From Oscar bitching to marital stitching, girl- and boy-friends, do we have hot ‘n’ bothered T-town buzz today, thanks to Mr. Will Smith & Co. Oh, and, don’t ferget to take a (very oily) stroll down that de-lish Blind Vice alley, ‘kay?
Just back from filming a part on that fab soap of all soaps, General Hospital (played a reporter, and the General powers that be had the effrontery to ask me to be less jovial, simply because I was interviewing a victim from a tragic bombing, can you imagine?), and just take a guess what films right next to doctors' soaper? Yep, Grey's Anatomy, that real-life soap opera, these days, the one costarring my Golden Globes gloves opponent, Isaiah Washington.
Not only was the gab then (Wednesday) that the errant slur-slinger might be coming back to the set, I told everybody I thought Isaiah should check himself right into Port Charles' General Hospital, maybe for a little head transplant, or somethin'. And wouldncha know it? Somebody, turns out, from Grey's
is coming over to GH for her own little cameo—Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes. Too fun, can't wait.
Still think Ms. R.'s turn should be followed by Washington for some major noggin surgery, but whatev.
Now, back to Will Smith's big night being honored as a Modern Master at the Santa Barbara Film Fest. I just adore this Philly native, don't you? Not only is he a fab actor, but he's a real toughie, trust. I asked Will what his own hardest time in this backstabbing enclave was.
"I've had some difficult times in my life," the seemingly happy-go-lucky guy mused. "I'd say the most recent was my divorce from my first marriage."
W.S. shed some more light on the split from his first wife, Sheree Smith, while discussing getting too much into character for his first serious role during his onstage sit-down.
"I've never really said this publicly," he fessed, "but I believe Six Degrees of Separation is what precipitated my first divorce. I believe that I got so lost in the character that who was Will and who was Paul became indistinguishable."
"I'm not gonna do that anymore, baby!" he yelled to current wife Jada Pinkett Smith. "I got it together now!"
I coulda puked—but hey, I'm just a jaded ass-wipe, so don't pay any attention to moi.
Now, it appears Will has more in common with his character in Happyness than one might expect, starting with former financial problems.
"I had some tax trouble...the IRS took all my stuff," he said of his final days in Philly, before moving to L.A. "I thought, 'Flee!' I wanted a new start."
And both guys firmly believe in the power of positive thinking. "Chris [Gardner] and I were both raised in very spiritual houses," Will said. "[We believe] that the universe is not a thing that's going to push us around," he continued eloquently, sounding like a seasoned motivational speaker, "that we are going to bend the universe to command and demand that the universe become what we want it to be."
You go, Willie! You picturing that Oscar statue lately, babe?
Last week, the annual Hollywood Prom at Boulevard 3 was a total smooch-smooch fest of young celebs like The Hills starlets Lauren Conrad and Audrina Patridge, and even a quick stop-in by American Idol rookie Justin Guarini and that dude from Napoleon Dynamite—what's his name?
The night started off with none other than a bashful Dennis Haskins (Mr. Belding from Saved by the Bell) being escorted down the red carpet by a giggling group of prom queen wannabes who looked barely old enough to buy porn. Oh, and on that partick triple-X patrol, when I asked Belding if he had seen the Screech sex tape, all he said was that former SBTB costar Dustin Diamond is "digging a big enough hole on his own!"