Earlier: Oprah's Favorite Things 2007: The Audience Freaks Out!

• Each year, surveying Oscar's Best Actress pool sets off a bout of hand wringing over the absence of serious parts for serious female actresses, but this year the low may actually be below the bottom of the pool. After a very short list of sure things (Meryl, Carey Mulligan in An Education and Gabourey Sidibe for Precious) the field becomes a wide open wasteland with almost no true attention getting roles leaping out. It's gotten so bad, writes the Hollywood Reporter, that "some are talking about Sandra Bullock." [Hollywood Reporter]

• As if answering the question raised by the item above...On the strength of 2012, This Is It, Angels and Demons and Terminator:Salvation Sony Pictures is having its best year at the international box office in its history with grosses currently at $1.63 billion. Fox, however, holds the international top slot this year with $1.79 billion in receipts and counting [Variety]

•Kent Alterman will be your next man to blame for why Comedy Central isn't funnier. The former New Line exec was named head of programming for the network. [Variety]

• The first plug pulled at the new Less Is Less Miramax — Richard Linklater's Liars (A To E), a romantic comedy that was to have starred Kat Dennings and Rebecca Hall. [Movieline]

• Disney has put in dry dock/beached/torpedoed/depth charged/recalled to submarine base/(insert your preferred nautical analogy here) a remake of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea set to be helmed by McG. Cheated of his chance to ruin the submarine genre forever, the great director will instead focus his attentions on the thriller Dead Spy Running. [Variety]

• As long as there are film studios, there will be some executive who will have the bright idea to let Robin Williams star in yet another surefire failure of a comedy. Anna Faris is currently in talks to play Williams' daughter in Wedding Banned for Touchstone. [Hollywood Reporter]

• MTV has acquired the exclusive rights to air This Is It, the Michael Jackson concert rehearsal documentary. [Hollywood Reporter]

Goldthwait is attending Sundance with the comedy World's Greatest Dad, his second festival entry in four years and a striking, pitch-black collaboration with old pal Robin Williams. The Oscar-winner plays Lance Clayton, a high-school poetry teacher with unrequited literary aspirations and one of the worst sons (portrayed by Daryl Sabara) in contemporary cinema. Similar to Goldthwait's previous film, the underrated, bestiality-tinged romcom Sleeping Dogs Lie, a macabre twist entitles Lance to pursue his life's ambition even as it endangers his job, relationship and pretty much every other facet of his life. Williams cunningly navigates both extremes, charting the outer limits of unconditional love with a cynic's eye and a comic's map, finally discovering himself in the festival's most batshit ending this side of Brooklyn's Finest.

And while we're loath to give much more away, there was no reason we couldn't ask the candid Goldthwait a few other questions about Dad, Williams, Sundance and his aversion to prime-time sellouts:

D: Knowing what we presume about a traditional "Sundance Movie," audiences might be blindsided by a dark comedy like this. How has World's Greatest Dad fit in so far?

BG: I don't know. I'm glad they've taken these last couple movies, but I don’t know where it fits in because I don't think of it that much while I'm making it. It wasn't until I was watching this one for the first time with a crowd that I thought, "Wow. This is really... dark." I know I sound full of shit, but I try not to think about it.

D: This is your second film here in four festivals. What appeals to you about screening here for this audience?

BG: This one's a little different. I think the people who were first showing up to our screenings were just blindly showing up because Robin was attached. Everybody who showed up the last time were people who didn't get into the other movies. That's not my self-loathing; that's just the reality. It's not a big ticket.

D: The logline sells itself, though.

BG: Yeah: "The dude from Police Academy makes a movie about a woman who fellates a dog." But I had this great thing where all these people who like movies showed up and they got past it. They seemed to kind of enjoy it. There was a woman who was trying to walk out, and her friend talked her into [staying]. And then I look over, and my daughter goes, "Look at her now." She was crying about an hour into it. And my daughter goes, "Yeah, you cry, bitch. You cry."

D: But ultimately both films share the themes of people hiding very dark secrets and explore the consequences of keeping those secrets. What about that appeals to you?

