The Lucky One is a film based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks of the same name. I’m sure you’ll be surprised to find out that I’m not really a fan of Nicholas Sparks and his oeuvre, a kind of special breed of sentimental (some would say sappy) romance novels that all seem to follow a formula involving heartbreak that reduces the reader, and viewer of the films based on the books, to wracking sob-inducing crying jags. (That was sarcasm-I’m sure you’re not surprised) As did the producer of The Lucky One, Denise DiNovi (a veteran of Tim Burton’s films), many people came to know Sparks from The Notebook. I have resisted the urge to succumb to that film, despite the presence of fledgling Baby Goose and have managed to avoid all of the others that came after.

Sparks certainly is prolific. We just showed you last week a trailer for another movie based on one of his books, The Vow. The Lucky One, directed by Scott Hicks (Shine), tells the story of a Marine who survives three tours in Iraq and attributes his good fortune to a photograph he carried of a woman he has never met. He sets out to meet his good-luck charm when he returns to North Carolina. Costarring Taylor Schilling (who was so good in the short lived tv series “Mercy”) and Blythe Danner, The Lucky One opens April 20 in the US and 4^th May in the UK.

Insanity! More stuff coming out of Disney/Pixar’s vaults for Andrew Stanton’s first live action film, John Carter. I would love to know the formula for this stuff. Quiet for months then BAM, dump it all out. We just had some new images, then a few more all in the space of a couple of days. Apparently a new trailer will drop on Wednesday. I’m sure once this batch is complete it will another six to eight weeks of silence before they start gearing up for the March 9 release.

I do like this new poster and it’s tag line “Lost in our world. Found in another.” Knowing that the title character is a Confederate soldier before mysteriously ending up on Mars, the phrase “lost in our world” becomes tinged with melancholy.

The synopsis: From Academy Award-winning filmmaker Andrew Stanton comes John Carter–a sweeping action-adventure set on the mysterious and exotic planet of Barsoom (Mars). John Carter is based on a classic novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, whose highly imaginative adventures served as inspiration for many filmmakers, both past and present. The film tells the story of war-weary, former military captain John Carter (Taylor Kitsch), who is inexplicably transported to Mars where he becomes reluctantly embroiled in a conflict of epic proportions amongst the inhabitants of the planet, including Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe) and the captivating Princess Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins). In a world on the brink of collapse, Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes that the survival of Barsoom and its people rests in his hands.

Also starring Mark Strong, James Purefoy, Polly Walker, Ciaran Hinds, Bryan Cranston, Thomas Haden Church and Dominic West, John Carter opens in the US and Canada on March 9

Back in June it was announced that Bethenny Frankel was developing an advice-based talk show, but sadly no one was interested and it wasn't picked up. With her success in Real Housewives of New York (seriously she was the only one on that show with a soul personality), Bethenny Getting Married and Bethenny Ever After, not to mention her Skinny Girl Cocktails it's surprising that anything this dynamo started would not get finished.

Bethenny's distributor Telepictures, couldn't get the deal picked up what with a slew of other talk shows being committed to: Katie Couric, Steve Harvey and Jeff Probst (my next husband should the opportunity ever presents itself and if he'll have me). Even Ellen DeGeneres was a staunch supporter of Bethenny and this talk show.

But not to worry, Bethenny Ever After will carry on and we'll see Season 3 of this tell-it-like-it-is woman, and you just know that a reality show isn't all we'll be seeing of this business woman. She is bound to bring us something new and exciting and totally Bethenny.

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Photo: WENN

Focus Features is trying to kill me. There can be no other explanation for the way they are meting out this choice little bits of yum having to do with one of my most anticipated films of the year, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. They know I’m quite literally chomping at the bit for it and judging from this latest batch of clips, they know about my serious Tom Hardy fixation as well.

“Begin to Move” has Tom Hardy as Ricki Tarr narrating in that smokey whiskey and lost innocence voice of his so I don’t really care what it’s about, however, it really concerns Rikki telling Smiley (Gary Oldman) the story of when the Russians began to move in.

