The movie, a thriller that stars Pierce Brosnan as someone who isn't Tony Blair, was recently completed, but lacks a score and some final editing. But, never fear, cinephiles, because maybe pedophile Polanski's team vows to keep the dream alive:

Timothy Burrill, a co-producer, said: "The film will continue. I honestly don't want to say any more but we're very close to finishing it now." However, the final post-production steps are not a formality and Polanski is known for wanting to control every aspect of his films.

If Polanski is, in fact, extradited to the United States, he can always work remotely, says Variety's international editor, Ali Jaafar.

Regardless of what happens to Polanski, there's no doubt that the film will have no problem tackling another one of its problems: it has no distributor. This could be the director's final work, so someone, somewhere will definitely take the reins to release a film with massive amounts of pre-publicity, however bad.

Brosnan in particular, who plays the patriarch of a family devastated by the death of their teenage son in an automobile accident, was singled out for demonstration of audience affection, prompting those at Saturday morning's screening from their seats for an ovation that lasted maybe 15 seconds but felt like forever in the usually subdued early-morning setting. Sarandon and director Shana Feste felt the love as well, along with young co-stars Carey Mulligan, Johnny Simmons and Zoe Kravitz. We've been to a lot of public screenings over the years and seen and heard a lot of pushover audiences go nuts for film. This was one of those once- or twice-a-fest scenes where you could almost smell 600 people at the Racquet Club losing their shit. People love this movie.

But why? Brosnan (who also produced) is out of his depths as Allen Brewer, a mathematics professor maintaining his stiff upper lip while wife Grace (Sarandon) melts down completely following their son Bennett's fatal car wreck. Allen's determination to hold the family together is meant to reinforce his stone wall blocking grief, but in the presence of the more genuinely whacked Grace — who wakes up crying and spends months, in hopes of some closure, reading to the comatose driver who struck her son's car — it never feels like more than a high-stakes mourn-off punctuated by convenient expository fights, loving plunges into the ocean, etc.

It was a mindfuck for Sarandon, and the emotional imbalance shows in the parts of her performance not drugged within an inch of their life by Feste's potent script bromides.

"I have to admit that when I read it, it was so eccentric and there were a lot of things I didn't realize — until we actually started doing it —how difficult it was," she told the audience after the screening. "That was my bad. There are some actors who say they can never remember their real names when they're filming. I can never remember my character's name. When I go home to my kids, I completely leave it behind. I found on the days when we did some of the very, very emotional scenes that you have to hold on to for eight or 10 hours, my body chemistry actually changed. I was really shocked about how I smelled and the person I became. It was really horrible. That was the first time I realized that kind of impact when you imagine those things; your body can't tell the difference between what's imaginary and what's real."

So how did Sarandon and the others get through the 25-day shoot? "The cast was really, really fun and loving," she said. "It was a very happy set; sometimes I think we overcompensated. I think the two funniest sets I've ever been on were Dead Man Walking and Lorenzo's Oil. Explain that."

Yet there are two reasons to see The Greatest: Mulligan and Simmons, playing Bennett's pregnant girlfriend and messed-up little brother respectively, both extraordinary and nothing short of sincere in navigating the dynamics of their own grief. We'll get to this later today (and later this week in a little more depth), but Mulligan, whose Greatest and An Education performances had hype-within-the-hype momentum accompanying them before the festival even started, is an insanely vivid talent whose relationship with Allen Brewer is the only thing that salvages Brosnan's own performance; her retelling to him of meeting Bennett on their last day of school is devastating. At 23, and with little on her resume besides 2005's Pride and Prejudice and some British TV, she already improves everyone around her. Simmons, meanwhile, was also one of the only redeeming things about The Spirit, portraying the hero as a lovesick young man. His responsibility to parse his love/hate relationship with his mythologized brother refines that heartbreak here.

When — not if — The Greatest is bought (IFC Films execs, for starters, hovered excitedly outside the theater Saturday morning), it's destined to attract all the same gloom-fetish pushovers who got it up for Revolutionary Road and In The Bedroom before it. But here's hoping they recognize the actual best of it; it doesn't take much looking to find the real stars in all that pitch black.