BG: I must be terrified about being exposed. Another thing that's similar in my movies is that people are always walking up to the other person and startling them. I'll try not to put that in my next movie. Strangers probably frighten me. But if I keep making movies, I want to make movies that explore these absolutes that don't hold water. Everybody and everything has to bend.

D: And yet these are comedies. What makes those absolutes funny to you?

BG: I think the comedy I'm interested in is the comedy that's awkward. I don't really care about the joke-driven comedies or the gag-driven comedies.

D: It walks a very fine line between humanity and total misanthropy.

BG: Even the characters I kind of have contempt for, I still see them as people. Even the person you might see as the villain in World's Greatest Dad. Kind of by the end of it, I felt bad for him. I feel like he got chumped. He's kind of full of himself, but I'm not sure he needs to be taken down a couple of notches.

D: Robin Williams is an inspired choice for the role of Lance, and it works out as one of the most dynamic roles of his career. How and when did he sign on for this?

BG: Robin's an old, old friend of mine, but I've never really pimped him or exploited him. He always acts like we're peers, which is really weird; it reminds me of Marlon Brando hanging out with Wally Cox. But I didn't write the part with him in mind. I was telling a mutual buddy about it over dinner, and he was like, "What about Robin?" Robin really liked Sleeping Dogs Lie, and he read this, and he said, "I'd like to be in your movie." [Laughs] It's so weird. I even had to rewrite it because the guy I had was younger.

D: What do you think drew him to it?

BG: This character winds up being kind of a hybrid of me and Robin. We even said that at one point when we were making it; we kind of laughed at how we really are.

D: Are your films autobiographical?

BG: Everything I make is usually autobiographical. The stories aren't, but all the people are if you poke around. Sometimes I don't even really know it. In this movie it's funny: There would be someone I don't really care for, and I'd hear them say something asinine. So I just threw it in the script while I was writing it.

D: We were reading your bio accompanying the press notes, which read in part: "As an actor he has appeared in innumerable embarrassing movies and was huge in the '80s. He greatly prefers directing." What is it about your comedy and these "innumerable" embarrassments that you think informed your films?

BG: I do think that all the stuff I went through kind of prepared me for this phase. And really, what's going on my life now — kind of like Lance — I just stopped five or six years ago and said, "You know what? I'm flattered that they're calling from UPN or the WB, but..." The real shame about being a comedian who's well-known is that you don't immediately become a has-been. They just keep dragging you out. Trust me. As soon as Howie Mandel hit pay dirt hosting a game show, I got a million fucking calls to host a game show.

D: Really?

BG: Of course! I mean, Hollywood? "Hmm, who else was an annoying '80s comedian? Oh, Bobcat Goldthwait! Let's get him!"

D: Don’t be so hard on yourself.

BG: But it's the truth. I had this character when I first started; I wasn't even doing stand-up. It was really abstract. And then I got to be a comedian, and I started performing, and I had an act. Now I realize that I stopped being a comedian and became an entertainer, you know? You'd book me in a comedy club in the middle of the country, and my working-class ethics would kick in. I'd do a good show for the people. But I was miserable, man. And I'll still go out and do stand-up. Now I don't mind it, because it affords me the chance to make indie movies. I'm not looking to get discovered. I'm just hoping to keep making these movies that are small and personal.

· As noted this morning in our roundup of Lame Sundance White-Guy Tropes, Fox Searchlight acquired the quirky drama Adam for low, low seven figures. Other buyers are not impressed, but Searchlight could probably make money out of a parking-garage surveillance video, so... Benefit of the doubt, etc.

· That said, the instant classic An Education was neither instant nor classic enough for Searchlight to bow on its reported $1 million offer, which co-sales reps CAA and Endeavor countered with a price tag of $10 million. Good luck with that, guys.

· And at least until someone opens a wallet wide for Education, this is the sweetest Sundance story we've heard all week.

