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The only time I ever really cared about Marvel’s presence at the annual San Diego Comic-Con was the year Tom Hiddleston arrived in his Loki get-up and told all the nerds to quake before his thunder (I might be paraphrasing, but not by much). That was 2013. Tommy really out-did himself and after that, Marvel was all “Damn, what can we do to top that?” The answer is… not much. James Gunn, the director of Guardians of the Galaxy, said as much in a recent Q&A session online.

The biggest reveal from the Facebook interaction came from an answer to what seemed to be a really straight question: “Are you going to comic con this year?” Seems like an easy question to answer, if it needed answering at all. Gunn could be hard at work on Guardians of the Galaxy 2 or he could join Marvel for what, in San Diego years past, have been large hyped Marvel events.

But here’s what Gunn said: “I’m not sure. Marvel isn’t going so I’m not sure I will either.”

[From Geek.com]

I guess it makes sense? Marvel will have already blown their proverbial wad during the promotional trail for Age of Ultron throughout April and May, and Comic-Con will be in July. You know what else Marvel has coming out in July? Ant-Man. So there will be no Ant-Man at Comic-Con? Huh. I guess I have to give it Marvel – they’re in such a position of strength, they literally don’t even have to show up and all of the comic-book people will still make all of the Marvel films huge hits.

And since I’m using photos of Tommy, might as well add this – Tom Hiddleston has narrated a children’s adaptation of Henry V for British schoolkids. The film will be shown during Shakespeare Week (next week). Hiddleston said: “With WillShake, Joe Talbot and Emily Blacksell have achieved something wonderful. They have completely reimagined the possibilities for children and their first contact with Shakespeare. Their Henry V film is fresh, dynamic and so lovingly crafted that it’s impossible not to stand up for it. Bravo.”

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Photos courtesy of Getty.

Here are some photos of the royal family attending a service at Westminster Abbey yesterday. There was a special Commonwealth service for Commonwealth Day. The Queen is the head of state to 53 nations, including Canada and Australia. For the service, the royal attendance was actually kind of light. I’ve only seen photos of the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Queen and Prince Philip, plus Prince William and Kate. No Princess Royal? No Duke of York?

This was one of Kate’s final public appearances before she gives birth next month. She’s due to make some more appearances this week, including her trip to the set of Downton Abbey, and then after that… we probably won’t see much of her until she gives birth. I think for the birth, we’ll probably see the same wall-to-wall hospital coverage and Will and Kate will make a big public debut of the baby after he or she is born. I’m assuming? But there’s bound to be less excitement with this second baby.

As for Kate’s look here, she did a repeat. She wore this pale pink Alexander McQueen coat when she was pregnant with George, back for the 2013 Trooping the Colours. The hat and the earrings are new though. The hat is by Jane Taylor and the earrings are morganite and diamond drops by Kiki McDonough. Kate’s clutch is by Prada. The whole ensemble is very… eh. Familiar, girlish, but hey… at least she looked occasion-appropriate. The Queen wore a suit by Karl Ludwig, but I swear, I thought the Queen was wearing Chanel! Perish the thought!

You can read more about the event here at People. Kate spoke to a few commoners and they found her charming.

PS… It’s good to see Philip out and about. That man is 93!!

Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.

These are photos of Shailene Woodley with her best bud, Laura Dern, on a lunch run last week. Shailene’s Insurgent press tour is raring up, and so far, so good. I’m pretty sure her PR team told her to stay quiet on feminism this time around. Shailene had an interesting experience with the first Divergent movie. After the movie wrapped, she dumped her worldly possessions and couch surfed for months. I don’t feel like she’s pulling one over on us with this free and easy persona. This is who Shailene really is, but I wonder how she’ll fare long term in the world of Hollywood superficiality. Will she grow weary of the spotlight and playing the same role in her current franchise?

Shailene did a press conference last Friday. She talks about her lack of excitement to return to the Tris role. To be fair, Insurgent was a terrible book — one I would have thrown across the room, had it not been a Kindle edition. People describes Shailene’s attitude as “been there, done that,” which may be accurate:

Returning for Insurgent: “Getting back into Tris was much more difficult than I anticipated because I didn’t take into account that I, myself, had grown for a year. I figured getting back into [Tris] would be simple because I would just go back into that mindset, but my personal mindset had progressed a year in evolution.”

