CelebSpice

Lucy Lawless acknowledges, "There's a truckload of blood," in her January-debuting Starz series, "Spartacus: Blood and Sand." "Life was very cheap then. They were just hard times, boy. You're looking for the triumph of the human spirit in a sea of degradation."

The former "Xena: Warrior Princess" star is back in her native New Zealand as she works on the series created by her husband, one-time "Xena" producer Rob Tapert, and exec-produced by Tapert, Sam Raimi and Josh Donen.
The show stars Australian actor Andy Whitfield as the legendary gladiator, and features the former "Xena: Warrior Princess" star as Lucretia, whose husband (John Hannah) owns a gladiator camp. That's very handy for Lucretia, who is sexually voracious and digs gladiators. Nudity required.
As for how it is to shoot hot steamy sex scenes with her husband wandering around nearby, Lawless says, "He doesn't wander around on those days. He's not interested in being part of that equation on set. He's in the office working -- on visual effects or editing or whatever. It's not emotional, you know, these scenes. Everybody is very professional and just wants to get the job done."
When she's done for the day, she heads home to her and Tapert's two sons, ages 7 and 10. (She also has a 21-year-old daughter from her first marriage.) "My kids are of an age where they've had a lot of one-on-one with mom time. Now they've got their own social lives," she says. "They know I'm coming back. They can do without me for 12 hours."
Lawless also says, "While it wasn't part of my plan to leave America -- I was having a great life with all my wonderful friends -- it's good for the family."
ON THE PERSONAL SIDE: James Tupper tells us he's grateful for his job on NBC's "Mercy," but it's hard not to miss the time he spent working on the show "Men in Trees." The ABC show was canceled in May after two seasons due to low ratings. He says he especially misses working with his fiancee, Anne Heche, whom he met while on the show.
"Yeah, we had a village there. We felt we all belonged together. I think it probably had to do with us filming in Vancouver," notes Tupper of all the actors being away from their normal home environment. "Anne is fun and she was the head of that show, and a show is always determined by the person leading it. We'd go out and go dancing and eat out a lot," he recalls. "One day, she hired someone to teach us how to make Vietnamese food. She also had a bartender come over and teach us how to make certain drinks. It was a lot of fun."
Luckily for Tupper, he has been able to keep up with most of the cast and he lives with Heche so that's never a problem. "So many of the actors live in New York so I get together with them frequently -- probably more frequently than I do of the cast of 'Mercy,'" he admits. When it comes to his current job, though, Tupper certainly isn't complaining. "I tell you what, I like my job. I like getting up in the morning, getting in the van going to work; I like the people I work with, and I like my paycheck. I like it all."
CASTING CORNER: They're looking for the head Blue Meany, Jeremy Hillary Boob, Ph.D., and the old Lord Mayor of Pepperland for Robert Zemeckis' "Yellow Submarine" remake in motion-capture 3-D animation. The latter is described as "an ancient man with deep creases on his face." He should sound appropriately ancient as well.
Casting is under way for a spin-off of "Criminal Minds" that begins shooting mid-February. Characters include Mick, a Cambridge-educated 30-year-old former British Special Forces operative who is an expert survivalist and sniper; former L.A. gang banger Croc, whose past includes prison and a born-again conversion; team leader Cooper, 45-55 years old -- they're looking at all ethnicities; Gina, who rose above a tough urban background to become the first person in her family to go to college and became such a star that she was recruited by the FBI -- which quickly took advantage of her street savvy and used her undercover.
With reports by Emily-Fortune Feimster.

We learned last week that Anne Heche would be joining Ed Helms and John C Reilly in Miguel Arteta's comedy Cedar Rapids, but the film has now picked up Sigourney Weaver for the ride. The words "momentum" and "gathering" spring to mind.

A starring role for the previously-always-supporting Helms, following The Hangover, it's about a smalltime insurance salesman attending a big industry conference in the titular Iowan town. Reilly is a fellow salesman, using the convention as a holiday to blow off some steam away from the folks. Heche is the female lead who befriends Helms when everything goes horribly wrong. Whip It's Alia Shawkat is on board in an as-yet-unspecified role. And Weaver, according to Variety, will play Helms' former seventh-grade school teacher.

Sounds like a cameo then: maybe a stop along the road trip. But along with Avatar, You Again and Paul, it's great to see Weaver so busy at the moment. 

Anne Heche, whose career over the last few years has been largely TV-based, is heading back onto the big screen with roles in two big upcoming comedies: Cedar Rapids, with The Hangover's Ed Helms, and The Other Guys, with Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg.

