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Oh the glory of The Horse. And woe the glory of The Horse. And all animals.

Or rather, woe the barbarity of Man who inflicts war, terror, and violence on another creature he dares to call “beast”. This is the sentimental, delicately heart-pounding platform upon which Steven Spielberg mounts the enormous canvas of War Horse. It is among Spielberg’s best efforts, not only because his artistry is at full display, but because it provides a glimpse into the man’s inner workings and, frankly, his utter disdain for violence and war. If Albert Camus and Walt Disney had teamed up to make a live action film, it would be War Horse.

Many millions have seen the stage show in its various stage incarnations from New York to London to Tokyo. But the story is best told on screen where the emotions of both man and horse can be detailed in ways that are too subtle to be conveyed on stage.

The story is not that different from most child-animal companion stories: an impoverished child happens to come into the possession of a noble animal in troubled times. In War Horse, this means that a young English boy named Albert Narracott from an impoverished family comes to befriend a horse named Joey his drunken father impulsively buys at auction. The father uses the family’s rent money to buy the horse, which naturally puts them at peril, but which later seems a wise decision when one considers how magnificent the steed is. Joey brings a certain magic and freedom to the lives of the Narracott clan, whose lives are burdened not only by the constant pressure of poverty, but of the impending disaster of World War I.

In time, and as the war escalates, Joey ends up in the possession of the enemy: the Germans. It is during the sections of the movie where we see Joey separated from Albert that Spielberg uses a slew of poetic montages to convey the brutality of War and the stupidity of Man through the suffering of the Animals. No creature has been more attached to human war and conflict as the Horse, and no other has observed more pointless human engineered violence and peril. None has carried more men to more meaningless death and destruction as the Horse. Why they have served us so is one of the things Spielberg wants us to ponder. I still have no answer.

Some will fault the film for being overly sentimental and for playing as more a collection of vignettes than as a single, solid narrative. Such arguments are valid, but I think beside the point to Spielberg’s aim in making the movie. The story is designed to uplift and to devastate at the same time, to honor and shame simultaneously. We raise the mantle of our humanity – constantly – as proof that we are the superior species on the planet. But, Spielberg hints, perhaps superiority is not the goal. Rather, simple existence and co-existence, sans violence and coercion, should be the goal. And this no human has ever achieved.

A must see.

MoeJackson.com – A Delicious Guide To The Celebrity High Life

Believe it or not, there’s somebody actually less appealing than Newt Gingrich out there. And her name is Mavis Gary.

She is beautiful and talented. She is the prettiest woman you’ve ever seen. She used to be the kind of girl that every girl hoped to be in high school, in that moment, and forever after. Because she is played by Charlize Theron, she is also incredibly sexy and smart as a whip. Mavis is also incredibly unlikeable. Think she cares? Think again.

And again.

From the writer-director team of Diablo Cody and Jason Reitman who brought to life what remains one of the best movies of the last 20 years – Juno – comes what can only be termed a revolution in cinema. Not revolutionary in the sense that Young Adult will forever flip the notion of filmmaking on its head and make us wonder how we ever looked at anything that was made prior to its release (it ain’t Snow White), but astonishing – at times, shocking – in the sense that it does what no mainstream Hollywood film has done in memory: tell a story about a female protagonist who revels in the fact that she is as unlikeable as she cares to be, and that no plot or subplot ever unravels to teach her the folly of her atavistic teenage bitch/goddess ways.

Mavis was the girl in middle and high school that everyone assumed would go on to become a famous model or starlet. Instead, she grew up to write teenage fiction, inspired largely by the period in her life when she was Queen Bee. The problem is that she is now 37 and still lives in the mindset that she is 17 . . . or even 13. Trouble is brewing. Or is it? Perhaps it’s best that she live under The Golden Age of her life that no longer really exists. Some would consider her lucky.

Mavis knows her life is missing something . . . so she returns home to see if she can find it. What “it” is she doesn’t know, and in the end, she doesn’t care, since she finds two men (Patrick Wilson and Patton Oswalt) whose only real rival for her affections is herself. In the end, however, the only one enchanted by the Legend of Mavis Gray is Mavis Gray.