This year's vintage features another barrel of celebrities with equally little margin for error, some less endangered than others. For your handy trajectory-watching reference, we've narrowed their ranks to 10 of the most interesting:

1. Ashton Kutcher: The festival itself describes Kutcher's gigolo farce Spread as "such a perfectly tuned, contemporary depiction of the trials and tribulations of sleeping your way to wealth and success that, guilty pleasure or not, it's irresistible." Either the responsible programmer's tongue is so far in his cheek it'll leave a bruise, or we must forge on with the faith that Kutcher is up to credibly depicting those fraught "trials and tribulations." He's a producer on this as well, upping the skeevy self-casting factor proportionately with the stakes that accompany putting this on the Sundance market. THREAT LEVEL: Severe

2. Rachel Dratch: As co-writer and co-star of the Midnight section highlight Spring Breakdown, Dratch is nominally on the hook for delivering a sort of inverted Sex and the City: Three terminally unsophisticated women (played by Dratch, Amy Poehler and Parker Posey) entrusted to chaperone a teenager to spring break wind up cavorting with the savage youth. Laffs, empowerment and, hopefully for Dratch, a cult following ensue, exhuming this film from the shallow grave where it has languished for months and on to video shelves where it's likely to make its next stop. THREAT LEVEL: Elevated

3. Pierce Brosnan: A man for whom being the most tone-deaf cast member in history's biggest musical is his primary film accomplishment of the last five years, Brosnan needs his grieving-dad weepie The Greatest to find legs during its Saturday premiere — and not those of critics and buyers fleeing the Racquet Club in terror. Like Kutcher and about a million other actors to travel here with movies over the years, he's got a producer credit, which means he needs a sale, which means to needs to be on his game. For once. Whatever that might be. THREAT LEVEL: Dire

4. John Krasinski: He'll be on hand presenting his writing-directing debut Brief Interviews With Hideous Men, an adaptation of the novel by David Foster Wallace. It's a double-jeopardy scenario risking both his own artistic humiliation and the ultimate torpedoing of his recently deceased source. That said, he's John Krasinski — how bad can it really be? Wait, don't answer that. THREAT LEVEL: Moderate

5. Jim Carrey: One month removed from a lukewarm success with Yes Man, Carrey isn't traveling to Sundance to reinvent himself as an indie influence-peddler. But he still has to convince distributors and a game if cynical-by-default press corps that I Love You Phillip Morris is anchored in anything other than the Carrey-on-McGregor romance gimmick. As mentioned here yesterday, this has as much potential to be this year's What Just Happened as it does to be its Little Miss Sunshine; don't look for it to be much in between. THREAT LEVEL: Critical

6 - 10. Billy Bob Thornton's co-stars: The man whose one-time castmates have occasional trouble staying alive arrives with two wildly disparate films — the LA excess potboiler The Informers and the crap-salesman dramedy Manure — featuring two wildly disparate ensembles including Mickey Rourke, Kim Basinger, Kyle MacLachlan, Winona Ryder, Tea Leoni and others. Everyone make sure you have your affairs in order before coming to Park City. THREAT LEVEL: Imminent

A New York girl befriends Gogo, the world's only living albino gorilla. Through sign language they communicate and bond, and their ensuing trans-African quest to return Gogo to the wild puts ruthless poachers, determined CNN reporters, and one very concerned parent on their tail.

Brosnan's role isn't clear here, though we quite like the idea of him in any of these potential parts — particularly that of the "concerned parent" who traverses Africa on foot, by Aston Martin and eventually by boat, romancing indigenous women along the way before a climactic poker showdown featuring grand prize Gogo handcuffed in the middle of the table, unable to sign and awaiting his fate. Or maybe Brosnan will play Gogo himself, spending an entire film in lumbering albino silence as cosmic penance for his misbegotten ABBA squawks. Either way, he's earned it.

• 'Vanilla Gorilla' [IMDB via SATC]

This installment's sightings include Kim Kardashian, Kiefer Sutherland, Pierce Brosnan, Farrah Fawcett, Marilyn Manson, Ari Emanuel, Marcia Cross, Isla Fisher, Jon Hamm, Larry Flynt, Chris Robinson, Peter Graves, Shenae Grimes, Dustin Milligan, Lisa Rinna, Bill Walton, William Baldwin, Chynna Phillips, Linda Evans, Gunnar Nelson (!) and more.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 4

· Walking through the hallways of a building deep in the heart of Toluca Lake is FARRAH FAWCETT. Farrah raised her head to look me in the eye with a a look that said, "Yes I am Farrah Fawcett and don't talk to me." Farrah had heavy duty perfume situation going on that wafted in the hallway well after she left the building. Christie Brinkley is about the same age as her but Farrah looks like she has been through the ringer and had a rough, rough, hard-drinking, hard-partying, heavy-tanning life. Use sunscreen kids. Use sunscreen.

