As Var reported back in February, Swank is co-producing and starring as Amelia Earhart, first female pilot to fly across the Atlantic, in Mira Nair's Amelia. Filming began in Toronto two months ago, and despite both Cinemablend and Cinematical expressing their disapproval of Swank's appearance in stills released from the set, we doubt Swank cares very much whether or not she looks like "a total mess," "Corky from Life Goes On," or "a very special person." [Ed. Note — Way to take the high road there, CinemaBlend. Retard jokes? Really?] After all, as the Hiller-Pierson Correlation taught us, Uglification + biopic + strong female role = Oscar gold.

[Photo credits: Splash, Cinemablend]

• WHO DOES HILARY SWANK LOOK LIKE WITH THIS NEW HAIRCUT? [Janet Charlton's Hollywood]

In today's episode: Hilary Swank and Chad Lowe; Jack Black; Colin Farrell; Dustin Hoffman; Michael Bay, Seth Green, Joshua Jackson, Lance Bass, Efren Ramirez, Josh Henderson, and Ben Lyons; Jennifer Jason Leigh and Noah Baumbach; Tom Freston; Cybill Shepherd; Wentworth Miller and Tia Carrere; Adam Brody; Benjamin McKenzie; Jonah Hill; Wayne Newton; Peter Cambor; Sanjaya Malakar and Phil Stacey.

· Spotted Chad Lowe at the West LA "Bed Bath and Beyond" store this afternoon (Wednesday, June27). He was slumming it in jeans, t-shirt, and ball cap, in the small kitchen appliance section of the store. Looked good, but definitely not a Defamer worthy sighting.

I ended up behind him in the check out line, and this is where the story finally becomes interesting. He suddenly jumped out of the line and ran over to a brunette he spotted in the nearby return section. They enjoyed a loooong hug and when they pulled apart, lo and behold, I could it was ex-wife Hilary Swank, looking quite beautiful while dressed down in a white t-shirt and beige jeans.

They spoke and beamed at one another for about a minute before returning to their separate check out lines. They were quite comfortable with one another, and it was a sweet little moment to witness.

· 6/28 - I had lunch at Mozza on Thursday and to my surprise saw only one celeb (though the place was probably crawling with industry types). Jack Black was seated at the table next to me and had a lengthy lunch with a couple of non-famous, or at least unrecognizable, guys. He looked pretty subdued but appeared to be enjoying himself.

· June 26 I just saw Colin Farrell drinking a latte or some other coffee drink with three other guys at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf behind CAA's deathstar building in Century City.

· 6/27/07 at 4pm Just saw Dustin Hoffman pull up to the Brentwood Longs Drugs in his prius (of course). Wandered casually into the store and added a few pumice stones to his cavernous cart, while talking on his cellphone. Looked a little lost, but who isn't since they did remodeled. Khakis and polo and a gorgeous antique watch complemented the relaxed Westside afternoon loafer look.

· At the "Transformers" premiere in Westwood on 6/27 - Josh Henderson (looking just like you'd expect of someone who's done Paris - totally gross and totally out of it), Joshua Jackson (thin, in skinny man jeans, but still looking really good, still don't want him to be Fletch), Lance Bass (he had dark hair, looked like, you know, himself), star Kevin Dunn (very nice to fans), Seth Green (dark hair, short as ever, on the non-star blue? carpet), Efren "Pedro" Ramirez (he, frankly, looked insane), Ben Lyons (the E! guy, actually really cute and really nice), and Michael Bay (the man himdamnself, whom I accidentally got drunk and accosted with weird compliments; sorry, dude, your movie rocked!). Is it wrong that even after this motley crew of sightings, I still feel empty inside because of NO Shia sightings???

· Tuesday night was on my way to meeting friends at a bar on 3rd and outside Orso ran into the valet stand hubbub. Slowed down drive-by style and was rewarded with Jennifer Jason Leigh hugging it out with dining companions including hubby Noah Baumbach (sporting a beard to stave off the ravages of age?). Speaking of which, JJL was looking good for an actress of a certain age.

Deposed Viacom CEO Tom Freston was also there, digging up some scratch to tip our red-vested friends. Unclear if they dined together to discuss The Anniversary Party 2 as comeback vehicle for Freston.

· Stopped by Amoeba yesterday afternoon (6-27) to see if Paul McCartney was doing some pre-show shopping, spotted Cybill Shepherd instead. Is she a fan??