The movie goes out of its way to paint as unlikeable a picture of Mavis as possible. Though you will be appalled by Mavis in certain moments, you will also marvel at Cody’s audacity in writing her. Cody also resists any temptation to judge her or to try to make her see why her mindset may be injurious to her emotional and psychological health. It stops short of where most movies inevitably go with such characters: think of Nicole Kidman’s obsequiously detached and condescending character in Margot at the Wedding. She was written to be disliked, but changed by the end of the story. Or at least realized that she must change. Mavis has no such enlightenment – and maybe that isn’t a tragedy. Maybe that’s just fine?

Maybe.

MoeJackson.com – A Delicious Guide To The Celebrity High Life

Welcome to THG’s Week in Review! Below, our staff takes a look back at the stories, stars and scandals that made these past seven days so memorable.

If you don’t already, you can FOLLOW THG on Twitter and Facebook for 24/7/365 news. Day in and day out, let us be your entertainment news source!

Now, a rundown of the week that was at The Hollywood Gossip:

• Safe to say it’s not going so hot for Mr. & Mrs. Kim Kardashian lately.
• The latest rumor: That E! was openly kourting husbands for Kim K.
• Amy Winehouse’s cause of death has been officially released.
• Playboy paid almost a million bucks for Lindsay Lohan nude.
• Michael Lohan was arrested, released and arrested again.
• Jessica Simpson is still angling to cash in on her kid.
• Courtney Stodden is too hot for the pumpkin patch.
• Madonna’s brother lives under a bridge.

Breaking Dawn Sneak Peek: Bella is Pregnant!

• Bella Swan totally gets pregnant in Breaking Dawn (above)!
• Jenna Lyons and Courtney Crangi are now a couple.
• Bernie Madoff attempted suicide. It didn’t work out.
• Orlando Jones suggested liberals kill Sarah Palin.
• The case of Anneka Di Lorenzo vexes police.
• Morgan Wilson is no longer Top anything.
• Patrice O’Neal suffered a stroke.
• No one likes Casey Anthony.

Brian Bradley – Jump

• Brian Bradley jumped into the Final 12 on The X Factor.
• Chaz Bono was eliminated from Dancing With the Stars.
• Maksim Chmerkovskiy had some words for the judges.
• Tony Romo and Candice Crawford are expecting!
• Mariah Carey introduced her twins to the world.
• Kody Brown of Sister Wives welcomed baby #17!
• Bruce Willis and Emma Heming are pregnant.
• Rachel Uchitel is pregnant, too. Yay?

Puss in Boots ‘Americano’ Trailer (Ft. Lady Gaga)

• Puss in Boots leads a fun weekend of new movie openings.
• Cate Edwards and Trevor Upham are officially married!
• So are Robin Williams and Susan Schneider, in fact!
• Kaley Cuoco and Josh Keznik are totally engaged!
• Hey, so are Frankie Muniz and Elycia Turnbow.
• Frances Bean Cobain and Isaiah Silva may be.
• Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux are not.
• Jessica Donaldson got with Prince Harry.

The Hollywood Gossip

Welcome to THG’s Week in Review! Below, our staff takes a look back at the stories, stars and scandals that made these past seven days so memorable.

If you don’t already, you can FOLLOW THG on Twitter and Facebook for 24/7/365 news. Day in and day out, let us be your entertainment news source!

Now, a rundown of the week that was at The Hollywood Gossip:

• Lindsay Lohan was jailed once again … and may be again on November 2.
• Girl violates probation a lot … and does crack and meth, her dad says.
• Her teeth are pretty jacked up, we can’t argue with MiLo on that one.
• Soulja Boy was arrested for possession of marijuana.
• Sean Penn called the Tea Party a racist lynch mob.
• Susan Sarandon called the Pope a Nazi.

Breaking Dawn Wedding Trailer

• The Breaking Dawn hype machine is in overdrive. Not that we’re complaining.
• Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s death photo and video drew celebration.
• Britney Spears’ racy new video is has sparked widespread criticism.
• Casey Anthony’s True Hollywood Story wasn’t well received either.
• Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries: Are they on the rocks?
• Someone apparently wants to kill Selena Gomez.

Jersey Shore Season 5 Sneak Peek

• Jersey Shore’s Season 4 finale is in the books, but they’ll be back (above).
• A bunch of exotic animals were turned loose around Zanesville, Ohio.
• The case against Dr. Conrad Murray is looking stronger by the day.
• The Real Housewives of New Jersey really hate Teresa Giudice.
• Kirsten Storms of Dirty Soap is in bad shape. Get well girl.
• Bruce Willis is pissed at Ashton Kutcher. We feel ya B.

