I’m very aware of all the blog sites and the kind way that they’ve treated me. I met Perez Hilton at a Super Bowl party in Miami. He walked past me, and I stopped him and said, “Excuse me. Hey, my name is Milo. You gotta do me a favor: Next time you post a picture of me, just put tons of come on my face. Tons. I mean, load it up.”

While we're sure Hilton will be all too happy to oblige, we can't help but worry that Ventimiglia may have given strike-sapped Heroes creator Tim Kring some unsavory new ideas for the latter half of Season 3. Should the unrated DVD collection contain a Peter Petrelli bukkake scene (with the most disturbing cry of Hiro's "YATTA!" thus far filmed), Ventimiglia will only have brought it on himself — literally.

[Photo Credit: AP]

• Big Gay Following: Milo Ventimiglia [The Advocate]

Dave scores his first points by feigning interest in an updated report on whatever current catfights have been set up by MTV producers between the interchangeable Hills blondes, then swiftly admitting he "has no idea" what he's talking about. But the slam dunks occur after successfully recruiting the audience to his side of the increasingly tense verbal battle, and launching into an initially innocent inquiry about rumors Pratt charges fees just to show up at nightclubs.

Pratt's decision to surpass Linda Evangelista in braggart pretension by saying (twice! and with the support of camera-ready partner in crime Heidi Montag in the green room!) he won't get out of bed for less than $100k with a straight face spurs genuine belly laughs and the classic Letterman customized-to-each-guest rebuttal: "Stop it, just stop. For a second there, I thought you actually said $100,000." But he doesn't stop there, asking Heidi if this "nonsense" is true, and pondering out loud about what kind of tricks Pratt performs to garner this fee ("bring a pony and have kids take their picture with it?"). By the time he passive-aggressively tells Spencer to get his scrawny ass and enormous head to get the fuck off his couch, Dave officially reclaims his late-night crown and reaffirms our confidence in the recently dusty goofball's improvised wizardry.

• THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN [CBS]

boomp3.com



While out shopping with her mother, Heroes star Hayden Panettiere was greeted by a panhandler in Beverly Hills. The panhandler wanted Panettiere to speak to the writers and producers on Heroes about creating a part for her on the next season of the show. The panhandler thought she would bring a gritty realism that the show had been lacking in its first two seasons and suggested that her character should have metal claws coming out of her hands like Wolverine. Panettiere told the woman that it sounded like a good idea, but she didn't have any control of the creation of the characters. She then added that if she bugs the producers one too many times, they may write her out and then they would be in the same position together.

[Photo Credit: Splash Pics]

Riveting stuff! Ventimiglia has clearly used his downtime from Heroes to study the some of the medium's true masters. His naturalistic mise-en-scène reminds us of early Rohmer, while the brutally efficient and fast-paced dialogue clearly rivals Mamet's finest work. However, if you thought that Nachos At The Pool was a revolutionary and essential addition to the cinematic canon, just wait you see Milo's Easter-themed masterwork, Crazy Bunny. JC would be proud.

• Divide Social Club [YouTube]

· Disney casualty Nina Jacobsen will usher hit internet comic/bestseller Diary of a Wimpy Kid to the screen for Fox 2000. A search for the perfect wimpy kid to take the lead will bring out thousands of America's back-braced, violin-playing hopefuls. [Variety]
· CBS, which recently declared pilots dead, has snapped up two pilots. (Les Moonves never said he couldn't borrow ideas from already proven, international series!) Ny-Lon, based on a British import from 2004, will star Rashida Jones and Stephen Moyer* about "a female New York record store clerk and a male London stock broker who embark on a cross-continental romance." Also, Mythological X, based on an Israeli series about a woman who revisits all her exes after a psychic tells her she was supposed to marry one of them. [THR]
· A Heroes soundtrack will release next month, including songs from Panic! at the Disco, Imogen Heap, and David Bowie's own "Heroes (Indestructable Cheerleader Mix)." [THR]

*We're told Rashida starred in the original, not the U.S. remake. You can enjoy Miss Jones in Fox's Unhitched, however. Have a Pink's hot dog on them!

