Also from our Gossip Girl: Barbara Walters’ least favorite subjects … Helen Mirren’s traffic stop … Sarah Palin – We give up, she’s here to stay!
“I THINK being funny is not anyone’s first choice,” said Woody Allen.
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WHEN YOU hear the names Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer and Michael McKean, what comes to mind? “Spinal Tap,” of course – the great “mockumentary” by which all other parodies are compared. This team also did “A Mighty Wind,” “Waiting for Guffman” and the fabulous “Best in Show.”
Now we hear that Guest, Shearer and McKean are putting their heads together to make a movie about the world of retro collectors; people who ferret out such things as old comic books, Barbie dolls, vintage magazine ads, vinyl 45-rpm singles, or even – ick! – Charles Manson song lyrics written on Kleenex. There’s a massive underground of collectors who would do the Borgia’s proud as they scheme and double-cross to possess the item they crave. (Those who collect movie star memorabilia can be especially treacherous.)
The usual suspects are being considered – Michael Patrick Higgins, Jane Lynch (although with her “Glee” fame and schedule, she might be harder to catch now) and Parker Posey.
The guys are still being asked to do a sequel to “Spinal Tap” but Christopher Guest insists nothing could come close to the original – why even try?
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SPEAKING of the above-mentioned Jane Lynch, I caught her on Larry King last week and she was just divine. Nothing at all like her terrifying Sue Sylvester character on “Glee” – or some of the other tough cookies she’s played, like Charlie Sheen’s pragmatic shrink in “Two and a Half Men.” So charming, nice and smart. Very together!
And speaking of Larry King, I saw my friend Barbara Walters chatting with the outgoing master of the interview, just the other night. She looked fabulous, said, in response to Larry’s query, that of course she would interview Osama Bin Laden if she had the chance. Who wouldn’t?
Barbara also said that she tends to find actors her least favorite subjects for interviews. “I got tired of asking the same old questions, and getting, a lot of the time, the same old answers.” (Ah, the specter of the hovering press rep! “Don’t ask! Don’t tell!”)
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HMMM … “Don’t ask, don’t tell.” That leads me right to Lady Gaga, and her impassioned stand and remarks on the matter of gays serving in the military. (The GOP is now holding up legislation that would repeal this ridiculous edict.)
I read somewhere that Gaga had “made a fool of herself.” Not at all, I thought her remarks were right on. She said those who should be targeted are any soldiers who feel uncomfortable with gay men and women in their midst. The Lady suggested a new motto – “If you don’t like it go home!”
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I WAS remiss the other day in reporting on Jackie Bisset receiving France’s prestigious Légion d’honneur. Another actress was also being honored that day – the great Olivia de Havilland, two-time Oscar-winner and along with Ann Rutherford, the last remaining major cast member of “Gone With the Wind.” (Even little Bonnie Blue Butler passed away recently.)
I hear that Olivia was in fine fettle, as vibrant and witty as ever. She also said, “Of course I’d act again, if the right role came along!” Olivia is 94.
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HELEN MIRREN, acting’s sexiest sexagenarian, did not attempt to use her fabled allure or her status as a great Dame when she was stopped by a couple of men in blue, while driving down Ventura Blvd. She had run a red light.
Ms. Mirren was properly contrite and didn’t argue over her ticket. But while one cop was writing out her summons, the other one was furiously texting somebody. The cop was probably a movie fan: “Wow, you won’t believe who I just pulled over!”
