During an inspired riff in which she coveted Diane Sawyer ripe, pillowy lips, the iconic screen comedienne lamented how scoring such a genetic good fortune would have allowed her the luxury of not having "to work on my fucking personality." However many millions the slip ends up costing ABC in FCC fines, however, we'd argue was worth it, for it really required something as potent as an f-bomb dropped by a toilet-mouthed showbiz veteran in a turtleneck to finally dispel the stubborn whiff of brainwashing hanging around the studio since yesterday's broadcast.

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• GMA

After Diane noted that the two hadn't spoken since the first anniversary of the couples' fairy tale nuptials in Lake Braccianco, Holmes eyeballs instantly morphed into twirling spirals as she recalled the happiest day of her life, full of cherished memories like clutching her father one last time before walking down the aisle in tears; then spotting her eternal betrothed and finding herself magically "locked in." For contrast's sake, producers aired an interview in which Holmes's own mom recalled what a stubbornly independent toddler Katie was. Luckily, however, Suri shows no signs yet of independent thinking, but is instead a "delightful" child with an impressive vocabulary that began with first words "mama" and "dada," upon which "everything else" ("fetan," "zeenoo," etc...) quickly followed suit.

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• GMA

Tom caressed her lower back and kissed her passionately on the cheek, but he soon left to sign autographs and let Katie bask in the glow of her first movie since having baby Suri. [...]

So what does Katie think about seeing her toddler grow into a mini version of herself?

"I see it and then see a lot of Tom, and then I think she's her own person," Katie said. [...]

Latifah told "Extra" that Tom was frequently on set, bringing little Suri along.

"Yeah, all the time," she said. "He's the daddy!"

Latifah let out a forced laugh as she swiftly surveyed the crowd, then turned deadly serious, gripping the Extra reporter's wrist and urgently whispering, "I mean all the time. Look carefully, you can see the shadow of his head poking out from the bottom of the living room window in a couple of the scenes. And he kept sneaking up behind me at the catering table and ambushing me with brochures that he said 'could really help me with my ongoing personal training problems.' Made my blood run cold, I tell you. Cold as ice," before abruptly reverting back to the sunny, confidant Latifah we know and love, and continuing along the press line. If she hadn't shot one last look of desperation midway through her interview with Access Hollywood's Tony Potts, the Extra reporter might have almost questioned whether the chilling exchange had ever happened at all.

• Tom Supports Katie at 'Mad Money' Premiere [Extra]

From: LAProducer@yahoogroups.com [mailto:LAProducer@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of [REDACTED] Sent: Tuesday, January 08, 2008 1:36 PM To: LAProducer@yahoogroups.com Subject: [LAProducer] For those of you not on CoPros

Axium/Avalon closed this morning. Here are two emails that were on copros and since no one here is talking about it I thought maybe some of you might not know.

Hi, all.

I just spoke with Andre at Axium and it is true. They were told yesterday to remove their personal belongings and not do any more work. All the Axium offices worldwide (LA, NY, CHI, London, Mexico City, Canada) are shut down permanently, and the accounts have been frozen. It does not appear that the Axium employees are going to be
paid for their last week of work or any sort of severance, as it is indeed a bankruptcy.

————————————————-

Hi, again.

Understandably, there is going to be some confusion over this for the next couple of days as the news filters out to the crewpeople who will be invariably calling you for these answers.

Andre has spoken with several of his clients at the accounting level of the production companies he deals with, and I imagine this is going on throughout the company as all of the paymasters ultimately have
solid relationships with their clients. At this point, you should talk to your company controller to see what action they have been told to make.

There are a few different scenarios but, rather than rumor-mongering, I suggest going through your company controller as they have probably heard from your paymaster already, or will within the next couple of hours.

More on this story as it happens. As always, tips are very welcome!

UPDATE (3:14 PM): We just learned that the Filmmaker Magazine blog might have been the first outlet to break this news.

At least in this quick look at her work, the long layoff seems to have done her some good: seemingly gone is that dead-eyed glare that's stared back at us from so many glossy celebrity-weekly covers during her professional hiatus, either the result of the joy of raising a happy, healthy babybot or a computer-enhanced sparkle added in post-production. We'll leave it up to you to decide (based on this admittedly scant evidence) whether or not Holmes has reclaimed some of the subtle acting chops that made First Daughter such an unexpected delight, or if we're all being fooled by the work of a clever trailer editor tasked with making her seem acceptably lifelike.

• Mad Money [madmoneymovie.com]