"No, I haven't even heard about it. I don't ever pay attention to that stuff. She's one of my best friends in the whole world, and honestly, when you're sitting in a room for three hours doing satellite interviews — we were staring at a Post-It with a smiley face — so I think I probably rolled my eyes a hundred times, just sitting there, like, oh gosh! This thing is still going on!"

Still, we smell an opening for Gossip Girl's ad campaign, which delights in pulling quotes from the drama's negative reviews (something that gives creator Josh Schwartz some agita). What better way to reinforce the show's mean girl motif than to add Ferrera's eye roll to the mix?

CW, you can thank us later.

• Exclusive Video: Blake Lively Pledges Allegiance to America (Ferrera) [EW]

WHAT'S NEW: Pineapple Express is exactly what we needed in our post-Dark Knight hype doldrums — an unapologetically puerile, profane, violent and really fucking funny stoner comedy that will provoke neither death threats nor over-the-top box-office chatter. That said, the two films will square off for No. 1, and frankly, these are the only Summer Games we're interested in. We alluded yesterday to Pineapple's striking opening-day take; its $12 million was the best Wednesday opening ever for an R-rated comedy in August (or some other ridiculous milestone), and Thursday's $6.2 million was a decent enough follow-up as well. We're calling our shot for a Pineapple upset, even if it has to cheat with a two-day head start: $29 million for the three-day and $47 million for the five-day, versus TDK's $26 million over the three-day frame. Take it to the bank.

We're also fond of Elegy, the sober Philip Roth adaptation that arguably features Penelope Cruz's best English-language performance; other new releases include the long-awaited (we think) Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2; the segregated Mardi Gras doc The Order of Myths, the historical wine-snob dramedy Bottle Shock; and the Anglo-Jewish-soccer-coming-of-age flick Sixty Six.

THE BIG LOSER: None, believe it or not — with no Kevin Costner or Eddie Murphy films on the docket, everyone and everything seems to be set for a good weekend.

THE UNDERDOG: To the folks down on the brilliant documentary Man on Wire because of its occasional reenactments and other genre-bending tricks: Fuck off. This chronicle of Phillipe Petit, the French daredevil who walked on a tightrope between the World Trade Center towers 34 years ago yesterday, is by any means a gripping drama of ambition, friendship and, in the end, the "artistic crime of the century." Director James Marsh splices new interviews into Petit's film and photo archives for a behind-the-scenes procedural every bit as astonishing as last year's No End in Sight — and obviously quite a bit more fun. We could go on all day, but just take the recommendation and run. It's brilliant stuff.

FOR SHUT-INS: This week's new DVD's include this year's Best Foreign Language Film Oscar-winner The Counterfeiters, the flatlining Heather Graham comedy Miss Conception, the Abigail Breslin/Jodie Foster effort Nim's Island and, shockingly not until now, Get Smart: Season One.

All right, your turn: Is this the week The Dark Knight goes down? And does it even matter with Tropic Thunder around the corner? Or are you more of a Traveling Pants follower? Be honest — we're all friends here. Call your shots!

Blake Lively/Bridget: With only one credit behind her before the first Pants, 1998’s Sandman, Lively got her big break as Bridget the jock. Even though no one knew who she was at the time, she built her buzz by appearing in a few cheesy movies like the Justin Long vehicle Accepted. But now, thanks to Gossip Girl and its sultry appeal (ratings be damned!), Lively is arguably the boldest name on the sequel’s marquee.

America Ferrera/Carmen: Cast as the not-so-pretty one who most magically fit into the same jans all four girls kept handing off, America is obviously the biggest success story when it comes to acting cred (an Emmy), ratings (Ugly Betty), and general public appeal (we don’t even want to think about counting how many magazine covers with the hed “America The Beautiful!” she’s appeared on in the last two years).

Amber Tamblyn/Tibby: Having blown away TV critics as the lead in Joan of Arcadia the same year Pants came out (and racking up Golden Globe and Emmy noms along the way), Tamblyn was a shiny bright new fixture on the circuit. But the only notable film Tamblyn has appeared in since? The Grudge 2. Oops. The only reason we can think of for Amber’s dimming star? Michelle Trachtenberg. Sort of the more telegenic, tabloid-friendly version of Tamblyn, with all sorts of Pete Wentz/Ashlee Simpson sloppiness to keep the kids entertained.

Alexis Bledel/Lena: Pants came out at the height of Gilmore Girls’ gooey success, just before new writers took over and turned the show into an even faster-paced linguistic mess of confusion. And Bledel was the biggest draw among all four, cast as the “pretty” one with the heftiest romantic plotline and most cinematic backdrop (finding love in Greece). But the only upcoming flick on Bledel’s radar at the moment — aside from Pants 2 — is a comedy with Michael Keaton (which would've been a great gig in the late 80s, but today? Not so much). And the last time we saw her out and about was at the 2006 fashion shows alongside then-boyfriend Milo Ventimiglia — while Milo’s struck gold in Heroes, Alexis has yet to find a similarly cozy rebound gig.

[Photo credits: Getty]

• UGLY BETTY'S AMERICA FERRERA SHOWS HER PRETTY SIDE AT NEW YORK PREMIERE [Daily Mail]