Though the first one hasn't even been released, Warner Bros. has already struck a deal with director Todd Phillips to create a sequel to The Hangover, a comedy starring Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis. The film has apparently tested well and a trailer had people rolling in the aisles at ShoWest. [Variety] Joel Schumacher, the sometimes-hackish director who nearly killed the Batman franchise until Christopher Nolan, dressed as Florence Nightingale, ran over to save it, has assembled one of the weirder casts possible for his new movie, Twelve. The film about youth and drugs and murder, based on a book, will star 50 Cent, Ellen Barkin, Kiefer Sutherland, Nancy Drew, the youngest acting Culkin, and Chace Crawford. [Variety]

As if there wasn't enough crap on TBS and TNT already, Turner has just signed a deal with Tyler Perry, getting first network TV rights to his oeuvre. Perhaps it's the Atlanta connection that keeps the two juggernauts working together (TBS airs two Tyler Perry-created shows)? Turner has also cornered the market on Jason Statham movies, picking up Crank 2: High Voltage, The Transporter 3, and the actually pretty good The Bank Job. [Variety]

New Line has cast area creepo Jackie Earle Haley as its next Freddy Krueger. The movie haus is putting together a sequel/reboot of their classic kills-you-in-your-sleep franchise, creatively titled A Nightmare On Elm Street. It's good casting, but man oh man must Robert Englund be pissed. [Variety] Jason Katims, the busy showrunner type from Friday Night Lights and the upcoming Parenthood, has signed on to steer another series. This one is called Dorothy Gale and is modern Wizard of Oz story about a girl who moves from Kansas to big, bad Manhattan to pursue her dream of working in the art world. Katims' first act as boss? Deeming the original title, Ugly Dorothy Has Sex in the City with Her Friends and then Meets Your Mother, too long. [Variety]

Erstwhile Hollywood star Christina Ricci has been cast in the new Adam Sandler movie, though it doesn't look as though Sandler himself will star. But he did write it! It's about a guy who discovers that his parents were secretly porn stars in the 70's, so he moves to Hollywood to continue the proud family tradition. Ricci plays the confused girlfriend. [THR] Speaking of comedy, the CW is jettisoning its half-hour sitcom programming at the end of this season, but one of its sitcoms, The Game, is hoping to stay on. Show creator Mara Brock Akil is expected to pitch the show as an hour-long dramedy. The series, about wives of famous athletes, is a spin-off from the net's more successful series Girlfriends. As THR gently points out, the rest of the net's series are "far less urban," mostly because they don't have many black people on them. So it might be a tough sell. [THR]

Serial Manson-fucker Evan Rachel Wood.

Breakout Addams and occasional Black Snake Moaner, Christina Ricci.

Happening torch singer, Zooey Deschanel.

Firestarting Hellboy sidekick and Kath & Kim casualty, Selma Blair.

Boomp3.com

While the Labor Day holiday traditionally spells the end of summertime, Christina Ricci believes otherwise. Ricci, along with her Speed Racer co-star/boyfriend Kick Gurry, took full advantage of the empty beaches of Malibu on Tuesday afternoon. In between tanning sessions and delightful romps through the surf, Ricci said, "It's the perfect time for a beach trip. No kids. No teens. No tourists. I'd be so depressed if I had to spend my day trapped in an office with weather like this. It's amazing!."

[Photo Credit: INF Daily]

*A Call To The Bullpen is a work of fiction. Although the pictures we use are most certainly real, Defamer does not purport that any of the incidents or quotations you see in this piece actually happened. Lighten up, people ... it's a joke.

boomp3.com

Christina Ricci had a make to a quick pit stop to pick up a six-pack of the life force that keeps Hollywood running, Diet Coke. Ricci wasn't sure if she was running low at her house, but the svelte Speed Racer star's sixth sense kicked in. Ricci said, "I was just driving back from the gym and I just felt this need to stop at the first place I saw and get a six pack of Diet Coke. I was feeling really tense and anxious and then I put that six pack in my hands. It just went away. As if the entire weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders." Upon leaving the store, Ricci gently placed the six-pack in the front seat and strapped it with a seat belt.

[Photo Credit: Flynet]

*A Call To The Bullpen is a work of fiction. Although the pictures we use are most certainly real, Defamer does not purport that any of the incidents or quotations you see in this piece actually happened. Lighten up, people ... it's a joke.

After making PETA's 2005 Worst Dressed List and earning particularly mean reason from the group's trademark bag of bitchy tricks, ("If she keeps on wearing fur and eating at Carl's Jr., she'll be back on the list next year as Star Jones."), Paris allegedly sat through animal torture videos from China and promised to stop wearing fur. As a reward, PETA removed the "heirhead" from next year's list. Christina Ricci followed a similar path after making the 2006 list, sitting through a Martha Stewart expose (shudder) on how mean it is to hurt the fuzzy wuzzies, and PETA obliged by removing her from the list as well. And the always crafty Lindsay Lohan managed to put a stop to her inclusion on the 06 list before its release date by assuring the PETA prez she was working on "weeding out" fur from her wardrobe. Too bad last month's whole fur bandit shenanigans didn't exactly make our favorite chic lesbian look like a woman who keeps her word.