Harry Belafonte Sleeps Through Interview

• Can someone please wake up Harry Belafonte? Hello? Harry? Someone?!
• Jessica Simpson’s pregnancy is still not officially confirmed, but close!
• Nikki Reed and Paul McDonald of Twilight and Idol are now married!
• Ditto Shannen Doherty and Kurt Iswarienko. Congrats to the pair!
• Follow this link for news on all your favorite celebrity couples!
• And celebrity babies, too!

The Hollywood Gossip

It’s been a bad summer for super hero movies: Green Lantern, Thor, and X-Men and all bombed. It’s also been a rather disappointing summer for the summer cinematic staple: sequels! Hangover 2, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Cars 2 didn’t exactly regale audiences the way their makers may have intended.

What it has been, however, is a good summer for comedies: first Bridesmaids came out, making everyone awaken to the fact that, hey, women are funny – I mean so FUNNY that I have to use all caps and italics to stress just how funny they can really be. And now comes Horrible Bosses, not quite as entertaining as Bridesmaids but still a jolly good time for anyone who doesn’t mind throwing away .50, 90 minutes of their lifespan, and mainstream logic out the window in the name of cinematic farce.

The one thing everyone will be able to agree upon is the idea that Horrible Bosses is this year’s Hangover: it even out-Hangovers the underperforming Hangover sequel by a good few yards.

What exactly do I mean? Well, it makes us laugh at a terribly common scenario by sprinkling new and bizarre idiosyncrasies into a situation that everyone can relate to. Who hasn’t had a boss they detested with every bit of their biological fiber? Or had a boss you thought may have been the model for Michael Scott on The Office? Hating your boss is a universal, time-honored tradition – and it never hurts when that tradition is expounded through four letter words espoused by the likes of Jason Bateman, Kevin Spacey and Jennifer Aniston.

Here’s the basic premise (it’s so basic, you might find it hard to believe the film is as watchable as it is): three mistreated and disabused employees vow to avenge their misery by, well, murdering their bosses. The employees are played by Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, and (the hilarious) Jason Sudeikis whose bosses are the formidable trio of Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Aniston, and Colin Farrell. The three would-be murderers hire a hitman named Motherf*@#er Jones (Jamie Foxx), and thus the hilarity ensues. There’s a lot of spying and amateur espionage to set up all the slapstick that takes place in the film: perhaps we have forgotten just how funny a fall can be, but the filmmakers remind us, again and again.

The film may benefit from relatively low expectations (hey, this is a comedy starring Jennifer Aniston, after all) but then everyone just might be pleasantly surprised by how good Aniston is in this film. She nails every scene with pitch perfect comic timing and – gasp! – may just find second innings as a comic heroine. Go, watch, and be suitably surprised by how much you enjoy her performance.

MoeJackson.com – A Delicious Guide To The Celebrity High Life

Something Borrowed is one of those ho-hum romantic comedies you’ve seen a bazillion times before, stuffed with clichés, lacking in depth, and ultimately deeply unsatisfying. To boot, it’s especially unsatisfying because it had so much potential to be something more than a recycled celluloid compost of every Reese Witherspoon movie you’ve ever seen sprinkled with those oddball touches of Ally McBeal. You wonder why they pour as much money as they do into making these instantly forgettable flops when those millions could be spent ridding the world of its many evils…evils like the limp, regurgitated romantic comedy.

The title comes from that old wedding adage of what a bride needs on her big day: something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue. The film should have been called Something Old, since it’s a classic case of old wine in a new bottle. What’s it about? As if you don’t already know…

It’s all about Rachel (Gennifer Goodwin), a 30 year old lawyer whose alcoholic best friend Darcy (Kate Hudson) is engaged to Dex (someone named Colin Egglesfield) who is also a lawyer. Rachel and Dex have secretly been in love with each other since they met in law school, but somehow Darcy got in the way … the same way that hooch got in the way between Darcy and some semblance of respectability. Now that Dex has promised his future to Darcy, Rachel is kinda sorta golly gosh falling apart, and falling apart in the way that Hollywood likes to imagine its women falling apart – you know, all over the place, like a batty loon on Estrogen who just finished watching the last 24.5 seasons of Oprah. Hiss, spit and grooooooooooaaaaaaaan!