· Friday morning 6/29 - stopping at my on-the-way-to-the-office
Starbucks in Larchmont Village and hit a two-fer: As I'm parking,
the former 'Babe-Raham Lincoln' of Wayne's World, Tia Carrere getting into her german import in the spot next to mine. Not so much with the "Schwiiiing" these days. Next, as I await my new and rather tasty breakfast sandwich to emerge from the microwave, I notice Wentworth Miller of Prison Break waiting for his venti soy latte. Very normal and unassuming in shorts and tee albeit for the trademark buzz-cut and blue eyes. The actor cum barista says to him "you ready?" which I assume is a reference to production starting up again and he replies "I don't have a choice". Really? Come on guy things be worse, you could be on the other side of the counter kissing the ass of some pretentiously named TV actor, cheer up millionaire!

· My boyfriend and I saw Adam Brody at Canter's Deli around 1:45am on Sunday night/Monday early morning. He had about a few day's worth of facial hair growth, generally looked unclean and was skinny as hell. I covertly told my boyfriend it was him and he was skeptical until he spied his name on his driver's license (boyfriend was standing behind him in line, waiting to pay). Some girl noticed him and was vaguely trying to talk to him even though he had his hood up and looked like he really didn't want anyone to be noticing him. Still, he seemed nice to her even though he bolted out of there once he finished paying.

· Thursday, June 28th Just had lunch at the 3 Square Bakery on Abott Kinney where I saw Benjamin McKenzie enjoying a salad and perusing a script at the empty communal table. He is cute and compact in that "weren't you on the varsity soccer team at my high school?" kind of way. I was hoping he would reenact one of his Emmy worthy freak-out-and punch-the-wall scenes that made Ryan from Chino such a crowd pleaser, but sadly, he was just another cute guy eating organic greens in Venice.

· 6/26, around 8pm. Spotted a cute husky guy on a bike on the corner of 3rd and Crescent Heights. Upon closer inspection/abject staring I figure out its Ebay-store scene stealer Jonah Hill. It took me a second to recognize him because he had a serious beard going along with his fro, which made him look a lot older. I was taken back by how cute he looked in his black t-shirt and jeans, and also the fact that he was riding a bike (although it was in distinctly hipster-ish way). He stopped on the corner to mess with his Ipod, which he returned to his bright red messenger bag before continuing down the street. I was in my car, so therefore resisted the urge to ask him for Seth Rogen's number.

· Leaving an appointment on the Disney lot (6-28). I see a weirdly skanky looking blonde. 50ish with really bad roots and leathery tan. "Who could that woman be with?" I think to myself. Then I saw him and realized there really was only one possible answer: Wayne Newton. Wearing sunglasses with the blackest hair you've ever seen. Is it fake? Real? Plugs? I couldn't tell, but there was definitely something odd about it. My friend and I and the security guard shared a nice giggle.

· Location: Abbot Kinney - Stroh's Coffee Shop
Target: Peter Cambor (ABC's Notes from the Underbelly)
Date/Time: 6/28 10AMish

My co-workers and I stopped by to grab some much needed coffee. Even before I entered into the café, I noticed a cute guy (sunglasses on) sitting outside with his dog and a friend. He looked really, really
familiar.

I get my coffee and stand outside the café with my co-worker as I rack my brain to figure out where I've seen that "cute" guy. Not from show Office... Was he in Knock Up — no, he wasn't Paul Rudd.

As my co-workers and I neared the office, I ask them if they saw that guy and recognized him. My co-worker comments that the dog was beautiful.

Then I realize that it's that guy from the show about people being
pregnant on ABC. Of course, I look it up on ABC.com but the show isn't listed anymore (cancelled?!). I then remember it had that girl from the Rice Cake commercials in it too (she was pretty funny actually).

Googled: Rice Cake commercial which led me to Yahoo Answers which led me Rachael Harris' imdb site which led me to Notes from the Underbelly which finally led me to Peter Cambor. If anything, this made me realize that I have way too much time on my hands.

Thanks for listening,

· Tuesday June 26 2:30pm @ Urth Cafe on Melrose...TWO! American Idol Contestants walking down Melrose in front of Urth Cafe. Phil Stacey (the bald dude) and Sanfuckingjaya!! There was a third person with them but I didn't see their face. For all I know it could've been that beat box dude. No crazy hairdo for Sanjaya. He and Phil were not holding hands.

