Apparently Paula Abdul is another unwilling victim caught on tape in Sacha Baron Cohen’s “Bruno.” Cohen reportedly coerced Abdul for a meeting by claiming to interview for her fictionalized win for Artist Of The Year in Germany. Cohen proceeded by apologizing for a lack of furniture before attempting to conduct his interview. Said Abdul of the encounter: “He snaps his fingers and says, ‘Gardeners!’ And these two Mexican guys come in, and they drop down to all fours. I see him paying them like 10 bucks, and he says, ‘Sit down.’ And I said, ‘I’m not doing that!'”
Abdul was oblivious to the prank though until a year later when her manager received calls from reporters regarding the incident. “I said, ‘I’ve never done anything with Sacha Cohen … they’re wrong!” said Abdul. “And at 2 o’clock in the morning that night, I woke up in a cold sweat. I popped my body up out of bed and I went, ‘Holy crap! Oh my God!’ And that’s what happened. And I’m dying. Cause you don’t expect it. You just don’t expect it.” [Herald Sun]
Russell Brand is set to star in an upcoming remake of “Drop Dead Fred” with Dennis McNicholas penning the script. The original 1991 film starred Phoebe Cates as a woman whose imaginary childhood friend returns after losing her job, husband and home. [THR]
Josh Peck (“The Wackness”) has joined Ashley Tisdale (“High School Musical”) in the upcoming action comedy “They Came From Upstairs.” Peck, who himself is a former Nickelodeon star, plays the role of Sparks a “geeky but smart” engineer in the film which follows Tisdale’s character who is fighting to protect her family summer home from a group of intruding extra-terrestrials. Peck seriously needs a new agent. [MTV]
Gerald McRaney is jumping onboard Lucasfilm’s Anthony Hemingway helmed “Red Tails,” a film about a group of African-American pilots who flew in WWII with distinction. McRaney will play General Luntz, the officer who assigns the Red Tails their missions in Nazi territory. The film stars, among others, Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding Jr and R&B artist NeYo. [THR]
The third installment of video blogs from Edgar Wright’s production of “Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World” has been released. The somewhat underwhelming video reveals that the film will be shooting many scenes at the actual inspirations for Bryan O’Malley’s drawings. One shot also finds Michael Cera and Ellen Wong in front of the school. [SPVTW Blog]