is that we should all look our very best even when fetching organic milk and produce, right?

As for the upcoming nuptials, the Whole Foods fan revealed he and Lauren haven't started planning their wedding just yet.

"We're just enjoying the moment," Michael told us.

How Michael Vartan Knew His Fiancée Was 'The One'

"I'm very blessed. I'm very happy," Vartan, 41, tells PEOPLE of his recent engagement to Lauren Skaar. The actor popped the question two weeks ago after a year of dating.

Vartan says he's not sure exactly when he knew Skaar, who works in real estate, was "the one," but he's absolutely certain now.

"I know that I know, and I'm sure that I'm sure," he says. "It's that thing people always say: 'When you know, you'll know.' I never really understood what that meant, and I do now."

He adds: "We've only known each other for a little more than a year, but I literally cannot imagine my life without her. It's crazy. It's wonderful."

That said, the couple's in no rush to the altar. How long before the big day? "Ten years," laughs Vartan. "No, I'm kidding. There's no rules. We'll play it by ear, but maybe a year. Enjoy the engagement, then see what happens."

Vartan, who previously starred in ABC's spy series Alias and currently appears in TNT's Hawthorne, hit the red carpet Saturday at the 24th annual Genesis Awards, honoring Hollywood's animal-friendly efforts, at the Beverly Hilton hotel.

He was pleased to report that his and Skaar's dogs – he had two, she had one – have been cohabitating harmoniously as well. "Smooth as silk," he chuckled. "It's very nice."

Michael Vartan of Alias Is Engaged!

The 41-year-old former star of TV's Alias is engaged to Lauren Skaar, with a wedding planned for next year, his rep tells PEOPLE exclusively.

The couple, who met last year at a Whole Foods parking lot in L.A., got engaged two weeks ago in New York. This will be the first marriage for both.

Vartan currently stars opposite Jada Pinkett Smith in the TNT original series Hawthorne. Season two begins this summer.

Mia Maestro replaces Roselyn Sanchez in pilot

Maestro will play Nina Cabrera, an upscale Beverly Hills widow and soccer mom who runs an international drug cartel. Sanchez, a veteran of "Without a Trace," was cast in the role a month ago. Production begins this week.

Maestro is best known for her role as Jennifer Garner's half-sister on ABC's "Alias."

Sightings

BROTHERS & SISTERS: freeluc.com

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Grimes as Ryan Lafferty, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Peter Gerety as Dennis York, Trease Baker as Elizabeth Walker, Gilles Marini as Luc Laurent, Dave Monahan as Brad Lepage, Ericka Kreutz as Trudy and Dominic Flores as Chuck.

"Freeluc.com" was written by Molly Newman and Brian Studler and directed by Bethany Rooney.

'Brothers & Sisters' renewed for a fifth season

Now, we feel certain enough to report that "Brothers & Sisters" has indeed been renewed for a fifth season.

While ABC won't officially confirm, Zap2it's sources tell us the show has been picked up and the official announcement will be made soon.

Another on-set source tells us that the actors have been excited about the rumors, but not even they have been told officially that the show has been renewed.

It will be fascinating to see how the writers deal with Rob Lowe's departure and, of course, there's still chatter that another character will be killed off before this season ends.

"It will be fireworks," our on-set source tells us about the episode in which Robert McCallister says goodbye. He says that fans will not be disappointed.

BROTHERS & SISTERS: A Bone to Pick

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Grimes as Ryan Lafferty, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Peter Gerity as Dennis York, Malcolm Foster Smith as the police officer, Sunkrish Bala as Lewis, Susan Grace as nurse Andrea Osborn and Amy Aquino as Dr. Avadon.

"A Bone to Pick" was written by Cliff Olin and Brian Studler and directed by Chad Lowe.

Inside the Oscar show on Hollywood's biggest night

Sightings

'Vampire Diaries': David Anders to do multi-episode arc

The actor, known for his roles on "Alias," "Heroes" and, most recently, "24," will join The CW's "Vampire Diaries" in April for several episodes.

The network confirms that Anders will play Elena and Jeremy's uncle, Jonathan Gilbert, who's definitely going to be rocking the Mystic Falls boat a bit.

Brothers & Sisters (3/14)

“Brothers & Sisters” stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Grimes as Ryan Lafferty, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Peter Gerety as Dennis York, Trease Baker as Elizabeth Walker, Gilles Marini as Luc Laurent, Dave Monahan as Brad Lepage, Ericka Kreutz as Trudy and Dominic Flores as Chuck.

“Freeluc.com” was written by Molly Newman and Brian Studler and directed by Bethany Rooney.

Jennifer Garner Thinks Love Shouldn't Cost a Thing

Garner, who appears in the star-studded rom-com Valentine's Day, told George Lopez on Thursday's Lopez Tonight" that the most important thing guys can do is "acknowledge, in some sweet way … 'I love you.' Just make us feel wooed."

She added: "Write a quick note or pick flowers or pick the grass out of your backyard and show up with it with a sweet smile … You don't have to spend a lot of money, just be sweet."

The mom of two, 37, looked anything but sweet, however, when she mimicked a scene from Valentine's Day and destroyed a heart-shaped piñata with Lopez.

"In Mexico you smash piñatas, in Greece you smash plates. We have the Demolition Derby, but that's it," Garner said. "White Americans, we need to find something to smash. It's good for you!"

Lessons on love from the stars of 'Valentine's Day'

Trite 'Valentine's Day' takes aim and misses, despite star power

As is often the case with an ensemble romantic comedy centered on a theme, some story lines have more oomph than others. But the interconnected tales are overwhelmingly predictable. The overall effect is like a glossy box of candy filled with overly sweet and insipid confections.

Like Love Actually, it's all about relationships — good ones, new ones, flagging ones and would-be ones. But unlike Love Actually, it doesn't even attempt to present any truths or substantive observations about romance. Where Love Actually was charming and touching, Valentine's Day is forced and formulaic.

Garry Marshall, director of Pretty Woman and The Runaway Bride, oversees the affections of 21 people on Valentine's Day, creating a web of subplots that overlap in contrived and superficial ways. Perhaps if he'd divided the number of cast members by three, it might have been easier to care about the characters.

It's an odd movie when Ashton Kutcher is the most dimensional and convincing of a diverse cast that includes four Oscar winners (Kathy Bates, Jamie Foxx, Shirley MacLaine and Julia Roberts), two Oscar nominees (Queen Latifah, Anne Hathaway), an Emmy winner (Hector Elizondo), two Emmy nominees (Patrick Dempsey and Jennifer Garner) and a Grammy-winning pop star (Taylor Swift).

Kutcher runs a flower store, the hub around which the stories revolve. It's Los Angeles and apparently the city's entire population shops at one florist. At best, this little shop of florals is a blandly unoriginal conceit by screenwriter Katherine Fugate (The Prince and Me).

Kutcher plays the affable Reed, who just popped the question to his cipher of a girlfriend, Morley (Jessica Alba). His best friend, Julia (Garner), is besotted with her cipher of a boyfriend, Harrison (Dempsey, in a variation on his McDreamy Grey's Anatomy role). Within minutes, we know who really should be with whom.

Reed's colleague is Alphonso (George Lopez), seemingly on hand to dispense hackneyed advice. He also appears to be the only one with a thriving relationship.

Bradley Cooper plays a paper-thin character even in a movie that is essentially a string of cameos. He's a passenger on a plane next to Roberts, an Army officer on leave. Both are friendly but mysterious. The big reveal comes at the end, taking shape as another ho-hum contrivance.

Roberts has teamed with Marshall before and, breaking character slightly, she alludes to her Pretty Woman role. But New Moon's werewolf hottie Taylor Lautner, playing the vapid athlete beau of a ditzy cheerleader played by Swift, unintentionally spoofs himself when he insists he's uncomfortable taking off his shirt in public.

Roberts' niece Emma plays a high school senior assiduously plotting to lose her virginity. Her plan — with its advance precision and intricate maneuvers — has all the romance of a bank heist.

The film feels as calculatedly sentimental as one of those bland pink candy hearts.

Valentine's Day
* 1/2 (out of four)
Stars: Julia Roberts, Ashton Kutcher, Jennifer Garner, Shirley MacLaine, George Lopez, Jessica Biel, Jamie Foxx
Director: Garry Marshall
Distributor:Warner Bros. Pictures
Rating: PG-13 for some sexual material and brief partial nudity
Running time: 2 hours, 5 minutes
Opens Friday nationwide

Cooper snubs Zellweger on V-Day

The couple, dating since last year, has been forced to fend off rumours they're set to marry after The Hangover star was spotted jewellery shopping in New York last month.

Cooper branded rumours of an impending engagement "crazy", and now the actor has dealt another blow to Zellweger - he won't be her date on the romantic occasion.

He says, "My mother is coming to visit and we are going to have a nice Valentine's Day."

Asked if any other women will be present on the day, he insisted: "That's it."

A Minute With: Kutcher & Garner on "Valentine's Day"

The pair first worked together 10 years ago in the 2000 feature "Dude, Where's My Car." Since then, both rose to fame on television shows, got married -- Kutcher to Demi Moore and Garner to Ben Affleck -- became parents and movie stars.

Kutcher and Garner talked to Reuters about their film and shared opinions about all things romantic including JumboTron proposals and school teacher crushes.

Q: Ashton, you play a florist in "Valentine's Day." What did you learn about that job that would be a tip for guys.

Kutcher: "Baby's Breath is hell to florists. It's filler. It's not sexy, it's not chic. It's death to a florist. They hate it when it comes in as a request."

Q: What's your take on giving flowers on Valentine's Day -- boring and unimaginative, or a given?

Garner: "It's a baseline must."

Kutcher: "Flowers are conformist if you don't think about the card. The flowers will say a lot, but the card becomes the essential piece of the delivery."

Garner: "Well said."

Q: In the film, a high school student played by Taylor Swift gets a giant stuffed teddy bear from her boyfriend, played by Taylor Lautner. Are stuffed animals an appropriate gift on Valentine's Day, or too cutesy?

Garner: "In high school, or in a new relationship: appropriate."

Kutcher: "It totally depends. If you can imagine at some point in time the stuffed animal at the bottom of somebody's closet, don't go for it. However, my wife collects monkeys. She's got these little monkeys all over her desk, so if it's somebody like that, a stuffed animal could be the right thing."

Q: So you're getting Demi a monkey for Valentine's Day?

Kutcher: "This year, instead of giving gifts to each other, we started a foundation called the DNA Foundation to help human trafficking victims. We're sending the girls flowers and making them our Valentines so they know that someone can love them without asking for anything back. There are 350,000 trafficked people here in the United States."

Garner: "Wow. You think it doesn't happen here. It's so shocking."

Q: Ashton, your character proposes to his girlfriend (Jessica Alba) on Valentines Day, but it doesn't work out. Is it dangerous to propose on a Valentine's Day in case the answer is no and the day is forever associated with a negative?

Kutcher: "I say: 'two birds, one stone.' I proposed to my wife on April Fool's Day."

Garner: "How do you feel about proposals on a JumboTron?"

Kutcher: "I'm not down with the JumboTron. I think it's very valiant to the people that do it, but I've seen too many You Tube videos where it didn't go well."

Garner: "I proposed for a guy once. I was working the Georgia Shakespeare Festival. I was an intern and we had a pre-show. This guy -- I had to call his girlfriend up on stage, read her a sonnet and say: 'He wants your hand in marriage.'"

Kutcher: "How'd it go?"

Garner: "She said yes, but I was shaking!"

Q: You were shaking?

Garner: "Yes, because I was asking for him and I felt like I was the conductor for his nerves."

Kutcher: "I get it. I'm an ordained minister in the state of Nevada and I married two couples. It was terrifying!"

Q: Jennifer, you play a grade school teacher in the film with a 10-year old student who has a crush on you. Did any of you have innocent crushes on teachers back in school?

Garner: "Mr. Monaghan. I had a necklace and I gave it to him for Valentine's Day. It was a necklace I got for practicing the piano every day for certain amount of months."

Kutcher: "I never got a necklace for practicing the piano."

Garner: "We were bribed. It wasn't fancy. It was a little heart on a rope. But Mr. Monaghan didn't even sneak behind my back and go to my mom to give the necklace back."

Q: As an adult, you don't seem okay with his decision.

Garner: "I just feel like, C'mon Mr. Monaghan. What did you do with my necklace?"

Review: `Valentine's Day' overstuffed with stars

If this Hallmark card of a film didn't already make it clear, the beefy bodies of "Valentine's Day" does: This is a movie aimed squarely at women and, one supposes, their unfortunate accompanying dates.

The star-studded, plainly named film begs for puns. Should we expect a "Flag Day" sequel? But then again, this is a year that will see a movie simply called and simply about "Babies." Moviegoers comfortable ignoring the calculated ploy of "Valentine's Day" will likely enjoy its easy predictability and general cheerfulness.

Set in Los Angeles, the film begins with the baritone voice of a "DJ Romeo Midnight" announcing that in honor of Valentine's Day, he's going to play "the songs you love and the songs you love to love to." He barley spins a winner the rest of the movie, but, then again, the aphrodisiacs are in the cast.

We have Ashton Kutcher, as a pink-clad florist, paired with his reluctant fiance, played by Jessica Alba. Jennifer Garner, a teacher, is matched with a cheating Patrick Dempsey. Anne Hathaway, paying the bills as a phone sex operator, is falling for Topher Grace.

Teen love is represented in the pairs of Emma Roberts and Carter Jenkins, and Lautner and Taylor Swift, making her feature film debut as a bouncy airhead. Our elderly couple is Shirley MacLaine and Hector Elizondo. We also get a little puppy love in a 5th grader played by Bryce Robinson.

Our freelancers include Jamie Foxx as a cynical sports reporter, Kathy Bates as his boss, Eric Dane as a Brett Favre-esque retiring quarterback, Queen Latifah as his agent, Jennifer Biel as his publicist, George Lopez as a happily married man (whose wife is the only one virtually left out of the movie's pairings), Bradley Cooper as a jet-set businessman, and his airliner seatmate Julia Roberts, absurdly playing an Army captain on leave of duty.

Many of these luminaries will — not unlike real-life Hollywood — play musical chairs on one fateful Valentine's Day. Cynicism will be defeated and love will triumph. Teenage sex will be treated fearfully. The kindness of airline workers will be relied on to fathom the importance of a dramatic moment. But — gasp! — who is our unlikely homosexual couple?

To say that "Valentine's Day" is overstuffed would be an understatement. Not only does it ooze stars like clowns spilling out of a clown car, but it's gauzily wrapped in roses and red-and-white cards.

To his credit, director Garry Marshall juggles the many overlapping story lines successfully, though "Valentine's Day" is obviously strained by the excess. Marshall is a funny man who has, in a long career, made some excellent movies ("The Princess Bride") and some lamentable ones ("Runaway Bride").

The screenplay by Katherine Fugate, working from a story by her, Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein, has obvious similarity to 2003's "Love Actually" but little of the wit. Most successful is the chemistry between Grace and Hathaway, but with so many swings, that's a pretty low batting average.

"Valentine's Day" is exactly what it professes to be: an overdose of sentimentality. One certainly can't mistake it, like one confused 5th grader in the film does, for anything related to the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. But the reference is enough to make one wish for "Scarface," or, if love is still on the menu, "Some Like it Hot."

"Valentine's Day," a New Line release, is rated PG-13 for some sexual material and brief partial nudity. Running time: 121 minutes. One and a half stars out of four.

Sightings

This singer had a fashion emergency! Josh Kelley enlisted the aid of wife and Grey's Anatomy star Katherine Heigl on Monday during a shopping trip to the GUESS store at the Park City, Utah, Tanger Outlet Center. The happy couple purchased a pair of jeans for Kelley before Heigl broke off to peruse the women's department on her own.

Biel, Garner as 'Laverne & Shirley'?

The actresses became bosom buddies on the set of Marshall's new film Valentine's Day, prompting their co-star to suggest they'd be perfect for a Laverne & Shirley remake.

And Marshall admits he's committed to making the movie, which will feature cameos from his sister Penny and Cindy Williams - the original Laverne & Shirley.

He says, "We're gonna work on that. My sister Penny and Cindy are going to be a guest cameo (sic)."

And Garner can't wait to work with her new best friend: "Are you kidding? We're dying to do it."

Brothers & Sisters (2/28)

“Brothers & Sisters” stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Grimes as Ryan Lafferty, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Ken Olin as David Caplan, Marguerite Moreau as Ginny Lawford, Gilles Marini as Luc Laurent, Cheryl Hines as Buffy McCreary, Shaun Russell as the security guard, Susan Carol Davis as the dance teacher, Jim Cantafio as the officiant, Darwin Harris as the security guard.

Daniel and David Oshionebo as Evan McCallister, Jay Karnes as Roy Scovell, Marguerite Moreau as the gallery owner, Gilles Marini as Luc Laurent, Cheryl Hines as Buffy McCreary and Matt Letscher as Alec Tyler.

“Leap of Faith” was written by Matt Donnelly and Mark Halsey and directed by Michael Morris.

"Valentine's Day" a date to forget

Taking its name from cupid's holiday with all the inspired creativity of a filing label, "Valentine's Day" crisscrosses endlessly -- endlessly -- among a Whitman's sampler of cutouts passing as characters.

Drawn by the starry cast and the film's built-in date-movie cachet, weekend moviegoers will send box office love notes to the New Line release. But the affair is likely to be short-lived as the reality sets in that "Valentine's Day" is yet another Hollywood romantic comedy that's all but devoid of romance and laughs.

For the latter, audiences will have to wait for the obligatory end-credit outtakes. Until then, they've got the antics of a bunch of witless, good-looking Angelenos variously chasing or avoiding l'amour. At the center of the multistrand story are Reed (Ashton Kutcher) and his best friend, Julia (Jennifer Garner). She's madly in love with a doctor (Patrick Dempsey) and more than a little surprised that florist Reed's career-gal girlfriend (Jessica Alba) has accepted his wedding proposal.

Popping the question on Valentine's Day, he believes, has given him license to be a "sappy cheeseball" for the next 24 hours. That seems to be the guiding principle of Katherine Fugate's script as well, which subs clunking punchlines for froth and snap and which spares almost no one in the ensemble from mouthing banalities about the ways of the heart.

"It's Valentine's Day," Reed enthuses to Julia at one point. "You don't think; you just do."

Reed's flower shop serves as the hub for much of the action. Among those stopping in to order bouquets are a precocious fifth-grader (Bryce Robinson) and Julia's two-timing boyfriend. The latter event poses a quandary for Reed, which he hashes out with his right-hand man (George Lopez): Should he tell his best friend the truth about the good doctor? That's the closest the film gets to dramatic tension.

Marshall's direction lends the material little in the way of momentum, and John Debney's score grows increasingly thick with schmaltz.

A couple of first kisses and a reunion that cap the film are sweet but hardly worth the long road through scuffles, realignments and rapprochements that precedes them. A local sportscaster (Jamie Foxx) bristles at the Valentine's Day fluff piece assigned to him by his producer (Kathy Bates, barely there); he'd rather be chasing down a story about a football star (Eric Dane) whose career is in question. The athlete's publicist (Jessica Biel) prepares for her annual I Hate Valentine's Day party, and his high-powered agent (Queen Latifah) puts up with a new receptionist (Anne Hathaway) who's off to a good romantic start with a fellow employee (Topher Grace) -- except for the secret she's keeping about her moonlighting as a phone-sex operator.

From Julia Roberts' Army captain finding a simpatico seatmate (Bradley Cooper) on her flight home, to the high school girl (Emma Roberts) who's openly scheduling a virginity-ending session with her boyfriend (Carter Jenkins), nobody rings true except as a movie contrivance.

Music-biz It girl Taylor Swift makes her big-screen debut hamming it up as a ditz who's gushing with adoration for her jock boyfriend (Taylor Lautner), and a subplot involving Shirley MacLaine and Hector Elizondo offers a bit of movie love, if little else, with fevered close-ups from MacLaine's 1958 "Hot Spell."

Foxx and Grace survive with their comic timing intact, and Garner's inherent geniality lends her role some charm. But this travelogue of Los Angeles landmarks, in which low-riders and Indian restaurants serve as "colorful" symbols of multiculturalism, is more valentine to the flower industry than a true love connection.

Brothers & Sisters (2/21)

“Brothers & Sisters” stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Grimes as Ryan Lafferty, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Ken Olin as David Caplan, Daniel and David Oshionebo as Evan McCallister, Jay Karnes as Roy Scovell, Marguerite Moreau as the gallery owner, Gilles Marini as Luc Laurent, Cheryl Hines as Buffy McCreary and Matt Letscher as Alec Tyler.

“A Valued Family” was written by Sarah Goldfinger and Michael Cinquemani and directed by Michael Schultz.

Cooper denies engagement talk

Bradley & Renée Scope out His New House

After spending a few snowy days at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, Bradley Cooper and girlfriend Renée Zellweger were spotted back in Los Angeles Tuesday scoping out the Hangover star’s newly purchased $4.7 million home in Pacific Palisades, Calif.

The actor and Zellweger were first spotted checking out the house together in November.

Though Cooper, 35, was the only person to sign on the dotted line, Zellweger, 40, has been bunking with him at his Venice, Calif., pad, and according to the source, she loves Cooper's new place and is planning on staying there when she's in L.A.

Bradley Cooper and Renée Zellweger Together at Sundance

Cooper, 35, and Zellweger, 40, arrived separately, and the couple have kept a relatively low profile since getting into town.

Cooper flew solo Sunday and started off his morning with a quick trip to the USANA/Kari Feinstein Style Lounge.

"He arrived super early," says a source. "He wakes up early every morning and wanted to get his day started like usual. He was in a great mood, and he was excited to pick up his hometown Eagles stuff from Retro Sport Gear."

Saturday night also saw Cooper by himself hitting pal Hill's Cyrus premiere at the Eccles Theatre. The casual twosome laughed throughout the night, and Hill, 26, thanked Cooper for coming.

Bartha's movie at Sundance is Holy Rollers, based on a true story about drug smugglers.

Affleck pursued Garner online

The pair married in 2005, following Garner's split from ex-husband Scott Foley.

In a new interview with Parade magazine, the actress reveals Affleck pursued her online. She says, "He's a very good writer."

When asked if he wrote her love letters, she replies, "Don't make assumptions. I didn't say that! Okay... e-mail. He's a very persuasive writer."

And she's still smitten, five years into their marriage: "Ben is sexy and kind, but he's also a riot. We can be very goofy together. He doesn't have trouble wiggling his way in anywhere. Ben is charm personified when he wants to be. He's not easily threatened or made uncomfortable - he's very secure in that way.

"Maybe he just knows I'm nuts about him, and he doesn't have anything to worry about."

Jennifer Garner Keeps Romance Alive by Stealing

In a new interview, the actress admits she went to therapy after her divorce from actor Scott Foley because she realized she "had a lot of growing up to do."

"I don't like to argue. But back then, I couldn't have a fight. I couldn't work things out because I wasn't able to say what I needed to say," she tells Parade magazine, out Sunday. "It was a huge heartbreak for me. … So I went to work on it. I started therapy."

Now the wife of actor Ben Affleck, Garner says the superstar couple keep their romance alive by stealing, so to speak.

"You steal the time. You steal a date, you steal a kiss, you steal a whisper," she says. "After the kids are asleep you … well, you know. Whatever it is. You slip away for a night."

Garner, 37, experiences the same emotional struggles many working moms do in trying to balance raising her two daughters, 4-year-old Violet and 1-year-old Seraphina, with her job.

"I hate to miss even one bedtime with my girls," she tells Parade. "I understand that being an actress as well as being at home isn't some heroic thing. That doesn't mean it isn't confusing or difficult – especially that question of how you find a balance."

Ben Affleck desperate for son

The couple has two daughters, Violet, four, and 12-month-old Seraphina, and Affleck is keen for a baby boy to complete the trio.

But Garner is reluctant to abandon the pre-pregnancy figure she worked so hard to achieve.

The actress tells Us Weekly, "Ben would like a boy, but I don't want another baby right now."

And Garner's friends are on her side, one pal telling the star, "You don't want to do that all over again. You worked hard to get your body back."

Jennifer Garner's Alleged Stalker: I'm Innocent

Steven Richard Burky, the obsessed fan accused of harassing Jennifer Garner, Ben Affleck and their two kids, pleaded not guilty Tuesday morning to charges of felony stalking and disobeying a court order.

Burky was collared in December after milling about outside the Santa Monica nursery school attended by the famous couple's 4-year-old daughter, Violet—a big no-no considering he was under a restraining order prohibiting him from coming within 100 yards of Garner and her family. He remains behind bars on $300,000 bail.

The California native once authored a blog called Satanic Panic, in which he claimed to have had a vision from God telling him to contact the 37-year-old Valentine's Day star.

A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Feb. 1 at which point the judge will decide whether Burky will stand trial.

Quoated At The Golden Globes

Brothers & Sisters (Jan 31)

“Brothers & Sisters” stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Grimes as Ryan Lafferty, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Ken Olin as David Caplan, Daniel Oshionebo as Evan McCallister, Jay Karnes as Roy Scovell, Peter Gerety as Dennis York. Other guest cast TBD.

“Pasadena Primary” was written by Michael Foley and Geoffrey Nauffts and directed by Jonathan Kaplan.

Abrams' NBC spy pilot betrays bold casting choices

Their characters are re-activated as CIA agents after years of retirement. Gerald McRaney will play the couple's spymaster. J.J. Abrams wrote the script with Josh Reims, and it will be the first pilot he has directed since "Lost" in 2004.

Kodjoe and Mbatha-Raw, both biracial, are bold choices for leading roles on a network drama as broadcasters have stuck predominantly with Caucasian leads. The producers said they looked for actors who best fit the characters and had the best chemistry.

Germany-raised Kodjoe is probably best known for his starring role on the urban drama "Soul Food." He will next be seen in "Resident Evil: Afterlife."

Mbatha-Raw, who has not appeared on American television, broke through during the summer when she was cast as Ophelia opposite Jude Law in the Donmar Warehouse production of "Hamlet," which had successful runs in London's West End and on Broadway.

Abrams is known for breaking new young female talent on his TV series. He cast Keri Russell on "Felicity," Jennifer Garner on "Alias," Evangeline Lilly on "Lost" and, most recently, Australian Anna Torv on "Fringe."

Highlights of Hollywood's 2010 movie lineup

Winter and spring:

ALICE IN WONDERLAND: Johnny Depp is the Mad Hatter in Tim Burton's take on the Lewis Carroll adventures of a girl who goes through the looking glass.

THE BACK-UP PLAN: A woman (Jennifer Lopez) meets the right guy — just after she gets pregnant through artificial insemination.

THE BOOK OF ELI: Denzel Washington whups some butt as a prophet protecting a critical text in post-apocalyptic America.

THE BOUNTY HUNTER: Jennifer Aniston is a bail-jumping reporter pursued by her bounty-hunter ex-hubby (Gerard Butler).

CLASH OF THE TITANS: Ancient Greek hero Perseus (Sam Worthington) takes on Hades, lord of the underworld. With Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes.

COP OUT: A stolen baseball card sets two detectives (Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan) on the path of a memorabilia-obsessed mobster.

CREATION: Charles Darwin (Paul Bettany) copes with grief over a lost daughter as he struggles with his theory of evolution. With Jennifer Connelly.

DATE NIGHT: A weekly night out turns into a wild ride for a suburban couple (Steve Carell and Tina Fey) whose romance has become routine.

DEAR JOHN: A soldier (Channing Tatum) and a woman (Amanda Seyfried) carry out a seven-year romance from a distance while he's on assignment.

DEATH AT A FUNERAL: Crazy things happen at a family patriarch's funeral. With Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, Danny Glover.

DISTRICT B13: ULTIMATUM: Martial-arts heroes return to try to quell unrest in a walled crime ghetto in this follow up to the French thriller.,P>EDGE OF DARKNESS: Mel Gibson is a homicide cop whose daughter's murder takes him into a dark world of corporate and government conspiracy.

EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES: A father (Brendan Fraser) teams with a maverick doctor (Harrison Ford) to find a cure for his kids' fatal illness. With Keri Russell.

FROM PARIS WITH LOVE: A trigger-happy spy (John Travolta) and his inexperienced partner (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) try to crack a crime gang.

FURRY VENGEANCE: Animals fight back against the housing developer (Brendan Fraser) whose project threatens their habitat.

GREENBERG: A man (Ben Stiller) searching for meaning finds potential romance while house-sitting for his brother.

GREEN ZONE: Matt Damon goes searching for weapons of mass destruction in a thriller set in Iraq as the war there heats up in 2003.

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: The world of the Vikings gets a makeover in this animated story of a misfit teen and his dragon.

I LOVE YOU PHILLIP MORRIS: A con man (Jim Carrey) finds his soul mate (Ewan McGregor) while doing prison time.

KICK-ASS: A youth with no superpowers dons a costume to fight crime as a superhero. With Nicolas Cage.

THE LAST SONG: Miley Cyrus is a teen whose estranged father (Greg Kinnear) tries to reconnect with her through music.

LEGION: The archangel Michael (Paul Bettany) and a group of strangers are humanity's last hope for salvation.

THE LOSERS: A Special Forces team seeks revenge after its members are betrayed and presumed dead on a mission. With Zoe Saldana, Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

MACGRUBER: The "Saturday Night Live" bit about a hapless special-ops man (Will Forte) gets big-screen treatment. With Val Kilmer, Ryan Phillippe, Kristen Wiig.

A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET: Freddy Krueger (Jackie Earle Haley) is back to terrorize people in their dreams in an update of the 1980s slasher franchise.

PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF: A teen demigod is caught up in a potential war among the gods of Olympus, alive and well in modern times.

REMEMBER ME: "Twilight" star Robert Pattinson and "Lost" co-star Emilie de Ravin cope with romance amid adversity. With Pierce Brosnan.

REPO MEN: In a future where mechanical organs are repossessed for lack of payment, a former repo man (Jude Law) becomes the prey of his old partner (Forest Whitaker).

SAINT JOHN OF LAS VEGAS: A compulsive gambler (Steve Buscemi) fights temptation while trying to change his life. With Sarah Silverman.

SEASON OF THE WITCH: A medieval knight (Nicolas Cage) is assigned to escort a peasant girl the church suspects of bringing on the Black Plague by witchcraft.

SHE'S OUT OF MY LEAGUE: An average guy (Jay Baruchel) scores big when a super-babe inexplicably falls for him.

SHUTTER ISLAND: Leonardo DiCaprio reunites with director Martin Scorsese in a tale set at a hospital for the criminally insane.

THE SPY NEXT DOOR: Jackie Chan balances his day job as a spy with baby-sitting his girlfriend's three kids.

TOOTH FAIRY: A mean-spirited hockey star (Dwayne Johnson) is sentenced to do time as a tooth fairy, with magic wings and wand. With Ashley Judd, Julie Andrews.

TYLER PERRY'S WHY DID I GET MARRIED TOO?: Filmmaker Perry co-stars with Janet Jackson, Malik Yoba and other cast mates for this relationship sequel.

VALENTINE'S DAY: A superstar cast copes with the trials of love. With Julia Roberts, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Jennifer Garner, Ashton Kutcher.

WALL STREET 2: Oliver Stone and Michael Douglas bring corporate raider Gordon Gekko out of mothballs in a tale of today's financial fiasco. With Shia LaBeouf.

WHEN IN ROME: Passions are magically aroused when a tourist retrieves coins tossed in a fountain of love. With Kristen Bell, Josh Duhamel, Danny DeVito.

THE WOLFMAN: Benicio Del Toro is a man who finds the curse of the werewolf haunting his family when he returns to his ancestral home.___

Summer season:

THE A-TEAM: The TV action series goes big-screen as former Special Forces troops set out to clear their names. With Liam Neeson, Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper.

CATS & DOGS: REVENGE OF KITTY GALORE: Cats and dogs unite to take on a nutty feline bent on global domination. With Christina Applegate.

DESPICABLE ME: Steve Carell leads the voice cast in an animated tale of a villain whose plot to steal the moon is sidelined by three orphan girls.

DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS: A young exec (Paul Rudd) finds the perfect buffoon (Steve Carell) for his boss' monthly "dinner for idiots."

EAT PRAY LOVE: Julia Roberts plays a divorced woman on a worldwide journey to find meaning in her life. With James Franco, Javier Bardem.

THE EXPENDABLES: Sylvester Stallone directs and stars in a thriller about mercenaries betrayed on a mission. With Jet Li, Jason Statham.

GET HIM TO THE GREEK: A record company intern (Jonah Hill) has to escort an unruly rock legend to the first concert of his comeback tour.

GROWN UPS: Childhood pals (Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Kevin James, Rob Schneider and David Spade) reunite as adults. With Salma Hayek, Maria Bello.

INCEPTION: Leonardo DiCaprio stars in a science-fiction thriller from director Christopher Nolan ("The Dark Knight").

IRON MAN 2: Robert Downey Jr. slips back into his metal suit to face new foes. With Gwyneth Paltrow, Mickey Rourke.

JONAH HEX: A disfigured bounty hunter (Josh Brolin) battles a villain aiming to unleash hell on Earth. With Megan Fox, John Malkovich.

THE KARATE KID: Jackie Chan imparts kung fu wisdom to a Detroit youth (Jaden Smith) uprooted by his family's move to China in an update of the 1980s hit.

KILLERS: An ex-assassin (Ashton Kutcher) and his wife (Katherine Heigl) go on the run after he's targeted for a hit in this action comedy.

KNIGHT AND DAY: Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz are a fugitive couple on a jet-setting adventure around the globe.

THE LAST AIRBENDER: M. Night Shyamalan adapts the animated TV show about a young savior with the power to end warfare among four nations with mystical powers.

LETTERS TO JULIET: An old letter to the doomed heroine of "Romeo and Juliet" sparks romance for two women (Amanda Seyfried, Vanessa Redgrave).

THE LOTTERY TICKET: A ghetto dweller (Bow Wow) fends off greedy neighbors after he wins $370 million in the lottery. With Ice Cube.

MARMADUKE: Owen Wilson provides the voice of the Great Dane in a family comedy based on the canine comic strip.

MEET THE PARENTS 3: Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro find new ways to test their in-law relationship in the "Meet the Fockers" follow up.

THE OTHER GUYS: A detective more interested in paperwork and a street-tough cop (Mark Wahlberg) are partnered up. With Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson.

PREDATORS: Hardcore human killers become prey for alien hunters in a new take on the sci-fi franchise. With Adrien Brody, Topher Grace.

PRIEST: A renegade priest (Paul Bettany) tracks a gang of vampires that have abducted his niece.

PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME: The video-game adaptation stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a fugitive prince who finds a dagger of enormous power.

RAMONA AND BEEZUS: The pesky young heroine of Beverly Cleary's best sellers comes to life in an adaptation of the children's books.

ROBIN HOOD: Russell Crowe reunites with director Ridley Scott for a fresh take on the 13th-century soldier turned folk hero. With Cate Blanchett.

SALT: Angelina Jolie is a CIA operative on the lam after she's accused of spying for Russia. With Liev Schreiber.

SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD: To win his dream woman, a slacker musician (Michael Cera) must vanquish her seven evil ex-boyfriends.

SEX AND THE CITY 2: Sarah Jessica Parker and her Manhattan mates return for more fashionable urban romantic angst.

SHREK FOREVER AFTER: Mike Myers' ogre is hurled into an alternate reality where he and his true love never met. With Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas.

THE SORCERER'S APPRENTICE: An ancient wizard (Nicolas Cage) recruits a protege (Jay Baruchel) to battle an evil foe (Alfred Molina).

STEP UP 3-D: Street dancers and a college freshman square off in a competition against world-class hip-hop dancers.

TAKERS: A detective (Matt Dillon) pursues a gang of bank robbers (Idris Elba, Paul Walker, Tip "T.I." Harris, Chris Brown, Hayden Christensen, Michael Ealy).

TOY STORY 3: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and their plaything pals face abandonment after their kid grows up in this animated sequel.

THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE: Danger comes calling again for a teen (Kristen Stewart) and her vampire and werewolf suitors (Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner).

____

Fall and holiday season:

ALPHA AND OMEGA: Two wolves relocated halfway across the country try to return home. The animated tale features the voices of Justin Long, Hayden Panettiere.

THE AMERICAN: A hit man (George Clooney) finds romance and friendship in Italy while awaiting what he hopes will be his last assignment.

BURLESQUE: Christina Aguilera aims for stardom with a musical revue at an aging theater. With Cher, Stanley Tucci.

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER: C.S. Lewis' young heroes land aboard an incredible ship as the fantasy series resumes.

DUE DATE: Robert Downey Jr. stars as a first-time dad who has to hitch a ride with an actor (Zach Galinianakis) to get home in time for his baby's birth.

FLIPPED: Rob Reiner directs a story of first love following a smitten girl and unwilling boy from grade school to junior high.

GOING THE DISTANCE: A couple (Drew Barrymore and Justin Long) struggle to make their bicoastal romance work.

THE GREEN HORNET: A rich party boy (Seth Rogen) turns to crime-fighting as the masked Hornet. With Cameron Diaz.

GUARDIANS OF GA'HOOLE: A young owl battles to save his kind from evil enemies in this animated family adventure.

GULLIVER'S TRAVELS: Jack Black does a modern take on the world-traveling hero who encounters a race of tiny people on his sojourn.

HEREAFTER: Paths cross for three people around the world who are touched by death. Clint Eastwood directs, Matt Damon stars.

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS — PART 1: The young wizards (Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint) aim to destroy the crux of evil Voldemort's power.

LIFE AS WE KNOW IT: Mismatched godparents (Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel) must team up as guardians for their orphaned goddaughter.

LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS: Romance develops between a free spirit (Anne Hathaway) and a dauntless Viagra salesman (Jake Gyllenhaal).

MEGAMIND: A supervillain flirts with virtue after his superhero opponent turns to the dark side in an animated tale featuring the voices of Brad Pitt and Will Ferrell.

MORNING GLORY: A TV morning-show producer (Rachel McAdams) copes with a clash between her tough newsman (Harrison Ford) and his new co-host (Diane Keaton).

RAPUNZEL: Mandy Moore provides the voice of the long-haired fairy-tale princess locked away in a tower in this animated musical.

RED DAWN: A group of youths forms a guerrilla army to fight back against military forces that have invaded America.

SAW VII: The horror franchise returns for part seven in the diabolical games initiated by killer Jigsaw.

SECRETARIAT: A housewife (Diane Lane) and trainer (John Malkovich) team to raise the 1973 Triple Crown-winning racehorse.

THE TOWN: Ben Affleck directs and stars as a bank robber who falls into romance with his former hostage (Rebecca Hall).

TRON: LEGACY: Jeff Bridges reprises his 1982 character, whose son (Garrett Hedlund) is pulled into the digital world where his dad has disappeared.

UNSTOPPABLE: A railway engineer (Denzel Washington) and a conductor (Chris Pine) race to stop a runaway train carrying toxic cargo.

YOGI BEAR: The smarter-than-average bear of the TV cartoons comes to the big screen in a live-action and animation combo. With Dan Aykroyd.

YOU AGAIN: Rivalries are renewed after a woman (Kristen Bell) learns her brother's marrying her high school nemesis. With Sigourney Weaver and Jamie Lee Curtis.

YOUR HIGHNESS: A black sheep knight (Danny McBride), his perfect brother (James Franco) and a fierce warrior (Natalie Portman) embark on rescue mission.

ZOOKEEPER: A kindly zookeeper (Kevin James) gets romantic advice from the animals in his charge.

Damn candles

Jennifer Garner, Kate Winslet to Present at Golden Globes

This gilded group will join a previously announced all-star cast of presenters that also includes Jennifer Aniston, Tom Hanks, Jodie Foster and Sophia Loren.

Comedian Ricky Gervais will host the ceremony. Up in the Air, starring George Clooney – also a presenter – topped the list of nominations, with six.

Watch the Golden Globes on Jan. 17 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, live on NBC

Jennifer Garner's Alleged Stalker to Stand Trial

The California man accused of harassing the superstar couple and lurking outside their daughter's school has been ordered to stand trial on stalking charges.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark Windham ruled Monday that there was sufficient evidence against Steven Richard Burky to warrant a trial on two felony counts of stalking and two felony misdemeanor counts of disobeying a court order.

Burky, 37, was arrested last month a block from the Santa Monica nursery school attended by 4-year-old Violet Affleck, the older of the couple's two daughters, in violation of a protective order.

Police alleged in a criminal complaint that he "made a credible threat" that prompted Garner "to fear for her safety and the safety of her immediate family."

The court had already deemed Burky a serious problem in 2002, prohibiting him from coming within 100 yards of the family after repeated trying to contact the couple.

Burky currently remains behind bars on $300,000 bail. He is expected to return to the Airport Branch Courthouse for arraignment on Jan. 19.

Zellweger and Cooper buy home?

The loved-up couple has only been dating for a few months, but the stars were snapped househunting in early December.

According to America's Star magazine, the actors have settled on a four bedroom place in the Pacific Palisades community in California.

And Cooper is so happy with their new home, The Hangover star even gave his parents a mini-tour of the place when they visited over Christmas.

A source tells the tabloid, "Bradley and Renee were proud to be sharing their new house with his parents. They looked happy together and very much in love."

But the couple plan on making a few changes of their own to the property before moving in.

The insider adds, "They have already lots of plans for the renovations. They're both homebodies, and they can't wait to have a place to entertain friends and just be together."

Renée Spends Christmas with Bradley's Parents

Renée Zellweger spent Christmas this year with boyfriend Bradley Cooper – and his parents, Gloria and Charlie.

The four celebrated the holiday in Los Angeles, and Zellweger was spotted bonding all week with Cooper's parents. On Dec. 21, the actress took them on a stroll in Venice, Calif. And on Christmas Eve, Zellweger and Cooper's mom, Gloria, went shopping together. "Renée seems to get along really well with Bradley's parents, " an eyewitness tells PEOPLE. "They were laughing and seemed to have a great time strolling around Venice."

Brothers & Sisters (1/17)

“Brothers & Sisters” stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Grimes as Ryan Lafferty, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Daniel Oshionebo as Evan McCallister, Roxy Olin as Michelle McGregor, Michael Hyatt as Dr. Katherine Cortez, Grant Albrecht as Joe Corvus, Shelley Robertson as Lynda, Chris Flanders as Steve, Cheryl Hines as Buffy McCreary, Jay Karnes and Roy Scovell, Heather Long as the moderator and Nathan Keyes as Sam.

“Run Baby Run” was written by Marjorie David and Jason Wilborn and directed by Richard Coad.

Brothers & Sisters (1/10)

“Brothers & Sisters” stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Grimes as Ryan Lafferty, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Ken Olin as David Caplan, Peter Gerety as Dennis York, Jon Tenney as Dr. Simon Craig, Daniel Oshionebo as Evan McCallister, Michael Hyatt as Dr. Katherine Cortez, Tanner Maguire as Henry, Jamison Jones as Henry’s dad, Jay Karnes as Roy Scovell, Khamani Griffin as Alex, Hugh Holub as the judge, Matthew Kimbrough as Professor James Gray and Jeryl Prescott Sales as the waitress.

“The Science Fair” was written by Monica Owusu-Breen and Alison Schapker and directed by Laura Innes.

Jennifer Garner-Obsessed Man Hit With Stalking Charge

The obsessed fan busted this week after allegedly trying to track down the 37-year-old actress and her world-saving hubby Ben Affleck at their daughter's nursery school is facing some serious charges.

Steven Richard Burky, 37, has been rung up on a felony stalking count and two misdemeanor counts of violating a year-old restraining against him by the all-star family, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney spokeswoman Jane Robison.

According to the criminal complaint, Burky did "willfully, maliciously, and repeatedly follow, and did willfully and maliciously harass JENNIFER A.," as court papers refer to the actress.

See the criminal complaint

He also "made a credible threat with the intent that she be placed in reasonable fear for her safety and the safety of her immediate family."

Burky, a Los Angeles native, has been jailed since his arrest Monday in Santa Monica a block from the school attended by 3-year-old Violet Affleck, one of the couple's two daughters.

Given the court's previously ruling declaring him a danger, that was all LAPD needed to throw him in the clink.

Burky, who once authored a blog called Satanic Panic, has claimed a vision from God first sparked his intrerest in Garner and her family back in 2002.

He remains behind bars on $300,000 bail.

No word yet on the next court date.

Garner alleged stalker arrested

Steven Burky was ordered by a judge last month to stay away from the Alias star's family for the next three years.

He was also told to stay 100 yards from the actress, Affleck, Violet, the couple's nanny, housekeeper and others.

Garner claimed "Mr Burky has been stalking and harassing me," sending "packages and letters containing delusional and paranoid thoughts and following me around the country... his obsessive and harassing behaviour has escalated to the point of becoming dangerous and threatening".

But the order hasn't deterred Burky - he was arrested on Monday after he was found near four-year-old Violet's co-operative school in Los Angeles, according to RadarOnline.com.

Renée and Bradley: How Serious Are They?

Is Jennifer Garner a Desperate Housewife?

In the January issue of W magazine, Garner spells out her hectic schedule. And it goes something like this: "Getting the kids up and fed, getting one to school, getting the other down for a nap, going to the grocery store, picking one up from school, getting the other one down for another nap, cooking dinner."

She adds: "I live my life at these two extremes. I'm either a full-time stay-at-home mom or a full-time actress."

Garner, 37, loves making her own baby food, taking older daughter Violet, 4, to school and bonding with the other mommies, but there is one aspect of motherhood that was hard to swallow: being photographed seven-months pregnant in a doggy suit. (Daughter Seraphina is nearly 1.)

Last year Garner let Violet talk her into wearing mother-daughter costumes for Halloween – Fred and Ted, the dogs from a children's book series by the same name. "I just was so fat and huge and ugly and in a furry dog costume. And of course there were tons of paparazzi outside and I couldn't escape them!" she said with a laugh. "So I feel like that bought me a pass this year. I'll take pictures."

Garner is now taking a brief fall break from showbiz to focus on family. "I have this internal battle between, I need to work, I need to work, I need to work and I need to be home with my kids. And the kids win," she said.

And, sorry folks, don't expect to see her working with hubby Ben Affleck – who recently directed his second film – when she returns to the big screen.

"I think he's brilliant at what he does, but why rock the boat?" she said. "It works between us pretty well the way it is. I don't know if I want to go to work with him. I'd be like, 'Okay already, you got the shot. Let's go home!' "

Ben and Jen's baby machine

Sightings

Jennifer Garner Helps Kids (and Reese!)

My first stop is the Beat the Odds awards for the Children's Defense Fund at the Beverly Hills hotel. Charity co-chair Reese Witherspoon usually attends this event, but we get word that she won't make it tonight.

Could it be because of tabloid stories—refuted by her rep—that she and Jake Gyllenhaal are on the outs? Or the fact that she was photographed in London earlier today?

Thankfully, Jennifer Garner is on hand for the benefit, looking glam in Jenni Kayne. And she's joined by no other than...

...her hubby Ben Affleck, who skips the carpet but is inside waiting for Jen at the table. Garner makes a presentation before charity president Marian Wright Edelman takes the podium. Then it's time to eat and I'm off.

Just down the street, Ben's BFF Matt Damon is out for the Invictus premiere, along with costar Morgan Freeman and director Clint Eastwood. And a bit further east, Jennifer Aniston is hosting a fete at her favorite haunt: Sunset Tower hotel.

Jen's throwing a party for her yoga instructor Mandy Ingber's DVD release. Aniston's not the only famous fan in the house: Jenny McCarthy, Rikki Lake and E!'s own Chelsea Handler are all on hand for the soiree. Guests nosh on appetizers and everyone scores gift bags stuffed with Mandy's DVD, beauty products and a two-night stay at a private island in Hawaii.

Sightings

BROTHERS & SISTERS (12/6)

“Brothers & Sisters” stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Grimes as Ryan Lafferty, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Sarah Jane Morris as Julia, Ken Olin as David Caplan, Trease Baker as Elizabeth Walker, Susan Chuang as Dr. Debra Cho, Liz Laird as the nurse, Maxim Knight as Seth, Jeanne Syquia as the college girl, Steve Spel the EMT, Darryl Alan Reed as Dr. Bob Stanton and Jon Tenney as Dr. Simon Craig.

“Nearlyweds” was written by Molly Newman and Michael J. Cinquemani and directed by Laura Innes.

Biel has 'girl crush' on Garner

The Blade: Trinity star, who is dating pop star Justin Timberlake, admits she's intrigued by the married mother-of-two, her glamorous looks and envious film career.

However, 27-year-old Biel insists she's no competition for Affleck, because her admiration for Garner is purely platonic.

She explains, "My girl crush is Jen Garner at the moment (but) here's the thing with girl crushes: it's more of a respect thing. It's like, you're beautiful, you're cool, you look and seem like somebody I would want to hang out with and your career is awesome."

BROTHERS & SISTERS (11/29)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Grimes as Ryan Lafferty, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Ken Olin as David Caplan, Jon Tenney as Dr. Simon Craig, Cassandra Braden as the nurse, Irene Roseen as Anya and Alyssa Stec as the waitress.

"Pregnant Pause" was written by Sarah Goldfinger and Jennifer Levin and directed by Matthew Rhys.

Melissa George to Guest on Lie to Me

George (Grey's Anatomy, Alias) will play Clara Martin, the sassy younger wife of a murdered billionaire. After being exonerated for the murder, Clara assumes control of her husband's empire. Though she goes toe-to-toe with Lightman (Roth), they bond over their shared eccentricities.

George, whose casting was first reported by Entertainment Weekly, will first appear in Episode 11.

J.J. Abrams to Direct Pilot of NBC's Undercovers

Abrams, who is also executive-producing the married spies project, hasn't directed a TV pilot since the blockbuster, two-hour opening salvo of Lost in 2004. About a year later, he segued into directing such films as Mission: Impossible III and the Star Trek reboot.

Abrams' other TV directing credits include a 2007 episode of The Office and an episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2006.

Undercovers has been described as Mr. and Mrs. Smith-meets-The Bourne Ultimatum. Abrams is also developing a half-hour medical comedy for Fox.

Sightings

Sightings

BROTHERS & SISTERS: The Wine Festival (11/15)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Grimes as Ryan Lafferty, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Jon Tenney as Simon, Ken Olin as David Caplan, Peter Gerety as Dennis York and Gilles Marini as Luc Laurent.

"The Wine Festival" was written by Sherri Cooper-Landsman & Michael Foley and directed by Michael Morris.

BROTHERS & SISTERS: The Wig Party (11/8)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Grimes as Ryan Lafferty, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Gilles Marini as Luc Laurent, Michael O'Keefe as Wally Wandell, David Purdham as Barry Henderson, Jon Tenney as Dr. Simon Craig and Elayn Taylor as Mrs. Goldberg.

"The Wig Party" was written by Marjorie David and David Marshall Grant and directed by Ken Olin.

BROTHERS & SISTERS: Zen & the Art of Mole Making (11/1)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Grimes as Ryan Lafferty, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Ken Olin as David Caplan, Peter Gerety as Dennis York, Gilles Marini as Luc Laurent and Roxy Olin as Michelle McGregor.

"Zen & the Art of Mole Making" was written by Brian Studler and Geoffrey Nauffts and directed by Michael Schultz.

Sightings

Sightings

J.J. Abrams Talks Future Projects

On whether he’s in for shepherding the Star Trek franchise for the long haul, or planning a movie-by-movie involvement:

Abrams: That’s a wonderfully optimistic question and I appreciate that, but the answer is that it’s obviously just movie-to-movie. The fact that we are now actively discussing the second film is surreal and very nice, and I’m thrilled. I hope that that results in something worthy of your time. But it’s one of those things that you just don’t know. And so I cannot presume it’s gonna be a series that goes beyond those. Do we have ideas for a few movies and have we discussed them? Of course. You can’t help but go “Oh, it would be really cool if we could do this or if we can set that up there!” You throw those things around. But we can’t presume it’s going to be anything more than now another film that we’re lucky enough to do.

On whether he plans to bring further elements of established Star Trek lore into the re-imagined franchise:

Going forward, the fun of this movie series is that we will have the opportunity – given its alternate timeline – to cross paths with any of the experiences, places and characters that existed in the original series. We have to be really careful, obviously, doing that. I don’t want to do something that is so inside that only die-hard fans will appreciate. We’re just now working on the script and just beginning the process of story-breaking, but I guarantee you whatever the story is and whatever the final movie ends up being, I know it will be something that will work on its own terms and be something that you don’t need to know and study Star Trek to get. But if you are a fan, there will hopefully be gift after gift of connections, references, characters that you hold near and dear. At least, that’s the intent.

On Leonard Nimoy’s recent suggestion that future Star Trek films just might not need him anymore:

I can’t imagine a Star Trek movie not needing him. I’m sure that what he’s saying is a combination of modesty and honesty. He may actually feel that way. But, the truth is, we could never have made this movie without him, and working with him again would be a joy. It is clearly too early, given that we are just now talking story, to conclude whether or not Spock Prime is in the film or not. Do I want to work with him again? Of course, one hundred percent. I’d love to.

On what to expect from Nimoy in his role on the Abrams-produced TV series Fringe:

In terms of his role as William Bell, none of us could believe our luck that we convinced him to say yes to being on the show. He is wonderful on the show. And, I will say that this is not the last you will see of his character…I don’t want to give anything away, but this is not the last you’ll see of him. He is so good and so wonderful to work with that I wouldn’t limit the possibilities of what he’ll get to do.

On the notion of having Nimoy reprise his 60s TV role of Paris in a fourth Mission Impossible film – and possibly other original cast members as well:

How cool would that be? I just got a call that Peter Graves is in great shape, which would be a very bizarre bend in the space-time continuum, for obvious reasons. I almost feel like you could make him serious again and bringing him back. Whether it’s Nimoy, who I have an incredible affinity for, or Graves or anyone, we’ll see. I actually tried to get Martin Landau in Mission 3, in a very small little moment just for fun, and was told that he had no interest in doing it. But then, when I met him, after the movie came out, it was the greatest thing. We were at this restaurant in New York for one of the TV Upfront parties, and someone introduced me to Landau. They took me over and Martin Landau came over to me, extended his hand, and [pretended to lift a false face off]. That was the greatest thing I’d ever seen!

On the rest of his future plans in film and TV:

Jeff Pinkner and Joel Wyman are running Fringe very well. We’re still very involved in that, but they’re running that. We have a new series that we just sold to NBC that we’re going to be producing. It’s a pilot. And there’s a movie that I’m writing that I would love to direct, early next year, so we’ll see if that comes to fruition. There’s a movie [I’m producing] called “Morning Glory” that’s coming out next year – with Harrison Ford, Rachel McAdams and Diane Keaton – that’s being edited now. Roger Michell directed that. And we’re obviously hard at work on “Star Trek 2” and “Mission: Impossible 4.” There’s a lot that we’re working on.

BROTHERS & SISTERS: Last Tango in Pasadena (10/25)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Grimes as Ryan Lafferty, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Ken Olin as David Caplan, Gilles Marini as Luc Laurent, Roxy Olin as Michelle McCormack and Cooper Thornton as Felix Newsome.

"Last Tango in Pasadena" was written by Molly Newman and Jason Wilborn and directed by Bethany Rooney.

Jennifer Garner serious about fun

So it is fascinating to see how they clicked as collaborators, especially with Gervais serving as co-writer and co-director, too.

In an interview with Sun Media, Garner offers insights:

* On working with a multi-credited co-star: "Your partners in making a film are your co-stars, the director and the writer. So, to have them all wound up in one person is very easy."

* On how she met Gervais on Alias: "J.J. Abrams had become obsessed with The Office (Gervais' BBC series) so he had us all watching it. He was such a fan he called Ricky and said: 'You have to come and be in my show!' So Ricky did an episode of Alias and we got to know him there."

* On the serious targets for the film's humour: "Not many films ask you to talk about religion and, certainly, not many comedies would provoke a conversation about religion. But I would hope that it is simply provocative and not a damnation."

* On her initial fear about poking fun about faith: "I actually spoke to Ricky originally when he sent me the script and told him one of my problems with it was: 'I don't want to insult my parents. I was brought up in a church. I am a person of faith. I can play with it and say: "Isn't it funny to look at it." But I am worried about their reaction to it.' And he said: 'It is not a damnation, but it might be unsettling!' "

* On calling her parents: "I am a grown woman and I can do this. But you have a certain amount of respect for the way you were brought up. Mom said: 'Well, first of all, we have a sense of humour, as do you, as does everyone at the church. Secondly, what's wrong with looking at it from a different side? That's fine. We all have a choice and there is no one way to look at religion!' So I liked that about the film, in the end."

* On the film satirizing the erosion of civility: "There is something about just plain manners! It's almost 'cool' to let go of manners and to be uncivil and to be incredibly rude just for the sake of being rude or trying to get a reaction. But can't we just not! Let's just not do that!"

NBC Wins Bidding War for J.J. Abrams' New Series

After Fox bought Abrams' script for a half-hour medical comedy, a bidding war between ABC, NBC and CBS raged for his new action-adventure series. Wednesday night, NBC came out the victor.

Abrams has partnered with Josh Reims (Felicity, What About Brian) to write the one-hour spy thriller, which centers on married spies. (Paging Sydney Bristow and Michael Vaughn.)

The show will be produced by Warner Bros. TV, where Abrams' Bad Robot Productions is based.

Networks in hot pursuit of J.J. Abrams-backed drama

ABC, CBS and NBC are in pursuit of the hot script by writer Josh Reims who first worked with Abrams on his WB series "Felicity."

The project, from Bad Robot and Warner Bros. TV, centers on two spies working together who are also husband and wife.

The show, whose premise is somewhat reminiscent of "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," sparked a bidding war the moment it hit the marketplace last week.

It brings Abrams back into the spy arena, which he mined with the ABC series "Alias."

Jennifer Garner Sneaks Veggies Into Daughter's Food

"One healthy snack that I love to make at home is a smoothie with spinach," Garner tells PEOPLE. "You use a banana, a bunch of mango and a huge handfuls of spinach so it's green. But it tastes like mango and banana and the kids are really, really into the color. They also don't taste the spinach at all."

Though Garner says her daughter "mostly does alright" in terms of eating her veggies, the Invention of Lying actress, like many busy parents, is the first to admit that it's difficult to consistently eat and prepare healthy meals. However, she says it's crucial for children living in poverty to develop healthier lifestyles. As a mom of two, Garner says she feels even more dedicated in using her time to help the non-profit organization.

"The main realization that I had is that every mom wants the best for their kid," she says. "Some of us may have more opportunities with time or financial cushions than others so it’s important that we just spend a minute of our time to help other kids in our own country."

Save the Children's CHANGE program (Creating Healthy, Active, and Nurturing Growing-up Environments) is teaming up with Frigidaire which will donate $1 to every pledge made to raise funds to help at-risk children in need in the United States. Garner hopes the program will all children including her home state.

"I grew up in West Virginia, which is a state that has struggled a lot," says Garner. "It needs so badly the exact kind of support that Save the Children offers, which is helping kids perform better in school … because they are healthier and not worrying about food."

For more information about Save the Children visit their Web site.

BROTHERS & SISTERS: (10/18)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Grimes as Ryan Lafferty, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Gilles Marini as Luc Laurent, Denzel Whitaker as Carter, Joe Morton as Professor Madsen, Christina Chang as Professor Jane Condon, Chris Flanders as Steve, Shelley Robertson as Lynda, Leila Yavari as Josette and Amy Aquino as Dr. Avadon.

"From France with Love" was written by Sarah Goldfinger and Michael Foley and directed by Michael Morris.

J.J. Abrams Going for Laughs with Fox Sitcom

As with all Abrams projects, details of the as-yet-untitled series, described as a "comedic medical show," are being kept under wraps. Fox has already ordered a presentation.

Abrams and Bryan Burk will executive-produce the show under Abrams' Bad Robot banner. Mike Markowitz, who has written for Becker and It's All Relative, will pen the script.

Jennifer Garner's an Old-Fashioned Mom

"Every day, you feel like you are off-balance one way or another," Garner, at Monday's Hollywood premiere of her comedy The Invention of Lying, told PEOPLE about the secret to juggling career and motherhood. "You just take it one day at a time. Oh gosh, let me know when you figure that out. I don't think anyone has it."

Looking slim and radiant in a Gucci dress and Cartier jewels, Garner, 37, attended the movie opening without husband Ben Affleck. She gave birth in January to the couple's second daughter, Seraphina, who joined Violet, 3½.

Old-Fashioned

Garner may know more about motherhood than she lets on, however.

"Most of the time that I did spend with her when it was off-set, Violet was cooking with her, or reading Jane Austen, or doing one of these remarkable things that Violet tends to do," producer Lynda Obst told PEOPLE. "She encourages her kids to be independent. At the same time, kind of not television watchers. Readers. Thinkers. She is kind of old-fashioned. She is a very classic mom."

And as a mom and grandmother herself, Obst says of Garner, "We talk about really fun things to do with our kids. I will talk about the marching band I just formed with my granddaughter. She will talk about interesting play things she is doing. We swap tips. We talk about theory of parenting. We talk about free play and not interfering with the kids when they’re being creative. She is a remarkable mother."

Clean Mouth

Adds funnyman Ricky Gervais, who costars in the movie and who also worked with Garner on Alias: "She is Miss Goody Two Shoes. When she swears, she says things like 'dang it' and 'darn.' Her favorite swear word is 'rats.' That's not a swear word!"

Invention of Lying co-director Matthew Robinson, who shared helming duties with Gervais, says Garner kept mum – pun intended – about her pregnancy. She was in the early stages while filming.

"I think she didn't want us babying her, no pun intended," Robinson says. "Or worrying that we were pushing her too hard or working too long hours. She never told anybody. And it was a surprise to us when we found out a few months after we wrapped."

Jennifer Garner Knows Her Red Sox Players!

"Just to annoy" husband and diehard Sox fan Ben Affleck, Leno not only forced her to don a rival New York Yankees cap, but she also had to hold a photo of "her least favorite" Yankee player, Derek Jeter.

Impressively, Garner pulled off the challenge with commentary about her favorites – hey, she admits they watch every game! – but refused to give the Jeter photo to Affleck "as a gift," proving just how smart she really is. (Video)

Jen Garner's secret sickness

BROTHERS & SISTERS: Almost Normal (10/11)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Grimes as Ryan Lafferty, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Peter Garity as Dennis York, Dennis O'Hare as Travis March, Denzel Whitaker as Carter, Joe Morton as Professor Madsen, Tracey Heggins as Monique, Amy Aquino as Dr. Joan Avadon and Barry Ratcliffe as the auctioneer.

"Almost Normal" was written by Jennifer Levin and Sherri Cooper-Landsman and directed by Michael Schultz.

Jennifer Garner's Daughter Thinks Mom Works in a Trailer

"The older one thinks that I work in a trailer. She thinks that my work is getting hair and makeup done," Garner, 37, told reporters at the Toronto International Film Festival press conference for her new movie Invention of Lying, costarring Rob Lowe, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill and Ricky Gervais, who directed it.

Violet, 3, also thinks mom's job is to bow to audiences. "If you ask her what I do, she'll say she remembers me bowing on stage when I did a show in New York, and so she'll say, 'My mom sometimes will bow on stage and sometimes she gets her hair and makeup done,' " says Garner. "It's a great job!"

Garner has yet to bring Violet or her little sister Seraphina, 8 months, to Take Your Daughters to Work Day. "She's never seen a set, but she will at some point. She has made it to the trailer and to craft service. She gets M&M's when she comes."

And can Violet expect to see her parents – who last appeared in the same movie six years ago, in Daredevil – onscreen together again?

"The question keeps coming up, and we have literally never spoken about it," says Garner. "He's a beautiful director and such a gorgeous writer but, you know, to go to work with him, I would just be like, 'I need to go home to the kids.' "

Sighting

Jennifer Garner cracks up Gervais

Some of that blunt honesty spilled over into their news conference Monday at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Garner was asked whether she was ever frustrated by Gervais, who co-wrote, co-directed and starred in the film, and who admits to bursting out into his signature shrill giggle constantly while filming scenes ("when someone says something funny, I laugh - just because I've heard the line 15 times before, or I even wrote it, it doesn't matter," Gervais said).

So, did it ever get on the 37-year-old actress's nerves?

"This is the man in charge," Garner said of Gervais.

"He's the one who actually wants the footage in the camera to be the stuff you're going to use. He's encouraging you to improvise. You toss something out there and on top of your line - in an unusable way - he ruins the take with a cackle that is completely of another world."

"So, no, none of the actors were ever frustrated," Gervais deadpanned to a room full of laughter.

The film features Gervais as Mark, a pudgy, down-on-his-luck screenwriter who falls upon hard times until he realizes that, unlike everyone else on the planet, he's capable of lying (though he can't conjure up a word for it).

He falls early on for Garner's character, who befriends him but repeatedly states - in a completely matter-of-fact way - that he's simply not attractive enough for her, and that his inferior genetics (he's fat and has a pug nose, she points out over and over) will lead them to have ugly children together.

The role requires Garner to seem entirely sweet and naive even while laying bare Gervais's flaws in as stark a manner as possible.

Even though Garner said Gervais had a knack for ruining her best takes, she cherished making him laugh.

"Nothing is better than making Ricky laugh," she said. "He has the best laugh in the world. You know it's genuine ... It's like a badge of honour to make him laugh."

It's a feat she and the rest of the crew onstage - including co-star Rob Lowe and co-director Matthew Robinson - accomplished again and again during their appearance Monday.

Before Garner and Lowe arrived a few minutes late, Gervais urged the assemblage of reporters to tap their watches upon their arrival.

When she heard this, Garner teased Gervais for his outfit: black track pants, black Puma sneakers and, as always, a black T-shirt ("It's so good to be sitting here next to Simon Cowell," joked Lowe).

"Probably his hair and makeup and wardrobe took a long time, you know how it is," said a sarcastic Garner, who was wearing a silky blue dress. "He's here in his PJs!"

Garner says she took a year off after the film and has nothing planned for now, though a new romantic comedy, "Valentine's Day," will be released in February.

In January, she gave birth to her second child with husband Ben Affleck and she says she's been focusing her energy on her family.

"Definitely, the frequency with which I've worked is totally different because I went years without a single day off," she said. "So I have to really love (a role) to feel like it's worth uprooting the family and putting us somewhere else."

Will she ever work with Affleck, her co-star in 2003's "Daredevil," again?

"The question keeps coming up, and we have literally never spoken about it," she said. "I think he's a beautiful director obviously and such a gorgeous writer but, y'know, to go to work with him, I would just be like, I need to go home to the kids."

"What would happen?" interjected Gervais. "If you were working with him and he said 'Hmm, are you going to do it like that?"'

"I just have never thought about it," she replied. "I guess someday. Life is long."

"The Invention of Lying" hits theatres Oct. 2.

J.J. Abrams Plans New Project

He’s also excited about the second season of Fringe, especially after the show’s long-term story arcs were worked out over the summer. “It's always a thrill to discover things as you go but know where you're going. There are some wonderful things: Leonard Nimoy is incredible when he comes back and basically finishes what he began at the end of last year. Peter Bishop – Josh Jackson's character – steps up considerably this year and is a little bit more in the forefront and driving stories a little more than he was.”

“It's my favorite kind of show.” Abrams added. “We've got the weirdest, craziest, the most insane stuff that begin most episodes.”

And of course we had to ask: where is he on a second "Star Trek" film? “We're literally just beginning the process of story,” he revealed. “This summer I've been on vacation with family and working on Fringe and stuff and I actually did miss working with Damon, Alex [Kurtzman], Bob [Orci] and Bryan Burke. I can't wait to start up again!”

Sightings

BROTHERS & SISTERS: Breaking the News (10/4)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Grimes as Ryan Lafferty, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Michele Green as Governor Eve Kern, Dennis O'Hare as Travis March, Amy Aquino as Dr. Joan Avadon and Peter Gerety as the businessman.

"Breaking the News" was written by David Marshall Grant and Cliff Olin and directed by Ken Olin.

Ben Affleck Tells Jennifer Garner When She's Too Fat for Her Jeans

And imagine that! She does.

Especially to her children, although Violet is beginning to suspect mermaids aren't real...

But Garner's husband, Ben Affleck, does not abide by little white lies. Sure, they might speed up his wife's getting-ready process, but if that means Jen looking fat in her jeans, he will intervene.

What a nice husband.

Sightings

ON THE SEASON PREMIERE OF ABC'S BROTHERS & SISTERS (9/27)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Ken Olin as David Caplan, Marion Ross as Ida Holden, Matt Gallant as the reporter, Phil Abrams as Harold Wallace, Jeff Lorch as Jeffrey, Cheryl Francis Harrington as Dr. Ruth Gibson, Matthew Kimbrough as Professor James Gray, Amy Aquino as Dr. Avadon, Alex Ball as Steve and Henry Dittman as date #3.

"The Road Ahead" was written by Molly Newman and Marjorie David and directed by Ken Olin.

Sightings

RENEE ZELLWEGER, BRADLEY COOPER OVER?

Renée & Bradley: They Just Click

"They get along really well and just kinda click," a source tells PEOPLE in the upcoming issue. "Bradley likes the speed of everything. He likes that Reneé is low-key."

The pair, who costar in the upcoming thriller Case 39, recently spent time in Spain together, then returned to the States, where they each went their separate ways – briefly.

On Saturday, Zellweger attended the premiere of her new movie My One and Only in Wainscott, N.Y., while Cooper was a guest at Alyssa Milano's wedding in New Jersey that same evening.

But the cozy costars soon met up again. Sunday night, they attended a private party together in New York City, then were spotted at a Starbucks in Philadelphia on Monday.

As for why Cooper didn't come to Zellweger's screening and she didn't accompany him to the wedding, the source tells PEOPLE: "They're not ready for red carpets. They don't want to be public just yet."

Renée and Bradley Return to the States

On Saturday, the actress attended the premiere of her new movie, My One and Only at a private estate in Wainscott, N.Y., sans Cooper, who was in New Jersey at Alyssa Milano's wedding. The actor is friendly with her groom, David Bugliari, a Hollywood agent.