· And the sweetest review we've read all day belongs to Spout's Karina Longworth, whose disapproval of the Michael Cera/Charlene Yi entry Paper Heart warns, "Put on your helmets, there’s falling meta in the synopsis tunnel." And that's being kind; the word "vile" has come up more than once in conversations with Heart survivors we've encountered in town. Can't! Wait!

· While we're parsing reviews, did Variety really just attribute "perhaps [Robin] Williams' best (at least largely) dramatic performance to date" to his Bobcat Goldthwait collaboration World's Greatest Dad? Huh! Our investigation forthcoming...

The story involving Lohan is hardly new, and appears to be taken directly from last year's suspect News Of The World feature in which one of Lohan's cohorts turned over a tape allegedly showing Lohan snorting lines at Teddy's. The item, accompanied by grainy stills from the tape which have yet to convince us Lindsay's the girl peer pressuring everyone around her into joint key bumps, did provide a classic Lindsay quote: "I'm going to New York tomorrow to fuck Jude Law!" Funny. And sad, because of just how funny that objective would be today. As for the other excerpts, Johnny Depp is the actor who said he'd spent most of his life in a fog, but his comments on cocaine and all the "teeth-grinding" that came with it were made in retrospect during a 2001 interview with The Guardian. The star who relied on the drug socially? Shockingly (!), Elton John. Who provided the book's quote to the LAT back in 1992. And guess what? Robin Williams, believe it or not, was once fond of the same drug! Too bad that news is so old Williams was still using the memory of it to plug movies to People in 1988.

The book's authors also promise revelations from the secretly drug-filled lives of Whitney Houston, Courtney Love, Amy Winehouse, and George Michael. But rather than sit around in heated anticipation of the day you can waste $28.95 on the hardcover, we'll give you the Cliff's Notes:
Whitney Houston: "Crack is whack."
Amy Winehouse: "They tried to make me go to rehab, I said no, no, no."
George Michael: "Why can't I set my monkey free?"
Courtney Love: "im sur ei am quite Nuerotic."
[Photo credits: Wireimage]

• DOPE STYLES OF THE BOLD-FACES [NYP]

• WATCH VIDEO

Anyone who can tolerate Robin Williams for more than five minutes earns our respect and admiration, so let's take a moment to find out a little more about Charlotte Filbert, shall we? According to her website, her love of painting "started at the age of 5, when her art was awarded first prize among 125 students. She knew then that this would be her future, that creating original art would be the focus of her life." So, we know she can triumph in the cutthroat world of kindergarten art class, but what can she do for us now? Happily, "Charlotte Filbert will create an original, based on your favorite colors. It's original art, made just for you." Savvy investors are urged to take her up on this offer, and buy a custom painting today. Who knows how valuable her work will become now that she's been anointed by America's most annoying funnyman? Besides, Picasso had a similar offer up on his website back in the day, and look how much his stuff is worth now.

• Robin Williams Is Dating 27-Year-Old Artist? [Starpulse]

Did you know that Robin and Marsha met while A) he was married to another woman and B) she was working as her nanny? Wowzers! Not only had we failed to recognize Williams as the nanny-schtupping type, but now our entire perspective on Mrs. Doubtfire has shifted. Can't believe we missed out on that subtext for all these years. Fingers crossed that Netflix is back online, this one's headed straight to the top bottom of our queue.

• Robin Williams and Wife Split [ExtraTV]

• TV's Hairiest Stars [latimes.com]

· Many vows were broken to make this 'comedy' [SFGate.com]
· Say `I Don't' to `License to Wed' [WaPo.com]
· In 'License to Wed,' they all should have vowed to disengage [Newsday]

· Wedded miss: flick filled with tired shtick [Orlando Sentinel]
· Somebody should have pulled this "License to Wed" [Denver Post]
· Revoke that 'License to Wed' [Balt Sun]
· Williams deserves to have comic 'License' revoked [Daily Herald]
· As comedic clergyman, Williams' 'License' should be lifted [NJ.com]
· Leave 'License to Wed' at the altar [USA Today]
· 'Wed' gives Robin Williams license to annul his movie career [InsideBayArea.com]

And, mercifully, a dissenter!