As for those stars who've decided to fight back against all the haters at PETA, Ashley and Mary Kate Olsen have made the Worst Dressed List more than a few times, but quietly made their reactions known by including tons of animal fur in their clothing collection last year. As for the queen of Best Dressed Lists (just not PETA's), fur lover extraordinaire Kate Moss has continued to sport everything from beaver to rabbit to mink to who knows what kind of lizard skin onesies after hours despite PETA's threats and cutting remarks ("Nothing completes the transition from supermodel to super tramp like a fur coat.")

Bonus: Britney Spears, endless black hole of lovely surprises, was cut from PETA's poll earlier this year because, according to a PETA spokesperson, she "needed a break." While it doesn't quite fully endear us to the red paint sabotage army, we can't help but think that it's a positive gesture.

[Photo Credit: X17, Bauer-Griffin]

• TOP FIVE REASONS ONLY STUPID GIRLS BRAG ABOUT EATING MEAT [PETA Blog]
• EXCLUSIVE: PETA NAMES WORST DRESSED CELEBS OF 2008 [Us]

As the NY Post reports, Ricci worked the red carpet like a pro, but ditched the party as soon as she learned that hostess Anna Wintour (Vogue EIC and most feared woman in New York) had opted to seat her far away from her boyfriend Kick Gurry (our new favorite "celeb" name, by the way!). And before the Gala even began, pissy Harvard boy Jeff Zucker reportedly made a very showy point to avoid Project Runway usurper Weinstein on the red carpet. Says a Post spy, "It was awkward." Awkward? More like the single most awesome sight we regret not seeing for ourselves.

As for the missing wedding ring, Liv Tyler showed up on the carpet after telling friends that "she and Langdon...married too young and that she'd started looking for a new apartment." But one bit of gossip from the drama-packed evening managed to put a smile on our face, courtesy of none other than John Mayer. After being accosted by questions regarding the status of his beachy fling with Jennifer Aniston, he told reporters, "This is not a scandal...This is not a problem. This needs no spin control. This is me living my life!" And on goes his recent trend of forcing us to like him however hard we fight it.

[Photo credits: Getty, Wireimage]

• COSTUME GALA'S SUPER-SNARKY [NY Post]
• IF LIV TYLER'S COSTUME COULD TALK [NYDN]

if you're not in line already, reading Defamer from a dodgy wi-fi signal on South Main, odds are you'll have to fight, buy or chew your way in. But the theater is also hosting a giveaway for VIP tickets, winners of which get to melt in a sobbing, quivering heap at Rain's winged heels actually meet Rain in person (and, of course, send us a spoiler-rific review with lots of dirt about how the singer thought his best scenes were cut). Runners-up get a video game — a slap in the face if ever there was one, but we suppose it's the thought that counts. You have to register here, though, by next Tuesday, April 22. After that, you're on your own. Good luck with it.

• Speed Racer Sweepstakes [ImaginAsian TV]

boomp3.com

Svelte actress Christina Ricci objected to the vegetable tray presented to her while on the set of New York, I Love You. Ricci explained to the craft services caterer that she only eats organic vegetables. The caterer rolled her eyes and quietly said, "I bought this at Whole Foods."

[Photo Credit: X17]

Facing the same predicament as The Other Boleyn Girl, Penelope has split the trades; Var calls it "uneven," while THR thinks it's "charming." But just like Boleyn, this adapted tale is armed with one hot blonde and one hot brunette. Though marketing hornballs may have been responsible for ScarNat's press blitz, Reese is wearing her producer's hat on this picture, meaning there probably won't be any funny business. Which is a shame, considering the fact that Reesetina had the boobs/vixen hair/tight dresses thing going on back at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival, where Penelope first debuted. Maybe they just need to rekindle the flame.

[Photo Credit: Getty]

• 'PENELOPE' REVIEW [Var]
• PENELOPE [THR]

Something tells us this is exactly the kind of breakout role Devlin Weed needed to catapult himself to the next level, and we imagine it won't be long before the producers of Skanks on a Plane, and similar projects seeking to capitalize on his new notoriety as the Sam Jackson of the porn industry, begin to pour in.

• This Week In Media Convergence: "Black Snake Boned" [Fleshbot]

Police in Tempe, Ariz., said 23-year-old Tiffany Sutton allegedly tricked her 43-year-old victim with an offer of kinky sex.

But, after tying him up, police said, she pulled out a knife and cut the man on the leg. She then told him she likes to drink blood and proceeded to drink from his leg, officials said.

Sutton allegedly also made several cuts to the victim's upper body.

The victim managed to break free from his restraints and run from the bedroom. The woman then chased him with a pickax, police said.

The subject matter's probably a little too dark for the CBS MOW treatment (and Lifetime would ruin it by framing her bloodlust as some kind of exotic eating disorder), but seems perfectly tailored for studios that churn out low-budget horror, like a Lionsgate or the Weinstein Co., which has recently proven its its willingness to push holiday-exploiting product. And since it's never too early to worry about casting, agents for affordable, crazy-friendly talent like Juliette Lewis and Christina Ricci (or anyone who's been memorably offed in a Final Destination movie, if those two are busy) might want to start working the phones in case someone preemptively options the story.

• Woman Allegedly Ties Up Valentine, Drinks His Blood [NBC5i.com via BoingBoing]