Zellweger kept tightlipped about her blossoming romance with Cooper. (When asked about her trip, she only quipped, "time to go!) But the actress did take her parents along to the screening and dinner, which was held at The Blue Parrot in East Hampton.

While in Spain last week, Zellweger and Cooper were spotted at the luxury Hotel Arts Barcelona – where they got cozy. Cooper kept his arm around her, while Zellweger tucked her hand into his back pocket.

"They make a great couple," a friend of Zellweger told PEOPLE last week. "They get along well; they have fun together, and they're really happy."

David Anders Joins Jack Bauer in Season Eight of 24

Reps for Anders confirm to us that David is recurring on season 8 of 24, joining the likes of Freddie Prinze Jr. and Battlestar Galactica's Katee Sackhoff. 24 is really beefing up their cast this year, raising alarm in fans that it will truly be the final season.

So what's David doing this season while Jack Bauer is hunting terrorists in New York, and how long will he be sticking around?

"He will be in a handful of episodes," says David's rep.

The rep was coy to say what his part would be, but when asked if David's new 24 character would go the way of Adam Monroe on Heroes, he laughed and said "You never know."

Bradley, Renée Get Cozy in Barcelona

Pinkett Smith show "Hawthorne" gets renewal

The cable network has ordered 10 additional episodes of the freshman show, which stars and is executive-produced by Jada Pinkett Smith. Emmy winner John Masius ("St. Elsewhere") created the series.

For its first season, "Hawthorne," which anchors TNT's Tuesday original programing block at 9 p.m., is averaging 3.8 million viewers.

The second season is slated to air in 2010.

"Hawthorne" co-stars Michael Vartan, Suleka Mathew, David Julian Hirsh, Christina Moore and Hannah Hodson.

ZELLWEGER, COOPER IBIZA-BOUND?

Sightings

Bradley Cooper Denies D.C. Hookup with Jennifer Aniston

Only one problem.

"It didn't happen, they were not there together," says a rep for Cooper, 34, throwing cold water on the Capitol hookup reports that have circulated online. "Bradley was there on a stop-over from his USO tour."

Cooper isn't the only one busy denying a romance with Aniston, 40. Her costar in The Bounty, Gerard Butler, 39, recently blasted such rumors, calling them "just annoying."

2009 Primetime Emmy Nominations

Voice-Over Performance
Ron Rifkin, American Masters
Seth MacFarlane, Family Guy
Seth Green, Robot Chicken
Hank Azaria, The Simpsons
Harry Shearer, The Simpsons
Dan Castellaneta, The Simpsons

Jennifer Garner returns to ABC!

Ex-Alias superstar Jennifer Garner has inked a fresh development deal with her old network, sources confirm to me exclusively.

What are the specifics of the pact? And does it involve the words "Alias" and "movie"? Keep reading for all the deets...

ABC declined to comment, but I'm told the deal calls for the four-time Emmy nominee to develop projects via her Vandalia Films production shingle (that's tradespeak for "office space on studio lot"). There are no plans for Garner to act in any of said projects (apologies for the shameless Alias tease earlier), but as one Alphabet insider says, "If Jennifer wants to make a guest appearance no one is going to stop her."

The deal -- coming three years after Garner ended her five-season run as Sydney Bristow on Alias -- marks a big turning point for Garner's fledgling production company, which so far has dabbled mostly in independent film.

Bradley Cooper and Renée Zellweger on a Date?

Then, Tuesday night on Manhattan's Upper East Side, the Hangover star, 34, was seen with Renée Zellweger, 40, at the Italian restaurant Antonucci.

"She didn't really eat much, but he ate," someone in the restaurant told PEOPLE, adding that the two looked like they were on a date. "They were very flirty. Either he's being very gentlemanly, 'cause that's the way he is, or they're dating. He paid. He pulled out her chair, that kind of stuff."

As for their time together, "She had a coughing fit at one point and got up and left, but then came right back," said the source.

Zellweger's rep has no comment. But a source close to the Cold Mountain Oscar winner says, "They did New in Town together and they stayed friends. That's it." And, a source close to Aniston tells PEOPLE, "She and Bradley are still talking."

BROTHERS & SISTERS: Missing (7/19)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Whedon, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Sarah Jane Morris as Julia Walker, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Ken Olin as David Caplan, Luke Grimes as Ryan Lafferty, Matt Lescher as Alec, Luc Charbonnier as Ben, Eric Christian Olsen as Kyle DeWitt, Will McCormack as Ethan Tavis, Megan Follows as Maggie Stephens, Joe O'Connor as Harvey Childs, Beth Kennedy as Dr. Flackett and Pamela Shaddock as the board member.

"Missing" was written by Jason Wilborn and Nancy Won and directed by Michael Schultz.

Bradley Cooper Explains That Night Out with Jennifer Aniston

That was the question put to The Hangover star on Friday in Paris, where he had accepted an invitation from Louis Vuitton to be their guest at a menswear event. Told there had been talk that he and Aniston had been out together, Cooper replied with a laugh: "Who talked about it? It wasn't me. It was someone else."

In a more serious vein, Cooper, 34, said of Aniston (in French, which he speaks fluently from his 1996 exchange-student days): "She's a friend of mine. Simply, simply, just a friend."

He further clarified, "In America, its not like it is here. She's someone who is super, super known. Famous. If someone says 'hello' to her, it's given that he's fallen in love with her. So, no. No. She's a very, very interesting woman, but she's simply a friend.

"We made a film together" – He's Just Not That Into You – "but we didn't have any scenes together. I got hired in at the beginning of the casting, and my part was solely with Scarlett Johansson and Jennifer Connelley. Which isn't bad at all."

Next up for Hollywood's hot new leading man – whose sequel to The Hangover won't shoot until 2011 – is a reunion with another "good friend," Jennifer Garner, in Valentine's Day. Also starring Julia Roberts, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Biel, Jessica Alba and Ashton Kutcher, the film begins production in September.

Sightings

Five Things You Need to Know About Bradley Cooper

1. He likes a down-to-earth woman: The actor recently took Jennifer Aniston on a late-night date, has been previously linked to Cameron Diaz and was briefly married to actress Jennifer Esposito. As for what quality he looks for in a partner, he has said: "Give me an authentic woman, and I'm happy."

2. He has two rescue dogs: "I have two beautiful dogs that I cherish. Samson is a 14-year-old German short hair pointer and Charlotte is a 6 or 7 year-old Chow Retriever mix. They are both rescue dogs and they are the best ... I'm sort of a hybrid of both my dogs. Samson is stoic and makes me earn it and Charlotte loves me undyingly. They're my kids."

3. He graduated from Georgetown University: "I loved the college experience of studying. I was very grateful to be there … I applied out of high school and I didn't get in, and then I applied as a transfer and got in," says the actor who graduated from the school's honors English program in 1997. "I felt honored to be there, so I worked my ass off. The whole time I was there I thought I wasn't smart enough so I felt like I had to."

4. He is fluent in French: "When I was a kid, I remember watching Chariots of Fire. And French is the official language of the Olympics. So there's a scene where a guy was speaking French and I thought, 'Man, that sounds so cool. I want to learn French.' "

5. He's a master in the kitchen: "I seriously love to cook ... My grandmother was an amazing cook. As a kid I used to help her make handmade pasta, Cavatelli and Ravioli. It was one of my favorite things to do. I love the idea of making whatever is in the fridge into something."

BROTHERS & SISTERS: Spring Broken (7/12)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Whedon, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Sarah Jane Morris as Julia Walker, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Luke Grimes as Ryan Lafferty, Corey Mendell Parker as Adam, Patricia Martinez as the spring break girl, Deprise Brescia as the shot babe, Adrian Qui–onez as the shot stud, Desiree Hall as Tessa, Leslie Karpman as Hanna, Camilla Greenberg as Sabrina and Todd Julian as Van.

"Spring Broken" was written by Sherri Cooper-Landsman and Brian Studler and directed by Richard Coad.

Sightings

Jennifer Aniston and Bradley Cooper Go on a Date

"It was a date," says a source. "She is taking it slow. She is obviously looking for love, but is not about to rush into anything."

When the two met up earlier this spring, pals of both dismissed romance rumors. "I am single," Cooper, 34, the star of the box-office smash The Hangover, recently told PEOPLE, saying that he found the rumors linking himself to Aniston "flattering."

He added that he's looking "for humor, great personality, intelligence, inner and outer beauty" in a woman. The one must? "She has to like my dogs [Samson and Charlotte]. My dogs and I come in a package."

That shouldn't be a problem for Aniston, 40, a canine lover with two dogs of her own, Norman and Dolly. The actress spent most of the spring shooting the romantic comedy The Baster in New York, while also getting past her March split with John Mayer.

"Jen is moving on with her life like she always does," says a source. "She seems happy."

2009 Teen Choice Award nominations

Choice Movie: Rockstar Moment
Jim Carrey, Yes Man
Zac Efron, 17 Again
Anne Hathaway, Bride Wars
Paul Rudd and Jason Segel, I Love You, Man
Mike Tyson, Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis, The Hangover

Choice Celebrity Baby
Harlow (Parents: Nicole Richie and Joel Madden)
Honor Marie (Parents: Jessica Alba and Cash Warren)
Seraphina (Parents: Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck)
Sunny (Parents: Adam and Jackie Sandler)
Zuma (Parents: Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale)

Tom Cruise, J.J. Abrams may take on 'Mission: Impossible 4'

Garber enjoys life after 'Stone'

Relaxing on a sofa in a deluxe meeting room at the Fairmont Banff Springs, the veteran Canadian actor speaks matter-of-factly about why his last series, Eli Stone, wasn't renewed by ABC for a second season.

"Eli Stone was always on the bubble and it never really caught on," says Garber, who is town for the 30th annual Banff World Television Festival.

"Then ABC cancelled three shows in one day and we were one of them. It's so political and it's economics. It was an expensive show to do. It's very disappointing but you have to move on."

Garber hasn't been wanting for work since the end of the quirky comedy-drama, which starred Trainspotting's Jonny Lee Miller as a constantly hallucinating attorney. He has two movies lined up this year as well as a role in the Broadway production of Noel Coward's Present Laughter in January.

"I'm doing little jobs to pay for the furniture in my new house," Garber says with a smile.

"Then I'll do the play which is basically costing me money. But theatre is very gratifying. I also do musicals. I love to do it all actually. I don't like to do just one thing. I love that variety in my life."

Garber began his professional acting career on stage and has performed in acclaimed Broadway productions of Sweeney Todd, Deathtrap and Noises Off.

He was able to transfer his theatre success to film and television, appearing as ship builder Thomas Andrews in the Oscar-winning epic Titanic and Professor Callahan in the airheaded comedy Legally Blonde. Recently he was seen as San Francisco mayor George Moscone in the Harvey Milk biopic, Milk.

But it was his turn as Jennifer Garner's father on the spy-action series Alias that made this recognizable face a recognizable name.

Garber was nominated for an Emmy award three times during the show's five-year run, which ended in 2006.

"On Alias, we never got big numbers," he says. "If we'd gone on the air now it wouldn't have lasted. But at the time we were ABC's only critically appreciated show and because Jennifer (Garner) became such a huge star we stayed on for five years. But we were never a Top 10 show. People think it was a huge hit, but it wasn't. It was just a cult favourite. And life-changing for all of us."

Although the 60-year-old actor's career was chugging along nicely before Alias, Garber says the show's reputation allowed him a certain freedom to choose his work.

"I was offered a lot of work because of it and I didn't have to go through the horror of the network tests, which are just beyond humiliating and vile," he explains.

"But we all have to do it. I've done it and I'll probably do it again. To be acknowledged for something I love to do at this point in my life is actually very encouraging. Because you know, we still need encouragement even at this age."

Bradley Cooper segues from "Hangover" to "A-Team"

Cooper had been rumored for some time to play the dashing Lt. Templeton "Faceman" Peck, part of a group of framed, on-the-run war vets who get into adventures while evading the military. Dirk Benedict originated the role on the 1980s NBC series created by Stephen J. Cannell.

The hunt is on for actors to portray team leader Hannibal, B.A. Baracus and Howling Mad Murdock in the 20th Century Fox movie.

The big-budget project, being directed by Joe Carnahan ("Smokin' Aces") from a screenplay by Derek Haas and Michael Brandt ("Wanted"), already has a June 11, 2010, release date set. Ridley and Tony Scott are producing.

Cooper next appears in the comedy "All About Steve" with Sandra Bullock and Thomas Haden Church. He will reprise his role as the hard-partying teacher Phil in a sequel to "Hangover," whose development began several months before the movie came out, earning $44.9 million in its opening weekend.

Bradley Cooper Says He's 'Not Even Funny'

"I'm not even funny at all," Cooper tells Details in its June/July issue. "That's what's so ironic."

Despite his comedic deficiencies, Cooper finds himself steadily working; besides Hangover, he has completed three films to be released later this year. One thing he doesn't have: fans and paparazzi watching his every move. Cooper says that he is never recognized when he goes out. I don't have to curtail my life at all," he says. "Zero. Zero. Zero."

And if he had his way, he'd become even more unrecognizable. In the videotaped interview, he says that he would consider going under the knife. "First, I'd just suck in my abs," he says. "I'd throw about three or four inches on either side of the shoulders. And I'd get a really big jaw. And thick, curly black hair."

Cooper also tells the magazine that he had a knack for showbiz from an early age. "When I was a kid, I would fake-fight all the time," he says. "I was really good at sound effects. That's the reason why I thought I could be effective in this business."

ABC's fall 2009 primetime schedule

TUESDAY:
8:00 p.m. "Shark Tank"
9:00 p.m. "Dancing with the Stars the Results Show"
10:00 p.m. "The Forgotten"

WEDNESDAY:
8:00 p.m. "Hank"
8:30 p.m. "The Middle"
9:00 p.m. "Modern Family"
9:30 p.m. "Cougar Town"
10:00 p.m. "Eastwick"

THURSDAY:
8:00 p.m. "Flash Forward"
9:00 p.m. "Grey's Anatomy"
10:00 p.m. "Private Practice"

FRIDAY:
8:00 p.m. "Supernanny"
9:00 p.m. "Ugly Betty"
10:00 p.m. "20/20"

SATURDAY:
8:00 p.m. "Saturday Night College Football"

SUNDAY:
7:00 p.m. "America's Funniest Home Videos"
8:00 p.m. "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition"
9:00 p.m. "Desperate Housewives"
10:00 p.m. "Brothers & Sisters"

Is Bradley Cooper the Face of 'The A-Team'?

According to IESB.net, a reporter from the site surprised Cooper by asking about "The A-Team" at an interview for his upcoming comedy "The Hangover." Cooper's reply: "That's out already?" While the actor tried to backpedal, that's enough to get keyboards chattering all across the Internet.

Cooper would be a good fit: Face, or Lt. Templeton Peck, is the team's con man and master of disguise.

No matter the truth, the actor will be keeping busy: Alongside a proposed sequel to "The Hangover," the actor has also been rumored to be in the running for DC's Green Lantern comic-book adaptation.

Bradley Cooper Denies Romance With Jennifer Aniston

Despite reports this week linking him to the Friends star, the rumors are far from true, says Cooper, 34.

"I met her 3 times in my life," Cooper, soon to star in The Hangover with Heather Graham, told PEOPLE in Las Vegas Friday at a charity poker tournament at Caesars Palace. "I'm very flattered."

"My mom loves it, but unfortunately it's not true," says Cooper, who split with actress Jennifer Esposito after four months of marriage in 2007.

"Valentine's Day" woos all-star cast

Joining them in final negotiations to star in the movie are Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Jennifer Garner, Shirley MacLaine, Bradley Cooper and Ashton Kutcher.

The New Line film's five slightly interconnecting stories play out during a Valentine's Day in Los Angeles:

* Roberts is an army officer on leave from Iraq on a flight to Los Angeles. Cooper, on the same flight, is a gay man whose lover is a closeted football player.

* Kutcher is an owner of a flower shop who proposes to his girlfriend (Alba), only to realize he is in love with his close friend, played by Garner, who discovers her boyfriend is married.

* MacLaine plays Roberts' mother, a happy retiree who reveals to her husband a long-ago affair.

* Hathaway is an assistant working at the biggest talent agency in town and dating a mailroom assistant; Biel is a publicist unlucky in love who has no date on Valentine's Day.

Major roles still to be cast are the gay football player, MacLaine's husband, the mailroom worker, a talent agent and a young boy looking to give his crush some flowers.

Katherine Fugate wrote the initial draft, and the latest version of the script is by Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein.

ANISTON'S BAD DISGUISE

Bradley Cooper may beat Chris Pine for Green Lantern role

Want another complication? Sure ya do. Though neither star's movie is in theaters yet, a sequel to each is already in the works.

Green Lantern is a DC Comics hero; the movie will apparently center around his earliest incarnation, Hal Jordan, a hotshot pilot recruited into a sort of interstellar police force. Jordan's ring can create a green version of pretty much anything he imagines, though it's useless against anything colored yellow. The hero's name comes from his ring's recharger, a green lantern.

Sightings

'Ghosts' stars Garner, McConaughey can joke about breakups past

Granted, that's a pretty sour way to find out your relationship is over, but the stars of the film dreamed up a few other nasty ways to say goodbye on the red carpet Monday night in Hollywood.

"The worst way to break up with a woman would be like on the wall of Facebook," laughed Garner, who was dressed in a black Rachel Roy gown. "Or to get tweeted. Or Twittered. Or however you say it. That would be really horrible. Of course I wouldn't do that now; that would, um, be kind of messy! "

McConaughey, who at one point held hands and posed with girlfriend Camila Alves, conjured up a similar way to end a relationship.

"Man, that Twitter deal, that's pretty bad, right? I mean, I'm letting her know, but I'd also be letting like 25,000 other people know that I'm available at the same time," he said. "That would kind of suck. Come on, right? Just do one at a time. Take your time, do it in person. Do it right."

McConaughey also beamed about his son Levi — he turns 1 in July — and about Levi's mom, Alves ("She has a way of tactfully letting you know what she thinks"), while remembering his first kiss that he says happened on the nature trail in elementary school.

"Oh, that nature trail was nice," he drawled.

Michael Douglas, who plays McConaughey's uncle in the film, says he learned a lot about the single life while shooting the film. "I was sitting there going, 'Wow. People do that?' At least this guy was honest," Douglas says of McConaughey's womanizing character. "He didn't have to lie about anything. What you see is what you get."

And what about a ghost of one of Douglas' early girlfriends. What would she ask him now?

"My high school girlfriend would ask if I finally learned how to unbutton the back of a sweater!"

Breckin Meyer, who says that he has always been a pretty decent boyfriend ("Ask my wife!"), acknowledged that there may be one former girlfriend who'd take issue with him.

"You know what? I once threw a water balloon on a girl because I caught her cheating on me. She was kissing my friend and I thought, 'Oh, this can't be happening.' It was bad and I was much older than you think throwing a water balloon. I was 14," Meyer said, ducking his head in mock shame. "I was like, 'Let me throw a water balloon on her.' That'll show her. Water douses love."

Being a Working Mother Gives Jen Garner a 'Split Personality'

"I fake it like any working mom, and I run out the door," Garner told PEOPLE at the premiere of her latest film, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on Monday night. "If you looked in my bag, there's a sippy cup in there right now!"

Garner, 37, and husband Ben Affleck became parents for the second time in January with the birth of Seraphina Rose Elizabeth Affleck. Big sister Violet is now three.

Being a mom to a toddler and a newborn presents new challenges for Garner, especially when she's on the set.

"[I] feel like half my brain is somewhere else all the time, but when the camera's rolling, I pull it together and focus for two minutes," she says, "and then I kind of turn back to a ditz again. I have a split personality."

Despite the challenges of motherhood, Garner couldn't be more proud of her girls. Whipping out her cell phone on the red carpet, she showed pictures of her kids to friends. "She's so smiley!" Garner gushed as she did an imitation of Seraphina.

And she never let her coworkers see her sweat. "She's such a good mom. I admire her so much," costar Lacey Chabert told PEOPLE. "Her little girl is so smart and you can tell she really spends time with her. I just admire her that she can balance all of it."

Jennifer Garner revisits single life

"The whole point of playing a role is that it's not really you. It was fun to go back -- to do a romantic comedy like this and fall in love, it's great," says Garner of Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, which opens Friday and pairs her with Matthew McConaughey.

Off-screen she has two daughters -- three-year-old Violet Anne and four-month-old Seraphina Rose Elizabeth -- with husband Ben Affleck.

Matchmaking, of course, is always a gamble, especially if your film is dependent on the chemistry of your actors. So how did director Mark Waters know McConaughey and Garner would click? He didn't.

"You don't know. It's all just fabricating things in your head and hoping it works," he says. "The thing I liked about the two of them was that they were both athletes, and I thought that boded well for the two of them as romantic partners and acting partners. Because they have this kind of competitive streak that they both want to outdo each other. And I generally like actors who have an athletic background, or used to be on teams, because they don't have a diva attitude. They're like, 'Give me the ball, coach, tell me what to do.' "

Or as Garner puts it, "We have a good time with it, but we show up to work."

Says McConaughey: "She doesn't bring any riff-raff, frizzle-frazzle, extra-BS drama from the outside."

Garner, McConaughey's past loves: Lessons, not ghosts

The pair have had plenty of romps with romantic comedy, though few have caused them to reflect seriously on their past loves. There's no escaping romantic history, however, with the Dickens-inspired Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, opening Friday. McConaughey stars as a heartless Casanova-type who gets his comeuppance when he is visited by spectral visions of his many flings. Garner is the long-ago love of his life, who may be about to find another soul mate.

These days, the actors are both in stable and well-known romances. Garner, who just turned 37, is married to Ben Affleck, her co-star from Daredevil, and they have two daughters, Violet, 3, and Seraphina, almost 5 months. McConaughey, 39, is with Brazilian model Camila Alves, who gave birth to his son, Levi, who turns 1 in July.

They've also had high-profile breakups. Garner used to date Alias co-star Michael Vartan and was previously married to Felicity co-star Scott Foley, while McConaughey began dating Penelope Cruz when they made Sahara and Sandra Bullock when they made A Time to Kill.

They don't name names but do speak candidly about how past relationships have shaped them — and how love changes as you grow from a teenager to a parent.

McConaughey mentions a scene in which Garner's character wakes up alone after spending the night with him. "He gets to go back and see what happened after she woke up. I'd be willing to say I've been there. I saw that and know I felt a little bit of that. I've had to end good relationships, and I know how we talked about them, and tried to be nice and everything, but I think ... maybe that bruised a little bit more on the other side than I noticed, or than it did me."

He leans in on his elbow and says, in a confidential tone: "Because when you flip it over, I know there were times when I was the dumpee or whatever, and I was like, 'No way am I showing her how much this is hurtin'.' "

McConaughey's cowboyish self-assurance fades as he considers the ramifications of being an invisible eyewitness to some of his own breakups: "There's that old saying about three truths: what I say, what you say and what really happened. You never know how the other person really took it. You get behind the closed door, and you can see how your actions affected someone."

Remembering first dates

During filming, the pair often talked about whether they would, if it were possible, go backward or forward in time to re-examine old or future relationships.

"Jennifer said, 'Yeah, I would go forward, but not if I'm going to see a disaster that I can't effect now,' " McConaughey says.

"Just to see it?" she adds, shaking her head. "No, I don't want to see it."

"The more interesting question is about going back," he says. "Ghosts from your past or whatever ..."

McConaughey goes back — way back — to some of his first experiences with romantic relationships.

"Those first times, though, I knew how to handle it," McConaughey boasts with a grin. "We went to see a movie once, and slowly this right hand started moving." Sitting beside Garner, he begins an infinitesimally slow drape across her shoulders. "It took me the entire movie to get there, and then the credits rolled. I was so concentrated on just getting there, I didn't see one frame of the movie."

"How far down did you get? Inside bra?" Garner says, calling him out on his vagueness.

"Yep," he says, nodding. "And then the credits rolled."

Garner laughs and says, "She probably spent the whole time thinking, 'Am I going to brush that hand off? Am I going to move?' She probably had to pee, but was like, 'Well, no, because then he'd have to start from scratch.' "

"Girls just play defense," Garner offers. "Guys are the chaser and pursuer." Neither role is easier, she adds.

"I think it's different now than it was when we were going through this," she says. "It's more equal. But when we were kids, you didn't just call a guy. At least not a nice girl."

"No, you didn't call," McConaughey agrees, like someone who remembers it well.

"There was no texting or IMing or anything. Your friends could go ask his friends if he was interested, but that was all," she says. "You'd send your secretary of state out."

"But the funnest and the hardest moments," McConaughey says, "was the one where you go up and say, 'Will you go with me?' Just say those words, and then she says, 'Yes.' And I'd be like ... 'Great! Now what comes next?' "

Shared tastes and talents

If these two weren't otherwise attached, it would be easy to see them together. Both sit at an upstairs table at an organic vegan restaurant, a little chagrined by the menu.

"They told me you loved this place," she says, when McConaughey doesn't have a meal recommendation.

"I've never been here before," he says. "They told me you loved this place."

While she projects precision, poise and efficiency, and his languid, surfer-stoner aura is the real deal, they bond while dissecting a pulled-pork sandwich recipe she made the weekend before and progress to sharing a mutual love of cooking. And they are both big eaters.

When the waiter returns, she orders a Southwestern vegetable meal and asks for it to be combined with the Mexicali salad. "Would it be the hugest thing ever?" she asks.

The waiter tells her yes.

McConaughey grins at Garner. "You just kind of ordered for me. I was going to do the same thing."

"I've never had a meal with you, but I feel like I could order for you," she says, explaining that they used to pass the downtime on set with "long, slow description of how a meal was prepared, what was in it, how it was mixed, how it was eaten."

If they actually were a couple, it's likely the lean and seductive stars would eventually inflate each other to Pavarotti proportions.

Love vs. power

The twosome, looking back on how they ended up with their current mates, realize it was a fairly deliberate process.

"That's what growing up and boyfriends, girlfriends and all the painful relationships are all for," McConaughey says. "Each one is its own lesson."

When dating after age 25, McConaughey says, he was on the lookout for "traits of someone you may possibly spend the rest of your life with. You're looking for traits in this person that you would want to be the mother of your child. ... If something came up that didn't qualify for me, I was out."

Says Garner: "I would say the same for women looking at the relationship. You're trying to figure out if the person can be a mate."

McConaughey cuts in to clarify one thing: "When I was talking about women I wanted to date," he says, laughing coyly, "(a potential mother) was not always what I was looking for. There were times when you're a guy when it's not about 'a relationship.' It's about —" He fumbles with his words but traces a shapely invisible female silhouette in the air.

Though Ghosts of Girlfriends Past is mostly a silly time-travel trip backward and forward through the life of a playboy charmer, there's one line in the movie that McConaughey thinks strikes at something real: "Whoever cares less has the most power. A lot of people have been bringing that one up," he says. "And it's true."

"It's true, but is it the goal?" Garner asks.

"Depends on if power is what you're after. I think that's a good question. For some people power is the end all," McConaughey says.

Any of those types among his own past girlfriends?

"Hell, yeah. I've dated some of them and also been the one!" he replies.

"I've been the one, too," Garner adds. "It shifts back and forth when you've been with somebody for a long time, without even realizing that power is something you're after. It's fluid. You have to remind yourself sometimes 'Why am I fighting over this?' "

Having kids, they say, does change the romantic equation.

Garner says parenthood makes a couple stronger. "You've got something pretty major in common — a baby," Garner says. "And nobody else cares about this little critter more than you two do. This little person means more to you than anything in the world."

"Still, the one you made 'em with still better be No. 1," McConaughey cautions. "A lot of relationships blow up. I've seen it happen. They have the child, then all of a sudden the mother says, 'Oh my God, this kid is just my entire life, and that's it.' Dad was No. 2, and it didn't end up being very good for the kid or the relationship. There's a great line about how the best example you can give the kids is show them how you love their mother, or how you love their father."

No romance is perfect, but these romantic-comedy stars say it's important to try the best you can — there is no going back to change things in real life.

"Without being too philosophical about it, I look back, and it's easy to sit here now and say, 'Look, I wouldn't change any of the past — the victories, the glories or the pain," McConaughey says. " 'Cause they helped me get to where I am today."

ABC ANNOUNCES EARLY PICK-UPS FOR NEXT SEASON

Season to date, ABC claims 4 of the Top 10 highest-rated TV series in Adults 18-49, including the Top 2 scripted shows with "Desperate Housewives" and "Grey's Anatomy." During the fall, the Net finished No. 1 in the November Sweep among Adults 18-49 for the fourth year in a row. Most recently ABC is generating mid-season momentum in 2009, delivering across-the-board gains over the same point last year: Total Viewers +6%, Adults 18-34 +14%, Adults 18-49 +8% and Adults 25-54 +6%.

Jen Garner: Ben a 'Sweet' Dad - Just Don't Let Him Do Hair

"Ben will do the school run," Garner, 35, tells InStyle in its May issue, on sale Friday, of her family's hectic morning routine. "He dresses her and does her hair. It's pretty funny. You can always tell when he has been at it, just two random barrettes hanging in there. It's so sweet."

Adds Garner: "Ben can be pretty clueless when it comes to my clothes or makeup. But when he does notice and says something, he's so sweet that I forgive him."

As for her own role in the family, Garner aims to shield her daughters – Seraphina Rose, 3 months, and Violet – from unwanted attention.

"I try not to look, but when I see these [paparazzi] pictures of Violet and me, I'm always smiling like a monkey, trying not to let her feel my anxiety," Garner says. "That was some really good advice I got about dealing with it."

"But now that she's older, she's more able to articulate that she doesn't like it," she says, continuing. "She'll say to them, 'Please stop flashing your camera in my face,' but they won't stop. Then she'll say, 'I don't understand, Mommy. I said please!' It's just twisted."

More successfully, Garner says she is achieving a balance between work and family.

"I always quiz Reese Witherspoon about how she does it," Garner says of the juggling act. "I feel like she does a really good job."

"I growl at anyone who wants me to do something while I'm with my kids," she says. "I say, 'No, I'm at home, back off!' Then when I'm working and out of the house, I am in work mode. That's when Ben is there, the other half. We've tried really hard to switch off. So far it's working. I've chosen jobs that weren't as demanding as some can be."

BROTHERS & SISTERS (5/10; SEASON FINALE)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Whedon, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Sarah Jane Morris as Julia Walker, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Ken Olin as David Caplan, Luke Grimes as Ryan Lafferty, Mario Quinonez Jr. as Eduardo, Randee Heller as Karin, Brian Lloyd as Sven, Tom Lommel as Karl, Frank Gallegos as Pablo, Chaim Jeraffi as the retreat doctor and Martin Morales as the bartender.

"Mexico" was written by Alison Schapker and Monica Owusu-Breen and directed by Ken Olin.

BROTHERS & SISTERS (5/3)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Whedon, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Sarah Jane Morris as Julia Walker, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Tom Skerritt as William Walker, Luke Grimes as Ryan Lafferty, Matt Letscher as Alec Tyler, Luc Charbonnier as Ben Tyler, Jay Knowlton as Grady and Toby Holguin as the bus driver.

"Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" was written by Peter Calloway and Daniel Silk and directed by Laura Innes.

Jennifer Garner Plans Low-Key Birthday

The Ghost of Girlfriends Past star, who turns 37 Friday, says she doesn't need a big celebration to make her big day special.

"You know, this year it just doesn't [require a big party]," she said while promoting her upcoming movie, which costars Matthew McConaughey. "Life is full."

The actress, who has two children with Ben Affleck, says her attitude toward her birthday is different from years past.

"Normally, I am the person that says, 'You know my birthday is in three weeks, just so you know,' " she told reporters. "But, today, I figured you guys would be pretty on top of that. It's a good one [and] I am going to celebrate it right here with you … That's about as far as I've gotten."

Ben Affleck & Jen Garner Imagine Entertainment in Brian Grazer's House

The actress and hubby Ben Affleck have snatched über-producer Brian Grazer's Pacific Palisades mansion off the market for the reported bargain price of...less than $20 million, E! News has learned.

The nine-bedroom, 14-bathroom house sitting on an acre of land in the tony Southern California community was originally listed for $27 million, and at some point the asking price was lowered to $24 million.

According to a source, the hard-bargain-driving Affleck family inquired about buying the existing furniture as well as the walls around it, but the insider couldn't confirm that the additional transaction had taken place.

Regardless, Affleck and Garner's princessian daughters, 3-year-old Violet and 4-month-old Seraphina Rose, should have plenty of space to roam. Their new playground boasts a gym and a pool, plus a billiards room, crafts room, screening room, and two-bedroom guest suite.

The girls' A-list parents recently unloaded their Brentwood home, which they purchased from Cindy Crawford, for just over $6 million.

Grazer and Ron Howard's Imagine Entertainment has been responsible for a slew of big-deal projects over the years, including films like Oscar winner A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13 and The Da Vinci Code and TV shows such as 24 and Friday Night Lights.

Grazer is currently in the process of divorcing third wife Gigi Levangie Grazer, author The Starter Wife, which later turned into the hit miniseries and short-lived TV series starring Debra Messing.

Greg Grunberg Thinks His Son Can Beat Epilepsy

Grunberg's 12-year-old son, Jake, has lived with the struggles and seizures epilepsy causes, but thanks to a recent brain surgery, he is showing massive signs of improvement.

"He's doing really well," Grunberg tells TVGuide.com. "You don't try brain surgery until you've basically run out of medicine. There are so many things you try before you get to removing a piece of his brain. But they saved his life."

Grunberg says surgery became an alternative when doctors were able to pinpoint the area of the brain with the most epileptic activity. Now, he says his son is "90 percent better" and that he is hopeful for his future. "He's living a normal life — he's not seizure-free, but he's back doing what a normal kid would do," he says. "I'd love to see Jake not have epilepsy for the majority of his life, and I think that's going to happen with what they're doing."

The actor also says his experience with his son has inevitably informed his acting, as this week Parkman met a son he never knew he even had. "That was an amazing moment for me to play," he says. "We went through a really tough year. When you go through anything tough like Parkman is going through — he doesn't care about living or dying; he just wanted revenge on this guy who basically ruined the last thing that was good in his life — and you get to the darkest place, look what happens. There's a baby that is mine. That gives you hope to live and fight."

Grunberg has also founded TalkAboutIt.org, a website dedicated to informing the public about epilepsy and providing a place for those affected by it to share their stories. "It's like the MySpace of likeminded people that are dealing with this," he says.

With the help of co-stars and friends like Milo Ventimiglia, Zachary Quinto, Jennifer Garner and Jack Black, Grunberg says he hopes to encourage people to face the disease rather than be afraid of it. "It gets the conversation going about epilepsy without it being scary. It's a huge deal, and for there to be a stigma attached to it for so long, and for people to be afraid to talk about it, it's a shame. We talk about AIDS, and we talk about cancer, and we're willing to give money to research [for those diseases]. That's what I'm hoping for epilepsy."

Grunberg spends much of his time raising money for multiple charities as a part of Band from TV. Their next gig is Heroes for Autism, an event where artwork and photos taken from the set by Heroes' cast and crew will be auctioned off for Autism Speaks. Grunberg also revealed to TVGuide.com exclusively that the band will be joined by a very special guest on stage.

"Rainn Wilson is going to be hosting, and he's going to play a song with our band," Grunberg says. "So you've got Hugh Laurie, James Denton, me, Bob Guiney, Jesse Spencer, Adrian Pasdar and now Rainn Wilson all on stage playing music for a great cause. It's selfish, because I'm having a great time, and get to pretend to be a rock star, but all the proceeds go to charity."

Between acting and all his side projects, Grunberg still remains dedicated to his fans via his Twitter account. (You can follow TVGuide.com on Twitter too!) Despite causing a flurry of rumors about a possible Heroes cancellation, Grunberg says he isn't "going to hold back."

"It has connected me with the fans," he said. "After last night's episode, I got so many Twitters. It's like hearing from your mom. These people are following me, so they obviously like what I do, but it's so nice to get that support."

Jennifer Garner Gets Smooth Like Butter

The Alias gal is attached to star and possibly produce Butter, a comedy set in the microcosm of competitive butter-sculpting. She would be reuniting with Mandate, one of the production companies behind Juno.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the story (by first-timer Jesse Micallef) follows a young girl adopted by a Midwestern family who eventually discovers her talent for butter-carving. At her town's local contest, she faces tough condiment competition in the ambitious wife of the former champ. Craig Gillespie (Lars and the Real Girl) and Gary Ross (Seabiscuit) are potential directors.

Garner's Ghosts of Girlfriends Past opens next month.

BROTHERS & SISTERS (4/26)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Whedon, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Sarah Jane Morris as Julia Walker, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Luke Grimes as Ryan Lafferty, Matt Letscher as Alec, Luc Charbonnier as Ben, Andrea Luna Grano as Leanne Mitchell, Marley Barth as Elizabeth Walker and Spencer Barth as Elizabeth Walker.

"Julia" was written by Cliff Olin and Molly Newman and Michael Foley and directed by Michael Morris.

Sighting

The project, based on Ann Rule's book, centers on Pat (Gershon), who, with her younger husband, Tom (Ryan McPartlin, of NBC's "Chuck"), is determined to become part of Atlanta's elite. Her thirst for power proves insatiable, ruining her marriage and putting those around her in danger.

Victor Garber will play Tom's stern and overbearing father, who strongly disapproves of his son's marriage.

Peter Svatek is set to direct from a script by Michael Vickerman ("Impact").

Gershon recently appeared on episodes of ABC's "Life on Mars" and CBS' "Numbers." Garber co-starred on ABC's "Eli Stone."

Greg Grunberg: Epileptic Son 90 Percent Better after Brain Surgery

"Puberty screwed up levels of gauging whether his drugs were working or not. He was having more seizures," Grunberg tells PEOPLE. "Hundreds a day."

Luckily for Jake and his family, the 12-year-old was eligible for a brain surgery that turned out to be life-altering. "They removed the part of the brain that has the most epilepsy activity," Grunberg says of his son's operation. "Now Jake is only having a little tiny episode once every three weeks."

"To me," the proud father says, "that's a home run. We never thought that was possible."

With Jake's health improved, Grunberg has turned his attention to developing www.talkaboutit.org, a Web site that raises awareness about epilepsy, and has a social networking component for visitors.

"When we first discovered Jake had epilepsy, we went online, and all you discover is horror stories. Talkaboutit.org is a place where you can get information, and you don't feel alone," he explains.

Greg's All-Star Friends: Grunberg enlisted famous pals like John Mayer and Jennifer Garner to participate in the Web site – and jokes that he's turned into 'the paparazzi of Talkaboutit.org.'

When Grunberg spotted Jack Black in a parking lot, he says, "I said to the valet guy, 'Is that Jack Black?' I got my camera out and I was like, 'Jack!!' " The actor taped a statement on camera for Grunberg's site on the spot. "I take my camera everywhere," Grunberg says. "I don't take 'no' from anybody."

When he's not working on his Web site, Grunberg says he's enjoying Heroes' third season. "My character [Matt] is now getting the family he's always wanted. But he has to protect that family at all costs," says the actor.

In some ways, it's not unlike his own family life, Grunberg says. "It's a very personable and relatable storyline."

BROTHERS & SISTERS (4/19)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Whedon, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Sarah Jane Morris as Julia Walker, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Ken Olin as David Caplan, Luke Grimes as Ryan Lafferty, Jason Lewis as Chad Berry, Matt Letscher as Alec, Luc Charbonnier as Ben, Nigel Havers as Roger Grant and Cristian de la Fuente as Cal.

"S3x" was written by Cliff Olin and David Marshall Grant and directed by Laura Innes.

Sighting

Sighting

Paramount sets "Diamond" with J.J. Abrams

Paramount Pictures has purchased film rights to the article, and J.J. Abrams ("Alias," "Lost," "Fringe") will take on the project through his Bad Robot production company as a producer and, potentially, as the film's director. No writer has yet been hired.

The article, which will be published in the April issue of Wired, describes the true story of an unprecedented diamond heist in Antwerp, Belgium, and the crew that pulled it off.

In early 2003, a small group of Italian thieves miraculously circumvented 10 layers of security to access a vault beneath the Antwerp Diamond Center and make off with a purported $100 million in diamonds, gold and jewelry. (The actual value is still a mystery.)

Over six years, Davis scored a series of interviews with the ringleader, incarcerated in a Belgian prison, who finally divulged, in French, just how it was done. Davis acquired the subject's life rights in the process.

Abrams, whose "Star Trek" reboot will hit theaters in May, is also producing the Aline Brosh McKenna-penned comedy "Morning Glory" and "Mystery on Fifth Avenue," derived from a New York Times article written by Penelope Green.

Davis' Wired article "Deep Sea Cowboys" is being spun into a screenplay by David Ayer for a potential DreamWorks film produced by frequent Abrams collaborators Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci.

BROTHERS & SISTERS (4/5)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Whedon, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Sarah Jane Morris as Julia Walker, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Michael Adler as Doug Manning, Mitch Pileggi as Browne Carter and Kulap Vilaysack as Gail.

"Glass Houses" was written by Molly Newman and David Marshall Grant and directed by Tucker Gates.

Balthazar Getty, Rumer Willis to Star on Medium

Huston will reprise her Emmy nominated role as Cynthia Keener, a private investigator now serving prison time for the murder of her daughter's killer.

In the episode, entitled "The First Bite is the Deepest," Huston's character reaches out to Arquette for help when a friend, played by Willis, goes missing. Simultaneously, Arquette is asked by a wealthy real estate magnate (Getty) to investigate the case of his missing wife.

The episode, which begins shooting this week, will air in the spring.

Sightings

Is Heroes Ending? Greg Grunberg Creates Online Frenzy

Grunberg sent a message to fans via his Twitter account Sunday that caused many to fear the show was ending after its current season. "Winding down shooting Season 3 Heroes," he wrote. "Tough to say goodbye to crew not knowing if any or all of us will return next year. Hope all."

The firestorm the comments caused quickly earned a response from Grunberg, who qualified his remarks. "Don't get me wrong, Heroes IS coming back next year, but some crew take other jobs, so it's tough," he wrote.

The fans concern about Grunberg's comments isn't without reason. The series earned critical praise and rabid fan adoration during its first seasons, but has very publicly floundered — both creatively and in viewership — ever since. It hit an all-time series low of just below 7 million viewers a week ago, a number it matched with Monday's episode.

An NBC spokesperson had no comment on Grunberg's statements, but Angela Bromstad, NBC's president of primetime entertainment, said the show was "very secure" during the Television Critics Association winter press tour in January. No official renewal has been announced.

Grunberg is one of several celebs — including Heroes costars Brea Grant (Daphne), James Kyson Lee (Ando) and David H. Lawrence (Eric Doyle, aka the Puppetmaster) — to use Twitter to interact with fans. Other notables include Ashton Kutcher, The Office's Rainn Wilson, The Closer creator James Duff and Late Night host Jimmy Fallon, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Sightings

BROTHERS & SISTERS (3/22)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Whedon, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Sarah Jane Morris as Julia Walker, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Ken Olin as David Caplan, Luke Grimes as Ryan Lafferty, Matt Lescher as Alec, Luc Charbonnier as Ben, Eric Christian Olsen as Kyle DeWitt, Will McCormack as Ethan Tavis, Megan Follows as Maggie Stephens, Joe O'Connor as Harvey Childs, Beth Kennedy as Dr. Flackett and Pamela Shaddock as the board member.

"Missing" was written by Jason Wilborn and Nancy Won and directed by Michael Schultz.

CBS Eyes Melissa George and Cole Hauser

George, says the Reporter, will play a Los Angeles Assistant District Attorney who moves cross-country to join her ex-husband's (Jason Clarke) team. (Er, that would seem to be a questionable call.) In addition to Brotherhood's Clarke, Lennie James (Jericho) was previously cast on this pilot.

Elsewhere on the Eye, Cole Hauser (K-Ville) is bound for Washington Field, Criminal Minds boss Ed Bernero's drama pilot about an elite team of FBI agents that tackles crises around the world. Hauser will play the squad's supervisor.

Actress Rachel Nichols & Producer Scott Stuber Split

"Scott Stuber and Rachel Nichols have separated due to irreconcilable differences," the pair said in a statement Thursday.

Nichols, 29, will appear in two upcoming action films, the J.J. Abrams-directed Star Trek and GI Joe. Stuber, 38, has projects that include the 2008 film Role Models and the upcoming movie The Wolf Man, which stars Benicio Del Toro.

Bradley Cooper Wants to Do It Live With Scarlett

"Scarlett Johansson is a phenomenal actress," Cooper said of his He's Just Not That Into You costar. "If she ever wants me to do anything with her again, I'll do it. I'd love to do a play with her."

A play is exactly what Cooper hopes to be doing in New York come this fall.

He told me that it looks like he'll be onstage costarring in the upcoming Broadway production of The Understudy, which he first did last summer with Kristen Johnston and Reg Rogers at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts. Cooper made his B'way debut three years ago opposite Julia Roberts in Three Days of Rain.

"I made a pact with myself that every two years, I have to do a play," he said, quickly adding with a laugh, "if I'm lucky to get one."

As of now, unfortunately, there are no plans for Johannson to be in The Understudy with him.

We caught up with Cooper backstage at the Independent Spirit Awards as he made his way over to Elle magazine's Beach Chic greenroom to check out some Lacoste swag and sign a surfboard to be auctioned off for charity.

Next door, Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson was her usual bubbly and smiley self in the gifting lounge as she scooped up freebies from Palm Pre, Koolaburra boots, Glowelle beauty supplements and even Arm & Hammer toothpaste.

BROTHERS & SISTERS (3/15)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Whedon, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Sarah Jane Morris as Julia Walker, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Luke Grimes as Ryan Lafferty, Corey Mendell Parker as Adam, Patricia Martinez as the spring break girl, Deprise Brescia as the shot babe, Adrian Qui–onez as the shot stud, Desiree Hall as Tessa, Leslie Karpman as Hanna, Camilla Greenberg as Sabrina and Todd Julian as Van.

"Spring Broken" was written by Sherri Cooper-Landsman and Brian Studler and directed by Coad.

Jennifer Garner Surprises Ben Affleck at Humanitarian Event

For the Children Mending Hearts Gala, Affleck, 36, received a surprise visit from his wife, Jennifer Garner.

Delivering an impassioned speech about the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Affleck politely stepped aside when the event's Humanitarian of the Year winner, CNN stud Anderson Cooper, took to the podium – allowing Affleck to return to his table, where Garner awaited him with open arms.

Garner, also 36, dressed in a dark cocktail dress, had slipped in to the gathering without fanfare and then peppered kisses upon Affleck's cheek.

With two young girls waiting at home, the couple's date didn't last long, however. After 20 minutes Garner slipped out as quietly as she had arrived.

Affleck remained to take in a brief but rousing set by Sheryl Crow.

Others in attendance included Benji and Joel Madden, Kate Walsh, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Hank Azaria, Marisa Tomei, Alyssa Milano, Elizabeth Berkeley, Tate Donovan and Malin Akerman.

Michael Vartan finds "Time Heals"

Set to premiere later this year, the show centers on Christina Hawthorne (Pinkett Smith), a strong and caring director of nursing at a North Carolina hospital.

Vartan will play Tom Wakefield, the hospital's director of medicine. He replaces Jeffrey Nordling, who played the role in the pilot.

Vartan recently starred on ABC's comedy-drama series "Big Shots."

BROTHERS & SISTERS (3/8)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Whedon, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Sarah Jane Morris as Julia Walker, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Ken Olin as David Caplan, Luke Grimes as Ryan Lafferty, Paul Keeley as James Friedman, Traber Burns as Judge Arthur Gray, Caroline Rich as the court clerk, Marin Hinkle as Courtney McCallister, Max Burkholder as Jack McCallister, Justine Dorsey as Sophie McCallister and Sarah Lilly as the D.A.

"Taking Sides" was written by Michael Foley and Beth Schwartz and directed by Michael Morris.

BROTHERS & SISTERS (3/1, Repeats 3/7)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Whedon, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Sarah Jane Morris as Julia Walker, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Ken Olin as David Caplan, Luke Grimes as Ryan Lafferty, Sonja Sohn as Trish Evans, Michanne Quinney as the secretary, Maia Danziger as the ER nurse, Kristina Lear as Dr. Pat Michaels, Tyrees Allen as Dr. John Massey and Amol Shah as paramedic.

"Troubled Waters," Parts 1 & 2 were written by Molly Newman and David Marshall Grant and directed by Ken Olin.

BROTHERS & SISTERS (2/15)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Whedon, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Sarah Jane Morris as Julia Walker, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Ken Olin as David Caplan, Luke Grimes as Ryan Lafferty, Andrea Grano as Barbara Whitaker, Jim Gleason as Walter Geary, Patty Yu as the female barrista, Subhash Mandal as the cab driver and Carole Gutierrez as the B&B owner.

"Lost and Found" was written by Michael Foley and Jennifer Levin and directed by David Paymer.

BROTHERS & SISTERS (2/8)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Whedon, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Sarah Jane Morris as Julia Walker, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Ken Olin as David Caplan, Luke Grimes as Ryan Lafferty, Nigel Havers as Roger Grant, John Rubinstein as Dr. Marc Wilson, Scott Klace as Kent Barnes, S.E. Perry as Winston, Michael B. Silver as Stu Orenbacher, John Glover as Henry Mittner and Kaitlin Doubleday as Chelsea Yeager.

"Owning It" was written by David Marshall Grant and Cliff Olin and directed Bethany Rooney.

Alias Alum David Anders to Guest on Fox Drama

Alias' Sark will guest-star on the second episode of the new Fox drama Lie to Me, which premieres Wednesday, Jan. 21, TVGuide.com has confirmed.

Sporting a military-style buzz-cut, Anders will play Sgt. Scott, a commanding officer who is charged by a female soldier with sexual assault. As such, you can count on him having every eye twitch, touch of the temple, wrinkle of the smile and earlobe blush scrutinized and analyzed by Tim Roth's Dr. Cal Lightman aka "the world's leading deception expert."

Starring opposite Roth on Lie to Me is The Practice's Kelli Williams who — and I told her this just last night at Fox's TCA soiree — has never looked better.

As previously reported, Anders recently filmed a starring role in a Sci Fi Channel remake of Children of the Corn, premiere date TBD.

Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck Reveal Baby's Name

It is Seraphina Rose Elizabeth Affleck.

The baby was born Jan. 6 in Los Angeles. Garner and Affleck, both 36, are also parents to daughter Violet, 3.

While no explanation was offered for the name, or if she was named for anyone, one Web site specializing in the origin of names refers to Seraphina as "derived from the Biblical word 'seraphim,' which was Hebrew in origin and meant 'fiery ones.' "

Balthazar Leaving Brothers Earlier Than Expected?

According to sources who work on the fan-favorite ABC drama, the show's writers and producers have rewritten certain scenes and storylines in order to phase out Balthazar Getty, who plays Tommy Walker, before the current season ends.

"Episode 19 is expected to be his last," one well-placed insider tells us.

Getty's rep says "not true." The show's rep declined comment.

However, as first reported by E! Online's Marc Malkin, insiders say that Balthazar is leaving the show and isn't expected to return as a series regular next season.

And sadly, Balthazar may not be the only one affected...

When asked if Balthazar's exit means we'll see less of his onscreen wife, Sarah Jane Morris, a reliable insider says: "I know producers love her and want to keep her, [but] it may be hard to do with Tommy going away."

It's a Girl for Jennifer Garner & Ben Affleck!

The actress's rep says: "Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck gave birth to a healthy baby girl."

The baby was born Tuesday in Los Angeles. No other details were immediately available.

Garner and Affleck, both 36, are also parents to daughter Violet, 3.

In the weeks leading up to the birth, Garner, stayed close to home, picking up Violet from preschool and even treating herself to a mani-pedi.

Just days before giving birth, Garner was spotted with Violet at the Farmer's Market in Pacific Palisades and grabbing a decaf coffee at Caffe Luxxe in Santa Monica with a girlfriend.

Former Alias costar and close friend Victor Garber says the actress needs no help in the mommy department.

"It's her second child," Garber told PEOPLE. "She knows what to do. She's probably the best mother I've ever witnessed."

Garner confirmed her second pregnancy in August.

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Jen 'n' Ben's Baby New Year?

The ready-to-pop actress, accompanied by doting hubby Ben Affleck, arrived at Cedars Sinai Medical Center this morning for reasons unknown. (But judging by the size of her stomach and duration of her pregnancy, it's enough to set off the storkwatch.)

As always, Team Affleck kept mum on the morning visit, prefering to maintain some semblance of privacy about the impending birth of their second child.

While Garner has at least appeared to be on the verge of popping for several weeks now, her pregnancy was only confirmed, barely, back in August.

Whenever the delivery, it will mark the second child for the couple, who are already proud parents of 3-year-old daughter Violet.

Getty Going Bye-Bye From Brothers & Sisters?

Chatter on the set has it that discussions may have begun between Getty and producers on how best to ease him out of the show.

Getty has played Tommy, the oldest brother in the Walker clan, since the series launched in September 2006.

So why the possibility of him leaving now?

As I first reported last week, sources say Getty has few friends left among the cast and crew of the hit ABC drama because of questionable behavior that allegedly began shortly after he left his wife and mother of his four children, Rosetta, in July and started dating British starlet Sienna Miller.

“He’s leaving the show,” a source told me, adding that they've already ruled out killing him off.

On Thursday, website Crazy Days and Nights reported Getty has been fired. (This happens to be the same site that was first to report T.R. Knight was leaving Grey’s Anatomy. ABC issued a "no comment" on that report.)

Getty’s rep insisted this morning he is not leaving the show. A rep for the show did not immediately comment.

New episodes of the award-winning series begin airing Jan. 4.

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BROTHERS & SISTERS (1/18)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Whedon, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Sarah Jane Morris as Julia Walker, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Nigel Havers as Roger Grant, Eric Christian Olsen as Kyle DeWitt, Will McCormack as Ethan Tavis, David Brisbin as Senator Wade Newman, Cotter Smith as Gordon Alexander, Kaitlin Doubleday as Chelsea Yeager, Dileep Rao as Arlo Natterson and Kim Delgado as the businessman.

"It's Not Easy Being Green" was written by Sherri Cooper-Landsman and Peter Calloway and directed by Laura Innes.

BROTHERS & SISTERS (1/11)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Whedon, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Sarah Jane Morris as Julia Walker, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Regis Philbin as himself, Kelly Ripa as herself, Nigel Havers as Roger Grant, Eric Christian Olsen as Kyle DeWitt, Will McCormack as Ethan Tavis, Leonard Wu as Christopher Chao, Cotter Smith as Gordon Alexander and Deborah Knox as the loan officer.

"Sibling Rivalry" was written by Josh Reims and Liz Tigelaar and directed by Jeff Melman.

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BROTHERS & SISTERS (1/4)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Whedon, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Sarah Jane Morris as Julia Walker, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Nigel Havers as Roger Grant, Paula Rhodes as Miss Mitchell, Gayla Johnson as Janet, Michael Edwin as employee #1, Tymberlee Chanel as Vanessa, Ellery Sprayberry as the girl, Marley and Spencer Barth as Elizabeth Walker.

"A Father Dreams" was written by Jennifer Levin and Michael Foley and directed by Tom Amandes.

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Golden Globe nominees

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Jennifer Garner Seeks Permanent Restraining Order for Stalker

The "Juno" actress has filed an order to keep her alleged stalker Steven Burky away from her and her family, reports TMZ.com.

In court papers, Garner claims that "Mr. Burky has been stalking and harassing me," sending "packages and letters containing delusional and paranoid thoughts and following me around the country ."

The behavior has been going on since 2002, and has "escalated to the point of becoming dangerous and threatening." He once showed up at Garner's home and told her, "God has sent him a vision of her being persecuted in some manner that may result in her death."

Burky once wrote to the Satanic Panic blog, asking, "Are multitudes of adults resorting to human sacrifices and then repressing this information from fear of Christ?"

Garner claims she fears for herself, Affleck, their daughter Violet and their second, currently gestating child.

A hearing will take place Thursday (Nov. 20) to make the temporary restraining order, which was issued earlier this month, permanent.

Garner, 36, last appeared in "The Kingdom" and "Juno." Her upcoming films include "This Side of Truth" and "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past."

BROTHERS & SISTERS (12/7)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Whedon, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Sarah Jane Morris as Julia Walker, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Dierdrie Henry as Dr. Williams and Kim Rowe as the lab tech.

"Just a Sliver" was written by David Marshall Grant and Molly Newman and directed by Michael Schultz.

Abrams reassures 'Star Trek' fans

Director and producer J.J. Abrams visited the Eternal City on Friday to give a sneak peek of the early years of Capt. James T. Kirk and the other characters who warp around the galaxy in the upcoming "Star Trek" movie.

The prequel, set to open worldwide in May 2009, explores how the starship Enterprise and its iconic crew set out on their interstellar journey, adding a good dose of space battles and dastardly aliens.

"My goal was to make a movie about the emotional lives of these characters," Abrams told reporters. "We've seen a million ships fly by the camera, but nobody is going to care about the ship if they don't care about the people inside."

Abrams hopes the movie, which is aimed at revitalizing the 42-year-old franchise, will appeal not only to die-hard fans but to people who didn't follow the original 1960s adventures of Kirk, the logical alien Spock and their fellow explorers.

"I want fans of Star Trek to come watch it, but the truth is I made the movie for future fans," Abrams said at the presentation in a Rome theatre. He and his footage made similar appearances across Europe this week.

"Star Trek" fans - and they are legion - have been eagerly anticipating the movie for more than a year. As excited as they are, however, many have expressed trepidations that the film will be a "reboot" and will reconfigure the fictional history of the "Trek" universe they have followed so ardently.

Abrams and his writers have promised to be faithful to the spirit of "Star Trek" and its fan base. Still, the director of "Mission: Impossible III" and creator of TV's "Lost" and "Alias" acknowledged that he was no Trekkie before starting the project.

"It was never my thing," he said. "I have become a trekker having fallen in love with the characters."

The preview and four "Star Trek" scenes were strictly controlled, with security keeping out cameras and other recording devices.

This much we can say: the brash and womanizing Kirk had a less than glorious start to his career, since the film introduces him as a bar-brawling biker in 23rd-century Iowa.

The movie follows the young troublemaker, played by actor Chris Pine, as he meets up with his future crew, getting off to a rocky start with most of them, including Zachary Quinto's edgy and hostile Spock.

The peek given Friday also featured plenty of action sequences, including a hair-raising space dive and a sword duel at high altitude above an alien planet as the crew battle the villains led by Eric Bana.

The movie is also likely to enthral fans with inside jokes, including a scene that pokes fun at the accent of Russian character Chekov, as well as a cameo by Leonard Nimoy, who reprises his original role appearing as an aging, time-travelling Spock. The original Kirk, Canadian actor William Shatner, will not appear in the movie.

In its first incarnation, "Star Trek" ran from 1966 to 1969 before it was cancelled. An animated series was made in the 1970s, followed by four sequel series between 1987 and 2005.

The original cast reunited for six feature films between 1979 and 1991 before yielding the big screen to the younger cast of "Star Trek: The Next Generation." But popularity waned, and no "Trek" feature film has been released since 2002.

Melissa George Hasn't 'Stopped Laughing' Since Joining Grey's Anatomy

Australian actress Melissa George guest stars starting with Thursday’s episode as Sadie, Meredith’s friend from the past. “I show up at her doorstep,” George tells PEOPLE. “[Sadie] gets a job at Seattle Grace due to her father, which is yet to be explored. She’s taking a leadership role at the intern society, which is hysterically funny. I haven’t stopped laughing for six weeks.”

Apart from inciting jealousy in Meredith’s current best friend Cristina Yang, Sadie’s character, who is bisexual, will be full of surprises–including possible romances, says George, 32. “I don’t know whether it’s male or female. It could be either; it could be both. We’re all dying to find out.”

George, whose other TV credits include Alias and HBO’s In Treatment, adds that her appearance on the show is not related to Brooke Smith’s departure. “I wasn’t brought on to replace anybody. What happened with Brooke was done weeks before I started.”

What’s more, the recent Internet chatter about the casting upheaval hasn’t fazed the actors on the show, says George, “It’s such a family.”

So, if she were asked to stay on as a series regular, would she consider it? “Of course,” she says. “I’m having a great time.”

BROTHERS & SISTERS (11/30)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Whedon, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Sarah Jane Morris as Julia Walker, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Sonja Sohn as Trish Evans, Steven Weber as Graham Finch, Eric Christian Olsen as Kyle DeWitt, Will McCormack as Ethan Tavis, Jesse Henecke as Chris Ward and Maura Soden as Dr. Barbara Riley.

"Unfinished Business" was written by Nancy Won and Jason Wilborn and directed by Michael Morris.

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BROTHERS & SISTERS (11/16)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Whedon, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Sarah Jane Morris as Julia Walker, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Dave Foley as Paul, Cloie Wyatt Taylor as Vicki and Rob Zabrecky as the auctioneer.

"Going Once ... Going Twice" was written by Beth Schwartz and Brian Studler and directed by Karen Gaviola.

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BREAKFAST BUDS

BROTHERS & SISTERS (11/9)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Whedon, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Sarah Jane Morris as Julia Walker, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Sonja Sohn as Trish Evans, David Andrews as George Lafferty, Eric Christian Olsen as Kyle DeWitt, Will McCormack as Ethan Tavis, Rose Abdoo as Miss Clara, Michael B. Silver as Stu Orenbacher, Tymberlee Chanel as Vanessa and Ramon De Ocampo as Spencer Travis.

"Do You Believe in Magic?" was written by Sherry Cooper-Landsman and Jennifer Levin and directed by Michael Morris.

Director of new 'Star Trek' film says he was always more of a 'Star Wars' guy

The director and producer of the new "Star Trek" film, due in 2009, said he was always more of a "Star Wars" guy.

"All my smart friends liked 'Star Trek.' I preferred a more visceral experience," he tells Entertainment Weekly in its latest issue, on newsstands Friday. Abrams took on the "Star Trek" project in hopes of creating a film "that grabbed me the way 'Star Wars' did," he says.

He was also drawn to the franchise's idealism, he says.

"I think a movie that shows people of various races working together and surviving hundreds of years from now is not a bad message to put out right now," he says. "In a world where a movie as incredibly produced as 'The Dark Knight' is raking in gazillions of dollars, 'Star Trek' stands in stark contrast. It was important to me that optimism be cool again."

"My only regret is that the movie can't come out sooner," says Leonard Nimoy, who will don his pointy ears to play an elder Spock. "I think the world could use it."

The younger Spock, played by Zachary Quinto, says "Star Trek" is a franchise "that offers hope for unity."

But don't expect any unity with William Shatner. The actor won't make a cameo as Capt. Kirk, Abrams says.

"I was such a huge fan of his, but we wrote a scene for him in the movie and it didn't feel right," Abrams says. "And he said to us - he said publicly - that doing a cameo didn't interest him. Which I totally appreciate. But we did try."

BROTHERS & SISTERS (11/2)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Whedon, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Sarah Jane Morris as Julia Walker, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are David Andrews as George Lafferty, Eric Christian Olsen as Kyle DeWitt, Will McCormack as Ethan Tavis, Holly Maples as the moderator and Chase Kim as the waiter.

"Bakersfield" was written by Molly Newman and Peter Calloway and directed by Gloria Muzio.

Pal: Jennifer Garner Has 'Never Been More Beautiful'

“She’s with child and she’s never been more beautiful,” Garber said at the Fourth Annual GLSEN Respect Awards/Los Angeles in Beverly Hills Friday night.

In fact, says Garber, a close family friend and Garner’s former Alias costar, “She’s wonderful. She’s probably the best mother I’ve ever witnessed.”

And Garber is certain the actress – who is about six months pregnant – will have no problem handling her and husband Ben Affleck’s expanding brood, agreeing with another of Garner’s costars, He’s Just Not That Into You's Bradley Cooper.

“It’s her second child,” Garber laughs. “She knows what to do.”

Garber, who currently stars in the ABC TV show Eli Stone, was the only other person present at Garner and Affleck's 2005 wedding. The couple have one daughter, 2-year-old Violet.

BROTHERS & SISTERS (10/26)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Whedon, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Sarah Jane Morris as Julia Walker, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Michael O'Keefe as Wally Wandell, Jayne Brook as Bertha Wandell, Mitch Pileggi as Browne Carter, Ned Vaughn as Michael Gradstein, Andy Hoff as Aaron Ziven, Elizabeth Prestel as the paralegal, Kulap Vilaysack as Gail, Howard S. Miller as the senior partner, Tom Kopache as Berkeley Goldschmidt, Vinny Chibber as the waiter, Maia Danziger as Dierdre Holder and Geoffrey Wade as the board members.

"You Get What You Need" was written by David Marshall Grant and Cliff Olin and directed by Chad Lowe.

Fresh Blood at Seattle Grace

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello reports that the Thursday night drama is in serious negotiations to add ex-"Alias" star Melissa George to the cast. Melissa would play an intern who might just throw a wrinkle in the fledgling Erica/Callie romance...

In other casting news, "Grey's" has added "The L Word" beauty Janina Gavankar as well as hottie Brandon Scott as interns -- and "Battlestar Galactica" alum Mary McDonnell will join the cast for a multi-episode arc as a doctor.

BROTHERS & SISTERS (10/19)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Whedon, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Sarah Jane Morris as Julia Walker, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Marty Ryan as Mike, Doug Purdy as Sean Spicer, Michelle Ongkingco as Dawn McCarty, Tymberlee Chanel as the female staffer, Emil Beheshti as the mail staffer, Barbara Allyne Bennet as the female customer and Gayla Johnson as the secretary.

"Everything Must Go" was written by Nancy Won and Michael Foley and directed by Michael Schultz.

BROTHERS & SISTERS (10/12)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Whedon, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Sarah Jane Morris as Julia Walker, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Mitch Pileggi as Browne Carter, MJ Karmi as Cynthia Carter, Brandon Gunn as the passer-by, Rick Worthy as Officer Collins, Dane Garretson as the potential recruit, Benny Ciaramello as Anthony Lewis, Carmen Corral as Maggie Lewis, Christine Avila as Anita Lewis, Terry Bozeman, Pamela Shaddock and S.E. Perry as the board members, John Prosky as Ron Robinson, Wylie Small as Connie Robinson and Justin Alvarez as the bartender.

"Tug of War" was written by Liz Tigelaar and Josh Reims and directed by Gloria Muzio.

Jennifer Garner Heads Home to West Virginia

"This is about as far from Hollywood as any place on Earth. I wanted to be a children's book author and a librarian," Garner, 36, tells PEOPLE while back in Charleston, where her weekend was to include reading Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson at a gathering to help eventually expand the public library.

"My mom took my sisters and me to the library once a week when we were kids," she recalls, "and it's such a huge community center, especially in a town that has very few resources – to have a place with 100 computers and Internet access to everyone for free, that's really important in a town like this."

Back on Familiar Turf

It's been a real homecoming for the actress who, with husband Ben Affleck, flew into Charleston Friday afternoon and hosted a black-tie gala, Starry Starry Night, at the University of Charleston.

The event raised $475,000 toward building a new athletic center in memory of Garner's childhood friend's parents, Mario and Louise Palumbo. (Her friend is state senator Corey Palumbo.)

"When we got off the plane, Ben realized he had forgotten his bow tie. I had worked at Kelley's Men's Shop all through high school, so I said, 'Let's go to Kelley's.' And everybody I knew was there," she says.

Calming to Return

"I'm always so happy to come home. There's never enough time. Just seeing the mountains, and seeing the green, and the river is the most soothing thing in the world for me," says Garner, who is expecting the Afflecks's second child this winter. (Daughter Violet turns three on Dec. 1.)

"Sometimes you just need to get you feet in the soil. It's invigorating and calming at the same time," she says.

So, how about returning to her original intention in life: Is Garner working on a children's book?

"I would love to," she says. "But I haven't had the inspiration yet."

"Children of the Corn" remake adds cast

The TV movie, based on the Stephen King novel, features David Anders (NBC's "Heroes") and Kandyse McClure (Sci Fi's "Battlestar Galactica") as Burt and Vicky, a couple with marital problems whose attempt at a second-honeymoon driving trip ends up taking them into a seemingly deserted rural community that conceals a grim secret among its rows of tall corn. Preston Bailey (Showtime's "Dexter") plays boy preacher Isaac, while Daniel Newman (NBC's "Surface") plays his rebellious right-hand man Malachai.

The movie is shooting in and around Davenport, Iowa. Donald P. Borchers is directing from his own script.

A 1984 version starred Peter Horton and Linda Hamilton as the couple, while John Franklin played Isaac.

BROTHERS & SISTERS (10/5)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Whedon, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Sarah Jane Morris as Julia Walker, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Cathy Ladman as Carla Hanson, Karl T. Wright as Alan Simms and Marty Ryan as Mike.

"Book Burning" was written by Jennifer Levin and Sherri Cooper-Landsman and directed by Laura Innes.

Nicole Kidman Tops Most Overpaid Celebrity List

Nicole Kidman was name as the most overpaid celebrity in Hollywood in Forbes' second annual list of the stars who give the least return for their pay.

This dubious honor was determined by dividing an actor's gross income for his/her last three films into the net revenue (i.e. box office + DVD sales - the budget = payback value). According to this formula, Kidman's films only earned $1 for every dollar she was paid. A year ago, the films earned $8 on the dollar.

"Despite winning an Oscar for her performance in 2002's 'The Hours,' Kidman has become the most overpaid celebrity in Hollywood," says Forbes, adding that her upcoming movie "Australia" could give her a boost.

The remainder of the Payback list includes:

2. Jennifer Garner - "Underperfromance" ought to be her middle name after appearing in "The Kingdom" and "Catch and Release." She only brought the studios $3.60 for every dollar she received.

3. Tom Cruise - Not many wanted a serving of "Lions for Lambs." Overall, his films averaged $4 of gross income. At least his " Tropic Thunder" turn is earning him raves.