You can probably guess how it all unfolds (yes, Dex and Rachel do have a pre-conjugal encounter, in case you were curious) but don’t expect to be interested in anything. For whatever reason, the film’s screenwriter has taken Emily Griffin’s novel and written the characters as bland ciphers – so bland, in fact, that they don’t resemble anyone you’ve ever met or encountered outside the idiot box. No flaws, no personality, no sense of self extending beyond the telegenic requirement of handsomeness. It works in a catalog, not on celluloid.

The one character that you might find slightly interesting is Rachel’s best friend and confidante, played by The Office’s John Krasinski (critic’s admission: he is the only reason I wanted to see this movie in the first place). Unfortunately, even his cool guy charm with that trademark look of nonchalant bemusement can’t save this droll show from collapsing into the d(r)oldrums of Romantic Comedy Hell. He’s essentially the exact same character that Rupert Everett played so memorably in My Best Friend’s Wedding, except here he’s written as a writer instead of as gay. Why? Because making him gay would lead to making him interesting, and that Something Borrowed cannot permit.

MoeJackson.com – A Delicious Guide To The Celebrity High Life

The latest film adaptation of Charlotte Bronte 1847 English novel Jane Eyre is a masterful retelling (and reimagining) of one of literature’s most enduring coming-of-age tales. Directed by Cary Fukunanga, the film avoids the obvious pitfall of being little more than a dainty costume drama that looks pretty enough but fails to engage the rich characters and plot mystery of the source material. Fukunanga has assembled a fine cadre of actors (including Judi Dench, Michael Fassbender, and Mia Wasikowska as the eponymous heroine) that bring the story to life in ways we haven’t seen before on the big or small screen: Jane is this time presented as a much fiercer creature than her past incarnations, and though she softens slightly as she approached womanhood, her inner steel remains intact.

On a completely separate aside, I should mention that Wasikowska is fast becoming the most engaging young actor from Down Under since, well, Cate Blanchett. There’s something about her ability to attract quality material that allows her to shine consistently, no matter the genre (Alice in Wonderland, The Kids are All Right) that has made legions of reviewers (including this one) anticipate whatever she will appear in next.

Judi Dench is her dependably remarkable self in the picture, cast as Lord Rochester’s housekeeper Mrs. Fairfax who acts as both gatekeeper and Fairy Godmother to the wayward Jane. And perhaps not surprisingly, Michael Fassbender dominates the proceedings in an unforgettably brilliant portrayal of Rochester who is at once commanding and cowardly, romantic and resentful. The chemistry between Fassbender and the much younger Wasikowska is something to behold: it almost borders on creepy at times but Fassbender plays Rochester in such a way that it becomes impossible for the audience to imagine Jane Eyre’s nubile heart belonging to anyone else. Credit should also go to the expert screenplay written by Moira Buffini.

For those of you who never read the original novel in high school or college, here’s a brief recap: Jane Eyre is a young orphan being raised in abject misery by a wealthy aunt who refuses to grant Jane even the smallest kindness. She is shipped off to reform school where she is punished and beaten by austere mistresses who care nothing for the young girl’s broken heart. Eventually, she emerges as a soft spoken but resourceful individual who finds herself working as a governess in the manor of a wealthy lord and landowner named Rochester. He is taken by her quick wit and her guilelessness (calling her a “rare, unearthly thing”), eventually falling in love with the young woman despite the fact that he harbors a deep, dark secret that threatens to undo their entire romance.

Buffini adds elements of horror and suspense to the story in ways that were never intended by Bronte: Lord Rochester’s manor becomes a haven for fallen demons and screams in the night, leaving both Jane and the viewer puzzled as to what exactly transpires between the cold walls of his isolated home. But the heart and soul of the film are Jane’s quest to have her own heart and soul affirmed, a crusade that takes her from cruelty to kindness, from obscurity to understanding. A definite must-see.

MoeJackson.com – A Delicious Guide To The Celebrity High Life

New Comedy Shines On Broadway

Review by Christopher Moore, Broadway Magazine

The unusually quirky and surprisingly successful new comedy “Elling” opened tonight at the venerable Ethel Barrymore Theatre. For anyone who thought the people of Norway lacked a sense of humor, let the record stand corrected. Based on the Norwegian novels of Ingvar Ambjornsen, and adapted from the Academy Award nominated foreign film; the vision conjured up by Simon Bent and director Doug Hughes of “Elling” on Broadway is inspired in its dry subtly and subversive in its world view.

