Gary Busey Endorses Newt Gingrich
Welcome to the Smart Set. Every morning we bring you the gossip coverage, filtered. Today: Gary Busey gives Newt Gingrich a key endorsement at a Washington Christmas party, Rob Lowe is writing another book, and Kate Winslet's ex wishes he wasn't Kate Winslet's ex.
Mike Myers is reportedly "in talks" to turn Austin Powers into a Broadway show. According to a source, Myers "would be heavily involved in writing the show, but he will not star in it, even though he has quite a good singing voice.” The item also states that Powers has a deal in place with New Line for a fourth film in the spy parody franchise, although there were conflicting reports over the summer on whether Myers ever responded to New Line's offer. [New York Post]
Last year, GOP strategist Ron Bonjean and his wife Sara added a celebrity component to their annual holiday party when they invited actor Dennis Haskins, famous for playing Principal Belding on Saved by the Bell. This year's guest was Gary Busey, and he brought a much different dynamic to the festivities. Wearing pink-footie pajamas (apparently as an homage to A Christmas Story) , Busey held court in the Bronjean's living room, where he announced his support for Newt Gingrich ("I've never met Newt, but I know what he stands for"), his allegiance to the Republican party ("I'm a Texan"), and his thoughts on Rick Perry ("He's a good guy, he just doesn't belong in the race.") Correction: Busey wasn't the one wearing the footie pajamas. That was another reveler, Tim Flanigan. [The Hill]
Eight months after Rob Lowe's autobiography Stories I Only Tell My Friends became a breakout best-seller and earned a place in our parents' guest room, the actor has reportedly signed a deal for a second book, called Love Life. According to Simon & Schuster, the new text is going to be all about "sex, marriage, money, work, fatherhood and sports, drawing upon Mr. Lowe’s own experiences and observations." [The New York Times via The New York Observer]
Kate Winslet's male model ex Louis Dowler is still upset at the actress for taking up with Richard Branson's nephew Ned Able Smith, just because they both happened to act like heroes when Branson's estate in the Caribbean burned down over the summer. "I was in love with her and you can’t switch that off overnight," Dowler told The Daily Mail in his first comments since Winslet dumped him. "I’m not sure Kate treated me well." Ned, we've all been there before, but talking to The Daily Mail won't help. What you've got to do is start is start dating another Oscar winner --a better looking Oscar winner -- and do something even more heroic. [The Daily Mail]
Geraldo Rivera is going to start hosting a radio show from 10 a.m. to 11 on WABC in Manhattan, "one of the nation's biggest stations...best known fro having conservative heavy hitters like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Mark Levin." It's his first foray into radio, though he'll continue on as a correspondent and weekend news anchor at Fox News. According to Rivera, his show will have two slogans: "I'm Gerlado Rivera and I'm not always right" and "Not red, not blue, but red, white and blue." [Media Decoder via Playbook]
When Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith held a fundraiser for President Obama back in October at their Hancock Park mansion, Banderas reveals his Secret Service nickname was -- wait for it --Zorro. As the actor himself pointed out to Graham Norton: "It could have been worse. I could have been Puss." [The Hollywood Reporter]