In Cedar Rapids, Helms is a small-town insurance salesman headed to a company convention to try to save his colleagues' careers, and Heche plays the female lead, a fellow agent who befriends him when his trip goes wrong. In The Other Guys, she'll play the company head who hires Ferrell and Wahlberg's cops to examine losses in her company. We're guessing they're well out of their depth there.

 Adam McKay is directing The Other Guys, which also stars Eva Mendes, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton and Dwayne Johnson. Cedar Rapids is directed by Miguel Arteta and also features John C. Reilly.

Anne Heche has launched a scathing attack on her ex-husband during a no-holds-barred interview on American TV. The Spread star left the audience and late-night talk show host David Letterman in no doubt over her contempt for Coley Laffoon.

"Can you say 'lazy ass' on TV?" the 40-year-old asked when Letterman inquired about the father of her seven-year-old son, Homer. She quickly retracted the insult, saying: "No, no, no. That's terrible." The former couple's high-profile feud continues six months after they reached a settlement in their divorce, which includes monthly child support payments to Laffoon for their son.

When asked what Laffoon does for a living, Heche paused before telling the audience: "He goes out to the mailbox and he opens up the little mailbox door and goes, 'Oh! I got a cheque from Anne! Oh! I got a check from Anne! Yay!' " Laffoon, who filed for divorce in February 2007 after five years of marriage, "is doing a lot for himself right now", she added.
During their two-year divorce saga Heche accused Laffoon of craving "porn, poker and money", while he fought back with claims she was mentally unstable.

They say hell hath no fury like a woman’s scorn, and Anne Heche seemed to prove that statement during her interview on the "Late Show with David Letterman” last night (August 26).

The “Six Days and Seven Nights” actress was asked a question about her ex-husband Coley Laffoon, and she didn’t spare any of the details concerning her opinion of him.

Heche quipped, “Can you say ‘lazy a**’ on TV?” followed by, “No, no, no. That’s terrible.” And she was just getting started.

As for what Laffoon does for a living, Anne speculated, "He goes out to the mailbox and he opens up the little mailbox door and goes, 'Oh! I got a check from Anne! Oh! I got a check from Anne! Yay!' "

She continued, "I think he wants to coach soccer right about now. It's funny because you can't quite let go of the ex. He wants me to come and watch him run around in his little white shorts playing soccer. Honestly, I don't want to come to rehearsal and watch you run around in your tight shorts like trying to pretend you know how to play soccer. I divorced you! I don't want to hang around with you Thursdays and Saturdays and maybe on Sunday."

Enjoying a weekend at the shore, Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore were spotted at a special advanced screening of “Spread” on Saturday afternoon (August 8).

The “Butterfly Effect” stud and his lovely “Charlie’s Angels” wife looked to be thoroughly enjoying themselves as they hobnobbed with guests at the Gotham and Hamptons Magazines-hosted event.

Kutcher’s costar Anne Heche recently told press that she put in some extra work to get fit for her steamy love scene with him.

"I did everything I possibly could to give him a run for his money onscreen. I ran and I did a few more sit-ups than normal ... and stayed away from the butter."

Likewise, Kutcher also tightened up a bit prior to the role. "I had just played a movie [Personal Effects] where I played a wrestler. so I had to lose like 10 pounds and stop eating and take care of myself. I really cut back to a meal a day. I was probably down to 175 pounds."

Taking care of some promotional duties, Ashton Kutcher was spotted at the red carpet screening of “Spread” in Las Vegas, Nevada last night (August 5).

Joined by his wife Demi Moore and costar Anne Heche, the “Butterfly Effect” stud looked hunky as he posed for the paparazzi outside the Palms Resort Hotel and Casino.

In related news, Ashton recently told press that he gets jealous when his wife Demi has to do sex scenes with other men in her films.

He explained, “When Demi has sex scenes I get jealous — but when it’s the other way round she doesn’t. When she does it I’m like ‘Who’s the dude? What’s the deal? You’re doing a movie with Duchovny?’ But then I realize that’s it’s work and its art y’know? I don’t know if doing a sex scene is any more intimate than doing a kissing scene. So once you get over the kissing thing it’s ok.”

Former "Men in Trees" actress Anne Heche has signed on to co-star with Thomas Jane in HBO's new dark comedy series "Hung," The Hollywood Reporter said.

The show from creators Dmitry Lipkin and Colette Burson, and director Alexander Payne is about Ray, a "well-endowed, struggling high school basketball coach," the entertainment industry trade newspaper said.

Heche will play Ray's remarried ex-wife in the series, which has been picked up for 10 episodes and is expected to premiere in June.

Currently pregnant with her second child and due to deliver in the spring, Heche has starred in the films "Donnie Brasco," "Wag the Dog" and "Spread."