· Tuesday night's Bob Dylan concert at the Santa Monica Civic was ripe with celebrities, and I do mean ripe. NBA legend and Laker dad BILL WALTON couldn't get a reserved seat, he actually got tossed out of his first one that he just bogarted and was forced to stand against the wall, until someone recognized him and gave him a different reserved seat. Fellow Irishmen COLM MEANEY and PIERCE BROSNAN were spotted separately briefly. Anything but standing room only for TV's and former funnyman RICHARD LEWIS. And finally, one of the NELSON BROTHERS, most likely GUNNAR.

· I don't know if this counts, but I was having lunch at Porta Via and I spotted SWEET P (Project Runway, season 4) and a friend (boy? husband?). She walked by my table and was stunned when I called her name and that someone recognized her. She is sweet in person. I then had to explain Project Runway to my visiting co-worker from London. He remains confused.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 6

· Air Canada flight 744 from LAX to Toronto ... A very laid back and un-made-up MARILYN MANSON (or "Mr. Warner" to the attendants) and Endeavor's ARI EMANUEL (in gym shorts and crocs) in business class, film festival-bound.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 7

· Sunday afternoon, Silverlake - walked straight past KIEFER SUTHERLAND and a blonde woman in the Vons supermarket parking lot on Sunset / Hollywood / Virgil / Hillhurst / Sunset Drive. He was carrying the shopping bags (like a gentleman), no doubt stocking up on Haagen-Dazs to watch Britney's big comeback at the VMAs that night. More importantly, what is up with that K-hole of a junction?

· ISLA FISHER and baby OLIVE were at the Grove on Sunday between 3:30 and 4:30. Isla was wearing an orange, off the shoulder, embroidered hippie-ish cotton dress (the type popular at Anthropology last year), and little Olive was wearing a mini version of the same thing in white. Her hair was in a loose braid. I saw her first walking through Anthropology (she was disappointed her hippie dresses went out of style) and then later walking into Nordstrom. I was not stalking her; she was stalking me. I am worried Isla does not has any friends in LA— what celebrity goes shopping by herself (babies don't count), at The Grove, on a Sunday? Don't judge me for being at the Grove; sometimes you just wind up there. I'm hopeful she'll have a new posse following her around after her new movie comes out. Either way, she has Sacha Baron Cohen.

MONDAY, SEPT. 8

· I was walking my dog when I noticed Topanga from Boy Meets World (DANIELLE FISHEL) at Callender's Grill on Wilshire. She was sitting outside on the patio and in deep discussion with an older woman I didn't recognize. She had on really heavy eyeliner!

TUESDAY, SEPT. 9

· Oh poor LARRY FLYNT the Porn King. Saw him at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills. Sweaty, quite icky looking and dazed. That's all I've got to say about that.

· St. Louis to LAX Tuesday morning, JON HAMM was in first class. We talked to him at baggage claim, and he was ridiculously nice. The man is also really ridiculously good looking. I can't believe Sterling Cooper allows its employees to fly the friendly skies with American Airlines.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 10

· Montecito, the lush, obscenely wealthly Santa Barbara enclave is a great little getaway, especially if you go off season as to avoid the onslaught of Hollywood- from Oprah to Cameron Diaz. (I just shuddered.) Ordering a late breakfast at Xanadu when I saw that 2 feet away, WILLIAM BALDWIN and wife CHYNNA PHILLIPS are at a table waiting for their grub. Did not even recognize her. She looked beat- a skeletor-long raggedy hair, in a floor length white totally weird Hare Krishna getup.

Not until Billy opened his sexy mouth to call her back inside to eat did I inwardly sigh upon hearing that famous Baldwin voice. Oh that dulcet, mellifluous voice! He looks good. My husband said "Has he done anything since Backdraft? ... Chynna was screeching into her cell; so obnoxious, looking for attention of which she got none, and finally for those of us eating outside, she succumbed to that Baldwin Brother siren-call and went back to her table. Yes sir, that is one good looking guy with a voice that makes my knees buckle. Yum Yum Yummy. Not the omelet, the Baldwin.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 11

· One for the ages, PETER GRAVES, looking great for 82, in business class on my flight today from JFK to LAX. Like a dork, I smiled and said “Hi” as I trudged back to coach with the masses. I saw him doing a morning show yesterday (they all blend), some sort of “reunion” with Robert Hayes et. al, and there he was, on my airplane, on September 11th, making me feel better about flying.