Set in a modern Oslo, two former inmates of a mental hospital take an apartment together as they attempt to live a ‘normal’ life and fit into society. As the friends Elling and Kjell Bjarne (that is the correct spelling, I swear) begin their ‘normal’ life, they encounter an ordinary world that is just as eccentric and wonderful as they are. While the play begins as a cross between Samuel Beckett and Joe Orton, it ends up being something entirely different. The terse wit of Beckett is there throughout, but there is a narrative that unfolds and characters that develop in a singular way that is wonderfully pleasing.

The word “rare” is invoked at several points in the story by Elling to describe his orangutan of a friend Kjell; it is a moniker that applies to this entire production. With heartening twists, “Elling” could be the oddest feel-good hit in recent Broadway history.

In addition to the singular creation of Ambjornsen’s novel and vision of director Hughes and company, the success of the production owes a great deal to one of the most eclectic and effective ensembles now on Broadway.

Denis O’Hare takes the title role of Elling, a closet poet (literally). O’Hare instantly captivates the audience with his flawless combination of wit, intellect and unapologetic “mommie’s boy” insecurity. O’Hare finds more dimensions in the simple eccentricity and world-view of Elling than one might expect. As his friend, Brendan Fraser is not afraid to look unglamorous nor to act unglamorously; it is an enjoyable performance, and both Mr. O’Hare and Mr. Fraser appear to be in perfect harmony. Added to this are Richard Easton as a great poet who has lost his muse and Jennifer Coolidge as a neighbor who befriends the pair. Both Mr. Easton and Ms. Coolidge are strong in their roles and balance the fragility of their characters with a solid dose of joy.

As the play unfolds, this group forms an eclectic and eccentric community where even the most dysfunctional, drunken or depressed soul can both find and bring joy and happiness to the others. Ultimately there is a quite hopeful message that glows beneath the humor of the play; it is the idea that even the most damaged among us can be a vehicle for hope and inspiration. Unlike other recent off-beat new plays like “A Behanding In Spokane” or “God of Carnage” there is a heart that goes along with the smiles. The world can be a difficult place, but for a too-brief two hours on Broadway, Elling reminds us that courage takes many forms and facing our fears is not such a bad idea, at least in Oslo.

TAGS: Broadway, Elling, Brendan Fraser, Denis O’Hare, Norway, Opening Night, Review

Broadway.tv Blog

Review by Christopher Moore, Broadway Magazine

Football is a tough sport, and the new Broadway production of Lombardi is a tough play. With nominal sponsorship from the NFL, the production seeks to offer both an honest portrait of a complex leader while maintaining the sheen on the winning Lombardi legend. For those of you not in Osh Kosh, Vincent Lombardi was the legendary football coach of the Green Bay Packers in the 1960s. He led the team to victories in the first two Super Bowls, and the trophy given to modern winners of the Super Bowl is named for Coach Lombardi.

Now, in a new Broadway play, writer Eric Simonson delivers a portrait of Lombardi by focusing on one particular week in the champion’s life. Simonson invents the character of a young New York sports writer who is in Green Bay to cover Lombardi. The reporter asks questions and helps move the story forward. In the play, the coach has recently been the victim of a hatchet job by a writer from Esquire that has incensed the Coach and everyone around him. The new writer is there to set the record straight. It is unclear if the Esquire article is fact or fiction, but it may have made for a more compelling play if Simonson had turned his attention to that encounter rather than this one featuring a reporter who worships the coach.

As the play stands, the writer from Look magazine is a life-long Lombardi fan who can spout statistics and even becomes one with the team, though in the end struggles to find some objectivity we are told. The writer-character sums up Lombardi as the most imperfect “perfect” man he had ever known. One wishes there had been less ‘perfect’ and more’ imperfect.’

The success of Lombardi the play is in its ability to subtly touch on the darker side of the winning story. We learn that Lombardi showed the back of his hand to his estranged son quite often, the coach and his wife drink quite a bit, and it is suggested that Lombardi may not even have had the best interest of his players at heart when it came to the business side of the sport (the coach was also the General Manager). Nothing is more uninteresting than perfection, and the faint hints to a darker side of this heroic portrait are fascinating. Simonson errs on the side of hero worship in his script, but he does suggest fuller dimensions to the story in a crafty way.