"Begin to Move"

The second is called “Scalp Hunters” and in this one Ricki is talking to Smiley about his place in the “agency”, the new girl he met and what he thought she had to offer him. (Hmmpf)

"Scalp Hunters"

I’d like to call the third clip “Holy Crap!”, but it’s actually called “My Life in Your Hands”. In this one Irina (Svetlana Khodchenkova) does the talking. We only hear Ricki’s breathing and well…Holy Crap! I can’t wait to see this movie! (Of course, I want to see it for more reasons than just Tom Hardy mackin’ on some Russian chick. Sheesh)

"My Life's in Your Hands"

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy  has been described as a both “breathtakingly ordinary” and the “anti-James Bond” for its more realistic approach to the spy biz. I can’t wait to see what Tomas Alfredson (Let the Right One In) has done with it in its entirety. The official synopsis: In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced from semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet agent within MI6′s echelons. In addition to Oldman and Hardy, the sublime cast includes Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Ciaran Hinds, John Hurt, Toby Jones, Benedict Cumberbatch, Simon McBurney, Kathy Burke and Stephen Graham among others.

Bring it on! Find the ‘mole’ starting on December 9

Miley Cyrus, her people, and Kelly Osbourne are hitting back at the reports that all bloggers, magazines, and television shows that 'misinterpreted' the video in which she is presented with a Bob Marley birthday cake at her 19th birthday. A video in which she states:

You know you’re a stoner when friends make you a Bob Marley 

Well apparently they were being sarcastic because of her salvia-smoking bong video. They nicknamed her Bob Miley ever since and thought it would be funny to present her with a Bob Marley cake. 

Anyone else and I would say 'I get the joke' but this is Miley and she's been caught crying wolf before. And have I mentioned her voice gets on my effing nerves?

Not that it matters much (it's a slow news day) or that any of us truly care, but do you think this is a case of sarcasm or story spinning?

Daniel Craig, whose new film, David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo opens toward the end of December, is on the cover of the January 2012 issue of British GQ.  Good lord, those eyes!

Craig, certainly one of the most intelligent and compelling actors of his generation, and his costar Rooney Mara were on the cover of Entertainment Weekly last week and Empire last month. The publicity machine on this thing goes to 11. I am by no means complaining. Whenever we get news and pics of the notoriously publicity reticent Craig, I’m happy. This has been a big year for him, in terms of having his mug in the news.

He did publicity for last summer’s Cowboys and Aliens right after his super secret surprise stealth wedding to Rachel Weisz. Even though he walked red carpets from San Diego to London sans new bride, it’s what everyone wanted to talk about, naturally. (Both he and Weisz appeared on The Daily Show – for separate films- and Jon Stewart is the only chat show host to resist the urge to ask. The newly minted Daniel Craigs did no joint publicity for the turkey that reignited their spark, Dream House.) He gave a candid interview to Esquire, but at the time of the article, he and Weisz were only “dating” so that reporter got no dish either.

GQ got a little more about his newly married status, even if it was only that Craig once again said, “I’m not going to talk about it”, but in a different, more comprehensive way.

"We got away with it. We did it privately. And we've got a lot of people to thank for that. But that was the point. We did it for private reasons. Because we didn't want it f***ed up, because that would be sharing a secret. And the whole point is that it was a secret. A secret is a secret in my mind."

"I'm in love, I'm very happy. And that is as far as I'm prepared to go. Life is long, life goes wrong and I don't want to say something now that might be thrown back later. Ultimately, people are saying, 'Give it six months.' Well guess what? I'm not responding. Life is long and I am hopefully in this for the long run."

Ya know what, I believe him. Congrats to the happy couple. At least by the time he needs to make the rounds for Skyfall, the next James Bond film, they’ll have more than a year of marriage behind them. I’m sure another celebrity couple will have done something outrageous enough to take the heat off by then.    GQ hits the stands in Britain on 1^st December.

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