· MARCIA CROSS, one of TV's Desperate Housewives is sitting with me in AA ECONOMY from STL to LAX right now! How continental.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 14

· Saw that guy who plays Ethan (DUSTIN MILLIGAN) and that girl who plays Silver (JESSICA STROUP) on the new version of 90210 having lunch together at Mani's on Fairfax. In this case, lunch meaning that he was eating while she watched.

· The place: The Rose Bowl Flea Market. I'd always heard that lots of celebs frequented this, but in almost two years of faithful attendance, I'd never actually seen one. ... But today, I saw CHRIS ROBINSON of the Black Crowes (and ex-Kate Hudson husband), who appeared to be accompanied by a very comely lass. And that's the difference between a rock star and me (an accountant): Chris Robinson gets willowy, hot chicks, and i get girls who look like Chris Robinson. Conclusion: I have taken a severely wrong career path and am in the wrong profession. That is all.

MONDAY, SEPT. 15

· Saw the new Brenda (SHENAE GRIMES) and Naomi (ANNALYNNE MCCORD, who incidentally makes me ache for Tori's acting chops) last night at the Belmont. New Brenda is as shockingly adorable in person as on TV but was completely sans trademark smile and actually appeared pouty and pissed at times. She and the even-less-beautiful-in-person Naomi (the new Emily Valentine?), who has overgelled 90's hair and is clearly skinnier than her own body type would prefer, were feverishly chain smoking. They were also HARDcore flirting with their waiter, the only guy there more interested in them than the cowboys and eagles. Between packs of cigarettes the girls were, yep, drinking. I'll save you the trouble of looking it up: New Brenda's only 18. Oooooo! I hope new Jim and Aunt Becky don't find out, new 90210 is boring enough without old 90210's lesson-learned moralizing.

TUESDAY, SEPT. 16

· So about an hour ago, 3:15 or so Wednesday afternoon, I'm going for a run along Beverly Blvd. I'm just E of Fairfax on the S side of the street when there's a pretty bad car wreck right in front of me. A westbound car turned left into the CBS gate, and a small car was gunning it eastbound in the lane closest to the sidewalk and didn't see them.

So the security guard goes to one car, I tell another car to call 911. No one is critically hurt, but we help the guy who's bleeding pretty bad onto the sidewalk. I go out into the street to stand there and let people know they have to get over cuz one of the mangled cars is sitting in the middle of the intersection.

After 5-10 minutes, I see a tow truck and a fire truck coming our way from around Fairfax, but traffic is now pretty jacked so it's slow. The tow truck is all set to come down the emergency lane when this giant black tinted Escalade looking thing cuts in front of it to pass the stalled traffic. Keep in mind the tow truck has flashers on. As the Escalade gets closer, I'm waving my hands to tell it to get over, but it won't. Then I notice the chick driving is on her cell, holding it up to her ear. I walk up to her car now, hit the passenger side door and say "get over - there's a tow truck and a fire truck behind you - there's been a bad accident."

At this point, she rolls down the window to reveal her KIM KARDASHIAN self [...] who tells me "Don't you touch my car." I thought, "Are you fucking kidding me?! there's a guy on the sidewalk with his head bleeding." I then screamed at her "Are you fucking kidding me?! There's a guy on the sidewalk with his head bleeding!!" to which she responds "I know, but don't touch my car." She finally merges into the other lane and jams it through the yellow light to make the intersection.

She said "I know?" I KNOW that I'm holding up rescue in my tinted-ass Escalade looking thing and on my cell, but the only thing I care about is not to hit my car.

I hate humanity.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 17

· Saw LINDA EVANS at the Intercontinental bar last night. Fortunately she left before I had my third martini — otherwise I would've hummed the Dynasty theme to her.

TODAY

· LISA RINNA working out at Fitness Factory with her trainer. Her face looked like the clay pot in the movie Ghost after Patrick Swayze fucked it up.

The sing-a-long edition makes it easier — and in fact encourages audience members — to sing along with the characters, and their fellow audience members, in effect contrasting those pre-show public service announcements scolding that silence is golden. The lyrics to the songs are displayed in bright, colorful letters at the bottom of the screen.