• THE OTHER SIDE OF ASPEN #4: THE RESCUE [77 Miles]

[Photo: AP]

• Aspen ski patrol rescues lost celebrities [DenverPost.com]

Wow! Was at the home of good friends Ted & Sue for an annual Christmastime party last night (Saturday, December 16th). Was in the living room with 15 other guests when there was a knock at the front door. Someone shouted "come in" and none other than Chad Lowe opened the door and came inside. He immediately realized he was at the wrong party (no celebrities here, not even celebrities' spouses) and he said "I think we are at the wrong party!". He asked, "Is this Diane and Michael's house?" and some of us said no while some other cranks in the room shouted, "Yes, there in the back yard!" Really fun stuff for a whole minute as Chad tried to figure out where the fuck he was. Very nice and smiling, and apologetic upon discovering he was being teased. I glanced outside and caught sight of his companion, and lo it was NOT Hilary. Good luck Chad, we think you rock just the way you are!

Although this story had a happy ending, with the wayward celebrity being sent on his way without first being forcibly detained and waterboarded with eggnog until he surrendered all of his Hollywood secrets (as would have happened if he'd showed up uninvited to the Defamer holiday event), we still can't help but feel badly for Lowe; how many more Christmas parties does he have to accidentally stumble into before people stop expecting him to be accompanied by Hilary Swank? We suspect he'll have to wander door-to-door with his date at least a few more times with that new ladyfriend before he finally establishes a holiday party identity separate from that of his more famous, double-Oscar-winning ex-wife.

• Swank'd III: Chad Lowe Disappointed In Hilary Swank's Decision To Destroy Everything That Was Good [Defamer]

In reaction to a Vanity Fair article in which Swank revealed details about Lowe's struggle with substance abuse, he comments, "I was disappointed that the details of our relationship became public." However he admits, "They were absolutely true, absolutely true. I've been sober for three and a half years and very grateful for that."

Lowe wants to set the record straight about Swank, he comments, "I am so grateful to Hilary for her support of me in a very difficult time in my life three and a half years ago. What hurt me more than anything is that people would think that she wasn't there for me and she was." Lowe adds, "She was the love of my life and that's not something you just shut off. I will always love her."

"Disappointed" seems somehow insufficient to describe how one might feel about an ex—posing waxed and wet on the cover of a high-circulation magazine—suggesting you're not just perpetually unemployed, but you're a perpetually unemployed cokehead. We are always too forgiving of the ones we love, however, and a part of Lowe seems to still be fantasizing that nothing at all has changed, and that at any moment he might turn a corner of their former shared West Village townhouse to find the breathtaking sight of his wife power-walking on a treadmill with an Oscar in each hand, moments before the love of his life turns to him and says, "If you're going to just stand there, could you at least get me a Fiji from the fridge?"

The entire press release after the jump.

• [ExtraTV.com]
• Previously: Swank'd II: Hilary Reveals Chad Lowe's Unspecified Drug Problem [Defamer]

ONLY ON "EXTRA"

CHAD LOWE SPEAKS OUT ABOUT HIS DIVORCE FROM HILARY SWANK

(Los Angeles - November 24, 2006) - Chad Lowe sits down with "Extra" and for the first time speaks about his much-publicized split from Hilary Swank.

Lowe declares, "It has been a tough year and not something I expected. It's very humbling."

In reaction to a Vanity Fair article in which Swank revealed details about Lowe's struggle with substance abuse, he comments, "I was disappointed that the details of our relationship became public." However he admits, "They were absolutely true, absolutely true. I've been sober for three and a half years and very grateful for that."

Lowe wants to set the record straight about Swank, he comments, "I am so grateful to Hilary for her support of me in a very difficult time in my life three and a half years ago. What hurt me more than anything is that people would think that she wasn't there for me and she was." Lowe adds, "She was the love of my life and that's not something you just shut off. I will always love her."

In regard to reconciliation, Lowe says, "Not in a marital sense...I'm very happy with my life and where it is now." He admits, "It's been a tough year and I've gotten through it and at this point with some perspective I can see that things really work out the way they are meant to."

About whether he might find love gain, he says, "I don't know. I don't think you can predict that...I'm very open to it and you know I take great solace in the fact that I know I am capable of really deep love."

Tune into "Extra" on Monday, November 27 for more with Chad Lowe about his split from Swank and his role on "24" as well as his directorial debut, "Beautiful Ohio."