Another pleasure of the production is that the show captures a time when the NFL was not the enterprise it has become—it seems almost quaint. Players and fans and coaches were all fairly accessible, coaches could work at a bank in the off-season, and the idea of having an agent negotiate a contract on behalf of a player could be considered outrageous. In the lobby of the Circle-In-The-Square theatre, among the giant portraits of the legends there are real jerseys from the actual 1960s players and even the genuine players’ bench from Lombardi’s last game. Looking at those items, and seeing the raw footage of actual games played in the freezing gray of winter, one is reminded of the human scale of the sport that has become gargantuan.

Simonson may have delivered the playbook, but it is they players on the stage who make this show one of the winningest sports plays ever produced. Dan Lauria as Vincent Lombardi is almost too good as the coach. He barks, he purrs, he drinks, he coaches; Lauria gives Vincent Lombardi a Shakespearean dimension, the coach is genuinely a man haunted and obsessed. Though the actor mutes the violence that is inherent in the story, for the most part it is an uncanny portrayal that fascinates. While it would be a better play if Lombardi were a less likeable character, Lauria does his level best to give a balance rendering of an imbalanced mercurial figure.

Perhaps the richest performance of the evening belongs to Judith Light as Mrs. Lombardi. With a steady flow of cocktails, Ms. Light is unswerving in her ability to capture a conflicted woman who has made sacrifices and reaped rewards. A football widow, Ms. Light finds the human pulse and passion of this woman and never hits a false note. Together with Lauria, they are a natural couple, and their performances are exceptional. The rest of the cast does a solid job, but the characters never get beyond uncomplicated stereotypes: the earnest reporter, the bad boy athlete, the bumpkin. The actors do a remarkable job, but the script doesn’t give them much of an arc to travel.

That said, the subject of Lombardi is Lombardi, and the production delivers an intriguing look inside the life and mind of a tenacious spirit who only wanted to win…and managed to win a lot. Pick your favorite sports cliché and insert it here—Lombardi on Broadway is a winner.

Broadway.tv Blog

Welcome to The Hollywood Gossip’s Week in Review, where our staff members recap the past seven days in entertainment and celeb news, rumors and gossip.

Follow THG on Twitter and Facebook for 24/7/365 coverage. Right now, let’s look back at the celebs, stories and scandals that made headlines this week …

We hope Demi Lovato gets well, and soon.

• Demi Lovato quit her tour and checked into rehab for emotional and physical issues. Bullying is believed to have led to her meltdown, which got violent.
• Justin Bieber loves him some Selena Gomez, but not bullying.
• Evi and Randy Quaid are bat$h!t insane, and we love them for it.
• Charlie Sheen and Brooke Mueller finally split. Took long enough.
• Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt say they’re bankrupt. Mmwahaha.
• Michael Jackson fans and some relatives are pissed at Oprah.
• A Kat Dennings nude text was sent to the wrong person.
• Lil Wayne is out of jail and ready for some strip clubs.

Bristol Palin refuses to leave Dancing With the Stars. Or Vote.

• Bristol Palin simply will not be eliminated on Dancing With the Stars, leading us to think there’s a conspiracy. As for not voting, that’s just ridiculous.
• Catya Washington was arrested for lots of drugs. And a gun.
• Speaking of drugs, T.I.’s wife Tiny was also charged.
• The Rally to Restore Sanity was more or less a hit.
• Kendra Wilkinson whined about being a fake single mom.
• There was a rumor that Bret Michaels and Tish Cyrus hit it.
• This may or may not be Kim Kardashian’s first single.
• Zach Galifianakis decided to smoke a joint on TV.
• Rihanna and Eminem have run it back.
• 50 Cent loves to play with money.

Congratulations to these newly-engaged couples!

• Vanessa Minnillo and Nick Lachey got engaged! (Sorry Jess!)
• So did Eddie Cibrian and LeAnn Rimes! (Sorry Brandi/Dean!)
• Grey’s Anatomy star Jessica Capshaw welcomed baby #2!
• Spice Girl Emma Bunton is expecting her second baby, too.
• Amber Portwood is supposedly fighting just to keep hers.
• Meghan Jones is dating Jake Pavelka for reasons unknown.
• Aaron O’Connell is dating 90210 star AnnaLynne McCord.
• Taylor Swift and Jake Gyllenhaal? It’s still unclear.
• Lily Collins may be dating Taylor Lautner.
• R.I.P.: Former Bachelorette contestant Julien Hug, surfing champ Andy Irons, Lion King actress Shannon Tavarez, and Storm Chaster Matt Hughes.

The Hollywood Gossip