4. Cameron Diaz - $4 gross also.

5. Jennifer Lopez - Jenny from the block isn't bringing in the bucks with only a $4.10 return for each dollar she gets.

6. Jim Carrey - Only $4.11 return for his work isn't a laughing matter for this comedian who has seen better days at the box office.

7. Nicolas Cage - Sure, he may have had success with his "National Treasure" sequel, but that could only do so much against his box-office flop "Next," which lost 50 cents for every dollar he was paid. Overall, the studios averaged $4.16 in gross income for his films.

8. Drew Barrymore - $4.38 on the dollar.

9. Will Ferrell - "Blades of Glory" may have put gold in the studios' coffers, but his serious and critically acclaimed turn in "Stranger Than Fiction" wasn't a draw for his usual fans. The studios only averaged $4.67 for every dollar he got.

10. Cate Blanchett - Good acting doesn't always spell good box office. She brought in $4.97 gross income for her last three films.

Kudos goes to Crowe, however, who fell off the list altogether after topping it last year. Back then, he only averaged $5 on the dollar as compared to this year's $6.88 return for his work. He owes this increase to "American Gangster," which returned 10 times the amount he was paid.

Glossy thriller "Fringe" has heart, humor

Each week, a small, elite government team races to save the world, or at least a small part of it. But unlike most "Mission: Impossible"-types, these folks do it with a dash of humor and a smidgen of romance.

Anna Torv stars as FBI agent Olivia Dunham, and Mark Valley is agent John Scott, colleagues at work and at play. In the premiere, they are assigned to investigate a plane that landed on autopilot at Boston's Logan Field, where inside, the passengers and crew somehow had suffered horrible and disfiguring deaths.

Clues lead the agents to a makeshift lab and, before you can say "kaboom," Scott gets what the people on the plane got, forcing Dunham to race against time for a cure.

It's an adrenalin-filled story but not the most crucial element here. In fact, at times it taxes credulity. It's hard to fathom, for example, why Olivia has to be in bra and panties for an experiment to work, though it's equally hard to protest those conditions.

What really makes "Fringe" so promising is that it is potentially reminiscent, in a small way, of the battle-of-the-sexes charm that once made "Moonlighting" the best hour of TV of its time.

To find an answer to agent Scott's problems, Olivia has to spring scientist Walter Bishop (John Noble) from a mental institution. That can only be done with the help of Bishop's wisecracking, genius son, Peter (Joshua Jackson). With just a little more banter between Peter and Olivia, there's no telling how far "Fringe" could go.

So "Fringe" has the action junkies and romantics on board. What next? Of course, the conspiracy buffs. Although episodes are self-contained, each has a clue that points to the overall involvement of a shadowy, giant corporation, Massive Dynamics.

Combine these elements with solid special effects and confident direction and you get some heavy-duty counterprogramming to ABC's "Dancing With the Stars."

The Bottom Line: There's heart and humor beneath the glossy action veneer.

Airdate: 8-9:30 p.m. Tuesday, September 9 (Fox). Production: Bad Robot in association with Warner Bros. Television. Cast: Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, Kirk Acevedo, Blair Brown, Jasika Nicole, Mark Valley, John Noble, Lance Reddick, Jason Butler Harner, Peter Outerbridge. Executive producers: Alex Graves, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Bryan Burk, J.J. Abrams. Producer: Robert M. Williams Jr. Director: Alex Graves. Writers: J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci.

Something great is out there: Fox's 'Fringe'

That's exactly what you get in J.J. Abrams, the TV auteur who reinvigorated the action/adventure drama with Alias and Lost and now adds the best new show of the fall, Fringe. And this time, our guide promises he'll be easier to follow.

What Abrams brings to Fringe is a director's eye for plot and pace, a fan's love of sci-fi excitement, and a story-teller's gift for investing absurd events with real emotions and relatable characters. But more than anything, he's an entertainer; what permeates his shows is the joy he takes in the medium, in contorting conventions and genres into something new.

Abrams also knows people watch shows, not producers, which is why his series are impeccably cast. In Fringe, that means teaming Anna Torv, an Australian star soon to be an American one, with two more familiar faces: Dawson's Creek's Joshua Jackson and Lord of the Rings' John Noble. Add Mark Valley, Lance Reddick and Blair Brown, and you have a great ensemble.

Despite the X-Files influences, in essence, Fringe is a crime show with a different science-based mystery to be solved each week. In tonight's 95-minute opener, that crime melts a plane-load of passengers, sparking an investigation from FBI agents Olivia Dunham (Torv) and John Scott (Valley).

When tragedy strikes again, Dunham turns to a master of fringe science, Walter Bishop (Noble). But Bishop is insane and institutionalized, and the only person who can get him out is his estranged son, Peter (Jackson).

Strange doings abound in a plot that links cows with LSD and flashes clues to a bigger conspiracy. But wisely, tonight's premiere is dedicated to establishing the relationships among the three main characters, who are linked by both damage and desire.

Fringe's premiere lacks the beauty and resonance of Lost, but it provides a solid framework for a series, which is what a pilot is supposed to do. You can see where it's going, and assuming Abrams doesn't let it get lost in its conspiracy, it should be fun to ride along.

This fall, that could be the best offer you get.

Fringe
Fox, tonight, 8 ET/PT
* * * 1/2 out of four

BROTHERS & SISTERS (9/28; SEASON PREMIERE)

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Whedon, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty Wandell, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Sarah Jane Morris as Julia Walker, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.

Guest starring are Michael Adler as Doug Manning, Mitch Pileggi as Browne Carter and Kulap Vilaysack as Gail.

"Glass Houses" was written by Molly Newman and David Marshall Grant and directed by Tucker Gates.

J.J. Abrams lures fans to 'Fringe'

Something is out there …

And it could be a J.J. Abrams show that won't leave casual fans feeling lost.

The drama "was designed to be an experiment for us," Abrams says. "We wanted to do a show that had a procedural template, a sort of structure, but doing a procedural in the mold of CSI and Law & Order didn't interest me; it's been done to death."

But he also wanted to avoid the oft-heard complaint from sometime fans of his earlier shows: "So many people would say to me, 'I was watching Lost or Alias, but I missed a couple of episodes and I couldn't keep up and get back into it.'

Lost "is a club," he says, "and I think it is a much more difficult show to pick up and start watching" midway through. "I wanted to try something where the door was opened a little wider."

This time, he borrowed from The X-Files, grafting a largermythology onto the series that rewards loyal viewers but isn't essential to any weekly episode.

Fringe centers on no-nonsense FBI agent Olivia Dunham, played by Australian newcomer Anna Torv, 29, who explores odd occurrences of "fringe" science: In the expanded first episode, a planeload of passengers is dead on arrival in a gruesome airport scene.

To solve the case, her path leads to brilliant but mad scientist Walter Bishop (John Noble), who must be extracted from a mental hospital with the help of his estranged son Peter (Joshua Jackson), dragged reluctantly into the mix. The three form an unlikely team that solves other disturbing mysteries each week and slowly discovers a wider pattern of events and people that might connect them.

It's a wrinkle sure to please the legions of Abrams fans who besieged him at July's Comic-Con International in San Diego, where he touted both Fringe and his upcoming Star Trek feature film, due in May. "It was like being in the court of the king," Jackson says. "That is definitely his world."

The mystery grows

On a hot day back at the Fringe studios here last month, shooting had just begun on the season's pivotal fourth episode, the first to deeply explore the larger mythology and the last to air before a two-week break for the World Series. As such, it will leave many cliffs hanging, the better to lure viewers back in late October.

The pilot was filmed in Toronto, but tax breaks lured the show to New York, and the actors have been busy filming on location in the city's neighborhoods. Here they checked out the FBI offices, freshly built on a vast soundstage.

In the episode, Walter Bishop has gone AWOL, but he has been rounded up, and in a six-minute scene — an eternity for a TV show — he's being interrogated by Dunham and his own son about some sort of missing cylinder.

Torv and Jackson, in the dark as most actors are about the show's future direction, say they've finally gotten some idea where it's going — and where their characters came from. "Every question that gets answered will leave three more at least," Torv says. "You're getting satisfaction, but every time you get satisfaction, there's more to know." The mystery "keeps getting broader and wider and bigger."

Along for the ride are Dunham's boyfriend and fellow agent John Scott (Mark Valley); her stern boss, Phillip Broyles (Lance Reddick); and the manipulative Nina Sharp (Blair Brown), an executive at a mysterious corporation run by Walter Bishop's former lab partner.

Jackson plays the resident doubter, with a dash of the sarcastic humor he displayed as Pacey Witter on teen drama Dawson's Creek. "In a show like this there has to be a skeptic," he says. "You need someone to be the voice of the audience going, 'That just doesn't make any sense.' "

But eventually, he says, "you fall into a Mulder and Scully land where it's like, how can she still be so skeptical of this world — and I was a huge X-Files fan — after eight seasons, when she's seen so much proof to the contrary?" Peter comes to "believe in the science, he just doesn't believe in the methodology."

His eccentric-genius dad is key to the puzzle: "Something happened 17 years ago where he was put into a mental asylum, solitary confinement, shocks, drugs," Noble says. "He's really stuffed. He has short-term memory loss. What you have is these flashes in and out of his memory and his lucidity."

Fox sees flashes of a sci-fi-tinged hit it has been seeking since X-Files left the air in 2002. That show, along with Twilight Zone and Twin Peaks, served as a big inspiration for Abrams and his team of writer-producers led by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, who worked on Alias and wrote Trek and Transformers.

More 'sci' than sci-fi

The two have mapped out the show's ending: "We know what the pattern is; we had to know what it was all leading to," Kurtzman says. "It's something that can be revealed whenever we want to," in 13 episodes or 13 seasons, depending on the show's success.

Fox immediately jumped at the chance to be in business with Abrams. "We heard the one-liner —Indiana Jones meets X-Files — and that felt like a Fox show to us," says entertainment president Kevin Reilly.

As for the lead roles, "these are not three stiffs," says network chairman Peter Liguori. "They are three characters who are incredibly colorful, with faults and neuroses and just surprises."

The network is providing a big theatrical-film-style marketing push that began last May. "This is a big event, and that's what Fox does well," Liguori says. And it's the first to get Fox's "Remote-Free TV" treatment: fewer, shorter commercial breaks that will expand each hour-long episode's content by six minutes, to about 50, in a move designed to reduce DVR skipping. (Tuesday's premiere will run 83 minutes.)

Abrams says Fringe is more "sci" than "sci-fi" in that its stories dwell in the realm of the possible, however remote.

But "his shows become a victim of their own success," Jackson says. "Especially Lost, which has an almost frighteningly rabid fan base. People take the show so personally that if they feel like it's deviating from their own understanding of it, they're going to be personally insulted. It's harsh because they're your greatest fans and the trumpeters of their shows … but they're almost inevitably going to be pissed off because they're not the writers."

"I know the pitfalls we can fall into," he says, "but I'm so excited to be working in sci-fi. This show is right up my alley."

Abrams likens a new-series start-up to "a massive collaboration of crew and cast and writers and ambition and practical realities, and above all finding a tone and groove. You're constantly battling every possible growing pain. I remember going through exactly the same thing on Felicity and Alias and Lost."

Torv says she tries to ignore the high bar set for the show, given its pedigree. "If I took any of it on board, I'd just crumple in a ball and not function."

But Jackson is sure about one thing: "People have extremely high expectations of what a J.J. Abrams show is going to be," he says. "This show can only be very good or off the air; those are the two choices."

Sighting

JJ Abrams offers terrifying sci-fi on TV's "Fringe"

The terrifying thing, says J.J. Abrams, creator of the upcoming TV series "Fringe," is that those tomorrows are now within reach.

"The show is coming out a time when every week we read or see some kind of potentially horrifying scientific breakthrough ... We are at a time where science is out of control," Abrams told reporters in a conference call on Thursday.

He noted that only last month scientists announced a first step toward an invisibility cloaking device after creating two types of materials that can bend light the wrong way.

"The stuff you would never in a million years think is actually possible, is happening every day. It is pushing what we all thought was that comfortable quaint version of what sci-fi is, to a very different place, and that is where 'Fringe' lives," Abrams said.

Abrams' track record as the Emmy-award winning hand behind "Lost" and so-called "spy-fi" series "Alias," as well as big screen directing credits for "Mission: Impossible III" and next year's "Star Trek" prequel, has made "Fringe" one of the most anticipated new shows of the Fall TV season.

"Fringe" starts on the Fox network on September 8 with a 90-minute pilot that Abrams says is a "preposterous, out there, scientific story" intended to hook viewers.

The first episode deals with the arrival of an international flight that lands in Boston with no signs of life. It stars former "Dawson's Creek" actor Joshua Jackson in his first U.S. TV show in five years, and John Noble playing a brilliant but crackpot scientist.

Abrams said "Fringe" was very different from either "Alias" or "Lost" despite some apparent similarities.

"In some scripts, we will be dealing with science very much as it exists," he said. "The weird thing about 'Fringe' is that although you can say it is science fiction, a lot of it is stuff that is at least in the realm of possibility."

Spielberg, Affleck, J.Lo at Democratic convention

Steven Spielberg, who directed a short film on veterans that shown Wednesday at the convention, was spotted entering the Pepsi Center.

Jennifer Lopez spoke at a reception honoring children's rights activist Marian Wright Edelman. Ben Affleck read excerpts from a Howard Zinn book and made an appearance at the city's food bank for America's Second Harvest.

Affleck was joined by his wife, Jennifer Garner, at the book reading at the Starz Green Room across the street from the Pepsi Center. Also participating: Rosario Dawson, Kerry Washington, Taye Diggs, Hill Harper and Josh Brolin.

J.J. Abrams takes Fox to the 'Fringe'

But apparently Abrams was not busy enough.

Even before "Trek" went before the cameras last year, he was already at work creating his new Fox sci-fi series, "Fringe," which debuts 8 p.m. EDT on Sept. 9.

"I'm naturally more comfortable working on multiple things," says Abrams on a break from editing "Star Trek" on the Paramount lot in Hollywood. "For better or worse - and it's not always for better - it is my natural state. I can't help it."

While Abrams is juggling post-production on "Trek" and writing "Fringe" episodes, his assistants are continually at him about all manner of other things in his life: meeting schedules, publicity requests, wardrobe decisions, and the time he's to pick up a child from school.

Meantime, his "Fringe" cast and crew are 5,000 kilometres away, busy making New York City look like whatever dank, urban world is necessary to creep out their audience.

"J.J. is like Oz," notes actor Joshua Jackson on the New York set. "He's manipulating all his little kingdoms and empires from afar."

Jackson plays Peter Bishop, the son of crazed scientist Walter Bishop (John Noble), who, together with FBI agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv), investigates the secretive goings-on behind the doors of industrial giant Massive Dynamics as well as other paranormal phenomena.

It's bright and sunny on this midsummer's day in New York, a stark contrast to the dimly lit set of Bishop's basement lab, which is cluttered with test tubes, mysterious devices, animal cages, a headless "human body" on a table covered with a sheet, and a stall that occasionally hosts a live cow (don't ask). It's a scene of carefully crafted chaos, with crew members occasionally placing items askew and a smoke machine whirring away to enhance the mood.

"They're fighting against technology and science out of control," Abrams explains back in Hollywood. "They have to solve crimes each week that are happening due to experiments being executed by people who are using the whole world as guinea pigs."

Olivia draws Bishop out of an asylum where he has spent the last 17 years, having previously worked in the government's so-called "fringe" science. "Spending all that time being pumped full of drugs and having electric shock therapy has made him 'a little bit' unstable," Noble laughs while taking a break. "Not to say he wasn't when he went in there."

The fringe science, he notes, is more than just science fiction. "Most of this fringe stuff is actually possible - which makes it interesting and scary at the same time."

Peter Bishop is "a rogue, a brilliant nomad who doesn't really know what his purpose is," Abrams explains. Peter resentfully accepts the fringe assignment - mostly translating for and wrangling his estranged, deranged father. "He's essentially the bridge between Walter's techno-babble and English," says Abrams.

"He's a doubter," adds Jackson between one of the half-dozen takes per scene demanded by exacting director Paul Edwards. "He serves to say, 'OK, those are the four things that make sense, and then these are the 16 things that don't make sense. So let's go with the four that make sense."'

Olivia's job, says Torv, is to keep the others on track. "She's straight down-the-line FBI who has been exposed to this other world and is reeling from trying to comprehend it," she says. "She wrangles Peter and Walter in and maintains the focus of the trio."

The concept for the series arose while Abrams was busy at work with "Trek" writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, with whom he had collaborated on "Alias."

"We were talking about how much we missed working on a TV show together," recalls Abrams.

They all were inspired by their favourites - "The Twilight Zone," "The X-Files" and David Cronenberg's "Altered States." Cronenberg had, in fact, once played a mad scientist type in an episode of "Alias." "Though that character was very different from Walter Bishop, we thought, 'There's a series about a guy like this."'

Although it's generally considered - by both TV insiders and fans alike - that most anything Abrams touches turns to gold ("Lost" continues to be one of television's highest-rated series), he still considers himself just a lucky genre fan who made it, never forgetting who it is he's working for.

"The truth is that the fans of 'Lost' or 'Alias' are the people we are beholden to," he says. "I actually don't think of them as 'fans' - the people who are into those shows are also fans of the shows that I am interested in."

Seeing "Fringe" billboards around town, or for any of his projects for that matter, still tends to be a shocking awakening for Abrams.

"I can't tell you how surreal a dream that is for me," he says. "I think of all the headaches and fires that I have to put out and the problems that I have, which are all the necessary steps to acquire a billboard - and the pressure of making sure this show better live up to that billboard ... But it's the thing you wish for. So how can you really ever complain?"

J.J. Abrams Is Feeling the Fringe Benefits

TV Guide: Everybody is talking about Fringe. Are you feeling the pressure?

J.J. Abrams: I feel the pressure every time. I felt it on Felicity, on Alias, on Lost, and I feel it on Fringe. It goes with the territory. But I'm far more excited about people seeing it than I am nervous that they may not like it.

TV Guide: What can you tell us about it?

Abrams: I don't want to give away too much.

TV Guide: What a shock!

Abrams: [Laughs] I know, right?

TV Guide: OK. So the show revolves around a female FBI agent who investigates bizarre cases with the help of a formerly institutionalized scientist and his equally brilliant but estranged son. Will the story line be ongoing, like Lost's?

Abrams: For the most part, you'll be able to tune in whenever you want and get it. You'll have a beginning, middle and an end. But if you want to track the big bad guy and the big overarching story, you can do that, too.

TV Guide: The first episode opens with a troubled flight. Was it an intentional nod to Lost?

Abrams: It's almost embarrassing, but I wasn't even thinking about that. The idea for that sequence came to me, and then I thought, "Oh, Lord." [Laughs] Then I was like, "Do we change it?" But the story could not be less like Lost. To me, there's just something about airplanes. I was obsessed with the "Airport" movies when I was a kid. I saw all of them, including "The Concorde — Airport '79." So it's a place that's kind of a go-to for me. But I'm guessing I can't really do another airplane thing for a while.

TV Guide: You've become known for writing strong female characters: Alias' Sydney, Lost's Kate and now Fringe's Olivia. Is this another go-to place for you?

Abrams: It's funny because I don't consciously write strong women. I just hopefully write strong characters who may happen to be women. If Olivia were a guy, I don't know that you'd be saying, "Oh, it's a strong male." But what I love about Olivia is she's got a lot going on that's just barely alluded to in the pilot. And Anna [Torv] is so good because she's clearly the prettiest person in the room, but she's not inaccessible. She's not phony pretty. When I saw her audition, I had the same undeniable feeling I had when I saw Jennifer Garner or Evangeline Lilly.

TV Guide: In the last few years, you've primarily focused on film — directing Mission: Impossible III and the upcoming Star Trek and producing Cloverfield. Did you miss TV?

Abrams: I did. It's a lot of work, but every time I get to do television, I feel like the luckiest person in the world.

TV Guide: Are there any shows you watch now and think, "Man, I wish I would've come up with that"?

Abrams: There's only one that I am in awe and envious of: Mad Men. My dad wasn't an adman, but he sold advertising time for CBS in the '60s and early '70s, and he lived that world. Mad Men doesn't just take place in that world — which is incredibly rich and funny and ironic and oddly heartbreaking — but it does so beautifully. It's just an incredible thing to behold.

TV Guide: You always have a million different ideas and projects bubbling at once. Does J.J. Abrams ever suffer a creative block?

Abrams: Every day. I'm not kidding. You literally just described my status quo.

TV Guide: How do you overcome it — candy, alcohol, a baseball bat?

Abrams: Part of the way I dig out of the hole is being reminded of the people I'm getting to work with.

TV Guide: On Trek, one of the people you worked with was Leonard freakin' Nimoy!

Abrams: I know! But it's funny, because it wasn't until very recently that it really hit me how cool that was. There was so much work to do during the shoot and there were so many fires that needed putting out that there wasn't much time to sit and acknowledge the reality of working with him. Then the other day I was watching the movie, and there he was. There was Spock! And it hit me like, "Holy s---!" [Laughs] It was kind of like a huge delay.

TV Guide: There are still nearly nine months until Trek's release. What can you tell us?

Abrams: All I can say is that I think this movie is going to be worth the wait. It's blessed with a wonderful optimism and an incredibly alive and invested cast. While the visual effects are gonna be unbelievable, the movie is working right now with only 50 of our 1,000-plus visual effects finished. It's funny, it's scary, it's dramatic, emotional and entertaining—all without having the stuff you'd think a movie called "Star Trek" would require. That to me is exciting.

Jennifer Garner Can Really 'Run a Family,' Says Costar

"She was a great leader for a TV show I did with her and she can literally do anything. So she can certainly run a family," Cooper told PEOPLE at the U.S. Open Heineken Premium Light players kick-off party in New York on Friday. "She will have no problems having two kids."

Cooper, 33, who also costars with Affleck in the upcoming film He’s Just Not That Into You, said the couple has what it takes to be "perfect" parents of a growing brood.

"She’s wonderful and a genuine good person. She has all the qualities in being the perfect mom – very sweet and loving."

Garner and Affleck are already parents to daughter Violet, 2.

And, Cooper added, "Ben is a fantastic guy. I loved working with him and he’s a great dad. They will be very blessed."

FOX Gives 'Fringe,' 'Terminator' Screenings the College Try

FOX announced on Monday (Aug. 25) that students accessing the network's main website through a ".edu" domain will be able to watch a streaming feed of the two highly anticipated premieres as they air on the regular network.

The special college feeds for "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" and "Fringe" will be will be complemented with pre- and post-shows featuring behind-the-scenes footage and music videos, as well as cast and producer interviews.

For many Internet-savvy college students, the Tuesday, Sept. 9 two-hour premiere of "Fringe" may already be mighty familiar. Well before screeners were sent to critics a not-quite-complete cut of the J.J. Abrams-produced pilot was already available through a number of popular BitTorrent sites. Presumably FOX's decision to stream "Fringe" for college students is a way to tap into an audience accustomed to watching television on their computers, while also providing that audience with incentive to watch episodes through legitimate means.

The second season premiere of "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles," only a one-hour episode, will air on Monday, Sept. 8.

Trio of actors get "Demoted"

The film centers on two tire salesmen (Astin, Vartan) who delight in playing cruel pranks on their co-worker (Cross). When the victim unexpectedly becomes their boss, he places the humiliated duo in secretarial jobs.

Foster will play the wife of Astin's character, who's tricked into believing he was promoted. Weston will play the head secretary, who inspires the best friends to plot their revenge.

J.B. Rogers ("American Pie 2") will direct from a screenplay by Dan Callahan.

Astin ("Lord of the Rings") is filming "Stay Cool" with Winona Ryder. Foster stars in the November release "The Other End of the Line." Longtime character actress Weston's credits include "Junebug" and "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days."

Jennifer Garner 'So Excited' About Second Baby

"We're so excited, obviously," Garner told Access Hollywood at Walt Disney's 10th Anniversary party for the Baby Einstein line of merchandise.

Garner joked about the endless speculation – even crediting her obvious pregnancy to "carbs for breakfast."

"It always makes me laugh when people say 'Is she?' 'Isn't she?' It's like eventually you will know, so just chill out for a minute," she told Access Hollywood.

And thanks to her toddler Violet at home, Garner isn't sweating having another baby in the house.

"Yeah, been through it," Garner said. "It's all good, it's great. I'm really excited."

Paul Starr - Makeup Artist to Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Garner - Found Dead

According to the fashion industry paper, friends hadn't heard from Starr in several days. He was reportedly found inside his apartment – and the cause of death was unknown.

Starr worked extensively in the film and fashion industries – including collaborations with Jean Paul Gaultier and Dolce & Gabbana. In 2005, he released Paul Starr on Beauty: Conversations with Thirty Celebrated Women, which included testimonials from famous fans Jolie and Garner.

Caught in the Act!

NEAR-MISS CASTING CALAMITIES

"Lost" producer eyes earthquake film

The producer of "Lost" and director of the upcoming "Star Trek" movie is working with David Seltzer, the screenwriter of the original "Omen," to shake up audiences with a disaster flick involving an earthquake.

The untitled Universal project is not intended to be a remake of the studio's 1974 movie "Earthquake," which spawned a stop on the its popular studio tour.

Details of the story are being kept in a seemingly tremor-proof vault, though as is Abrams' modus operandi, relationships will be at the core of the project. Abrams arguably rewrote the rules for disaster flicks with the winter box office champ "Cloverfield," which thrust the big story to the background by making the audience see the bedlam through the prism of a personal relationship.

Abrams is finishing up directing "Star Trek" for its May 2009 release. At the moment, plans only to produce the "Earthquake" revamp. Seltzer has a "Strangers on a Train" remake in development at Warner Bros.

The Afflecks & Damons: Baby Bumps for Obama

Garner, sporting a small baby bump, looked radiant in a chic short black cocktail dress and sexy high-heeled sandals. Luciana, very pregnant, was decked out in a long black skirt with a strapless tank top.

The couples attended a private $1,000-per-person VIP reception at club SET to support the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate.

After spending orientation time in The Trophy Room, the four friends headed for SET's Hip Hop Room to socialize with guests before giving speeches from the stage.

"Jennifer Garner gave the first speech supporting Obama, and she was very witty, clever and funny," says a source at SET. "She was followed by her husband Ben, then Matt Damon. The men gave serious political speeches on how the country needs change."

The stars drank bottled water and took pictures with the guests.

"They were all in great moods and very friendly to everyone," says another source, accompanied by a host who plunked down $5,000 for his group to meet the stars and support Obama.

Damon, who has a house in Miami Beach, told reporters outside of SET why he is supporting Obama: "For a lot of reasons. But mostly because I don't like the path this country's on and if McCain is elected we'll be continuing down that same path."

Also, Affleck told PEOPLE outside of SET that he doesn't know if he is going to the Democratic Convention, but "I'd like to."

The Afflecks and Damons departed in a limo after about 90 minutes and headed for a private party at Anthony Kennedy Shriver's Miami Beach home.

Shriver is the founder and head of Best Buddies charity and first cousin of Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, who is a member of the Obama Vice Presidential Nominating Committee.

Jen Garner's Baby Due Date! Or Just a Doodle?

As speculation continues to rise at a dizzying rate about whether or not Jennifer Garner is indeed with child, brand-spanking-new pictures have just emerged of the actress leaving the doctor's office with what could possibly be new evidence...

Jen was spotted carrying a piece of paper, which had written on it—wait for it—a date! Yes, an actual date! March 2 to be exact! And it was circled?! Circled!!!

Ah, but alas, as we all here slowly stopped hyperventilating and got our heart rates back down to a relatively normal level, it began to sink in that it could mean everything...or absolutely nothing.

Yes, little Violet could very well become a big sister on that day. Or Jen could simply be reminding herself when she needs to get her tires rotated.

And so we wait, albeit impatiently.

STOPLESS IN NY

Bennifer's Battle of the Celebrity Blabbermouths

The loose-lipped director spilled the beans to People in a typical flurry of self-promotion: "I saw him last week. Ben came over to watch my movie (Zack and Miri Make a Porno) at the house, and he told me, 'We're having another baby.'"

Very smooth, Kev. We're guessing you won't be invited to the next barbecue.

Pal: Ben & Jen Are on the Hunt for a House

"I guess they are looking for a bigger place now," pal Kevin Smith told PEOPLE at a the Maxim magazine party on Saturday in San Diego where he attended Comic-Con.

The director-actor, who is a longtime friend of Affleck and starred with Garner in 2006's Catch and Release, also revealed how he learned the news that the couple – who are parents to daughter Violet, 2 – are expecting again.

"I saw him last week. Ben came over to watch my movie (Zack and Miri Make a Porno) at the house, and he told me, 'We're having another baby,'" recalls Smith.

He added that parenthood comes naturally to both stars. "[Jen] is such a Martha Stewart type. She is a perfect mom," he says. "And [Ben] is a great dad, which I found not that surprising, but it's a side of him that I never thought about before he became a dad. He's a great father. He loves that kid of his."

J.J. Abrams teases fans at Comic-Con

The Alias and Lost producer is once again taunting potential viewers with cryptic clues to promote his latest hush-hush project, the science-fiction-tinged Fox TV series Fringe.

Yesterday fans walking the corridors of the San Diego Convention Center -- or merely standing in line for hours -- were handed out mysterious mini-maps urging them to receive their "first clue at exploretheimpossibilities.com."

This sort of multi-media gamesmanship is old hat for Abrams, who has been sending Lost followers down online rabbit holes for years. (Which is to say nothing of his film Cloverfield and its canny viral marketing campaign.) In fact, Abrams' peeps will also reportedly be seeking recruits to further "the Dharma Initiative's objectives," referring to Lost's enigmatic group of researchers.

This makes perfect sense, of course. Not so long ago, it was here where an advance Lost screening first generated precious blogosphere buzz. Ditto for NBC's Heroes a year later.

No wonder the creators of such new offerings as Fringe, Dollhouse (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Joss Whedon), Life on Mars, Virtuality (new sci-fi drama from Battlestar Galactica producer Ron Moore) and My Own Worst Enemy (secret agent spy serial with Christian Slater) are all coming this weekend to pique fandom's interest.

TV shows returning to the Con include Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Dexter, The Office, The Simpsons, Family Guy and, of course, Battlestar Galactica.

Pregnant Jennifer Garner the 'Perfect Mom'

Joey Parsi, owner of the indoor L.A. playground Giggles N' Hugs, where the actress recently visited with daughter Violet, 2, says Garner, 36, is "the perfect mom, and, trust me, I've seen hundreds of mothers in here."

Affleck, 35, also is "totally insane about Violet," says one of his longtime friends. "I know how much he enjoys being a parent. He gushes over Violet. He says she's really smart, she's really verbal and she's got a funny personality. He's happy to be a father and she's happy to be a mother."

And so friends were hardly surprised to hear the news that a source confirms to PEOPLE. "She's pregnant," says the source.

Source: Balthazar Getty's Affair 'Devastating' to Family

The Brothers & Sisters star announced that he and Rosetta, 38, had separated in a statement released Monday. The announcement came after photos revealed Getty, 33 and Miller, 26, cavorting in Italy, including many of her topless.

Now pals are bristling over comments from Getty's camp suggesting that he and Rosetta had been living separate lives for some time before his relationship with Miller became public.

"Balthazar and Rosetta were in no way separated when Balthazar began his relationship with Sienna Miller, and any implication otherwise is an absolute lie," says a close friend of the couple. "Balthazar's affair has been utterly devastating to Rosetta and her family."

Sources close to Rosetta – who last year launched high-end women's clothing line Riser Goodwyn – insist the separation Getty mentioned in his statement is not legal. They say Rosetta, 38, has been "blindsided," and learned of the tryst not long before the pair were photographed kissing on Italy's Amalfi coast.

Earlier this month the couple reunited in L.A. for son Cassius's eighth birthday. "Rosetta felt it was important that the whole family be there," says another friend. "They made it as comfortable as possible for Cassius, but it was extremely uncomfortable for her."

The Gettys married in 2000 and have four children, the youngest 9-month-old June Catherine.

Vartan and Cross clash in workplace comedy "Demoted"

Vartan will play Rodney McAdams, a hotshot Treadline Tires sales associate who delights in tormenting his less-than-cool colleague, Ken (Cross). But when their boss suddenly dies, Ken is promoted and assigns Rodney to a secretarial job as payback, giving the male chauvinist a taste of his own medicine.

J.B. Rogers ("American Pie 2") will direct from a screenplay by Dan Callahan. The feature is a production of Parallel Media's new genre arm, Parallel Zide.

Vartan ("One Hour Photo," "Alias") next stars opposite Dermot Mulroney in director Dan Ireland's drama "Jolene: My Life." Cross, whose credits include "The Colbert Report," "Freak Show" and "Aqua Teen Hunger Force," can next be seen in Harold Ramis' adventure comedy "Year One."

Affleck, Garner expecting 2nd child

Victor Garber, who played Jennifer Garner's father on "Alias," confirmed the speculation that the actress is indeed pregnant with her second child with husband Ben Affleck, reports Usmagazine.com.

Garner, 36, has been wearing loose-fitting tops of late, fueling rumors that she's expecting.

A source claims that the pregnancy is five months along.

The couple already has a daughter, 2-year-old Violet.

Garner last starred in "The Kingdom" and appeared in the teen pregnancy comedy "Juno." Affleck, 35, last wrote and directed "Gone Baby Gone" and will co-star in the relationship film "He's Just Not That Into You" next year.

Ben & Jennifer: What's Up, Baby Doc?

Rumors that Garner is expecting the couple's second child were kick-started earlier this month when a tabloid report claimed Garner and Affleck had already told friends their two-and-a-half-year-old daughter Violet is getting a sibling.

Speculation really ramped up when Garner starting wearing loose-fitting tops capable of hiding a growing belly.

Now comes another possible clue...

The two were spotted together Wednesday at an L.A. obstetrician's office to meet with a doctor.

Garner sat in the reception area reading a magazine, but when Affleck arrived, they were almost immediately called in to see the doc.

Reps for Garner and Affleck are not commenting one way or the other.

So we'll just have to wait and see. In other words, let the baby-bump watch continue!

Balthazar Getty's Wife 'Humiliated' by His Affair with Sienna Miller

Miller, who had a roller-coaster relationship with Jude Law and broke up with actor Rhys Ifans only weeks ago, has been quietly dating Getty for "at least two months," said a source.

Miller, sporting a sailor's cap, was also spotted topless on the balcony of an Italian hotel room kissing Getty. Meanwhile, the Brothers & Sisters actor, 33, and his wife Rosetta "have been living separate lives for a while," a source tells PEOPLE.

Getty, who has a tattoo of his wife's name on his chest, married Rosetta in May 2000. They had their fourth child together 10 months ago.

"It's humiliating," a friend tells PEOPLE. "Rosetta left the country to protect the kids, and he continues to see Sienna publicly."

The two met through Getty's Brothers & Sisters costar Matthew Rhys. Rhys, who briefly hooked up with Miller, was livid when the photos of the couple surfaced, says a source.

For more on Sienna and Balthazar's romance, pick up this week's issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.

'Lost' creator banks on 'Fringe'

Not that J.J. Abrams, the creator of Fringe, is feeling any pressure to save TV.

"No one show can save the fall," Abrams said yesterday at the Television Critics Association tour.

"A great show is something we all want.

"We're excited and nervous, but we're floating on air."

One of the most notable things about Fringe, which will debut this September on Fox and A-channel affiliates in Canada, is how non-fringe it is, to coin a phrase.

Abrams is the co-creator of Lost, the creator of Alias and the co-creator of Felicity. On the big screen, he was the director of Mission: Impossible III and Cloverfield, and he's directing and producing the new Star Trek movie that's due out next year.

Some of Abrams' projects -- we're looking in your direction, Lost -- have been a little tough to follow. But despite being based on the idea of "fringe science" and all that entails, the Fringe pilot as it stands is a relatively straight-forward combination of 24, Heroes, The X-Files and Indiana Jones.

It's well done, mind you, and some crazy stuff happens in the pilot, but you'll have no trouble following it. J.J., are you feeling okay?

"Fringe in many ways is an experiment for us," said Abrams, who shot the pilot in Toronto but will shoot future episodes in New York. "We believe it's possible to have an overall story and an end game, but also to have a show where you don't have to watch episodes 1, 2 and 3 to enjoy episode 4.

"I can see how Lost was difficult. This show, week to week, there will be stories. We're trying diligently to do a show that doesn't require the same absolute dedication to the series, but hopefully you'll still want to watch every episode."

Hmmm ... sounds almost exactly like The X-Files philosophy. That series -- which has another feature film coming out, by the way -- was the cornerstone of Fox television back in the 1990s.

"We knew (Abrams) was coming out with a show and we had heard it was an

X-Files/Indiana Jones kind of thing," said Kevin Reilly, Fox president. "We made the call, Day 1. We offered him a series, Day 1.

"This show just feels right. A lot of times, it's big hype and no delivery. I think this show is going to deliver the goods."

A version of the Fringe pilot already has been leaked on the Internet. It caused Abrams great consternation, although he was able to joke about it yesterday.

"Though this show got online and we all freaked out, the good news is, the response has been much more positive than not, even though it wasn't complete yet," said Abrams, whose new series stars Australians Anna Torv and John Noble, and Canadian Joshua Jackson. "At least it wasn't a movie that got out."

On that subject, Abrams was asked what keeps drawing him back to TV.

"It's a funny question, because I love it," Abrams said. "I feel so lucky to get to do it. This is the first show I've been a creator on since Lost, so I care deeply about it.

"The draw to do TV simply is the opportunity to do it. We'd be crazy not to. To me, this is a thrill. I would kill to do this."

Bradley Cooper and Ed Helms drink to "Hangover"

They are in final negotiations to star in director Todd Phillips bachelor-party comedy, about three friends who lose the groom at their Vegas fandango two days before the wedding. The third lead role has yet to be cast for the Warner Bros. film.

The project marks Helms' first lead feature role to date. The "Daily Show" and "Office" veteran is currently in theaters with the Eddie Murphy bomb "Meet Dave."

Cooper, a veteran of "Alias," "Kitchen Confidential" and "Nip/Tuck," appears in the upcoming Jennifer Aniston romantic comedy "He's Just Not That Into You."

Phillips, who last directed "School for Scoundrels," is best known for such films as "Road Trip" and "Old School."

Garner, Affleck sign up for W.Va. fundraiser

University of Charleston President Ed Welch says Garner and Affleck will serve as honorary hosts at a Sept. 19 fundraiser.

Garner says the University of Charleston was "incredibly positive when I was a kid" growing up in Charleston. She says she's excited to hear the university is growing.

Welch says the university hopes to raise more than $500,000 at the fundraiser. The complex will house the school's basketball and volleyball programs and is projected to cost at least $20 million.

Whedon, Abrams and FOX's 'High-Class Problem'

Deciding how to schedule the two shows, FOX Entertainment President Kevin Reilly admits, was a "high-class problem." "Fringe," which Abrams co-wrote with Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman ("Transformers," "Alias"), wound up with a prime spot on the fall schedule, where it will follow "House" on Tuesday nights. Whedon's "Dollhouse," meanwhile, will join the network in January, pairing with "24" on Monday nights.

"When it really came down to it, we had a jump-start with 'Fringe,'" Reilly explains, noting that the show has been in development since last summer. "They wrote the script, [the two-hour pilot] is in the can and finished and locked. ... Jeff Pinkner, who worked with J.J. and the guys on 'Alias' and 'Lost,' is reteaming with them to kind of take the reins of the show. It just felt like the whole machine was cranked up."

"Dollhouse" finished shooting its Whedon-directed pilot only last week, although the show is at least ahead of the curve on the script front; Whedon brought the show to FOX with seven scripts already in hand (it has a 13-episode order).

"Why put the extra pressure on it?" Reilly says. "It really was a high-class problem, so we went with the bird in hand. And Joss is frankly happy to have the extra time."

Both shows will probably get the full promotional treatment from FOX as well. "Fringe" is the network's only new drama for the fall (and one of only two new shows of any kind), and Reilly is already promising a "huge campaign" leading up to its Aug. 26 premiere. "Dollhouse" will be a "linchpin of the second season," Reilly says, launching around the same time as network perennials such as "24" and "American Idol."

Fox picks up "Fringe" and "Sit Down"

Additionally, Fox quietly ordered "Lost" co-creator J.J. Abrams' sci-fi drama "Fringe."

On the renewal front, Fox picked up sitcom "'Til Death," starring Brad Garrett and Joely Fisher, but opted not to bring back for a second season the TV newsroom comedy "Back to You," starring Kelsey Grammer and Patrica Heaton.

"The Inn" is described as "Upstairs/ Downstairs" set at a hip New York hotel. The cast includes Niecy Nash, Jerry O'Connell, Molly Stanton, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Jolene Purdy and Brando Eaton. At the helm, Jason Bateman has received high marks for his pilot directorial debut.

"Sit Down" is an animated comedy based on a live-action Australian series. It chronicles the lives of seven staff members at a high school in a small northeastern fishing town who are preoccupied with their own needs and agendas, which means that the students always come second.

The series marks the return to Fox's primetime schedule of "Arrested Development" creator Mitch Hurwitz, who penned "Sit Down."

The voice cast of the series includes three "Development" alums -- Bateman, Will Arnett and Henry Winkler -- as well as Cheri Oteri, Will Forte, Regina King, Nick Kroll, Tom Kenny and Maria Bamford.

"Sit Down" joins another new animated series already picked up for next season, the "Family Guy" spinoff "Cleveland."

Abrams' "Fringe" centers on a young FBI agent (Anna Torv), who is forced to confront the spread of unexplained phenomena and work with an institutionalized scientist (John Noble) and his son (Joshua Jackson).

J. J. Abrams aims to reinvent 'Trek'

"It was an opportunity to take what I think has been a maligned world - to sound crass, a franchise - and treat it in a way that made it something that I wanted to see," said Abrams, who recently finished shooting on "Star Trek," due in theatres May 8, 2009. "To take the characters, the thoughtfulness, the personalities, the sense of adventure, the idea of humanity working together, the sense of social commentary and innovation, all that stuff. To take it and apply it in a way that felt genuinely thrilling."

Abrams, creator of TV's "Lost" and "Alias" whose big-screen credits include "Mission: Impossible III," shared some "Trek" thoughts with The Associated Press in an interview to promote the DVD release of his monster movie "Cloverfield."

While he enjoyed the TV show about Capt. Kirk, First Officer Spock and their Enterprise crew mates, Abrams said he was not a rabid fan.

In this age of make-or-break opening weekends, the revival of the franchise seven years after the last movie ("Star Trek: Nemesis") flopped may depend on introducing a new generation to the exploits of the 23rd century explorers rather than just hooking old fans.

"The whole point was to try to make this movie for fans of movies, not fans of 'Star Trek,' necessarily,"' Abrams said. "If you're a fan, we've got one of the writers who's a devout Trekker, so we were able to make sure we were serving the people who are completely enamoured with 'Star Trek.' But we are not making the movie for that contingent alone.

"You can't really make a movie for them. As soon as you start to guess what you think they are going to want to see, you're in trouble. You have to make the movie in many ways for what you want to see yourself, make a movie you believe in. Then you're not second-guessing an audience you don't really have an understanding of."

After the 1960s TV show went off the air, it remained alive in syndication, and the original cast led by William Shatner as Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as Spock was reunited for six big-screen movies.

Four more movies followed starring Patrick Stewart and the cast of the 1980s and '90s update "Star Trek: The Next Generation," while the "Trek" universe expanded to include three other TV series.

Abrams' "Star Trek" takes the franchise back to its beginning, with a young cast re-creating the Enterprise crew: Chris Pine as Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Karl Urban as Dr. McCoy, Simon Pegg as engineer Scott, John Cho as helmsman Sulu, Zoe Saldana as communications officer Uhura and Anton Yelchin as navigator Chekov.

"It's a chance to see what Kirk and Spock would look like done now," Abrams said. "What's thrilling about it is how great the cast is, how remarkably talented and funny and just spot-on they all are."

Nimoy also reprises his role as the older Spock, though Shatner - whose Kirk was killed at the end of the seventh movie, "Star Trek: Generations" - does not appear.

Abrams would not share plot details, saying only that the movie would remain faithful to the original while breaking new ground in action, drama and visual effects, which are being crafted by "Star Wars" creator George Lucas' Industrial Light and Magic outfit.

"I feel like this is so unlike what you expect, so unlike the 'Star Trek' you've seen. At the same time, it's being true to what's come before, honouring it," Abrams said. "I can say the effects for 'Star Trek' have never, ever been done like this. ... I can only tell you the idea of the universe of 'Star Trek' has never been given this kind of treatment."

Jennifer Garner Laughs Off Baby Question

Asked, "When are you going to have another [child]?" during a break in filming This Side of Truth last Friday, the 36-year-old actress laughed off the unexpected query.

"Sometime," she replied. "I don't know. I have to think about that one."

Garner – who was in Lowell, Mass., shooting the flick (costarring Tina Fey and Ricky Gervais) – made sure to spend quality time with fans of all ages. But she paid special attention to her youngest admirers.

"I have to say hi to the girls," she said, heading over to sign autographs for a crowd. She made sure all the children got some face time.

Ben Affleck's other half asked one little girl, "Are you a swimmer?" before revealing, "I was a swimmer when I was your age."

Other young fans asked about daughter Violet, 2. "She's good," replied Garner, who fended off compliments about her appearance with some good-natured modesty. She joked to one admirer: "That's what five hours of hair and makeup will do for you!"

J.J. Abrams breaks ranks with Hollywood thinking

Most filmmakers want fans to see movies the way they were meant to be seen, on big screens in dark theaters where fantasy can become real. Then again, the DVD for box office hit "Cloverfield" lands on retail shelves on Tuesday, so it may be advantageous for Abrams to promote watching the film at home.

Still, Abrams seems sincere. "The thing about this movie -- probably more than any I think -- is that it is better on DVD than in the theater," Abrams told Reuters. "Because the movie is like a videotape. It lives on your TV. In many ways, it is supposed to be viewed on a (TV) monitor."

"Cloverfield" tells of young people in Manhattan escaping monsters that are on a rampage of skyscraper destruction. Abrams said because it is told from the point-of-view of one young man taping the events with a video camera, it has the look and feel of a home movie -- albeit one with huge monsters.

As it plays out, the story tells of one man searching Manhattan for his lover as the city is rapidly destroyed by the alien-looking beings. When the two finally reunite, they must escape the city limits, and their adventure is captured on the shaky, hand-held video camera.

"Cloverfield," which cost a reported $25 million to make, became a surprise hit this past January when it debuted in theaters to a $40 million opening weekend and went on to rake in $166 million at worldwide box offices.

Abrams produced "Cloverfield" and shepherded it through Paramount Pictures, where he directed the Tom Cruise movie "Mission: Impossible III." He also created smash hit TV show "Lost," and is directing the new "Star Trek," due in theaters next year.

"The challenge of ("Star Trek") is to take something that -- despite the baggage of what came before -- was imaginative and unreal and make it feel as real as possible," Abrams said.

The producer, director and writer has become almost a brand name himself, with films and TV shows featuring supernatural and science fiction elements, as well as splashy special effects.

His fans should expect those same qualities from the new "Star Trek" movie, as well as plot twists and characters that give the movie a real-life quality.

"If there is a through-line in the stuff I've been able to work on, it is taking stories that are out there and combining them with people who are us," Abrams said.

Sightings

Bennifer to host fundraiser for Obama

They will host an event for the Democratic presidential candidate Sunday at Rumor, a Boston nightclub.

The $250 "pre-party" tickets, which buys some one-on-one time with the couple, are sold out. A $50 ticket buys entry into the club, where Garner and Affleck will mingle. Obama will not be attending.

Affleck recently agreed to help judge a contest sponsored by MoveOn.org to find the best ad supporting Obama's campaign.

The 35-year-old actor grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and filmed his directorial debut, the acclaimed movie "Gone, Baby, Gone," in Boston. He won an Academy Award in 1998 for writing the screenplay for "Good Will Hunting" with pal Matt Damon.

Garner, 35, has been filming scenes from a new movie in Boston. She is best known for her role as a secret agent in the TV series "Alias" and recently starred in "Juno."

The couple co-starred in the 2003 movie "Daredevil" and began dating the next year. They married in June 2005 and their daughter, Violet, was born later that year.

'THE LAST TEMPLAR' TO STAR OSCAR WINNER MIRA SORVINO AND VICTOR GARBER

MINISERIES, BASED ON RAYMOND KHOURY'S BEST-SELLING NOVEL, SET TO SHOOT ON LOCATION IN MONTREAL AND MOROCCO

NBC announced today that Oscar winner Mira Sorvino ("Mighty Aphrodite") will star in the network's upcoming miniseries "The Last Templar." Sorvino will star as Tess Chaykin, a Manhattan archaeologist who is drawn into a fast-paced, romantic adventure concerning the lost secrets of the medieval Knights Templar. The miniseries will also feature Victor Garber ("Alias") as Monsignor De Angelis, who steps in to help with the investigation to retrieve the lost artifact.

The start of production for "The Last Templar," based on Raymond Khoury's best-selling novel, will begin in April. The four-hour miniseries will be shot on location in both Montreal and Morocco.

Muse Entertainment Enterprises is producing the miniseries. Paolo Barzman ("Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde," "Emotional Arithmetic") will direct the script written by Khoury and revised by Suzette Couture. Emmy Award-winning television impresario Robert Halmi Sr. ("Tin Man," "The Lion in Winter," "Gulliver's Travels"), Robert Halmi, Jr. ("The Poseidon Adventure," "The Christmas Card"), and Michael Prupas ("Human Trafficking," "Durham County") will executive-produce the miniseries.

Irene Litinsky ("Human Trafficking," "The Wool Cap") will serve as producer. Global TV will broadcast in Canada, and RHI Entertainment and Powercorp will distribute the project worldwide.

"The Last Templar" opens with the fall of the Latin Kingdom's reign in the Holy Land in Acre in 1291. As the burning city falls to the Sultan's forces, a lone galley escapes out to sea, carrying a young knight from the historic order of the Knights Templar, Martin of Carmaux, his mentor Aimard of Villiers, and a mysterious chest entrusted to them by the Order's dying Grand Master. But the ship never reaches its destination.

Later, in present-day New York, Chaykin (Sorvino) witnesses four masked horsemen, dressed as Templar Knights, who storm into the Metropolitan Museum, scattering Manhattan society gathered for the gala opening night of an exhibition of Vatican treasures. She watches in silent terror as the leader of the horsemen hones in on one piece in particular -- a strange-geared device that he grabs as he disappears into Central Park.

As the horsemen's dead bodies start turning up -- and the importance of the stolen device becomes more apparent -- Tess and FBI Agent Sean Reilly are drawn into the dark, hidden history of the crusading Knights, and of the last surviving Templars' fateful journey from Acre. The pair is soon propelled into a dangerous adventure that takes them through the cemeteries and sewers of Manhattan, across continents to desolate Turkish highlands, to a violent storm on the Mediterranean that shipwrecks them onto a remote Greek island -- and into the very heart of an incredible Vatican secret.

Sorvino, who won the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for her performance in "Mighty Aphrodite" in 1995, first attracted attention for her early work in such feature films as "Barcelona," "Quiz Show" and "Beautiful Girls." Most recently, Sorvino starred in Terry George's "Reservation Road." Her television movies include her Golden Globe-nominated role in "Human Trafficking" (which was also produced by Muse and RHI Entertainment-formerly Hallmark Entertainment) and starring roles in "Norma Jean & Marilyn" and "The Great Gatsby."

The six-time Emmy Award-nominated Garber is best known for the role of Jack Bristow in the series "Alias." His other credits have included "Ugly Betty" and "Will & Grace." His film credits include "Titanic," "Legally Blond" and "Tuck Everlasting."

Sightings

Gary Busey & Jen Garner's Red Carpet Run-In

Earlier on the carpet, Busey was seen pulling Hollywood veteran Mickey Rooney up onto the grandstand and pointing at him to rile the crowd for louder cheers.

Asked after the Oscar ceremony about his red carpet hijinks, Busey told PEOPLE: "It's about having fun. The idea is to suit up and show up." Then he added, "I have to run now, I have an early morning paper route."

Watch it here.

Aussie actress George mental for "Triangle"

The story revolves around yacht passengers on the Atlantic Ocean who, when struck by mysterious weather, jump to another ship only to experience greater havoc.

George will play a woman with a mental disorder who relives the harrowing experience through each of her three personalities. Christopher Smith ("Severance") is directing. Shooting will begin in April in Australia.

J.J.'s Star Trek Beams to '09

Paramount has pushed the release of J.J. Abrams' Star Trek from Dec. 25 to May 8, 2009, part of a larger scheduling shift now that the writers' strike is over and producers can look realistically at their films' ETAs.

Abrams' much-anticipated addition to the franchise, which will take fans back to Kirk and Spock's formative years, is now due out on the Thursday before Mother's Day.

To date, no other film jockeying for the same audience is slated to be released at the same time. The only possible eyeball-stealers at the moment are 20th Century Fox's X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which is due in theaters May 1, 2009, and Sony's Da Vinci Code prequel Angels and Demons.

So, apparently, while moviegoers couldn't turn around in summer 2007 without smacking into a threequel, the summer of 2009 is shaping up to be the season of the prequel.

And there are plenty of Trekkers out there who aren't thrilled that their Christmas Day plans have been turned asunder, although plenty actually like that Paramount seems confident enough in the product to make it a warm-weather movie.

"I'm psyched that this gives them more time to do their stuff to make as good a film as possible, but also, I can't help thinking 'Damn it' because I'm already dying to see this movie as it is," wrote Kamen Rider Blade on a trekweb.com message board.

The Star Trek teaser trailer, which premiered last month before Cloverfield and features Leonard Nimoy's familiar voice intoning over images of the under-construction Enterprise, stoked fan interest.

"It means Paramount has great faith in the film," added timmer33. "They're seeing the dailies and know it has the potential to be huge. May is the time for BIG releases."

The prequel's cast is certainly big, rich with both newcomers and familiar Vulcan faces.

Among those venturing to the final frontier are Winona Ryder, playing Mr. Spock's Vulcan mother (a twist on the original); Zachary Quinto, playing young Spock (Nimoy will also appear as the older version); Chris Pine as Kirk; Karl Urban as Dr. McCoy; Simon Pegg as Scotty; John Cho as Sulu; Zoe Saldana as Uhura; Anton Yelchin as Chekov; and Eric Bana, playing the villainous Nero.

"Eli Stone" a feel-good, song-and-dance legal drama

With "Eli Stone," Greg Berlanti's Midas touch -- he already has two other shows on ABC, "Brothers & Sisters" and "Dirty Sexy Money" -- is very much in evidence. His new series is more quietly manipulative and less dramatically satisfying than the others, yet Berlanti and co-writer Marc Guggenheim have no trouble creating enough moments to propel the series straight to viewers' hearts.

"Eli Stone" nibbles at the corners of other series, including "Ghost Whisperer," with its prophetic visions, and "Saving Grace," with its vague spirituality that will, in time, guide Stone from his unacceptable atheism to a more conventional belief in a divine spirit. There's also a weekly music-and-dance number that, unlike such sequences in "Viva Laughlin" and "Cop Rock," clearly is a fantasy.

Also, as long as we're making TV comparisons, let's throw in "Highway to Heaven," not so much for Stone's ability to find solutions to serious problems but for the Michael Landon vibe that provides almost instant assurance that everything will be fine in the end.

The premise in the pilot introduces Stone, played by amiable Jonny Lee Miller, as a lion in the legal arena but a kitty cat in his personal life. Even so, he's engaged to fetching Taylor Wethersby (Natasha Henstridge), a fellow lawyer in the firm and the daughter of the senior partner, artfully played by Victor Garber.

His delusions begin with the sound of organ music and then, later, a rendition of "Faith" by George Michael in a guest role. Shortly thereafter, Stone is visited in real life by a single mother who claims that a preservative in her son's vaccine made him autistic. She wants Stone to sue the pharmaceutical company, which happens to be a client of the firm.

The story is based on actual claims by parents that a vaccine preservative, thimerosal, caused autism in their kids. But study after study, including one released this month by the California Department of Public Health, has found no link. Aside from distorting these facts, "Stone" could be a menace to public health if nervous parents buy into the show's specious arguments.

In another episode, choir music and a menacing biplane foretell the plight of an immigrant couple, farmworkers conned into believing they became U.S. citizens. Whose side is Stone on? Let's just say the Minutemen won't be throwing a watch party.

There's a strong supporting cast, including Loretta Devine as Stone's no-nonsense secretary, but the big attraction is Miller's Stone and his transformation from heartless corporate lawyer to protector of the little guy. "Eli Stone" will follow "Lost," a pairing that likely owes more to the writers' strike's impact on scripted shows than the prospect of audience flow.

Cast:
Eli Stone: Jonny Lee Miller
Jordan Wethersby: Victor Garber
Taylor Wethersby: Natasha Henstridge
Patti: Loretta Devine
Matt Dowd: Sam Jaeger
Dr. Chen: James Saito
Nathan Stone: Matt Letsher
Maggie: Julie Gonzalo
Beth Keller: Laura Benanti
Mr. Stone: Tom Cavanaugh

Executive producers: Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Ken Olin; Co-executive producer: Andrew A. Ackerman; Co-producers: Michael Cedar, Melissa Berman, Jennifer Lence; Director: Ken Olin; Teleplay: Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim; Director of photography: Michael Monvillain; Production designer: Aaron Osborne; Editor: Kristin Windell; Music: Blake Neely; Set designer: Jennifer Gentile; Casting: Robert J. Ulrich, Eric Dawson, Carol Kritzer, Liz Dean.

J.J. Abrams' 'Fringe' Benefits Three Stars

According to the industry trade papers, Kirk Acevedo, Tomas Arana and Mark Valley will take main roles what will reportedly be a $10 million, two-hour pilot.

Alex Graves ("Journeyman") is directing.

Produced by Abrams' Bad Robot shingle through Warner Bros. TV, the "X-Files"-esque pilot focuses on an odd trio of paranormal investigators -- A brilliant, eccentric research scientist, his estranged son and a young, female FBI agent.

Acevedo, Arana and Valley don't appear to be playing any of those characters.

The Hollywood Reporter says that Arana will play a Homeland Security agent heading the paranormal-obsessed Fringe division, while Acevedo and Valley will both play FBI agents of some sort.

Valley's no stranger to FOX dramas, though his series for the network -- "Pasadena" and "Keen Eddie" -- have been admired and quickly cancelled. He's most recently been doing time on "Boston Legal."

Acevedo's credits include HBO's "Oz" and NBC's "Law & Order: Trial by Jury" and "The Black Donnellys."

Arana's been seen in "Gladiator" and "Bats: Human Harvest."

Monster Croc

Hometown paper honors Jennifer Garner

The Sunday Gazette-Mail says it chose Garner for her dedication, hard work and service as an ambassador and role model for West Virginia.

Garner is balancing the raising of her 2-year-old daughter Violet, her marriage with fellow actor Ben Affleck and a career that includes a starring role in "Cyrano de Bergerac" on Broadway, the new film "Juno," and two more films yet to shoot.

Garner is actually a Texas transplant, but moved to the Mountain State as a 4-year-old and considers West Virginia home.

Good Nose

Unconventional 'Juno' strikes right comedic balance

That sense of hope plays out on several levels. The most obvious is the story line in which a bright teenage girl turns an unwanted pregnancy into a boon for adoptive parents yearning for a child.

The film itself signals hope for moviegoers tired of formulaic stories with cliché-soaked dialogue. There is none of that in the splendidly written Juno. It's for those looking not merely to be distracted, but also to admire the entertainment they lose themselves in.

It's a rare pleasure to sit through a movie with lines that are so consistently witty as well as recognizably natural. "I'm wearing a fat suit I can't take off," says Juno of her pregnant state. "I'm a planet."

In addition to the excellent cast, anchored by a wonderful Ellen Page in the title role, kudos go to Hollywood's "it" screenwriter Diablo Cody. At the helm is director Jason Reitman, who has a gift for picking good scripts and drawing the best performances from ensemble casts, as well as an ability to showcase snappy, clever dialogue that never feels precious or forced. He was similarly deft with his last film, Thank You for Smoking.

Page as the 16-year-old Juno continues to impress with her whip-smart, sprightly quality. Though she gave a powerful performance in last year's Hard Candy, the rather stomach-turning premise hampered its widespread appeal.

In Juno, Page plays a sharp-tongued teen whose single sexual encounter with her geeky but sweet friend (Michael Cera) results in pregnancy.

In the annals of teen comedies, hers is a singular character. She has depth and wisdom in as much abundance as snarky attitude. And in a welcome deviation from stereotype, her parents (J. K. Simmons and Allison Janney) do their best to be supportive — even though they are deeply disappointed. Juno decides to have the baby and give it up for adoption. She is adamant about selecting the prospective parents.

She cheerfully opts for an eager, childless professional couple (Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman).

But things don't always go as a 16-year-old might want them to, and Juno must cope with the disappointment that comes of inexplicable adult actions. How this plays out is what makes Juno unpredictable.

The engaging story, coupled with the character's likable quirkiness, makes for a film bristling with vitality and heart, without resorting to glibness or sentimentality. With its original performances that can't be reduced to simplistic labels, Juno is charming, honest and terrifically acted. (Rating: PG-13 for mature thematic material, sexual content and imagery. Running time: 1 hour, 32 minutes. Opens today in New York and Los Angeles.)

Baby's night out: 'Juno' family reunites

"I haven't even been to my house, I've worked all day," said Garner, braving the chilly weather in a short Gucci gown. Due back on stage in Cyrano de Bergerac the following night, Garner skipped out of the theater as soon as the movie started to catch a red-eye back east.

The premiere brought out the newly blond Jack Black ; John Malkovich, a producer on the film; The Office's Rainn Wilson, seeing his cameo as a drug-store clerk for the first time; and Jonah Hill, supporting his Superbad co-star Michael Cera.

In the low-budget comedy, opening today, Garner and Jason Bateman play the adoptive parents of a baby being carried by teen mom Juno (Ellen Page), who explores the possibility of abortion. Cera plays the baby's ill-prepared father.

"I couldn't imagine being 16 and making that huge decision," said Garner. "All I can say is, I'm glad she made the decision she did, but thank God that little girl had a choice."

Asked if he can relate to the predicament, Bateman, first-time father to 1-year-old Francesca, offered a more comical take: "Do you mean, 'Will my daughter grow up to be a whore?' So far, 'Yes, she has a little bit of a strut to her.' "

Already an Independent Spirit Award nominee for her role, Page, 20, says she is not prepared to field questions from young girls who might find themselves in her character's predicament: "Hopefully, they'll go to Planned Parenthood and get help from a professional instead of me," she said.

With the holidays approaching, Bateman is looking forward to spending hours in toy stores "reliving Christmas," while Garner will be trapped in the Big Apple, where Cyrano has been extended through Jan. 6. "But don't worry," she assured, "Santa Claus will still happen." (Daughter Violet turned 2 on Saturday.)

In 2008, Garner will start work on the long-delayed romantic comedy Ghosts of Girlfriends Past opposite Matthew McConaughey, filling in for Garner's husband, Ben Affleck, who was originally set to star in the picture four years ago. Then it's on to another comedy, This Side of the Truth. "It's about the invention of lying from the beginning of time," explained Garner, who is not above telling fibs of her own. But only "to preserve someone's feelings if it's going to hurt them unnecessarily."

Jennifer Garner seeks "Truth" with Gervais

The film, to be co-written and co-directed by Gervais with Matt Robinson, is set in a world where lying doesn't exist. Gervais plays an ordinary Joe who learns how to lie and uses his skills to win over a beautiful woman (Garner) who is way out of his league.

Production on the independently financed film is slated to begin this spring. It marks the feature directing debut of Gervais, the creator and star of the British version of "The Office."

Garner, who recently debuted on Broadway in "Cyrano de Bergerac," has taken a break from the stage as many New York productions have shut down due to the stagehands' strike. She will next be seen in "Juno," which opens December 5 via Fox Searchlight.

Violet Affleck Talks Up a Storm

"Violet is the most verbal child," Victor Garber, a close friend of the tyke's parents Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck, told PEOPLE at the Glamour Women of the Year Awards in New York on Monday.

Garber, who was on hand to present an award to Garner, his former Alias costar, continued, "She's not even two and her vocabulary is daunting. She can talk about animals. She mentions where she's been. Today she sang, 'When You Wish Upon A Star.' "

And all this during a single lunchdate. "That child is so inquisitive and beautiful and so full of life," Garber gushed. "I'm obviously prejudiced. But she's an extraordinary kid."

With pretty extraordinary parents, of course. Affleck, 35, recently released his directorial debut, Gone Baby Gone. And Garner, also 35, – who just opened in in Broadway's Cyrano de Bergerac – was one of 14 women selected as this year's Glamour honorees.

"[Violet] is a very fortunate little girl to be in that family," said Garber, who was the only other person present at Garner and Affleck's 2005 wedding.

"When Jennifer works the hours she does, Ben understands. And when he's shooting a movie in Boston, she knows what that entails. They're magical together, they really are."

Garner gets mixed reviews in Broadway debut

Garner, married to actor director Ben Affleck, stars as Roxane, the love interest of Cyrano, played by Kline.

Cyrano pines for Roxane but fears she will not be interested because he has a large nose so instead pens love letters to her for the dim-witted, yet handsome Christian de Neuvillette (played by Daniel Sunjata), whom Roxane loves.

"The latest in a series of boldface film and television actresses to test their stage legs (including Julia Roberts and Claire Danes), Ms. Garner seems by far the most comfortable," New York Times critic Ben Brantley wrote.

"If she's a tad stilted in the big tragic finale, her comic timing is impeccable," he said.

Kline, Brantley added, "knows what he's doing."

Kline has starred in several Broadway productions, winning a Tony Award in 1978 for his role in "On the Twentieth Century" and in 1981 for "The Pirates of Penzance." He also won an Oscar in 1989 for his role in "A Fish Called Wanda."

New York Post critic Clive Barnes praised Kline's performance as Cyrano, writing that "if you go just to see Kline ... you will certainly get your money's worth."

But of Garner -- best known for her Golden Globe-winning role as a spy on the television series "Alias" -- and Sunjata he said they "are knee deep in film and TV credits, but despite Garner's promising opening scenes, they wade in onstage projecting little or nothing."

While Garner worked as an understudy for a 1995 Broadway production of "A Month in the Country," starring British Academy Award-winning actress Helen Mirren, a spokeswoman for "Cyrano de Bergerac" said the actress never officially made her debut.

The Daily News said Garner "brings her natural beauty to Roxane, but she's miscast." Critic Joe Dziemianowicz added "Garner goes from little-girl breathy to Kathleen Turner husky, and either way she breathes no conviction into her role."

"Broadway's 'Cyrano' needs more than a nose job. It's in need of a heart transplant," he said.

"Cyrano de Bergerac" was last performed on Broadway in 1984. There have also been several film adaptations, including the 1990 French-language version starring Gerard Depardieu, and the 1987 comedic reinterpretation Roxanne, with Steve Martin.

Ben Affleck Cheers Jennifer Garner's Broadway Debut

"I'm ready for a glass of wine!" she said while making her way into the Cyrano de Bergerac opening night party. "I'm just happy that I stayed on my feet and said everything that I was suppose to say."

She sure did. The Big Ben of Broadway – New York Times critic Ben Brantley – called the production "surprisingly potent," star Kevin Kline "artfully low-key" and Garner "captivating" in her demanding role as the love interest Roxane.

"Ms. Garner, I am pleased to report, makes Roxane a girl worth pining over," he writes in his review Friday morning.

Despite the critical love letter, Garner, 35, vowed she would not be reading the play's notices. "I'm not going to look at [them]," she told PEOPLE. "No. I can't stand it."

Then there was the review from the other Ben – Garner's husband, Ben Affleck. "She did fine!" he declared. "It was terrific, and I had a lot of fun."

Of Garner's performance (which consists of rhyming couplets), Affleck, also 35, said, "I'm really impressed by her courage and her talent." Having now seen her in the role a few times, Affleck also says Garner "keeps impressing me, and I keep on loving it."

And although the Great White Way could not be farther from Garner's first job in the theater – "making the costumes and scrubbing the toilets" at an Illinois playhouse – the former Alias sounds perfectly grounded.

"You know, I'm a mom," Garner, referring to 1-year-old daughter Violet, said at the party. "So I'll be here for about 15 more minutes, and then I'm going home."

HBO Sets Up 'Treatment' Program

The premium-cable network has set a premiere date for its ambitious drama series, which follows a therapist named Paul (Gabriel Byrne) as he counsels several patients while undergoing psychotherapy himself. It will debut at 9:30 p.m. ET Monday, Jan. 28 and run for nine weeks.

And by "nine weeks," we mean whole weeks. The half-hour show, based on an Israeli series also called "In Treatment," will run Monday through Friday, with each night devoted to one of Paul's patients. That patient's episodes will air on the same night over the course of the show's 45-episode run.

"'In Treatment' is a unique series that requires a unique scheduling strategy," says David Baldwin, head of program planning at HBO. "We are maximizing the exposure of this exciting new show in order to offer our subscribers the widest possible choice of viewing options, and the opportunity to stay engaged with the series for its entirety."

The show also stars Melissa George ("Alias"), Blair Underwood ("Dirty Sexy Money"), Mia Wasikowska, Josh Charles ("Sports Night"), Embeth Davidtz ("Junebug," "Bridget Jones's Diary") and Dianne Wiest ("Law & Order," "Dan in Real Life"), who plays Paul's doctor.

Starting with the show's second week, reruns of the previous week's episode for that day will air prior to new installments. HBO On Demand will preview the full week's worth of shows each Monday, and HBO Signature will air the episodes at the same time as the appointments for each patient: 9 a.m. Mondays for George, 10 a.m. Tuesdays for Underwood, 4 p.m. Wednesdays for Wasikowska, 6 p.m. Thursday for Davidtz and Charles and 7 p.m. Friday for Wiest.