· Robin Williams gives us license to laugh [ProJo.com]

• Review: Divorce yourself from 'License to Wed' [CNN.com]
• Previously: Annals Of Subliminal Advertising: The 'License To Wed' Poster [Defamer]

• License to Laughs [Today]

In today's episode: Tom Hanks and Larry David; Vince Vaughn; Diane Keaton; Robin Williams; Laurence Fishburne; Jason Bateman; Mike Tyson; Bill Paxton; Kevin Smith; Tommy Lee; Cuba Gooding Jr.; Eliza Dushku; Michael Des Barres; John "Johnny Rotten" Lydon; Sanjaya Malakar; Pauly Shore; Rick Rubin; Coley Laffoon; Doug Benson and Samantha Ronson.

· Was at Buffalo Club in Santa Monica on Tuesday, June 12 and saw Tom Hanks having lunch with none other than Larry David. They laughed a lot and generally seemed to be having fun. They drank water and Larry paid the bill. I hope they are planning something together.

· 6-16 Tom Hanks, polo shirt collar up, and his ? Two boys gist leaving Swingers in Santa Monica. Looks terrific. That's what Paul McCartney money will do for a guy.

· Vince Vaughn hanging out on the smoking patio at the Seven Grand downtown on Saturday Night (good strong drinks). He is very tall and currently non-bloaty. And surprisingly, not drawing attention to himself, aside from the black pimp shirt un-buttoned one too low.

· Saturday afternoon (6/16), Diane Keaton opted out of the "chilly bliss" and enjoyed the real stuff on the patio of Piccomolo Italian Ice Cream in Pacific Palisades. She was with two children and was sporting her usual Annie Hall garb (black bowler, black blazer, shirt buttoned up to her chin).

· June 17th: Went to see a friend perform at the Improv, when about half way through the show the host surprised the audience by introducing "the man of Mork and Mindy fame, Mr. Robin Williams." He did about a 45 minute set and was absolutely hilarious, the guy definetly has talent, as it seemed to be pretty much entirely improv. Amazing.

· I miss out on all the Coffee Bean sightings, because I don't normally drink coffee or tea.. but thankfully they brought back Lavender Mint and I was able to enter the Matrix! On my second run of the weekend (6-18) I saw Laurence Fishburne at the Wilshire & 9th Coffee Bean. He was dressed casually and drove off in a black G-wagon.

· Jason Bateman hit the Hollywood Farmers Market on Sunday (6/17) with his wife and very cute baby girl.

This is very out-of-date but I spaced on reporting it earlier, so if you still care: on June 7 while stuck in rush-hour traffic on the Sunset Strip, we spotted Mike Tyson - dressed to the nines in a very expensive-looking suit - sitting outside some tattoo parlor. A passer-by walked up excitedly and asked if he could snap a photo, which Mike agreed to while looking off into the distance quite forlornly. It made me kind of sad to see...

· About half an hour later (still crawling down Sunset) my spirits were
resurrected by watching a smiley Bill Paxton finishing up the press line at the Cinerama Dome for the season premiere screening of "Big Love". Whee!

· Saturday, June 16, 2007: Kevin Smith, aka Silent Bob, at AMC Century 15, in the 7 p.m. preview screening for "Ratatouille."

· Happy Fathers Day! Saw Tommy Lee at the Dugout Club at Dodger Stadium 6/17. He was wearing black baseball cap, grey t shirt and copious b.o. Sort of a combo of old cigarretes, old cigarettes and old cigarettes. Stanky! Ran into him a short time later in the men's' room (i swear i wasn't trying to get a glimpse of "li'l tommy). Dude exited the stall and did not wash his hands! Later still, saw enthusiastic fans taking pics and shaking hands with Tommy. They better get themselves checked for hepatitis c.

oh yeah. also saw Cuba Gooding Jr. Is he still making movies?

· 6/17: LA Dodgers v. Angels Tommy Lee in the dugout club, maybe there for fathers day, didn't see kids but you never know. Separately saw Eliza Dushku there as well looking hot with her dimples.