To the highest bidder goes the very self-healing-cheerleader costume that launched millions of permavirgin-despoiling fantasies, spanky pants included. Whether you're a beginner or veteran hobbyist, this item will surely become one of the crown jewels of your pervy TV memorabilia collection. We therefore urge you to place your offers quickly, lest you lose out to the doggedly determined current high bidder, an anonymous patron hailing from the L.A. area who goes only by the screenname "Pvt. Chris Taylor."

• Claire's Cheerleading Uniform [NBCU Auctions]

"I learned that they have an arrest warrant out for me in Japan," the Heroes star told E! News exclusively Wednesday. "We just found out."

Panettiere, 18, was part of a convoy of activists from the U.S. and Australia who on Oct. 30 paddled out on surfboards to protest the annual slaughter of dolphins and whales by Japanese fisherman.

Her group attempted to reach a pod of dolphins before it was driven into a nearby cove and massacred, but they were blocked by a fishing boat before they could reach the sea creatures.

"It was really frightening," Panettiere said at the time. "But in the end, all we really worried about was the dolphins."

After returning to shore, the group headed directly to Osaka and left the country to avoid being arrested for trespassing by the Japanese national police. [...]

And the actress isn't letting a little thing like a warrant keep her from her cause. "I'd do it again," she said. "Very possibly, might do it again."

The defiant Panettiere further explained that she realizes she needs to significantly raise the stakes of her next outlaw act of compassion for her beloved, endangered sea creatures if she's to draw continuing attention to their plight, lest the easily distracted celebrity press move on to whatever issue Ugly Betty decides to take up. Utterly unafraid of the consequences of returning to the scene of her previous crime, the actress discussed the possibility of inviting an E! camera crew to follow her as she paddles her surfboard directly into the gaping maw of a Minke whale, hoping that Japanese fishermen will spare its life knowing that one of America's most beloved TV stars is staging a heartfelt protest deep inside its belly. And, should those whalers prove unsympathetic to her dramatic display, she'll detonate the ten pounds of explosives she's hidden underneath her cheerleading sweater, hoping to take out a fleet of fishing boats as she makes the ultimate sacrifice for her cause.

• Hayden Panettiere Wanted in Japan [E! Online]

• Everybody Hates Studio Moguls [YouTube]
• Previously: Striking Writers Producing New Hit Series 'Not The Daily Show' In Curbside Studio [Defamer]

In a show of solidarity with his fellow scribes, the Daily Show host has told his writing staff that he will cover all their salaries for the next two weeks, according to a well-placed source. He has also vowed to do the same for writers on The Colbert Report. A Comedy Central spokesman referred my inquiry about this to Stewart's personal publicist, who has yet to respond.

Stewart's intention, says the source, is to ensure his writers will face no financial hardship should the strike, which kicked off at 3 a.m. local time, conclude within that timeframe.

Of course, even Stewart's generosity will eventually reach its limit, as he probably won't be able to bankroll his staff indefinitely—especially when Viacom corporate overlord Sumner Redstone, enraged by the host's interference in their labor war, instructs the AMPTP bargaining committee: "Even if we're ready to cut a deal, make sure this thing lasts longer than two weeks. I can't really have him killed because we're probably going to need him to keep doing his silly show during the strike, but I still want that writer-loving fucker to hurt a little."

• Stewart Will Keep Striking 'Daily' Writers Afloat [Portfolio]

· NBC puts off indefinitely the production of Heroes spin-off Heroes: Origins, with possible reasons for the sudden shelving including the possible writers' strike, the mess the original series has become in its second season, and a strategic redeployment of hit-recycling development brainpower to that rumored The Office offshoot. Also: The Singing Bee is coming off the air for November sweeps. [Variety]
· Oh, happy day! More reteaming! Onetime Closer pals Julia Roberts and Clive Owen join Universal's Duplicity as "longtime lovers and rival corporate spies" who get together to pull "an elaborate con." [THR]
· Holy fucking reteaming shit! This is possibly the best day ever for Hollywood reunions: Heath Ledger will once again hook up with Brothers Grimm director Terry Gilliam for The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. [Variety]