Rodrigo Garcia ("Six Feet Under," "Big Love") is executive producing the show with Mark Wahlberg ("Entourage"), Stephen Levinson and Hagai Levi, who created the Israeli series.

Inspirational tale is "Music" to the ears

Of course, the challenge faced by MGM is to persuade an audience to risk seeing a movie about events leading up to the landmark Americans With Disabilities Act. The film opened Friday in 10 markets and will need strong critical support in tandem with MGM's marketing to create awareness. The film will more than likely make its mark in cable and DVD markets.

Pimentel literally has written the handbook on how to work with the disabled. He is a pioneer in the civil rights effort to integrate the disabled into normal American life, much of this because of his own personal magnetism.

Livingston and director Steven Sawalich keep the character in constant motion, his dialogue sprinkled with humor and his energy contagious. The film also is surrounded by a crew of ferociously individualistic characters. That starts with Pimentel's mom (Rebecca De Mornay), mentally unbalanced and unable to accept or love him. Only to hear him tell it, life with Mom is bitterly funny. Especially those bimonthly suicide attempts, each to celebrate the "birthday" of a different child she lost in miscarriages.

His mother's erratic behavior and father's death produce, against all odds, a deeply ambitious man who finds his true calling in public speaking. But a college speech professor (Hector Elizondo) curtly rejects him for a scholarship because he has no point of view.

Richard joins the military. A bomb blast during a tour of duty in Vietnam robs him of much of his hearing. Returning to the same Portland, Ore., campus, he falls in with his "traveling freak show": Mike Stoltz (Yul Vazquez), a fellow veteran filled with rage, and Art Honeyman (Michael Sheen, just terrific), a wheelchair-bound student afflicted with cerebral palsy and a wicked wit. The lover Richard chooses, Christine (Melissa George), is beautiful, blond and normal but believes in open relationships, so he is forced to share her with another man.

He quits a lucrative job to get disabled people jobs, which he and Mike prove supremely good at. When a restaurant refuses to serve Art a birthday breakfast, their arrest turns him into an activist.

The screenplay by Bret McKinney & Mark Andrew Olsen and Kelly Kennemer does a fine job of shoehorning the events of Pimentel's colorful life into a tight but jaunty structure. It also helps that the film can explore mental illness, war injuries, gross disabilities, suicide, lost love and parental rejection and never loose its optimistic nature. It's the opposite of Pollyanna-ism; this group goes in for naughty, mordant humor that deflects all the negativity and prejudice.

The Vietnam sequences, filmed in the Philippines, give evidence of a limited budget, but all other sequences shot in Oregon yield a rich sense of era and place along with a soundtrack of golden oldies.

Cast:
Richard Pimentel: Ron Livingston
Christine: Melissa George
Art Honeyman: Michael Sheen
Mike Stoltz: Yul Vazquez
Richard's Mom: Rebecca De Mornay
Ben: Hector Elizondo
Bill: Leslie Nielsen

Director: Steven Sawalich; screenwriters: Bret McKinney & Mark Andrew Olsen, Kelly Kennemer; producers: Brett Donowho, Steven Sawalich; director of photography: Irek Hartowicz. Production designer: Craig Stearns; music: James T. Sale; co-producer: Ron Livingston; costume designer: Alexis Scott; editor: Timothy Alverson.

Endquote

Bradley Cooper and Cameron Diaz Are 'Good Friends'

"I think she's great," Cooper told PEOPLE at Saturday's Nip/Tuck season 5 premiere in Hollywood. "We're good friends."

Cooper, 32, and Diaz, 35, were photographed on the sidelines of Sept. 30's Giants-Eagles NFL game alongside Ashton Kutcher (Diaz's What Happens in Vegas ... costar) and Demi Moore. The two also looked cozy during a recent stroll through Central Park and during a Saturday Night Live afterparty.

Cooper, who split with wife of four months Jennifer Esposito in May, appears next in 2008's He's Just Not That into You, opposite Jennifer Aniston and Drew Barrymore.

Of his burgeoning movie career, Cooper told PEOPLE, "I'm sort of nomadic. I love going on location. The 9-to-5 aspect, and the no-end-in-sight aspect of TV, is not exactly in tune with what I like to do."

Sightings

Ben Affleck: Daughter Violet 'Happy as Hell'

Of course, they do have some time: Violet isn't quite 2.

Still, her proud papa, 35, considers his little girl "the best thing that ever happened to me," he tells Parade magazine for its Oct. 14 issue.

"She is happy as hell and talks like crazy!" says Affleck. "She has the ability to make me smile and feel so good and be so charmed that, when I'm not with her for a while, all I want to do is go home, just to be around her again."

It wasn't always that Affleck found contentment in his personal life, he also tells Parade in comments that appear on the magazine's Web site.

"I grew up in a home environment where I wasn't getting esteem for anything I did," he admits. "I played sports, but I wasn't great at them. ... There was alcoholism at home because of my father. I changed schools [at 8 years old], and I didn't really know the kids at the new school. I felt alone."

An Early Loner: The isolation only grew worse when he went to the University of Vermont, which he says he chose because he had a girlfriend (who wasn't interested in him to begin with) going to a school nearby.

"Two weeks after I got there, I called her room, and some guy answered the phone!" he recalls.

"Then, when I was playing an intramural basketball game, I fractured my hip. I was miserable," he says. "I was now on crutches in the coldest university in America, living in the dorm farthest from the main campus, and I didn't know a soul, nobody!"

After eating by himself in the cafeteria and skipping Spanish class for five weeks, Affleck got hold of his childhood buddy, Matt Damon, who was at Harvard.

"I called Matt," remembers Affleck, who told his pal, "You've got to pick me up! I can't walk that well. Come and get me now!"

Sure enough, says Affleck, "Matt was there in six hours. That was the last I ever saw of the University of Vermont. I never went back. I don't think I have any credits. It was not money well spent."

Brains at HBO on "Intelligence"

The story revolves around members of an elite counter-intelligence unit who pose as disgruntled civil servants. It was created by Michael Patrick Jann, who recently directed an episode of HBO's offbeat comedy series "Flight of the Conchords."

Cooper's credits include "The Wedding Crashers" and ABC's "Alias." Oswalt, a veteran of the standup circuit, played Doug's friend Spence in "The King of Queens."

Balthazar Getty, Wife Welcome a Girl

Daughter June Catherine was born Oct. 2 in Los Angeles, Getty's rep confirmed to PEOPLE exclusively.

"I love kids. I love having a big family," Getty told PEOPLE in March. "I think the more the merrier – big happy home of, you know, little punks running around."

Getty, 32, plays loyal son Tommy on the ABC drama. He also has a band, Ringside, whose concerts attract a large celebrity following in Los Angeles.

Rosetta, 37, owns a children's fashion line, Rosetta Millington (her maiden name), and launched a high-end women's line, Riser Goodwyn, this year.

The couple already have a son and two daughters.

Jennifer Garner Puts 'Kibosh' on Her Daughter Acting

"We would just kibosh it," Garner, 35, said of how she and husband Ben Affleck would handle Violet if she showed any acting ambition. But, so far the 2-year-old is "unaware of what we do for a living," she told reporters at the London premiere for her new film, The Kingdom.

Regardless, Violet was a hit on the Kingdom set when Garner was shooting last year. "It brought so much joy to the job," the Golden Globe-winning actress said. "I would [go] back and forth, from playing with her and taking care of her to running back to work."

It was Affleck that pulled diaper duty Thursday night while Garner was accompanied by costar Jamie Foxx and director Peter Berg. "He's babysitting," laughed Garner, "I can't wait to have him as my date again, but right now we're just kind of passing in shifts."

Garner's Premiere Dreams

Best known for her starring role on the TV show Alias, Garner said that the show ending gave her more time to attend premieres she had only "dreamt of" in the past. "This was the most exciting thing," she said as she signed autographs for fans on the red carpet. "The reception's been so warm, so I'm really happy".

The only thing Garner wasn't happy about was the U.K. withdrawal of Affleck's directorial debut Gone Baby Gone, a crime drama about the abduction of a little girl. The film is due out in the U.S. on Oct. 26, but its release in England has been suspended due to similarities with the Madeline McCann case.

"It's such a beautiful film. It's such a crush that because of everything that's going on here right now it's not the right time, but hopefully you'll get to see it someday," she said.

J.J. Abrams Back in Business with ABC

The "Lost" co-creator, whose relationship with the network dates back to "Alias" in 2001, has landed another pilot at the Alphabet. It's the first pilot his company, Bad Robot, has set up at the network since migrating from ABC Studios to Warner Bros. TV last year, the showbiz trade papers note.

The show, from former "Six Feet Under" writer Jill Soloway, is a one-hour dramedy with a rather unusual premise: Tentatively called "Boundaries," it centers on a psychologist who hosts a cable-access show and is way down on her luck. As a result, she takes a job as a notary public, which helps her get her life back on track.

Abrams and Soloway will serve as executive producers along with Bad Robot's Bryan Burk and Kathy Lingg.

In addition to her time on "Six Feet Under," Soloway has worked on several sitcoms, including "The Steve Harvey Show" and "Nikki." She's currently a consulting producer on ABC's "Grey's Anatomy."

Bad Robot is also developing a medical drama at HBO, with Abrams executive producing and possibly directing.

Rooting Young

Lovey-dovey

UGLY BETTY (10/18)

"Ugly Betty" stars America Ferrera as Betty Suarez, Eric Mabius as Daniel Meade, Alan Dale as Bradford Meade, Tony Plana as Ignacio, Ana Ortiz as Hilda, Ashley Jensen as Christina, Becki Newton as Amanda, Mark Indelicato as Justin, Michael Urie as Marc, Judith Light as Claire Meade, Christopher Gorham as Henry, Rebecca Romijn as Alexis and Vanessa Williams as Wilhelmina Slater. Freddy Rodriguez is a recurring guest star as Gio.

Guest starring are Illeana Douglas as Sheila, Victor Garber as Professor Barrett, John Cho as Kenny, James Van Der Beek as Luke Carnes, Robert Desiderio as Mr. Gallico and Rebecca Wisocky as Marsha Stein.

"Grin and Bear It" was written by Sarah Kucserka & Veronica Becker and directed by Tucker Gates.

From CIA to CEO: Alias' Michael Vartan Takes Big Shots

TVGuide.com: A foursome of well-off guys sitting around talking about the sorts of things guys talk about... is Big Shots as bold, even daring, a TV venture as some are making it out to be?

Michael Vartan: I don’t think it is. The truth of the matter is, they're not talking about women the way men really talk about women, and that’s mostly because it's ABC. If it was HBO, we'd get into it a bit more. But I think it is different in the sense that for the first time there is a show out there that exposes the fact that guys do talk about women a lot more than anyone thought they did. But I don’t think it's necessarily "bold" because it isn't cable television. We can't go off the deep end. [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: Do you think it's realistic in its depiction of guy friends of a certain stature hanging out?

Vartan: Yeah. I have said from the beginning, and this goes for any network television program, that it does a good job of balancing how much guys make fun of one another — because I don’t know about you, but my friends and I spend half the day making fun of one another and s--t — with the times where you talk about your personal problems and love life. The show does a good job of painting that picture. The only area where we are stretching the truth, as far as I am concerned, is the jobs. I don’t really believe myself as a CEO. [Laughs] But hopefully the viewers will!

TVGuide.com: Your character is actually the one faced with the most real of conflicts, at least in the premiere.

Vartan: Yes, yes... they like to tell me my character is "the moral center." That’s one of the things I was attracted to when I read the script. As an actor, it's always more fun to play conflict and things that are troublesome as opposed to when things are fine. I was excited by the notion of what lies ahead for this guy, in terms of his marriage, his job situation....

TVGuide.com: So part of the draw for you was to get away from the squeaky-clean good boys whose lives are hunky-dory?

Vartan: Oh, yeah. Man, give me a movie where I can shoot heroin and kill someone and I'm in. There's nothing wrong with romantic comedies — I wouldn’t be talking to you if it weren't for Never Been Kissed and Monster-in-Law — and when I think back on those, I have great memories. But I've been doing this for 20 years and while it's nice to be told, "Aw, you're so sweet," I'm a dude! [Laughs] It gets old after a while. Alias was good for me because even though Vaughn was a squeaky clean CIA agent, at least I got to shoot a gun once in a while.

TVGuide.com: Did you ever lobby to have Vaughn get an evil doppelgänger, à la Francie?

Vartan: Oh, are you kidding?! That's all I lobbied for with [exec producer] J.J. [Abrams]. I was like, "Dude, you’ve got to make Vaughn be the bad guy at the end of it!" He said that was the one character that we could not turn evil because no one would believe it. [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: A concern of some critics is that these Big Shots, by and large, aren’t entirely likable. Is that being addressed, are any tweaks being made...?

Vartan: To be honest, I don’t think we really care. It's one of those things where we're not going to please everyone all the time. A lot of the criticism has been so harsh and heavy-handed at times, you have to stop and think, "I didn’t realize we were curing cancer here." It's a TV show. If you don’t like it, pick up the remote. Dylan [McDermott]'s character is definitely living on the edge, Josh [Malina]'s is having an affair.... They're not choir boys, and they're not the most upstanding guys, but welcome to the real world. And also, we're not making any political, sociological or economic statement here. We're just making a TV show about a bunch of rich CEOs who act like dorks once in a while. It's not Apocalypse Now. If it's offensive for you, change the channel.

TVGuide.com: "Go watch someone get defibrillated on ER."

Vartan: [Laughs] Exactly.

TVGuide.com: Had you crossed professional paths with any of your costars before?

Vartan: No, I've never worked with any of them, but I've known Josh for about 10 years. The funny thing about this cast is you would be hard-pressed to find four guys more different than the four of us are. We are so incredibly different. Dylan is this sharp, cool, edgy, quiet, intense guy; Josh is so f--king smart, he reeks of intelligence; Christopher [Titus] is one of the funniest people I've ever met; and I'm just sort of "none of the above," trying to figure out what I'm doing on this show. [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: No male diva among you?

Vartan: Not yet, not yet. But it's early, we have time!

TVGuide.com: No p-ssing matches like, "I worked for David E. Kelley." "But I worked for J.J. Abrams. "Well, I worked for Aaron Sorkin... "?

Vartan: No, no. Dylan would win that p-ssing match anyway. I'm just happy to have a job.

TVGuide.com: It's also worth mentioning that the cast features the likes of Nia Long and Paige Turco, and Charisma Carpenter starts a recurring role on Nov. 1. Eye candy for everybody, right?

Vartan: Absolutely. Nothing wrong with that!

Review: `Kingdom' finds mixed success

It moderately succeeds at achieving both.

Director Peter Berg ("Friday Night Lights"), working from a script by Matthew Michael Carnahan, raises some intriguing questions about cultural misconceptions and revenge, then comes up with answers that feel a bit too pat.

He's assembled a strong cast in Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Chris Cooper and Jason Bateman, then has them solve a complicated terrorist attack in a matter of mere days in a country where they're not exactly wanted.

The four star as FBI agents who secretly travel to Saudi Arabia to determine who was behind a massive, deadly bombing at an American oil-company compound in Riyadh. (A couple of their colleagues were killed while responding to the blast. This time, it's personal.)

Foxx, who's surely overqualified for this gig, nonetheless brings his trademark cool and charisma to the role of Special Agent Ronald Fleury, the team's leader who finagles last-minute access to the country by threatening to blackmail the Saudi ambassador to the United States.

Garner doesn't get to do much as Special Agent Janet Mayes, the group's forensics specialist. As a woman she is treated with particular scrutiny, and in a morgue scene is brusquely informed that she's not allowed to touch the bodies of Muslim victims. Which, in theory, she should have anticipated, since she's also supposed to be a linguistics expert.

Cooper provides the most substance as the group's veteran, bomb expert Grant Sykes, who stuns the local investigators with his down-home willingness to get his hands dirty — along with his face and entire body — while digging for clues at the center of the bomb's impact.

And Bateman, in a rare role that lets him show he's capable of more than comedy, co-stars as intelligence guru Adam Leavitt. Yes, he gets a few chances to crack wise and provide comic relief, but he's also the one who ends up in the most terrifying situation of all.

Our fantastic foursome run into bureaucratic roadblocks before they even leave the country; the attorney general, played by an overly pompous Danny Huston, prohibits them from traveling to Saudi Arabia out of concern for the sensitivity of Saudi royals, which they defy. Once they arrive, they find they've been assigned a baby sitter in Col. Al Ghazi (Ashraf Barhom from "Paradise Now," a real standout), whose job is to make sure that they're safe, which doesn't necessarily coincide with making sure they carry out a thorough investigation.

Jeremy Piven, as a U.S. State Department official, also wants them to leave as quickly as possible to avoid any potential international conflicts. Essentially, he's playing yet another version of Ari Gold from "Entourage" — and by now, it has gotten seriously out of control. Piven has turned into a parody of himself. He has got to show he's capable of more.

Fleury and Al Ghazi form an unlikely bond, which conveniently allows Fleury to come full-circle from the loss of his friend at the film's start. Foxx and Barhom are so good together, though, they make this obvious device more tolerable than it should be.

What also keeps "The Kingdom" engaging throughout is that it's great to look at. (Mauro Fiore, whose films include "Training Day," is the cinematographer). Shot in the 115-degree heat of Arizona and on location in Abu Dhabi, it has a visual intensity and intimacy reminiscent of Michael Mann (who happens to be one of the producers), with a prolonged, climactic gun battle that's especially brutal.

By having Fleury and Co. annihilate everyone in their path with a seemingly unlimited amount of firepower, perhaps "The Kingdom" is trying to say that vengeance is blind. But it also happens to look pretty cathartic.

"The Kingdom," a Universal Pictures release, is rated R for intense sequences of graphic brutal violence, and for language. Running time: 110 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.

Male buddy show "Big Shots" misfires

"Big Shots" is a tricky show because while it is supposed to be about men and their dramatic issues, it isn't aimed at men, at least not the way "Housewives" is aimed at women. With "Housewives," you get some far-fetched predicaments, but it's still not hard to relate to the characters. The stars of "Big Shots," on the other hand, are plucked from the Fortune 500 and exist in a different universe. Their lives are governed by the SEC and the IRS, not the PTA.

Preceded by "Ugly Betty" and "Grey's Anatomy," "Big Shots" caps off an ABC female-friendly evening. Consequently, it has less to do with the problems of men than what women imagine, and maybe fantasize, those problems to be. This results in a series ostensibly about male friendship in which all the guys are well-dressed and impeccably groomed and never meet in bars or watch sports on TV.

Take, for example, Duncan Collinsworth (Dylan McDermott), CEO of a big cosmetics company. Since his divorce from Lisbeth (Paige Turco), sex with her is more exciting than ever. The inference here is that Collinsworth is unable to fully commit and is emotionally immature, whereas from a male perspective, this is just a delightful situation in which one enjoys the milk without being responsible for the cow.

Or take Karl Mixworthy (Joshua Malina), CEO of a pharmaceutical giant, who is married to a saint (Amy Sloan) but cheats on her with a sexually adventurous mistress (Jessica Collins). Only in a woman's parallel universe would the mistress get tired of playing second fiddle, march over to his house and then bond with the wife.

The other two members of the male quartet are James Walker (Michael Vartan), an astute business exec swiftly climbing the corporate ladder, and Brody Johns (Christopher Titus), head of a crisis management firm. Walker is faithful through and through. So, to restore cosmic balance, his wife cheats on him. Johns has been henpecked so long that his complaints sound hollow.

Creator Feldman packs an enormous amount of story into the pilot, including Duncan's testy relationship with his 19-year-old daughter (Peyton List), a potential scandal in his past and James' more-than-collegial relationship with fellow executive Katie Graham (Nia Long).

Still, for this show to work, it will have to interest women viewers in an artificial version of male camaraderie, which could be a tough sell. Network competition consists of a solid hit, CBS' "Without a Trace," and a possibly fading "ER" on NBC. This might be the year that cable makes inroads on Thursday night.

Cast:
Duncan Collinsworth: Dylan McDermott
Karl Mixworthy: Joshua Malina
James Walker: Michael Vartan
Brody Johns: Christopher Titus
Lisbeth: Paige Turco
Cameron Collinsworth: Peyton List
Marla: Jessica Collins
Wendy Mixworthy: Amy Sloan
Katie Graham: Nia Long

Executive producers: Charles McDougall, Jon Harmon Feldman; Producer: Carol Trussel; Director: Charles McDougall; Creator-teleplay: Jon Harmon Feldman; Director of photography: David Franco; Production designer: Nina Ruscio; Editor: Jim Page; Music: Josh Kramon; Set decorator: Ron Olsen; Casting: Susan Edelman.

Garner balances career with motherhood

"My job is great to have as a mom," she tells Marie Claire magazine in its October issue. "I get to take long breaks and then work hard in a really concentrated way."

Garner wed Ben Affleck in June 2005. Their daughter, Violet, will be 2 on Dec. 1.

"She's pretty awesome. We're in that sweet spot before the `terrible twos,'" the 35-year-old actress says. "We definitely wonder what it would be like to have another — hopefully, knock on wood, someday."

Garner nursed Violet during the filming of "The Kingdom," co-starring Jamie Foxx, which opens in theaters Friday. Garner says she found herself staggered by the heat on the Arizona set.

"I checked with a pediatrician, I checked with my gynecologist," she recalls, "and they said, `Breast-feeding? You'll be fine. Just drink plenty of water.' But the rules when it's 138 degrees are different. ... It sent me to the hospital a couple of times."

"I guess I was getting heatstroke," she says. "All my electrolytes were going to the baby — I wasn't keeping any of the potassium in my body."

"I made it through, though," says Garner, who nursed Violet for 14 months. "I really didn't want to give up, and I didn't."

She debuted her postpartum figure at the 2006 Oscars wearing a beaded designer gown.

Such an outing isn't stress-free, Garner says.

"I usually feel like, `No matter how many girdles you put me in, you will not be able to zip this.' They always say to you — as though it's something that should make you happy — `This is fresh from the runway.'

"But what I think is, `That was made for some 14-year-old girl from Russia! It was not made to go on my body.'"

Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck Fight in a 'Loving and Adult Way'

"I don't know what makes [the relationship] work. But it does," she tells Marie Claire magazine in its current issue. "One thing that makes it not not work is that we're both pretty nice."

When it comes to getting over the inevitable marital spats, she says they both keep a level head. "[Ben] is not someone who's ever going to blow up on anyone," says Garner. "What I mean is, if he's ever angry with me, he doesn't act out on it in a weird way or yell at me. And I am the same. So we can handle conflict in a very loving and adult way."

Another reason the couple gel so well is their love of family – and they both wish they could be closer to their relatives, who live on the other side of the country from Hollywood.

"I can't live in West Virginia and do what I do – I'm not going to get lots of jobs there," Garner, 35, tells the magazine. "It bums us out. We haven't figured it out yet."

Not that their own family life is lacking. Garner and Affleck, both 35, who have Violet, 22 months, "definitely wonder what it would be like to have another" baby, though they haven't decided when. "Hopefully, knock on wood, someday," is all Garner will say.

Until then, the couple are enjoying being a trio. "She's pretty awesome," Garner says of Violet. "We're in that sweet spot before the terrible twos. She sleeps until 7 a.m. Yeah, we lucked out."

On the career front – Garner currently stars in The Kingdom with Jamie Foxx and Jason Bateman – she's grateful she can balance her job with motherhood.

"My job is great to have as a mom. I get to take long breaks and then work hard in a really concentrated way," she says. "During that concentrated time, it sucks, but whatever."

Garner sees "Ghosts" in her future

McConaughey plays a bachelor who goes to his younger brother's wedding, where he is visited by the ghosts of his past and future girlfriends who endeavor to connect him with his true love (Garner).

Mark Waters ("Mean Girls") is directing the New Line project.

Garner returns to theaters September 28 in the Saudi terrorism thriller "The Kingdom."

Walker On By: Brothers & Sisters Season 2 Preview

Arguably, the biggest shock twist at the end of the show's freshman year was Uncle Saul possibly being gay. (Those longing looks with guest star Michael Nouri sure implied it, didn't they?) Does Ron Rifkin (Saul) know anyone who dealt with their sexual preferences later in life? "Are you kidding?" he responds rhetorically to TVGuide.com. "All of us [know someone like Saul]." That is, if Nora's brother turns out to be gay. "I still don't know [if that's where they're going]," he says. "But the possibilities are enormous."

Matthew Rhys (Kevin), dressed in a sports coat and jeans, couldn't help but taunt his TV brother Dave Annable (Justin), who was decked out in a dark DKNY suit (which he may have gotten free or borrowed from the show's wardrobe department). "How much did you pay for that, Dave?" Rhys teasingly asked. "I hate you," Annable playfully seethed in return. Do the Walker brothers mess with each other like this a lot? "Mercilessly," Rhys gleefully revealed. "It's gotten to a bit of a boiling point. They said to us at the show today, OK, stop it now, the three of you!'"

Rhys says one of his favorite scenes from Season 1 was Rachel Griffiths (Sarah) doing a dance at a roadside bar patronized by a group of hot army men. By the way, how realistic did Rhys think it was that Kevin chatted up a Vin Diesel-type enlisted man, who went ahead and offered to hook up with Kevin right within earshot of his fellow soldiers? "Yes, well, my thought is that it was something [irresistible] that [Kevin] was exuding," deadpans Rhys, adding, "in all good TV, there's a bit of dramatic license that we take — and I took it."

With Viva Laughlin's Eric Winter taking his character Jason (Robert McCallister's gay minister brother) off the canvas, Kevin will be a single man — unless that buzz about him reconnecting with Luke McFarlane's Scotty turns out to be true. "That's possible," hints Rhys. "The door's [also] open for [Jason] to return, too. The beauty of it is when a script is forced to go one way, the drama can benefit from Eric's prolific career."

Speaking of soldiers, while Justin left for the war in Iraq in the finale, viewers can expect to see him stateside very shortly. "I come back early on in the season, which is great for me," says a relieved Annable. "I hope to be here next season."

While Brothers & Sisters is a serialized drama, don't expect it to use a cliché like bringing Tom, the late Walker patriarch (Tom Skerritt) who died in the pilot, back from the dead. But that doesn't mean the Emmy-winning actor won't be making more appearances via flashback like he did last year.

Balthazar Getty's (Tommy) character could use a dad to talk to given the traumatic loss of his own newborn son last season. Will Tommy and Julia's marriage dissolve or will their surviving daughter be the glue that keeps them together? "They end up having a turbulent time," previews Getty. "We're excited about it. There are some bumps along the road. [Julia] goes into a depression and [Tommy] ends up making mistakes."

Also up for grabs in terms of survival is Joe and Sarah's union, which struck a sour note when Sarah's half sister Rebecca and Joe shared a smooch last season during a guitar lesson. Preview clips indicate that Joe and Sarah have some great makeup sex, but will it do the trick? "Makeup sex is always the best," chuckles John Pyper-Ferguson (Joe). "[But] I don't know that redemption is in the cards for Joe. He's got a big hill to climb. Forgiveness is a big thing. Betrayal is [also] a big thing."

Ferguson says a favorite scene of his on the DVD is when Joe and Sarah finally cleared the air over the unplanned peck. "It came out of passion, anger and love," says the actor. During the hiatus, Ferguson filmed an episode of The L Word. "It was a blast working with Jennifer Beals and Marlee Matlin," he enthuses. So what's next for the actor, who this year was bumped to recurring status on the ABC drama? "I'm looking," he says.

So just who was at fault in the whole Joe-Rebecca kiss? "It was 50/50," maintains Emily VanCamp, who plays Rebecca, the love child of the late Tom and his mistress Holly. "I think it came across that way. It was just a bad mistake that two adults made."

Are there any other Walker-sibling marriages that Rebecca plans on mangling this year? "Yes, I'll actually be having an affair with Rachel Griffith's character [Sarah] this season," VanCamp jokes. "Oh, wait. I forgot. This isn't HBO." On a more serious — and cryptic — note the actress says, "I know there's a love story that's going to be happening, but I can't say what it is and I'm not even sure it will [happen]. But there's a twist that could be happening." Hmm… could said twist be that Rebecca is not actually Tom's daughter? If so, Rebecca could be paired romantically with any of her TV "brothers."

Patricia Wettig's Holly might disagree that Rebecca could turn out to be a good girl — no matter who her dad is. She certainly gave Nora a strong warning last season that Rebecca was trouble with a capital "T." Was the admonition an overreaction, or is Rebecca really more like the spawn of Caroline Reynolds (Wettig's evil political character on Prison Break)? "What's interesting is that certain things are decided at [one] time… and then things end up happening [that contradict that]," Wettig says. "We'll see if that actually comes to be. I think things are changing with [Emily's] character."

If Wettig sounds protective of the show's creative team changing course, there's a good reason. Her husband, Ken Olin, is one of the show's executive producers and their son is one of the writers. (Daughter Roxy played a short-term role on the show, too.) The Olin-Wettig professional dynamic is explored in a DVD extra — "The Family Business," which shows the real clan behind the success of Brothers & Sisters. Does the feature detail how the brood manages to work together and remain sane? "Did I say we were sane?" jokes Wettig. "Watch the DVD and judge for yourself."

Brothers & Sisters: The Complete First Season, which also includes an exclusive unaired episode, a Walker family tree, bloopers, deleted scenes, and a behind-the-scenes set tour by the Walker brothers, goes on sale Tuesday, Sept. 18.

"The Kingdom" -- exotic, not very exciting

With Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper and Jennifer Garner heading the cast, the movie should generate some healthy opening-weekend business. But its long-term prospects seem iffy.

The title sequence does a nifty job of sketching the history of America's involvement in Saudi Arabia during the past century, from the discovery of oil to the emergence of Osama bin Laden. The film opens with a gripping set-piece -- a baseball game held in the American compound in Riyadh (populated mainly by oil company workers and their families) that is disrupted by a deadly terrorist assault. The FBI is charged with investigating the killing of Americans on foreign soil, but Washington honchos, including a craven Attorney General (Danny Huston), refuse to authorize any official U.S. action.

So a strong-willed FBI agent, Ronald Fleury (Foxx), assembles his own small team and heads off to the Middle East to investigate. Although the Saudis are initially wary of these American interlopers, the leading Saudi officer eventually decides to cooperate with Fleury's team. They mine the crime scene for clues and interview witnesses with the hope of tracking down the mastermind behind the attacks.

The relationship of the two lead investigators is the strongest element in the film. Screenwriter Matthew Michael Carnahan seems to have taken some inspiration from "In the Heat of the Night"; the dynamic between the two detectives is exactly the same as in that Oscar-winning 1967 film. Fleury is the fish out of water in an alien world, and after some tense initial encounters, he and the local sheriff join forces to solve the crime. Foxx demonstrates his usual charisma, though the best performance comes from Ashraf Barhom ("Paradise Now") as the humane Arab colonel.

Unfortunately, the other actors have less opportunity to shine. Jason Bateman (as the least experienced team member) and Jeremy Piven (as a slick U.S. diplomat who might be a cousin of "Entourage's" Ari Gold) do have a few funny moments. Garner has little to do, and Cooper barely registers at all. The biggest waste of the film is casting this superb Oscar-winning actor in a role that any B-level TV personality could have played just as smoothly.

The fault is not with the actors; their roles are completely devoid of sharp character details. All we learn about Fleury is that he's a devoted father, which is established in a treacly early scene in which he visits his son's school.

The shallow script might have been salvaged by more dynamic direction, but Berg ("Friday Night Lights") films much of the action in close-ups with a jerky moving camera. The film cries out for long shots that would clarify the logistics. Berg simply thrusts us into the middle of the chaos, which might have been his intention, but the result is a vertigo-inducing ride that leaves a lot of the action unintelligible.

The excessive use of close-ups undermines the strong work of cinematographer Mauro Fiore and production designer Tom Duffield.

The film ends by suggesting that lust for revenge can warp righteous American patriots as well as Islamic fundamentalists. Still, this earnestly even-handed message is a bit of a cheat. Given the heinous actions of the terrorists, audiences are primed to cheer when they finally get blown to smithereens. We might cheer more loudly if "Kingdom" were a more effective piece of rabble-rousing.

Cast:
Ronald Fleury: Jamie Foxx
Grant Sykes: Chris Cooper
Janet Mayes: Jennifer Garner
Adam Leavitt: Jason Bateman
Col. Faris Al Ghazi: Ashraf Barhom
Damon Schmidt: Jeremy Piven
James Grace: Richard Jenkins
Gideon Young: Danny Huston
Sgt. Haytham: Ali Suliman
Aaron Jackson: Tim McGraw
Francis Manner: Kyle Chandler
Elaine Flowers: Frances Fisher
Maricella Canavesio: Anna Deavere Smith
Prince Ahmed Bin Khaled: Omar Berdouni
Gen. Al Abdulmalik: Mahmoud Said
Abu Hamza: Hezi Saddik

Director: Peter Berg; Screenwriter: Matthew Michael Carnahan; Producers: Michael Mann, Scott Stuber; Executive producers: Mary Parent, Steven Saeta, Sarah Aubrey, John Cameron, Ryan Kavanaugh; Director of photography: Mauro Fiore; Production designer: Tom Duffield; Music: Danny Elfman; Costume designer: Susan Matheson; Editors: Kevin Stitt, Colby Parker Jr.

Pregnant teen wisely comes of age in 'Juno'

Juno is about a sardonic and free-spirited teenager (Ellen Page of X3 and Hard Candy) who gets pregnant after a night of curiosity with her shy best friend (Superbad's Michael Cera).

The comedy was the hit of the recent film festival in Telluride, Colo., and starts playing at the Toronto festival on Saturday. It opens in theaters Dec. 14.

The title character is defiantly determined not to become a casualty of weepy teen-angst clichés: She has gotten herself into this fix, and she will figure her own way out. No problem.

"That's why I thought this was such a brilliant coming-of-age story," Page says. "She's someone sitting with a situation, not wrapping it around her ego and turning it into a big thing. She deals with it. And I have respect for that."

Before breaking the news to her supportive but baffled parents (J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney), Juno connects with a young couple (Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman) who want to adopt. They are financially stable but emotionally at odds.

The humor comes from having a kid fearlessly think her way through her own problems instead of being a victim of hang-ups in the adult world.

"Juno, if it's about anything, is about the moment we decide to grow up. We have teenage girls who are growing up way too fast and 30-year-old men who are basically refusing to grow up," says director Jason Reitman, who is following up on Thank You for Smoking.

Reitman says the key to making it work was the perspective of screenwriter Diablo Cody, a journalist who chronicled a brief stripping career in her 2005 memoir Candy Girl.

"Any time the opportunity comes up, she makes a sophisticated, interesting and unusual choice," he says.

Juno confronts the abortion question head-on, and the young girl makes a decision likely to intrigue people on both sides of that debate.

The film also is unusually frank about teenage sex, finding truth and humor in the subject without reducing it to Porky's-style crassness.

"It's different from a movie that's just about trying to (score with) the hot chick," Page says. "People seem to forget that young individuals are indeed individuals.

"Often the media paints all girls and all boys with the same annoying paintbrush. That drives me crazy."

Audiences can tell Juno is different just by looking at her, Page says.

"Obviously, she isn't pigeonholed," she says. "It was amazing to play the teenage lead in a film and wear sweater vests! There are a lot of girls like that out there, and they don't always get their due in the popular media. A girl can wear a sweater vest and not just talk about the hot boy."

Jennifer Garner's 'Down and Dirty' Fight Scenes

"It was so down and dirty that [I] had scratch marks that we had to cover up on my face for the next few days," says Garner, who plays a U.S. government agent sent to investigate a bombing in the Middle East action thriller directed by Berg.

Garner, 35, and her longtime stunt double, Shauna Duggins, initially were told they wouldn't need much rehearsal time for the scenes. But the actress, who has worked with Berg before, says that should have been a red flag.

"Pete Berg was a guest star on Alias the first season," she said recently a press event for the film. "He and I had a fight. His idea of doing the fight was to improvise. I am a girl. I don't really want to be punched. ... He started trying to actually hit me, so I shouldn't have been surprised [about his approach on The Kingdom]. They yanked me out of that fight [on Alias] so fast."

Things got particularly intense at one point when Garner scuffled with one of the Kingdom's bad guys. "It was where he just tried to grab me and pull my face off," she says. "He had a scab on his ear because I bit his ear, and I just went 'Erg!' and yanked. I actually got his ear. Oh, it was nasty. It was great!"

Garner did admit to having one rule for her sparring partner: "He had to stay away from my boobs."

"Because I was breastfeeding (daughter Violet)," she says. "And he did. That was the one sacred thing. He could go for my head, pull my hair, just not the boobs."

However, the actress's husband, Ben Affleck, didn't seem too concerned when he popped by the set. "He was just like 'Go, go for it, babe! Harder!' " Garner says. "I thought it would have made him a little bit nervous to see them chucking me against the wall, harder and harder with every take."

Looking ahead, Garner confirmed that she is preparing for a role on Broadway opposite Kevin Kline in a revival of Cyrano de Bergerac. "It's always been my absolute dream of all dreams," she says of acting on Broadway. "This I couldn't pass up. Working with Kevin Kline, being in New York in the fall, doing this role, getting to say these words. I mean, just thinking about it I get so excited."

The Kingdom hits theaters in wide release on Sept. 28. Cyrano is reportedly set to open in October and run for 10 weeks.

Jennifer Esposito, Bradley Cooper Agree to Divorce Terms

Esposito filed for divorce on May 1 in Los Angeles County Superior Court, citing irreconcilable differences and seeking financial support from Cooper.

The pair signed dissolution of marriage papers on Friday. The divorce becomes final on November 10 – about six months after the filing date. The financial terms were determined by a prenuptial agreement, which remained sealed, the papers show.

Esposito, 35, and Cooper, 33, wed in late December and separated on April 5, 2007, according to the papers.

She appeared in 2005's Best Picture Oscar winner Crash, while he starred in the short-lived 2005 FOX sitcom Kitchen Confidential and as the bullying fiancé in the 2005 movie comedy Wedding Crashers.

It was a first marriage for both.

Duo a go for Cusack thriller "Stopping"

Cusack plays a man who races to rescue his kidnapped daughter. Isaacs will play Cusack's nemesis, and George will portray Cusack's girlfriend.

The film is slated to enter production in Berlin next month. Jan de Bont ("Speed") directs.

Isaacs played the villainous Lucius Malfoy in "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." George's credits include "Turistas" and "Derailed."

Garner Has Nose for Broadway

Jennifer Garner continues her emergence from maternity leave, sniffing out a starring role in the Broadway revival of the proboscis-powered romantic classic Cyrano de Bergerac.

She'll play as Roxanne to Kevin Kline's schnoz-enhanced hero in the limited-engagement production, which kicks off Nov. 1 at the Richards Rodgers Theater. The show will run through Dec. 23.

Daniel Sunjata will play Roxanne's other suitor, the handsome if inept Christian.

The new production of Edmond Rostand's 1897 magnum opus features a translation and adaptation by Anthony Burgess (A Clockwork Orange).

This will be Garner's Broadway debut. The 35-year-old former Alias star took nearly a year off from acting following the birth of her and husband Ben Affleck's daughter, Violet, in December 2005.

She most recently appeared onscreen in the January bomb Catch and Release, which was actually shot before Violet's birth. Garner has two other films set to unspool this year.

First up is the terrorism thriller The Kingdom, also starring Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper, Jeremy Piven and Jason Bateman and due out Sept. 28.

Garner also appears in the dramedy Juno with Bateman, Michael Cera, Allison Janney, Rainn Wilson and Ellen Page. The film is set for limited release in December.

Garner no doubt hopes her premiere performance on the Great White Way is better received than Julia Roberts'. The Pretty Woman took to the boards in Three Days of Rain during her own comeback from baby-tending duties but failed to endear herself to theater critics.

Of course, Kline has made a career of endearing himself to critics. The actor, who has two Tonys to go along with his Oscar, will be Broadway's first Cyrano in more than 20 years.

Derek Jacobi last played the role in a 1984 Royal Shakespeare Company production. José Ferrer, arguably the most famous modern Cyrano, starred in a 1946 revival and won an Oscar for the 1950 film version. And Steve Martin memorably parodied the play in his hit 1987 big-screen comedy Roxanne, with Daryl Hannah.

Prime-time men showing softer side

And yet, says Vartan, "I'm a lot more sensitive than anyone would really know, and it's definitely interesting to portray that in a character."

As the star of ABC's hourlong fall dramedy, "Big Shots," the former "Alias" secret agent is just one of a number of actors playing complex, emotionally evolved, heterosexual alpha males putting their softer side on display in prime time.

In the late 1990s, "Sex and the City" ushered in a new portrait of single women with their frank discussions of their sexual exploits, desires, fantasies and beliefs about men. Of late, however, it's the less-fair sex going sensitive.

In a number of broadcast ensembles premiering this fall, men are opening up about issues beyond sports, money, power and sexual conquests. They're expressing their feelings — often to other men — on fatherhood, intimacy and love.

One such series is ABC's "Carpoolers," which centers on commuter pals who commiserate about everything from their jobs and their wives ("If we don't provide for our women, do they really need us?" queries one character) to their personal secrets (one confesses to losing his virginity to Air Supply's syrupy `80s ballad, "All Out of Love.")

"The whole idea behind the car pool is that anything can be said," says co-star T.J. Miller. "It's almost like the huddle before they go into the football game that is life. Then they go back into the huddle because there's another game at home. So it's guys trying to figure stuff out and wanting to get the perspective of other guys."

Other series featuring men bonding include HBO's popular comedy, "Entourage," just renewed for a fifth season and CBS' returning "Rules of Engagement," highlighting the friendship of three men: one married, one engaged and one happily playing the field. Then there's the new ABC sitcom, "Cavemen," which follows a group of modern-day Cro-Magnon men who are far more enlightened than their counterparts in the days before fire.

"There's a bit of an evolution, the idea of male bonding, which has always been around in entertainment, but in the past it was done with a little more machismo," says Nicole Vecchiarelli, entertainment director of Details, a men's fashion and lifestyle magazine. "But in the post metrosexual era guys bonding isn't necessarily about guns and action and high testosterone activity. They're exposing their more sensitive side because that's a reflection of the typical urban male."

Although the idea of the metrosexual man focused on outward appearances, where men were as conscious about the way they looked — and smelled — as women, "now it seems they can, on the inside, feel a little bit more like girls and that's still OK," adds Vecchiarelli.

The men in "Big Shots" are very in touch with their feminine sides. Vartan, Dylan McDermott, Joshua Malina and Christopher Titus play high-powered Manhattan CEOs with everything in the world they could want, except for stable relationships at home. In the pilot, the men groan so much about their dysfunctional marriages, their need for intimacy and fidelity, McDermott's character declares: "Men. We're the new women."

Series creator and executive producer Jon Harmon Feldman believes that men are now having "to deal with traditional female issues of fidelity, rejection or the challenges of love or making relationships work. We're trying to attack those (issues) in a way that is true to how men would deal with it and hopefully bring a glimpse into men that women might not ordinarily get."

But "Carpoolers" scribe Kit Boss argues that there has to be a line drawn on all this male camaraderie. "I just wrote an episode that answers the question: Are they friend friends or car-pool friends? In the case of that story, we definitely looked for a way to undercut anything that felt too emotional or too sensitive."

For example, one of the characters, happy to find out that they were more than car-pool pals, goes for a hug. "The guy he was going to hug said: `Whoa, we're not girlfriends. We're friends.' ... To me, the danger would be: Does this match the reality that I know? I generally find more humor in the inability to express one's self ... than in being able to be more highly evolved as a male."

That's how TV has traditionally handled the topic of men and their hearts, with humor. It was the case with the father and son stories of "The Andy Griffith Show" and "The Courtship of Eddie's Father," workplace comedies like "Barney Miller" and "Cheers," buddy romps like, "The Odd Couple" or the long-running "Frasier."

"Male bonding, from whatever perspective, there's just something silly about it," says "Rules" star Patrick Warburton. "Personally, with me, just hanging out with my buddies playing some golf, playing some poker and, of course when I get my drink on out in the barn and I'm watching DVDs of Pearl Jam or Alice in Chains, if you're a female it's got to be silly — the same way, you know, that you're a guy and you're watching `Sex and the City,'" he says, laughing.

Generally, dramas featuring sensitive men have had a tough time garnering large audiences, female or male. HBO's comedy "The Mind of a Married Man" (2001) only lasted a season. And of the 2006 releases: NBC's sitcom "Four Kings," CBS' hourlong "Love Monkey," and the ABC drama, "What About Brian," all came and went.

"One of the things that I loved about Brian was that he was so much of who guys are, the modern man, a little more sensitive, a little more open about showing certain feelings," says "What About Brian" lead Barry Watson. "I think the reason why `Brian' still isn't going on actually doesn't have anything to do with that — at least I would hope not."

"We still have a deep-seated need for the man being the rescuer, the man being the hero," says Warren Farrell, author of numerous books on men, including the best-seller, "Why Men Are the Way They Are." "We're sending a huge mixed message to men. First we want the football player and then we blame him for being rough and insensitive with women."

Kevin Kay, general manager and executive vice president of men's cable network, Spike TV, contends that broadcast executives — driven by advertisers — have long been interested in courting female audiences, so shows about men need to appeal to women. "I think that for advertisers, safer, cleaner, not as risky, not as edgy, more mainstream ... that tends to fall more into the category of shows that women want to watch."

"The Sopranos," to some extent, "is a good example of that," says Kay. "The way Tony Soprano and his guys hung out ... you see the way guys talk to guys when nobody else is around. That's the ability of cable TV to be a little more edgy."

"Big Shots'" Feldman realizes that "there's a natural skepticism among men to embrace male characters unless you can prove to them that they are real men, which I think to men means they are not overly indulgent with their feelings. So you're kind of walking a line. You want to write men that women find appealing and also men find appealing, which is sometimes paradoxical. That's the challenge."

'Alias,' 'Entourage' Stars 'Into' Dating Comedy

The bevy of actors are in talks to star in the Drew Barrymore-produced and -starring comedy "He's Just Not That Into You," according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Based on the humorous book of the same name, "Into You" examines how modern-day men and women misinterpret each others' signals in dating relationships. The New Line Cinema film will be an ensemble comedy set in Baltimore and the interconnecting stories of various characters sending mixed signals to members of the opposite sex.

Barrymore stars as a woman confused by dating, especially since technology nowadays cuts down on face-to-face human contact.

In this tangled web, Jennifer Connolly's character is stuck in a stale marriage to Cooper's ("Alias") character, who in turn is having an affair with a lady yet to be cast. This woman in turn, is the object of affection for Kevin Connolly's ("Entourage") character. Completing this mess is Ginnifer Goodwin, who is obsessed with Connolly and tries to "accidentally" run into him, only to meet his friend played by Justin Long ("Live Free or Die Hard") who decides to play Henry Higgins to her Eliza Doolittle.

Ken Kwapis ("The Office," "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants") will direct. Production is scheduled to begin in early September in Los Angeles.

Jennifer Garner Heading to Broadway?

The 35-year old actress got her professional start 12 years ago as an understudy for a play in New York, and is currently in negotiations to star opposite Kevin Kline in a revival of Cyrano de Bergerac on Broadway, the New York Post reports.

Kline, 59, an accomplished theater actor, would play the title role. Garner, who starred on Alias and is married to Ben Affleck, would play Roxanne, the French socialite with whom Cyrano is secretly in love.

Edmond Rostand's 1897 play was memorably brought to the big screen in the 1987 film Roxanne, in which Steve Martin played the role of Cyrano.

Garner grew up in the theater, mostly in musical roles. Shortly after college, she landed a job as as an understudy in the Broadway production of Ivan Tugenev's A Month in the Country. She soon moved to TV and eventually won the part of Sydney Bristow in the spy drama Alias, which made her a star.

The production is set to be directed by David Leveaux and would run for 10 weeks, beginning in October, according to the Post.

Garner most recently was reported to be working on a TV show described as "The View for mothers." She and Affleck have a 20-month-old daughter, Violet.

Garner also stars with Jamie Foxx in the upcoming movie The Kingdom, which hits theaters Sept. 28.

Garner's rep did not immediately return a request for comment.

Dual Spocks for Abrams' Star Trek

J.J. Abrams, creator of Lost and Alias and the auteur who will be reviving the Star Trek franchise next year, said Thursday that his take on the sci-fi classic will feature dual Mr. Spocks, the younger of the two to be played by Heroes villain Zachary Quinto, as reported earlier this week by E! Online's TV blog.

And serving as young Spock's older and wiser incarnation will be none other than Leonard Nimoy, who was on hand when the good news was announced during Paramount Pictures' panel at Comic-Con, aka fanboy heaven, in San Diego.

"People have been asking me why I'm doing this movie, and I think the answer is obvious—we have a great director, a wonderful script, and a wonderful young actor playing Spock, so…it was logical," said the 76-year-old Nimoy, to everybody's dorky delight.

Per the closely guarded script penned by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, Quinto will star as Spock in his pre-Wrath of Khan days. Nimoy, meanwhile, will have a meaty cameo.

When asked how much of his take on the half-Vulcan Enterprise veteran will be inspired by Nimoy, Quinto, was last seen opening skulls and getting skewered as the power-hungry Sylar on Heroes, said: "Well, as much as he'd like it to be, since he's working on the film, which is an honor."

But, "I certainly intend to bring my own spin to it, and working with these guys, I'm sure I'll find it," he added.

Abrams' addition to the canon, which is slated for a Christmas Day 2008 release, couldn't be coming at a better time, at least for Trekkers, considering there hasn't been a new addition to the cinematic series in more than five years, and because, for the first time in what seems like forever, there is no first-run Star Trek spinoff series on the air right now.

While the last cinematic permutation of the series was 2002's Star Trek: Nemesis, Nimoy hasn't played big-screen Spock since 1991's Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

Shooting on the new film—which, taking a cue from Casino Royale and Batman Begins, will bring us back to where it all began for Spock and pal James T. Kirk—is expected to kick off in November.

Abrams, who promised that he'd return to Comic-Con next year with more scoop, said that the role of young Kirk has not yet been cast and that they're trying to find a way to get William Shatner involved.

And…Star Trek isn't the only long-dormant franchise that's injecting some old blood and playing host to a familiar face.

Director Steven Spielberg also revealed (via video feed) Thursday at Comic-Con that Karen Allen, Harrison Ford's love interest from Raiders of the Lost Ark, will appear in the upcoming fourth Indiana Jones movie

Joined (on tape) by cast members Ford (in full Indy gear), Shia LeBeouf and Ray Winstone, Spielberg delighted fans with the news that the spunky Marion Ravenwood was primed for a comeback.

No additional footage from the as-yet untitled film was presented, but the audience sounded psyched enough, allowing the all-star crew behind the ambitious endeavor to rest on their laurels for just a little longer.

"I'm here on the set of Indiana Jones and the…and that's the title of our film," Spielberg joked.

Fans were treated to clips from the upcoming Iron Man film, directed by Jon Favreau and starring Robert Downey Jr. as the metal-enhanced superhero, as well as to the trailer for Robert Zemeckis' take on the medieval epic Beowulf, featuring Winstone and Angelina Jolie.

Affleck, Garner & Damon Star in 'Corny' Environmental Ad

The leading man - along with wife Jennifer Garner, best pal Matt Damon as well as Jason Biggs, Sarah Silverman and Joshua Jackson - is starring in a series of YouTube videos, dubbed Clean My Ride, Flex My Fuel.

The five-minute films follow the adventures of a shaggy, bearded alternative fuel activist named Phin, who enlists the celebrity crew in his campaign to make "flex fuel" hip. The global warming awareness clips, produced by the Washington, D.C.-based think tank Center for American Progress Action Fund, can be found on the Clean My Ride Web site and on YouTube.

In his starring role in the video, Affleck, (who first appears four minutes into the video), sports a pointy, yellow foam corn hat with leafy green ears and offers to take down "Big Oil."

"Congress bows to fear," Affleck hisses at the hero, who seeks to sweeten lawmakers on corn-based ethanol. "I bring the fear. Does big oil sleep around? Got bad credit? I'll find the dirt. And I will make big oil regret the day it ever uttered the words 'price gouging!' "

A new video, starring Damon, Garner and Silverman, is set to debut Tuesday, followed by new installments Wednesday and Thursday.

Damon will appear as a flex fuel pump, says Brian Komar, director of strategic outreach for the center, who terms it "hysterical" and says none of the stars took issue with their odd costumes.

In fact, he says, Affleck was happy to get in the corn suit. "It didn't take much," Komar tells PEOPLE. "Everyone was just really good-humored. Basically, it's an issue they care about."

Six actors join "Heroes" lineup

Anders will play the most intriguing part, that of the ancient samurai warrior Takezo Kensei, Hiro Nakamura's (Masi Oka) childhood hero. Hiro spent most of the first season trying to get a hold of Kensei's sword, which he hoped would help him in his quest to save the world.

Anders, who played Julian Sark on ABC's "Alias," recently did a multiepisode arc on ABC's "Grey's Anatomy."

In another Japanese connection, pop star and actress Eriko Tamura will play a Japanese princess. Tamura has starred in more than 15 Japanese features and TV series and has released 10 albums there. She made her English-language debut in the 2006 feature "Surf School."

Also, Barry Shabaka Henley will play Detective Fuller, a New York police officer. Holt McCallany will play Ricky, the ringleader of a group of Irish thugs. Henley next appears in the feature "The Horsemen," while McCallany next appears in the feature "Vantage Point."

Additionally, Lyndsy Fonseca (HBO's "Big Love") and Dianna Agron (the CW's "Veronica Mars") will play beautiful cheerleaders in Southern California, where Claire (Hayden Panettiere) is expected to move. Fonseca's character April is sweet, while Agron's Debbie is a mean girl.

New ABC Shows For Garber, Vartan, Dungey

Cast:
Michael Vartan ("Alias"): James Walker
Dylan McDermott ("The Practice"): Duncan Collinsworth
Christopher Titus ("Titus"): Brody Johns
Joshua Malina ("The West Wing"): Karl Mixworthy
Nia Long ("Premonition"): Katie Graham
Paige Turco ("Party of Five"): Lisbeth
Peyton List ("Day Break"): Cameron Collinsworth
Wendy Moniz ("Nash Bridges"): Stacey Walker
Jessica Collins ("The Nine"): Marla
Amy Sloan ("The Heartbreak Kid"): Wendy

Credits:
EP/Writer: Jon Harmon Feldman ("American Dreams")
Director: Charles McDougall ("Desperate Housewives")
Production Company: Warner Bros. Television

"Eli Stone"
Many lawyers consider themselves prophets, but Eli Stone may be the real deal. Eli has built a successful career at a top law firm in San Francisco representing only the biggest and richest corporations that make a habit of screwing over the little guy. But after experiencing a series of odd hallucinations, Eli seeks to find a deeper meaning to life while trying not to lose his job and destroy his relationship with the bosses' daughter. When Eli discovers an aneurysm in his brain, he wonders if his condition is truly medical or if perhaps he now has a higher calling.

Cast:
Jonny Lee Miller ("Melinda and Melinda"): Eli Stone
Victor Garber ("Alias"): Jordan Wethersby
Natasha Henstridge ("Commander in Chief"): Taylor Wethersby
Loretta Devine ("Crash"): Patti
Sam Jaeger ("Catch and Release"): Matt Dowd
Laura Benanti ("Take the Lead"): Beth Keller
James Saito ("I Think I Love My Wife"): Dr. Chen

Credits:
EP/Writer: Greg Berlanti ("Brothers & Sisters")
EP/Writer: Marc Guggenheim ("Brothers & Sisters")
EP/Director: Ken Olin ("Brothers & Sisters")
Production Company: ABC Studios

"Private Practice"
From Shonda Rhimes, the Golden Globe-winning creator of "Grey's Anatomy," comes a story about new beginnings and old friends. Addison Forbes Montgomery is a renowned neonatal surgeon, respected by her friends and colleagues at Seattle Grace Hospital. Deciding she can no longer healthily co-exist with her ex-husband, McDreamy, and her ex-lover, McSteamy, Addison heads to Los Angeles for sunnier weather and happier possibilities. Reunited with her once-married, newly divorced medical school friends, Naomi and Sam, Addison joins their chic private practice. Featuring an all-star cast including Kate Walsh, Amy Brenneman, Tim Daly and Taye Diggs, "Private Practice" tells the story of a woman unafraid of change and willing to begin a new life.

Cast:
Kate Walsh ("Grey's Anatomy"): Addison Forbes Montgomery
Tim Daly ("The Nine"): Dr. Peter Finch
Taye Diggs ("Day Break"): Dr. Sam Bennett
Paul Adelstein ("Prison Break"): Dr. Cooper Freedman
Merrin Dungey ("The King of Queens"): Dr. Naomi Bennett
Chris Lowell ("Veronica Mars"): William "Dell" Cooper
Amy Brenneman ("Judging Amy"): Dr. Violet Turner

Credits:
EP/Writer: Shonda Rhimes ("Grey's Anatomy")
EP: Betsy Beers ("Grey's Anatomy")
EP: Marti Noxon ("Grey's Anatomy")
EP: Mark Gordon ("Grey's Anatomy")
Director: Michael Grossman ("Grey's Anatomy")
Production Company: ABC Studios

Jennifer Garner: The Next Barbara Walters?

She and former So You Think You Can Dance host Lauren Sanchez-Whitesell are pitching a TV show described as "The View for mothers," Sanchez-Whitesell tells PEOPLE.

"It's really [Jennifer's] show and I'm the host," Sanchez-Whitesell, 37, said at a luncheon for iVillage Cares and the Children's Defense Fund in Beverly Hills.

"We're putting together a show for moms, by moms," said Sanchez-Whitesell, whose husband, agent Patrick Whitesell, represents Garner's husband, Ben Affleck.

"We're pitching it next week to a network. I call Jen the Barbara Walters of the show. She will come on periodically. We haven't quite settled exactly [how often], but she's the executive producer."

Walters, of course, is both the executive producer and occasional cohost of the 10-year-old ABC daytime talk show.

What can fans expect from the show? "We'll talk about how to get your kids to sleep, or how do you choose the right school, or how to keep your marriage together after having kids," said Sanchez-Whitesell, who welcomed a son in June.

She added: "Jen might talk about how you keep a marriage together when you're in the spotlight with a child. She's photographed picking up trash in her front yard, she's photographed doing everything."

Garner, 35, and Affleck, 34, are the parents of 17-month-old daughter Violet.

"We don't have a name [for the show] yet," said Sanchez-Whitesell. "It's still Jen Garner Untitled Project, but I think next week we'll have more of an idea of where the show's going."

Jennifer Esposito, Bradley Cooper Split

Esposito filed for divorce on Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, citing irreconcilable differences.

According to court documents obtained by PEOPLE, Esposito also seeks spousal support and is requesting that the court deny any financial support for Cooper. She's also asking that he pay her legal fees.

Esposito, 35, and Cooper, 32, wed in late December after announcing their engagement in October.

A rep for Esposito said in a statement on Wednesday: "Jennifer Esposito has filed for divorce. She asks that you respect her privacy at this time."

TMZ.com was first to report the split. A rep for Cooper tells the site the split was mutual and says, "actually they've been separated for quite a while."

Esposito appeared in last year's Best Picture Oscar winner Crash and starred in the 2005-06 WB series Related. Cooper starred in the short-lived 2005 FOX sitcom Kitchen Confidential and appeared in last summer's Wedding Crashers.

Jennifer Garner 'Intoxicated' with Love for Daughter

"That surprised me – how much I loved [nursing] and how effortless it has been to pump anywhere in the world," she tells InStyle for its May issue.

Garner, who turns 35 Tuesday, says that life her with 16-month-old daughter Violet has been a real joy. "I don't want to miss a second with Violet," says Garner, who feels "intoxicated" when she's with her daughter.

Garner says when she's away from her daughter, she feels like a "love-struck teenager."

And Violet feels the same way – especially about her father, Ben Affleck. "Violet prefers him to anyone," Garner tells the magazine. "He's a teddy bear of a guy. Nothing makes me happier than to see the two of them together and her little hands on his face."

In fact, Affleck is a dream come true for Garner. "You know how as a kid you picture yourself with a tall, handsome husband, and you imagine him cuddling your baby?" she asks. "Ben is like that, like, on crack."

Even pal – and neighbor – Reese Witherspoon raves about their family life. "She's a doll," Witherspoon tells InStyle. "We talk about mom stuff... Jen loves celebrating the traditions of home and family."

Though her domestic routine keeps her busy, Garner already has another film in the works; The Kingdom, costarring Jamie Foxx and Chris Cooper, will be released in September. In the movie, Garner plays an FBI agent. She's also enrolled in an online political science class, saying, "It was a New Year's resolution to start doing something for my brain."

But Garner's biggest task has been to shed her baby weight. "You're supposed to look a certain way when you're a celebrity, but I want to take care of my baby, and those two things don't mesh very well," she says in the interview.

With the help of a trainer from Boston University's men's hockey team – hired when Affleck was shooting a movie in Boston – and some pressure from working out around college students, Garner has started shedding the weight, though she still says she has work to do. "I feel like, OK, so I'm soft," she says. "It's nice. I don't want to be just a hard body."

Plus, it can't hurt that she's soon due to shoot a film in which she plays a yoga instructor. "Pretty soon, like it or lump it, I'm going to have to do some downward dog poses," she says.

And while more children are probably on the horizon, Garner tells the magazine, "I need to work this year," but notes that she's achieved a balance that makes her happy. Garner says: "I feel filled up at the end of every day."

Balthazar Getty, Wife Rosetta Expecting Baby No. 4

"They're thrilled to be adding to their brood," says a rep for Getty. The couple are already parents to son Cassius Paul, 6, and daughters Grace, 5, and Violet, 3.

"I love kids. I love having a big family," Getty told PEOPLE at the recent William S. Paley Television Festival in LA. "I think the more the merrier – big happy home of, you know, little punks running around."

Getty, 32, plays loyal son Tommy on the ABC drama. He also has a band, Ringside, whose concerts attract a large celebrity following in Los Angeles.

Rosetta, 37, owns a children's fashion line, Rosetta Millington (her maiden name), and launched a high-end women's line, Riser Goodwyn, this year.

'Alias,' 'X-Men' Vets Board 'Meat Train'

In addition, the thriller has recruited Brooke Shields and Leslie Bibb for co-starring roles.

According to Variety, the "The Midnight Meat Train" will begin production next week with Ryuhei Kitumara directing.

Based on a story from Barker's "Books of Blood" collection, "The Midnight Meat Train" will feature Jones as a serial killer who finds his victims on the subway. Cooper will play a shutterbug who decides that finding and photographing the killer is his ticket to fame. Shields ("The Blue Lagoon") will play an art gallery owner with ties to the photographer, while Bibb ("Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby") will play his girlfriend.

Cooper's recent credits may include "Kitchen Confidential" and "Wedding Crashers," but he'll always be Will Tippin of "Alias" to us.

Last summer, Jones had the slightly odd double bill of "X-Men: The Last Stand" and "Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties."

Jennifer Garner Wants Another Child

"I'm assuming we'll have at least one more, but not for a while," the former Alias star – and mother of 1-year-old daughter Violet – tells the British edition of Marie Claire in its April issue.

Regarding the problems of raising a child in Hollywood, where parental indulgence often outweighs discipline, Garner tells the magazine, "If anyone has any ideas, let me know!"

Garner, 34, is keenly aware of what it is like not to have everything growing up. Speaking of her humble beginnings – Garner's grandmother made the family's clothes out of flour sacks – she says she is conscious of not spoiling her daughter.

"It's tough, I do love to buy little girls' clothes," she says. Her husband is not so firm, however. "Ben would buy her anything. So we're going to have to pull back when she realizes what we're doing."

For his part, says his wife, Affleck, also 34, "has an incredible work ethic, not taking anything for granted. We want that so badly for her."

Since her birth, Violet has also taught her mom a thing or two. "Since having my daughter," Garner says, "I feel both happiness and anxiety more deeply."

One example she cites: "Last night I read this script about cancer and had to get out of bed, get a drink of water and watch Grey's Anatomy, it was so terrifying to me."

Pilot Gigs for 'Alias,' 'O.C.' Ladies

The two leading ladies are part of a busy day of pilot casting buzz.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Maestro will join LL Cool J and Melinda Clarke in CBS' "The Man," playing a doctor with close ties to the show's central undercover cop.

Maestro played Nadia on ABC's "Alias" and has also appeared in the features "Poseidon" and "Secuestro Express."

Lucio, best known as Lindsay from "The O.C.," has taken one of the leads in CBS' very "Angel"-esque drama about a vampire (Alex O'Laughlin) who works as a private investigator. Lucio will play a TV reporter in the pilot.

Also at CBS, Hector Elizondo will play the family patriarch in the untitled drama from Cynthia Cidre. Formerly titled "Los Duques," the show focuses on a multi-generational Latin American family in the rum business and also stars Jimmy Smits, Nestor Carbonell and Rita Moreno.

Elizondo has an upcoming role on ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" and has a long list of feature credits including "The Flamingo Kid," "Pretty Woman" and the upcoming "Georgia Rule."

Director Abrams to resurrect "Star Trek"

After months of speculation, "Mission: Impossible III" director J.J. Abrams has signed on to shoot the next installment of the "Star Trek" feature franchise, sources said late Friday.

"Star Trek XI" revolves around a young James T. Kirk and Mr. Spock, chronicling their first meeting at Starfleet Academy and their first space mission. The previous film in the series, the 2002 box office bomb, "Star Trek: Nemesis," was directed by Stuart Baird, and starred Patrick Stewart.

Abrams, the prolific co-creator/executive producer of "Lost" and director of last year's "M:I III," has been developing the project through his Paramount-based Bad Robot shingle as a producer and writer.

But Abrams did not commit to directing the project until Friday evening, when the deal was finalized, sources said.

Pilot News

Filmmaker Abrams mounting King's "Tower"

The screen's size, though, has yet to be determined. On first glance, King's tale -- which sprawls across seven books as it blends the fantasy, sci-fi, horror and Western genres -- might seem better suited for a multiple-episode television treatment. On the other hand, its potential cost might call for a large-scale cinematic treatment.

Sources say a number of entities have been chasing "Tower" but that King is looking for strong filmmaker involvement, which is where Abrams ("Mission: Impossible 3") enters the picture. It is unclear whether Abrams would take on the project solely as a producer or whether he would direct as well.

But King hasn't been shy about admitting that he's a huge fan of Abrams' television series "Lost." In fact, he recently participated in a round-table for Entertainment Weekly with Abrams and "Lost" executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse. During the discussion, "Tower" was mentioned several times. Lindelof even brought along a rare first edition of "The Gunslinger," Book 1 of the "Tower" series, for King to sign. It all sounded like the sort of mutual admiration society that could lead to a genuine collaboration.

The 'Devil' in Jennifer Garner

The "Alias" and "Dude, Where's My Car?" actress is expected to produce and star in the comedy "Devil in the Junior League," one of a slew of upcoming projects on Garner's slate.

According to Variety, "Devil in the Junior League" is an adaptation of Linda Francis Lee's book, which focuses on a Southern socialite whose husband runs off with another woman and their life's savings. The lawyer she enlists to help refuses to take the case unless she helps his less-than-gentile wife get into the Junior League.

Garner and Juliana James would produce through their Vandalia Films shingle. Scott Stuber and Mary Parent's predictably named Stuber/Parent banner would also produce the Universal vehicle.

While Garner's first post-baby/post-"Alias" film, the romantic-comedy "Catch and Release," failed to set the box office aflame, hopes are higher for the thriller "The Kingdom," recently moved to a late-September release date. The actress will co-star in Jason Reitman's "Juno" and is set to topline "Be With You" and a remake of "Christmas in Connecticut."

Garner Wraps Up 'Christmas' Present

Currently the project has no writer or director, but when you have Jennifer Garner and a beloved 1945 chestnut screwball chestnut, what more do you need?

According to Variety, the new "Christmas in Connecticut" will reunite Garner with producers Susan Arnold and Donna Roth, who worked on "13 Going on 30."

Directed by Peter Godfrey, the original film starred Barbara Stanwyck as Elizabeth Lane, a famous food writer who has constructed an elaborate fictional persona as a domestic goddess raising her children on a farm. In truth, she's a single woman living in New York City. When the owner of her magazine decides to set up an elaborate publicity stunt at "her" farm, hilarity ensues.

"Christmas in Connecticut" has been remade once before as a 1992 TV movie that has the interesting claim to fame of being Arnold Schwarzenegger's feature-length directing debut.

Garner would play the Stanwyck part, showing off the chops that have made her one of Martha Stewart's favorite and most enthusiastic guests.

"Catch and Release," Garner's first starring vehicle since the end of her ABC drama "Alias," opened in fifth place last weekend with a $7.66 million domestic haul. Garner has the political thriller "Catch and Release" in the can and just signed on for a co-starring role in Jason Reitman's dark comedy "Juno."

Vartan joins ABC drama pilots

Vartan will play the new CEO of a large corporation who is described as the moral center of the show. For five seasons, Vartan played Agent Michael Vaughn on "Alias."

Garner tells how ring fell into a drain

Garner, who stars in Columbia Pictures' "Catch and Release," said the mishap occurred while she was primping for the movie's premiere.

"He gave me this beautiful diamond ring and I was playing with it and ... it fell off. And it fell under this ice maker in the house — he (Affleck) hasn't even heard of this yet — and ... it fell into the drain under this ice maker," the 34-year-old actress said on "Live With Regis and Kelly."

"And the plumber had to come and dismantle the thing from under the house. And he found it," she said, holding up her hand to flash the sparkler.

"And Ben hasn't even heard that," said co-host Regis Philbin.

"I should have warned him," Garner replied.

Garner and Affleck, 34, were married in June 2005. Violet was born later that year.

"Catch and Release" opens Friday.

She's never a fish out of water

But Garner can't deny the whims of a woman who just got hitched in the Casa Del Mar hotel, where the actress is the midst of a photo shoot. When a wedding photographer stops Garner to tell her that the bride, also named Jennifer, would love a photo with the actress, she hesitates, then with a sigh gets up from the couch.