· 6/18: Mambos in Burbank, Murdoc from MacGyver (Michael Des Barres) looking appropriately crazy in tinted blue shades, bright red button down open to bellybutton and adidas warmup pants.

· 6/14- Johnny Lydon (Rotten) having lunch in Venice by Washington Pier. Talks really loud so people will turn and look at him.

· 6/15/07 - Sanjaya Malakar (I know, this is hardly newsworthy) at the Derek Trucks/Susan Tedeschi Soul Stew Revival concert at the Ford Ampitheatre.

· 6-19 Pauly Shore working out at Equinox on Sunset. I dont know what he's taking, but the man hasn't aged a day since 1994.

· Sunday June 17th- Went down to Newport this last weekend to celebrate father's day with my Kenny Rogers-looking dad (pre surgery but post Roasters chow down) and who goes tooling past me on PCH but uber music producer, label owner Rick Rubin in his Johnny Cash black Bentley. Of course Bentleys are a a dime a dozen in coastal OC but when someone looking like the 4th member of ZZ Top goes zipping by, he blends in about as much as Newport's favorite son, Dennis Rodman.

· Is Anne Heche's porn-and-poker-loving ex-husband (i.e. healthy American male) Coley Laffoon a celebrity? What if I sweetened the deal by adding recently won shared-custody prize Homer on his shoulders? Saw the two at the Farmer's Market Friday evening June 15 by 326 Bar at the Farmer's Market. Laffoon is tall, handsome, Homer is the blondest, cutest 5-year-old kid you ever saw, and the two seemed positively beaming with the kind of happiness you get after freshly shedding a Certified Organic Crazy Lady.

· Monday, 6/18, Around 1pm I'm not sure if he qualifies as a celebrity, but I see comedian Doug Benson of VH1's "Best Week Ever" getting chatted up by a diminutive bear at Gold's Gym Hollywood. The Thunderpuss Remix of something is blaring, so I can't hear what the bear is saying, but I'm pretty sure he's just a fan. I think.

· 6-18 I'm not sure it counts as a sighting... but I saw Samantha Ronson working out at my gym tonight. She looks greasy in person...

In today's episode: Robin Williams; Judd Apatow, Leslie Mann, Iris and Maude Apatow; Lane Garrison and Joe Simpson; Bradley Cooper; Jenna Elfman and Ted Raimi; Alyssa Milano; Madeleine Stowe; Ed Helms; Angela Kinsey, Kate Flannery, and Melora Hardin; Michael Rosenbaum; Delilah Andre; Mira Furlan and Eric Wareheim.

· Yesterday (6/4), eating at Toi on Sunset and who should walk by but the hairiest man in comedy himself, Robin Williams. He said hello, smiled, and waved to several people who recognized him as he crossed the street. That is all.

· Around 8:45 this morning (6-7) walking to work, saw Judd Apatow, his wife Leslie Mann and their two kids (Iris and Maude Apatow) at Swinger's in Santa Monica. Maybe a breakfast celebration for his LA Weekly cover story?

· Today 6/7/07 at the PF Changs in Sherman Oaks for dinner, I noticed this hottie at the next table kinda give a coy smile from under his Kangol. We go back and forth stealing smiles around what looks like to be a family dinner, then I realized this hottie is Lane Garrison. As they are finishing up dinner I then see mom and dad are none other than Joe and Tina Simpson! I am glad to report there was no alcohol served. But damn I love me some Lane.

· Tuesday evening—Jenna Elfman at Gloss Nail Salon in Silver Lake, getting a mani/pedi and extremely preggers. Also, Ted Raimi at the lounge at Table 8, with an age-appropriate reddish haired woman.

· Alyssa Milano - First Class - Delta Airlines - Logan Airport to LAX. She is gorgeous and has flawless skin. Holy shite I want to know her dermatologist.

· 6/6/07 On my way to Cent City mall when I see a pack of CAA agents, including a friend of mine-went to say hi to friend and who is the guy next to him, the only non agenty suited male in the pack? Bradley Cooper looking very hot. I am 5'9 and was in heels and he was significantly taller than me. I hear he's single now. Too bad he bears more than a passing resemblance to my ex.