So you can imagine how excited we were to see the new trailer for Confessions of a Superhero, a documentary about the people inside those ill-fitting spandex unitards that might actually satisfy our weird hero-jones in between the maddeningly infrequent times Angry Chewbacca gets liquored up and goes on a tour-guide headbutting spree. Or one of the Dueling Jack Sparrows gets so upset over his competitor's craft-debasing nonchalance about pirate-verisimilitude that he pulls out his dreadlocks with his bare hands. Really, we're not that picky about the specifics if it draws the KCAL9 van to the scene of the crime.

• 'Confessions of a Superhero' Trailer [Indiewire]

Two American sniffer dogs who found millions of pirated DVDs while on loan to Malaysian authorities will receive medals of honor when their six-month assignment ends next week, an official said Thursday.

Black Labradors Lucky and Flo will be celebrated at an awards ceremony Monday before they return home to New York, said Nor Hayati Yahaya, the Motion Picture Association's manager for Malaysia.

Lucky and Flo — on loan from the U.S.-based association — have helped uncover pirated DVDs and equipment worth $6 million since they came to Malaysia in March, Nor Hayati said. The cases led to 26 arrests.

While the story provides a fittingly happy ending for the duo, we're reluctant to think about whatever became of those 26 arrested pirates—though we feel compelled to point out that Lucky and Flo's coats have never been shinier since their handlers switched them to their mysterious new gluten-free dog food.

• Malaysian Award for DVD - Sniffing Dogs [NY Times]

· Anna Paquin will take a second-tier awards show where she can booze it up over being nominated for its bigger-deal cousin at the boring age of 11 any day. [Variety]
· Somewhere in the soupy borders between where Kevin Dillon ends and self-promotional op-ed essayist Johnny Drama begins is one very happy nominee. Says Entourage creator Doug Ellin: "I told Kevin last year we have a goal, we have to get you an Emmy nomination. He was like oh, come on lets just do good work but I know he is excited." [Variety]
· Nominated for his turn as Pahrump, NV's salty and wise Judge Robert Bebe, John Goodman gives all of the credit to Studio 60 masterscribe, Aaron Sorkin : "I am overwhelmed and grateful. It was all in the writing." [USA Today]
· Heroes' creator Tim Kring falls back on a reliable, frosting-related cliché: "We set out to make a show that people would get hooked on. For the show to now have this kind of critical exposure is really the icing on the cake." [USA Today]

Oka was less thrilled with the stereotypical Japanese character comedian Rob Schneider plays in the new Adam Sandler comedy feature, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, opening Friday.

"I didn't agree with that," said Oka. "It was very funny, but it wasn't smart funny. I don't understand why an Asian guy couldn't have played it. You didn't need to have the (slant) eyes and the buck tooth trying to be a 'yellow face,' as we call it."

Despite Oka's best diplomatic efforts to buffer his pointed accusations of racism by inaccurately describing the performance in question as "very funny," we doubt that will be nearly enough to discourage the legendarily hot-headed comedian from firing off another of his infamous open letters, in which he'll remind the Heroes star—as he did the NY Times after they published an editorial condemning his "leering Hawaiian" character in 50 First Dates—that being 50% Filipino gives the actor free reign to make his comic creations as bucktoothed and slanty-eyed as he wants them to be.

• The peacock parades its stars at NBC bash [USA Today]

• Previously: City Bakery Likely To Be Wiped Out In L.A. Cupcake War [Defamer]

I would like it to be known by everyone, that I have played a gay character three times before in my career, one when I was twelve (which is on youtube), one when I was fifteen, and another when I was seventeen. I, nor my management have ever had any kind of problem with creating a gay character...What transpired on heroes is something far more complicated than anyone being "afraid" to make Zach homosexual.

