amelia earhart

• James Gandolfini is selling his Sopranos costumes to benefit a nonprofit organization that helps severely wounded soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, the AP reports.
• Speaking of charity, ABC, CBS and NBC will set aside an hour on September 5 to simulcast a fundraiser for cancer research, according to the AP.
• ComingSoon has the news that Ewan McGregor will be joining Hilary Swank and Richard Gere in the Amelia Earhart biopic.
• According to Billboard, the original members of Simple Minds will hit the recording studio next month for the first time in 27 years.
• Zap2It reports that ABC's comedy pilot Roman's Empire (produced by Ashton Kutcher) found a lead: Kelsey Grammer.
• Brandon Routh, Sophia Bush, Jesse Bradford and several others have been cast in the comedic movie Table for Three, writes Variety.
• Paul McCartney was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree from Yale over the weekend, Billboard reports.

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• Showtime's The Tudors has been renewed for a third season, USA Today reports.
• Variety has news that Ang Lee's next directorial project will be Taking Woodstock, the autobiography of Elliot Tiber, a Catskills motel worker who played a pivotal role in making the Woodstock concert happen.
• Naomi Campbell will guest-star on the season finale of Ugly Betty, the Associated Press reports.
• Virginia Madsen has joined the cast of the Amelia Earhart biopic, which already included Hilary Swank and Richard Gere, writes ComingSoon.
• Mariah Carey had her best album debut ever this week, easily landing at the top of the charts, Billboard reports.
• TV Land will be airing a modeling competition focusing solely on women 35 and older; details are at The Futon Critic.
• Tom Cruise's 13-year-old son Connor will have a minor, nonspeaking part as the younger version of Will Smith's character in the drama Seven Pounds, the AP reports.
• Contestants from the VH1 game shows with "love" in the name (Flavor of Love, etc.) will compete in a new show called For Love or Money to win cash prizes, TV Guide reports.
• Variety has the just-announced lineup for this year's Cannes Film Festival, which will include Clint Eastwood's 1920s thriller The Changeling starring Angelina Jolie, Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona . . . and Kung Fu Panda.

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• According to the AP, the upcoming X-Files movie has an official title! It's now called The X-Files: I Want to Believe, and will still open July 25.
• Richard Gere is joining two movie projects, writes Variety. He'll costar alongside Hilary Swank in the Amelia Earhart biopic, and he'll star in the cop drama Brooklyn's Finest.
• Iron & Wine, Flight of the Conchords, and Wolf Parade are among the bands scheduled for Sub Pop Records' 20th anniversary party this Summer, Billboard reports.
• ComingSoon reports that Danielle Panabaker will play the female lead in the remake of Friday the 13th.
• Get ready for more "green" storylines: NBC is bringing back Green is Universal for Earth Day, and The Futon Critic has the details. Meanwhile, the Hollywood Reporter writes that Fox has started an eco campaign of its own.
• The writer responsible for adapting Bringing Down the House into 21 is at it again, writing the screenplay version of a lottery scam memoir, Money for Nothing, writes Hollywood Reporter.
• Hollywood Reporter writes that Stan Lee will launch yet another superhero franchise, titled Legion of 5.
• The New York Times has a very sweet piece on the classic Disney animator Ollie Johnston who died on Monday.
• According to ComingSoon, Demi Moore has landed roles in two indie movies: Happy Tears, in which she'll star alongside Parker Posey, and Bunraku, starring Woody Harrelson.

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Good news in three parts: Amelia Earhart, Hilary Swank and Mira Nair
It's been rumored for a long time but now we finally have confirmation that an Amelia Earhart biopic will move forward, with Mira Nair named as director and Hilary Swank playing the famous courageous aviator.

The story itself.
Interestingly, the film will focus on the formative years in Earhart's career, rather than her mysterious disappearance. Variety writes, "George Putnam, a publisher and publicist, was engaged by society denizen Amy Guest to set up a daring nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean. When Guest was talked out of trying to become the first woman to make the trip, she dispatched Putnam to find a female pilot, and to turn the flight into a media event."

I can't wait.
Amelia Earhart's life is completely fascinating to me, and while I know Swank has fallen out of favor in recent years, I think she's wise to return to meatier stuff than, say, P.S. I Love You. And Mira Nair is a beautiful director, from Monsoon Wedding to Vanity Fair to last year's gorgeous film The Namesake she has consistently produced visually stunning work.

Do you think the Nair-Swank duo will do Earhart's story justice?

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This week's Bella Donna is one of the most famous women of the 20th century, Amelia Earhart. Born in Kansas in 1897, she was a confident and plucky child who grew up to become the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Seventy years ago, she disappeared during an attempt to fly around the world—but her influence is still felt.

Earhart started flying at the age of 23, but it wasn't until she was 35 that she made her historic solo journey from Canada to Northern Ireland. By that time, she was famous around the world. Her lean features and tousled hair resulted in frequent comparisons to fellow flyer Charles Lindbergh, along with the nickname "Lady Lindy." What's not as well-known about her is that she was considered a style icon of the 1930s: She helped design her own lines of wrinkle-proof clothing and sturdy luggage, and her short hairstyle inspired many women to buck tradition and cut their locks. Her personal style lives on to this day—just check out this Nars look and you'll definitely see Amelia!

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