Just by the trailer alone, we're already big fans of Gus Van Sant's upcoming film Milk, starring Sean Penn and a host of other male actors in the 18-34 demographic (James Franco, Diego Luna, Emile Hirsch) and the thing hasn't even come out yet! Stoking our fire even more, this month's Interview has a cover story featuring one of those male actors, the recently ubiquitous Mr. Franco. With Milk, Pineapple Express, last week's SNL hosting gig, and even a small part in the weepy Nights in Rodanthe, the Nicolas Sparks adaptation coming out this weekend, Mr. Franco looks like the poor man's 2008 Robert Downey, Jr.  read more »

Columbia students have been harassing James Franco, who's enrolled in an MFA program in writing. [P6]

Mary-Kate Olsen forced organizers of at the Rock and Republic show to re-seat her in between Gossip Girl stars Chace Crawford and Jessica Szohr, though she later obliged them by "[smiling] in the front row." [NYDN]

Sean 'Diddy' Combs totally lied about having a private jet!  [Palm Beach Post]

For those who don't know their Hamish Bowles from their Michael Roberts: The good people at Cityfile have put together an illustrated guide to prominent fashion week faces. [Cityfile]    read more »

Bookish hunk James Franco, who spent his free time during the filming of his latest movie reading the collected works of Thomas Pynchon, has signed on to star in the Gus Van Sant-produced Allen Ginsberg biopic Howl. The movie, written and directed by documentarians Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, will also feature David Strathairn, Alan Alda, Jeff Daniels, Mary-Louise Parker and Paul Rudd. According to Hollywood Reporter, the film will focus on the obscenity trial surrounding the 1957 American publication of Ginsberg's most famous poem, "Howl."

Hopefully Mr. Franco will not go overboard in his attempts to mimic Ginsberg: if he goes too far he might end up getting kicked out of Columbia, where he enrolled in an MFA program this fall.

Ashley Dupré—when will we be done with her?—has made a very awkward social move, presenting herself at the Waverly Inn. It seemed to work! [P6]

Gossip Girl's Ed Westwick is reportedly in talks to design a clothing line! Expect to see many many shorts...[Fashionista]

Christie Brinkley and Peter Cook may soon reach a settlement, which means the crazy and mostly uninteresting details of their sordid marriage will presumably stop leaking to the press. [NY Daily News]  read more »

Gather ye party hats and give those kazoos a test run. It’s almost time to say goodbye to another year. And good riddance! (Just joshing—we love ya, 2007!) Here to bide the time—well, 2 minutes and 16 seconds—before the ball drops is a fitting video. The clip features a few celebrities—Will Ferrell, Mila Kunis, James Franco, Sean Hayes, Fegie and others—offering up their New Year’s resolutions for 2008. Mr. Ferrell, for one, nods to the healthy habits of our commander-in-chief; he plans to get at least 13 hours of sleep every night. Hey! If the W.G.A. strike labors on, that might prove an all-too-easy easy resolution to keep. Cheers.  read more »]]> http://www.observer.com/2007/new-years-resolutions-will-ferrell-other-famous-folks#comments Style Fergie James Franco Mila Kunis Sean Hayes Will Ferrell Mon, 31 Dec 2007 17:22:34 -0500 David Foxley 62566 at http://www.observer.com http://www.observer.com/2007/brolin-hirsch-franco-got-milk

Three hunky actors have got Milk this morning, landing roles in the biopic based on the life of Harvey Milk. He was America's first openly gay elected official, assassinated in 1978.  read more »

The IMDB gossip page, which usually tells us things we already know, carries a novel piece of information this morning.

James Franco, the James Dean lookalike best known to the public as Peter Parker-friend-turned-foe Harry Osborn in the Spider-Man franchise (but most beloved to us for his turn as Daniel Desario in Freaks and Geeks, of course) is back in college working on his honors thesis in creative writing!

"Part of [the novel's plot] is based on a person I knew when I was younger who got in a lot of trouble and a lot of fights and was arrested a lot and was considered a troubled kid and kicked out of high school," he said. "Then, later, when I graduated high school he was diagnosed as a schizophrenic so I see his behavior as pre-symptoms to getting the help that he needed."