Issue Date: August 16, 2009
I love Timothy Olyphant in FX's "Damages." Will there be a sequel to his movie Hitman?
Polly Hester, Oxford, N.C.
No, but he'd be up for one. "How much are they paying me?" Olyphant quips. He's in "A Perfect Getaway," in theaters now, and, when we talked, he was back from Pittsburgh, where he was bringing Elmore Leonard's character Rayland Givens to life for a potential FX series. Olyphant, 41, thrives on acting life. "Part of the fun of this job is getting the job," he says.
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It must be exhausting for Harry Shearer, Michael McKean and Christopher Guest to promote the 25th anniversary of their faux documentary "This Is Spinal Tap." The actors stay in character for their interviews (even solo interviews), which may be fun for them but turns out to be as silly as it sounds and keeps the guys from having to discuss anything heavy, like, say, the cultural significance of their hilarious movie. We chatted with Guest -- as guitarist Nigel Tufnel -- who made some bad jokes about the new high-def Blu-ray version of the film. "I thought they were saying Blu-ray was like a medical procedure," he says. "So, I don't really know what that is, but I'm all for it."
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I see Catherine Zeta-Jones is making T-Mobile commercials again. What about movies?
Sonia Lara, El Paso
She has an interesting-looking romance flick ready to go, "The Rebound," with Justin Bartha ("The Hangover"), but it has no firm release date. T-Mobile started phasing out Zeta-Jones in 2006, apparently unwisely, as the company has brought her back to take advantage of her credibility in branding. She has been back with the company urging a "Mobile Makeover" since May.
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I know it's Harry Potter's summer, but will there be a sequel to the tremendously popular movie "Twilight?"
Dee McLaughlin, West Covina, Calif.
Yes. There will be at least two (or maybe three) more movies. The first sequel, "New Moon," opens Nov. 20. "The second book broadens the mythology, and we go to Italy," director Chris Weitz tells us. "The amount of detail and color and spectacle is going to be bigger in this one." Then, on June 30, 2010, comes "Eclipse," third in the series. And it's expected that there will be a fourth film, from the fourth book, "Breaking Dawn."
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How is James Brady, President Reagan's press secretary who was shot during the 1981 assassination attempt?
Mike Dawkins, Randleman, N.C.
Brady, 68, is doing well, says wife Sarah: "Like everybody else, we're getting older." The two are semi-retired in Rehoboth Beach, Del., but they remain active in gun control work. In June, they visited the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House and got an unplanned visit with a "very gracious" President Obama.
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Was Elizabeth Taylor not invited to the big Michael Jackson memorial in July?
Christiane H. Lund, San Jose
Taylor, 77, says she was asked to speak but chose not to be part of the public hoopla. She put her feelings on Twitter: "I loved Michael with all my soul and I can't imagine life without him."
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What's next for Marianne Jean-Baptiste, who was on CBS's canceled drama "Without a Trace?"
Leslie Andree, San Jose
Because her show was axed unexpectedly this past spring, Jean-Baptiste, 42, missed Hollywood's "pilot season" and the chance to land a new series for the fall. But the English actress does have an action movie, "Takers," due in January. She plays the sister of Idris Elba, whom you may remember as Charles Miner, the temporary boss on "The Office" last season.
Contributing: Gayle Jo Carter, Steve Thompson, Brian Truitt
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BIRTHDAYS
August 16: Steve Carell 47; Madonna 51; Kathie Lee Gifford 56
August 17: Donnie Wahlberg 40; Sean Penn 49; Robert De Niro 66
August 18: Christian Slater 40; Edward Norton 40; Robert Redford 73
August 19: John Stamos 46; Bill Clinton 63
August 20: Demi Lovato 17; Connie Chung 63
August 21: Kim Cattrall 53; Kenny Rogers 71
August 22: Tori Amos 46
 Ask Lorrie Lynch a question about a celeb!
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