At a preview screening of the sing-a-long edition earlier this week — probably apropos to nothing, the same night Hillary Clinton gave her speech at the Democratic National Convention — a crowd of mostly women, many around age 50, seemed tentative at first to give it their all, but relaxed and seemed a little more comfortable with the concept toward the end of the screening. If they had sold shots of ouzo at the concession stand, that might have helped, quite frankly.

Hence the rumored, BYOB Mamma Mia! The Drink-Along Version planned for re-re-release some time this fall, with viewers receiving limited-edition shot glasses and instructions for concocting the deliciously fruity (if slightly bitter) new cocktail "The Brosnan." Or maybe that one's just better suited for DVD.

• With this 'Mamma Mia,' you can sing, if you dare [NC Times]

In today's installment: Neil Patrick Harris, Woody Allen, Matthew McConaughey, Brian Grazer, Blake Lively, Pierce Brosnan, Christian Slater, Chris Noth, Jason Lee, Jenny Lewis, John Rzeznik, Dave Navarro, Mark McGrath, Dyan Cannon, Camryn Manheim, Bruce Vilanch and more!

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 6
· I was at the Arsenal in Los Angeles last night and saw (HOT)MIKE BORTONE (Survivor), PAMELA ALDON ( I remember her from Grease 2, but now on Californication and King of the Hill) and LIZA SNYDER (Yes, Please). They looked like they were having a great time, drinking & laughing & hanging out with a bunch of fun people. At one point I thought Liza & Pamela were going to get up & dance with the DJ's, but no luck. Good Times.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 7
· Saw BLAKE LIVELY at Urth Cafe in Beverly Hills. Amazingly, she mistook ME for one of her friends and stopped me as I walked by and said, "Hello." She realized her error and was very sweet in apologizing. She's as pretty in person as she is on TV.

· DYAN CANNON — all 90lbs of her — managed to waft/ tremble/ stumble into my abs class today at Equinox. I thought to myself, "Oh my god, that woman looks like the gorgeous Dyan Cannon, star of my all-time favorite and underrated Al Pacino movie Author! Author! But it can't be her because her surgically enhanced lips are bigger than my ass."

While the instructor yelled at us during the "reverse crunch" series ("this targets LBF, people! Lower Back Fat! Nothing attractive about that!"), I determined that it was indeed her. Her body is 15, most of her face is 35, but her lips are just...wow. A very bad decision. Sort of criminal, really, that some surgeon would go through with that. Someone should hire her for something—but first demand she gets rid of the trout pout.

· I saw WOODY ALLEN & SOON YI today at MOCA. He does not at all try to hide the fact that he's looking at you. Definitely a people watcher.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 8
· While at the Eddie Izzard show at the Kodak, I spotted a very cheery CAMRYN MANHEIM. I always expect her to be in a foul mood but she seemed open and, dare I say, bubbly. As I was waiting for the show to start I felt the cold wave of hack comedy wash over the crowd. As I turn around, I see a T-shirt with a hacky comment and the unmistakable bleached bowl-cut of BRUCE VILANCH entering the room. Watching Izzard perform, Vilanch must have felt like a midget trying to guard Shaq. Hopefully it made him realize he should quit the business and leave the hackiness to butchers, golfers, and Dane Cook.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 10
· I saw JOHN RZEZNIK of the Goo Goo Dolls getting his Polish on at Warszawa in Santa Monica. He was with some appropriately punk looking pals, pretty cool, having his pierogi.

MONDAY, AUGUST 11
· It was the day of hot rocker boys of the 90’s at Equinox on Sunset. Saw DAVE NAVARRO and MARK MCGRATH. Dave’s always there, so that might not be much of a sighting. Mark got approached by some overeager fangirls and looked a bit confused, then scurried away.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 12
· It was a celebrity smorgasbord at Nobu (Malibu) around 8:30pm: BRIAN GRAZER, PIERCE BROSNAN (looking fantastic!), CHRISTIAN SLATER (not so much) and MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY (the usual). They were not all together as that would be just plain weird.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13
· Driving home from work last night (13 Aug) I passed MIA MICHAELS (So You Think You Can Dance) heading in the opposite direction (west - natch!) on the Santa Monica Blvd. at the Van Ness intersection. She drives something big and Jeep-like and black. Naughty lady was at the wheel and using her cellphone. Brazenly! But then, as we all know, celebs are above the law.