"Stinking A, it's a bride," she proclaims with a resigned smile.

It's that sense of approachability that led director Susannah Grant to cast Garner, 34, in her directorial debut, opening Friday. Garner's character, Gray Wheeler, is a would-be bride who, to her dismay, discovers her seemingly perfect man's shady past after his death.

"I wanted to be able to believe that Gray had not been dealt any of life's blows yet," Grant says.

She turns to Garner and smiles at the actress, who's curled up on the couch in Ugg slippers and an oversized Stella McCartney sweater. Grant, 44, tells Garner that "when you cast a role, you can't disregard reputation. You have a disposition about you that's genuinely optimistic, and your wounds aren't all over your face."

Certainly, Garner doesn't wear her heart on her sleeve. She's married to Ben Affleck, 34, her second husband, and she is the mother of Violet, 1, but she has never discussed Affleck in detail with the media. Nor does she pose for photos with her daughter.

Motherhood, Garner says, is "heaven." But ask her whether Violet is walking and talking yet, and Garner clams up. "She's doing everything she should be doing, thank you. She's cute."

Garner shot the film, her first major project after leaving ABC's Alias, while she was pregnant with Violet. She found out during the shoot that she was having a girl.

"I was going through this first-time pregnancy whirlwind thing, where life is suddenly so deep and everything means so much," she says.

As two working moms, Garner and Grant juggle scripts and toddlers. The Erin Brockovich and Charlotte's Web screenwriter is working on a screenplay for Paramount, while Garner runs the production company Vandalia Films and is getting ready for a supporting role in the small movie Juno.

She and Affleck have no plans to share a movie set again, after co-starring in 2003's Daredevil. "Never say never," she says, "but we're not looking to work together. We've done it. It was fun."

Now that she's a mom, Garner has become choosy about her business commitments.

"I just have to want to do something really, really badly in order for it to be worth not putting (Violet) down for every nap," she says.

She even took her time to lose her baby weight, a rarity in thin-crazed Hollywood. But, Garner says with a laugh, "I realized (it) was not going to magically fall off like I'd heard in this fantasy world. So I had to get my biscuit onto a treadmill like anyone else. I stopped eating bagels and muffins and started eating like a real person."

And though both she and Grant can afford nannies, they still miss those moments away from their kids.

"Every working mother in America goes through it. It's easier for us," Garner says. "We can choose when we work. For me, certainly, I can bring my daughter to work every day. I've worked five months out of the last year. I chose to be with her a lot."

Before shooting Catch and Release two years ago, Grant got a taste of Garner's media circus of a life when the two decided to grab a bite to eat.

"She came to dinner and there were cars and photographers outside the restaurant," Grant says. "I just wanted to sit and chat for a bit. I was very naive. You do beautifully and it's a weird sport."

Garner shrugs. "I hadn't been out in months," she says.

Living out of the spotlight, Garner says, "is a daily conscious decision. I try to find a balance between how much I go out, and how much I stay at home and avoid going out because I can't bear it."

She and Affleck try to keep Violet as undercover as possible. "The fact that I can be in a magazine, OK, that's fair," Garner says. "But why is my daughter in a magazine? She's a baby. She didn't choose this, and we do everything we can to protect her from it."

Review: 'Catch and Release' is uneven

There's no obligatory makeover montage edited to a perky pop tune, no mad dash to the airport in a last-minute attempt to salvage a relationship. For that at least, we can be thankful.

But this fish-themed romance flops wildly all over the place — from heavy poignant moments to slapsticky comedy, with a healthy dose of soapy melodrama in between. What's worse is that her characters sound like people saying things that were written for them, not real people behaving organically, believably.

Jennifer Garner, returning to the screen for the first time since becoming a mother with husband Ben Affleck (and it's good to see her again), stars as Gray, a young woman whose fiance, Grady, dies in a boating accident on the eve of their wedding. The florists and caterers arrive and end up serving a funeral instead; the device puts you on edge from the start.

Financial problems force her to move into the cluttered home in laid-back Boulder, Colo., that Grady shared with Dennis (Sam Jaeger), his partner in a fly-fishing business, and Sam (Kevin Smith), the wisecracking pal who likes to regurgitate quotes that appear on his tea company's boxes. (This warm, soothing romantic comedy apparently is brought to you by the folks at Celestial Seasonings.)

But while she's there, and still grieving, Gray learns all kinds of things about the man she loved that she never knew before — like, that he was secretly wealthy and had about $1 million in his bank account. Oh, and that he cheated on her with a woman in Los Angeles and is the father of her young son, to whom he sends $3,000 a month.

All of this makes her realize that she never really knew him — or herself for that matter.

Soon the mom, a dippy massage therapist named Maureen (Juliette Lewis) who is the polar opposite of the straight, wholesome Gray, comes teetering into town in her high heels and micro-miniskirt with the destructive little moppet (Joshua Friesen) in tow. All of Grady's inordinately openhearted friends not only let her stay, they also eat the cleansing organic dinner she prepares for them, which provides an opportunity for Gray to loosen up for once and make some confessions of her own. (The moment is supposed to be a powerful turning point; instead, it just feels clunky.)

In the midst of all this there's an out-of-nowhere suicide attempt and a couple of ugly confrontations with Grady's mother (Fiona Shaw), who wants the family's heirloom engagement ring back.

There's a lot going on here. It's a long movie, and it's packed.

At the same time, Gray falls in love with one of Grady's buddies, a bad-boy TV director named Fritz (Timothy Olyphant), and begins a secret relationship with him. His sly good looks make it easy to accept Olyphant as a scheming womanizer; after similar roles in "Go" and "The Girl Next Door," he's got this routine down by now. But then Fritz turns into a sweetheart, which seems abruptly out of place.

Not to mention that it's implausible that she'd fall for this person, out of everyone in the world, this quickly. It seems crass — and, if you'll pardon the pun, a little fishy.

"Catch and Release," a Columbia Pictures release, is rated PG-13 for sexual content, language and some drug use. Running time: 111 minutes. One and a half stars out of four.

Garber set in "Stone" with ABC drama

Miller plays a brilliant attorney at the top law firm in San Francisco who finds out he might be a prophet. Garber will play the senior partner at the firm, the most respected attorney in town who happens to be the father of Stone's fiancee.

Casting for the role had been going on for several months. Garber became available after the November cancellation of his Fox freshman drama "Justice." For five seasons, he starred as Jack Bristow on ABC's spy drama "Alias," a role that earned him three Emmy nominations.

Meanwhile, Natasha Richardson ("Maid in Manhattan") has landed one of the two leads in NBC's comedy pilot "The Mastersons of Manhattan." The serialized comedic soap opera revolves around two sisters, one of them played by Richardson, in a socially prominent family in New York.

HBO Commits to Long-Term 'Treatment'

The pay-cable network has picked up the half-hour drama "In Treatment," which stars Gabriel Byrne as a therapist who's highly competent with his own patients but an utter mess when he sees a shrink. Instead of a typical 13-episode commitment, though, HBO has ordered 40 episodes, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

That's on top of the five shows the network had already greenlit and treated as an extended pilot, bringing the total to 45.

Additionally, HBO has ordered the hour-long comedy "12 Miles of Bad Road," which stars Lily Tomlin as the head of a wealthy Texas family. Its episode order hasn't been nailed down yet, the HR says.

"In Treatment," based on an Israeli series of the same name, also stars Dianne Wiest ("Law & Order," "Bullets Over Broadway"), Blair Underwood ("Old Christine"), Embeth Davidtz ("Bridget Jones's Diary") and Melissa George ("Alias"). The Israeli show's creator, Hagai Levi, is executive producing with Mark Wahlberg ("Entourage"), Stephen Levinson and Rodrigo Garcia ("Six Feet Under"), who will serve as showrunner.

"Bad Road" comes from Linda Bloodworth-Thomason and Harry Thomason ("Designing Women"). Its ensemble cast includes Gary Cole ("The West Wing," "Talladega Nights"), Kim Dickens ("Deadwood"), Katherine LaNasa ("Justice"), Mary Kay Place ("Big Love") and Ivana Milicevic ("Love Monkey").

A winning "Catch" for Jennifer Garner

That's still not as bad as the not-at-all option, it turns out, so long as that deceased fianc?eft you with some true-blue pals to cushion the fall. So says "Catch and Release," a likable romantic comedy that delivers enough laughs and star appeal to fare reasonably well in the date-movie department, even if it doesn't entirely live up to its ambitions.

Jennifer Garner plays would-be bride Gray, whose caterers plan for a wedding but wind up feeding a collection of mourners -- including two, her late fianc?rady's housemates, who are close enough to be her brothers, and one, a shallow commercials director just in from L.A. (Timothy Olyphant), who never quite fit into this little clan but has decided to stick around a while nevertheless.

In tidying up Grady's affairs, Gray makes some startling discoveries: He was rich and was sending someone $3,000 a month. That someone is an unmarried woman (Juliette Lewis) with a young son.

Some hurtful words and one halfhearted suicide attempt later, these developments prove a bit less disruptive than viewers might expect. The story takes place in sunny Boulder, Colo., where, one character notes, people are unnaturally happy. Indeed a strong undercurrent of peace, love and understanding runs through the film: Characters introduced as louts or floozies are soon shown to be sympathetic human beings. Even their natural enemies come to see the good in them.

In part, that appears to reflect the big-heartedness of screenwriter Susannah Grant (champion of underestimated women in "Erin Brockovich" and "In Her Shoes"), who is making her feature-directing debut. She's sympathetic here to characters that in another film might be two-dimensional punching bags; her warmth and her eagerness to make something richer than a typical romantic comedy go a long way.

But those revelations of characters' hidden depths also can be abrupt, particularly in the case of Olyphant's womanizer, whose evolution into a decent guy seems to happen off camera. Grant has acknowledged that her cut of the film started at two hours and 57 minutes. While one doesn't long for that extra hour's reinstatement -- this sweet, small story isn't meant to be an epic, and already feels a bit long -- these cuts would explain a thing or two.

If not all its narrative and emotional strands work perfectly, though, the movie has its charms. Kevin Smith, as Grady's housemate Sam, proves he's no one-note Silent Bob. Although wearing a tie-dyed shirt may be the biggest challenge he faces here, he fills his comic-relief duties easily and has time left over to show a little tenderness. While Smith gets most of the laughs, Garner does turn a dinner-table outburst into a comic highlight.Cast:
Gray: Jennifer Garner
Fritz: Timothy Olyphant
Maureen: Juliette Lewis
Sam: Kevin Smith
Dennis: Sam Jaeger
Mattie: Joshua Friesen
Mrs. Douglas: Fiona Shaw

Screenwriter-director: Susannah Grant; Producer: Jenno Topping; Executive producers: Casey Grant, Matthew Tolmach; Director of photography: John Lindley; Production designer: Brent Thomas; Costumes: Tish Monaghan; Music: BT; Editor: Anne V. Coates.

Garner Mothers 'Juno' Role

Jason Reitman is directing the project as his "Thank You For Smoking" follow-up, beginning production on the film in mid-February.

The Diablo Cody script focuses on a teen ("Hard Candy" star Page) facing an unplanned pregnancy. According to Variety, Garner will play a potential adoptive mother.

Garner toplines the upcoming romantic-comedy "Catch and Release," her first film since the conclusion of ABC's "Alias." The "Elektra" star will also appear in "The Kingdom" later this year.

'Angel' Star Acker Goes Into 'Drive'

It's being reported across the Internet that Amy Acker, one of the stars of the Minear-produced WB series "Angel," will play a key role in "Drive," set to premiere on FOX later this spring.

Acker will play the abducted wife of landscaper Alex Tully, the character played by Nathan Fillion, star of another Minear series, the short-lived "Firefly."

The series focuses on an underground race across America and is produced by Minear, Ben Queen and Greg Yaitanes. Other actors cast in the ensemble include Kristin Lehman, Melanie Lynskey, Dylan Baker and Taryn Manning.

Acker, the once-and-future Winifred "Fred" Burkle from "Angel," had a recurring role on late-era "Alias" and also made a guest appearance last season on "How I Met Your Mother."

Jennifer Garner On Ben Affleck, Baby Weight and Being a Mom

"Having a baby fills your life in such a way that no matter what you're doing, there's something bigger," the mom of 1-year-old Violet said Saturday while promoting her new movie Catch and Release. "I've just been in heaven being with her the past year."

In the new issue of PEOPLE, Garner, 34, shares more about bringing up baby with husband Ben Affleck, also 34:

How motherhood changed her: I call my mom now and say, "You know all the dinners you made that I said 'No' to and went off and ate peanut butter? I'm sorry. I get it. I slaved over roasting this, and (Violet) goes, 'No, no, no!' "

Lessons learned: I was rocking her, and she was fascinated by the light hitting the ceiling. I thought, "God, for the past five years, I haven't stopped to look at light on the ceiling for (one) second." To slow down and go at her pace has been such a gift.

Losing the baby weight: It took me a long, long time. I just wasn't that motivated. I wanted to play with her. Then I got on the treadmill, stopped stuffing my face and lost the weight. I cut out croissants, bagels and muffins – all the good stuff. And went back to having a salad once a day and protein.

Ben Affleck on daddy-duty: He does a good job. I mean, okay, maybe I wrote out what he was supposed to make for her (to eat) today while I was gone. But that's just me being paranoid. He's great – he can do it.

On the Mommy-Daddy bond: There's nothing more emotional than seeing your partner – the man you love – with your baby at any time: the first time, the second, yesterday, today. There's nothing more beautiful.

Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Esposito Marry

The wedding, just like their romance, was a low-profile affair. No details of when or where the ceremony took place were available. The two only announced their engagement in October.

It was a year ago, though, that Cooper, who turns 32 Jan. 5, and Esposito, 34, greeted each other with a kiss on the lips at the Warner Bros. and InStyle Golden Globes party. When asked if they were an item, Esposito told PEOPLE coyly, "I'm not answering that."

Esposito starred in the 2005-06 WB series Related and last year won, along with her costars, a Screen Actors Guild award for best cast in a motion picture for Crash. She had an eight-month romance with Benjamin Bratt from 1996-97 and later dated All My Children actor Cameron Mathison.

Cooper got his big break in 2001, when he joined the cast of Alias, and in 2005 starred in the short-lived FOX sitcom Kitchen Confidential. He also appeared in last summer's Wedding Crashers and performed opposite Julia Roberts on Broadway in Three Days of Rain.

This is the first marriage for both.

Abrams Teaming Up with HBO

The "Lost" co-creator and "Mission: Impossible III" writer-director is talking with the premium cable channel about executive producing and directing a pilot about cancer patients. He may also direct the pilot, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The deal would be the first under a big-ticket deal Abrams and his company, Bad Robot, signed with Warner Bros. TV last summer. (HBO and the studio are both units of Time Warner.)

The untitled drama comes from writers Tom Schulman ("Dead Poets Society," "What About Bob?") and Rafael Yglesias ("Fearless," "From Hell"). It's based on the book "The Anatomy of Hope" by Harvard Medical School professor and New Yorker contributor Jerome Groopman.

HBO initially developed the show with Schulman and Yglesias before bringing it to Abrams. The two writers will serve as exec producers with Abrams, and Groopman and his wife, fellow Harvard Medical professor Pamela Hartzband, will serve as consultants.

Daughter of Garner, Affleck baptized

Violet's cousin Alex was also baptized.

Garner, a Charleston native, won a Golden Globe Award for her starring role as agent Sydney Bristow in the TV series "Alias," which ended its five-year run in May. Movie credits for the 34-year-old actress include "Elektra" and "13 Going on 30."

Affleck, also 34, is nominated for a Golden Globe Award for playing George Reeves, star of the 1950s TV show "Adventures of Superman," in "Hollywoodland." He won a screenwriting Oscar with Matt Damon in 1998 for "Good Will Hunting."

The couple were married in June 2005.

Garner's younger sister, Susannah, and her husband are also members of the church.

Jennifer Garner Says 'Calm Down,' She's Not Pregnant

"I'm in the worst shape ever," the size 6-8 ("definitely more an 8") actress, 34, tells Elle magazine in its January issue. "My trainer just shakes her head and says, 'This is a disaster.' "

Though she kicked butt as the star of Alias and Elektra, these days, she says, "I am as physically unfit as I've probably been in my whole life. It's such a horror in front of the mirror with no clothes on."

Lifting her sweater to reveal her midriff, she says, "You still have that little bit of extra skin, know what I mean? But still, it's enough for people to think that you're knocked up."

She adds: "No, everyone calm down. Nobody's pregnant" – although Affleck recently told Ellen DeGeneres he would love to have more kids.

For now, Garner has her hands full with one baby. Violet "is saying 'ee-i-ee-i-o' – and 'mama!' " boasts Garner, who says having a baby didn't wreak havoc in her marriage.

"Maybe it's because we were newlyweds," she says. "I think it's just that (Ben) is also a very understanding individual. A compassionate, generous guy. He's great with (Violet) and she loves him, which makes it a lot easier on me."

Though her new movie, Catch and Release, is due in January, she says she spends most of her days at home with her daughter. "My husband is superinvolved and very present," she says, "so I don't have that feeling of wandering around the house bumping into things."

Garner more concerned about health than pregnancy weight

Greg Grunberg is heroic

His reality is a lot less incredible. Grunberg, 40, who starred on Alias and Felicity for his best friend, J.J. Abrams, is married with three sons. Most nights he's home, only hitting the random red carpet if it's a cause that raises money for pediatric epilepsy, which afflicts his oldest son, Jake. "My family is everything to me," he says. Here's how life has changed for this small-screen superhero.

Q: So, how's life on fall's big hit show?

A: I've never been a part of this, where I walk around and everyone knows me. An old woman yelled at me across the street the other day, "What am I thinking?" That's crazy. And kids come up to me. Someone said to me this morning that he feels like a kid when he's watching the show, and that's great.

And what's it like to be so famous now?

You know what? I struggled for 10 years and even having J.J. as my best friend, I struggled and guest-starred and did commercials. I had every business under the sun that allowed me time to go out and audition. I was a telemarketer, a waiter, I had a frozen-yogurt delivery business. You can't help but get an appreciation for great work.

You're never in the gossip mags, which must be nice.

I'm married, I have three kids, I'm a more interesting story on the acting side than the gossip side. I had a little teeny moment the other day when (former Guns N' Roses member) Slash turned me down for my charity. I didn't even get a chance to ask him, and he turned me down. We were at a party, and I said, "I'm a big fan," and he stopped me right away and said he doesn't like when people sit down next to him. I walked away. The next day, it was on (celebrity gossip website) TMZ. Somebody saw what happened and reported it. It's uncool.

You played four seasons onAlias. Still in touch with former super-spy Jennifer Garner?

Jen and I talk all the time. She's so happy. (Garner, hubby Ben Affleck and baby Violet) are doing really well.

It's all in this family

The ABC drama (Sundays, 10 p.m. ET/PT) is all about one, the Walkers, a Southern California clan struggling with a financial scandal, addiction, infertility and infidelity after its patriarch's death.

But that's only a fraction of the story. The cast has quickly formed a family-like bond, evident during an exclusive visit to the set. And the man principally responsible for the series comes with deep TV family connections: Ken Olin, who played Michael Steadman on thirtysomething, TV's classic angst-ridden drama.

This time around, he's behind the camera, as co-creator and executive producer, working with an all-star cast. Sally Field is widowed mom Nora to the titular siblings, played by Calista Flockhart (Kitty), Rachel Griffiths (Sarah), Balthazar Getty (Tommy), Matthew Rhys (Kevin) and Dave Annable (Justin).

"What I love is that we've sort of taken on a real family status," says Rhys, on break from a long workday that began at 6 a.m. "Sally tells us to 'shut up' whenever we get too boisterous. And Rachel and Calista, as the older sisters, laugh the first two times we tell a joke, and then tell us 'shut up' whenever we milk it."

Serious family dramas were once a TV staple but have become increasingly rare in recent years, and rarely successful. ABC's critical favorite Once and Again struggled, and others have been dressed up with visits from God (Joan of Arcadia) or as period pieces (American Dreams).

Brothers & Sisters is the No. 2 new show among the key 18-49 demographic (behind NBC's Heroes), averaging 13.4 million viewers. But it loses a significant chunk of Desperate Housewives' lead-in. Still, its numbers have grown in the past few weeks, and ABC has given it a full season pickup.

Producers hope two 9/11-themed shows, airing Nov. 19 and Dec. 3, will help boost the audience. They'll feature flashbacks to the tragedy and the days after, when black-sheep daughter Kitty (Flockhart) returns to Los Angeles from New York.

Microcosm of a messy world

The politically minded Field, whose liberal matriarch often goes head-to-head with conservative daughter Kitty and will soon be seeing son Justin go off to Iraq, views the Walkers as a microcosm of the world. "The show is really about family, and there are factions of the family that war with each other, just as there are in this country. But these two sides have to hear each other because they are so bonded and dependent upon each other. Even if they don't agree, they have to find a place where they can meet."

Remembering the effect 9/11 had on their own families, cast members believe the episodes will provide new viewers an opportunity to get to know, and hopefully empathize, with the Walkers.

"It shows an appreciation of family and explores emotions you feel toward people you may or may not know," says Tom Skerritt, who returns in flashbacks as patriarch William Walker. "In this case, we almost lost a daughter. We didn't know for hours if we lost Kitty. Now we're so grateful she's here."

Even when the drama's topics are somber, children make for a lively set. The actors' kids are all familiar faces on the show's Disney lot. "It's like a little Fantasyland here" for them, Getty says. Griffiths says the young ones "look for Minnie Mouse trees and Walt Disney statues."

Flockhart, who turns 42 on Saturday, is raising son Liam, 5, with her partner of five years, Harrison Ford. (Despite reports to the contrary, she says they are not engaged.) Griffiths, 38, has Banjo, who turns 3 this month, and Adelaide, 1. Getty, 31, who along with his large family manages the fortune left by late oil mogul Jean Paul Getty, is dad to Cassius, 6, Grace, 4, and Violet, 3. And Field, 60, is grandma to eight after raising sons Peter, Eli and Sam.

The actresses, especially, have bonded over their real-life roles as mothers.

"We definitely clicked," says Flockhart, who was deeply concerned about how her return to television after a nearly five-year absence would affect her son. But TV's former Ally McBeal says Liam's adjustment has been "very smooth." He is now in kindergarten seven hours a day, and when at home bonds with Ford, the only father he has ever known.

"It's all about the mom for so long when they're little, so it's been really great that they've had this one-on-one time without me in the picture," Flockhart says. "I had a harder time than (Liam) did. But I still get to put him to bed and take him to school most every morning."

Griffiths respects Flockhart's decision to take a break from acting to raise her son. "It's amazing for a woman at the height of her career to go take time off for her kid. She's such a sweetheart."

And then there's Field, brought in to replace Eight Is Enough stepmom Betty Buckley because, Olin says, Buckley "didn't feel like a mother."

"The great strength about Sally is that she has been a mom," says Griffiths. "That's in every fiber of her being."

And she brings that to the set. She enjoys preparing her own recipes whenever her character, Nora, is called to the kitchen.

"Sally makes a really mean guacamole," raves Flockhart.

For the Thanksgiving show, Field will be required to make pies and is particularly looking forward to rolling the dough. Just one problem: "They haven't connected the oven yet, so I can't bake them," she says. "I need to have an oven!"

In the almost-too-perfect kitchen set, Field sits at a table needle-pointing fairy and mermaid pillows for her granddaughters. (She's a modern grandma, though, and multi-tasks, checking her e-mail, too.)

Boys will be boys

The actors who play the Walker sons have formed what Getty calls "a big fraternity." They can be heard chanting the Rocky theme song as they march off set, hop on bicycles and ride off toward the studio commissary.

"When you put us together, it's trouble," says Annable, 27, who finds himself taunted unmercifully by Getty, or "Balty," as they call him.

Adds Rhys, 32: "We keep complaining, 'Why don't you write more brother scenes?' and they say, 'Because they take so long to shoot because you're like the Three Stooges.' "

One of their running gags is feigning horror and saying "Dad's dead?" each time a script references the death of their father.

"We've kept that joke going much to the annoyance of Sally and Calista," confesses Rhys. With Skerritt back on set, the joke goes: "Wait — Dad's not dead?!"

An easy camaraderie comes through on the set. The soundstage is thick with smoke, ordered up to create an ethereal flashback feel. That requires tropical temperatures, and some cast members are perspiring. Griffiths shares that the thermostat setting, like in many families, is a recurring debate: "There's usually a fight between the skinnies and the fatties, and the skinnies usually win," she jokes.

There are behind-the-scenes family connections as well. Olin cast his wife and former thirtysomething co-star Patricia Wettig as the dead father's mistress, Holly. There's more: Olin and Wettig's son, Cliff, 23, works as one of Brothers & Sisters' writers, and daughter Roxy, 21, who studies acting in New York, will audition for the role of Holly's daughter, Rebecca.

"There's certainly a degree of nepotism involved, but it's incredible," says Olin, sporting a big smile.

Olin and fellow executive producer Greg Berlanti have plenty of issues bubbling for the Walkers.

There's Rebecca's paternity. The location of the embezzled millions (to be answered Dec. 3). And Kitty's search for true love, which will be complicated by the departure of actor Josh Hopkins, who plays Flockhart's political show co-host, and the arrival of Rob Lowe as a newly divorced Republican senator.

"That's always fun," says Flockhart, recalling how her old character Ally "knocked 'em out week to week. But Kitty's not as crazy about boys as Ally was."

The prospect of exploring a grown woman's dating life is particularly appealing to Field, who celebrated her 60th birthday this week. She has been single since 1993, but on the show is dating Treat Williams. "I haven't been dating lately; I don't have any time," she says. "I'm sort of living through Nora now."

And while Flockhart is enjoying "the experience of having a large family," Griffiths is most "interested in playing the ups and downs of a good marriage."

Sounds like this thirty-sixtysomething offers something for everyone. Even Flockhart's tough-guy Ford, 64. "He watches the show," she says. "And he likes it!"

We Hear...

We Hear...

Underwood, George Seek 'Treatment' at HBO

The project, based on an Israeli series of the same name, stars Gabriel Byrne ("The Usual Suspects") as a therapist who's great with patients but a wreck with his own shrink. George and Underwood will each play patients of Byrne's, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Additionally, Dianne Wiest ("Law & Order," "Bullets Over Broadway") has signed on to play Byrne's mentor, with whom he schedules a therapy session years after dropping her.

"In Treatment," which is executive produced by Mark Wahlberg ("Entourage"), among others, has a five-episode order from HBO -- but not a commitment from the network to put those episodes on the air. Instead, the premium-cable channel is treating the episodes as an extended pilot.

Underwood, a former "L.A. Law" regular, starred in the Tyler Perry movie "Madea's Family Reunion" earlier this year. His recent small-screen credits include a recurring part on "Sex and the City," NBC's short-lived "LAX" and a guest appearance on "The New Adventures of Old Christine" earlier this season.

George is best known in this country for her stint as the villainous Lauren Reed on "Alias." She also appeared in last year's "Amityville Horror" remake and "Derailed," and is currently working on the horror film "30 Days of Night," due for release next year.

A-List Baby Shower for Tobey Maguire, Fiancée

Jennifer Aniston carpooled with Courteney Cox Arquette to get there, joining such other guests as Jennifer Garner, Kate Hudson, Demi Moore, a pregnant Bryce Dallas Howard and some 50 others.

Around the Meyer family pool and lawn overlooking the Pacific Ocean (Jennifer's dad, Ron Meyer, presides over Universal Studios), the women passed the time swilling lemonade and eating such organic hors d'oeuvres as sesame shrimp and chicken skewers before the buffet lunch and lavish dessert table.

"It was a very mellow afternoon," says one guest. "It was a totally easy breezy, chill shower. No shower games. No present opening. Just hanging out."

Not that there weren't gifts. The mom-to-be got goodies from L.A. baby boutique Petit Tresor and parenting advice from Hudson, her friend since childhood.

Disobeying the women-only rule, Spider-Man star and dad-to-be Maguire poked his head into the party around 30 minutes before it wrapped up, only to be showered – appropriately – with kisses.

3RD ANNUAL FREEZE THE DISEASE PRO/CELEBRITY HOCKEY GAME

The Freeze the Disease Foundation, with the full support of the LA Kings organization, is proud to announce that the legendary, Gordie Howe, "Mr. Hockey" himself, will be a special guest and honorary coach. Gordie is happy to join in our fight against cystic fibrosis and devoted to helping all those who suffer with this genetic lung disorder affecting 30,000 children and young adults in the United States and Canada in any way he can.

18,000 Guests are invited to attend a pro/celebrity ice hockey game (immediately following the LA Kings vs. Anaheim Ducks game) in the world-renowned STAPLES Center, in Los Angeles, CA. There will be a silent auction, featuring signed sports memorabilia, autographed posters, action shots, sticks and pucks by Gordie Howe, as well as a photo-op/meet & greet with Gordie Howe.

The event will start with the Kings/Ducks game at 3:00pm and a silent auction, followed by a “friendly” pro/celebrity hockey game starting at approximately 6pm. Team players include television and screen actors, Michael Vartan, Dave Coulier, Vladimir Kulich, Jason Priestley, and Brendan Fehr. From the NHL expected to play are Dave Taylor, Ian Turnbull, Gary Edwards, Mel Bridgman, Rick Chartraw, Vic Venasky, and Bobby Hull Jr. Ten-year old, Niko Strassle, a cystic fibrosis patient and hockey player, is also on the roster.

The mission and goal of the Freeze the Disease Foundation, a volunteer organization, is to support, educate and assist in the development of the means to cure and control cystic fibrosis and to improve the quality of life for all those affected, raising consciousness to a level where all will know its name. For more information, call (818) 353-8687 or visit our web site at www.freezethedisease.org. Get your tickets online at: http://www.aegtickets.com/default.aspx?c=OfferDetails&eid=589

Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease affecting some 30,000 children and young adults in the United States and Canada. In 1955, few children with CF lived to attend elementary school. Today, the median age of survival is 35 years, still an unacceptable number.

For More Information visit our website at www.freezethedisease.org

"BROTHERS & SISTERS" PICKED UP FOR A FULL SEASON

"'Brothers & Sisters' is a great addition to our Sunday night lineup and has given us a strong complement to 'Desperate Housewives,'" said McPherson.

'Alias' actress raises disease awareness

Chagas disease can cause high fever, swelling, enlargement of the spleen, liver and lymph nodes, and inflammation of the heart. Most people infected do not get sick, but the disease can be fatal.

It is little known in the United States, where about 100,000 residents have been infected. Also called American trypanosomiasis, Chagas disease is an infection caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, according to the Centers for Disease Control Web site. Blood-sucking Triatomine bugs that live in cracks and holes of substandard housing from the southern United States to southern Argentina spread the disease. Worldwide, it is estimated that 16 to 18 million people are infected with Chagas disease; of those infected, 50,000 will die each year. It is also one of the illnesses to which Charles Darwin's mysterious lifelong ailments have often been attributed.

"Chagas is a disease that I grew up hearing about because my mom is from the north of Argentina," Maestro told The Associated Press on Saturday. "I'm very familiar with it, but I had no idea few people know about it. So whatever I can do to raise awareness, I'll do it."

Maestro, 28, has appeared in "The Motorcycle Diaries," "Frida" and "The Poseidon Adventure."

She attended Saturday's screening of the documentary "Chagas: A Hidden Affliction," which opened the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival.

"I call Chagas the AIDS of the poor," said Ricardo Preve, the film's director. "It's a silent killer and we're not doing anything about it because of a lack of education."

'Alias' Actor Vartan Gets Hitched to 'Jolene'

Based on a story by E.L. Doctorow, the indie film "Jolene" revolves around the cross-country adventures of the titular young woman (newcomer Jessica Chastain) over the course of ten years. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Vartan will play the wealthy Brad, a Texan fundamentalist who marries Jolene.

Dermot Mulroney will give Brad a run for his money as Uncle Phil, who steals the teenage bride away from his nephew. Brad has other problems though when his other wife Marin (Denise Richards) shows up to reclaim him. Donald Sutherland also stars as Sal, an ex-mobster in Las Vegas.

Vartan's big-screen credits include "Never Been Kissed," "One Hour Photo," "Monster-in-Law" and the upcoming "Rogue." Mulroney was last seen in "The Family Stone" and has wrapped shooting on "Georgia Rule" and "Zodiac." Richards has some indie cred with her recent "Edmond," while Sutherland starred in the horror flick "An American Haunting" and was seen on "Commander In Chief."

Bradley Cooper & Jennifer Esposito Engaged

Cooper, 31, and Esposito, 34, have kept their romance low profile. In January at the Warner Bros. and InStyle Golden Globes party, the pair greeted each other with a kiss on the lips. Asked if there was a love connection to report, Esposito told PEOPLE coyly, "I'm not answering that."

Esposito starred in the 2005-06 WB series Related and this year won, along with her costars, a Screen Actors Guild award for best cast in a motion picture for Crash. She had an eight-month romance with Benjamin Bratt from 1996-97 and later dated All My Children actor Cameron Mathison.

Cooper got his big break in 2001, when he joined the cast of Alias, and in 2005 starred in the short-lived FOX sitcom Kitchen Confidential. He also appeared in last summer's Wedding Crashers and performed opposite Julia Roberts on Broadway in Three Days of Rain.

Asked how he impresses women, Cooper, who loves to cook, told PEOPLE last year, "I like to make stuffed calamari with dried currants, prosciutto, goat cheese and leeks, with a homemade tomato sauce. The problem is, when I cook for a date, I get so maniacal, they see my obsessive side."

He's attracted to independent women, he told PEOPLE: "I love a woman who you can go out to a party with and you don't have to worry. She can take care of herself."

This will be the first marriage for both.

Fox sticks with struggling "Justice"

The sleek, Jerry Bruckheimer-produced show, which takes a behind-the-scenes look at a different trial each week, has failed to sway the Nielsen jury so far, regularly finishing fourth in its Wednesday 9 p.m. slot.

It is pre-empted this week with a repeat of "House" airing in its time period.

Fox first gave an indication that it was willing to stick with "Justice" last week, when it decided to rebroadcast the generally well-reviewed show's pilot on Friday.

It is rumored that Fox is looking to find a new slot for the series when it returns to the schedule after the end of the network's postseason baseball coverage.

BROTHERS & SISTERS (9/24; PREMIERE)

In the premiere episode, "Patriarchy," Kitty Walker (Calista Flockhart) returns home to California after having been estranged from her mother (Sally Field) for three years. Meanwhile, William Walker (Tom Skerritt) brings Sarah (Rachel Griffiths) into the family business, where she soon discovers some glaring financial discrepancies that could undermine the Walker family's way of life.

The series follows the Walkers through the maze of American life today -- the pressures, limitless options and the struggle to grow beyond our backgrounds into ourselves. Through these fascinating siblings -- Sarah (Griffiths), the corporate VP who returns to the family business so she can give to her marriage as much as she does to her career; Tommy (Balthazar Getty), the loyal son trying to live up to his father's expectations; Kevin (Matthew Rhys), the gay lawyer cautiously learning about love; Justin (Dave Annable), the baby of the family, grappling with war trauma and addiction; and Kitty (Flockhart), right-wing radio host turned TV pundit who has always been daddy's little girl -- the show explores what it means to be a family in the 21st century, and how these brothers and sisters balance their own lives as they strive to accept their parents as people -- flawed, contradictory and forgivable -- rather than just as a father and mother. The parents are Skerritt as William Walker, the larger-than-life patriarch and president of the family business, and Field as Nora Holden, the opinionated wife and mother to the five Walker siblings. Then there's Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Nora's brother; John Pyper-Ferguson as Sarah's husband, Joe; Sarah Jane Morris as Tommy's wife, Julia; and Patricia Wettig as Holly, a woman who's history with William could bring the Walkers and their company down.

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Calista Flockhart ("Ally McBeal") as Kitty, Rachel Griffiths ("Six Feet Under") as Sarah, Sally Field ("Norman Rae") as Nora Holden, Ron Rifkin ("Alias") as Saul Holden, Patricia Wettig ("thirtysomething") as Holly, Balthazar Getty ("Alias") as Thomas, Dave Annable ("Reunion") as Justin, Matthew Rhys ("Titus," "Love and other Disasters") as Kevin, John Pyper-Ferguson ("Unforgiven," "Nightstalker") as Joe and Sarah Jane Morris ("Felicity") as Julia.

Guest starring are Tom Skerritt as William Walker, Josh Hopkins as Warren Salter, Matthew Settle as Jonathan Sellers, Tyler Posey as Gabriel Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige Whedon, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Jay Juguley as White Peyton, Michael Beach as Noah Guare, Laura Jordan as Fawn, Stana Katic as Karen Wells, John C. Moskoff as Leo, Ryan Michelle Bathe as Sasha, Laraine Newman as Lyla, David Burke as Jack Bishop, Daniel Edward Mora as Jorge and Angela Sargeant as Gladys.

"Patriarchy" was written by Jon Robin Baitz and directed by Ken Olin.

Amy Acker, Husband Have a Daughter

The baby, who weighed in at 7 lbs. 4 oz., was born on Friday in Los Angeles. Ava joins older brother, Jackson James, who is 19 months old.

"Amy, James and Jackson are enjoying the new addition to their family," Acker's rep tells PEOPLE.

Acker has appeared on Alias, as well as on How I Met Your Mother and Supernatural. Carpinello, also an actor, was most recently seen on the Tori Spelling show So NoTORIous.

BROTHERS & SISTERS LEADSHEET

"Brothers & Sisters" is a compelling, new one-hour primetime drama from executive producers Ken Olin and playwright Jon Robin Baitz about the California-based Walker family. In the series, we meet a collection of incredibly intertwined and somewhat damaged adult siblings who embrace one another unconditionally while striving to reflect the perceived perfection of their role model parents. In the days ahead, they will navigate waves of temptation, deception and grief.

"Brothers & Sisters" follows the Walkers through the maze of American life today -- the pressures, limitless options and the struggle to grow beyond our backgrounds into ourselves. Through these fascinating siblings -- Sarah (Rachel Griffiths), the corporate VP who returns to the family business so she can give to her marriage as much as she does to her career; Tommy (Balthazar Getty), the loyal son yet charming womanizer; Kevin (Matthew Rhys), the gay lawyer cautiously learning about love; Justin (Dave Annable), the baby of the family, grappling with war trauma and addiction; and Kitty (Calista Flockhart), right-wing radio host turned TV pundit who has always been Daddy's little girl -- the show explores what it means to be a family in the 21st century, and how these brothers and sisters balance their own lives as they strive to accept their parents as people -- flawed, contradictory and forgivable -- rather than just as a father and mother.

The parents are Tom Skerritt as William Walker, the larger-than-life patriarch and president of the family business, and Sally Field as Nora Holden, the opinionated wife and mother to the five Walker siblings. Then there's Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Nora's dandyish brother; John Pyper-Ferguson as Sarah's husband, Joe; Sarah Jane Morris as Tommy's wife, Julia; and Patricia Wettig as the mystery woman who could bring the Walkers and their company down.

"Brothers & Sisters" stars Calista Flockhart ("Ally McBeal") as Kitty, Rachel Griffiths ("Six Feet Under") as Sarah, Sally Field ("Norman Rae") as Nora Holden, Ron Rifkin ("Alias") as Saul Holden, Patricia Wettig ("thirtysomething") as Holly, Balthazar Getty ("Alias") as Thomas, Dave Annable ("Reunion") as Justin, Matthew Rhys ("Titus," "Love and other Disasters") as Kevin, John Pyper-Ferguson ("Unforgiven," "Nightstalker") as Joe and Sarah Jane Morris ("Felicity") as Julia.

Ken Olin ("Alias," "thirtysomething") and Jon Robin Baitz ("The Substance of Fire," "The West Wing") are executive producers. The series is produced by Touchstone Television.

KEN OLIN, executive producer/director
Ken Olin, actor, director and producer, has established himself as one of the most multi-faceted professionals in network television.

Olin grew up in Chicago and attended the Putney School before going to the University of Pennsylvania. From 1987-1991 he had a leading role in the critically acclaimed, Emmy, Golden Globe and People's Choice Award-winning drama series, "thirtysomething." His acting credits also include "Hill Street Blues," "EZ Streets" and "LA Doctors."

Olin began his directing career during the filming of "thirtysomething." His long list of directorial credits include multiple episodes of "Felicity," "The West Wing," "Freaks and Geeks" and "Breaking News." He was an executive producer and director of "Alias," the hit ABC television series, for five years.

JON ROBIN BAITZ, creator/executive producer
Jon Robin Baitz was born in 1961 in Los Angeles and grew up in Brazil, South Africa and Southern California. He is the author of several acclaimed plays, including "The Substance of Fire," "A Fair Country" and "Ten Unknowns," all of which were produced by Lincoln Center Theatre in New York. His most recent play, "The Paris Letter," was part of the 2004 opening season at The Mark Taper Forum's Kirk Douglas Theatre in Los Angeles, before its New York premiere at The Roundabout Thatre. It received L.A. Drama Critics and Ovation Awards, as well as a Lucille Lortel nomination for the New York production. His earlier work includes "The Film Society," "Mizlansky/Zilinsky" and "Three Hotels," as well as a new version of Ibsen's "Hedda Gabler," for The Geffen Theatre, which was produced with Annette Bening in 1999 before a Broadway run starring Kate Burton in 2001. Baitz is the recipient of a Rockefeller Foundation Award, an American Academy of Arts & Letters fellowship and a Drama Desk Award, and is a Guggenheim Fellow and a Pulitzer Prize finalist for "A Fair Country." He won a Humanitas Award for the PBS "American Playhouse" version of "Three Hotels," which he also directed.

Baitz's film work includes "People I Know" (2003), which starred Al Pacino, and "The Substance of Fire" (1996), starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Ron Rifkin and Timothy Hutton, which Baitz also produced. For television he has written episodes of "The West Wing" and "Alias."

'Justice': It's not quite poetic, but Garber's acting is lyrical

Currently TV's hottest production house, Jerry Bruckheimer's team uses high-gloss sheen and technological shimmer to reinvent the old-style mystery procedural, reinvigorating TV in the process.

The results are on display in Without a Trace, Cold Case, Close to Home and the CSI trilogy — all extremely well-cast, impeccably produced, crisply written and wildly successful.

True, outside of The Amazing Race, the team's efforts to expand beyond the criminal law format have largely come a cropper, as witnessed by the fast demise of last season's Just Legal, E-Ring and Modern Men. But no one is better at what Bruckheimer does best, which is why you should stick with Justice — even through those moments when you're trying to put your finger on just when or where you've seen it all before.

Though standard-issue in most respects, this case-of-the-week drama about a high-power L.A. defense firm does have three distinguishing traits. The first is a promised postscript that will show us whether justice was indeed served at trial. The second is a media focus that turns an imaginary cable news show, American Crime, into its own character.

The third, and most crucial to the show's entertainment value, is Victor Garber, pulling out all the stops as Ron Trott, the legal master of media spin (and the emotional polar opposite of Alias' locked-down Jack Bristow). As the wildly egotistical, humorously volatile Trott, Garber is clearly the show's best asset — and the producers just as clearly realize that the asset is best used in limited doses.

Trott is the public face of the firm, but he doesn't actually try the cases; juries hate him. ("A little bit of Ron goes a long way.") Instead, the firm's lead litigator is Tom Nicholson (Kerr Smith), "the All-American face of not guilty." In support are Luther Graves (Eamonn Walker), who's in charge of research, and Alden Tuller (Rebecca Mader), who handles the expert testimony.

For his opening case, Trott's team comes to the aid of a man accused of clubbing his wife to death. The fast-paced pilot rockets through the case, starting at the crime scene and then jumping from office to Crime set to courtroom, before landing back at the scene of the crime for the truth-telling finale.

In its attempt to make us think we're lingering behind the scenes, the show relies heavily on procedural revelations, from lessons on how to meet the press to tips on adjusting your courtroom desk. (Inch it toward the jury.)

The show is also awash in Bruckheimer's trademark visual flourishes, though some of them are beginning to suffer from overexposure. Changing Luther's outfits in mid-stride to indicate the passing of time is a fun touch, but too much of the swooping camera work (like, say, the shot from underneath the elevator) comes off as wasted filler.

Still, the larger problem with Justice it that allows the plot to bury the characters. The prosecutors barely exist as individuals, and with the exception of Trott, the defense attorneys fare little better. Smith, in particular, had better step up his game before the "All-American Face" gets dismissed as little more than a pretty face. Those, however, are problems for another day. For now, you get Garber, a tricky case, and that Bruckheimer glow.

And for now, that will do Justice just fine.

"Justice" may not prevail for Fox

The first is our fascination with the legal system and the catalog of tricks played by both sides to gain an advantage. The second is our disgust when rich defendants who beat the system with dream team lawyers. The fate of "Justice" might depend on which of these two themes resonates most with viewers.

Victor Garber, fresh from "Alias," plays Ron Trott, a cocky, media-savvy and abrasive partner in Trott, Nicholson, Tuller & Graves, a high-overhead law firm that specializes in crimes of the wealthy. Although his three other partners get equal billing on the letterhead, Trott runs the show (at least in the pilot, which is all that Fox provided for review).

Garber plays Trott with such force and enthusiasm that he dominates every scene. The others have their specialties, such as Tom Nicholson (Kerr Smith), whose boyish charm wins him first chair at trials. Rebecca Mader and Eamonn Walker play the other two partners but remain mostly on the sidelines. Trott is the quarterback, sizing up the district attorney's formations and calling audibles when necessary, which is often.

Word from the Television Critics Assn. summer press tour is that the firm will represent guilty and innocent clients and even file an occasional civil suit. In the premiere, it's all about keeping rich client Kevin O'Neil (guest star Sam Trammell) from going to prison for the death of his wife, seen in opening shots floating face down in the mansion swimming pool. Who is O'Neil, and why does he rate such tenacious coverage from a cable news Nancy Grace-style pit bull? Who knows? Maybe the whole story will turn up on a future episode of some primetime newsmagazines that gave up on news years ago.

We've come a long, long way from "Perry Mason." The firm of TNT&G uses a shadow jury, a jury consultant, a mock jury, computer graphics to re-create the incident, expert witnesses and a clerical staff that would make the Library of Congress jealous. There's video and background data on every potential juror. As Trott explains, "If he had a good story, he wouldn't need us."

"Justice" ends with a scene that shows what really happened -- the whole truth, if you will. It's a novel twist, but it may not have the intended effect. In some cases, like the premiere, even seeing the actual event might not be enough to shake your opinion on O'Neil's guilt or innocence.

Writers Tyler Bensinger and executive producer Jonathan Shapiro and director David McNally pack a lot of story into the hour. Despite the intense look at the legal process, the show moves quickly, and the act breaks are particularly well-placed. Even with all that -- and Garber's stellar performance -- scheduling this series against ABC's "Lost" and CBS' "Criminal Minds" could soon make "Justice" hard to find.

Jerry Bruckheimer Television in association with Warner Bros. Television

Cast:
Ron Trott: Victor Garber
Tom Nicholson: Kerr Smith
Luther Graves: Eamonn Walker
Aiden Tuller: Rebecca Mader

Executive producers: Jerry Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman, Jonathan Shapiro, David McNally; Consulting producer: Kristieanne Reed; Producer: Patrick McKee; Creators/story by: David McNally, Tyler Bensinger; Director: David McNally; Teleplay: Tyler Bensinger, Jonathan Shapiro; Director of photography: Dermott Downs; Production designer: Mark Hutman; Editor: Ray Daniels III; Music: Trevor Morris; Set designer: Cindy Carr; Casting: Ronna Kress, Courtney Sheinin.

Quote at Entertainment Weekly pre-Emmy bash

Jen Up For Relly

Tom Hanks, Jennifer Garner, Anderson Cooper, Neil Patrick Harris, Ted McGinley, co-host Kelly Ripa and her husband, Mark Consuelos, will all compete against the real thing for "Best Regis."

In the past, Regis has been bested by comedians Darrell Hammond and Jimmy Fallon at the Rellys, a self-mocking and self-affirming award show for the syndicated talk show.

Newly added categories include favorite athlete, favorite real person and favorite go-go dancer, which will honor a dancer featured in the show's "Trivia A Go-Go" segment.

To combat the syndicated talk show's lack of success in snagging a daytime Emmy, "Live" created the Rellys, which give "Golden Stools" — a trophy-size version of the show's seats for the hosts and their guests.

Each award will be decided by viewer votes, which can be cast at http://www.RellyAwards.com.

'Alias' Vet Cooper Is On Zellweger's 'Case'

According to Variety, the "Alias" and "Kitchen Confidential" alum will play a detective who serves as Zellweger's love interest in the film, which begins shooting in September.

The film, set to be directed by Christian Alvart, focuses on a social worker (Zellweger) who tries to help an abused girl escape from her parents, only to discover that things aren't what they seem to be.

Ian McShane will co-star.

In addition to his TV credits, Cooper has been seen in features including "Failure to Launch" and "The Wedding Crashers."

Lost Boss Tackles Star Trek Enterprise

TV Guide: Which sci-fi shows had the biggest impact on you as a kid?
J.J. Abrams: As much as it was sci-fi, The Twilight Zone was the most impactful because the approach was humanistic and allegorical. And I was always a fan of Star Trek.

TV Guide: Did you have a favorite Twilight Zone episode?
Abrams: The pilot, "Where Is Everybody?" starring Earl Holliman. He was alone in the town, and it turned out he was being used as a guinea pig in an Air Force experiment.

TV Guide: Which sci-fi shows do you consider influences on your own work?
Abrams: I loved The Prisoner, which was a very odd sort of hybrid of sci-fi, mystery and character, and certainly there are elements of The Prisoner in both Alias and Lost. The prisoner was a guy constantly wondering where the hell he was. And there was some kind of agency that seemed to be in control of his destiny, and that was clearly a theme in Alias. And if there's any constant motion on Lost, it's the nod that we're giving to Rod Serling and The Twilight Zone.

TV Guide: Is it true that Lost's opening credits were designed as an homage to The Twilight Zone?
Abrams: Yeah, I did it on my laptop. That's why I did it in black and white. Even the sound — it was definitely different from Twilight Zone, but certainly in the vein of it.

TV Guide: Do you consider Lost a sci-fi show?
Abrams: It was sort of Damon's and my secret that it was a sci-fi show. We certainly never presented it that way. When we created it, conventional wisdom was that sci-fi on major networks didn't exist. The X-Files was seen as an anomaly. So we kept it to ourselves in the beginning. If we had pitched Lost as a sci-fi show, it wouldn't have gotten made.

TV Guide: What do you think of the state of sci-fi on TV today?
Abrams: There's certainly a lot more on than there were a couple of years ago. I'm a fan, so the more the better.

TV Guide: Do you think Lost's focus on character-driven stories has changed the way sci-fi is done on TV?
Abrams: If we've had influence, it's a wonderful thing, and if we can be a show that inspires people to tell stories that are character-based, then that's a happy by-product of doing the show. But character-driven isn't sci-fi, it's just good storytelling.

TV Guide: Will you have time to be involved in Lost's third season?
Abrams: I definitely look to be more involved this season, certainly more than I was last season [when directing Mission: Impossible III]. I look forward to directing an episode, and I'm planning on writing some.

TV Guide: What can you tell us about the new season?
Abrams: A lot of the season's already figured out, and it's incredible. The stories are amazing.

TV Guide: C'mon. Give us something.
Abrams: Desmond will definitely be back. He's not dead.

TV Guide: How exciting is it to find yourself in charge of resuscitating the Trek franchise?
Abrams: It's sort of surreal but wonderful. I'm producing and may direct.

TV Guide: Which of the Star Trek series were you a fan of?
Abrams: The original, and I thought Next Generation was terrific. I didn't really get into Deep Space or Enterprise.

TV Guide: What about Voyager?
Abrams: Not so much.

TV Guide: Do you own Star Trek DVDs?
Abrams: Oh, yeah. [Laughs] I have every DVD of every Star Trek episode from every series. I haven't seen every episode of every series, but I certainly know it well enough to be working on the movie.

TV Guide: When Paramount asked you to be involved in the film, did you immediately say yes?
Abrams: Not exactly. There have been 10 films and all these different series, so it was a question of finding out what they were anticipating. But it became clear pretty quickly that they were in a really open frame of mind. Then it became, "Hell, yeah!"

TV Guide: It's been reported that the film will focus on Kirk and Spock's early days and include their meeting at Starfleet Academy. You've said that was not entirely accurate. What parts are?
Abrams: I think we have an incredible story, but we've sort of promised each other we wouldn't talk about the specifics yet. But I can say that we're actively working on it, we're in the middle of breaking the story, and it's coming along great. I'd be happy to start sooner than Paramount thinks, but not a moment before it's ready.

TV Guide: Why the shroud of secrecy?
Abrams: It's way premature. Anything I say, people will read into it and make assumptions. But we have an incredible beginning of a really dramatic story, and it very much honors the canon of Star Trek. On the other hand, it won't be like anything you've seen before.

TV Guide: Do you feel any pressure taking on such a beloved franchise?
Abrams: I feel respectful of it. Fans of Lost don't compare to fans of Star Trek, but working on Lost gives us a view into how important it is to respect the fans.

TV Guide: Why do you think Star Trek continues to fascinate?
Abrams: It was incredibly smart television. The original series and Next Generation were about something — human nature and the idea of coming up against the unexpected and the often terrifying. It was a good story that happened to be science fiction. When I watch episodes with my 7-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter and see them so vitally respond to a show that was made the year I was born — it's not because it takes place on a spaceship. What endures isn't a genre, it's character and emotional connection.

George Will Experience '30 Days of Night'

According to all variety of media reports (including the actress' personal Web site), George has been cast as the female lead in "Hard Candy" director David Slade's adaptation of the Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith vampire comic "30 Days of Night."

Adapted by Slade's "Hard Candy" collaborator Brian Nelson (with an earlier draft from Stuart Beattie), "30 Days of Night" tells the heartwarming story of a small town in Alaska that comes under attack by a group of vampires at the most inopportune of times -- just as the city is preparing for a month of total darkness. At the center of the story are a husband-and-wife sheriff team with a very difficult decision to make, what with the vampires and all. Josh Hartnett will play the husband, which leaves George to play his wife, we can only surmise.

Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert are producing "30 Days" for their Ghost House shingle.

George is probably best known for her work on ABC's "Alias" and in the remake of "The Amityville Horror." She'll next be seen in "Turistas" from Fox Atomic.

Bentley, Nichols scale "P2" thriller

Nichols plays a corporate climber who gets stuck working late on Christmas Eve and finds herself the target of an unhinged security guard (Bentley). With no help in sight, the woman must overcome physical and psychological challenges to survive.

Alexandre Aja and Gregory Levasseur co-wrote the script with Franck Khalfoun, who was Aja's editor on "Hills." Khalfoun will make his directorial debut on the indie project.

Shooting is scheduled to begin in mid-August in Toronto.

Bentley, whose credits include "The Four Feathers" and "American Beauty," next appears in Sony's "Ghost Rider" and the indie "Weirdsville."

Nichols, whose credits include the TV series "Alias" and last year's "The Amityville Horror," will appear in the upcoming drama "Resurrecting the Champ" opposite Samuel L. Jackson and Josh Hartnett.

Abrams inks Paramount, Warner deals

The two deals, completed early Friday, made the 40-year-old writer-producer one of the industry's highest-paid directors, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Abrams has been at Walt Disney Co.'s Touchstone Television studio, where he based his production company and created several ABC series.

"An opportunity presented itself, and we went for it," Peter Roth, president of Warner Bros. Television, told the newspaper. "J.J. is such a unique and extraordinary talent, someone whom I've admired from a distance for years."

An e-mail message left for Paramount and a phone call left for Warner Bros. weren't immediately returned Saturday.

Roth declined to discuss financial details, but two sources told the newspaper that Abrams would get at least $4 million a year for six years and overhead costs that would average about $2 million a year for his Bad Robot production label.

The deal also allows him at least 35 percent of what's known as the "back-end," or the revenue from DVD sales, Internet downloads and syndication sales.

Emmy Nominations

Outstanding Hairstyling For A Series

Desperate Housewives • Remember • ABC • Touchstone Television
Dena Green, Key Hairstylist
Gabor Heiligenberg, Key Hairstylist
Nicole Frank, Hairstylist
James Dunham, Hairstylist

Rome • Stealing From Saturn • HBO • HBO Entertainment in association with the BBC
Aldo Signoretti, Hair Designer
Ferdinando Merolla, Key Hairstylist
Stefano Ceccarelli, Hairstylist
Gaetano Panico, Hairstylist

Six Feet Under • Everyone’s Waiting • HBO • Actual Size and the Greenblatt/Janollari Studios in association with HBO Entertainment
Randy Sayer, Hair Department Head
Miia Kovero, Assistant Hair Department Head
Karl Wesson, Key Hairstylist
Daphne Lawson, Key Hairstylist

Will & Grace • The Finale • NBC • KoMut Entertainment in association with NBC Studios and Three Sisters Entertainment
Luke O’Connor, Hairstylist
Tim Burke, Hairstylist

Outstanding Stunt Coordination

E-Ring • Snatch and Grab • NBC • Jerry Bruckheimer Television in association with Warner Bros. Television Production, a Division of WB Studio Enterprises Inc.
Jimmy Romano, Stunt Coordinator

Numb3rs • Harvest Episode • CBS • Scott Free! in association with Paramount Pictures
Jim Vickers, Stunt Coordinator

24 • 9:00 PM - 10:00 PM • FOX • Imagine Entertainment and 20th Century Fox Television in association with Real Time Productions
Jeff Cadiente, Stunt Coordinator

The Unit • First Responders • CBS • 20th Century Fox Television
Norman Howell, Stunt Coordinator

Season Program Rankings

Clooney, McDreamy Deemed Most Dateworthy

The "Syriana" actor and former "ER" doctor topped a nationwide poll of Lifetime viewers as the woman's dream celebrity date with 39 percent of the votes.

Younger celebs didn't even come close. Soon to be divorcee Nick Lachey grabbed 14 percent of the votes, followed by Colin Farrell (10 percent), Orlando Bloom (9 percent), Derek Jeter (8) and Jake Gyllenhaal (6).

Like Clooney, TV doctors are still popular with the ladies, with Dr. McDreamy ("Grey's Anatomy" star Patrick Dempsey) leading the way for doctors in love, followed by "ER's" Noah Wylie, "Nip/Tuck's" Julian McMahon and "Lost's" resident cutter Matthew Fox.

Apparently, the public isn't ashamed of its voyeuristic attitude, admitting to thinking about their favorite celebrities' sex lives. According to the poll, Will and Jada Pinkett Smith most likely get the sheets blazing (41 percent), followed by Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher (20 percent), "Desperate Housewives" star Eva Longoria and Tony Parker (11) and Ben "Sorry honey, I have a headache" Affleck and Jennifer Garner (7).

And just in time for "The Break Up," viewers also weighed in on the couples they would most like to see work things out.

Singer Sheryl Crowe and cyclist Lance Armstrong came in first, with Hilary Swank (who recently filed for divorce) and Chad Lowe not far behind.

The poll is the latest in the Lifetime Television Pulse Poll series.

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, May 22, 2006

FOX earned the highest rating, 5.4, in the adults 18-49 demographic that makes advertisers happy. CBS took second with a 4.7, followed by NBC at 4.1. ABC came in fourth with a 3.0. UPN and The WB tied at 0.9.

CBS took the lead in households at 9 with the season finales of "Two and a Half Men," 9.9/15, and "Old Christine," 8.6/13. The conclusion of "24" posted an 8.7/13 and led the hour in viewers. NBC dropped to third with "The Apprentice." Part one of the "Alias" series finale delivered a 4.8/7 for ABC. "Everwood," 2.0/3, kept The WB ahead of UPN, which went with "Girlfriends" and "Half & Half."

The "CSI: Miami" season finale, 12.4/19, drew the night's best rating for CBS at 10 p.m. NBC's "Medium" concluded its season with a 6.8/11, while "Alias" wrapped up with a 4.3/7.

"Alias" Goes Permanently Undercover

Her assignment, should she choose to accept it, is to tie up a dossier full of loose ends Monday by the time Alias' series finale puts a grinding halt to the relentless action, plot twists and mistaken identity that characterized five seasons of the ABC show that creator J.J. Abrams has referred to as "a family drama set in the world of espionage."

And what a mad, mad world it has been.

Over the years, Sydney, the sexy, butt-kicking secret agent played by Jennifer Garner, has been presumed dead, had her memory erased, given birth and seen her lover return from the big agency in the sky--after finally learning his real name, of course. That sums up about 10 minutes of what Abrams and executive producer Jeff Pinkner have put their heroine through.

But through it all, Sydney--and Garner, who won a Golden Globe for her efforts--came out on top, come rain or pink hair.

"From Jen, I learned just how to be a classy person," Kevin Weisman, who plays sweet tech geek Marshall Flinkman, told E! Online TV columnist Kristin Veitch. "How to treat people with respect when you're working and when you're in that position and you're scrutinized so much. I've seen other actresses crack under the pressure, but she never did."

"This show will always be the backdrop to me growing up and I did it with these people," the 34-year-old Garner told the Associated Press. "They've seen me struggle through stuff, figure stuff out, struggle through it again."

(Perhaps she's referring to her divorce from her Felicity costar Scott Foley, her romance with Alias costar Michael Vartan, and her eventual marriage to Bennifer costar Ben Affleck--all of which happened during Alias' fast-paced run.)

"[My costars] have been enormously kind to me the entire time and have done nothing but facilitate my growth, and been very patient," Garner added as she headed off to shoot a scene in which her character rappels down a wall.

And by her character, we mean Garner, who enjoyed doing her own stunts until her popularity soared and the show's producers put the kibosh on the more dangerous stuff. She told the AP about what she had wanted to do in one of the final episodes--a "descender."

"Couldn't be easier," Garner said. "A hundred and fifty feet. I've done higher than that several times."

As for the rappelling? "It's just a wussy thing."

Well, after you've flown through the air and worn hundreds of thousands of dollars-worth of wigs, what's next?

"I think we have done these characters justice and to do any more would be pushing it," Garner said.

That's one way to look at it. ABC announced Alias' impending demise in November after the show took a dive in the ratings after moving from Wednesdays post-Lost to Thursdays opposite Survivor, which gave viewers a chance to choose their own adventure. Unfortunately for Alias more than 3 million people chose another network's adventure.

True Alias fans never missed a step, though.

"We are so incredibly grateful to the fans of Alias who have stood by us, sought us out when we weren't easy to find and refused to let us go anywhere," Garner told E! Online's Veitch. "It is because of these people out there who cared about this world that J.J. created that we have had the good fortune to bring it to life day after day after day, and now year after year. And that has been an experience that has changed my life forever and that I will never forget."

After sending Sydney, Jack (Victor Garber), Sloane (Ron Rifkin) and the rest of APO on a four-month sabbatical during sweeps, the Olympics and American Idol auditions, ABC returned the series to Wednesdays where it showed new life for awhile--especially when there actually was new life. The Apr. 19 birth of Sydney and Vaughn's baby girl attracted 7.5 million people, Alias' best numbers since its season-five premiere.

The pregnancy plot was whipped up to mesh with Garner's real-life mommy-to-be status and to allow Sydney to root out the bad guys hunkering down in Lamaze classes and OBGYN offices.

As for the two-hour series finale:

Now that Vaughn (Vartan) is back and Sydney doesn't have to go around pretending to be Rambaldi fanatic Anna (Gina Torres)anymore (now that Anna's, like, totally dead), she can get back to her main objective--stopping Sloane and Irina (a devious Lena Olin) from carrying out an evil scheme involving artifacts, prophecies and a really important necklace.

The first half of the finale, "Reprisal," finds Sloane taking Mitchell and Rachel (Rachel Nichols) hostage, while Sydney, Vaughn, and the rest of APO try to save them. The second half, "All the Time in the World," will finally shed light on the Rambaldi endgame mumbo-jumbo, as well as focus on Sydney's ties to Vaughn and her father. And we can tell you this (VAGUE SPOILER):

Someone dies.

Amy Acker, who originally auditioned for the roles of Nadia and Rachel but took the role of murderous Kelly Peyton, remained pretty tight-lipped during an interview with reporters in London Wednesday, but gave the impression that her beauteous baddie might survive.

"I think you can assume I'll be there in the end," Acker said. "But I really can't say."

"People die; people live," Jeff Pinkner told the AP, explaining all and, yet? nothing.

But during an appearance on Live with Regis and Kelly earlier this week, Garner talked about the fate of her fellow characters in a way that made perfect sense, considering Alias rarely threw a pitch that didn't turn into a loopy curveball.

"Some of it may break your heart, but a lot of it will make you happy," she said. "There's a little bit of a love story" and "people die, people come back to life."

FOX Announces Fall '06

Stars: Victor Garber ("Alias"), Kerr Smith ("Dawson's Creek"), Eamonn Walker ("Oz"), Rebecca Mader ("The Devil Wears Prada")

Studio: Warner Bros. TV, Jerry Bruckheimer TV

Producers: Tyler Bensinger ("Cold Case"), David McNally ("Coyote Ugly"), Jerry Bruckheimer ("CSI," "Cold Case"), Jonathan Shapiro, Jonathan Littman

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, May 17, 2006

FOX also carried the day among adults 18-49, doing a 6.8 rating in the demographic the advertisers want to hug and kiss. NBC was second with a 3.9 rating, with ABC and CBS posting matching 3.7 ratings to finish close behind. UPN was fifth with a 1.8 rating, leaving The WB's 1.0 rating in sixth.

With "Deal or No Deal" doing an 8.9/15, NBC started the night in first. FOX was second with the 6.0/10 for the "Bones" finale. The first hour of CBS' "Amazing Race" finale wasn't far off in third, followed distantly by the 3.9/9 for "Alias." The ABC spy drama only nipped UPN's "Top Model," which did a 3.8/6 and managed to pummel "Alias" in the 18-49 demographic. The WB aired the first hour of "Final Destination 2," but nobody much cared.

ABC Announces Fall '06

Premise: Family secrets and lies are exposed are exposed when siblings come together to celebrate a birthday and soapy repercussions follow.

Stars: Calista Flockhart ("Ally McBeal"), Ron Rivkin ("Alias"), Balthazar Getty ("Alias"), Rachel Griffiths ("Six Feet Under"), Dave Annable ("Reunion"), Patricia Wettig ("Prison Break"), John Pyper-Ferguson ("Smallville"), Sarah Jane Morris ("Felicity"), Jimmy Pinchak ("CSI")

Studio: Touchstone Television

Producers: Jon Robin Baitz ("The Substance of Fire"), Ken Olin ("Alias"), Marti Noxon ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer")

Six Degrees (Drama, Thursdays 10pm)

Premise: The lives of several New Yorkers intersect, even though they don't know each other.

Stars: Jay Hernandez ("Hostel"), Bridget Moynahan ("I, Robot"), Hope Davis ("Proof"), Campbell Scott ("Big Night"), Dorian Missick ("Lucky Number Slevin"), Erika Christensen ("Swim Fan")

Studio: Touchstone TV, Bad Robot

Producers: Stu Zicherman, Raven Metzner ("What About Brian"), J.J. Abrams ("Lost"), Bryan Burk ("Lost")

Jennifer Garner Says 'Alias' Had a Good Run

After five seasons, the ABC series that revitalized the espionage genre with a visually dazzling combination of glamor, angst and trickery concludes Monday, May 22, with a pair of episodes (9 p.m. EDT).

The brainchild of J. J. Abrams (who has since created ABC's hit drama "Lost" and directed "Mission: Impossible III"), "Alias" leaves behind a loyal, cult-like group of fans who understood the minutia of the double-dealing plot twists.

Yet mainstream viewers were often left scratching their heads over the spies' constantly shifting alliances between good and evil, not to mention their occasional faked deaths.

Show runner and executive producer Jeff Pinkner says it's "always been a family drama" and has "always played with the question of whether or not Sydney Bristow had a choice in what she was doing in her life ... fate versus free will."

The role made Garner an A-list star and her private life media fodder. Supermarket tabs tracked her divorce from "Felicity's" Scott Foley, her dating of "Alias" co-star Michael Vartan, her marriage last year to film star Ben Affleck and the November birth of their daughter, Violet.

Simply clad in black, action-star work clothes, the gracious, fresh-faced actress arrived promptly for lunch at the Mickey Mouse-themed Rotunda restaurant on the Walt Disney Studios lot, where the final episodes of "Alias" were in production.

Pinkner joined her and they shared feelings about the bonds that develop among cast and crew during the series run.

"This show will always be the backdrop to me growing up and I did it with these people. They've seen me struggle through stuff, figure stuff out, struggle through it again," said Garner, now 34. "They have been enormously kind to me the entire time and have done nothing but facilitate my growth, and been very patient."

That included her real-life pregnancy, which was worked into the plot, with Bristow giving birth to a daughter, Isabelle, in the April 19 episode.

Filming that sequence felt "too intimate," Garner said. "It was a horrible scene to shoot. I felt ridiculous. I kept saying to the crew, 'This wasn't what it was like. I wasn't like this. I was very calm.'"

Certainly more fun for the actress over the years were the many disguises Bristow adopted to go undercover, including "hundreds and thousands of dollars worth of wigs," Garner recalled. Her favorite was "the blonde bob," which she donned, along with blue contacts, to pose as a Nordic beauty. "It's the only time I've ever felt, `I wish I was this person.'"

She also mastered snippets of many foreign languages, the hardest being Czech.

And Garner is proud to say she performed many of her own stunts, though she's miffed that as her fame grew so also did Disney's insistence on stunt doubles.

She said she had wanted to do a "descender" in one of the final episodes, where "you're rigged in a harness. Couldn't be safer. A hundred and fifty feet. I've done higher than that several times."

But she was told insurance wouldn't cover her. "I was crushed. I was so bummed."

So on this day, she was happy to be going back after lunch to shoot a rappelling scene, even though "it's just a wussy thing."

Pinkner co-wrote one of the final episodes, but, teasingly, would only say, "People die; people live."