· 6-5 I saw Madeleine Stowe at the Whole Foods Mothership in Santa Monica. I'm pleased to report she's still a total knockout and that I'd electrocute her genitals anytime!

Wow. That sounds pretty sick if you weren't one of the five people who actually saw "The Two Jakes".

· Ed Helms (Daily Show, The Office) jumped the queue in front of me at Pinkberry on Abbot Kinney's today (6-6). Even Crystal the girl working the allegedly frozen yogurt whirrly machine thought you pushed in, Ed. I hope you got brain freeze. Bastard.

· On Friday, June 1st, while lunching at the Roosevelt's pool I saw a trio of female celebs from The Office. Angela Kinsey (Angela), Kate Flannery (Meredith), and Melora Hardin (Jan) were dressed casually, big smiles, and having a good time. They hung around the pool for about ten minutes before being whisked inside by an assistant-type. If I had to guess, I think there was some kind of promotional product giveaway going on, as I also spotted a couple of other no-name D-list actors carrying oversized branded shopping bags.

· Only in LA...on Tuesday I was catching up on Veronica Mars on my tivo (watched the prison experiment episode), then went to Equinox on Sunset and saw Delilah Andre (thanks imdb) coming out of the afternoon ab class. Then Thursday, watched Smallville on the tivo...then went to Hollywood & Highland and nearly got knocked over by a hurried Michael Rosenbaum. He had hair, so that threw me at first... Tivo...the new magic 8-ball

· Last Thursday night (May 31), I saw Mira Furlan, Rousseau from "Lost" (thanks, IMDB). She was with a cute, approximately 8-9 year old, mop-headed little boy at Barnes & Noble at the Grove. At first I didn't recognize her without the rifle and creepily feral look on her face. She cleans up nicely.

· Okay, a little late with this, but it took me forever to figure out who he was: Eric Wareheim, a.k.a., The Mayor from Tom Goes to the Mayor, at Taylor's Steakhouse on Eighth Street in Koreatown Friday night, June 1. He was sitting at the bar with a pretty girl about half his height. He's very tall, and she was very petite. They moved upstairs and had dinner. No funny faces or bizarre karaoke numbers. Just a normal date night, apparently. I hesitate even to send it in, but maybe the member with the Aqua Teen Hunger Force icon will dig it.

When Robin Williams is a guest on any program, hilarity is sure to ensue! Okay, that statement hasn't been true since some point in the late seventies when the entire country was suffering through an epic Quaalude binge. But his recent appearance with Anderson Cooper at least provides Anderson with a few chuckles. We're not sure what's so funny, but maybe Anderson knows something that we don't.

Not only do they let the porn star who ran for governor into your premiere party, they allow her to be photographed in front of the already ridiculous, giant photograph of you in a powdered wig, perhaps hoping that some moviegoers will turn out because they think you signed up for a period porno flick while you were in the middle of a particularly bad bender.

• CA: Premiere Of Universal Pictures "Man of the Year" - Arrivals [Getty Images]

Robin Williams was out of rehab before it was ever announced, a source tells us.

"It was over already. They wanted to beat a tabloid story about it," the source adds.

The improv genius reportedly checked himself into Oregon's Hazelden Springbrook for alcoholism treatment in July after starting to drink following 20 years of sobriety. [...]

Mara Buxbaum, Williams' spokeswoman, wouldn't comment, except to say, "That's why they call it Alcoholics ANONYMOUS."

Now that an uncooperative outlet has been beaten to press, Williams' publicist can help her client navigate the final step of his recovery: telling his story of addiction and redemption to every reporter in America, so that potential Man of the Year ticket-buyers might benefit from his struggle with his recently vanquished demons.

• With a rehab stint behind him, Robin Williams is ready to role (second item) [Rush & Molloy]
• Previously: Robin Williams Ready To Show Off 28 Days' Worth Of New Mel Gibson Material [Defamer]