· While waiting outside of my chiropractors office...I see CHRIS NOTH (aka, BIG) come out of "Miss Barry's Bootcamp". He was shirtless and glistening all over (having just finished being tortured by "Miss"). Anyway, he was very nice and did not seem to mind people checking him out (nice bod for an over 50 man). Needless to say my tiny little life got a lot bigger for a second.

· It was a celebrity paradox at Poquito Mas on Cahuenga. First, we see a scruffy yet sexy JASON LEE eating with his son PILOT. He seemed like a typical father with him, very sweet, taking him to the bathroom, making sure he had enough nachos, etc. He had a FULL beard (Jason Lee, not the kid), but it kind of worked on him. Then, just minutes later, an absolutely adorable JENNY LEWIS walked in with a pal. They looked like two sweet high school girls. She and Jason Lee made the awkward "I'm famous and you're famous and we are kind of Silver Lakey-Eastsider cool" nod to each other and I couldn't help but think that they would be an adorable couple. A little too cool for school though, perhaps...

THURSDAY, AUGUST 14
· NEIL PATRICK HARRIS and DAVID WALTON (from Quarterlife) are working up a sweat (separately) at Equinox on Sunset.

Even though its B.O. numbers didn't exactly scream "Sequel!", the folks behind 1999's The Thomas Crown Affair, also known as Yet Another Chance For Pierce Brosnan To Convince Us He's Charming, are in pre-production mode for the second installment, slated for a 2009 release. The film's original female lead, Rene Russo, intelligently declined to participate in the inevitable disaster, leading producers to seek out Jolie as her replacement. The only glitch? Said folks have worked with Jolie before on Wanted, and reportedly fear another round of Lohan-esque fainting spells the then-skinny-as-a-rail Jolie kept experiencing while on set. As a result, they're said to be requiring their leading lady to pack on 30 pounds. As in, now. One week after giving birth to twins. Which begs the question: is it possible that Jolie has sped far ahead of post-pregnancy slim fast stars Jessica Alba and J. Lo in shedding her tent-dress-requiring baby weight already? And if not, why the need for this unnecessary sequel to star such a "weighty" co-star?

Ah, yes. The role is that of an "action woman." Because Jolie hasn't ever portrayed a gunfire-equipped, stunt scene-ready, action hero before or anything.

[Photo credits: X17, Wireimage]

• EXCLUSIVE: ANGELINA JOLIE'S TWINS CONCEIVED THROUGH IN VITRO [Us]
• ANGELINA JOLIE'S WEIGHTY ROLE [Female First]

boomp3.com

At an afterparty for a screening of Mamma Mia!, Pierce Brosnan consoled his co-star Amanda Seyfried and her anxiety about the film's opening. Seyfried was worried that nobody was going to watch their movie this weekend, because she assumed all movie goers would see The Dark Knight over and over again. Brosnan assured Seyfried that there'll be an audience for the film, taking time to explain to her about the concept of alternative programming. Brosnan said, "When The Dark Knight is sold out, which it's going to be, what else are people going to watch? That's where our movie comes in. We're going to be just fine, champ."

[Photo Credit: Getty Images]

*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.

Robert Rosen said he was taking photos of Brosnan on Oct. 26 when "suddenly and without warning," the 54-year-old actor struck him in the chest, causing "severe physical and emotional pain and injuries, including bruised ribs."

The lawsuit, filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims Rosen wasn't chasing the ex-James Bond and former "Remington Steele" star and didn't invade his privacy. It also claimed the attack was "designed to inflict pain and injury."

The freelance photographer is suing for unspecified general and punitive damages, the cost of medical and psychological treatment, and lost earnings.

A police investigation into the incident led to no formal charges being pressed against Brosnan, which isn't to say he'd be scott-free in the civil suit. All it would take to sway the jury is the testimony of one surprise witness for the prosecution: a soft-spoken valet who'd recall through broken English how the actor politely asked if he could look at Rosen's shots on his camera's display screen, then took full advantage of their proximity by karate-chopping him in the thorax while humming the 007 theme-song, and announcing to his young son, "Remember this day, boy. You just saw your daddy earn his second kill."

• Paparazzi Sues Brosnan in Shoving Match [abcnews.go.com]

In today's episode: Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon; Jack Nicholson and Ice Cube; Hayden Christensen; Dax Shepard; Richard Edson; Pierce Brosnan; Lindsay Lohan; Bill Nighy and Alicia Silverstone; Beau Bridges; Sandra Oh; Marcia Cross; Hayden Panettiere; Jeff Garlin; Anton Yelchin; Ashley Tisdale; Dean Cameron; and Dave Annable.

· Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon were on my flight from SFO to Burbank Monday afternoon. They sat very far away from the gate and of course, kept their sunglasses on the whole time. At one point, I saw him put his head on her shoulder while she stroked his back. Once everyone was on-board except for us stragglers, they snuck in through the United VIP line. Honestly, with no bodyguards or hangers-on, they made more of a production of themselves, looking completely sullen and put-upon in that totally obvious "Don't you dare look at me, I'm famous" way. Like, one girl recognized them and didn't really seem to care, and most people just wondered who the tools in the sunglasses were. Once I was in line to board, I got stuck behind Jake as he tried to load his bag in the overhead bin. But once he saw that a girl in her 20s was standing right behind him, he totally dropped the bag, sat down, and kinda covered his face.

· Last Friday at the Laker game, I had the obligatory Jack Nicholson sighting. Way more fun was Ice Cube in one luxury box and photographer Michael "I filmed Kim Kardashian's mom naked" Segal in another.

Saturday I saw Richard Edson (the guy who takes Ferris' car and says, "Trust me. I'm a professional.") at Café 101. (Thanks IMDB!)

Today I saw Hayden Christensen at Runyon Canyon in all his shirtless hiking glory. Was not wheezing like Darth Vader. Then I saw a very freshly-tattooed Dax Shepard at Starbucks in Studio City on my way to work. Very tall and surprisingly cute.

· I saw Pierce Brosnan yesterday Nov 12 on the 3rd st promenade. looking surprisingly together, like he had stepped off the set of of the thomas crown affair 2, or something. I thought who is that handsome guy with all the shopping bags who looks like Pierce Brosnan. oh, fuck, it IS pierce brosnan! ha.

· 11/8 - Had my first paparazzi swarm sighting since moving here almost 2 years ago (weird, I know) at Bossa Nova on Sunset, caused by none other than Lindsay Lohan and her giant boobs, accompanied by an older model Lindsay (Dina?) and bodyguard. What kind of town is this where even a fresh-out-of-rehab former child superstar can't eat her moderately priced Brazilian/Italian fusion cuisine in peace?

· Friday, 11/9 - Saw Alicia Silverstone & Bill Nighy meeting up over snacks and tea at the Newsroom in BH. Strange (platonic) pair, until my friend reminded me that they were in a movie together not too long ago. He looked like he always does: natty, though slightly frumpy, glasses, adorable; she looked cute as a button and like she hadn't aged since Clueless. If being a vegan makes your skin look that good, I'm switching to that team pronto.

· While in the 15 or less (maybe 10?) check out line at the Ralphs in Malibu on Saturday, spotted Beau Bridges behind us. Among his purchases was a bag of green colored fruit - not limes. Wearing a forest green t-shirt and baggy gross navy blue sweatpants, he ignored all us fellow non D plus celebrities. When my friend had to leave the line to get an extra item he didn't complain, but did slapped down a People and Us Weekly magazine in a huff to add to his purchases. Overall pleasant demeanor but a little ragged looking. Perhaps that's the Malibu look? He has crazy eyebrows.

· 11/15 - La Poubelle — Sandra Oh having dinner with a small group of friends. None of this "please don't let me be seen by the masses" crap for her. Oh no, she was sitting at the first table inside the door, clearly enjoying the food and the company. I get the feeling that she goes there often since not a single person (but me) paid any notice she was there. Telling a story of some kind that required lots of waving and arm movements, but everyone was enthralled. She looks EXACTLY like she does on TV but with a bigger head; but that could have been the poufy hair.

· Saw Marcia Cross getting off the LAX flight in JFK last night (11/14). That woman's cheekbones could cut glass. Seriously, anyone snogging with her needs to be careful. She could slice your jugular while administering a hickey.

· Waiting for my virgin america flight to sfo on the 16th and just saw hayden panettiere the dolphin saver walk by me with 2 of her friends to their nyc flight. Also walking by are the victoria secrets angels to board the nyc flight. Tsa was going crazy opening a dedicated line for them to pass through.

