The endorsements were the first things to go—never before had a simple milk mustache given off such foamy-mouthed menace. The next logical thing to fall was the singer's acting career.

Brown was wisely easing himself into Hollywood. First came a recurring role as a band geek on The O.C., followed by small parts in Stomp the Yard and This Christmas. Most recently, he had completed filming on Bone Deep. A mid-budget heist drama with a porny title, Deep boosted Brown's marquee value with a supporting role alongside T.I.—unlike Brown, the rare pop star who can actually act. But the part didn't require Brown to carry the movie, or even be particularly good: Its more experienced stars—Paul Walker and Hayden Christensen—would do the heavy lifting, their combined, unidimensional-actorbot talents sure to render Brown's line-readings relatively nuanced by comparison.

The film's marketers have a bit of dilemma on their hands, as Brown—who, let's face it, was cast to sell tickets to fans—is now weapons-grade box office poison. Hip-hip blog Woooha is floating the logical rumor that distributor Sony Screen Gems is scrambling to "erase" him from all movie poster, trailer and TV ads, though he'll remain in the final cut.

Above, watch a E! News segment highlighting Brown's Bone Deep involvement that aired just days before the Grammy Night of Infamy. Coming at us "guns blazin', gangsta-style," there was little hint that "juggling music, acting, and Rihanna" would soon result in the show-stopping tumbling of all three.

• Chris Brown film career in jeopardy; "erased" from new movie [woooha.com]

Is it oversimplifying to wonder where this faith came from, or what Screen Gems thinks it will get out of this? Have you ever once heard anyone walking around on a studio lot, at festivals or elsewhere intoning, "I want to be in the Hayden Christensen business?" Seriously, yes or no: Is there a demand for three Hayden Christensen films?

Not that we have anything against Hayden Christensen; Shattered Glass was wonderful, and it's not his fault Star Wars set fire to its own legacy. He's not waving the Hayden flag on some hubristic victory lap this morning, either; the word slipped out via Variety, which reported that Christensen and his brother's shingle Forest Park Pictures will bring projects directly to Screen Gems when he's not invited to participate in the studio's own films. The first film under the pact, the thriller Bone Deep, shoots later this fall (also starring T.I. and Chris Brown, who curiously have SG deals as well), and the two remaining projects are yet to be determined.

"Hayden is a very talented and versatile actor with a proven worldwide box-office history," Screen Gems president Doug Culpepper told the trade paper. Again, nothing against Christensen's talent (we've seen better than pretty much any actor under 30 these days), but "proven worldwide box-office history"? Excepting Star Wars, which you kind of have to do considering what little he's been able to whip up in their "proven worldwide box-office" aftermath, Christensen's only score was Jumper, a generally reviled $220 million grosser that lost money Stateside and cost almost three times what Screen Gems is going to pay to make and market any of Christensen's upcoming projects — genre films like Awake, which did less than $30 million worldwide in 2007.

Obviously this isn't the worst deal Screen Gems could make; there's always that home-video and Flopz™ afterlife. (Or only life, as with his straight-to-DVD 2007 effort Virgin Territory.) Still, though: In this economic climate, Hayden Christensen is a player? Does Screen Gems know something we don't? And if so, can we have stock tips while they're at it?

• http://www.link.com">Hayden Christensen is Screen's gem [Variety]