Some of Dekker's earlier gay character work is indeed available on YouTube, including this episode of short-lived Darren Star comedy Grosse Pointe, in which he plays a flaming pre-pubescent who wins a date with the show-within-the-show's resident heartthrob (the money shots are at 2:27 and 3:45), and this musical number from 7th Heaven in which he's flipped by soft-shoeing baseball players, all the while bringing to mind a young Sanjaya Malakar. We've reprinted the whole bulletin after the jump, so you can decide for yourself whether you'd like to thank Bryan Fuller or Dekker for the MySpace add.

• [Thomas Dekker's MySpace]

"The Truth about Heroes"

Hello everyone, this is Thomas. First of all, I would like to thank everyone for all their messages and comments on my page. For those of you interested in my music, I am in the middle of working in the studio on my second album right now, and your support is especially appreciated at this time. For those of you who have sent me messages regarding heroes, and more importantly "the gay controversy", I hope my words of explanation will not fall on deaf ears or hearts. I am truly sorry for what transpired on the series and who it has effected. I have been shown a lot of, to be blunt, hate mail directed at me and my manager for the way the character of Zach played out. I would like it to be known by everyone, that I have played a gay character three times before in my career, one when I was twelve (which is on youtube), one when I was fifteen, and another when I was seventeen. I, nor my management have ever had any kind of problem with creating a gay character. To me acting is about being prepared to play all kinds of roles and it is an honor and a challenge to portray ANYTHING that comes my way. What transpired on heroes is something far more complicated than anyone being "afraid" to make Zach homosexual. The character that I created in the beginning of the show, a process I take very seriously, was based on Zach being an outcast who had a burning love for Claire, a crush that drew him to her and effected every ounce of his self esteem around her. I created the character that way because it was WRITTEN IN THE ORIGINAL SCRIPT that he was in love with Claire. Please do remember, I was never under contract with heroes. I was hired per episode, and was not informed in the beginning of the series, of any planned character arc, because I was told there wasnt one. What ensued later was a combination of miscommunication, confusion, surprise and last minute desicions, not a knee jerk reaction from me or my team. Lastly, I want to make it VERY clear that me leaving Heroes has NOTHING to do with this "gay controversy". You will notice, I filmed five or so more episodes after the situation, and only at that point, months later, did I even begin to audition for Sarah Connor Chronicles. Only then, once I got the part of John, was I not permitted to do any more episodes of Heroes. That's just how television networks work. I write this because I believe it is only fair, that you know what actually happened and how, and not what you are being told in other areas of information. mis-information. I would love at some point in the future to play a gay character, that I was aware was intended to be gay, that I had a chance to know, and a chance to really infuse with the performance that THAT character would deserve. Thank you for your time, your support, and to those that this situation has hurt, I, and everyone affiliated with the series are truly sorry.
Yours,
Thomas Dekker

There was an unfortunate miscommunication and when the script arrived that had the line in it, 'I would take you to homecoming but you have to know that I don't like girls that way.' The actor [Thomas Dekker]'s, manager threatened to pull him from the show because he was up for the John Carter role in The Sarah Connor Chronicles and she didn't want him playing a gay character because it might affect FOX's interest in hiring him. It got really ugly. [...]

I was very upset by it - I was not happy about it at all. There were times I had to avoid talking about it because we didn't want to have a negative reflection on the show. The show's been such a positive experience for so many people, we didn't want to get hung up on the fact that one actor's management felt that it was a career killer for him to play a homosexual which, as a gay man, I found incredibly insulting.

We had episodes planned for him to be in, and she pulled him from the show altogether. So that's why he sort of disappeared.

Whoever this nameless manager was, it remains noteworthy that, even in this post-Brokeback age of greater gays-on-TV openness, so gripped was she by pink panic that she would sooner exercise the "No Gay" clause in her client's contract than risk jeopardizing his burgeoning career by subjecting him to the mark of the Fuchsia Letter.

• PopGurls Interview: Heroes Bryan Fuller [PopGurls.com via Towleroad]

An NBC publicist told AfterElton in a phone conversation that Zach "is not gay", that it was something that was "for sure" and "in all certainty." AfterElton contacted NBC for confirmation after being told by Thomas Dekker's management (Dekker plays Zach), the character of Zach is absolutely straight.