Her role’s shifting requirements: “[In] the first movie, we did a lot of choreography and fight training, and this one was basic sort of fitness — there wasn’t anything too intense. [For the first movie] we were on wires and we would slide down, and there was one where it was almost a 90-degree angle. I was like, ‘If I don’t grab this pole, I’m not going to get hurt, but I’m going to be dangling in the air and probably get a really bad wedgie.’”

On Tris as a role model: “It’s great to have a platform for, not only younger girls, but for everyone to recognize that relationships can be based in truth and be vulnerable, and that keeping somebody at arms length [is a personal defense] to protect our own inner vulnerabilities — not because of anything that they’re doing.”

[From People]

Does Shailene sound ungrateful? She knew Divergent was a franchise, so it’s a tough call. Shailene’s admitting the difficulty in getting back into the mindset. She uses the word “evolution,” but that’s the stuff that always comes out of her mouth. Shailene took some time off, crafted weapons from nature and foraged for leeks. Of course it was a jolt to return to studio life, and yes … Insurgent goes nowhere as a sequel.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet & WENN

Say it with me now: “Alright, this chick is toast!”

That’s the message coming down from Sony with their newly christened all-male Ghostbusters reboot. This news follows the announcement of the all-female film starring Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig. I’d roll my eyes at the obviousness of this move, but Bill Murray’s probably doing it already. Ernie Hudson must be thrilled after protesting the all-woman cast, calling it “a bad idea” unless “it’ll be sexy.”

The dudes called up the big guns. Channing Tatum will probably lead the Bro-Busters. Ivan Reitman and Dan Aykroyd will produce. Joe and Anthony Russo (Captain America: The Winter Soldier) will direct, and Drew Pearce (Iron Man 3, Mission: Impossible 5) will write the screenplay. Deadline has much more about this new “universe,” but here’s an excerpt:

Sony Pictures is broadening the Ghostbusters franchise and the first order of business will be an action-centric comedy that is a counterpart to the Paul Feig-directed film that will start production in June. The studio is simultaneously forming Ghostcorps, a new production company whose principals include original Ghostbusters architects Ivan Reitman and Dan Aykroyd; they will have offices at Sony with the mission to scare up branding opportunities based on the 1984 comedy classic.

This is being put together even as the studio moves to the start line with a Ghostbusters reboot that will be directed by Feig and star his Bridesmaids leads Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy, and Saturday Night Live stand outs Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon.

[From Deadline]

Ivan Reitman tells Deadline that plans for a Bro-Busters movie have been gestating forever. Obviously! Dan Aykroyd’s entire existence has been devoted to more Ghostbusters. He hounded poor Bill Murray for decades. Yet nothing happened for the guys until the women got their own movie. Only then did plans come together for a band of bros. Reitman says the films will work together, but it’s still a lousy move. Couldn’t they at least wait for the women to film their movie first?

We’ll see dreamcasting lists in the near future, so I’ll start now. Channing Tatum will likely star, which means Jonah Hill will want a piece. Shia LaBeouf’s name was once floated, but he might be too messy. Maybe Vince Vaughn, since he’s got nothing going on anymore. Ernie Hudson? Sure. Oh, and why not “think outside the box” and add a meathead — Joe Manganiello. Done.

Photos courtesy of WENN

Late last year, Michael Fassbender set off to New Zealand and Australia to film one of our most hated Celebitchy Book Club selections, The Light Between Oceans. Fassy plays the ruggedly handsome World War I veteran, Tom, who falls in love with a strong-willed crazy woman named Isabel. Alicia Vikander was cast as Isabel. If the movie is anything like the book, there will probably be lots of scenes just between Vikander and Fassy. And wouldn’t you know, soon after they began filming, there were rumors that Alicia and Michael had developed an off-camera romance as well. Fassy does have a habit of romancing his costars (Zoe Kravitz, Nicole Beharie, possibly Lupita Nyong’o), and by last December, “sources” said Alicia and Michael were the real thing, that they were “dating” and not just having a torrid hookup.