· Captain's Log, Stardate 3958.8 (11/15/2007). Jeff Garlin spotted in top row at Century City AMC, heartily enjoying 7:30 showing of "Star Trek: The Original Series" two-part episode "The Menagerie". He adorably yelled out "Boo!" in the darkened, tension-wrought silence before the show (after the initial promotion for the Star Trek HD DVDs), which got a good laugh—quite a feat, considering the audience was filled with grade-A, uncut, pure Columbian nerd. Myself included, I guess. (I was one of the few female specimens in attendance, I might add. Surprising? Not really.) Of course, no PrivacyWatch™ sighting, no matter how Garlin-y, can compete with Shatner's glowing smirk, which sparkled on the silver screen that evening. Captain, you can board my vessel anytime.

· 11/10 - Anton Yelchin was playing a mean harmonica at a jam party that I got invited to at Beer City Studios in Van Nuys. There was a cute young blonde girl who came with him but I couldn't tell if they were bf/gf.

· Wednesday Nov 14th - while enjoying a cheap but leisurely manicure at the Nail Garden in Studio City during my lunch break, spotted Ashley Tisdale of High School Musical fame getting her feet done. I guess she missed the big SAG rally at Universal by a day and decided to get a mani/pedi instead...

· He was an A-lister when I was 15 and think a few out there may appreciate. Monday night during "corey-oky" at Happy Endings I spy Dean Cameron (Francis 'Chainsaw' Gremp of Summer School fame) leading the 3 man Corey band. These sightings are more fun then any present day A-lister, unless of course they are running over a photographer or are Keifer Sutherland.

· 11/15—Dave Annable out with a friend at CAA-sponsored "Young Hollywood Party". An actor must always support his representation, right? Especially those young Death Star leaders in training.

· The strike stil isn't dampening Hollywood's insatiable appetite for re-teaming, as Juno director Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody will be hooking up again for Fox Searchlight's comic horror flick Jennifer's Body. [THR]
· Pierce Brosnan and director Paul Verhoeven are attached to The Thomas Crown Affair sequel which will begin shooting in January; sadly, Rene Russo's love-interest services will no longer be required, limiting today's re-teaming related excitement to the previous item. [Variety]

But it was the predominant Bond of our youth, Roger Moore, who really rallied for Craig, telling a Canadian reporter:

"He's a helluva good actor," said Moore, 78, noting that critics haven't even seen Craig in the role yet. "So why attack him?"

While a vote of confidence from arguably the second- and third-favorite Bonds of all time should help somewhat with Craig's persistent credibility issues, ultimately, what he really needs is for the greatest Bond of all to give him his five-word seal of approval.

• Former 007 Defends Daniel Craig [AP]
• Notes from all over (first item) [The Scoop]
• [You're the Man Now Dog.com]

"I didn't seek advice from any man before me, and I don't give any advice to any man after me. He'll find his own way," Brosnan said of Craig, the 37-year-old blond who will inherit the super spy role next year in a remake of "Casino Royale."

"He'll find his own way. He's a wonderful actor. I wish him all the happiness and success."

It's a smart play by Brosnan, who obviously realizes that even if he spends the occasional evening wandering around his house in a martini-fueled haze while wearing a hole-riddled tuxedo t-shirt, trying to resist the temptation to shoot the TV with a silenced Walther P-38 every time a 007 film replays on TNT, he's going to be answering the Bond Question for the rest of his life. There's no need to burn himself out on bitter soundbites before the first Craig movie even shoots.

• 'Old Bond' vs. 'New Bond' at Theaters [ABC News]

• IT HAD TO END SOME TIME. [davidlyons007.blogspot.com]

"One phone call, that's all it took!" the 52-year-old actor tells Entertainment Weekly magazine in its Aug. 19 issue. [...] Brosnan says he's grateful to have had the role, but adds: "It never felt real to me. I never felt I had complete ownership over Bond. Because you'd have these stupid one-liners — which I loathed — and I always felt phony doing them."

We've been dreading this day, though not because we're going to miss Brosnan doing the shaken-not-stirred schtick. Now that he's been officially de-tuxedoed, it's going to be even harder for us to ignore rumors that each and every actor with the kind of accent that sounds acceptably classy and exotic to Americans is "about to be named" as the next Bond. Wake us up when the press release announcing that MGM/Sony has boldy cast Jude Law's penis (like many smaller-than-expected action stars, it can stand on an apple box to seem taller—movie magic!) is issued.

• Pierce Brosnan Out As James Bond, 007 [AP]
• James Bond Betting: Enter Goran Vingndkdjxiji(That Dude From ER) [Oddjack]