However, he assures the conclusion honors Bristow's ongoing romance with CIA agent Michael Vaughn (Vartan) and her relationship with her parents, particularly her father, double agent Jack Bristow (Victor Garber).

The final episodes also pay off the mythology of the show, based on the mysterious prophecies of 15th century seer Milo Rambaldi, and add another kink to the machinations of treacherous spymaster Arvin Sloane (Ron Rifkin).

Garner admitted to some ambivalence as production on the series drew to a close.

"I feel very much like a college senior," she said. "Kinda, `When will this ever end? I'm never going to get out of here!' and at the same time, `Oh, don't let it end. Who am I without it? I don't want it to end! I love these people.'"

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, May 10, 2006

FOX had a wider lead among adults 18-49, where it scored a 5.9 rating. NBC was second with a 4.2, edging ABC's 4.1. CBS wasn't far back in fourth with a 3.8. UPN averaged 1.7 and The WB 0.4.

The 8 p.m. hour belonged to NBC and "Deal or No Deal," which posted a 9.5/15. "Bones" was second for FOX at 5.9/10, beating "The Amazing Race," 5.5/9, on CBS. ABC finished fourth with "Alias." The penultimate episode of "America's Next Top Model" delivered a 3.3/5 for UPN. The WB's "Bedford Diaries" trailed.

Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Garner among movie stars touring New Orleans

The movie stars were among a delegation of women touring devastated parts of the city Monday to meet with families and children trying to adjust to life after Hurricane Katrina.

"I don't think you get a real clear perspective unless you come down and see it," Witherspoon said after chatting with students at a Freedom School set up by the Children's Defense Fund to help young storm victims.

"The children need attention right now," said Witherspoon, this year's best actress Oscar winner for Walk the Line.

The visit was part of an effort by the fund to bring attention to the needs of storm victims, particularly traumatized children. The group plans to open more than 20 such schools in communities along the Gulf Coast: 13 for Louisiana and nine for Mississippi.

The New Orleans school is in part of the city inundated with 1.5 metres of water after Katrina hit Aug. 29. Many homes sit empty and deteriorating, and piles of storm debris still line sidewalks.

About 1.2 million people younger than 18 are living in areas rendered disaster zones by Katrina, and as many as eight per cent, or 100,000, are expected to develop post-traumatic stress disorder, according to various estimates.

Some experts say the mental health toll may be much higher. Of the first 1,000 children screened by the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, 27 per cent displayed symptoms of trauma, including nightmares, flashbacks, heightened anxiety and bedwetting.

"I've been shocked and heartbroken," said Garner, star of TV's Alias and the film Elektra, who cried when the children danced and sang Something Inside So Strong by South African singer Labi Siffre.

Tyson greeted the children, then read to them.

"Let me tell you how happy I am to be here with you today . . . to see you . . . to hug you," said Tyson, who starred in Sounder and The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman.

The delegation of more than two dozen women from Hollywood, Washington and New Orleans chatted with students as they worked on art projects and read books in small groups. Listed participants included actresses Elisabeth Shue, Jane Kaczmarek, Holly Robinson Peete and LaTanya Richardson Jackson, wife of actor Samuel L. Jackson.

The delegation also met with displaced families living in a village of government trailers and took a bus tour of the Lower Ninth Ward, a struggling part of the city even before it was devastated by the storm.

High school and college students are trained and hired to work in Freedom Schools, which provide children with three meals a day, cultural and developmental activities, and conflict-resolution exercises.

FOX Picks Up Garber Pilot

"Primary" stars Ron Livingston and Rosemarie DeWitt as hostage negotiators who balance their budding relationship and their job. "American Crime," featuring "Alias" veteran Victor Garber, is an ensemble about high-profile defense attorneys.

Garner joins Foxx's "Kingdom"

Chris Cooper also co-stars in the Universal Pictures film, which revolves around an FBI team on assignment in a Middle Eastern country investigating a terrorist bombing in one of the compounds housing Western workers.

Peter Berg ("Friday Night Lights") is directing. Universal is eyeing a June start date. Garner's film credits include "Elektra" and "13 Going on 30."

Abrams Approves of 'Alias,' 'Lost' Finales

In an interview to promote his film "Mission: Impossible III," the writer-director-producer weighs in on the finales for two shows he created that have won rabid fans since their premiere episodes. In the case of "Alias," Abrams is sorry but prepared to see the series end.

"This is something we have been anticipating for a while. I think it's the right time to end the series," he says. "It's definitely bittersweet for a lot of obvious reasons. It's an incredible cast and crew so we'll miss them but I hope to work with all of them again soon."

As his fans know, this is no empty promise. From his late '90s WB college drama "Felicity," Abrams took supporting actress Jennifer Garner and made her the lead in "Alias" and cast Keri Russell, who played the series' title character, for his film.

The actor who's appeared the most often since his "Felicity" days, however, is Greg Grunberg, who's made stops on "Alias," "Lost," "M:i:III" and will probably have a space reserved for him on all of Abrams' future projects.

"Only as long as I'm directing," jokes Abrams. "No, I'm kidding. Greg, who's my oldest friend since kindergarten, is someone who -- I love working with Greg. He's my good luck charm."

"But in terms of the end of the year, it's actually a really good finale," he continues about "Alias." "I think it's incredibly satisfying. It connects all these pieces that have been in the 'Alias' universe from the beginning and I'm really proud of the work that Jeff Pinkner, Drew Goddard and the other amazing writers in the show have done, not just this year but building up to the finale which I think is going to be a really, really powerful and exciting ending."

So, here's hoping that pseudo-Sydney will get her comeuppance, that Nadia (Mia Maestro) is among the living despite the glass sticking out of her neck and that Sark (David Anders) will get away to wreak havoc another day.

Now in the case of "Lost," closure isn't expected at all. Instead, this cryptic, circuitous show promises to have one doozy of a cliffhanger finale for the season.

"I can tell you that Damon Lindelof has done just that," says Abrams. "The ending of this year in 'Lost' blows the ending of last season out of the water. It's an incredible finale."

Well, action-wise anything will be more exciting than the castaways looking down The Hatch, which is how the first season concluded. This time around, there's twice as many players, including the "tailees" and The Others, and some really messed up stuff afoot, the most recent being Michael's (Harold Perrineau) return from who knows where wielding a gun and shooting real-life drunk drivers Libby and Ana-Lucia (Cynthia Watros, Michelle Rodriguez).

"You'll see what happens but I can tell you that a lot of it has been there and been building from the beginning of this season," adds Abrams. "It's not out of the blue, but what happens at the very end of this year, for me, it's the greatest finale I have ever heard."

Although Abrams hopes to return to "Lost" but also continue his film career, he doesn't think an "Alias" or "Lost" film is in the making.

"Right now 'Alias' is sort of going to rest in just the right way so I think that it's the right way for it to go out," he says and then points out that with "Lost," "I think we make it every week. I honestly don't know what else we would do."

"Alias" will experience its final double-cross on Monday, May 22, and "Lost" will wrap up its second season two days later on Wednesday, May 24.

Mission accomplished: J.J. Abrams directs for the big screen with MI:3

J.J. Abrams, the creative force behind all three, clearly has a fondness for starting in the middle of things. "In this movie especially, I felt that audiences know the mechanics of the genre so well, to start the movie in a place where you think it's going to go, it dispels any preconceived notions," says Abrams. "It engages you as a puzzle."

That, of course, isn't surprising, coming from the man who has captivated (and frustrated) millions by creating the backstory-loaded mystery Lost.

But that's why Abrams was brought in to helm the newest Mission: Impossible - to infuse a stalled franchise with some new life.

With a budget of more than $150 million US, Mission: Impossible III has been reported as the most expensive directorial debut in Hollywood history.

The son of TV producer Gerald W. Abrams, J.J. (short for Jeffrey Jacob) was raised on studio backlots and has known since he was eight that this was his dream.

"I loved magic when I was a little kid and I remember going on the Universal Studios tour with my grandfather and realizing it was just a magic trick. It was all just an elaborate magic trick," he says. "I became incredibly comfortable and familiar with that world, so it never felt like anything but second nature to be on a set. Even as a little kid, all I ever wanted to do was be one of those guys on any level."

Abrams constantly played with his Super 8 camera as a boy, creating explosions with firecrackers and experimenting with rudimentary effects like making his sister disappear.

Later, while attending Sarah Lawrence College, he sold his first script: the 1990 comedy, Taking Care of Business. Soon he sold another screenplay, which became the Harrison Ford drama Regarding Henry, and later (with others) wrote the 1998 blockbuster Armageddon.

Abrams moved from writing screenplays to creating TV shows, for which he's best known: first Felicity, then Alias, and most recently Lost. But it was Alias that caught Cruise's attention. After watching the first season of the spy series on DVD, Cruise believed Abrams was the man who could save M:I3, which had been stuck in development for years.

Directors David Fincher (Fight Club) and Joe Carnahan (Narc) were both attached at one point. Then, Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption) wrote a script.

Cruise and Steven Spielberg had earlier spoken to Abrams about writing War of the Worlds, but Abrams was busy with the pilot of Lost. When Cruise approached him to direct M:I3, Abrams said Darabont's dark, political script wasn't for him.

"It just, for whatever reason, felt less like a Mission: Impossible movie than another sort of heavily mission-based film," says Abrams, who wanted to bring M:I back to the TV series' teamwork ethos. "I just knew it wasn't a version I was best to deliver."

To Abrams' surprise, Cruise put his faith in him to write his own version.

Writing in Time magazine for its issue on the world's most influential people, Cruise said of Abrams: "He was born to impinge on and invade pop culture."

Though Abrams now had enough industry sway to direct any number of projects, M:I3, he says, was perfect for him.

"Had I started on a film that was a tenth of the budget, it would have been to work up to a movie like this," he says. "This was literally like someone saying - and it was Tom who gave me this opportunity - 'Do you want to make the kind of movie you always wanted to make?' "

Abrams and his writing partners from Alias (Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci) built their own story, which has some parallels to Alias.

M:I3 is also much more of an ensemble than the film's Cruise-centred publicity has suggested. The cast includes Hoffman, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Laurence Fishburne, Billy Crudup, Keri Russell (who starred on Felicity) and Ving Rhames.

Rhames, the lone holdover besides Cruise from the earlier films, thinks the ensemble feel harkens back to the original TV show, and was impressed by what Abrams brought to M:I.

"He reminds me almost of a young Quentin Tarantino," says Rhames, who co-starred in Tarantino's Pulp Fiction. "They both have a youthful energy for film."

The energetic and fast-talking Abrams, who next will write and produce the 11th Star Trek feature film, has a wife and three kids and is approaching his 40th birthday, but could easily be carded at a bar.

"It does feel like, right now, there is no difference for me than when I was a little kid," he says. "It's almost exactly the same - to the point where, when I was making this movie, I was struck by how similar it felt to being 12 or 14 and making movies."

"Instead of 8 millimetre, it's 35 millimetre. Instead of a little 1/60th-scale car, it's a car," he says, smiling gleefully. "But the reality of what the process is, it's that magic trick again."

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, May 3, 2006

In the adults 18-49 demographic, FOX's 7.5 rating led the way by a wide margin. CBS took second with a 3.7, narrowly beating ABC, 3.6, and NBC, 3.4. UPN averaged 1.5 and The WB 1.0.

The conclusion of a two-part "House" scored a 10.2/17 for FOX at 8 p.m. NBC finished second for the hour with "Deal or No Deal," 7.9/13. "The Amazing Race" put CBS in third, with ABC's "Alias" taking a sizable hit from last week to finish fourth. "America's Next Top Model" averaged 2.9/5 for UPN. The WB got a 2.3/4 from the season finale of "One Tree Hill."

Abrams Slightly Chills Some 'Star Trek' Rumors

Last week ending with great jubilation in the "Star Trek" universe as Variety announced that "Alias" and "Lost" guru J.J. Abrams would produce and possibly direct the next "Star Trek" film and that the plot would revolve around Young Kirk and Young Spock in their earliest days as friends and colleagues.

Just hold your horses, partners.

In an interview with England's Empire magazine, Abrams said that what you've heard may not actually be entirely accurate. Then, like an "Alias" cliffhanger or an unresolved "Lost" mystery, he didn't say much else to clarify.

"The whole thing was reported entirely without our cooperation," Abrams told Empire. "People learned that I was producing a 'Star Trek' film, that I had an option to direct it, they hear rumors of what the thing was going to be and ran with a story that is not entirely accurate."

It's at this point, that you'd think Abrams, promoting his feature directing debut "Mission: Impossible III," would want to set the record straight. He doesn't.

"We've made a pact not to discuss any specifics," is the only other enlightening statement reported in Empire.

Otherwise, the biggest scoop is that Abrams likes the characters in the universe saying, "Those characters are so spectacular. I just think that... you know, they could live again."

Yup. That's pretty meaningless. But we thought you'd like to know.

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, April 26, 2006

FOX also won easily among adults 18-48, with a 5.9 rating in the key demographic. CBS was second with a 3.8 rating, followed closely by NBC's 3.7 rating and the 3.1 rating for ABC. UPN was a respectable fifth with a 2.0 rating, leaving The WB in last with a 1.1 rating.

NBC started the night in first place with a 9.4/15 for "Deal or No Deal." The game show had no problems beating the 6.4/10 for FOX's "Bones." CBS' "Amazing Race" had a 5.3/9, comfortably better than the 4.3/7 for "Alias" on ABC. UPN's "America's Next Top Model" had a 3.2/5 for the hour, leaving The WB's "One Tree Hill" in last.

'Alias' Passes 100 on the Way to the End Zone

But it did have "Alias." While never a highly rated show by the standard of, say, CBS, creator J.J. Abrams' spy drama was often about as good as it got on ABC. And better yet, the critics loved it, and the fans that loved it really loved it, like crazy mad loved it.

After a broadcast hiatus to allow new mom and series star Jennifer Garner some maternity leave after giving birth to her first child with husband Ben Affleck, "Alias" returned last week with a two-hour episode that saw her character, CIA superspy Sydney Bristow, also have her baby, fathered by allegedly slain love and CIA partner Michael Vaughn (Michael Vartan).

This week, on Wednesday, April 26, "Alias" celebrates its 100th episode with "There's Only One Sydney Bristow," which features a return appearance by original series regular Bradley Cooper as former journalist Will Tippin, who's been off in witness relocation.

The series continues on Wednesdays -- paired with Abrams' other creation, the wildly successful "Lost" -- until its blowout two-hour finale, airing on Monday, May 22.

"I don't think that it's that we've been kicked to the curb for the brand-new, sleek model," executive producer Jeff Pinkner says. "I honestly believe that this season, with Jennifer and Sydney giving birth, that the show has paid off the question of the first year, which was 'How does a young woman exist in this world?'"

The cast has known since the end of last year that this season would be it.

"For all of us, as storytellers, this feels like the year the show should end," Pinkner says. "Of course, it could have gone on longer, but to a degree, it would have been treading water. This feels like the proper end to what the show was when it started out."

"It definitely feels appropriate," Garner says. "To me, this show had a finite amount of stories that we could tell. The only reason I say that is not because of the writers, because they're genius, but part of their genius is that they shove a ton of story into every episode. So we've told, in five years, what some people would do in seven seasons.

"So it feels like it's time. We've done Sydney right, and now it's time for her to go off into the sunset, but that does not mean that my heart doesn't break, and I'm not going through a total identity crisis, because I am."

As huge audiences have discovered on "Lost" -- and as "Alias" fans already knew -- Abrams' hallmark seems to be taking wildly improbable situations and finding the human connections at their heart.

On its surface, "Alias" is a story about a sexy female agent who dons fabulous disguises and kicks the crap out of bad guys, but under that veneer, it's been about an idealistic young woman who has her illusions about love, family and career painfully shattered, then slowly puts all three back together.

Along the way, the father figure she admired, Arvin Sloane (Ron Rifkin), turned out to be her enemy, while the father she rejected, Jack Bristow (Victor Garber), slowly came back to the center of her life.

"Ultimately, the show's been about family," Garner says. "It's about this woman and her father and trying to figure out what is always a complicated relationship in the context of life and death at work.

"It was so much about how much one person could be tested and still maintain her will to fight, which is ultimately a kind of optimism. And it's definitely good vs. evil."

On the practical side, "Alias" has always given the impression of being a hardworking but happy set, with regular and guest stars bonding like family.

"We really do [love one another]," Garner says. "We've never had a harsh word amongst the cast. It is the most harmonious set you could ever find yourself on, and that is true the entire, entire time."

Since leaving "Alias," Cooper has done the hit movies "Wedding Crashers" and "Failure to Launch," and now he's doing Richard Greenberg's play "Three Days of Rain" with Julia Roberts on Broadway. But he did have time to come back for the 100th episode.

"He squeezed us in right before he was supposed to start rehearsing," Garner says, "so we were really grateful for that. You should see, the whole set, the cast and crew, we are so puffed up and proud of Bradley Cooper. He's like a little brother that we all take responsibility for the good things in his life."

For her part, Garner is looking forward to taking a couple of months off and heading to Boston with her daughter, Violet, to be with Affleck, who's directing "Gone, Baby, Gone," which he also wrote.

"I couldn't be looking forward to it any more," she says.

While "Alias" is drawing to a close, Pinkner does dream about doing a spinoff with Sloane and two of the show's other villains, Kelly Peyton and Julian Sark (Amy Acker, David Anders).

"There have not been official talks with ABC about this," he says, "but we all have our fantasies that we'd like to see. There's absolutely a show about Sark, just being a guy who works the angles."

"That would be awesome," Garner says.

Right now, Garner isn't focused on May 22, but on a day that comes much sooner. "I don't think it's as much about the final show airing for me as it is about the last day of work. And [before that], I guess we'll start saying, 'That's a series wrap for ... .' That'll be pretty crazy."

J.J. Abrams to bring 'Star Trek' back to theatres

Abrams, creator of TV hits Lost, Alias and Felicity, and director of the upcoming Mission Impossible III, will bring the as-yet-untitled project to theatres in 2008.

The new project, which will be the 11th instalment of the popular film series, will reportedly return to the origins of classic Trek characters James T. Kirk and Spock, originally portrayed by William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy.

The movie will follow how the two characters met at Starfleet Academy and their first space assignment together.

Considered by many to be Hollywood's most enduring franchise after James Bond, Star Trek faltered recently. The last film, Star Trek: Nemesis, had a poor reception in 2002, and the most recent TV series, Enterprise, was cancelled last year because of declining ratings.

The brainchild of Gene Roddenberry, the Star Trek science fiction franchise started as a late-1960s TV show that became ingrained in pop culture. It spawned five additional TV incarnations (including an animated version), 10 feature films, numerous video games and hundreds of books, ranging from novels to technical manuals.

'Alias' Joins iTunes Club

Episodes from the show's past two seasons are now available on the service, for the standard price of $1.99 apiece. The truly dedicated can buy the entire fourth season, which was heavy on the Rambaldi mumbo-jumbo and the Syd-Vaughn romance, for $34.99.

The availability of "Alias" on iTunes comes a day before the show returns to ABC following a four-month hiatus, brought on largely by star Jennifer Garner's pregnancy (she gave birth in December). Its final string of episodes will kick off with a two-hour affair at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday.

In the show, Sydney Bristow (Garner) will give birth to her child with the presumed-dead-but-probably-not-really-dead Vaughn (Michael Vartan). ABC has also promised the return of several past cast members, including Lena Olin as Sydney's mom and Bradley Cooper as her friend Will and Gina Torres as spy nemesis Anna Espinosa.

As is the case with ABC's other iTunes offerings, new episodes of "Alias" will be available for download the day after they first air.

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, April 19, 2006

FOX averaged a 9.3 rating/15 share for the night to beat out CBS' 8.2/13. ABC, which featured the return of "Alias" to the schedule, finished third with a 4.9/8. NBC managed only a 3.9/6 and finished fourth. UPN, 2.3/4, took fifth, and The WB trailed with a 1.5/3.

In the adults 18-49 demographic, FOX's 6.0 rating led by a comfortable margin over CBS' 3.8. ABC, 2.7, came in third, followed by NBC, 1.8; UPN, 1.5; and The WB, 0.9.

"Bones" put FOX on top at 8 p.m. with a 6.6/11. "The Amazing Race" posted a 5.6/10 for CBS. "Alias" scored a 4.7/8 in its first episode since December, which is about what it was averaging during the fall. "Celebrity Cooking Showdown" was fourth for NBC. UPN got a 3.2/5 from "America's Next Top Model," which was more than enough to beat The WB's "One Tree Hill."

The "Idol" results show," 16.1/25, and "Unan1mous," 8.1/13, kept FOX on top at 9 p.m. CBS jumped up to an 8.8/14 with "Criminal Minds." A second hour of "Alias" on ABC also improved some, scoring a 5.3/8. NBC's "Heist" managed only a 2.8/5 but still finished fourth. A repeat of Tuesday's "Veronica Mars" kept UPN in fifth, ahead of "The Bedford Diaries" on The WB.

Insider Buzz on Fall's New Shows

Disney to Make 4 ABC Shows Free Online

The offerings will also include current episodes of "Commander in Chief," as well as the entire season of "Alias," and will be available through June.

The shows, being offered by the Disney-ABC Television Group, will be supported by advertisers, including AT&T Inc., Ford Motor Co., Procter & Gamble Co., Toyota Motor Corp. and Unilever PLC, among others.

The TV group also said it will launch a broadband channel for soap opera viewers on April 17, available to Verizon Communications Inc. consumer broadband customers, called Soapnetic.

Shares of Walt Disney Co. rose 46 cents to $27.99 in late morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange. That is closer to the higher end of their 52-week range of $22.89 to $28.85.

Alma Award Nominations

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR OF A TELEVISION DRAMA OR COMEDY:
* Noberto Barba - "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (NBC)
* Jay Torres - "Alias" (ABC)
* Jeszs Treviqo - "Prison Break" (FOX)

OUTSTANDING TELEVISION SERIES:
* "Alias" (ABC)
* "Desperate Housewives" (ABC)
* "George Lopez" (ABC)
* "The Shield" (FX)
* "The West Wing" (NBC)

Amy Acker Meets 'Your Mother'

Acker is scheduled to guest-star in the comedy's first-season finale as a woman who had a fling with Barney (Neil Patrick Harris). Her character also has a knowledge of Native American rituals, which comes into play in the episode -- and that's all we feel we can say at the moment.

Her guest appearance will reunite her with another former denizen of the Buffyverse, "Mother" star Alyson Hannigan. Alexis Denisof, another "Angel" regular (and Hannigan's husband), will also appear in the season finale. And we can say "season finale" with confidence, as CBS earlier this week picked up "How I Met Your Mother" for 2006-07.

Acker joined the cast of "Angel" in 2001, playing brilliant but often scatterbrained scientist Winifred "Fred" Burkle until the series ended in 2004. This season she's been playing ruthless spy Kelly Peyton on "Alias."

Although she showed a flair for comedy on "Angel," her appearance on "How I Met Your Mother" will mark her sitcom debut. Her other recent credits include voice work on "Justice League Unlimited" and a guest role on The WB's "Supernatural."

Overheard during the 78th annual Academy Awards

Garber Lands Pilot Gig

ABC Announces Return Of Alias - April 19th

Jennifer Garner stars in her Golden Globe Award-winning role as CIA agent Sydney Bristow in this non-stop thrill ride through espionage, adventure and heart-wrenching drama. The electrifying return event includes the birth of Sydney's baby and reappearance of Michael Vaughn (Michael Vartan).

Upcoming episodes will reveal the outcome of Sloane's unholy alliance in his search for the cure for daughter Nadia (Mia Maestro) and the endgame of the Rambaldi prophecy. Other familiar faces from the past will crop up in Sydney's life - for better or worse -- including best friend Will Tippin (Bradley Cooper), mother Irina Derevko (Lena Olin), and nemeses Julian Sark (David Anders) and Anna Espinosa (Gina Torres). The series, which is filmed in Los Angeles and premiered on September 30, 2001, is from Touchstone Television.

The Ten Commandments

The cast features Dougray Scott ("Ever After," ABC/Hallmark's "Arabian Nights") as Moses, Naveen Andrews ("Lost," "Bride and Prejudice") as Menerith, Omar Sharif ("Doctor Zhivago," "Lawrence of Arabia") as Jethro, , Linus Roache ("The Chronicles of Riddick") as Aaron, Mia Maestro ("Alias") as Zipporah and Padma Lakshmi ("Sharpe's Challenge," "Mistress of Spices") as Princess Bithia.

Robert Dornhelm ("Anne Frank," USA Network's "Spartacus," "Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story") directs the script by Ron Hutchinson ("The Island of Dr. Moreau," "Traffic"). Robert Halmi, Sr. is the executive producer. "The Ten Commandments" is a production of Hallmark Entertainment.

Film, TV actors take the mic on "Unexpected Dreams"

Due April 11 via Rhino, the album features songs like Billy Joel's "Goodnight My Angel," Elton John/Bernie Taupin's "The Greatest Discovery," Bob Dylan's "To Make You Feel My Love" and the Beatles' "Golden Slumbers."

In conjunction with members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, veteran musician Eric Vetro and producers Wayne Baruch and Charles F. Gayton recruited for, arranged and created the covers of night-themed songs and lullabies. Vetro, a Hollywood voice coach, worked with the actors individually in choosing the songs and developing a style. These are the first musical recordings for many of the actors on the compilation, including Johansson and Jennifer Garner. Vetro also contributed two original tracks to the mix.

Other performers on the set include "Xena: Warrior Princess" star Lucy Lawless, "Seinfeld" star Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jeremy Irons and John C. Reilly, who was nominated for best supporting actor for his role in the 2002 musical "Chicago." A portion of the proceeds from the project will go toward Music Matters, a nonprofit music education program.

Here is the track list for "Unexpected Dreams: Songs from the Stars":

"Summertime" (George & Ira Gershwin), Scarlett Johansson

"The Sweetest Gift" (Sade), Ewan McGregor

"In My Daughter's Eyes" (James T. Slater), Taraji P. Henson

"My Heart Is So Full of You" (Frank Loesser), Jennifer Garner

"Make You Feel My Love" (Bob Dylan), Jeremy Irons

"Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)" (Billy Joel), John Stamos

"Little Child" (Eric Vetro/Alan Rich), Lucy Lawless

"The Wish Song" (Eric Vetro/Steven Shore), Marissa Jaret Winokur

"The Greatest Discovery" (Elton John/Bernie Taupin), Eric McCormack

"No One Is Alone" (Stephen Sondheim), Victor Garber

"Nightshift" (Brad Hall), Julia Louis-Dreyfus

"Golden Slumbers" (John Lennon/ Paul McCartney), Nia Vardalos

"Lullabye in Ragtime" (Sylvia Fine), John C. Reilly

"Good Night" (John Lennon/Paul McCartney), Teri Hatcher

Abrams Enthusiastically Accepts His 'Mission'

Although he directed one of the most expensive pilots in network television history (ABC's "Lost"), Abrams is making a big leap as he goes from the small screen to the helm of Paramount's most anticipated summer 2006 release.

"At first I got there and I was like 'This is my first movie. There are more people working on the movie than have ever seen 'Felicity' and I was like, 'This is crazy ...'" Abrams recalls. "I realized, after the first few days, that this is a marathon and the fun of doing this movie was being able to approach it the way I would approach making movies when I was nine."

Youthful enthusiasm restored, Abrams also felt undaunted following in the footsteps of Brian DePalma and John Woo, directors of the first two "Mission: Impossible" blockbusters.

"For me, it was as a series that, as good as those movies were, never sort of realized the promise of the franchise," says Abrams.

As a fan of the original long-running television series, Abrams' solution -- working with veteran "Alias" scribes Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci -- was to bring go back to some of the values of the source material.

"Even though in many ways that show was sort of the 'CSI' of its time, in that it was a very emotion-free, incredibly story-heavy show that wasn't about the inner lives of these people, what I loved about the show was this group," he notes.

In addition to a colorful villain (Philip Seymour Hoffman, making an unexpected "Capote" follow-up) and the requisite explosions, "M:i:III" (as Paramount seems to like to abbreviate it) will concentrate on the team of spies -- including new addition Keri Russell and returning favorite Ving Rhames -- and on Ethan Hunt's (Tom Cruise) private life.

"You never saw him do anything outside of being a spy in the first two films except for mountain climb at the beginning of the second one," Abrams says. "The answer was that anything we did outside of that world was 100 percent more than had been done before."

Abrams adds, "If you're gonna make a 'Mission: Impossible' movie now, you have to have a reason to do it now, as opposed to 'There's a poster and a start date and Tom wants to do it,' which probably is reason enough. But for me, I knew I wanted to make a movie that, literally regardless of the name and regardless of Tom, was a movie that I would want to go see."

"Mission: Impossible III" opens on Friday, May 5.

Getty joins "Brothers & Sisters" for ABC

Abrams Laments Missing 'Alias' Finale, 'Lost'

Abrams is addressing a crowd of rabid devotees about "Mission: Impossible III," the high pressure, megabudget summer sequel that marks his feature directing debut. It's kind of a big deal for Paramount, but for the genre fans in attendance, it may pale in comparison to Abrams' ABC dramas "Alias" and "Lost." Unfortunately, for the past year or so, Abrams has been eating, drinking and breathing fireballs, high-tech gadgets and Tom Cruise. That commitment has caused his involvement on both shows to be seriously reduced.

"I wish I could take more credit for 'Lost' this year, but I can't," Abrams says, referring to the show's second season. "Everyone's like, 'I love 'Lost' this year!' and I'm like 'I had nothing to do with it!'"

Even when J.J. Abrams seems tired -- and at San Francisco's WonderCon, he arrives looking as if it's been weeks since his last night's sleep -- it's difficult to believe that he's approaching his 40th birthday later this year. Hearing Abrams confess that he only has so many hours in his days is even more striking.

Abrams is addressing a crowd of rabid devotees about "Mission: Impossible III," the high pressure, megabudget summer sequel that marks his feature directing debut. It's kind of a big deal for Paramount, but for the genre fans in attendance, it may pale in comparison to Abrams' ABC dramas "Alias" and "Lost." Unfortunately, for the past year or so, Abrams has been eating, drinking and breathing fireballs, high-tech gadgets and Tom Cruise. That commitment has caused his involvement on both shows to be seriously reduced.

"I wish I could take more credit for 'Lost' this year, but I can't," Abrams says, referring to the show's second season. "Everyone's like, 'I love 'Lost' this year!' and I'm like 'I had nothing to do with it!'"

Grunberg Flies to 'Heroes,' Corddry 'Becoming Glen'

Grunberg will star in the NBC pilot "Heroes," a show about people who discover they have superpowers. He heads a round of pilot casting that also includes "The Daily Show's" Rob Corddry taking the lead in FOX's comedy "Becoming Glen" and former "Law & Order" star Angie Harmon taking up "Secrets of a Small Town" at ABC.

NBC and ABC have also ordered two new pilots each.

"Heroes" comes from "Crossing Jordan" creator Tim Kring. It's about a group of seemingly everyday people, Grunberg among them, who realize they have superhuman abilities, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Grunberg left "Alias" early this season and had a comedy project in development at NBC, which is now apparently on the back burner. The one-time "Felicity" star will next be seen in "Mission: Impossible III," directed by his pal J.J. Abrams.

ABC Slots Four Midseason Shows; 'Alias' MIA

Left out of the mix, however, is "Alias," which was originally scheduled to return in March for its final episodes but is now a schedule orphan.

First up among the new shows is the unscripted series "Miracle Workers," which debuts at 10 p.m. ET Monday, March 6, a week after "The Bachelor: Paris" concludes its season. A feel-good show in the vein of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," the series follows a team of doctors and nurses who will help people overcome overwhelming medical issues.

"Miracle Workers" will air for four weeks before giving way to the drama "What About Brian," which stars "7th Heaven" alum Barry Watson as a single guy in his 30s whose friends are all married or about to be. Complicating matters, he has a massive crush on his best friend's (Matthew Davis, "Legally Blonde") fiancee (Sarah Lancaster, "Everwood").

"Brian" will premiere on Sunday, April 2, where it will have the advantage of "Desperate Housewives" as a lead-in, before moving to its Monday home the following night. ABC will also return "Supernanny" to Mondays at 9 p.m. March 6.

Thursday, March 16 will bring the two-hour debut of "American Inventor," a series executive produced by "American Idol's" Simon Cowell. The show will give would-be Edisons a chance to show off their ideas to viewers and a panel of judges, with the winner getting a chance to bring his or her invention to consumers.

The show will settle in at 9 p.m. Thursdays on March 23. Also that night, a series of four "Home Edition" specials featuring the show's team helping disaster victims on the Gulf Coast will debut in the 8 p.m. hour. With "Primetime" remaining at 10, "Alias" has no place to go for the remainder of its final season. An ABC rep couldn't be reached Wednesday to discuss where the show might land.

ABC's final midseason entry is "The Evidence," a crime procedural from "ER" executive producer John Wells that debuts at 10 p.m. Wednesday, March 22 ("Invasion" will go on hiatus and return in April to finish its season). The show follows two San Francisco detectives (Orlando Jones and Rob Estes) who reconstruct crimes based on the evidence collected at the scene.

ABC previously announced that "Sons & Daughters" will take "Commander In Chief's" Tuesday spot for six weeks starting March 7. "Chief" will return April 18.

Pilot keeps 'Alias' star Rifkin with ABC

Rifkin will play the siblings' uncle. For the past five seasons, he played Arvin Sloan, the evil head of SD-6, on the network's action drama "Alias."On Broadway, he won a Tony award in 1998 for his role in the revival of "Cabaret."

In other ABC drama pilot news, former "Boston Public" star Chi McBride has been cast in an untitled project chronicling the experiences of nine strangers caught in a 52-hour hostage crisis stemming from a bank robbery that goes bad.

McBride, most recently seen in a multiepisode arc on Fox's hit drama "House" last season, also stars in the feature "Annapolis," which opens Friday.

And, 14-year-old Keir Gilchrist has landed a co-starring role on Fox's comedy pilot "Becoming Glen." The project centers on a successful fortysomething man who looks back at 1994, when he was a 32-year-old slacker living with his parents and spending all his time lying on the couch watching TV. Gilchrist will play the son of a woman Glen has a crush on who ends up becoming Glen's friend.

Tidbit

New J.J. Abrams Pilot

ABC ordered the ensemble soap "Six Degrees"; CBS gave the nod to the apocalyptic drama "Jericho," and to the thriller "Orpheus"; Fox greenlighted "Faceless"; and NBC gave a thumbs-up to the supernatural-themed projects "Heroes" and "Seeing Red."

Among the broadcast networks, the pickup orders come right on schedule as programmers gear up to finalize their pilot slates in preparation for the annual spring ritual of schedule-setting and upfront presentations to advertisers in April and May.

At ABC, "Six Degrees" revolves around the intertwined stories of a group of strangers in New York from different walks of life. Among the executive producers is J.J. Abrams, whose credits include "Lost" and "Alias."

CBS' "Jericho" chronicles the social, psychological and physical chaos that ensues in a small town when it becomes isolated from the rest of the world after a nuclear disaster. Jon Turteltaub is executive producing.

"Orpheus" centers on a young man whose girlfriend is involved in a sophisticated, modern-day cult. U.K. filmmakers Tony and Sir Ridley Scott are among the executive producers.

"Faceless" centers on a federal prosecutor who goes undercover as a criminal in order to take down a sprawling underworld organization. Joe Carnahan ("Narc") is on board to direct and executive produce.

"Heroes" is a two-hour pilot described as a large ensemble drama about a group of seemingly everyday people who discover that they have superpowers. "Crossing Jordan" creator Tim Kring is the writer/executive producer.

"Seeing Red," which has received a cast-contingent order, centers on an eccentric, brilliant cop who talks to dead victims that help him solve his cases. "Speed" screenwriter Graham Yost is the writer/executive producer.

People's Choice Award Winners

MUSIC
-Female performer: Kelly Clarkson.
-Male performer: Tim McGraw.
-Group: Green Day.
-Tour: U2.
-Song From a Movie: These Boots Are Made For Walkin', as performed by Jessica Simpson in The Dukes of Hazzard.

TELEVISION
-New TV comedy: My Name is Earl.
-New TV drama: Prison Break.
-Comedy: Everybody Loves Raymond.
-Drama: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
-Reality show, competition: American Idol.
-Reality show, other: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.
-Late night talk show host: Jay Leno.
-Daytime talk show host: Ellen DeGeneres.
-Female TV star: Jennifer Garner.
-Male TV star: Ray Romano.

OTHER
-Funny female star: Ellen DeGeneres.
-Funny male star: Adam Sandler.
-Crest Whitestrips Fans Favorite Smile: Cameron Diaz.
-Nice 'N Easy Fans Favorite Hair: Faith Hill.
-Olay Total Effects Fans Favorite Look: Jennifer Aniston.

In Style Celebrity Wedding

In addition to wedding planning secrets from newly-engaged Marcia Cross ("Desperate Housewives") and follow-up interviews with various newlyweds such as singers LeAnn Rimes and Rob Thomas, highlights of the special include:

Sandra Bullock and Jesse James - Designer Angel Sanchez found the perfect marriage of style and attitude for America's sweetheart, Sandra Bullock. After trying on more than 25 dresses from Angel's collection, Sandra fell in love with an elegant evening gown that featured a fitted bodice and A-line skirt. The private wedding was held at a California ranch, and when the bride made her entrance, she included an unusual but perhaps an appropriate accessory - cowboy boots fashioned in white satin.

Heidi Klum and Seal - Hollywood's favorite wedding planner Mindy Weiss shares style details from supermodel Heidi Klum's wedding to Seal. Mindy set the ambience of the couple's relaxed, yet very romantic wedding, at Seal's villa, located in Costa Careyes, Mexico by using an inviting array of orange decorative accents to echo the warm orange tones of the villa. The bride - who, at the time, was five months pregnant with the couple's son, Henry, was clad in an ivory Vera Wang gown. Awaiting her arrival for the ultra-private ceremony were just three people: the groom, a nondenominational officiant and Klum's one-year-old daughter, Leni, wearing a miniature version of her mother's wedding dress.

Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck - The preeminent wedding gown designer in America, Vera Wang, shares details from the most secret ceremony of the year-the hide-away celebration of Jen and Ben on the Caribbean Island of Parrot Key. Vera shares Jennifer's vision for her big day and describes how her dress was inspired by the spirited, elegant heroines of a Jane Austen novel.

The Cake Divas - These bakers-to-the-stars test viewers' knowledge of the year in love and matrimony. They'll describe their delectable four-tiered creation, and viewers must guess which A-list celebrity twosome ultimately cut their cake.

Jason Priestly and Naomi Lowde - Jason Priestly of "Beverly Hills 90210" traveled to the Bahamas to walk down a tropical, gardenia-lined aisle and wed Naomi Lowde. Jason's former castmates, Tori Spelling, Jennie Garth, Tiffani Theissen and Ian Ziering were among the guests who flew in for the four-day wedding celebration. Naomi, dressed in a "poofy" princess dress by St. Pucchi, made her entrance to the sound of four trumpet heralders from the Royal Bahamian Police Force marching band. After a luxurious wedding dinner, Jason surprised his bride with a 10-minute fireworks display.

Bobby Flay and Stephanie March - When Food Channel chef and Mesa Grill owner Bobby Flay proposed to Stephanie March, best known for her role on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," he did it with New York City in mind. He escorted her to the center of the ice at Rockefeller Center and surprised her with a princess cut diamond. The couple wed in the 1838 gothic-revival, St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Manhattan, where Stephanie was a graceful vision in a bias-cut Vera Wang silk satin gown, adorned with pleats and reminiscent of Hollywood in the 1930s. World-famous chef (and friend of Flay) Daniel Boulud prepared the sumptuous wedding dinner at his four-star restaurant, Daniel. He featured a ladies' menu offering ginger-crusted langoustines, Dover sole rissolee, and rib-eye and slowbraised ribs; and a gentlemen's menu with smoked lobster with lentils and herbs, pancetta-wrapped tuna and Vermont squab stuffed with foie gras.

Tiffani Thiessen and Brady Smith - Former "Beverly Hills 90210" star Tiffani Thiessen and Houston-born actor Brady Smith chose an elegant Provencal theme for their nuptials, which took place at a Montecito, California estate and included 135 guests. The bride wore a strapless ivory A-line gown from Vera Wang. Guests sipped champagne and walked through an arbor towards a swan-filled pond, where an accordionist and violinist entertained with French music. When it came time to dine, friends and family moved on to the top lawn where nine long tables were topped with platters of French food prepared by caterer Maili Halme-Brocke. The couple's wedding planner, Heidi Asimus of Special Occasions, wanted the setting to look like a beautiful family style dinner that one might stumble upon in a chateau in France.

Sarah Wynter and Dan Peres - Sarah Wynter, best known for her role on "24," and magazine editor Dan Peres wanted a wedding celebration that was elegant and intimate, but not stuffy. This was achieved when they held a small ceremony at sunset in the garden of a private hillside home in Sydney, Australia, Sarah's native country. With a view of the famed Opera House, their 75 guests moved through different rooms of the mansion throughout the evening and enjoyed eight Australian cuisine courses, including shrimp from the barbie, newspaper-wrapped fish and chips, and an array of Aussie desserts. Australian designer and close friend Lisa Ho created a 1950s-inspired off-white gown with a full skirt of silk tulle. Sarah's long tresses were kept in place by a 15-carat vintage Edwardian tiara with dangling diamonds from jeweler Neil Lane.

Sightings By Liz Smith in NYC

Sightings

Garner Changes Her Name to Affleck

The stunning actress, 33, married her Daredevil co-star Ben Affleck in June and gave birth to Violet earlier this month.

In a recent donation made by Garner to Democrat hopeful Deval Patrick's local government campaign, the film star signed her name as Jennifer Affleck.

Is the End Truly Near for Alias?

Viewership has suffered in the show's recent Thursdays-at-8 time slot, declining 31 percent from last season. And even back in August, Abrams hinted that this could be the show's swan song, telling TV Guide that "it certainly feels that way, like certain things do, that it's the end of a chapter."

But not, perhaps, the closing of the book. Producers are mulling ways to continue the franchise. "I would say we haven't seen the end of all things Alias," Pinkner teases. "There are versions of this show which could exist after this season. There are plenty of stories we'd love to tell."

Among the formats Pinkner and Abrams have discussed is a spin-off series revolving around villains Sark (David Anders), Peyton (Amy Acker) and Sloane (Ron Rifkin). "It's the triumvirate of evil!" Pinkner says. (No official discussions with ABC have taken place yet.) Producers have also toyed with the idea of a big-screen adaptation starring Garner.

Regardless, expect an explosive countdown to the series finale. The Dec. 14 episode — a special Wednesday airing and the last installment before the show's hiatus to accommodate Garner's maternity leave — featured the return of Sydney's true love, Michael Vaughn (Michael Vartan), who was apparently killed in the season premiere. The reunion, not a dream sequence per se, left open the possibility that Syd and Vaughn could still ride off into the sunset together come May.

When the series returns this spring, expect to see familiar faces. Greg Grunberg has already filmed an episode as Eric Weiss, and producers have worked up a wish list that includes Syd's buddy Will (Bradley Cooper of the just-axed Kitchen Confidential), perhaps more appearances by spy mommy Irina (Lena Olin, who put in a "surprise" cameo in the Dec. 14 outing), and the evil Francinator (Merrin Dungey), who, as Pinkner points out, "cannot die."

Other long-running characters, though, may not be so lucky. "The good thing about getting the news now," Pinkner says, "is that we have 10 episodes left to really wrap things up. We can kill characters and not worry about what to do without them next year. We can tell the epic story that this deserves to be."

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2005

Among adults 18-49, CBS' 4.2 rating led the way. ABC finished second in the key ad demographic with a 2.7, edging FOX's 2.6. NBC took fourth at 2.3. UPN averaged 1.3 and The WB 1.2.

At 10 p.m., CBS' "CSI: NY" grabbed the night's best rating, 10.6/18. A "Law & Order" repeat averaged 6.5/11 for NBC, while ABC's "Alias" managed only a 3.9/6.

Syd's Sis In New Prince Video

The set will be preceded by the single "Te Amo Corazon," the video for which stars actress Mia Maestro ("Frida," "The Motorcycle Diaries") and was directed by actress Salma Hayek.

The clip, which was shot in Marrakesh, will be available online Tuesday (December 13) via Prince's NPG Music Club site (http://www.npgmusicclub.com).

"3121" is the follow-up to Prince's 2004 studio set, "Musicology," which was issued via a one-off deal with Sony's Columbia label. The album debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200.

That release was supported by a lavishly praised tour, which drew nearly 1.5 million people and grossed $90.2 million, according to Billboard Boxscore. Prince is expected to return to the road sometime next year.

FOX Closes 'Kitchen' for Good

FOX has pulled the plug on the first-year comedy, which hardly got off the ground early in the season and was absent for all of November sweeps. When it finally did return Monday (Dec. 5), it did so to meager ratings, leading the network to pull the show.

Monday's episode, featuring a mini-"Alias" reunion of "Kitchen" star Bradley Cooper and guest Michael Vartan, drew only about 3.4 million viewers, fifth in its half-hour. It also managed only a 1.7 rating in FOX's core demographic of adults 18-49, fourth among the six networks for its time period.

Reruns of "Arrested Development" will fill the timeslot for the next few weeks.

"Kitchen Confidential," based on chef Anthony Bourdain's memoir of the same name, never really found a foothold on FOX. Paired with "Arrested" on Monday nights, the show averaged just over 4 million viewers over three airings at the start of the season. It was pulled, along with much of FOX's regular schedule, for the baseball playoffs in October and then held back again during November sweeps in favor of "Prison Break" repeats, which did better in the Nielsens.

It's doubtful that any other episodes produced will air, as FOX says the show "has had its final air date."

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2005

ABC snagged the top spot among adults 18-49 with a 3.3 rating. FOX's 3.1 was good for second, and NBC, 2.9, finished third in the demographic advertisers crave. UPN scored a 2.1, edging past big brother CBS, 2.0. The WB averaged 1.2.

At 10 p.m., NBC's "Law & Order" scored the night's biggest audience with an 8.4/14. A repeat of "CSI: NY" was second at 6.6/11, and "Alias" came in at 4.3/7 for ABC.

'Tis the Season for a Little Sark on 'Alias'

"Exactly," Anders says. "But she likes to include 'little,' a 'little David Anders.' How about, a nosh of Anders?"

On Wednesday, Dec. 7, at 10 p.m. ET on ABC, Anders returns to "Alias" to reprise the role of Julian Sark, Sydney's nefarious spy nemesis.

"The episode's called 'Bob,' and that's all I'll tell ya," Anders says. "It's another name for Julian. He has many hats, many names and many designer clothes."

Sark began as a recurring character that caught on with fans and became a regular. Last year, in season four of "Alias," he went back to recurring status, appearing in a couple of episodes. "Bob" marks Sark's first appearance in season five, which has been announced to be the last for "Alias."

Interestingly enough, although the Oregon-born Anders affected a convincing British accent for Sark, "Bob" offers a bit of a switcheroo.

"Most of the time on this episode," Anders says, "I had to affect an American accent. It was kind of imposing [when I guest-starred on CBS' 'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'], because I'd never done an American accent on film. But this time, I felt right at home being myself, I guess."

In his off-time from "Alias" in the fall of 2004, Anders played a lab tech on the flagship show of the "CSI" franchise. But this November, he played a sadistic killer in the second show of the franchise, "CSI: Miami," as part of a crossover episode with the latest addition, "CSI: NY."

"Maybe they're setting me up to be an uber-sociopathic villain that closes out all three shows," quips Anders.

In "Bob," Sydney and Rachel must join forces with Sark to prevent a bomb landing in the wrong hands. Considering the longstanding enmity between Sydney and Sark, this seems unusual.

"Rachel and Sydney are caught in a predicament," Anders says, "and the only one to get them out of this predicament is Sark and his resources. Now, why would he do that? For a fee.

"Actually, on a separate mission, Sark and Rachel meet under aliases and have a little thing. So when the proposal comes from Sydney and Rachel, he says OK. Maybe Sark's affinity for Rachel has something to do with him helping out."

As fans know, it's not the first time Sark has had a soft spot for a girl, whether it was Allison (Merrin Dungey), the evil double of Sydney's pal Francie, or the duplicitous agent Lauren Reed (Melissa George). Even though he has no compunction about killing for money, Sark also seems to be a bit of romantic.

"That's why he stays," Anders says. "That's why he lasts. You love to hate him, and you hate to love him."

Asked what it was like to return to Sark and "Alias" after a gap of many months, Anders says, "It was kind of a hectic situation because of the impending birth" -- Garner recently gave birth to a daughter, Violet, her first child with husband Ben Affleck -- "but they were really accommodating to her, and she was accommodating as best she could to the show. She was ready to burst.

"Everybody was a little tapped out. They were hitting the wall, and the wall was hitting back. But everybody was happy to see me, and I, them. It was just like old times -- hugs and kisses."

Anders has hardly been idle in his time away from "Alias," which was his first major screen exposure, but it was hard to go out into the big, cold world.

"I was like a lost little child," he says. "But offers came here and there. I was in a couple of features, and I was in New York starring in a musical for a while."

According to Anders, he was in Gotham to catch "Alias" co-star Ron Rifkin, who plays the equally slippery Sloane, in the play "The Paris Letter," when he heard from the director of a rock musical called "Beautiful," which was performed off-Broadway as part of last summer's New York International Fringe Festival.

"My buddy the director called," Anders recalls, "and said, 'I've cast the whole show except for the lead, man. You got a couple hours before the matinee tomorrow to come play, see if you're right?'

"I said, 'Yeah.' That's where I started, the musical theater. But it's been about five years between my last stage foray and this past August, when I did 'Beautiful.' But it was good. I got to introduce myself to the New York Times and the New York theater community.

"I got a lot of good reviews and some constructive criticism. Of course, the Times doesn't like television actors."

Anders has also been working on a horror film called "Left in Darkness," starring Monica Keena ("Undeclared," "Entourage") and set to be released in 2006.

"No, life after 'Alias' hasn't been that hard at all," he says. "I've been doing the TV, and had film offers."

Of course, many people still think Anders is British. "That's been for four years now," he says, "that there are director who were convinced I'm not American, even when I'm coming in and talking to them in an a American accent before a read. I gotta take it as a compliment, I guess, because that means I've done my job."

He's even thought about appearing on the other show from "Alias" creator J.J. Abrams, ABC's megahit castaway drama "Lost" (which airs right before the "Bob" episode of "Alias").

"I have talked to the guys over there in the office about that," Anders says. "I think they may be saving me. There are lots of flashbacks, and there are a lot of sections of the plane that are not accounted for."

Affleck, Garner--and Baby

Garner gave birth to the girl at a Los Angeles hospital, Us Weekly reported Thursday. It was unclear if the baby--named Violet, E! News has learned--made her debut on Wednesday or Thursday. Us said labor was induced Wednesday night.

"Ben was with her the entire time," a source told the magazine.

The child is the first for both. Affleck, 33, and Garner, 34, wed June 29, almost two months after their expectant news was leaked.

In completing her labor day, Garner beats her prime-time alter ego to the nursery. Sydney Bristow, the Alias secret agent that made Garner a star, also is with child. Producers of the ABC spy series wrote in the pregnancy after Garner's was confirmed.

Alias was canceled last week by ABC. It'll finish its fifth and final season in May, after a previously scheduled eight-week-long maternity leave of sorts starting in January.

TV show or no, Garner's plate is full. In addition to the baby, she has a new movie, Catch and Release, due out next year. It's her first shot at headlining a real-people drama (from Erin Brockovich writer Susannah Grant) as opposed to a fantasy comedy (13 Going on 30) or a superhero adventure (Elektra).

Meanwhile, no bad reviews are good reviews for Father Affleck, who will not appear on the big screen in 2005--the first time that's happened since 1994. While it might seem as if romance, marriage and pregnancy has kept the actor otherwise occupied, he might have as many as three films out next year, including Truth, Justice and the American Way, about the 1959 death of TV Superman George Reeves.

Before marrying Garner, Affleck endured the worst box office and worst publicity of his career. When he wasn't making headlines for his overexposed, and eventually scuttled, engagement to Jennifer Lopez, he was launching dud (Gigli) after dud (Paycheck) after dud (Jersey Girl) after dud (Surviving Christmas).

Affleck and Garner met on the set of 2003's Daredevil--he was the titular hero; she was Elektra. The two began dating in 2004, after Affleck had moved on from Lopez, and after Garner had moved on from Alias costar Michael Vartan and first-husband Scott Foley.

Bradley Cooper to co-star with Julia Roberts on Broadway

The play, directed by Joe Mantello, begins preview performances March 28 at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre and opens April 19. Its 12-week engagement ends June 18.

Rudd is known to TV audiences as Lisa Kudrow's husband on the last two seasons of Friends, but he has extensive theatre credits, including Nicholas Hytner's acclaimed Lincoln Center production of Twelfth Night and The Last Night of Ballyhoo by Alfred Uhry on Broadway.

Cooper currently appears on the FOX television series Kitchen Confidential and has had roles on such TV shows as Alias, The Street and Jack and Bobby.

Roberts, an Academy Award winner for her title role in the film Erin Brockovich, will be making her Broadway debut in Three Days of Rain.

The play, which features three actors portraying multiple characters, originally was done by Manhattan Theatre Club in 1997. It concerns two interlocking stories taking place in different decades and how parents can affect the lives of their children.

'Alias' Over in May

While it has been widely assumed that this season, the show's fifth, would be the ABC spy drama's last, the network made the official announcement on Wednesday that this May's finale will conclude the adventures of Sydney Bristow and friends.

"This news, and its timing, is a mixed-blessing," says Executive Producer Jeff Pinkner in a statement. "Though we're obviously very saddened to face the reality that 'Alias' is coming to an end, the lasting quality of every good story is determined by its conclusion -- this news gives us the freedom to end the series in the climactic way it deserves."

The original concept for "Alias" came to creator J.J. Abrams back when he was working on his college drama, "Felicity," for The WB. One year he brainstormed that wouldn't it "just rock" if the main character, a university student, was recruited by the CIA and then had to go off and save the world while keeping her college friends in the dark.

Even though he continued to call the premise "ludicrous," Abrams did think it had the potential to be a comic book or cartoon come to life on its own.

ABC agreed and the story of grad student/international Sydney Bristow -- whose life became even more complicated when the agency she worked for killed her fiance and she learned her father was also a secret agent -- was born.

Abrams and his team managed to rest the clock on the show a number of times, fearlessly scrapping storylines and setting the charcters' world on ear at the drop of a dime ... or for a coveted post-Super Bowl spot.

This season, with star Jennifer Garner slightly restrained from many physical stunts due to her real-life pregnancy, the show attempted to reinvent itself once again with the addition of Rachel Nichols and Balthazar Getty to the cast. And the network promises that the announcement of its demise is really more of an effort to give "Alias" the send-off it has earned.

"Right out of the box, 'Alias' attracted a cult following of fans that were completely invested in the show," says ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson. "'Alias' is not going to wind down as it comes to an end, it's going to rev up, and we're going to make it the event it deserves to be."

People's Choices Nominees

TELEVISION

Favorite New Comedy

"Everybody Hates Chris" (UPN)
"How I Met Your Mother" (CBS)
"My Name Is Earl" (NBC)

Favorite New Drama

"Commander in Chief" (ABC)
"Criminal Minds" (CBS)
"Prison Break" (FOX)

Favorite Comedy

"Everybody Loves Raymond" (CBS)
"That '70s Show" (FOX)
"The Simpsons" (FOX)

Favorite Drama

"CSI" (CBS)
"Desperate Housewives" (ABC)
"Law & Order: SVU" (NBC)

Favorite Reality Show/Competition

"American Idol" (FOX)
"Fear Factor" (NBC)
"Survivor" (CBS)

Favorite Reality Show/Other

"Extreme Makeover" (ABC)
"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (ABC)
"Supernanny" (ABC)

Favorite Late-Night Host

Jay Leno
David Letterman
Conan O'Brien

Favorite Daytime Host

Ellen DeGeneres
Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa
Oprah Winfrey

Favorite Female Star

Jennifer Garner
Teri Hatcher
Jennifer Love Hewitt

Favorite Male Star

Ray Romano
Charlie Sheen
Kiefer Sutherland

MOVIES

Favorite Female Star

Sandra Bullock
Angelina Jolie
Nicole Kidman

Favorite Male Star

Nicolas Cage
Johnny Depp
Samuel L. Jackson

Favorite Leading Lady

Cameron Diaz
Reese Witherspoon
Renee Zellweger

Favorite Leading Man

Jamie Foxx
Brad Pitt
Adam Sandler

Favorite Female Action Star

Jennifer Garner
Angelina Jolie
Catherine Zeta-Jones

Favorite Male Action Star

Matthew McConaughey
Brad Pitt
The Rock

Favorite On-screen Matchup

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, "Mr. and Mrs. Smith"
Chris Rock and Adam Sandler, "The Longest Yard"
Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, "Wedding Crashers"

MUSIC

Favorite Female Artist

Kelly Clarkson
Faith Hill
Gwen Stefani

Favorite Male Artist

Toby Keith
Tim McGraw
Usher

Favorite Group

Black Eyed Peas
Destiny's Child
Green Day

OTHER

Favorite Funny Female Star

Drew Barrymore
Ellen DeGeneres
Queen Latifah

Favorite Funny Male Star

Chris Rock
Adam Sandler
Will Smith

'Alias' Rejoins 'Lost,' Temporarily

Unfortunately for "Alias," in at least one of those weeks "Lost" will be a repeat, meaning it won't get the benefit of a huge lead-in.

The temporary schedule switch will happen Dec. 7 and 14, with "Alias" taking the place of "Invasion," which was set for a run of repeats, at 10 p.m. ET both nights. "Lost" is scheduled to air a rerun on the 7th; ABC hasn't announced whether the Dec. 14 episode will be new or old.

Just what will replace "Alias" on Thursday, Dec. 8 hasn't been finalized. The following week, ABC will air the movie "The Santa Clause" at 8 p.m. ET.

ABC's attempt to gain a stronger Thursday-night foothold by moving "Alias" there this fall hasn't yielded very strong results. After an okay start, the show has faded some in the Nielsens and is averaging only about 7 million viewers per week. It's also struggling in the key adults 18-49 demographic, sometimes finishing as low as fifth out of six networks in its time period.

Its lead-out, "Night Stalker," fared even worse and has been cancelled after six episodes.

Fast National ratings for Thursday, Nov 17, 2005

The Eye network also led among adults 18-49, drawing a 7.6 rating in the key ad demographic. NBC took second with a 5.1. FOX, 2.3, squeaked past ABC, 2.2, and The WB, 2.0, in the race for third. UPN averaged 1.5.

An above-average "Survivor: Guatemala," 11.3/18, put CBS into the lead at 8 p.m., where it would stay the rest of the night. "Joey," 5.5/9, and "Will & Grace," 6.1/9, were second for NBC. ABC's "Alias" came in third, ahead of "The O.C.," 4.1/6, on FOX and "Smallville," 3.4/5, on The WB. UPN averaged 2.9/5 with "Everybody Hates Chris" and "Love, Inc."

Fast National ratings for Thursday, Nov 10, 2005

In the adults 18-49 demographic, CBS' 7.8 rating led the way, with NBC, 5.0, making a respectable second-place showing. FOX was third at 2.2, and ABC and The WB tied for fourth at 1.8. UPN averaged 1.3.

CBS began its night with "Survivor: Guatemala," which posted an 11.1/17 at 8 p.m. "Joey," 5.6/9, and "Will & Grace," 6.0/9, put NBC in second. "Alias" finished third for ABC, beating out "The O.C.," 3.7/6, on FOX and "Smallville," 3.2/5, on The WB. UPN brought up the rear with "Everybody Hates Chris" and "Love, Inc."

Lena Olin Joins psychological thriller

Hayden Christensen and Jessica Alba are already in place as the stars of the project, which comes from GreeneStreet Films and the Weinstein Co. Writer Joby Harold is making his directing debut on the film, which began shooting at the end of last month in New York.

Details remain sketchy about the film. Christensen plays a man who suffers from "anesthetic awareness" during surgery. It's unclear what that does to him or how it changes his life. Alba plays his wife. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Robards and Olin will play his parents and Howard will appear as the surgeon who leads his operation.

It's been a busy year for Howard. The veteran character actor starred in "Hustle & Flow" and has been seen in "Four Brothers," "Crash" and the upcoming "Get Rich or Die Tryin'."

An Emmy nominee for "Alias" and an Oscar nominee for "Enemies: A Love Story," Olin's next screen appearance is in the winter comedy "Casanova."

Credits for Robards include "A.I." and "Catch that Kid."

Rachel Nichols Flies 'Solo' on 'Alias'

And in true "Alias" style, there is not only a miniskirt, but a leopard-print coat to go with it. Even this early in the season, this is nothing new for Nichols.

"My first day on set," Nichols recalls, "I met Jen and she said, 'I'm glad you're here. Now you can wear the bikini.' I got the script for my first big fight scene, and I'm wearing a minidress, fishnet stockings, a red wig and stiletto heels. It was like, welcome to 'Alias.'"

This is a big wardrobe shift from Nichols' last TV job, as a buttoned-down FBI profiler in FOX's short-lived "The Inside" this past summer.

"I think I wore the same suit every day for 'The Inside,'" she says, "except that one episode where I got to wear jeans. Then this one is ca-razy. I'm sure there will be many occasions for me to sport a rubber dress, grass dress, the dress made out of pieces of nature, anything they want."

Nichols is settling into the "Alias" family, which was fractured early in the season by the "death" (anyone who watches the show knows this word must be in quotes) of Sydney's CIA-handler/fiance/baby-daddy Michael Vaughn (Michael Vartan).

"First of all," Nichols says, "it's the nicest set on the planet. Even though you hear it's the nicest set on the planet, you're not really positive until you walk on and meet everybody -- then you realize that to say it's the nicest set on the planet is an understatement. Everybody is so happy to be there.

"But, yes, the Vaughn, sadly, is gone. I'm hoping they bring [the villainous] Sark back, because, hey, who doesn't like a little David Anders? I would be down for some Sark."

Sydney and Sark had a few knock-down drag-outs in his time on the show as her blond, British nemesis, so how does Nichols think Rachel Gibson would fare?

"I think he'd kick my little butt," she says. "I could run away from him. Maybe I'm faster. I think that's going to be Rachel Gibson's technique -- she runs when there's a big man that she knows she can't take."

By the way, it looks like Nichols will get her wish, as Anders starts shooting next week for a return by Sark scheduled to air in mid-December.

So far, Nichols doesn't know a whole lot about Gibson's history.

"I'm on a need-to-know basis, let's face it," she says. "They're very tight-lipped, the writers. They don't tell you a lot in advance about what's going to happen to your character.

"I don't even know if I have parents, and if I have parents, do I like my parents? Are they bad parents? Do I have siblings? For all I know, I could have a cork leg, and they haven't told me that yet. That might cut down on the fighting. That may be how they'll be able to explain why Rachel is not as agile and gazelle-like as Sydney.

"I could be bionic. As long as they don't write into the script that I used to be a man, they can do whatever they want."

On the show, Gibson looks up to Sydney, and on the set, Nichols has decided that Garner is her new hero.

"When I met her," she says, "I thought to myself, 'I don't know if I'm nice enough to be on the show.' It's the trickle-down theory. It all starts with Jen. She knows everybody's name; she knows their kids' names; she knows their birthdays. She has the coffee truck come once a week, and she has the hot-dog truck come, whether she's there or not. She celebrates Christmas; she celebrates all the holidays. She's the bionic one."

Asked if Garner may be the best thing that ever happened to her real-life husband, actor Ben Affleck, Nichols says, "Yeah, whoa, totally. He's been saved. She was the salvation. She's going to be such a cute mommy. You should see her talk to her belly."

Currently polishing her fighting skills and working out with Garner's personal trainer, Nichols did bring some talents of her own to the party.

"I've told them," she says, "since I know how to speak French, if they ever need a language in a jiffy, that's the one they should let me do."

Fighting in an "Alias" getup though, is harder than it looks.

"Put me in some bloomers and some kneepads, and I'll be fine," Nichols says. "But I tried on a couple dresses, and the costumer said, 'Can you kick in it?' 'Only if I lift it up around the boobs can I kick, so it'll be interesting.' Thank God for Lycra. That, and the heels that I have to wear will have to be superglued to my feet."

Reminded that the pre-pregnancy Garner could hotfoot it wearing stilettos, Nichols says, "I should watch some back episodes to study up on her running technique. Again, this is why I'm so fortunate. I don't have to be good at anything."

Garner Will End 'Sabbatical' with Erotic Thriller

Garner's Vandalia Films, Sean Bailey of LivePlanet and Chuck Weinstock brought the project to the studio.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, "Sabbatical" is based on an idea by Weinstock, but a new writer will be brought in to flesh out the script.

The film focuses on a couple whose marriage reaches that seven-year itch. They agree to take a two-week sabbatical during which none of the tradition rules of marriage apply. That seems like a good idea until the wife (Garner, we suspect) returns from her 14-day orgy and her husband doesn't.

It's just as well that "Sabbatical" doesn't have a finished script yet, because Garner isn't likely to be in "erotic thriller" physical shape for at least a brief while. The Golden Globe and SAG Award winner is pregnant with her first child with husband Ben Affleck. The baby -- rumored to be a girl -- is due in December, shortly before her ABC drama "Alias" goes on maternity hiatus. The "Elektra" star's next big screen effort is Sony's "Catch and Release."

ABC's 'Dancing' card set for January

A second weekly installment of "Dancing," where results from the previous episode's contests will be revealed, also will be scheduled, but ABC has not determined the day or time.

"Dancing" will replace "Alias," which was scheduled to take a midseason break because of a maternity leave for star Jennifer Garner. The celebrity contestants for the second season have not been determined.

Fast National ratings for Thursday, Oct. 27, 2005

The Eye network also enjoyed a healthy lead among adults 18-49, scoring a 6.9 rating in the ad-friendly demographic. NBC's 3.9 was good enough for second. ABC finished third at 2.1, and FOX and The WB tied for fourth at 2.0. UPN trailed with a 1.4.

CBS started the night with "Survivor: Guatemala," which drew a 10.5/17 at 8 p.m. ABC's "Alias" scored a 4.4/7, tying for second with repeats of "Joey" and "Will & Grace" on NBC. "Smallville," 3.4/5, put The WB in fourth, ahead of the movie "Maid in Manhattan" on FOX. UPN averaged 2.7/4 with "Everybody Hates Chris" and "Love, Inc."

FOX Re-Opens 'Kitchen' in November

It appears, though, that the network will indeed stick to its word and let "Kitchen" try to cook up some new viewers during the November sweep period. The show is scheduled to return to the air Monday, Nov. 14 -- six weeks after its last airing on Oct. 3.

Some of its off time was caused by FOX's coverage of the major league baseball playoffs. This week and next, the network is airing repeats of "Prison Break" in the 8 p.m. hour, and on Nov. 7, "Arrested Development" will get a full hour.

The first episode back for "Kitchen Confidential" will be one featuring star Bradley Cooper's former "Alias" co-star, Michael Vartan. He'll play an arrogant French chef named Michel who sparks a food fight between his restaurant and Jack Bourdain's (Cooper) Nolita.

"Kitchen Confidential" has struggled in the Nielsens during its brief time on the air. Despite mostly positive reviews, it has drawn only about 4 million viewers per episode.

Inside TV Alias Exclusive

"ALIAS" EXCLUSIVE: MICHAEL VARTAN REUNITES WITH JENNIFER GARNER

Jennifer Garner spent one of her last days on the set of "Alias" before maternity leave (Oct. 20) kissing her real-life ex-boyfriend, Michael Vartan. The scene, shot on Santa Monica Beach, was the first time Michael has been back on set since his character, agent Michael Vaughn, was gunned down in a hail of bullets in the season premiere.

It looked like a wedding to onlookers, as Jennifer and Michael - both clad in white - embraced and smooched passionately. For the scene, Jen wore a long satin gown with a georgette swing coat, which the show's costume designers found at the Ghost store in L.A.

But according to sources, the scene -- filmed in front of a green screen so a background can be added in post-production -- is just a dream in which Jen's character, Sydney, imagines being with the father of her baby once again. In the scene, she wore the engagement ring Vaughn gave her before he died. (Cover story in the Oct. 31 issue of INSIDE TV, on newsstands Thursday, Oct. 27).

Jennifer, 33, and Michael, 36, broke up more than a year ago, but there was little on-set tension. "You'd think their kiss would be cold," says a bystander, "but they were fine." Jennifer chatted happily with Michael between takes.

As soon as work was over, Jen headed home to her husband, Ben Affleck, getting ready for the arrival of their baby girl. When Jen went to a yoga class to help unwind, Ben snuck a cigarette while he waited for her -- going back on his promise to quit. Jen caught him -- and he quickly fessed up.

Then the happy couple headed off to a baby shower, held in Jen's honor by her friend Jean Louisa Kelly. But Jen won't have much time alone with her daughter: She'll be back on the set in January.

Heart Auction Benefit Release

Teaming up to help children with special needs, the casts and crews of ten hit Disney-ABC Television Group series have created exclusive, one-of-a-kind wooden hearts to be auctioned off October 24 - November 3 at DisneyAuctions.com.

All proceeds from the online auction will benefit The Help Group, an organization dedicated to serving children with special needs related to autism, Asperger's disorder, learning disabilities, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, mental retardation, abuse and emotional problems. The inspiration for the hearts comes directly from the children of The Help Group schools. Help Group students paint hearts and other canvases as part of an art therapy program designed to promote self-esteem as well as visual motor skills in children with special needs.

Unique, detailed pieces of art capturing the essence of shows -- including ABC's "Alias," "Desperate Housewives," "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," "General Hospital," "The View," "Good Morning America," "Grey's Anatomy," "Lost," Disney Channel's "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody" and "That's So Raven" -- are part of the unprecedented ABC auction.

"Alias" - autographed by Jennifer Garner, this silver heart features two doors that open to reveal a detailed fake time bomb and unique images.