And since then, months have passed. Michel’s good at starting work romances but he’s not so great at keeping them going for much longer than it takes to release the film. He’s apparently in San Francisco, working on the Steve Jobs bio-pic. And Alicia is in Europe, working with Eddie Redmayne. Are Fassy and Alicia still together? Well, a recent interview with Alicia seems to indicate that her mind is on all things German-Irish and hot.

Swedish actress Alicia Vikander has broken hearts across the globe as she opens up about her rumoured Irish boyfriend Michael Fassbender. Gushing about working with the Oscar nominee she said: “It was wonderful working with Michael on that film because he’s such an accomplished actor. And person. Every film he’s in, you can see that he’s thought about and chosen quite carefully. And he’s done some amazing work, from Hunger to Fish Tank. I really admired him in those films when I saw them. In general, I think he has a very intelligent and considered thought process to it all.”

The good-looking pair were first pictured together looking cosy while they shot in Sydney for the film and it looks as though the pair are still smitten with each other. The 26-year-old who has previously starred in Anna Karenina and Ex-Machina alongside Michael’s Frank co-star Brendan Gleeson is set to star in eight films this year. Speaking with the Sunday World Magazine, the former ballerina was asked if she would be visiting the Emerald Isle anytime soon.

“I’d love that. It’s a beautiful part of the world,” she coyly answered.

[From Goss.ie]

Is this a hands-down admission that she’s still with The Bender? No. But I think if she wasn’t still with him, she wouldn’t have been so gushy. If she wasn’t enjoying all of the Fassdelights, she probably would have shut down the dating rumors, I think. In any case, it’s not like any of this is scandalous. They were both single when they met and if they’re dating, God bless. Perhaps this was just an excuse to write about Fassy. I miss him! It feels like we haven’t had any good Fassbender interview in a really long time.

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Photos courtesy of Getty, Fame/Flynet.

Here is the new cover of Vogue UK, featuring Cara Delevingne in the center, Georgia May Jagger and an unrecognizable Suki Waterhouse. I didn’t even realize that was her! It’s because I’m used to seeing her with bangs. Bedhead talked about this cover yesterday too. The cover was shot by Mario Testino and it’s pretty meh. I’ll admit it – Cara is the only one really giving FACE here, and I’m shocked about it. Apparently, Cara, Georgia May and Suki are all BFFs. They all party together and Georgia May and Suki went to school together.

Surprisingly, Cara didn’t walk any of the runways during London Fashion Week. She attended some of the shows and made her dutiful appearances, but she didn’t “work” in the traditional model sense. Some believe Cara is already done with the day-to-day work of being a model, that she’s phasing in some new career options, like acting and singing. She’s already scored some acting roles in movies and she’s allegedly recording with Beyonce. That sounds like such a stupid, made-up rumor, but you never know.

Meanwhile, Cara apparently has a new girlfriend! To be fair, it seems like Cara has a new girlfriend every other week. Cara’s latest is St. Vincent, real name Annie Clark. They’ve been seen canoodling all over London and NYC for several weeks now, and it seems like St. Vincent is making some appearances on Cara’s social media too (which means it’s love). Some British sources claim Cara and St. Vincent have actually been undercover dating for four months, but I doubt that. I’m pretty sure Cara has been dating other people in the past few months and that this St. Vincent thing is relatively new.

Here are pics of Cara and St. Vincent in NYC a week ago. One thing: St. Vincent is 32 years old, Cara is only 22.

Photos courtesy of Vogue UK, WENN.

This is so cute! Have you ever wondered what Kim Kardashian and North West’s bedtime ritual is like? Well, honestly, it looks a whole lot like her sister, Kourtney Kardashian’s with her children. Kim took to Instagram to share a picture of herself and North West in bed together. She captioned the photo: “Reading books before bedtime!”

Gwyneth Paltrow posted this photo on Instagram to celebrate International Women’s Day.

Shouldn’t everyday be all of us equally day? I guess we’re #notthere #internationalwomensday @iwd2015 @clintonfoundation

A video posted by Gwyneth Pal…      

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(Lainey: a new feature because celebrities can’t help over-sharing on social media…)

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