You Wouldn't Like Mark Ruffalo When He's Angry

Deadline Hollywood is reporting that Ruffalo is in "late-stage" talks to take over the role of the Hulk from Ed Norton in The Avengers. Norton, who played Bruce Banner in 2008's The Incredible Hulk, was apparently sacked for being ... well, a giant jerk on the set. Though his response was a lot classier than Marvel's kind of high-school press release.

Verdict: Norton was galaxies better than Eric Bana, but Ruffalo's a good actor and if things were really that toxic on set, well, maybe it's for the best. Think people like Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, and Sam Jackson would put up with an even worse prima donna? Sucking up to all those egos is going to be like milking a cat. Scientifically possible, but difficult. And not a whole lot of fun for whoever has to do it.

Jodie Foster's Euphemism May Be in Trouble

The fallout from Mel Gibson's latest crazy rantings just keeps coming. He does have a day job besides being America's Most Hated Celebrity -- you're welcome, Tiger! -- and that's not working out so well for the people who actually cast him in something. He co-starred in Foster's latest yet-to-be released pet project, which is giving rise to unfortunate (for Jodie) headlines like "How Will Mel Gibson's Latest Rants Affect Jodie Foster's Beaver?" and rumors that Summit might bury the movie altogether.

Verdict: Didn't we already go through this once? He bounced back just fine after his last round of crazy racist ramblings, and people didn't seem to care when he dumped decades of pompous religious posturing overboard (along with his wife and kids) so he could nail a Ukrainian pop star. Can he come back again? I'd say no, but that's what I said last time. Wait a second -- is Mel Gibson too big to fail? If Congress steps in to bail him out I'm gonna be pissed.

Lohan Tries to Weasel Out of Prison; "It Was My Twin" Defense Not Working

After being sentenced to 90 days in jail, Lindsay Lohan hired lawyer-to-the-sleazebags Robert Shapiro, who makes money making sure that people like O.J. Simpson and those Kardashians never have to suffer consequences for their awfulness. Then the girl who recently said rehab was stupid checked into rehab, with Shapiro apparently planning on convincing the judge that private-room-massage-therapy-hug-it-out coddling is just the same as jail.

Verdict: This girl should serve every minute of her sentence like anyone else would have to, no special treatment, no private cell, full-on gen pop shiv-fight misery. And that's just for I Know Who Killed Me.

Take Another Little Piece of My Heart Now, Amy

From The Buddy Holly Story to Ray and The Runaways, music biopics are always big business, and actors line up for the high-brow critical acclaim that comes with playing rock gods (Gary Busey: Best Actor Oscar nomination; Jamie Foxx: Best Actor Oscar; Kristen Stewart: MTV Awards Best Kiss). The latest to enlist is Amy Adams, who'll be playing Janis Joplin for City of God director Fernando Meirelles.

Verdict: Amy Adams seems awfully ... perky to play Pearl, who kind of purposely didn't sing well, and liked to spend time swimming around the bottoms of whisky bottles and heroin spoons. (Just for a second, try to picture her singing the songs from Enchanted.) But Adams is a good actress, and it's high time for her to go against type. Let's hope this one finds a studio.

Variety Headline of the Year: "French B.O. up 9%"

Verdict: Well. It is July.