"Desperate Housewives" - covered in wisteria, this heart includes photos of America's most famous housewives and is signed by Marcia Cross, Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, Eva Longoria and Nicollette Sheridan.

"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" - an intricately carved house filled with tiny people is the centerpiece of this heart, which also includes the show's logo, the sun and moon.

"General Hospital" - "My Heart Belongs to General Hospital" is emblazoned on this red heart pierced by a hand-painted arrow and decorated with roses - a must have for fans of this ABC and SOAPNet favorite.

"Good Morning America" - featuring photos of both the weekday and weekend casts, this heart's backdrop are the Stars and Stripes of America.

"Grey's Anatomy" - signed by Patrick Dempsey, this heart brings to life various elements of the hit show, including scenes of Seattle, diagrams of the heart and brain, a group photo and character quotes.

"Lost" - this heart features photos of America's favorite castaways, along with scenes from the island they inhabit.

"The Suite Life of Zack & Cody" - this heart, signed by Dylan and Cole Sprouse, Brenda Strong and Ashley Tisdale of the Disney Channel hit series which recently premiered on ABC Kids, features behind-the-scenes photos and pages from an episodic script, and typifies the young cast's favorite things, sports and beauty items.

"That's So Raven" - Raven-Symone, star of the hit Disney Channel and ABC Kids series, personally transformed this heart into a beautiful face filled with emotion.

"The View" - decorated with photos of ABC's five queens of daytime, this heart includes some of the ladies' trademark quotes.

Fast National ratings for Thursday, Oct. 20, 2005

Among adults 18-49, CBS led the field with a not-quite-as-dominant 7.2 rating. NBC, 4.8, was second in the demographic. The WB snagged third with a 2.2, followed by ABC, 2.0; UPN, 1.4; and FOX, 1.0.

CBS led off with "Survivor: Guatemala," which scored a 10.5/17 at 8 p.m. "Joey, 5.4/9, and "Will & Grace," 5.7/9, put NBC in second. "Alias" averaged 4.8/8 for ABC, and The WB's "Smallville" turned in a solid 3.8/6 for The WB. UPN's "Everybody Hates Chris" and "Love, Inc." finished fifth, beating a repeat of "Reunion" on FOX.

'Angel's' Acker Dons an 'Alias'

Acker now finds herself working for co-executive producer Jeffrey Bell, who took over as show-runner on "Angel" after the departure of Tim Minear, who went to work on "Firefly" with "Angel" co-creator Joss Whedon. Also on hand is "Alias" producer Drew Goddard, who previously worked on "Lost" (the other show from "Alias" creator J.J. Abrams) and Whedon's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," which gave birth to "Angel."

Also, Acker is working with Rachel Nichols, who plays Preston's former colleague -- and now foe -- Rachel Gibson, who has discovered she's not working for the good guys after all. Nichols came to "Alias" after a stint on FOX's short-lived crime drama "The Inside," created by Tim Minear.

"I saw Tim at the 'Serenity' premiere," Acker says ("Serenity" is the feature film based on "Firefly"). "I said, 'I'm working with your girl.' The whole crew of 'Angel' was on 'The Inside,' so we keep finding people we know in common."

Although it took a while to come to fruition, Acker first auditioned for "Alias" back when she was on "Angel." At the time, her character, science geek Fred, had transformed into a blue-skinned demon called Illyria. Acker was trying for the role of Nadia, sister of super-agent Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner), a part eventually taken by Mia Maestro.

"I actually had to go to the audition right from 'Angel,'" Acker says. "We had a break, and I was in the blue makeup. I had to drive across town in the blue makeup and go in.

"That was the first time that I met all those guys, but we kept in touch since that. So I was just happy they asked me to do it."

Because she was working long hours on "Angel," Acker didn't get a chance to see much of "Alias," but she caught up quickly.

"I borrowed the DVDs from my friends and made my husband" -- actor James Carpinello -- "watch five episodes of 'Alias' every day, so we're caught up. It's great."

Acker soon learned that attention must be paid if a viewer has any hope of following the convoluted "Alias" storylines. "James missed a couple in the middle, and I said, 'I can't explain it. Just go with it.'"

In the great "Alias" tradition, Acker is doing fight scenes, something she already got to do on "Angel," and something she's trained for.

"In college," she says, "I did three years of fight training. We did rapier and dagger, broadsword, quarterstaff and an animal kung fu style. I thought it was fun.

"I've had a little experience. I've been trying to figure out how to become more believable as a fighter, but not picking fights in bars or anything."

Acker also got to participate in the show's signature pyrotechnics.

"I blew something up," she says. "I didn't get to actually see the explosion, but I did get to cause an explosion. It's nice, very powerful. You never know what they're going to do. It's like with Joss, you can feel like you're getting to play so many different parts, but you only have to audition for one job."

Right now, Acker is scheduled for 7 to 9 episodes, but she's game for more, saying, "I'm having a great time. I'll stay on it for as long as they'll keep me."

Fast National ratings for Thursday, Oct. 13, 2005

The Eye network also dominated among adults 18-49, scoring a 7.6 rating in the favored demographic of ad buyers. NBC, 4.6, finished second, and FOX's 2.7 was good for third. The WB grabbed fourth with a 2.1, edging out ABC's 2.0. UPN trailed with a 1.8.

The CBS sweep of the night began with "Survivor: Guatemala" posting a 10.4/17 at 8 p.m. "Joey," 5.2/9, and "Will & Grace," 5.8/9, gave NBC second for the hour, while FOX's coverage of the National League Championship Series was third. "Alias" came in at 4.8/8 for ABC to take fourth. The WB was fifth with "Smallville," 3.4/5, which finished slightly ahead of UPN's "Everybody Hates Chris" and "Love, Inc."

Tidbit

Fast National ratings for Thursday, Oct. 6, 2005

Among adults 18-49, CBS' 7.5 rating led the way by a sizable margin, and NBC took second at 4.7. FOX, 2.4, was third, and ABC and The WB tied for fourth at 2.2. UPN trailed with a 1.4.

"Survivor: Guatemala," 10.7/17, put CBS on top at 8 p.m., easily beating the combination of "Joey," 5.0/8, and "Will & Grace," 5.9/9, on NBC. "Alias," 5.0/8, finished third for ABC, beating FOX's coverage of the National League playoffs. "Smallville" was fifth for The WB, beating "Everybody Hates Chris" (3.6/6) and "Love, Inc." (2.2/3) on UPN.

Rainy Season

'Angel' Star Acker Wings to 'Alias'

Acker, who guested on The WB's "Supernatural" this week, will appear in two episodes of "Alias," scheduled for Oct. 13 and 20. She'll play an agent named Kelly Peyton who works with Rachel Gibson (new cast regular Rachel Nichols).

In Acker's first episode, titled "The Shed," Sydney (Jennifer Garner) and new APO agent Thomas Grace (Balthazar Getty) discover that Rachel "has something shockingly in common" with the pregnant spy. Based on Thursday's (Sept. 29) season premiere, it appeared that Rachel was working for a rogue agency headed by Gordon Dean (guest star Tyrees Allen), but is probably unaware of it, much as Sydney was with SD-6.

ABC isn't saying much else about Acker's character, so it's unclear if Peyton knows she's working for the bad guys.

Acker played the brilliant but socially awkward Fred on "Angel" from 2001-04. She's set to star in the CBS drama "The Unit," from "The Shield" creator Shawn Ryan and David Mamet, at midseason.

Her other credits include "Catch Me If You Can," "The Perfect Man" and voice work on "Justice League Unlimited."

The Gift Of Gab

Vartan, Cooper Reunite on 'Kitchen Confidential'

FOX says Vartan will guest-star on a forthcoming episode of its freshman comedy "Kitchen Confidential," which stars his former "Alias" castmate Bradley Cooper. The episode begins shooting next week; an airdate hasn't been set.

Vartan, a native of France, will play an arrogant French chef named Michel who copies Jack's (Cooper) menu at his own restaurant and sets out to steal Mimi (Bonnie Somerville) as well. His actions spark a nasty feud between the crew at Jack's Nolita and Michel's bistro.

(WARNING: We're about to discuss plot points from the season premiere of "Alias." If you haven't watched it yet, you might want to click away.)

Michael Vaughn, the CIA agent Vartan plays on "Alias," was gunned down by a rogue agent in Thursday's (Sept. 29) season premiere. The show's producers have said Vartan is still part of the "Alias" family, and while it's not unprecedented for characters to return from the dead, he isn't set to return in the near future.

Vartan co-starred in the feature film "Monster-in-Law" earlier this year and has also appeared in "One Hour Photo," "Never Been Kissed" and "The Myth of Fingerprints." In addition to "Alias," his TV credits include the miniseries "The Mists of Avalon" and guest spots on "Friends" and "Ally McBeal."

'Alias' returns, pregnant with possibilities

But now, Jennifer Garner, who plays the secret agent on ABC's Alias, is expecting a baby with her husband, Ben Affleck. So tonight, as Alias kicks off a fifth season (8 ET/PT), Bristow goes from sexy spy to sexy pregnant spy.

Ads are bracing viewers for the idea, showing Sydney hearing a baby's wail. But will an adventure series based on a globe-trotting Bond-ette work with a Spy Mom-to-be star instead?

"I think women who are pregnant are very sexy," says Alias executive producer Jeff Pinkner. Besides, he promises, "there will be no shortage of miniskirts this year."

Alias, which averaged 10 million viewers an episode last season, faces stiff competition tonight as it goes up against CBS ratings powerhouse Survivor: Guatemala, Fox's teen fave The O.C., NBC's Joey and a live premiere of Will & Grace, and UPN's hot newcomer sitcom Everybody Hates Chris.

In a cliffhanger finale in May, Sydney and her boyfriend, Michael Vaughn, played by real-life ex-boyfriend Michael Vartan, were happily chatting about the future when - bam! - they were blindsided in what appeared to be a very bad car accident. In tonight's premiere, Sydney finds out what Vaughn was going to tell her just before the crash.

Joining the cast: Rachel Nichols as a spy, Balthazar Getty as an agent and French actress Elodie Bouchez as a criminal. The new cast members do not mean old ones are on their way out, Pinkner says. "There have been a lot of rumors, and virtually all of them are unfounded. Whatever you see on Alias is often not what it appears." Vartan, who seems to bear the brunt of the crash, "is still very much a part of our family."

Carl Lumbly says his character, fellow spy Marcus Dixon, becomes protective of his pregnant pal. "In the relationship, he has always felt a bit responsible for how she's doing personally." And now, he says, Dixon is more concerned than ever. After all, "she's spying for two."

And she's still going undercover. "The disguises start to get bigger," Pinkner says, adding that Garner has long wanted to "play a fat old man."

Garner - referring to the baby as a "she" - said on Tuesday's Tonight Show: "My stand-in has a little bump. My stunt double has a bump, and the other day I walked in, and my stunt double just looked a little different to me and I said, 'Did they graduate your bump?' And she said, 'Yeah, we went to a bigger bump.' "

Garner is due in December, so what about an Alias baby? "There's the possibility of babies, two or five. Or an alien," Pinkner says. But that sounds more like creator J.J. Abrams' other show, Lost.

Cracks Pinkner: "Crossover episode!"

Fast National ratings for Thursday, Sept. 30, 2005

CBS also enjoyed the top spot among adults 18-49, finishing with a 7.0 rating in the demographic advertisers love. NBC, 4.9, was second, and FOX, 2.7, came in third. ABC averaged 2.3, The WB 2.0 and UPN 1.6.

"Survivor: Guatemala" ruled the 8 o'clock hour for CBS with a 10.5/17. NBC finished second with "Joey," 5.2/8, and the live season premiere of "Will & Grace," 6.5/10. "Alias" began its fifth season with a 5.4/9 for ABC, while "The O.C." was fourth for FOX. "Smallville" scored a 3.5/5 with its season premiere on a new night for The WB. "Everybody Hates Chris" (3.5/6) dipped some in its second week, combining with "Love, Inc." (2.3/4) to average 2.9/5 for UPN.

Garner Inadvertently Reveals Baby's Sex

"You can just start to feel really pregnant. Like you are the hugest person on the face of the planet. ... And then I felt just bigger and bigger like she ..." Oops. Garner put both hands over her mouth.

"We have one or the other for sure," replied Garner, who is married to her "Daredevil" co-star Ben Affleck.

The 33-year-old actress stars as Sydney Bristow on ABC's "Alias," which returns Thursday for its fifth season.

Garner's pregnancy was written into the show, even though her character is a globe-trotting spy.

"My stand-in has a little bump. My stunt double has a bump, and the other day I walked in, and my stunt double just looked a little different to me and I said, `Did they graduate your bump?' ... And she said, `Yeah, we went to a bigger bump.'"

Garner and Affleck were married in June. Their baby is due around Christmas.

Grunberg Forms 'Union' with NBC

The former "Felicity" star has signed on to an NBC comedy pilot called "Grand Union," in which he'll play a Long Island grocer with an eccentric family. The pilot could be considered for midseason, the showbiz trade papers report.

Beth Lacke ("Mr. 3000") will also star in the pilot, which is being written by David Israel and Jim O'Doherty, veterans of "3rd Rock from the Sun" and "The Tracy Morgan Show." Originally developed at Carsey-Werner, "Grand Union" will now be produced by NBC Universal TV after Carsey-Werner closed up shop earlier this year.

Should the show be picked up, Grunberg will have his first lead in a TV series. He previously starred in the J.J. Abrams-produced ABC pilot "The Catch," but the network opted not to pick it up.

"Grand Union" also marks the first time in a while that Grunberg will be working on a show not involving Abrams. The two are long-time friends, and Grunberg has appeared in several Abrams shows, co-starring on "Felicity" and "Alias" and making an uncredited appearance as the pilot of Flight 815 on "Lost."

Grunberg's credits also include "The Ladykillers," "Hollow Man" and "Malibu's Most Wanted."

Sightings

Left hanging? Stay tuned

Where we left off: Sydney destroys the Rambaldi device, a huge red sphere that made humans rabid, but not before her sister Nadia is infected and shot. Safely back home, Syd and Vaughn are in a car planning their wedding when, just as Vaughn is about to reveal a dark secret about his life - "My name isn't Michael Vaughn" - a car blindsides them and the screen goes dark.

What's ahead: Producer J.J. Abrams spoiled it a bit for fans already by saying that he's writing Jennifer Garner's real-life pregnancy into the show. Expect Sydney to mentor a new young female agent played by Rachel Nichols. French actress Elodie Bouchez also joins the cast, playing an international criminal. Balthazar Getty joins the cast as another agent. The big question: Will the car wreck be fatal to Vaughn?

Vartan Fans Sliming Garner

For weeks, fans campaigned unsuccessfully to save Vartan's character, Vaughn, even forming an online campaign at mvcampaign.com. The viewers continuously e-mailed, called and wrote executives at ABC begging for Vartan to stay.

Vartan, who was Garner's lover for several months after she'd left her then-husband, Scott Foley, evidently made Garner uncomfortable once she got engaged to Affleck.

The couple, who got to know each other co-starring as superheroes in "Daredevil" (2003), married at the end of June, and Garner is already pregnant.

Vartan filmed his last day on "Alias" on Aug. 17, and now the backlash of ugly rumors has begun.

Among the misinformation in a memo being sent out by aggrieved fans:

* No one is allowed to mention Vartan's name on the set.

* Everyone present must applaud Garner after each scene.

* No one can look at Garner going to or from her trailer, and no one is allowed to speak with her.

* Everyone must be polite to Affleck, even though Vartan's friends can't stand him.

The letter notes that Vartan was loved by "everyone who worked on set."

When informed of the missive, a representative for the series said: "This letter is so not true! Ben has only been to the set twice in the past year, and, of course, people say Michael Vartan's name — they love him. He was loved very much on the set, and they remember him fondly.

"Meanwhile, people do look at Jennifer and she doesn't mind," the "Alias" flack said. "I ran into her at the commissary and she was there talking to a woman in a wheelchair. When she saw me, she came over, gave me a hug and asked how my summer was going.

"All of this misinformation is being put out by [Vartan's] fans who are angry about what happened with his character."

Who's Who and New on Alias?

For starters, French actress Élodie Bouchez has been tapped to play a cohort from Vaughn's shady past, which had been just barely hinted at prior to last season's horrific car-crash finale. "She and Vaughn share a history," says executive producer Jeff Pinkner, "and in our season finale we started to tease the audience with what that history is and what secrets Vaughn has been keeping from Sydney. We knew there would be another player in that story, and [Bouchez] plays that role."

Also coming on board is Balthazar Getty as Thomas Grace, an APO agent who is "a little rough around the edges," says his portrayer, and thus doesn't play well with others. "It's pretty cool how they introduce my character," hints Getty of his debut in the season's second episode. "I come in fighting."

As does Rachel Nichols, whose butt-kicking agent, Rachel Gibson, will become APO's youngest rep. "She joins the team early in the season, but they don't actively set out to recruit her," says Pinkner, "and if I were to tell you much more, it would give away the fun of meeting her character." The exec will say, though, that introducing this newbie will "show how you [create] a superagent like Sydney Bristow. She doesn't have the skills Sydney has, but she will need to acquire them over the course of the season."

Pinkner says the plan to spice up the cast with the aforementioned new arrivals developed "simultaneously" with Garner's announced pregnancy, and is not a calculated effort to cover for her understandably decreased on-screen fisticuffs. After all, Sydney still may find herself in a scrape or two. "We're not going to do anything that begs credibility anymore than we have in the past," he notes. "But if danger comes to her, she will absolutely fight it off."

And there will be danger in great supply as the new season picks up immediately after the car crash. The question of Vaughn's true identity and what else he was going to tell Syd "will be answered in the first episode — or most of it will be," allows Pinkner. "The consequences reveal a new enemy who is far more pervasive and dangerous and mysterious than any we have fought before."

Garner Shuns Talk of Her Private Life

Garner says she became "hyper-protective" after the news of her pregnancy "got out when I was in the middle of my first trimester."

"I hadn't even had a chance to tell my friends. That alone was so ugly," she says in an interview in the September issue of InStyle, now on newsstands.

Garner and Affleck were wed June 29. "We were able to have a beautiful, private wedding, and I couldn't be happier," the 33-year-old actress says.

"If we were just chatting I would tell you everything, but I feel uncomfortable with people reading too much about my pregnancy or my relationship," she tells the magazine. "It grosses me out. It's too sweet to read about or dissect or talk about."

Garner stars as Sydney Bristow on the ABC spy drama "Alias," which returns Sept. 29 for its fifth season in a new Thursday night time slot.

ABC has announced that Garner's character will also be expecting a baby.

RALLY FOR DOOMED 'ALIAS' STAR

Devotees of the handsome actor believe his character, Vaughn, is doomed now that his former girlfriend Jennifer Garner, the show's leading star, is married to Ben Affleck and pregnant.

After Garner split from her ex-hubby Scott Foley in March 2004, she dated Vartan for several months before ditching him for Affleck. Tension on the set was said to be high. Some believe Garner now wants Vartan gone and has pressured producers to write him out of the series.

ABC is keeping tight-lipped and refuses to disclose any details about the new season.

Now comes word from an insider that Aug. 17 was Vartan's last day of shooting, when he was supposedly killed off. Fans have banded together to create mvcampaign.com to lobby for his resurrection.

One insider said: "Many of Michael's fans feel he is being treated very poorly by ABC. He has always been a big promoter of the show, not to mention a great guy, and to have him fired in what is probably the last year of the show is unbelievable."

The Web site notes: "For the past four years many of us have invested our time, emotions and money in support of 'Alias' . . . Now, as we are about to venture into the fifth season, we find out that we may be losing one of the most integral, beloved, and interesting characters on the show.

"Many of us feel that if this were to occur, it would be showing the show, the viewers, and Mr. Vartan a huge lack of both respect and loyalty. After four years, we feel [they] deserve far more. So, we have decided to take action and do something to express our feelings to ABC."

A group of fans calling themselves "The Vartan Hos" is supporting the Web site.

ABC has been deluged with letters, e-mails and phone calls from the campaign, a network insider moaned, while the campaign is also raising money to place an ad in Variety or the Hollywood Reporter.

A rep for ABC said: "We don't comment on plots. We encourage viewers to tune in and we promise they won't be disappointed." Vartan's rep didn't return calls.

STARS ON CANVAS

Balthazar Getty Joins The Cast

Getty most recently co-starred in the miniseries "Into the West" and "Traffic," and in the feature film "Ladder 49," opposite Joaquin Phoenix and John Travolta. He starred in and produced Newmark Films' "Shadow Hours," which he also co-produced under his production company, 5150. He starred in the film "Slingshot" with David Arquette, which screened at the Tribeca Film Festival this year, and will soon be seen in "Feast," playing the lead role in this latest Project Greenlight feature.

He released his first album in 2004 with Scott Thomas and his band, Ringside. Getty also starred in the Diane Keaton-directed and produced television series, "Pasadena," and in Wayne Wang's digital film, "The Center of the World," with Peter Sarsgaard.

Additional film credits include starring opposite Val Kilmer and Christian Slater in Peter Antonijevic's "In God We Trust," "Big City Blues" with Burt Reynolds and William Forsythe, "Fait Accompli" opposite Rosanna Arquette and Michael Madsen, David Lynch's "Lost Highway," "Mr. Holland's Opus," "Deuces Wild," Ridley Scott's "White Squall," Oliver Stone's "Natural Born Killers," "Where the Day Takes You," "Young Guns II" and "My Heroes Have always Been Cowboys." In his debut film, "Lord of the Flies," Getty was critically lauded for his work at the age of 14 in the role of Ralph.

Endquote

ABC Teases Out 'Alias' Details

The answer to the first one is, They will, but details are scant at the moment. As for the second, well, ABC has let slip a few things fans of the show, which moves to Thursday nights in the fall, can expect.

Bear in mind that the details we're about to reveal come through official channels, so they probably don't rise to the level of big spoilers. However, if you wish to enter the season, which begins Thursday, Sept. 29, with a relatively blank slate, it might be best to stop reading now.

Still here? Okay then:

Sydney (Garner) and Vaughn (Michael Vartan) both survive the crash that ended the show's fourth season -- not much surprise there. Soon after that, though, Syd learns that Vaughn -- who just before the crash told her that wasn't his real name -- is under suspicion of being a double agent. New cast member Elodie Bouchez will figure into this plot thread as well, as a criminal and possible collaborator with Vaughn.

The baby is Vaughn's, and Sydney's pregnancy brings an added degree of urgency to her desire to discover the truth about him. Jack (Victor Garber), meanwhile, is worried that Sydney will end up being betrayed, much as he was by Syd's mother, Irina. Sloane (Ron Rifkin), meanwhile, frantically searches to find a cure for Nadia (Mia Maestro, no longer a regular on the show), last seen being shot by Sloane after she turned into some kind of Rambaldi zombie. She now lies in a coma.

Along the way, Syd will run up against a "nefarious organization" different from previous nefarious organizations seen on the show, and some "new agents" -- including, presumably, new cast member Rachel Nichols -- will also be introduced.

Emmy Award Nominees

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Jason Bateman (Arrested Development)
Ray Romano (Everybody Loves Raymond)
Tony Shalhoub (Monk)
Zach Braff (Scrubs)
Eric McCormack (Will & Grace)

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Marcia Cross (Desperate Housewives)
Teri Hatcher (Desperate Housewives)
Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives)
Patricia Heaton (Everybody Loves Raymond)
Jane Kaczmarek (Malcolm In The Middle)

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Jeffrey Tambor (Arrested Development)
Jeremy Piven (Entourage)
Peter Boyle (Everybody Loves Raymond)
Brad Garrett (Everybody Loves Raymond)
Sean Hayes (Will & Grace)

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Jessica Walter (Arrested Development)
Doris Roberts (Everybody Loves Raymond)
Holland Taylor (Two And A Half Men)
Conchata Ferrell (Two And A Half Men)
Megan Mullally (Will & Grace)

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Fred Willard (Everybody Loves Raymond)
Victor Garber (Will & Grace)
Jeff Goldblum (Will & Grace)
Bobby Cannavale (Will & Grace)
Alec Baldwin (Will & Grace)

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Kathryn Joosten (Desperate Housewives)
Lupe Ontiveros (Desperate Housewives)
Georgia Engel (Everybody Loves Raymond)
Cloris Leachman (Malcolm in the Middle)
Blythe Danner (Will & Grace)

OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES
Arrested Development
Desperate Housewives
Everybody Loves Raymond
Scrubs
Will & Grace

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
James Spader (Boston Legal)
Ian McShane (Deadwood)
Hugh Laurie (House)
Hank Azaria (Huff)
Kiefer Sutherland (24)

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Jennifer Garner (Alias)
Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit)
Patricia Arquette (Medium)
Glenn Close (The Shield)
Frances Conroy (Six Feet Under)

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
William Shatner (Boston Legal)
Oliver Platt (Huff)
Naveen Andrews (Lost)
Terry O’Quinn (Lost)
Alan Alda (The West Wing)

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Sandra Oh (Grey's Anatomy)
Blythe Danner (Huff)
Tyne Daly (Judging Amy)
CCH Pounder (The Shield)
Stockard Channing (The West Wing)

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Red Buttons (ER)
Ray Liotta (ER)
Ossie Davis (The L Word)
Charles Durning (NCIS)
Martin Landau (Without a Trace)

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Swoosie Kurtz (Huff)
Cloris Leachman (Joan of Arcadia)
Amanda Plummer (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit)
Angela Lansbury (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit/Trial by Jury)
Jill Clayburgh (Nip/Tuck)

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
DeadwoodLost
Six Feet Under
24
The West Wing

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR A MOVIE
Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Elvis)
Ed Harris (Empire Falls)
Geoffrey Rush (The Life And Death Of Peter Sellers)
Kenneth Branagh (Warm Springs)
William H. Macy (The Wool Cap)

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR A MOVIE
Blythe Danner (Back When We Were Grownups)
Debra Winger (Dawn Anna)
S. Epatha Merkerson (Lackawanna Blues)
Halle Berry (Their Eyes Were Watching God)
Cynthia Nixon (Warm Springs)

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR A MOVIE
Randy Quaid (Elvis)
Paul Newman (Empire Falls)
Philip Seymour Hoffman (Empire Falls)
Christopher Plummer (Our Fathers)
Brian Dennehy (Our Fathers)

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR A MOVIE
Camryn Manheim (Elvis)
Joanne Woodward (Empire Falls)
Charlize Theron (The Life And Death Of Peter Sellers)
Jane Alexander (Warm Springs)
Kathy Bates (Warm Springs)

OUTSTANDING MINISERIES
Elvis
Empire Falls
The 4400
The Lost Prince (Masterpiece Theatre)

OUTSTANDING MADE FOR TELEVISION MOVIE
Lackawanna Blues
The Life And Death Of Peter Sellers
The Office Special
Warm Springs
The Wool Cap

OUTSTANDING REALITY PROGRAM
Antiques Roadshow
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
Penn & Teller: Bulls---!
Project Greenlight
Queer Eye for the Straight Guy

OUTSTANDING REALITY/COMPETITION PROGRAM
The Amazing Race
American Idol
The Apprentice
Project Runway
Survivor

Film review: Secuestro Express

Using a relentless, in-your-face filmmaking style, Venezuelan writer-director Jonathan Jakubowicz begins his narrative with extreme close-ups -- and the rap sheets -- of a loose confederation of perpetrators who make a career of preying on the affluent and dealing drugs. On the hunt late one night, they snare a well-heeled couple, coked-up pretty boy Martin (Jean Paul Lereux) and his sulky girlfriend, Carla (Mia Maestro), a wealthy doctor's daughter who volunteers helping poor children. Reminiscent of "City of God" and "Amores Perros" in its gritty depiction of sordid, poverty-ridden streets, "Secuestro" should have solid art house potential.

Keeping his camera tight on the action, Jakubowicz sustains a claustrophobia that enables the audience to identify with the victims' frantic desire to escape. This technique is especially effective in the initial kidnap/carjack sequence, where chaos and murderous panic reign. The fear is explosive, and the pressure never lets up. The roller-coaster rhythm is enhanced by a soundtrack that switches gears and mood with lilting ballads, hip-hop and pulsating pop.

Jakubowicz's direction is assured except in the film's final moments, when he makes a clumsy attempt at sociopolitical philosophy that is delivered by an omniscient narrator. It's an indulgence that threatens to undercut the ferocity that precedes it.

Shot on location in Venezuela with DV camera during a period of political ferment, the turmoil on the streets appears to have added realism to the production and an extra jolt to the performances. Looking quite fetching in a jeweled red dress, Maestro shows more range here than in her cartoonish role on ABC's "Alias." Ruben Blades, in a small part, makes a touching appearance as Carla's distraught father.

Jakubowicz humanizes the thugs and avoids romanticizing them, though he comes close with Trece (Carlos J. Molina), who, with his dark-eyed, matinee-idol looks, is the noblest and handsomest of the three thugs.

In a city where half the population is starving, kidnapping the rich is a form of class warfare. For the criminals, who are driven by rage, greed and a sense of injustice, the money is secondary to the thrill of taunting, humiliating and degrading their upper-class victims. There are brief moments of levity -- the band is outraged when the car they have commandeered is stolen -- but the banter and flirtation escalate into violence in a furious instant. When Carla is nearly raped and a gun is forced into her mouth, we aren't spared the physical and psychological cruelty.

After being subjected to nearly 90 minutes of brutality and almost nonstop terror, audiences likely will feel assaulted. Jakubowicz doesn't flinch from graphic violence. But while it's difficult to resist the temptation to avert one's eyes, the film's power is undeniable.

Cast: Carla: Mia Maestro; Trece: Carlos Julio Molina; Budu: Pedro Perez; Niga: Carlos Madera; Martin: Jean Paul Leroux; Sergio: Ruben Blades.

Director-screenwriter: Jonathan Jakubowicz; Based on an idea by: Sandra Condito; Producers: Sandra Condito, Salomon Jakubowicz, Jonathan Jakubowicz; Executive producers: Elizabeth Avellan, Eduardo Jakubowicz; Director of photography: David Chalker; Production designer: Andres Zawisza; Music: Angelo Milli; Editor: Ethan Maniquis.

Alias Start Of Production Release

The electrifying Emmy Award winning spy drama, "Alias" -- which has received an additional four Emmy Award nominations, including Outstanding Lead Actress for Jennifer Garner -- has begun production in Los Angeles on emotionally gripping fifth-season episodes in the life of CIA agent Sydney Bristow. Jennifer Garner stars in her Golden Globe Award-winning role in this non-stop thrill ride through espionage, adventure and heart-wrenching drama. "Alias" will have its season premiere on THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.

After Sydney accepted an assignment to be a member of a new black ops sector of the CIA, known as APO, she was shocked to discover that Sloane was heading up the unit. Without an ounce of trust for her nemesis, Sydney kept a watchful eye on him, as did Vaughn, Dixon and Marshall. But she had to keep her suspicions in tow while working with her half-sister and Sloane's daughter, Nadia, in order not to alienate her and lose her trust. But Sydney was hard-pressed to define the enigma that is Sloane when he shot his own daughter in order to save Sydney's life while thwarting the devastating effects of the Rambaldi endgame. Meanwhile, Jack's near-death experience and the truth behind why he had wrongly believed he killed his ex-wife and Sydney's mother, Irina Derevko, strengthened the bond between father and daughter; while fianci Vaughn's revelation that he may not be the man Sydney thought he was caught her completely off guard, and a horrendous car accident left their fates in limbo.

Even more gripping and emotional events are in store for Sydney. After they both survive the crash, she learns that the man she has known as Michael Vaughn is under investigation and suspected of being a double agent. She questions whether their business and personal relationship over the years had all been a lie. When Sydney discovers that she is pregnant with Vaughn's baby, she is determined to uncover the truth about him. Meanwhile, because of Jack's past betrayal by Irina, he begins to worry that his daughter may suffer the same fate as he did. He will also have to deal with the fact that he will soon become a grandfather - while still learning how to be a dad. Sloane will have to do some soul-searching of his own, as he makes an unholy alliance in his desperate fight to find a cure for Nadia - who is still in a coma.

New agents will be introduced and a nefarious organization will come to light in Sydney's life as she fights to protect her unborn child -- all the while traveling incognito, outsmarting the bad guys and keeping the world safe.

"Alias" stars Jennifer Garner as Sydney Bristow, Victor Garber as Jack Bristow, Ron Rifkin as Arvin Sloane, Michael Vartan as Michael Vaughn, Carl Lumbly as Marcus Dixon, Kevin Weisman as Marshall Flinkman, Rachel Nichols as Rachel Gibson and Ilodie Bouchez as Renie Rienne.

The series was created by J.J. Abrams, who executive-produces along with Ken Olin, Jeff Pinkner, Jesse Alexander and Jeffrey Bell. "Alias" which is filmed in Los Angeles and premiered on September 30, 2001, is from Touchstone Television.

TV Guide: I Spy An Exit

French actress picks up new 'Alias'

She will play Zoe Rienne, an internationally wanted criminal who, unbeknownst to Sydney ( Jennifer Garner), has been secretly working with Vaughn (Michael Vartan) for several years. The fifth season premieres at 8 p.m. Sept. 29.

Bouchez has won two Cesar Awards -- France's top film honors -- for her roles in the films "Wild Reeds" and "The Dreamlife of Angels," the latter of which also earned her best actress honors at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival.

'Inside' Star Gets New 'Alias'

Nichols, who currently stars in the FOX series "The Inside," is joining ABC's "Alias" for the coming season. She'll play a character named Rachel Gibson, a technical analyst who works for a black-ops division of the CIA.

Her casting should help take some of the workload off series star Jennifer Garner, who's pregnant. Garner's pregnancy -- she's expecting her first child with new husband Ben Affleck -- will likely be written into the show, but it also will likely mean a reduction in stunt work and tight costumes for her.

ABC Entertainment chief Stephen McPherson told TV critics earlier this week that Garner's Sydney Bristow would be mentoring a new, younger agent this season that would offer "sex appeal, if you will, in different places." Nichols seems to fit that bill.

Nichols plays FBI Agent Rebecca Locke on "The Inside," which likely won't be back after scoring only meager ratings this summer. She's also appeared in the remake of "The Amityville Horror" (with former "Alias" regular Melissa George) and "Dumb and Dumberer" and guest-starred on "Line of Fire."

'Alias' Will Embrace Garner Pregnancy

"I love the fact that he's embracing it. I think it would be a mistake to hide it."

To this end, ABC's spy drama heroine will get a new, younger, yet-to-be-cast agent to mentor. McPherson assures critics and audiences that the fresh recruit will allow for "sex appeal, if you will, in different places" as Garner herself finds running down long corridors more cumbersome and wearing skimpy outfits less than appealing.

Abrams himself is finding more and more demands on his attention as "Alias" enters its fifth season, hit drama "Lost" goes into its sophomore year, he readies "What About Brian?" for a midseason launch on the network and somehow manages to find time to direct "Mission: Impossible III" in Europe.

McPherson admits that he would love to have all of Abrams' time, but feels that the writer/producer/director has left things in good hands with his production company, Bad Robot.

"The kind of talent that comes out of there is just enormous," he says. "They really know his template. They understand the way he works and what he wants to get accomplished.

"Secondarily, he's prolific ... he has an amazing ability to plug into things for a limited time and get an amazing amount accomplished. He's very driven, very focused, incredibly creative."

In a scene reminiscent of the tragic conclusion of the James Bond film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service," the season finale of "Alias" had Sydney driving through the countryside with her fiancee Matthew Vaughn. After confiding that he wasn't who she thought he was, their conversation was abruptly cut short when a truck broadsided their vehicle.

"Alias" premieres Thursday, Sept. 29 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

'Alias' star's baby won't be covert

Sightings

Charity Benefits From Garner 'Shower'

Garner's Hometown Has Shower for Charity

Hundreds of gift-bearing fans came to a West Virginia Power minor league baseball game on Saturday for "Jen and Ben Baby Shower Night."

Some 4,248 fans came, although Garner and Affleck were not in attendance. Fans named Jennifer and those who donated a gift were admitted free.

The promotion benefited the baby pantry for Starting Points, a nonprofit group serving children and the families of children under age 8.

Among the 410 donations were a car seat, diapers and baby food, Power account executive Matt Thompson said.

Garner, 33, star of the TV series "Alias," and actor Ben Affleck, 32, were not at the game. The couple wed last month.

Thinking Pink

'Alias' co-star playing African president

Danny Glover also stars in the film, which is based on the autobiography of Sam Nujoma, who helped Namibia gain independence from South Africa in 1989 and stepped down in March. The former guerrilla remains head of the ruling SWAPO party.

Funded by the Namibian Film Commission, the film is shooting in Namibia and will proceed to South Africa and New York. Director Charles Burnett, who worked with Lumbly and Glover on 1990's "To Sleep With Anger," is shooting from his own script.

Lumbly's feature credits include "Men of Honor," "How Stella Got Her Groove Back," "South Central," "The Bedroom Window" and "Caveman." He is set to return to production late this summer on his fifth season of "Alias."

AFFLECK, GARNER WED ON ISLE

The one-time future Mr. Gwyneth Paltrow and almost-Mr. Jennifer Lopez has finally gotten hitched — to actress Jennifer Garner.

"Bennifer II" married on Wednesday in the exclusive Parrot Cay resort in the Caribbean nation of Turks and Caicos, publicists for both stars confirmed yesterday.

The beautiful, once-married actress not only co-starred with Affleck in "Daredevil," but joined him in a more important production — the couple's first child, conceived earlier this year, reports The Post's Gersh Kuntzman.

The publicists did not give any other details. But Us Weekly reported that Affleck, 32, celebrated his last days as a single man with a bachelor party last week, while Garner, 33, finished shooting her upcoming movie, "Catch and Release," in Vancouver.

The magazine also reported that Garner's "Alias" co-star, Victor Garber, attended the far-flung wedding.

As Affleck relationships go, his yearlong love affair with Garner was positively normal. The couple did its canoodling in private, quite unlike Affleck's relationship with Lopez, who put him in one of her videos in which he rubbed sun tan lotion onto her well-publicized posterior.

The couple never discussed engagement rumors that came out in April. And they never confirmed the May report that Garner was pregnant.

Affleck and Garner met on the 2003 film "Daredevil," and claim nothing happened on the set. Affleck and Lopez called off their September 2003 wedding and broke off their engagement in January 2004. Garner divorced actor Scott Foley in March 2004 after three years of marriage.

Last year, when rumors flew of their romance, Affleck's publicist told PAGE SIX they were "just friends."

"I don't think she thinks that she's drop-dead gorgeous as she is, and I think that is what gives her this incredibly appealing quality," Affleck once said of Garner.

She returned the favor in a radio interview after "Daredevil" was released.

"He's really a gentleman," she said. "And he's not afraid to laugh at himself or you."

Affleck and Garner announce they've married, she's pregnant

Representatives for both actors confirmed the marriage to The Associated Press Thursday. The publicists, Ken Sunshine and Nicole King, also confirmed that Garner is pregnant with her first child.

Sunshine and King would not give any other details. The confirmation came after Us Weekly reported that Affleck, 32, and Garner, 33, were wed Wednesday at the Parrot Cay resort in the Caribbean islands of Turks and Caicos. The National Enquirer also released photos it claimed showed Garner arriving on the islands.

In stark contrast to Affleck's much publicized relationship with Jennifer Lopez, he and Garner have been tightlipped about their romance from the start. Aside from appearing at a Boston Red Sox game last fall, they have stayed out of the public eye.

Reports in April about an engagement were never confirmed. In May, E! News reported that Garner was pregnant and the baby was due in November, but neither star confirmed that report.

This is first marriage for Affleck and the second for Garner. The Alias star divorced actor Scott Foley in March 2004 after 3 1/2 years of marriage.

Affleck and Lopez called off their September 2003 wedding and broke off their engagement in January 2004. Lopez married singer Marc Anthony later that year.

Garner and Affleck met while they were shooting the action flick Daredevil, but they didn't begin dating until last year.

Jennifer Garner To Star In Supernatural Japanese Thriller

Warner Bros. has acquired the rights to remake the film, with the Alias beauty starring as well as producing through her new company, Vandalia Films. One of the more popular of a recent wave of Japanese tear-jerkers, the Ghost-like film directed last year by Nobuhiro Doi recounts the story of a dying woman who tells her husband and 6-year-old son that she will return to them. Amidst an atmospheric rainy season a year later, the duo discover a woman suffering from amnesia. Taking her in, they are amazed by the similarities between the stranger and the woman they recently lost.

The fantasy-drama will be produced in America with the help of American Beauty producers Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen and the production company responsible for the Japanese original. The source material for the original version was a novel by Takuji Ichikawa.

The pregnant Garner recently made a splash onto the big screen with the romantic comedy 13 Going on 30, then barely registered a drip a few months later with the clunky superhero flick Elektra. She just wrapped production on the comedy Catch and Release with Juliette Lewis and Kevin Smith, and will likely hold off the start date of Be With You while she prepares for her most important upcoming release, a yet-to-be-titled film alongside companion Ben Affleck.

Cooper Cuts Up in 'Kitchen' Comedy

Inspired by the eponymous culinary expose by Les Halles executive chef Anthony Bourdain, the FOX series stars Cooper as rock star chef Jack Bourdain, whose career has been in the toilet for the past four years.

"I got addicted to cocaine and blew it all up my nose, lost everything," explains Cooper, referring to his character. "Now I'm a line cook at an Olive Garden-esque restaurant."

Despite a steamy romance with the eatery's manager and being sober for a year, Jack's frustrated with his wasted talent and the fact that nobody around him knows how to plate a decent rigatoni. His luck changes when he gets the opportunity to once again call the shots as the head chef for Nolita, an upscale New York City restaurant.

"This guy Pino, this Italian guy played by Frank Langella, just fired his chef last night," says Cooper. "He's got 300 on the book for tomorrow. He has no chef, no food, nothing. So he hires me and takes a chance.

"I have to get my cronies together -- who don't trust me because I stole all their TVs and stuff for my cocaine habit -- to come back and open this restaurant."

Among his pals are pastry chef Seth ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer's" Nicolas Brendon), seafood expert Teddy ("Harold & Kumar's" John Cho) and sous chef/thief Steven (Owain Yeoman). Rounding out the cast are Jamie King as airhead hostess Tanya, Bonnie Somerville as the ambitious Mimi and ex-"Freaks and Geeks" star John F. Daley as kitchen lackey Jim.

For Cooper, stepping into the kitchen on set was a homecoming of sorts.

"When I was a kid, it was either acting or being a chef. I worked in restaurants my whole life as a cook," he says, adding, "So, when I read the script I just thought, 'I have to do this.'"

Although the producers wanted to send the cast to "cutting" school to learn the necessary technical skills, Cooper already knew how to acquit himself well around the kitchen. To this day, he still enjoys experimenting with culinary creations.

His current specialty? "Recently I've been making a lot of stuffed squid, with dried currants and prosciutto," he tells Zap2it.com.

Before heading back to the kitchen, Cooper will star as another bad boy in the Owen Wilson-Vince Vaughn comedy "Wedding Crashers," which will hit theaters on Friday, July 15 and wrap the Paramount Pictures comedy "Failure to Launch" starring Matthew McConaughey and Sarah Jessica Parker.

"Kitchen Confidential" will air Mondays this fall on FOX.

Affleck and Garner Not Married ... Yet

A spokesperson for Affleck denied reports that the celebrity couple tied the knot on Saturday, June 18.

"Not true," publicist Ken Sunshine tells Access Hollywood about the purported nuptials.

The wild rumor stems from a New York Daily News report about a West Virginia florist, Brandon Tucker, who claims Garner purchased a bridal bouquet and six bridesmaid's bouquets at his Briarwood Flower Shoppe in Wheeling on Saturday.

"I was just dumbfounded," says Tucker. "In Wheeling, not too many celebrities come in. I should have worn something different."

He says the bouquets -- composed of ivory Virginia roses, Casablanca lilies and gardenias -- were prepared for a late-night wedding ceremony at the Greenbrier Resort in the Allegheny Mountains, close to Garner's hometown of Charleston.

Garner was previously married to her "Felicity" co-star Scott Foley. They divorced in March 2004. Affleck was briefly engaged to another Jennifer -- Jennifer Lopez -- in 2002. Garner, 33, and Affleck, 32, met on the set of 2003's "Daredevil."

Affleck's next stars in the upcoming comedy "Man About Town" and "Truth, Justice and the American Way," about small screen Superman actor George Reeves. He also plans to make his directorial debut with the big-screen adaptation of Dennis Lehane's "Gone, Baby, Gone."

Garner recently climbed into the director's chair herself for a May episode of her spy drama "Alias." On the big screen, she starred in "13 Going on 30" and the "Daredevil" spin-off "Elektra." Her upcoming films include "Catch and Release" and "Charlotte's Web."

Five setting sail on 'Poseidon' remake

Maestro will play a stowaway, and Rodriguez a member of the crew. Dillon ("Entourage") portrays a blowhard poker player. Barrett ("Last Kiss") and Bennett ("The Amityville Horror") play a mother-son team trapped on the capsized cruise ship.

Shooting is set to begin June 18 on the Warners lot. Already cast are Kurt Russell, Richard Dreyfuss, Emmy Rossum, Mike Vogel and Josh Lucas.

Maestro, who appeared on ABC's "Alias," stars in the upcoming "Secuestro Express." She will return to "Alias" in the fall for several episodes.

Rodriguez, one of the stars of "Six Feet Under," stars in the upcoming "Harsh Times" opposite Christian Bale.

Oprah's Got the Power

This month, Winfrey and Cruise are linked again with both A-listers achieving top 10 status on Forbes magazine's Celebrity 100 list.

Holmes, on the other hand, didn't make the cut.

The Forbes list ranks famous folk according to their power, which in turn is determined by the size of their paychecks combined with their media presence. Hence the big names of yesteryear (hello, women of Friends) can easily be replaced by a more timely act (hello, women of Desperate Housewives).

Winfrey, whose number one ranking on the list secures her the title of world's most powerful celeb (at least until next year), raked in $225 million in the last 12 months through her reign as Queen of Daytime Television. The talk-show host climbed two rungs from her already lofty number three status of last year.

Cruise dropped a few notches from last year's number four ranking but still managed to pull off a more than respectable standing at number 10 with yearly earnings of $31 million.

Coming at second was Tiger Woods, whose impressive skills on the links were good enough for an $87 million paycheck. Also ranking high in the athletics department was number five, Shaquille O'Neal, whose hoop dreams pulled down $33 million. Mel Gibson, whose religious epic The Passion of the Christ secured him the top spot on the list last year, fell to number three, but pulled in a hefty $185 million thanks to DVD sales.

After being absent from the list last year, George Lucas was back with a vengeance at number four, thanks to the huge box office gross of Star Wars: Episode III--The Revenge of the Sith and a hefty payday of $290 million. Fellow sci-fi aficionado Steven Spielberg, whose War of the Worlds opens next month, came in at number six with yearly earnings of $80 million.

On a musical note, sparring singers Madonna and Elton John are close again, at least when it comes to the list. The Material Girl came in at number eight, while the Rocket Man landed the number nine slot.

Funnymen Will Ferrell and Dave Chappelle cracked up the list for the first time this year, coming in at numbers 18 and 78, respectively. Also appearing on the list for the first time is Denzel Washington, whose $30 million earnings put him at number 31.

Elsewhere on the list, sibling rivalry was the theme as Jessica Simpson (64th) outranked little sis, Ashlee (76th). Both sisters made the list as "personalities" as opposed to "musicians."

Reversing the trend, tennis ace Serena Williams (62nd) outpaced big sister Venus (81st). However, both Williams sisters got served by Maria Sharapova (57th) whose earnings of $18 million made her the highest-paid female athlete on the list.

Jennifer Aniston, who just two years ago topped the list, fell from last year's ranking of number 17 to 37, while her former Friends costars Courteney Cox Arquette and Lisa Kudrow dropped off the list entirely.

Meanwhile, Desperate Housewives stars Teri Hatcher, Eva Longoria, Marcia Cross, Felicity Huffman and Nicollette Sheridan made the list as a group in the personalities category, coming in at number 25.

In the teen queen race, Lindsay Lohan (52nd) ultimately edged out reputed rival Hilary Duff (54th), but both were outmatched by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen whose combined earnings of $21 million landed them at number 35.

Then there were the famous folk who made the list while their significant others were excluded. Cameron Diaz (66th) made the list, but her boy toy Justin Timberlake didn't. Jennifer Garner (70), yes; daddy-to-be Ben Affleck, no. Will Smith (13th) made the cut; wife Jada Pinkett Smith, not so much. Brad Pitt (11th) on the list; Angelina Jolie--oh wait. Our mistake. They just play a couple in Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Right?

Notably absent from the Celebrity 100 this year were perennial list-makers Tom Hanks and Jim Carrey, as well as Today host Katie Couric.

The full Celebrity 100 power list can be found in the latest issue of Forbes magazine, which hits newsstands Friday.

Here's a recap of the top 10 celebs and their earnings:

1. Oprah Winfrey, $225 million
2. Tiger Woods, $87 million
3. Mel Gibson, $185 million
4. George Lucas, $290
5. Shaquille O'Neal, $33 million
6. Steven Spielberg, $80 million
7. Johnny Depp, $37 million
8. Madonna, $50 million
9. Elton John, $44 million
10. Tom Cruise $31 million

'Lost,' 'Alias' casts do sweet charity

As executive producer of both ABC dramas, J.J. Abrams joked that he would kill off any cast members who failed to attend Grunberg's Hollywood's Helping Hands fundraiser, which raised $300,000.

Abrams got a bear hug from Lost's Jorge Garcia (Hurley), who has shed 30 pounds since March by cutting carbs. He also has hired co-star Dominic Monaghan's (Charlie) trainer to help him lose another 100. "You are looking great," Abrams told Garcia. "All I care about is you living as long as possible."

Though absent, Alias star Jennifer Garner's generosity was felt throughout the evening. She was one of dozens of stars, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Sylvester Stallone and Ringo Starr, who created paintings that were auctioned off for thousands. Garner's portrait of four tulips went for $1,600.

Paintings also were commissioned from all of Garner's real-life lovers, past and present, including ex-husband and Felicity co-star Scott Foley, whose Jackson Pollock-inspired design, Splash of Color, went for just $150. A guitar painted by former flame and Alias co-star Michael Vartan was purchased for $3,500, while current fiancé and Daredevil co-star Ben Affleck'spainting will be auctioned off on eBay.

Teen Choice Nominees

TELEVISION

Choice Show: Drama

"7th Heaven"
"Alias"
"Everwood"
"Grey's Anatomy"
"House"
"Lost"
"The O.C."
"One Tree Hill"

Choice Actress: Drama
Beverley Mitchell, "7th Heaven"
Emily VanCamp, "Everwood"
Evangeline Lilly, "Lost"
Hilarie Burton, "One Tree Hill"
Jennifer Garner, "Alias"
Mischa Barton, "The O.C."
Rachel Bilson, "The O.C."
Sophia Bush, "One Tree Hill"

Choice Sidekick
Allison Mack, "Smallville"
Brian Griffin, "Family Guy"
Chris Pratt, "Everwood"
Donald Faison, "Scrubs"
Jorge Garcia, "Lost"
Kevin Weisman, "Alias"
Sean Hayes, "Will & Grace"
Wilmer Valderrama, "That '70s Show"

MOVIES

Choice Actress: Action/Adventure/Thriller
Angelina Jolie, "Mr. & Mrs. Smith"
Jennifer Garner, "Elektra"
Jessica Alba, "Sin City"
Keira Knightley, "King Arthur"
Elisha Cuthbert, "House of Wax"
Natalie Portman, "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith"
Penelope Cruz, "Sahara"
Sarah Michelle Gellar, "The Grudge"

Stork Report

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Among adults 18-49, FOX scored a whopping 12.2 rating, nearly doubling ABC's 6.5. NBC was a distant third at 2.9, followed by CBS, 1.7; UPN, 0.8; and The WB, 0.5.

At 10 p.m., the season finale of "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" shot NBC into the lead with a 9.7/15. "Alias" closed its season with a 6.5/10 for ABC, while "Amber Frey" came in at 6.3/10 for CBS.

TV's Top Gun

FOX Adds Former Alias Star Cooper To Fall Lineup

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, May 18, 2005

FOX also won among adults 18-49, scoring a 6.4 rating in the key demographic. ABC was second with it's 4.6 rating. CBS' 3.0, NBC's 2.9, UPN's 2.2 and the 2.1 rating for The WB all followed closely.

The 9 p.m. hour went to FOX thanks to "American Idol" (15.7/24) and, to a lesser degree, "Stacked" (8.3/13). ABC's first hour of "Alias" was second with a 6.0/9. CBS' comedies "King of Queens" and "Yes, Dear" were in third, topping the 5.3/9 for NBC's "Revelations." The WB was fifth with "Smallville" and a repeat of "Living with Fran." On UPN, "Kevin Hill" ended its run with a 2.2/3.

"Law & Order" did an 8.2/14 to win the night's final hour for NBC. CBS was a close second with the 8.1/12 for "CSI: NY." ABC's "Alias" was third.

Lena Olin's Alias Resurrection

Her eyes are hollow with exhaustion. Scars and bruises form grotesque ribbons around both wrists. But while series superspy Sydney Bristow, played by Jennifer Garner, has witnessed this scenario countless times before, she can't help but fight back tears. After all, the broken beauty before her is her mother, Irina Derevko, and until moments ago, Sydney believed she had been offed by her pops (Victor Garber).

"But no one really dies on Alias, right?" asks Lena Olin, who's returning as the duplicitous Derevko after a two-year absence from the ABC spy serial. "I am definitely back."

And how. Irina may not be, as creator J.J. Abrams cracks, "resurrected from the dead with some kind of Rambaldi serum," but her return will provide a shot of adrenaline to the end of the season. In the May 18 episode, Sydney and Co. discover that Irina is being held captive by her power-hungry sister Elena (Sonia Braga); they break her out, just in time to help (or hurt?) Sydney as she tries to prevent a Rambaldi-foretold apocalypse in the May 25 finale. (Syd will have a bit of bliss when Vaughn, played by Michael Vartan, suddenly pops the question.) "It's a wild finale," Abrams says excitedly. "And in order to make it work the way we wanted it to, we needed Lena."

Abrams had been trying to lure the 50-year-old Swedish-born actress back since she abruptly left the drama in May 2003. Rumor had it that money was the sticking point, but Olin claims her reasons were strictly personal. She says she had always intended to leave Alias when her contract was up in order to spend more time with her New York-based family, which includes film-director husband Lasse Hallström (The Cider House Rules), teenage son August and daughter Tora, 9. "I had been away too much," says Olin, "and I needed to stay at home for awhile."

She took her daughter to school in the mornings and contemplated moving the family back to Sweden. Occasionally, she slipped off to make a movie, most notably the upcoming Casanova, directed by her husband and starring Heath Ledger. Olin admits that for some time she refused to take Abrams' calls. "When I talk to J.J., it's really hard to say no," she says with a laugh. "I knew if I talked to him, he'd be able to convince me to come back."

That was the case when they finally spoke earlier this year. "Time had passed," says Olin, who's open to returning next season. "I was like, 'Let's do it.' And it's been so fun."

ABC Fall Schedule

(the following will premiere after MNF)

8:00 p.m. "The Bachelor" (new time)
9:00 p.m. "Emily's Reasons Why Not" (new comedy series)
9:30 p.m. "Jake in Progress" (new night and time)
10:00 p.m. "What About Brian" (new drama series)

TUESDAY: 8:00 p.m. "According to Jim" (new time)
8:30 p.m. "Rodney" (new time)
9:00 p.m. "Commander-in-Chief" (new drama series)
10:00 p.m. "Boston Legal" (new night)

WEDNESDAY: 8:00 p.m. "George Lopez" (new night and time)
8:30 p.m. "Freddie" (new comedy series)
9:00 p.m. "Lost" (new time)
10:00 p.m. "Invasion" (new drama series)

THURSDAY: 8:00 p.m. "Alias" (new night and time)
9:00 p.m. "The Night Stalker" (new drama series)
10:00 p.m. "Primetime Live"

FRIDAY: 8:00 p.m. "Supernanny" (new night and time)
9:00 p.m. "Hope & Faith"
9:30 p.m. "Hot Properties" (new comedy series)
10:00 p.m. "20/20"

SATURDAY: 8:00 p.m. "ABC Movie of the Week"

SUNDAY: 7:00 p.m. "America's Funniest Home Videos"
8:00 p.m. "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition"
9:00 p.m. "Desperate Housewives"
10:00 p.m. "Grey's Anatomy"

JLo/Vartan Sends Ferrell 'Kicking & Screaming' to Second

However, it came no where close to last year's winner, "Troy," which opened to $46.9 million.

For his fifth wide release in a row, Will Ferrell's "Kicking & Screaming" opened in the No. 2 spot with $20.9 million, joining the ranks of "Anchorman," "Elf," "Old School" and "Zoolander."

Opening wide but only on 1955 screens, Jet Li's "Unleashed" came in third with an estimated $10.6 million.

"Kingdom of Heaven" ($9.6 million) and "Crash" ($7.2 million) round out the Top Five. "Kingdom of Heaven" dropped 51 percent from last week's No. 1 debut, bringing its total gross thus far to $35.1 million.

The rest of the Top 10 are made up of films in their second to fourth weeks of release, except for "Mindhunters," the thriller starring Val Kilmer, LL Cool J and Christian Slater, which debuted at No. 10 and averaged $1,926 for each of its 1040 screens, bringing its estimated gross to $2 million.

Overall, this week's Top 12 grossed an estimated $95.5 million, up 21.7 percent from last weekend. Next week, the summer movie season kicks into gear with the premiere of George Lucas' "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith" on Thursday.

These are estimates by Exhibitor Relations, which tracks daily box-office receipts.

Stay tuned for more Michael Vartan

"They could have gotten me there," the humble, soft-spoken Vartan says with a sigh, referring to the production team behind his popular ABC spy drama. "It's one of the very few times I had really bad thoughts about (Alias)."

But Vartan, 36, knows he hardly has grounds to gripe about the TV series that has afforded him stardom and an expansive bachelor pad in the Hollywood Hills, where he's calling from this day. While eager to leap into his film career, he plans to return for what the Alias cast widely believes will be the show's fifth and final year. All the extra time he has been putting in on the set will pay off big time, he assures fans. Will his character, special agent Vaughn, finally propose marriage to Jennifer Garner's Sydney Bristow in the May 25 season finale (10 p.m. ET/PT)?

"There's a big cliffhanger - I think the best we've had," Vartan says. "Just when you think (Vaughn and Sydney) are going down easy street ... hello! It's something so monumental. When I first read it, I thought, 'No way!' "

Their characters' intensified romance presents an interesting challenge for Vartan and Garner, who dated last year before Garner found lasting love with her current fiancé, Ben Affleck. But Vartan says his romance with Garner ended without drama and quickly morphed into a brother/sister-like bond. He describes their split as "benign," adding, "We're much better off as friends."

They remain so close that Garner was the one who pulled Vartan aside to clue him in on her engagement before the rest of the world got wind. "On the surface, it could have been a recipe for disaster," he concedes of his and Garner's post-romance on-set relationship. "But Jennifer and I were best friends first, during (the romance) and after." And though he has yet to meet Affleck, Vartan says, he has "heard nothing but wonderful things about him. Their love is very genuine. I'm hoping Ben will put me in one of his next movies."

Vartan hardly needs Affleck's help. Starting in movie theaters today, Vartan romances the other Jennifer in Monster-in-Law, playing the fiancé of Jennifer Lopez, who, for anyone who missed it, is the real-life former fiancée of Affleck.

Amazingly, the real-life soap opera never involved even whispers of a Lopez/Vartan pairing. Lopez says that's because "our situations were well-defined while we were working together. He had a girlfriend at the time." And she was with now-husband Marc Anthony. Even so, J. Lo calls Vartan "a perfect boyfriend person - so sweet, genuine and real."

Jane Fonda is Vartan's overbearing mother in the film and says his "deep sweetness" reminds her of her own son, actor Troy Garity. "Michael touches me so much," says Fonda, who says she senses in the French-born Vartan "a tremendous amount of pain" that "makes him vulnerable and interesting."

Vartan hasn't been linked steadily with anyone since Garner and jokes he's "enjoying not having to spend weekends shopping at flea markets." Instead, he can routinely be found chatting up lovelies at Sunset Strip's Skybar or private parties at the Playboy Mansion, both convenient drives to the home he shares with his 14-month-old Labrador, Millie.

"I do what normal kids do - go to different bars ... talk to girls," Vartan says. "And once in a while, you get a little too drunk and go home."

Vartan Comfortable Being in Lopez Shadow

Vartan — former boyfriend of Affleck's current love Jennifer Garner, as well as her co-star on TV's "Alias" — now plays backup to Affleck's ex, Jennifer Lopez, in the big-screen romantic comedy "Monster-in-Law."

Lopez plays a wannabe artist earning her keep with a string of jobs that include dog-walking and office temp work. After she meets the man of her dreams, a doctor (Vartan) from a wealthy family, her prospective mother-in-law (Jane Fonda) goes to slapstick extremes to try to break up their engagement.

The movie gives top billing above the title to Lopez and Fonda. Vartan comes third, after the title, a position with which he's perfectly comfortable.

"I have a very healthy and I guess accurate perspective of where my career is and where I fit in in this crazy business," Vartan told The Associated Press. "I don't really care if my name's first, second or last or even in the end credits.

"Being in the movie is much more important. And also, I knew that this was their movie. This was clearly a movie about the two women going at it, sort of creating chaos. So I knew what I was getting into. It was much more about getting to work with Jane and Jennifer, so how can you say no?"

Vartan caught his share of tabloid fame when he and Garner were dating. So he can commiserate with what his co-stars have gone through because of their involvement with Affleck.

Both of his Jennifer co-stars have handled the notoriety with poise, Vartan said.

"They're amazing. The people who succeed in this business and have staying power are the ones that really understand the two facets of it, the work and the celebrity, and they're professional. You know you're going to be chased by paparazzi if you're one of the Jennifers. That's just the way it goes."

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, May 11, 2005

FOX was alone in first place among adults 18-49 with a 5.8 rating. ABC took second in the demographic with a 4.4, followed by CBS, 3.5, and NBC, 2.9. UPN averaged 1.9 and The WB 1.3.

FOX moved into the lead at 9 p.m. with "American Idol," 14.9/23, and "Stacked," 7.0/11. "Elvis" improved to 7.8/12 in its final hour. "Alias" posted a 6.5/10 for ABC, while "Revelations" came in at 5.6/8 for NBC. "Kevin Hill" kept UPN in fifth, and The WB's "Jack & Bobby" ended its season with a 1.5/2.

'Lost,' 'Alias' Stars Accept ABC's 'Commandments'

The four-hour miniseries, produced by Hallmark Entertainment, is scheduled to begin production Monday, May 23, with Morocco standing in for 13th-century B.C. Egypt. The network plans to have the production ready for air during the 2005-06 season.

Scott ("Mission: Impossible II," "Ever After") will play Moses in the tale of the Exodus, taking on a role memorably played by Charlton Heston in the 1956 Cecil B. DeMille film (which has been an Easter-season staple on ABC for a number of years). He'll be joined in the cast by Omar Sharif ("Lawrence of Arabia," "Hidalgo"), Naveen Andrews ("Lost"), Mia Maestro ("Alias") and Linus Roache ("RFK," "Batman Begins").

ABC says that "months of painstaking biblical and historical research" went into the production in an effort to ensure an "authentic" representation of the period. Hallmark Entertainment's penchant for effects-heavy productions ("Dinotopia," NBC's upcoming "Hercules") will come into play as well in portraying the plague of locusts and parting of the Red Sea.

Emmy winner Ron Hutchinson ("The Simon Wiesenthal Story," "The Tuskegee Airmen") is writing the script for the miniseries. Veteran director Robert Dornhelm ("Into the West," USA's "Spartacus") will helm the project.

Jen Garner's Baby on Board

The Alias star is expecting her first child, E! Online and E! News have confirmed.

Multiple sources close to Garner and beau Ben Affleck say the actress is three months along. News of the pregnancy comes just two weeks after several published reports claimed the couple were engaged.

According to E! Online columnist Ted Casablanca, Affleck flew Garner's kin from West Virginia to California in April for his leading lady's 33rd birthday party. The question subsequently was popped in private, Casablanca reported.

At the time Affleck's rep, Ken Sunshine, described said reports as "garbage." On Saturday, Sunshine declined to address the baby news, saying "I never comment on [Affleck's] personal life." There was no immediate word from Garner's camp on the pregnancy or whether a ceremony was in the offing.

Despite having a baby on board, Garner is still keeping to her schedule this summer. Her next big-screen project, Columbia Pictures' romantic drama Catch and Release, begins its two-month shoot next week in Vancouver. The film costars Kevin Smith, Juliette Lewis and Timothy Olyphant and marks the directorial debut of Erin Brockovich screenwriter Susannah Grant.

But Garner's November due date could prove tricky for the Alias brain trust. While ABC's spy thriller is wrapped for the season (the finale airs May 25), the show has been picked up for the fall and is slated to resume production in July. Now, producers must decide how to deal with Garner's pregnancy, either by incorporating it into the show (remember, Sydney's eggs were harvested last season) or just try to hide it. Then again, considering the show's sky-high slinky outfit-to-episode ratio, a burgeoning belly would be hard to conceal. Further complicating matters, Garner performs most of her own stunts.

Affleck, 32, and Garner costarred on screen together before coupling off--he was Daredevil to her Elektra in 2003's Daredevil. (His cameo in this year's Elektra wound up on the cutting-room floor, but is preserved for posterity on the DVD.)

They finally went public with their much-rumored romance last fall at the World Series, when she was spotted snuggling Red Sox diehard Affleck at Boston's Fenway Park. Their pairing was alternately dubbed Garfleck and Bennifer II.

But unlike the original Bennifer tandem of Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, the all-new edition prefers to fly under the radar. The World Series appearance aside, Garner and Affleck have generally managed to eschew being photographed together at red-carpet events.

Garner was previously married to Felicity costar Scott Foley. They split in 2003, and their divorce was finalized in March 2004. They didn't have any children.

The never-wed Affleck previously was engaged to Lopez. That relationship ended with the scuttling of their September 2003 nuptials.

Garner Pulls Double Duty on 'Alias'

In between kicking butt and learning lines, though, Garner found time to expand her resume to include directing, in the Wednesday, May 11, episode of "Alias," called "In Dreams ... ."

"It was quite a surprise," Garner says, calling in between shots on the "Alias" set. "I never had aspirations. I always made fun of people who said, 'What I really want to do is direct,' or actors who said they were dying to direct their shows. I didn't feel that way even the littlest bit.

"Then we lost a couple of directors to pilots, and the crew had started needling me about trying it this year. Suddenly I realized, I directed the 85th episode, so I had 84 of these, almost every single day, under my belt. I thought, 'Why couldn't I do this? I know more about this show than a lot of people, so why not?'

"I knew the crew would take care of me. There are a few people who can make a director, and we have excellent people in all of those jobs -- the first assistant director, the director of photography and the script supervisor. I thought, 'What the hell?' So I gave it a try, and it was so fun."

"In Dreams ..." features Joel Grey in his recurring role as the mystery man impersonating Arvin Sloane (Ron Rifkin), who has alternately been Sydney's boss and nemesis; he's both right now.

Just like Sloane, Grey's character is a heat-seeking missile for all things Rambaldi, a Renaissance prophet and inventor who's a combination of Leonardo da Vinci and Nostradamus.

Also on hand is Amy Irving, reprising her role as Sloane's late wife, Emily -- and no, we don't know whether this is a flashback, a dream or some mysterious resurrection, so don't ask.

Garner says that fortunately Rifkin did a lot of the emotional heavy lifting in the episode, whose Los Angeles-area locations included the Huntington Gardens in San Marino and the historic Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills.

"I did have incredible actors," Garner says. "What it gave me was such an appreciation for how good the actors on the show are. Because when I'm in a scene with them, you're in it, you don't think about it. But getting to sit back and watch them do their thing, they're just so money.

"The thing is, if you have an actress like Amy Irving, you could print the first take and never go again, and you would look great. You'd look like a total stud."

For his part, Rifkin gives the props right back to the director. "First day of rehearsal, I was struck by two things: She was very nervous, and oddly she was very confident, so that her nervous energy was just delicious," he says. "She was just adorable. She was our Jennifer -- you can tell, we're all very close -- so it was the person we know with this nervous energy.

"On the other hand, she was totally prepared, but beyond prepared. She had spent a lot of time on it. She knew exactly what her setups were going to be, which manifested itself in a strange ease and confidence at the same time, which was interesting to me. I didn't think that she would have that confidence that quickly."

If Garner was prepared, it was done in time snatched in bits and pieces. "I prepped on a couple of weekends," she says, "then I prepped every night before we shot the next day. It's the way I learn lines on 'Alias.' I can't look any farther than the day ahead, unless it's a foreign language or something. It's too intimidating. I always just focus on what's in front of me, and I had to treat directing the same way."

Garner says she read the script many times, made copious notes, consulted with first assistant director Richard Coad and drew diagrams of her shots. Often this was done during the workday or after work -- and her workdays are at least 10 if not 14 hours long alread.

"That's the way I conduct anything on 'Alias,'" Garner says. "I'll have a wig on and fake blood running down my face, and I'll run into the writers' room and say, 'OK, this needs to be more emotional. Can this line be different?' They'll say, 'OK, we gotcha.' And I'll run back out.

"People would come to my trailer and prep. We'd talk about props over lunch, during a 15-minute break, talk wardrobe during lunch, because I was really heavy in the episode where I was prepping."

Told that many actor-directors go light in the episode being shot while they're preparing to direct, Garner says, "Yeah, but that's not really a big possibility around here. Besides that, if I took an episode off, I'd want to go to Hawaii." But even all her preparation didn't prevent Garner from making some rookie mistakes.