Two scenarios seem the mostly likely: for unknown reasons, NBC suddenly shied away from the idea of a gay character. Or Dekker's management wanted Zach to be straight. (Dekker's management declined to comment on the topic.)

Series creator Tim Kring wrote in to AfterElton to respond to the piece, saying it was never his intention to deceive or confuse the audience, but that "it has simply become too complicated behind the scenes to push this issue further with this particular character." Just how or why these "behind the scenes" complications manifested themselves he does not say, though we'd caution against too quickly hurling accusations at the network of having toyed with the self-esteem of the show's gay youth fanbase by dangling a hottie imbued with all the prophecied Signs of The Gay in front of them, only to callously yank him away from their team at the very last moment. Perhaps NBC felt that with everything they have already done for The Gays with Will & Grace and sister-network Bravo's all-fabulous reality programming schedule, they finally had a chance with the character of Zach to validate the existence of an even more disenfrachised youth subgroup: straight, male, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert fans.

• Heroes Straightens Up Its Gay Character [AfterElton.com via Towleroad]
• ZachToTheFuture [MySpace]
• Heroes [NBC.com]

A reader excited by the prospect that Variety might be evolving its coverage of the industry to more directly appeal to subscribers with a healthy interest in upskirt photography directed us to page 9 of today's paper, where an otherwise fairly dry story about November sweeps is enlivened with this promotional photo of Heroes' indestructible cheerleader inadvertently showing off her spanky pants. (The online version of the article uses a different, more modest image, in case you were wondering.) It's probably not racy enough to get a Charlie Sheen-level cheer-porn connoisseur all hot and bothered, but it might do the trick for an assistant looking for a way to kill some time in an empty office before the Thanksgiving holiday.

• Starry finish boosts ABC: 'Heroes' holds strong to slot [Variety]

Late yesterday, when we noted corporate garbage disposal behemoth Emerson Electric Co. lawsuit against NBC over Heroes' unauthorized, potentially defaming depiction of one their fine waste-elimination products, we weren't able to hunt down pictures of the disputed scene. But we've finally obtained screen captures of the grisly, brand-besmirching images, which we've helpfully assembled into a collage demonstrating the network's clear attempt to portray the featured InSinkErator™ device as a looming, cheerleader-mangling black hole from which no teenage extremity could possibly escape unflayed. NBC still maintains that Emerson's claims are without merit, but in the interest of insulating themselves from further frivolous lawsuits, plan to remove a controversial scene from the show's fourth episode, where the rapid-healing character further demonstrates her invulnerability to kitchen appliance injuries by placing her bare foot in a whirring Sunbeam blender.

• NBC Sued For Not Spotighting Garbage Disposal Non-Extremity-Mangling Features [Defamer]

The filing comes complete with color printouts that show a re-creation of a woman putting her hand in the disposal and pulling it out mangled and bloody. The suit says the scene suggests that the Emerson In-Sink-Erator "will cause debilitating and severe injuries, including the loss of fingers, in the event consumers were to accidentally insert their hand into one."

The suit also says the scene "casts the disposer in an unsavory light, irreparably tarnishing the product."

"It's a trademark thing," said Dan Callahan, a spokesman for Emerson, adding that the issue is not the damage that a disposal might do.

Today's NY Post reported that NBC has already altered the disputed scene (just because they felt like it, not because they're admitting any wrongdoing), but it's unclear how they changed the footage. We imagine it would be small matter to tailor any additional edits to appease the complaintant; today's digital editing technology should make it easy for the network to delete the frames in which the cheerleaders' fingers magically restore themselves to their uninjured state and insert a promotional voiceover stating, "When an InSinkErator™ disposal's stainless-steel, triple-blade mechanism mangles your fingers, they stay mangled."

• Emerson tries to block rebroadcast of 'Heroes' [St. Louis Post Dispatch]
• 'HEROES' CUTS [NY Post]