Lena Dunham in a scene from the series Girls.JOJO WHILDEN/The Associated Press
NO GIRLS ALLOWED
The University of Iowa is no fan of Girls. The hit HBO show wrapped its third season this week with a storyline in which the lead character of Hannah, played by series co-creator and star Lena Dunham, was accepted into the University of Iowa's writer's workshop program. According to a report in The Iowa Press-Citizen, HBO recently requested permission to shoot episodes at the campus but were promptly turned down by university administration. Said UI spokesman Tom Moore: "Our general practice is to not allow filming, due to potential disruption to campus." No word yet on whether Girls will seek out an alternate shooting location.
Source: Gawker
WRAPUP
The third season of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo closed with a possum and a proposal. Most of the on-screen activity in the finale took place at the Tallapoosa Possum Drop, a real-life event in Tallapoosa, Tenn., where the TLC reality series is filmed. Taking place in late December, the annual event includes such activities as bobbing for hot dogs in vats of eggnog and sledding down a hill with man-made snow. The highlight of the season-ender occurred when local teen Michael asked the couple Mama June and Sugar Bear for the hand of their teen daughter Anna in marriage (Michael and Anna already have a baby daughter together). Mama June and Sugar Bear approved, and Anna said, "Michael's gonna make a good first husband."
Source: Zap2it
PRESSURE DROP
Selena Gomez has opened up about the personal issues that lead to her recent trip to rehab. The 21-year-old singer-actress appeared at a We Day conference in Oakland, Calif., this week and told fans, "I'm surrounded by people who are supposed to guide me and some of them have and others haven't. They pressure me – you gotta be sexy, you gotta be cute, you gotta be nice, you gotta be all these things." Last January, Gomez spent two weeks at an Arizona treatment centre that specializes in treating addiction and trauma in young people. Gomez closed off her We Day speech by saying, "I hope I can inspire each and every one of you to just trust yourselves and to love and be loved … Be proud of yourself."
Source: People
WRONG TURN
Is Zac Efron headed back down the dark road again toward drug addiction? The former High School Musical star, who reportedly spent two stints in rehab last year for cocaine addiction, made headlines this week when he was attacked in a low-rent neighbourhood in downtown Los Angeles. Efron told police that he and a bodyguard were in the area in search of a sushi restaurant when their car ran out of gas and they were attacked by transients. The TMZ report says the bodyguard was stabbed in the face, chest and stomach and Efron was punched in the face. A source told TMZ: "Zac's a loner. He goes out rarely and the idea of him driving for miles to go to some sushi restaurant in downtown L.A. after midnight is preposterous."
Source: TMZ
GAG REEL
The cast of How I Met Your Mother remained mostly in character for their recent appearance on Inside the Actors Studio. Host James Lipton went along with the gag by asking cast regular Neil Patrick Harris, who plays womanizer Barney on the long-running CBS sitcom, "What is the 'Playbook?'" Harris/Barney responded with, "That was a book in my days, back in my young awesome days, where I had different ways to get dirty. That included lots of doppelganger names – the Scuba Diver, that was a good one." How I Met Your Mother wraps its 10-season run on March 31.
Source: Zap2it
BIG BREAK
Being arrested for drunk driving launched the comedy career of Chelsea Handler. The Chelsea Lately host provided details of her 1996 arrest for driving under the influence to CNN this week. Following a short stint in L.A. County jail, Handler was forced to attend drinking education classes that required participants to tell their stories. And when Handler's turn came up, she had them rolling in the aisles. "The teacher for that DUI class said, 'Listen, this isn't a stand-up comedy club'," said Handler. "After that, people came up to me saying, 'I think you're really funny,' and then I decided to do stand-up comedy… It helped my career go in the right direction and luckily I didn't injure anybody on my way."
Source: CNN