"I do like a strong 'Action' and a firm and happy 'Cut,' " she says, "so I did try to do that. But of course, on the first day and a couple of times when I actually got to be behind the monitor instead of in the scene, I forgot to say it. I had to write 'Action' on a piece of tape on the monitor to remind myself."

Rifkin also gives Garner credit for teaching an old actor-dog new tricks. "You can be doing something one way, and she'll say, 'That's really great, can you just try it this way now?' She'll whisper something to you, in the kindest, most positive way, and it changed everything.

"She came back laughing and said, 'Oh, my God, oh, my God, look what happened.' She was like an excited child."

Film review: Monster-in-Law

But it's worse than that. Fonda, one of the best actors of her generation, is downright awful in a role she could have -- and probably should have -- sleepwalked through. Strident and off-key in every scene, she leaves herself nowhere to go to develop or deepen an already tissue-thin and brittle character.

As the title forewarns, the movie is determined to reprise every trite mother-in-law joke ever told by a borscht belt comic despite the fact these went out of fashion about 40 years ago. Possibly something might have developed from an aging woman's fear that her only son's marriage will rob her of his love. But cheap laughs are all we get from Anya Kochoff's exceedingly tired screenplay.

Women are the film's target audience. But despite the intriguing pairing of Fonda and Jennifer Lopez as mortal enemies, interest from even that demographic will falter once they realize how bitter and broad the comedy is.

The opening act sets in motion a beguiling if routine romantic comedy. Charlie (Lopez), a Venice Beach dogwalker and temp, and Kevin (Michael Vartan), a newly relocated doctor, meet cute three times before he asks her out. One roadblock to romance lies in another interested female's attempt to discourage Charlie's pursuit of Kevin by convincing her Kevin is gay, a lame device that foreshadows plot gimmicks to come.

Otherwise, things go smoothly for the couple right up to the moment Kevin introduces Charlie to Mom. Fonda's Viola Fields is supposedly a woman in midlife meltdown following a firing from her post as one of the nation's top TV journalists. A Barbara Walters-like interviewer and news personality, comfortable in the presence of Henry Kissinger, the Dalai Lama and Snoop Dogg, we are now asked to believe Viola cannot handle a new daughter-in-law.

The film offers little pretext for the war this angry and alcoholic woman wages against her son's perfectly lovely fiancee. Nor do her strategies yield any genuinely funny moments. Wanda Sykes plays Viola's personal assistant, who gamely but ineffectively struggles to calm the waters only for them to remain roiled by single-minded nastiness.

The film sends Kevin off to a medical convention during most of the shenanigans, which blunts our concern over why he hasn't forced a truce between the two women in his life. But this also marginalizes his character, reducing him to a virtual dress extra at his own wedding.

The nadir of this pathetic conflict comes on the wedding day, where Viola and Charlie smack each other several times in the face. This scene gets saved by a cameo appearance by Elaine Stritch, playing Viola's own "monster-in-law." This appearance not only gives us a reason for Viola's rage but also provides the movie with its only moment of real drama. Things play out predictably from there.

Stuck in banal roles are Annie Parisse as Charlie's best gal pal; Adam Scott as the gay next door, who drops by to offer witty asides; and Monet Mazur, Kevin's blonde-bitch ex-girifriend. Does writing get more by-the-numbers than this?

Director Robert Luketic ("Legally Blonde") maintains a lively pace, but one wishes he had done more to prevent Fonda's one-note performance. Technical credits are solid.

Cast: Charlie: Jennifer Lopez; Viola Fields: Jane Fonda; Kevin: Michael Vartan; Ruby: Wanda Sykes; Remy: Adam Scott; Fiona: Monet Mazur; Morgan: Annie Parisse; Gertrude: Elaine Stritch.

Director: Robert Luketic; Screenwriter: Anya Kochoff; Producers: Chris Bender, JC Spink, Paula Weinstein; Executive producers: Michael Flynn, Toby Emmerich, Richard Brener; Director of photography: Russell Carpenter; Production designer: Missy Stewart; Music: David Newman; Costumes: Kym Barrett; Editors: Scott Hill, Kevin Tent.

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, May 4, 2005

FOX led the way among adults 18-49 with a 5.6 rating, edging ABC's 5.3. CBS averaged 3.2, NBC 3.0, UPN 1.7 and The WB 1.3.

FOX took over the lead at 9 p.m. with "American Idol," 15.1/23, and "Stacked," 7.6/12. CBS took sole possession of second thanks to "Without a Trace," 8.0/12. "Alias" averaged 6.0/9, beating the slumping "Revelations" on NBC. "Kevin Hill" kept UPN in fifth, beating The WB's "Jack & Bobby," 1.7/3.

Garner Gets MTV Nomination

Lohan -- last year's breakthrough-performance winner -- was nominated for best female performance for "Mean Girls," while McAdams was nominated in the same category for "The Notebook," MTV said on its Web site.

"Mean Girls" also picked up a nod for best on-screen team -- including both actresses -- while McAdams was nominated for best villain and best female breakthrough performance in the film about feuding high school cliques.

"Anchorman," starring Will Ferrell, also grabbed four nominations -- for best comedic performance for Ferrell, best on-screen team, best fight and best musical performance.

MTV's movie awards, to be presented in June in Los Angeles, come in the middle of Hollywood's summer film season and feature stars of the hottest upcoming titles.

Unlike more traditional showbiz honors such as the Oscars, MTV offers fans a ceremony filled with irreverent sketches, stars cutting loose and buckets of golden popcorn for winners of such categories as best fight, best villain and best kiss.

McAdams is among the contenders for best kiss for her smooch with Ryan Gosling in "The Notebook," but faces tough competition from the likes of Natalie Portman in "Garden State" and Gwyneth Paltrow and Jude Law in "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow."

Elisha Cuthbert and Emile Hirsch also are nominated for their clinch in "The Girl Next Door," as are Jennifer Garner and Natassia Malthe for their same-sex kiss in "Elektra."

Last year's best fight winner Uma Thurman was nominated again for her clash with Daryl Hannah in "Kill Bill: Vol. 2."

Announcing the nominations on its Web site, MTV invited readers to vote for their favorites on a list that included a number of films shunned by the more mainstream awards such as the Oscars and the Golden Globes.

The legendary epic "Troy" may not have made the grade for the Oscars, but the film's star, Brad Pitt, may be consoled by his nomination for best fight alongside Eric Bana.

The full list of nominations can be see at www.mtv.com

Mia Maestro Up For Imagen Award

The Imagen Awards, which will be handed out during a ceremony June 17 at the Beverly Hilton, were established in 1985 to "encourage and recognize the positive portrayal of Latinos in all media and to increase Latino representation at all levels of the entertainment industry." Nominees in 17 categories were announced Tuesday.

"Maria," "Motorcycle Diaries" and "Spanglish" will compete with "Nicotina" in the best picture category, while ABC's "George Lopez" and "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," Lifetime's "Strong Medicine" and NBC's "Third Watch" and "The West Wing" are vying for best primetime series honors.

In the acting categories, Paz Vega ("Spanglish"), Theresa Yenque ("Stolen Lives") and Catalina Sandino Moreno ("Maria") are competing for best film actress, while there are no nominees this year in the best film actor category.

"While there were submissions in that category, in order to be an appropriate competition, we have to have a number of qualified actors," said Imagen Foundation president and founder Helen Hernandez. "Unfortunately, this year there were not enough actors in that category to consider a competition, but we do want to acknowledge Gael Garcia Bernal from 'The Motorcycle Diaries' and the excellent performance he gave."

Up for best supporting film actress are Mia Maestro ("Motorcycle Diaries"), Shelbie Bruce ("Spanglish") and Patricia Rae ("Maria"), while the supporting actor nominees are Hector Elizondo ("The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement") and Rodrigo de la Serna ("Motorcycle Diaries").

Also up for Imagen Awards are best director nominees Walter Salles ("Motorcycle Diaries") and James L. Brooks ("Spanglish").

Competing for best actor honors in the TV categories are Jimmy Smits ("The West Wing"), George Lopez ("George Lopez") and Miguel Sandoval (NBC's "Medium"), while Judy Reyes (NBC's "Scrubs"), Constance Marie ("George Lopez"), Madeleine Stowe (CBS' movie "Saving Milly"), Eva Longoria (ABC's "Desperate Housewives") and Rosa Blasi ("Strong Medicine") are vying for the best actress award.

Adam Rodriguez (CBS' "CSI: Miami), Carlos Bernard (Fox's "24"), Freddy Rodriguez (HBO's "Six Feet Under"), Mark Consuelos (Lifetime's "Missing") and Danny Pino (CBS' "Cold Case") are vying for best supporting actor, while Justina Machado ("Six Feet Under"), Tia Texada ("Third Watch") and Maestro (ABC's "Alias") are nominated for best supporting actress.

As with the best film actor competition, there are no nominees in the made-for-TV movie/miniseries category this year.

Victor Garber’s Role of a Lifetime

In “Sleepless in Seattle,” Garber appeared in the hilarious, movie-stealing scene with Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson. And he was the Titanic’s designer in the highest-grossing movie ever of the same name. Currently, Garber can be seen every week on the hit television series “Alias.

Over 40 Years Ago He Got the Part

As a professional actor since the age of 10, Garber, now 55, is no stranger to juggling the demands of busy schedules and responsibilities. His biggest “role,” however, came at the age of 12.

That was when he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.

Living the part of a person with type 1 often required him to do the seemingly impossible: balance his hectic daily acting schedule with the rigorous challenges of injecting insulin and managing blood glucose with limited technology.

The key to managing the rigors of his career and diabetes, Garber says, is his lifelong determination.

There was a part of me that was determined to succeed at what I wanted to do, so I never let diabetes really get in the way,” he says.

Back in those days, Garber had to test his urine four times a day in addition to taking insulin shots. But even with diabetes, he always kept focused on his career.

Alias

Garber now plays Agent Jack Bristow in the hit television show Alias.

Among other awards, Bristow was ranked number 29 in the June 2004 TV Guide list of the 50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time.

As Jack Bristow, Garber performs alongside personal friend Jennifer Garner, who plays Agent Sydney Bristow. He credits Garner and his other co-workers on the “Alias” set for helping him overcome many diabetes challenges such as balancing meals, getting snacks during breaks in filming and recognizing and helping him treat low blood glucose events.

Hypoglycemia—Not Part of the Script

Garber says he tends to be very cautious overall. This means he is usually prepared to treat low blood glucose levels should they occur while filming.

It’s happened a couple of times when I’ve literally been in the middle of shooting a scene, and I start having trouble remembering the lines and I start to falter,” he says. “One day I was struggling so hard, I knew something was wrong, but I was past the point of knowing what it was. When I was younger I could feel the sweats coming on, but as I get older I don’t feel it as much.

In these situations, Garber says, he is very thankful to his co-workers.

On the Alias set, Jennifer really takes care of me. They’re always ready with some orange juice,” he says. “I’m so grateful for my co-workers because everyone is very aware of [the diabetes] and they know it only takes a few minutes to treat a low.

Garber also recalls a few occurrences of hypoglycemia during a musical he was working on. He kept juice near the stage just in case. Fortunately for Garber, one of the other cast members also had diabetes.

It was great to have someone to talk to who understood what I was going through and what it was,” Garber says. “I would check my blood glucose at intermission, or at a five-minute break. The last thing I needed was to be on stage and have a low.

Keeping on top of low blood glucose levels is all about being prepared, says Garber, who keeps glucose tabs in his costume when he’s working and also in his car.

On the Road

When Garber is busy filming or when acting takes him on the road between New York and Los Angeles, preparation means everything.

You just have to think a little more ahead and know what the day will hold and what is needed to make it go smoothly,” he says.

No matter what, he always takes his insulin and eats breakfast in the mornings. Frequent snacks are also part of his daily routine.

Works With the JDRF

Garber does work with Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. “I help the JDRF, doing interviews and educating people about the disease. Talking about diabetes has always been very therapeutic and good for me, as opposed to hiding it,” he says.

Garber met a young girl who made a strong impression on him at a JDRF event in Toronto last year.

She wanted to be an actress, but she was afraid to tell anyone about her diabetes,” he says, adding that children give him perspective. “It’s amazing how well the kids handle it, and that’s an inspiration to me.

He Oughta Be in Pictures . . . and on Broadway . . . and TV

Victor Garber has been a leading Broadway performer for more than two decades. His first stage success came in 1972 when he played Jesus in “Godspell.

His stage performances have earned him four Tony nominations for his work in “Damn Yankees,” “Lend Me a Tenor,” “Deathtrap” and “Little Me.

Garber has also earned numerous Emmy nominations.

His film credits include “The First Wives Club,” “Light Sleeper,” “Sleepless in Seattle,” “Godspell,” “The Music Man,” “Tuck Everlasting,” “Legally Blonde” and “How Stella Got Her Groove Back.

Garber’s highest profile turn came as the Titanic’s designer Thomas Andrews, who calmly awaits its inevitable sinking in the 1997 blockbuster, “Titanic.

Other Television and Movie Roles in Which Victor Garber Has Appeared

Alias (since 2001) (TV series) as Agent Jack Bristow
The Music Man (2003) (TV) as Mayor Shinn
Tuck Everlasting (2002) as Robert Foster
Legally Blonde (2001) as Professor Callahan
Life With Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows (2001) (TV) as Michael Sidney “Sid” Luft
Laughter on the 23rd Floor (2001) (TV) as Kenny Franks
Annie (1999) (TV) as Daddy Warbucks
How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998) as Isaac
Titanic (1997) as Thomas Andrews
The First Wives Club (1996) as Bill Atchison
Sleepless in Seattle (1993) as Greg
Light Sleeper (1992) as Tis Brooke
The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd (1987) (TV series) as Dennis Widmer
Tartuffe (1978) (TV) as Valere
Godspell (1973) as Jesus
Source: The Internet Movie Database

Acting It Out A Daily Regimen

Garber has independently managed his diabetes since he started living on his own at age 16.

However, he says he lives a very irregular lifestyle, and, as a result, his blood glucose numbers can be erratic at times.

In the mornings I wake up and test my blood glucose. Then I take my insulin, Humulin R and NPH. The number of units depends on the test result.

After breakfast, Garber works out with help from a trainer. Then he has lunch and heads to work.

His second injection comes at dinnertime. He does not take his insulin until he is certain he is going to eat.

It’s always hard when I do an all-nighter. They serve a meal in the middle of the night, and they call it lunch,” he says. “I manage by checking my blood glucose number frequently. I try to eat dinner and follow a schedule, even if dinner is late on the set. I try to order something for my normal time of eating. If there’s a 20-minute lighting break, I test and eat.

Garber says he plans to reevaluate his insulin regimen with his new doctor in Los Angeles.

I’ve heard mixed things about [the rapid-acting insulins],” he says. “I’ve also considered pumping.

Low-Carb Lifestyle and Exercise Have Helped Garber’s Diabetes

Victor Garber’s keen sense of humor shows when asked what he enjoys eating most while on the set.

Everything I can’t eat!” he says.

More seriously, he says a new lower-carbohydrate lifestyle has helped him lower his blood glucose levels.

Without the pasta and bread, I’m a real salad eater. I love meat and I tend to be very careful with desserts. Sometimes I just take a bite and watch the portion size.

Garber says his main concern is low blood glucose levels.

They’ve very tricky. I keep a box of juice by the bed. And I’m very diligent about testing.

Exercise is also key to Garber.

It has really saved my life,” he says, adding that he does 45 minutes on an elliptical machine at home on nongym days.

He also enjoys yoga, Pilates and aerobics.

All of this, combined with meditation, has helped Garber ease the stress in his life and better manage his diabetes.

Your state of mind is crucial to managing this disease,” he says, and he urges people to trust their instincts—to listen to their doctors but to trust their own instincts and to question things that don’t make sense to them in terms of their diabetes management.

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, April 27, 2005

FOX grabbed first among adults 18-49, doing a 5.5 rating in the key demographic, far ahead of the second place tie between ABC and CBS with a 3.5 rating. NBC was fourth with a 2.9 rating, with UPN's 1.7 rating and the 1.4 rating for The WB right behind.

FOX was first for the 9 p.m. hour with "Americal Idol" (14.4/22) and "Stacked" (7.4/11). CBS' episode of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" was second with a 7.7/12. NBC's "Revelations" continued to fall, doing a 6.1/9 for third, still better than "Alias" on ABC. UPN's "Kevin Hill" was fifth, still far outdrawing the 1.4/2 for The WB's "Jack & Bobby."

'Alias' Star Grunberg Juggles 'The Catch' and Charity

But losing a little sleep doesn't bother Grunberg, if it's for a good cause. In this case, he's gotten on the phone to talk about The Pediatric Epilepsy Project at UCLA (PEP), and what he's doing to raise cash for research.

"The charity has grown into this thing that I never thought it would, and it's become incredible," he says. "My son, Jake, got epilepsy. He was having about 200 petit mal seizures a day. It started off as staring spells, and then it progressively got worse.

"We'd gone from doctor to doctor, and finally we were fortunate that we saw Dr. Raman Sankar at UCLA. In talking to the doctors, I was realizing that they were so underfunded that they might have to go under. They need private funding. They've never had a face behind them. So I thought, I'll take this on as my charity, and I'll enlist the help of every celebrity I can to finger-paint for me."

Turned into greeting cards, the finger paintings -- by such celebrities as Jennifer Garner ("Alias"), Teri Hatcher ("Desperate Housewives"), Sylvester Stallone ("The Contender") Sarah Jessica Parker ("Sex and the City") and Ryan Seacrest ("American Idol") -- are sold by KidsArt Inc.

Now Grunberg has branched out into on-line auctioning.

"Gibson Guitars came in," he says, "and said they wanted to donate 50 electric guitars and have celebrities paint them. Now Yamaha Guitars is coming on board, and they want to donate guitars.

"You can go to GuitarCenter.com and then click on "Charity Auction.' The auction ends May 1."

Among those contributing decorated guitars are musicians Alanis Morissette, Brian Wilson, Buddy Guy, Smokey Robinson, Sting, Stevie Nicks, Maroon 5, Mick Fleetwood and Pink. Actors include Anthony Michael Hall ("The Dead Zone"), David Schwimmer ("Friends"), Grunberg, Garner and fellow "Alias" star Michael Vartan, and Josh Holloway ("Lost").

There's also real-estate mogul and "The Apprentice" star Donald Trump, radio star Howard Stern and boxer Oscar de la Hoya.

Grunberg says he also has 20 more celebrity-finger-painted guitars waiting for the next auction go-round.

"The ones up there now are pretty impressive," he says. "I'm surprised at how low some of the bids are. I'm hoping to reach people that can afford to pay what I think they're worth. I mean, Sting!

"And we're having a big event June 2 at Avalon Hollywood, that Guitar Center is behind. There's going to be a huge rock band -- I can't say which right now -- and we're going to be auctioning off guitars there too."

In the meantime, Grunberg keeps working on "The Catch," which casts him as a Los Angeles private eye. Kym Whitley ("Along Came Polly") plays his partner.

"She's a Queen Latifah-type," Grunberg says. "I begrudgingly take her on as my partner, because she buys her way into the P.I. firm. It's like Shrek and Donkey, the relationship. It's great."

He also has Don Rickles playing his grandfather. "It's pretty incredible, working with Hollywood royalty. He's the last of a breed of actors and comedians."

Grunberg will likely find out in May if "The Catch" has been picked up, when ABC announces its fall schedule to advertisers in New York. Since Abrams already has "Lost" and "Alias" airing back-to-back on Wednesday night, the possibility exists of an entire Abrams evening.

Grunberg quips, "J.J. needs to introduce the evening the way Walt Disney used to. 'Sit back, relax and enjoy the next three hours of television.'"

Olin Returns from Dead on 'Alias'

Hey, even double-secret CIA agents can be wrong.

ABC confirmed Thursday (April 21) that Lena Olin, who played Irina during the show's second season and had since resisted creator J.J. Abrams' entreaties to return, will guest-star in the show's final two episodes this season. They're scheduled to air at 10 p.m. ET Wednesday, May 18 (the second of two episodes that night) and May 25 (following the two-hour "Lost" finale).

Reports of Olin's return have been bubbling for several weeks, but ABC is also offering a few details about how her character will be worked into the show's story. After finding out she's alive, Sydney, Jack (Victor Garber) and Nadia (Mia Maestro) will track Irina down and enlist her help in stopping a catastrophe brought on by followers of the mysterious Rambaldi.

Unanswered for now is the question of just how Irina is still alive. Viewers have repeatedly been told that Jack, her former husband, killed her to prevent a hit on their daughter Sydney's life; that would mean she either survived Jack's assassination attempt, or he's not telling all he knows.

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, April 20, 2005

Among adults 18-49, FOX's 4.9 rating led the pack by a comfortable margin. NBC was second in the demographic with a 3.9, followed by ABC, 3.0, and CBS, 2.6. UPN averaged 1.5 and The WB 1.3.

FOX's "American Idol" posted a 13.4/21 at 9 p.m., but its companion, "Life on a Stick," managed only a 5.1/8 at 9:30, giving FOX a 9.3/14 average for the hour. "Revelations" took a sizable dip from its premiere last week but still finished second at 7.6/12. "The King of Queens" and "Yes, Dear" averaged 5.8/9 for CBS, beating the 5.6/9 for "Alias" on ABC. "Kevin Hill" kept UPN in fifth, and The WB trailed with "Jack & Bobby."

Bennifer to Finally Wed?

So go reports that have Oscar winner Ben Affleck newly--or at least likely--engaged to Alias girlfriend Jennifer Garner.

Speaking to E! News, Ken Sunshine, Affleck's publicist, denounced said reports as "garbage."

But there's no easy way to haul away mounting reports on the couple's status.

According to E! Online columnist Ted Casablanca, Affleck flew Garner's kin from West Virginia to California last weekend for a surprise party honoring his leading lady at her Brentwood home. Sunday was Garner's 33rd birthday. But the understanding among the actress' family, Casablanca reported, was that Affleck was to use the bash to propose.

The question apparently was popped in private, Casablanca reported.

Star, meanwhile, noted that Affleck had a 4.5-carat number from Harry Winston "flown in"--from where, it wasn't clear--for the occasion.

Affleck, 32, and Garner have been a somewhat public couple since last fall. If the original Bennifer tandem (comprised of Affleck and Jennifer Lopez) had a knack for dominating the headlines, the all-new Bennifer has a knack for flying under the radar.

The masked big-screen superheroes--Affleck was Daredevil to her Elektra in two movies--have rarely been photographed together at movie-star events. If not for a freak World Series appearance last year, the world might never have had its confirmation of their coupledom. (Garner was spied taking in the Fall Classic with Red Sox diehard Affleck at Boston's Fenway Park.)

The never-yet-wed Affleck previously was engaged to Lopez. That relationship ended amid the wreckage of their box-office bomb, Gigli, and their scuttled September 2003 nuptials.

Garner is a divorcée. She split from Felicity costar Scott Foley in 2003. Their marriage formally ended in March 2004.

Pre-Lopez, Affleck was linked to Shakespeare in Love costar Gwyneth Paltrow. Post-Foley, Garner was linked Alias costar Michael Vartan.

Not that there's a pattern or anything, but Affleck costarred with Garner in 2003's Daredevil prior to their becoming an item. He also cameoed in her 2005 star vehicle, Elektra.

One and Only II

Mama's got a brand-new bag

Kooba Sienna bag

Inspired by Sienna Miller's bohemian-chic look; there's already a waiting list for the bag in a light brown hue (called luggage). The bag also comes in white and cream.

Star power: Carried by Miller (naturally), Katie Holmes, Jennifer Garner, Teri Hatcher

Costs: $560

Get it: Saks Fifth Avenue New York

Louis Vuitton's Monogram Denim bag

Hollywood's venerable high-end handbag gets fun and funky for the spring.

Star power: Identities of the A-list celebs already wait-listed for next month's debut of the Denim bag are top-secret, according to LV. Vuitton's Cerise (cherry) Speedy 25 bag is popular with Carmen Electra and Jessica Simpson.

Costs: Denim bags, with natural leather trim, $1,000-$2,000; with red alligator trim, $4,000-$5,000; Cerise bag, $995

Get it: Vuitton stores, or call 866-Vuitton

Christian Dior's John Galliano Detective bag

Inspired by mystery movies, it comes in three sizes (the largest can hold a change of clothes) and colors (red, black, cream) with lots of pockets.

Star power: Carried by Uma Thurman, Julianne Moore, Christina Aguilera, Penelope Cruz, Elizabeth Hurley

Costs: $1,450-$2,790

Get it: Dior boutiques nationwide

Balenciaga classic bag

Celebs are drooling over the designer's new spring colors, including bright pink and turquoise and "granny green" (think Granny Smith apple). The new leather-trimmed canvas bag is just as hot.

Star power: Carried by Cameron Diaz, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sarah Jessica Parker, Nicky Hilton, Anna Kournikova. Nicole Richie was out March 23 toting the granny-green bag; Ashley Olsen was spotted with the canvas bag on March 22.

Costs: $465-$1,385

Get it: Barneys New York, Maxfields (Los Angeles), Blake (Chicago)

Gucci's Small Studded Flap bag

It comes in several hues (including pink and green), in ostrich, velvet or crocodile, with lots of hardware, a bamboo handle and a zip pocket inside.

Star power: Carried by Jessica Alba and Sarah Jessica Parker

Costs: $4,900

Get it: Select Gucci stores, 800-234-8224

Bulga tassle hobo bag

It's big enough to hold a water bottle, a Sidekick and several movie scripts. And it comes in the hot color for arm candy this spring: yellow.

Star power: Carried by Jessica Simpson, Lindsay Lohan, Mena Suvari

Costs: $390 for medium; $440 for large

Get it: Barneys; bulgausa.com

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, April 13, 2005

The race among adults 18-49 was not as close, as FOX dominated with a 6.9 rating. NBC was second at 4.6, and ABC, 3.0, finished third. CBS averaged 2.5, UPN 1.7 and The WB 1.1.

An hour-long "American Idol" results show won the 9 p.m. hour for FOX, averaging 14.5/22. "Revelations" debuted to a 9.9/15 on NBC, well above the network's season average for the time period. ABC dropped to third with "Alias," 5.2/8. CBS was close behind with "The King of Queens," 5.2/8, and "Yes, Dear," 5.0/7. "Kevin Hill" kept UPN in fifth, beating the return of "Jack & Bobby" on The WB.

Spoilers TV Guide: Ask Ausiello

Question: Is it true that David Anders (Sark) will be coming back for Alias' season finale this year? Do you think J.J. will bring him back just to kill him off? — Grace
Ausiello: That's a negative on Sark, but another famous Alias alum is currently in talks to return for the May 25 climax. (That would be in addition to Lena Olin.)

Ron Rifkin of 'Alias' to Star in Play

The play will open June 9 off-Broadway at the Roundabout Theatre Company's Laura Pels Theatre. Preview performances begin May 13.

Rifkin, 65, is a veteran of Baitz's plays, having appeared off-Broadway in both "The Substance of Fire" (as well as in the film version) and "Three Hotels."

In "The Paris Letter," which will be directed by Doug Hughes, Rifkin portrays an investment counselor confronting his past actions. Also in the cast are John Glover, Daniel Eric Gold, Lee Pace and Michele Pawk.

Rifkin starred in the world premiere of "The Paris Letter," which was done last December in a different production in California.

VARTAN: 'I WAS NOT PUNK'D'

US tabloids reported the former boyfriend of DAREDEVIL star JENNIFER GARNER turned sour when he was made to look foolish during an elaborate prank on the MTV show, when parts of a plane started falling off before he was about to fly.

But Vartan insists he was not the target of the practical joke. He says, "I was never Punk'd on an airplane, so I don't know where they got the story."

But the actor admits the prank would have been a good one, because he's terrified of flying.

He adds, "I'm terrified of flying so to get on an airplane and then had pieces of the plane start falling off, that would be very funny."

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, April 6, 2005

FOX led the way among adults 18-49, scoring a 5.0 rating in the demographic advertisers so dearly love. ABC, 4.2, came in second, beating NBC, 3.3, and CBS, 3.0. UPN averaged 1.3 and The WB 1.1.

FOX moved in front at 9 p.m. with "American Idol," 14.0/21, and "Life on a Stick," 6.4/10. "The West Wing" ended its season on an up note, posting a 7.6/11 for NBC. "Alias," 6.2/9, was third for ABC, beating the 5.8/9 average for "The King of Queens" and "Yes, Dear" on CBS. A second "Smallville" moved The WB ahead of UPN's "Kevin Hill" rerun.

TV Guide: Ask Ausiello

ABC Renews 'Lost,' 'Alias,' 'Housewives'

ABC has ordered second seasons of "Desperate Housewives," "Lost" and "Boston Legal," while lining up a fifth season of "Alias."

"Desperate Housewives" and "Lost" were two of the most buzz-worthy pilots of the last development season and became out-of-the-box hits for ABC.

"Housewives," created by Marc Cherry, has become a genuine phenomenon, averaging 22.8 million viewers per week and partnering with "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" to turn Sunday from a liability into a strength for ABC. In addition delivering to boosting ABC's time period audience by an amazing 180 percent and stirring up countless stories in major press outlets, "Housewives" has become an awards magnet, picking up Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild trophies for outstanding comedy series.

A Golden Globe nominee for best drama, "Lost" has developed one of television's most intense fan bases in less than a season. The J.J. Abrams-produced series has averaged 15.9 million viewers per episode, anchoring ABC's Wednesday line-up.

After several seasons as a critical darling and cult favorite, "Alias" received a major boost when it was paired with "Lost" this winter. Although the drama has been battered by "American Idol" in recent weeks, its viewership of 11.2 million viewers is up by 2.8 million from last season.

Thanks to its "Desperate Housewives" lead-in, "Boston Legal" has averaged 12.5 million viewers. The "Practice" spin-off has been competitive in a tough time slot, though another of ABC's new dramas, "Grey's Anatomy," has performed far better in the same period, which could lead to a new time for "Legal" next season.

Kutcher's Punk'd Leaves Vartan Unimpressed

Most stars - including JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE, HALLE BERRY and SALMA HAYEK - have laughed when they've discovered their mini crises were fictional situations dreamed up by Kutcher.

But, according US WEEKLY, JENNIFER GARNER's ex-boyfriend Vartan was far from amused with the prank chosen for him.

A source says, "They get Michael on a jet, and he finds out the plane is in really bad shape. He wants off, but the pilot and flight attendants won't let him.

"Things are falling off the plane - it's really coming apart and they're telling him, 'No, it's fine, stay.'"

After the prank was revealed, the crew laughed, but a furious Vartan reportedly refused to sign a release for the segment to be broadcast.

Garner Directs May 'Alias' Episode

The episode will feature guest star Joel Grey, appearing on several episodes this spring as a mysterious man impersonating Ron Rifkin's Arvin Sloane, hot on the trail of some Rambaldi secret or other. Amy Irving, who hasn't visited the show since 2003, will also appear as Emily Sloane, which should intrigue regular "Alias" viewers.

Garner is a three-time Emmy nominee for her acting work on "Alias" and she won a Golden Globe in 2002 for her performance as Sydney Bristow. This season, "Alias" is averaging nearly 11.3 million viewers per week thanks to a healthy boost from creator J.J. Abrams' other ABC drama, "Lost."

The May sweeps episode allows Garner to easily trump significant other Ben Affleck, who is also preparing to make his directing debut with his own adaptation of the Dennis Lehane novel "Gone, Baby, Gone."

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, March 30, 2005

FOX took the crown among adults 18-49 with a 5.4 rating, topping ABC's 4.7. NBC's 3.1 was third in the key demographic. CBS averaged 2.8, UPN 1.6 and The WB 1.3.

The 14.7/22 for "American Idol's" results show allowed FOX to carry the 9 p.m. hour despite the failure of "Life on a Stick" (6.0/9) to retain much of that audience. Aided by its lead-in, ABC's "Alias," 6.8/10, bounced back some from recent low ratings. NBC moved up to third for the hour with "The West Wing," 6.4/10, edging the 6.3/10 CBS got from "The King of Queens" and "Yes, Dear." A second hour of "Smallville" moved The WB into fifth, ahead of a "Kevin Hill" repeat on UPN.

FHM's 100 Sexiest Woman

"Angelina Jolie embodies everything that our readers find incredibly sexy," editor in chief Scott Gramling said in a statement Wednesday. "Not only is she stunning, she is intelligent, outspoken and passionate in her beliefs and well-respected the world over for her tireless efforts on behalf of the world's refugee children."

The 29-year-old actress is a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations refugee agency and the mother of Cambodia-born Maddox, whom she adopted. Jolie said she plans to adopt again and her son wants an "African brother."

More than 15 million votes were cast worldwide in the poll.

After Jolie, readers ranked, in order, Jennifer Garner, Paris Hilton, Charlize Theron, Halle Berry, Alyssa Milano, Teri Hatcher, Pamela Anderson, Scarlett Johansson and Lindsay Lohan.

Other notables on the list include British actress Keira Knightley, Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova and Latin actress Sofia Vergara.

Last year's winner, Britney Spears, didn't even make the list of 100.

The sexiest women in the world list is published as a supplement to FHM's May issue, on newsstands April 5.

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, March 23, 2005

FOX held a slight edge among the ad-friendly adults 18-49 demographic, posting a 6.4 rating to edge the 6.3 for CBS. ABC's 2.5 was good for third, beating NBC's 2.4. UPN came in at 1.6 and The WB at 1.1.

FOX moved into the lead at 9 p.m. with the "Idol" do-over, 12.2/18, which was necessitated by a goof in the show's voting procedure on Tuesday. Its ratings were off considerably from a typical Wednesday show, however. CBS aired a repeat of "CSI" in place of its usual comedies and got a 10.0/15. "The West Wing," 6.0/9, moved NBC up to third, while "Alias," 4.5/7, slipped to its lowest total of the season. A second hour of "Smallville" moved The WB ahead of "Kevin Hill" on UPN.

Abrams' 'Catch' Back on Track at ABC

The show, originally about a pair of bounty hunters, first showed up on ABC's development slate last spring. At the time, it was intended as a midseason replacement starring "Alias" and "Felicity" veteran Greg Grunberg and Orlando Jones, with comic Don Rickles in a supporting role.

Jones later departed the show, and late last year writer-producer John Eisendrath, who has worked with Abrams on "Alias," joined the project with an eye toward revamping it.

Eisendrath, who also created ESPN's "Playmakers," has a development deal with Touchstone TV, which is producing "The Catch."

The rewritten pilot, in which Grunberg will play a private eye and single dad, begins filming this week, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Rickles remains on board as Grunberg's grandfather and business partner, while Kym Whitley ("Deliver Us from Eva," "The Parkers") will play their new associate.

Joanne Kelly ("Jeremiah") and Daylia Wallace have also joined the cast, playing Grunberg's sister and daughter.

She's Back! Lena Returns

'Alias' Interruptores al Espanol

So, as if the plot threads on "Alias" weren't enough to keep track of, non-Spanish-speaking viewers will have to read most of the episode as well.

Wednesday's (March 23) episode, which deals primarily with the back story of spy Sydney Bristow's (Jennifer Garner) half-sister Nadia (Mia Maestro), will feature dialogue that's mostly delivered in Spanish. English subtitles will accompany the show.

On one hand, it makes sense, given that the story will fill in details of Nadia's life in Argentina before she started working with Sydney. On the other, it strays from the well-worn movie and TV device of having characters speak a few lines in a foreign language before switching to accented English.

Jeffrey Bell, who co-wrote the episode with Monica Breen, says they were planning to do just that with present-day scenes, while keeping flashback sequences in Spanish. They decided, though, that doing so seemed false.

"The way this happened was fairly organic," Bell tells The New York Times. "And to the network's credit, they said they loved the idea from the get-go."

Breen, who speaks Spanish, and Bell wrote the episode in English and had it translated. Maestro, a native of Buenos Aires, lent a hand by adding some Argentine colloquialisms, the paper says.

In addition to the mostly Spanish dialogue, Wednesday's "Alias" is notable for the fact that Garner, who usually appears in nearly every scene, has only a small amount of screen time. She was laid up for a short time in January after injuring her back in a stunt for the show.

Cooper Cooks in Fox's 'Kitchen'

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, March 16, 2005

Among adults 18-49, FOX's 6.1 rating led the way by a comfortable margin. CBS was second at 4.9, followed by ABC, 3.1, and NBC, 2.7. UPN averaged 1.6 and The WB 0.8.

FOX dominated at 9 p.m. with the "Idol" results show, 14.9/23, and "The Simple Life 3," 8.3/13. CBS dropped to second with "The King of Queens," 7.1/11, and "Yes, Dear," 6.8/11. "The West Wing," 6.5/10, moved NBC into third, while "Alias" managed only a 5.6/8 for ABC. UPN stayed in fifth with a "Kevin Hill" rerun. The WB aired a repeat of "Jack & Bobby."

Season Program Rankings: #31 out of 180

Jennifer Garner to make directorial debut

Rich and Famous that own SGT Tables

Stars step up to the mike

Garner's new man? Her Alias TV dad, Victor Garber. But fret not, there's no Elektra complex going on here. Garner and Garber came together to perform the Stephen Sondheim song Side by Side at the Alzheimer's Association's 13th annual "A Night at Sardi's" gala.

"I am not a singer, nor do I have any real ambition to be," admitted Garner, who wore a black Nicole Miller dress. "But I did sing a bit in musicals when I was starting out." Her musical résumé includes Lil' Abner, Nunsense 2 and in the seventh grade, a chorus role in Barnum.

Garber, who rehearsed his big musical number with Garner on the Alias set in her trailer, recalled his very first "musical" was his bar mitzvah at age 13, "and I was very good in it."

Among the amused ticket holders was the eye-popping pair of the night: Burt Reynolds, 69, with Angie Dickinson, 73. Reynolds recently wrapped his stint in Louisiana playing Boss Hogg in the big-screen Dukes of Hazzard remake.

His Hogg will be all decked out in white like the TV original, but there will be one difference: "Mine is a lot more arrogant," he said. Reynolds most enjoyed working alongside Jessica Simpson in her Daisy Dukes. "She really got in shape," said the actor, who bonded on the set with Simpson's grandpa, who, like Reynolds, was a football jock. "If I'd had Jessica's legs, I would have been All-American."

The celebrity lineup also included three singing cast members from Desperate Housewives- Brenda Strong (Mary Alice), Andrea Bowen (Julie) and Sharon Lawrence (Maisy), who all offered up some inside news on the show.

Strong, who narrates each episode, was dismayed that one of her rare on-camera scenes recently was cut. The scene, which likely will be inserted in a later episode, showed Mary Alice with witchy neighbor Felicia Tilman (Harriet Sansom Harris) working together at a Utah institution, where, teased Strong, they interacted with a patient "whose identity will be a big surprise."

Bowen, 15, has been having fun working with her new TV grandma, Lesley Ann Warren, whose character will prove to be just as much a klutz as her daughter Susan (Teri Hatcher).

"When you first see her, she's been in some sort of accident," Bowen says. And Lawrence's dominatrix/prostitute returns to cause more trouble on the next original Desperate Housewives airing March 27 on ABC.

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, March 9, 2005

FOX also led among adults 18-49, posting a 6.8 rating in the demographic advertisers covet. ABC, 4.0, finished second, while CBS's 3.0 nipped NBC's 2.9 for third. UPN averaged 1.6 and The WB 0.9.

At 9 p.m., "American Idol," 15.7/23, combined with "The Simple Life 3," 8.5/13, to give FOX a big lead. NBC moved up to second with "The West Wing," 6.8/10. "Alias" was third for ABC with a 6.4/10. CBS dropped to fourth with a "King of Queens" repeat, 5.5/8, and "Yes, Dear," 6.2/9. A rerun of "Kevin Hill" kept UPN in fifth, ahead of The WB's "Jack & Bobby" repeat.

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, March 2, 2005

FOX still finished first among adults 18-49, although its 5.8 rating was considerably lower than in recent weeks. ABC took second in the demographic with a 4.7, followed by NBC, 3.8; and CBS, 3.3; UPN, 2.0; and The WB, 1.3.

The "Idol" results show, 14.2/21, and "The Simple Life 3," 8.1/12, combined to give FOX the lead at 9 p.m. NBC held onto second with "The West Wing," 7.3/11. "The King of Queens" and "Yes, Dear" averaged 6.9/10 for CBS, good enough to beat "Alias," 6.7/10, on ABC. The finale of "The Road to Stardom with Missy Elliott" kept UPN in fifth. The WB's "Jack & Bobby" trailed.

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2005

Among adults 18-49, FOX's 7.5 rating led the field by a substantial margin. ABC finished second in the demographic with a 5.0, followed by CBS at 3.5 and NBC at 3.0. The WB averaged 1.5 and UPN 1.2.

FOX dominated at 9 p.m. with the first "American Idol" results show of the season, drawing a 15.6/23. CBS held onto second place with "The King of Queens," 7.0/10, and "Yes, Dear," 6.7/10. NBC moved up one spot to third with "The West Wing," 6.6/10. ABC's "Alias" dropped way off from its lead-in, finishing at 6.2/9. UPN's "Kevin Hill," 1.9/3, was fifth, beating "Jack & Bobby" on The WB.

Gina Torres Assumes a Former 'Alias'

Anna was last seen in season one, having one of her many battles with secret agent Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner). With the show now in its fourth season, where's Anna been all this time?

"She was presumed dead," Torres says. "It's almost a guarantee they'll bring you back. You never see me die. I just sort of disappear into the night. I think their way of explaining it was, they have a conversation, trying to bring everybody up to speed, and they said, 'I thought she was dead.'"

In real life, Torres went on to do "Firefly," followed by stints on Whedon's "Angel" on The WB, along with FOX's "24." She also appeared in "Matrix Reloaded" and "Matrix Revolutions," which starred her husband, Laurence Fishburne.

"The timing was just wrong for three years," Torres says. "It was incredibly frustrating because I loved the show, and I wanted a piece of all that, what was going on, especially because Anna was introduced in such a wonderful way. So I thought it was incredibly flattering and so wonderful that they, every year, kept me in mind. When it happened, it happened in a great way."

Torres' episodes are "Echoes," airing Wednesday, Feb. 23, and "A Man of His Word," airing Wednesday, March 2 (9 p.m. ET, both nights).

Also returning for the two is David Anders, reprising his role as the nefarious assassin Julian Sark.

"Anna and Sark have a thing," Torres says, "but it may not be the kind of thing people were thinking."

During Anna's first appearance, she had several knock-down, drag-outs with Sydney, and proved to be her match. But while some things may have changed, Anna's chief opponent hasn't.

"Who else would I be fighting with?" Torres says. "There's only one woman for me. It's Miss Jen. But she's gotten better. I have to say, when we were going over our first fight sequence, I was like, 'OK, she's gotten better. Four years ago, she was a very green agent, now she's got all these moves. Whoah, whoah, wait a minute ...'

"It was a lot more fun when I wiped the floor with her."

Since Whedon moved Torres from "Firefly" to "Angel," one wonders whether "Alias" creator J.J. Abrams might shift her to his other show, the plane-crash drama "Lost," which airs right before "Alias" on ABC.

"I saw J.J. Abrams at the Golden Globes," Torres says, "and he had seen my 'Alias' episodes. They had just been put together and edited, and he was really happy with them. He said, 'Would you come back?', and I said, 'Of course, I would come back, just call. And if you need me to run out of the jungle at some point, I'd be happy to do that, too.'

"So who knows, I'm just an actress looking for work. What can I tell you?"

We Hear...

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2005

"Idol" also propelled FOX to a win among adults 18-49; the network posted a 7.8 rating in the demographic. ABC took second at 4.8, followed by CBS, 3.4, and NBC, 3.2. The WB averaged 1.6 and UPN 1.2.

At 9 p.m., "American Idol" chose its 24 semifinalists and grabbed a 15.4/23, by far the night's best rating. The rest of the Big Four were tightly bunched, with ABC's "Alias," 6.9/10, in second, and NBC's "The West Wing" in third at 6.8/10. "The King of Queens" and the return of "Yes, Dear" combined to average 6.6/10 for CBS. UPN and The WB switched spots as "Kevin Hill" edged "Jack & Bobby" for fifth.

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2005

The story was similar among adults 18-49, with FOX's 7.7 rating leading the way. ABC took second with a 5.5, followed by CBS, 3.6, and NBC, 3.0. The WB posted a 1.7 in the demographic and UPN a 1.1.

"American Idol," 15.5/23, more than doubled the ratings of its closest competitor, ABC's "Alias" (7.1/10), at 9 p.m. An hour's worth of "The King of Queens" was third for CBS, while "The West Wing," 6.5/10, couldn't pull NBC out of fourth. The WB's "Jack & Bobby" and UPN's "Kevin Hill" tied for fifth.

Just Folks

11th Annunal Screen Actors Guild Award Results

Drea De Matteo / THE SOPRANOS - Adriana La Cerva - HBO
Edie Falco / THE SOPRANOS - Carmela Soprano - HBO
Jennifer Garner / ALIAS - Sydney Bristow - ABC- *Winner*
Allison Janney / THE WEST WING - C.J. Cregg - NBC
Christine Lahti / JACK & BOBBY - Grace McCallister - The WB

'Alias' Welcomes Familiar Faces for Sweeps

David Anders, who's played the oily, villainous Mr. Sark on the series since midway through its first season, and Gina Torres, who had a recurring role in season one, will be back for two episodes each in sweeps, ABC says -- and based on what the network is saying about the episodes, their characters may be linked.

The two will first appear in the episode scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 23, which finds Nadia's (Mia Maestro) life in jeopardy. To save her, Sydney (Jennifer Garner) has to hunt down her former rival Anna Espinosa (Torres), who hasn't surfaced in several years.

Vaughn (Michael Vartan) tries to help Sydney save her half-sister, but to do so, he has to confront Sark, who both cuckolded him and ran his wife, Lauren, as a double agent last season.

Torres and Anders will also appear in the March 2 episode, which finds Sydney and Vaughn still on the hunt for Anna. Sark agrees to help find her, but only for a stiff price.

Anders was a regular on "Alias" the past two seasons but was dropped from the cast this year. Creator J.J. Abrams has said that with the structure of this season's story arc, there wouldn't be a plausible way to feature Sark in every episode.

Book Review: Uncovering Alias

Click here to purchase the book.

Uncovering Alias:
An Unofficial Guide To The Show

If so, this is the book for you. TV Guide has called it "one of TV's most enjoyable escapist hours ever." But what is the show about? Ask 10 viewers of the show and you'll probably get 10 different answers. Uncovering Alias is here to help solve your questions.

Agent Sydney Bristow is a woman with problems. She is continually manipulated by her father, her mother abandoned her, she lies to her friends, she's in love with a co-worker, and her boss is a criminal. And you thought being an undercover agent was a difficult lifestyle to manage . . .

Filled with intelligence, intrigue, and eye-catching costumes, Alias hit the screens on September 30, 2001, and continues to surprise audiences worldwide. Known for its gutsy storylines, unique five-act format, and award-winning cast, this spy show challenges the viewers as much as it does its heroine, Sydney Bristow. Uncovering Alias takes you into Sydney's labyrinthine world and offers helpful hints on how to guide your way through it.

Written as a companion to the show, the book features:

- biographies of recurring cast members
- a map of Rambaldi artifacts uncovered by the operatives along with a complete list of what the artifacts are and why each one is significant
- a list of the best Alias Web sites
- a CIA quiz for trivia enthusiasts
- a history of the series and its accomplishments, including behind-the-scenes information on how each episode is put together
- an extensive episode guide to the first three seasons that helps explain the complexities of the show, including background of the guest stars, music used in each show, in-depth analysis of character development, and interesting facts

Nikki Stafford is the author of several best-selling pop culture books (including the upcoming Once Bitten), and contributor to the Globe and Mail and the anthology Girls Who Bite Back (Sumach Press). Robyn Burnett is the author of Crash into Me. Both live in Toronto.

Uncovering Alias
An Unofficial Guide To The Show
By Nikki Stafford and Robyn Burnett
1-55022-653-3
385 pp, paper
$17.95 U.S., $19.95 CDN
October 2004
Entertainment/Television

Grunberg Hopes He'll Be 'Lost' Again

Several months after an unnamed pilot, played by Greg Grunberg, crashed a plane full of passengers into an uncharted and mysterious island and launched the "Lost" phenomenon, the actor is hoping his alter ego is primed for an unlikely comeback.

"I would love to do like a Mamas and Papas moment where I'm eating some chicken and I choke on a chicken bone and the plane goes down," Grunberg cracks. "That would be kinda cool, a Mama Cass airline moment."

J.J. Abrams, who has used Grunberg as an actor and good luck charm in "Felicity," "Alias" and now "Lost," is more than amenable to bring back his kindergarten chum.

"We have discussed a couple stories where that would happen," Abrams admits. "Part of it is that it's just fun for me to have Greg on the show, so it's just selfish in that regard, and part of it's because I just think there's a cool story to tell about the pilot's point of view."

In addition to snagging a Hawaiian vacation for his buddy, bringing Grunberg back to "Lost" would continue a creative partnership that lets both men operate in shorthand.

"J.J. has such a very specific idea of what he wants, and to try to get into his head is next to impossible," Grunberg says. "We have the same sensibility, so when he writes, he writes right for me. His dialogue just flows. I don't have to even think about it."

For over a year, Abrams and Grunberg have been developing "The Catch," a bounty hunter drama for ABC. The series looked set to film a pilot last fall with Grunberg and Orlando Jones starring, but the busy Abrams had to push it back, a move that led to Jones departing the project. Now "The Catch" looks like it's ready to go again as soon as Grunberg, who will also serve as a producer, and Abrams can find somebody to replace Jones in the cast that also includes Don Rickles and Kym Whitley. Abrams still hopes to direct the "Catch" pilot, but with "Alias" and "Lost" in production, at least two other network pilots in development and a little film called "Mission: Impossible 3" on the horizon, there aren't any guarantees.

"ABC really wants to make it," Grunberg explains. "J.J. and I want to make it the best. It's got to be in incredible shape or else we don't want to do it. We may put it off a little bit, but chances are I think we're going to do it."

If "The Catch" were to go to series, Grunberg's Agent Weiss would likely have to exit "Alias." Grunberg was temporarily written off two years ago when NBC picked up "It's Not About Me," a series with Jason Bateman which never aired.

"I don't know how they're going to deal with my potential exit should I have one," he says. "Before, when I went off to do that other show, they shot me. I've been shot a few times on the show. Jen [Garner] shot me in the chest, but it wasn't really a shot. Lena Olin shot me in the head. J.J. just won't kill me. Even on 'Lost,' he killed me, but it's sorta that 'Twilight Zone' kill where I could come back in some way."

ABC's Ad Trick Holds Viewers

Typically, one-hour dramas start with a short scene, run the opening titles and then cut to a commercial. But now ABC's shows start with a complete "act" to get viewers fully hooked before they bring in the first ad. That's why the Alias season premiere ran a full 20 minutes before the credits rolled.

ABC's shows also have action after the last set of commercials, so there are no breaks between programs (when viewers reach for their remotes most). ABC executives who have looked at minute-by-minute Nielsen ratings say they've seen a "pretty dramatic" improvement. So expect NBC and CBS to follow suit.

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2005

Among adults 18-49, FOX's 8.7 rating was more than double that of its closest competition, CBS (4.0). ABC was a close third at 3.9. NBC averaged 2.8, The WB 1.4 and UPN 0.9.

"The Simple Life 3" won the 9 p.m. hour for FOX with an 8.2/12 despite losing nearly half of "Idol's" viewers. An hour of "The King of Queens" on CBS posted a 7.5/11, narrowly beating ABC's "Alias," 7.4/11 (ABC had more total viewers for the hour). "The West Wing" overcame its weak lead-in to finish a competitive fourth at 7.1/11. UPN and The WB switched places in the hour, with "Kevin Hill" edging out "Jack & Bobby" for fifth.

No Escape

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2005

The story was similar among adults 18-49, with FOX's 8.2 rating and ABC's 5.8 well ahead of the rest of the pack. CBS and NBC tied for third at 3.2. The WB averaged 1.1 and UPN 0.9.

ABC moved into the lead at 9 p.m. with "Alias," 8.7/13. "The King of Queens" and "Center of the Universe" averaged 7.6/11 for CBS, beating the 7.3/11 for "The West Wing" on NBC. The premiere of "Point Pleasant" on FOX, 7.0/11, lost more than half the "Idol" audience, but that's not out of line with what other shows have done in the post-"AI" slot. UPN's "Kevin Hill" and The WB's "Big Man on Campus" tied for fifth.

Golden Globe Results

TELEVISION

Lead Actress -- Drama Series
Edie Falco, "The Sopranos," HBO
Jennifer Garner, "Alias," ABC
Mariska Hargitay, "Law & Order: SVU," NBC- Winner
Christine Lahti, "Jack & Bobby," The WB
Joely Richardson, "Nip/Tuck," FX

Drama Series
"24," FOX
"Deadwood," HBO
"Lost," ABC
"Nip/Tuck," FX- Winner
"The Sopranos," HBO

'Coach Carter' Outraces 'Stripes,' Shocks 'Elektra'

Second through fourth place went to "Meet the Fockers" -- which dropped to No. 2 in the first time in four weeks since its debut -- with $19 mil, the talking animal family comedy "Racing Stripes" with $14 mil and the expansion of the Dennis Quaid office comedy "In Good Company," which took in $13.9 mil.

"Elektra" barely made it into the Top 5 with a measly $12.5 million for its 3,000-plus screens. No doubt universally bad reviews, which even compared it poorly to its critically panned predecessor "Daredevil," helped moviegoers look elsewhere for entertainment.

The highest per-screen average goes to Clint Eastwood's boxing drama "Million Dollar Baby," which earned a hefty $14,262 for its 122 screens. The film, which stars Hilary Swank as a tenacious female pugilist has been receiving critical attention and is a strong contender for best picture in the drama category at Sunday's (Jan. 16) Golden Globe awards.

Increasing their theater runs are "Andrew Lloyd Weber's The Phantom of the Opera," "House of Flying Daggers" and "Hotel Rwanda," which each improved by 4 percent, 223 percent and 32 percent, respectively.

Overall, the Top 12 films this weekend earned $115.7 million, a significant 23 percent increase over the box-office take the same weekend in 2004.

These are estimates by Exhibitor Relations, which tracks box office receipts daily. Please check back Tuesday afternoon for final figures

'Elektra' is a fight to the finish

On the couple of occasions that Garner does lighten up, one is reminded of how much more engaging she is in a romantic comedy. It's great to have a female action star who can go toe-to-toe with the toughest guys, but the price paid is a lack of depth and humanity.

Granted, Elektra is targeted to the youthful and largely male fans of the comic-book-movie genre, but surely a more substantive story wouldn't have put off die-hard fans. Look at both Spider-Man movies: They had substance as well as style and dazzling action.

This story tries to inject a human element by giving us Elektra's tragic back story (in a tiresome set of flashbacks) and a semi-romance (including adolescent dialogue) with the also-mysterious Mark Miller (Goran Visjnic). Left scarred as a girl by the death of her mother, Elektra bonds with Abby, Mark's strong-willed daughter (Kirsten Prout).

Complicating things is a syndicate of menacing warriors, collectively called "The Hand" and individually possessing such catchy names as Stone, Typhoid and Tattoo. These martial-arts killers are hell-bent on capturing Abby and taking Elektra down. Tattoo's illustrations come to life and attack or provide tactical locations, depending on the species. Tattooed eagles serve as some sort of aerial GPS locator device, and painted snakes slither off the warrior's toned abs and attack Abby. It's not clear why, but hey, it's a comic-book movie.

Elektra has her own ace in the hole, which, mystifyingly, she doesn't use until pressed. She's schooled in mystical arts that allow her to see into the future and sometimes change it. Elektra was the prize pupil of the inexplicably named Stick, a blind master (Terence Stamp, who gives the movie some class).

Initially, Elektra dutifully takes murder assignments from her "agent." Obedient killing machine that she is, she dons her red leather bustier and low-riding crimson killer pants, grabs her knives and asks no questions. But she grows soft upon meeting Mark and Abby. When she protects Abby from the murderous Hand, the young girl gushes, "You gave me my life back." Elektra responds, "And you gave me mine back." One wonders, who will give us our two hours back?

ABC Greenlights Pilots from Abrams, Cassidy

Shaun Cassidy ("Cold Case," "The Agency") and the team of Gina Matthews and Grant Scharbo ("Jake 2.0") are behind the other two pilots, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The Bad Robot project is called "Pros and Cons." Written by Raven Metzner and Stu Zicherman ("Elektra"), it follows a group of con artists recruited to work for the FBI. Abrams will executive produce with the two writers.

In addition to "Pros and Cons," Bad Robot is also producing a drama for ABC called "What About Brian?," and Abrams is working on a comedy project with "Saturday Night Live" alum Cheri Oteri. The "Lost" and "Alias" chief is also in line to direct two feature films: "Mission: Impossible 3" and the just-announced "The Good Sailor."

Cassidy, meanwhile, looks to be venturing into the territory he mined in his creepy mid-1990s series "American Gothic" with "Invasion," a pilot about strange doings in a Florida town recovering from a hurricane. He's writing and executive producing the Warner Bros. TV pilot.

"The Mountain" creator Scharbo and Matthews will executive produce "Laws of Chance," a legal show about an unconventional female prosecutor. It's based on the life of Kelly Siegler, an assistant district attorney in Houston. Gary Glasberg ("Crossing Jordan") is writing the script.

11th Annunal Screen Actors Guild Award Nominations

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series

Drea De Matteo / THE SOPRANOS - Adriana La Cerva - HBO
Edie Falco / THE SOPRANOS - Carmela Soprano - HBO
Jennifer Garner / ALIAS - Sydney Bristow - ABC
Allison Janney / THE WEST WING - C.J. Cregg - NBC
Christine Lahti / JACK & BOBBY - Grace McCallister - The WB

Alias Forum/Message Board

Film Review: Elektra

Deftly defying those odds, along comes "Elektra" to effectively lower the bar for Marvel Comics page-to-screen transitions.

While Jennifer Garner's Elektra Natchios was responsible for lending what little spark 2003's "Daredevil" had, her own vehicle is a ponderously inert, disjointed drag that's anything but live action.

With the core comic book audience likely to give this one the cold shoulder, overall box office results should be similarly static, leaving Fox to hope for better things from its summer release of "Fantastic Four."

Looking no worse for wear considering she was killed off in the last movie -- a series of flashbacks reveal that she was brought back to life by her blind mentor, Stick (Terence Stamp) -- the resurrected Elektra is morosely living the life of a contract killer.

But when her next assignment turns out to be the man, Mark (Goran Visnjic), and his teenage daughter, Abby (Kirsten Prout), who happened to have invited her over for Christmas dinner the night before, Elektra is abruptly drawn out of the catatonic trance that is her current existence.

It turns out her would-be targets are on the run from the Hand, a nasty crime syndicate whose members, with names like Typhoid, Tattoo and Stone, practice the deadly martial art of ninjitsu.

Seeing a lot of her young self in Abby, Elektra takes on the Hand while reflecting on the traumatic childhood events that made her the lone-wolf, conflicted, cynical heroine without any tangible superhuman powers that she is today.

As she briefly demonstrated in "Daredevil," Garner was up for much more than wearing a permanent scowl and offing the occasional bad guy with one of her lethal blades. Watching her bide her time here, you keep thinking if this was "Alias," her Sydney Bristow character would have ditched the dull Elektra disguise in favor of something a lot more fun.

According to the credits, there is a script (by Zak Penn and Stuart Zicherman & Raven Metzner), but it seems to have been jettisoned in favor of ragged plot fragments and the dream sequence/flashback combos favored by director Rob Bowman.

Bowman is best known as the director of numerous episodes of "The X-Files" and the "X-Files" movie, which should come as no surprise given that so much of "Elektra" looks like it could have been shot on the series' same Vancouver set.

When all the endless posturing is finally interrupted by an actual fight sequence, the perfunctory choreography barely finds a pulse, while the cost-conscious visual effects do little to lift the listless production out of its murky funk.

Cast: Elektra Natchios: Jennifer Garner; Stick: Terence Stamp; Abby: Kirsten Prout; Mark: Goran Visnjic; Roshi: Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa; Kirigi: Will Yun Lee; Tattoo: Chris Ackerman; Kinkou: Edson T. Ribeiro; Typhoid: Natassia Malthe; Stone: Bob Sapp.

Director: Rob Bowman; Screenwriters: Zak Penn and Stuart Zicherman & Raven Metzner; Producers: Arnon Milchan, Gary Foster, Avi Arad; Executive producers: Stan Lee, Mark Steven Johnson, Brent O'Connor; Director of photography: Bill Roe; Production designer: Graeme Murray; Editor: Kevin Stitt; Costume designer: Lisa Tomczeszyn; Music: Christophe Beck.

Fast National ratings for Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2005

ABC averaged a 9.5 rating/15 share for the night, easily beating second-place CBS, 7.8/12. NBC took third with a 7.3/11, followed by FOX at 4.9/7. UPN's 1.9/3 was good for fifth, beating The WB's 1.6/2.

At 9 p.m., "Alias" (9.2/14) was off a good bit from its premiere last week, but it still won the hour comfortably and is way ahead of its previous seasons' ratings. NBC moved up to second with "The West Wing," 7.8/12. "The King of Queens," 7.6/11, and "Center of the Universe," 6.4/10, were third for CBS. FOX's "Supernanny" had another solid night with a 6.2/9. UPN stayed in fifth with a "Kevin Hill" repeat. The WB went with "Big Man on Campus."

Jennifer Garner's life in pictures

Yet here she is, pointing out the beauty of picture-taking at a recent stroll through the Getty Museum atop the Santa Monica Mountains overlooking Los Angeles.

"See how simple the pictures seem to be?" she says, gesturing at the photographs from the museum's Close to Home: An American Album exhibit, a collection of men posing by their cars, women standing by their babies, families gathering by their dilapidated homes.

"But you capture enough of life - real life - and it somehow becomes something artistic," Garner says. "There's such beauty to those honest moments."

No one would blame Garner if she never wanted to see another snapshot. The 32-year-old actress has graced fashion and tabloid magazine covers since she took Hollywood by storm in 2001 with her TV series Alias, a cult favorite.

Tuesday, she received a Screen Actors Guild nomination for her role as grad-student-turned-spy Sydney Bristow. Friday, her new movie, Elektra opens, a sequel to 2003's Daredevil. Last year, she starred in the romantic comedy 13Going on 30 and next, she'll star in the drama Catch and Release.

That attention has been amplified by Hollywood's dating scene. Since divorcing Felicity co-star Scott Foley, her off-screen relationships have drawn almost as many headlines as her work. A brief relationship with Alias co-star Michael Vartan was a paparazzi warm-up for current beau Ben Affleck.

Garner can't even check into the hospital without sparking a swarm of rumors and photographer stakeouts. Garner was admitted to a Los Angeles hospital last week with pain from nerve damage she suffered doing stunts for Alias and Elektra. Although still seeing doctors for the nerve damage, she recuperated enough to attend a Las Vegas premiere for Elektra over the weekend.

Yet she seems more at home off the red carpet than on it. On a stroll a few weeks ago through the Getty, as she ticks off the finer points of still photography and Cézanne, you forget you're with one of the most hounded actresses on the planet.

Perhaps that's because she seems to forget. To understand Garner, you must realize that she still considers herself a "goober" from Charleston, W. Va. It's an identity she defends fiercely.

"It's easy in this town to forget where you came from and that you will always be that person," she says over a chicken Caesar salad lunch at the museum. "If you forget where you come from, you'll start forgetting how fortunate you are. I don't ever want to forget that I'm just a girl like any other who got really lucky."

Well, a girl like any other whose luck includes a reported $3 million a film and $150,000 for every episode of Alias.

In her latest movie, she plays Elektra Natchios, reprising her superheroine from Daredevil, the film that introduced her to Affleck.

While the first film took in more than $100 million, Elektra is by no means a sure thing. Comic-book adaptations have struggled of late: Hellboy and The Punisher each failed to take in more than $60 million last year. Spider-Man 2 was the only comic-book film in 2004 to crack the top 25; it made $373.4 million.

Comic-book movies anchored by women are even riskier. Catwoman, the $100 million train wreck starring Halle Berry (news), managed only $40.2 million last year. And that was the highest-grossing comic-book adaptation centered on a heroine, according to industry trackers Box Office Mojo.

Garner is disarming in showing her nervousness - and nerdiness.

When Elektra died in the Daredevil (comic-book) series, the readers were really upset," she says. "Which is why Frank Miller created this comic book: to give her her own story line. I'm not that worried about the box office. But I want the fans to like it. I want it to be the Elektra they know in the books. So, yes, I'm scared to death."

The nerves don't come from lack of preparation. Garner was on the set in Vancouver, B.C., most days before 4 a.m. to train with the array of weapons her character wields.

"It's about being comfortable with the weapon, being able to spin it in any direction and look like you've had them in your hands since you were a kid," fight choreographer Mike Gunther says. "Jennifer had definitely mastered that."

She also has learned a thing or two about superheroes since Daredevil. She claims to have met a real-life one shooting that movie.

During a complicated stunt with wires, Garner became entangled in the harness and went plunging toward a wall. Still dressed in his Daredevil costume, Affleck raced up and caught her before she hit the wall. "He was like Superman," she said.

But those comments came two years ago, during a lunch to promote Daredevil. Now, she won't talk about Affleck at all. She has a firm policy of not speaking about her love life, past or present.

J.J. Abrams, a friend of Garner's and producer of Alias, says her relationship with Vartan has not tarnished their on-screen relationship. Indeed, he says, the breakup could help maintain their chemistry.

"There are scenes where they're together and romantically involved, and there are scenes where they are physically fighting," he says. "They're adults. They knew what they were getting into, and they're being professionals now. And oddly, when people are together, that's when it can get disruptive."

Back at the museum, Garner says she sees a disruption coming, and she's apologetic. "Listen, we're going to turn the corner, and it may be bad," she says. "I'm sorry."

While strolling the gardens of the Getty, Garner is recognized by several teenagers. "Jennifer!" they shout. "Hey, it's Jennifer Garner!"

Garner casts her eyes down as she approaches the bend where she suspects the teens await. But the halls are clear, and the smile and bounce to her step return.

"I'm more used to it than I used to be," she concedes. "But it still takes getting used to."

Call her name, and she'll look away. Say nothing, look her in the eyes and smile, and she'll be the first to say hello. When she asks a custodian for directions, she says, "Thank you, ma'am."

The politeness, the shyness are vestiges of being one of three daughters to a chemical engineer (Bill) and an English teacher (Pat). She is protective of her family, saying the paparazzi bother her only when they descend on her parents' Charleston home. "You want to hound me here in Los Angeles, fine. You want to go crazy over me and my dog (a Lab named Martha Stewart) at the dog park, go crazy. But why stake out my parents' home? I wish I had a good answer for why there needs to be a new picture of me every day, but I guess that comes with the territory."

By the time she enters the Cézanne exhibit, the edge is gone from her voice. She's back to her childhood, when her father would fly the family with his frequent-flier miles to expose his children to art at the Louvre in Paris.

"We'd literally get a big tub of peanut butter and take it with us for lunch. We didn't have much money, but Dad wanted us to know the arts. That's why I'm here today, doing this silly thing for a living."

And she hopes she never becomes too big-city to take it for granted. On the elevator leaving the museum, she strikes up a conversation with a couple and their 2-year-old daughter, Sydney - the same name as her character on Alias.

"What a cutie," she says.

Garner pauses, turns a full circle. "Now where did I put the car?" And she's off. A girl like any other, lost in the parking lot.

Abrams Sets Sail with USS Indianapolis Tragedy

The heavy cruiser was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine in the Philippine Sea. Hundreds went down with the ship, but about 900 sailors were left in shark-infested waters. The ship was never missed, and by the time the survivors were spotted by accident five days later, only 316 remained. The ship's captain, Charles McVay III, was later court-martialed for the incident, the only World War II Navy captain to be court-martialed for losing his ship.

In the late 1990s, Hunter Scott, a seventh-grader from Pensacola, Fla., decided to do a school project on the event after watching "Jaws," in which the incident is recalled in a monologue. Beginning by contacting survivors, the boy's project generated publicity that led to a re-examination of the incident and McVay's exoneration in 2001 of culpability in the loss of the ship and its crew members.

Combining elements of the past and present, Brent Hanley's ("Holes") script will focus on the 12-year-old boy and his relationship with one of the ship's survivors, whom he forces to deal with the haunting events of 1945.

In addition to his work on the ABC hits "Lost" and "Alias," Abrams is preparing to direct Tom Cruise in "Mission: Impossible 3" for Paramount Pictures.

Blackwell's Best & Worst Dressed

"In barely there bombs, she's a taste-free pain. Let's crown her the Tacky Temptress of Wisteria Lane," he wrote in a statement released Tuesday.

Lindsay Lohan was the next target of the acid-tongued critic, who called the starlet "over-hyped and under-dressed."

Blackwell gave kudos, however, to "fabulous fashion independents" Nicole Kidman, Natalie Portman, Barbara Walters, Kate Winslet, Annette Bening , Oprah Winfrey, Scarlett Johansson, Gwen Stefani, Jennifer Garner and Sheridan's on-screen nemesis Teri Hatcher.

This is the 45th year that Blackwell, a former fashion designer, has offered his best- and worst-dressed list.

Last year's worst-dressed star, hotel heiress Paris Hilton of "The Simple Life," dropped to No. 5. "This is one Hilton that should be closed for renovation!" according to Blackwell.

Other fashion losers include Anna Nicole Smith, Meryl Streep, Paula Abdul, Britney Spears, Courtney Love and Serena Williams — who Blackwell described as "courting disaster."

Sisters Jessica and Ashlee Simpson tied for third place. "These two prove that bad taste is positively genetic!" Blackwell said.

Blackwell said he couldn't wait to bid farewell to 2004, the year of many "wardrobe malfunctions."

He added: Here's hoping 2005 takes the ultra-feminine look to new heights. Elegance, classicism and restraint are never out of style. Neither is a good 3-way mirror."