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GLAAD's study on lesbian and gay TV inclusion, Diane Keaton headlines HBO project on rebirth of feminism, Harry Potter and Michelle Rodriguez, Queen Latifah, Jennifer Aniston, Julia Roberts, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Natalie Portman, Bryce Dallas Howard, Kristen Stewart, Elle Macpherson, Drew Barrymore, Ellen Page, Lady GaGa and more.
From GLAAD's study on LGBT characters on TV to Diane Keaton headlining an HBO project about the rebirth of feminism, the week in Hollywood also saw varmints topple Harry Potter and Michelle Rodriguez and Queen Latifah and Jennifer Aniston making headlines.
Even Emma Watson couldn't work her spells enough to defend Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince's position atop of the box office. Disney's 3D/live-action family film G-Force bested the Hogwarts gang for weekend boxoffice champ with $32.2 million.
GLAAD unveiled its third annual Network Responsibility Index and the study found that HBO had the highest percentage of LGBT characters with 42 percent. Showtime was second with 26 percent, followed by ABC (24 percent), the CW (20 percent) and TNT (19 percent).
Diane Keaton is heading for HBO. The Oscar winner will star in an untitled project as a feminist icon who attempts to reignite the movement by starting a sexually explicit magazine for women. The project is being written by Marti Noxon Buffy the Vampire Slayer, who has wanted to do a feminist-based project since she was a kid. When Noxon was 12, her mother came out as a lesbian and a radical feminist.
The CW network unveiled its line of sexually charged posters promoting its upcoming Melrose Place reboot that features the leggy cast along such taglines as "Tuesdays are a bitch" and "Tuesday's the new humpday." See for yourself …
Christine Lahti (Running on Empty), Maggie Grace (The Jane Austen Book Club) and Joanna Cassidy (Blade Runner) have been cast in Flying Lessons, an independent drama revolving around a young woman coming to terms with her father's suicide.
Michelle Rodriguez (Girlfight) and Bridget Moynahan will star in Battle: Los Angeles, a science-fiction action film starring Aaron Eckhart that revolves around a Marine (Eckhart) and his platoon's battle against an alien invasion on the streets of L.A. Rodriguez will play a member of the radio battalion, while Moynahan plays a vet.
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Queen Latifah has joined the cast of Valentine's Day, a romantic comedy that features an ensemble cast including Julia Roberts, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Jennifer Garner, Shirley MacLaine and Emma Roberts. She'll play a sports agent.
Jennifer Aniston will star in Pumas, a story of two thirty-something women who romance younger men and take a French skiing vacation that challenges their romantic expectations.
Octo-mom Nadya Suleman has signed a deal for each of her 14 kids to star in a reality TV show at a rate of $250 a day, netting each about $250,000 over three years. Can you say "college fund"?
Moon Bloodgood (Burn Notice) and Jessy Schram (Starz's Crash) have signed on to star opposite Noah Wyle (ER) on TNT's alien invasion pilot from executive producer Steven Spielberg that follows a group of soldiers and civilians battling aliens after they have wiped out most of the human population.
Mila Kunis (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) will play Natalie Portman's nemesis in Black Swan, Darren Aronofsky's (The Wrestler) supernatural drama revolving around a ballerina (Portman) who is tormented by a rival who may or may not be a figment of her imagination.
Bryce Dallas Howard has replaced Rachelle Lefevre as Victoria, the evil vampire who goes after Bella (Kristen Stewart) in Eclipse. Original story on SheWired.
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Alfre Woodard has signed on to topline CBS' upcoming medical drama Three Rivers, opposite Alex O'Laughlin. She will play Sophia, the head of surgery. Julia Ormond played the role in the pilot.
Elle Macpherson has been upped to a regular on the CW's The Beautiful Life, where she plays Claudia, an '80s supermodel who owns the No. 1 modeling agency in New York.
Drew Barrymore's feature directing debut Whip It! will make its world premiere at September's Toronto International Film Festival. The Ellen Page roller derby pic opens stateside Oct. 2 in limited release.
Meanwhile, Demi Lovato's Here We Go Again tops the Billboard albums charts, with Jordin Sparks' Battlefield debuting at No. 7. Taylor Swift's Fearless holds steady at No. 9, with Lady GaGa's The Fame jumping a notch from last week to round out the top 10 albums of the week.
Looking to the weekend at the boxoffice, Judd Apatow's Funny People, starring Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen and Leslie Mann, horror film The Collector and the family adventure Aliens in the Attic take on holdovers G-Force and Harry Potter. Here's hoping someone blows those varmints to smithereens.
To read past Weekly Casting Couch posts, and other articles by Lesley, go here!
