reese witherspoon (59 posts)

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•  Those dastardly lad mags have made Megan Fox No. 2 yet again! First, Maxim places Olivia Wilde just ahead of the starlet, and now the Transformers hottie loses to British babe Cheryl Cole (from the group Girls Aloud) for the FHM title.

•  Robin Wright Penn opened up to a psychology magazine just before her latest round of off-again, on-again union with husband Sean Penn. "All marriages have their cycles and phases," she said forebodingly.

•  Paris Hilton was peeved when her bodyguards supposedly found some sort of recording transmitter in her Dubai hotel room. In the meantime, the BFF seeker may be in a little hot water for donning a bikini in the conservative Arab nation.

•  All kinds of TV babies are on their way! Scrubs star Judy Reyes and her boyfriend, director George Valencia, are expecting their first child. Additionally, 24 and HawthoRNe actor D.B. Woodside and gal-pal Golden Brooks, of Girlfriends fame, are anticipating a child together, due in September.

•  Amy Winehouse may be beachy keen on moving to St. Lucia for good.

•  Dear Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal: You two are cute enough as it is. Is it really necessary to match for your workouts? Love, Rise 'n' Shine

All this drama calls for a refreshing trip through the pretty Beach Bodies gallery.

We're hot too...on Twitter @eonline!

Stephen Vaughan/ Paramount Pictures

Didn't see this coming.

Tom Cruise and J.J. Abrams have signed on with Paramount Pictures to produce the fourth installment of Mission: Impossible, according to Variety.

As you may recall, couch-jumping and other circumstances surrounding the previous film in the series helped precipitate a very public rift between Cruise and Viacom's Sumner Redstone, which ended the megastar's 14-year-long relationship with Paramount.

At the time Redstone told the Wall Street Journal, "[Cruise]'s recent conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount."

But that's so 2006. These days Redstone is sounding highly complimentary about the celeb, Abrams is hot off Paramount's Star Trek and Cruise remains one of the most bankable stars on the planet.

So when you put it that way, this seems totally possible. Look for it in 2011.

• Reese Witherspoon is looking to make a drug comedy. No, not like Half-Baked. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Pharm Girl is an "aspirational comedy" by the Bad Santa screenwriters about a woman and the pharmaceutical industry, which does make it sound a bit like Half-Baked.

• Jerry Seinfeld wants to help your relationship. Variety reports the comedian has made a deal to create and distribute multiple localized versions of a reality series called The Marriage Ref, in which couples put their problems in the hands of people who truly understand emotional pain: comedians and celebrities. Let the healing begin.

Twentieth Century Fox

X marks the spot for a Wolverine sequel.

Just two days after Hugh Jackman's domination of the box office—Box Office Mojo estimates the film's worldwide gross at $158.2 million and counting—comes the rather unsurprising word that a follow-up to the origin story is already in the works.

According to Variety, the sequel, which will mark Jackman's fifth time donning the killer claws, will focus on the X-Men comic's samurai storyline, the Japanese locale setup for which is teased after the blockbuster film's end credits.

Meanwhile, the action star Oscar host is showing no signs of slowing—or being typecast—with no fewer than four other projects in the works, one of which will be a 2010 return to Broadway as the titular Houdini.

Rounding out today's star-studded castings: Ben Stiller, Christina Aguilera, Wilmer Valderrama, Peter Dinklage, Ken Watanabe and the newest Mad Man.

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•  I Love You, Man costars Paul Rudd and Jason Segel behave like 9-year-old boys. You there, laughing with them, are doing the same. (Don't worry, we are, too.)

•  Jennifer Aniston is narrating a children's book with her father, but wants to make sure you know that it has nothing to do with any possible baby lust she may or may not have.

•  The Wrestlemania fisticuffs between Mickey Rourke and Chris Jericho may happen after all…at least if the real-life wrestler's fightin' words are any indication.

•  Audrina Patridge may be a Sorority Row killer, but the trailer for her new flick looks totally fun. Too bad the same can't really be said for Hilary Duff's Greta.

•  Joe Jonas pulls a Miley Cyrus. Oy.

•  Dear Ava Phillippe: Naming your pet pig Booker T. Washington and keeping mommy Reese Witherspoon away from pork makes you a pretty darn smart 9-year-old (unlike those stinky boys at the top of this column). Love, Rise 'n' Shine

The Big Picture gallery: finger (and lolly) lickin' good!

Flynet

•  According to Star, Reese Witherspoon arrived at a photo shoot wearing an engagement ring from boyfriend Jake Gyllenhaal, but took it off shortly after she got there. Funny how she hasn't worn said sparkler anywhere else.

•  Justin Timberlake may be doing tequila. He'd probably do Pee-wee Herman's dance pretty well, too.

•  This sounds a lot like a country song. Given that it involves LeAnn Rimes, we shouldn't be surprised.

•  One of Oprah's adopted puppies died last week. Sad.

•  How does 50 Cent bring heat to a big rivalry? With porn, of course!

•  Alanis Morissette is such a turn-off.

•  Bob Dylan is kind of a stinky neighbor.

•  If Mel Gibson ever sends you dessert, we recommend you refuse it.

•  Dear James Franco: Can we get a sip of your Diet Coke? You It looks delicious and refreshing. Love, Rise 'n' Shine

Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant bring the Hollywood heat to NYC in the Big Picture gallery!

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

• Looks like Ashton Kutcher is taking time out from Twittering about noisy neighbors to actually tackle a new project.

According to Variety, Kutcher is in final negotiations to star in Traded as an NFL quarterback who ends up swapping bodies with a 12-year-old geek and learns the value of humility and courage.

Meanwhile, in other Hollywood casting action...

• Owen Wilson and Paul Rudd are ready to do battle over Reese Witherspoon in an untitled romantic comedy from As Good As It Gets helmer James L. Brooks. The plot reportedly centers on a love triangle between a baseball pitcher (Wilson) and a businessman (Rudd) trying to win the love of Witherspoon's character. Cameras roll this summer.

• He's too legit to quit, so A&E has signed up M.C. Hammer to star in Hammertime, a half-hour reality series set to debut later this year chronicling the former rap star's home life and his latest attempt at a comeback.

New Line

Twilight plunged. Australia wasn't epic. All of which gave Vince Vaughn the opportunity to attone for Fred Claus. Which he did.

Vaughn's and Reese Witherspoon's Four Christmases debuted atop the weekend box office with $31.7 million, per estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations. Since opening last Wednesday, the holiday comedy has taken in $46.7 million.

Ticket sales for Twilight dropped a steep 62 percent from last weekend. The vampire romance still managed a $26.4 million Friday-Sunday gross, good for third place, and hit nearly $120 million overall.

Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman and a reported $130 million budget added up to a lackluster, not blockbuster, fifth-place, $14.8 million debut for Australia.

Drilling down in the box office standings (where you'll find the weekend's biggest pound-for-pound hit):

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