No matter which country I visited when I was backpacking Europe this spring, I always found myself surrounded by Australians. It was awesome, of course, because almost all of the Aussies I've met are kind and clever, and they make better use of slang and swear words than any other people on earth. They helped me put together an Aussie dictionary, and for every word I learned — narky (annoyed), daggy (uncool), bogan (unkempt) — they told me that if I was truly going to pass as Australian, I would have to learn to love Kath & Kim.

When NBC announced they were going to remake the popular Australian sitcom, and that Molly Shannon and Selma Blair would star as the dysfunctional mother-daughter team, my first reaction was outrage on behalf of my Australian friends. But then I thought about how much I love Molly Shannon, and I couldn't help but get a little bit excited.

The show premiered last night in the coveted 8:30 Thursday night time slot. The reviews have not been kind. USA Today called it "dumb and dull." Barry Garron from Reuters said the whole thing felt like "a long, long skit." … continue reading

There was so much exciting information spinning out of the TCA press tour last week that it was kind of like being on a 12-day sugar buzz — especially because so much of the news revolved around some of my favorite former Saturday Night Live ladies. Let me condense a week's worth of information for you: Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Molly Shannon will be lining up side-by-side with their own NBC comedies this year.

Tina Fey will, of course, be back as Liz Lemon for the third season of 30 Rock. She'll return to the set with her TCA award for for individual achievement in comedy, and probably at least one more Emmy. In April Entertainment Weekly asked, "Is it hot in here or is just Tina Fey's career?"

It is hot in here, Entertainment Weekly, but it's not just her career.

Molly Shannon will be staring alongside Selma Blair in NBC's remake of the popular Australian comedy Kath and Kim about a dysfunctional mother-daughter team. NBC's hopes, it seems, are even higher than mine. They've slated Kath and Kim to anchor their legendary Thursday night of Must See TV. … continue reading

Welcome to another installment of Stars That Are Not Lesbians. Last month, we covered celebrities who retracted former declarations of queerness. This month, we are excited to announce that the word “lesbian,” when used in the same sentence as the name of a female celebrity (regardless of the context), automatically makes the celebrity newsworthy, because the word “lesbian” is magic!

If you are a female celebrity, a time-tested and foolproof way to get an article written about you is to either declare that you may want to become a temporary lesbian (e.g. Lily Allen, Katy Perry) or instead, declare that you are not a lesbian. In any event, as long as you mention the word “lesbian” or convince another person to say the word “lesbian” in the same sentence as your name, someone will write a story about you. You don’t need to be nominated for an Oscar, an Emmy, a Grammy or a Razzie. You don’t even need to be working. That’s too inefficient. Just use the L-bomb, and let the presses roll!

Exhibit A: Pamela dashes mum's “bizarre” lesbian hopes.

Pamela Anderson has had bad luck with men. One turned out to be an abusive cad, another passed on waffles at an Atlanta Waffle House and decided to get into a brawl there instead, and yet another’s greatest claim to fame was appearing in a sex tape with Paris Hilton. So what was her poor mother to do?

Suggest that Pamela date other women, of course.

Canadian born actress Pamela Anderson has dashed her mother's bizarre lesbian hopes by informing her that her sexual preference is strictly for men. The reason the actress' mom was hoping her daughter might be attracted to other women, was because she didn't agree with her tastes in men.

For those of you not familiar with the accent, that's moi with an exaggerated Australian o in the back of the throat, sort of a “mioye.” And here's a bit of wackiness that doesn't need translation. A couple of months ago, the linster informed us that the Australian comedy Kath and Kim will be remade by NBC for U.S. audiences, with Molly Shannon starring as Kath. Well, now she has her Kim. Meet the mother-daughter pair:

You're not imagining things. That is Selma Blair. She's just landed the role of Kim. To put this in perspective, let's take a look at the Australian originals.

Even though I've been happily catching up on the originals here, I'm sorry I'm going to miss the U.S. debut. The weirdness of the pairing with Selma Blair is reason enough to tune in, at least for a start. Originally, Joan Cusack was set to play Kim. Picking Blair instead is taking, well, a slightly different direction. I only hope she has the comedy chops to keep up with Molly Shannon. … continue reading

On Mondays, I find it easier to look at pretty pictures than put together sentences. So here are some movie posters for your visual pleasure. (You could also call this a preview of 2008, which isn't looking great so far ...)

1. Hellboy II, starring Selma Blair:

I didn't see Hellboy, and even if I had, I probably wouldn't feel compelled to see the sequel. But Selma is mesmerizing in this poster. So I might reconsider. Her eyes, they follow me everywhere!

2. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (the poster was just released today): … continue reading

First news that your character in the upcoming film Feast of Love leaves her man to be with a woman.

Then the Leibovitz Gap ad.

And now this:

And this: … continue reading

Annie Leibovitz is possibly the best, and certainly the most famous, celebrity photographer around. And whether she is shooting for editorial or commercial use, I always pay attention to her gorgeous images. So when the Gap rolled out its new fall “Classics Redefined” campaign, I took a peek. And, once again, wow.

The array of famous (and somewhat less famous) faces posing in sweater vests, wide-leg trousers, French-cuff shirts and the like are actors Selma Blair, Lucy Liu, Regina King, Liev Schreiber, Forest Whitaker and Ken Watanabe; musicians John Mayer and Puffy AmiYumi; comedian Sarah Silverman; director Davis Guggenheim; designer Marcel Wanders and dancer-choreographer Twyla Tharp. (See them all here.) … continue reading