![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20100306040050im_/http://images.eonline.com/static/uberblog/includes/images/fd_highlight/oscars_2010/fd_banner_pre_us.jpg)
Exclusive
Kate Gosselin's Dancing Partner: "She Is Going to Do Incredibly Well"
Tony Dovolani couldn't snag a disco ball with reality-TV sweetheart Melissa Rycroft. But he has high hopes for reality-TV...er, um...Kate Gosselin!
"Although we have only had a week of rehearsals, I see potential," Dovolani exclusively tells E! News. "I think she is going to do incredibly well. She has the drive and determination needed to compete on Dancing With the Stars."
Well, obviously there's fire in those feet! Remember how vehemently she talked about her No. 1 priority being her kids?
"Kate has taken on this challenge to show her children that just because you're scared of doing something doesn't mean you shouldn't try," Dovolani says.
"She came to the show with no dance experience, which is actually a good thing, because I have no bad habits to fix. It is a great opportunity for me to truly use my teaching skills and show America what we are capable of once we hit the dance floor."
Don't worry, Tony. America can hardly wait.
(Originally published March 5, 2010, at 4:03 p.m. PT)
________
Check out Kate's competition this year in our DWTS Season 10 gallery!
Carey Mulligan Not Taking Shia LaBeouf To Oscars
Adorable duo Carey Mulligan and Shia LaBeouf may be puckering up in public, but she told me she won't be walking the red carpet with him on Sunday at the Oscars.
So who will she take along on her big night?
"My mom, my dad and my brother," she said today at a luncheon for her hosted by Sally Morrison and the Diamond Information Center.
Her An Education costar, Peter Sarsgaard, also hit the Chateau Marmont to fete Carey and shared what advice he's given the Oscar nominee on how to handle the whirlwind of red carpet events...
Sarah Palin's Swaggate, the Sequel
Being the butt of a joke should be nothing new for Sarah Palin—except this time, it's not for her politics.
Following news that S.P. had a bad case of the gimmes at the Silver Spoon Oscar Suite in Hollywood earlier this week, known jokester George Clooney savored the opportunity to take a shot at the questionably witted soccer mom. At the Publicists Guild Awards luncheon in L.A. this afternoon, George schlepped about 10 overflowing gift bags onstage while presenting his longtime flack Stan Rosenfeld with the Les Mason Award. Once at the mic, Clooney kindly apologized for his baggage, claiming he'd run into the former Alaskan governor in the gifting lounge.
Sarah may need a drink after that jab. Well, she's in luck!
Dr. Drew's Alleged Stalker in Denial Mode
Denial isn't just the first stage of the grieving process. It's also a common legal defense.
An overzealous Dr. Drew Pinsky fan pleaded not guilty Friday to stalking and five counts of making criminal threats, all felonies that could carry jail time.
Charles Pearson was arrested Wednesday at an L.A.-area community college after allegedly using a campus computer to make a threat. Police say that the suspect has sent numerous shady messages to Pinsky over several months, and showed up at a radio station affiliated with the Celebrity Rehab doc.
A judge raised Pearson's bail from $150,000 to $400,000 and issued a permanent order of protection mandating that the accused stay at least 500 yards away from Pinsky and his family for three years.
The next hearing in the case is set for March 18.
—Reporting by Ashley Fultz
________
Download the all-new E! Online app free on iTunes or in the Android Marketplace.
After American Idol: Haeley Vaughn Has Hopes of Being Hannah Montana
Who needs American Idol when this week's batch of eliminees comes handy with a second—and equally awesome—skill set? As they told reporters Friday afternoon, singing is their passion, but with all of doors apparently opened by making it to the top 20, the future remains a mystery.
Well, sort of. Booted songstress Haeley Vaughn had lots to say about her currently non-existent future with the Disney Channel, but after all of the love she gave it during her chat with the press, we bet it's not too far off.
"I'm a really big fan of Disney and Disney Channel so that's something I hope comes up," Hayely gushed almost immediately. And she's not the only one. Any guesses as to which ousted performer is already planning their own fashion line?!
Update
Whoo and Hoo! NBC Renews 30 Rock, Community and The Office
Good news, America. Our awesome Thursday-night comedy block on NBC is safe for another season! NBC just announced that it's giving out early pickups to Community, The Office and 30 Rock. The network had already announced that Parks & Recreation was coming back for another year, so yay for keeping two straight hours of excellent comedy programming on our calendars for the time being.
But what do the stars say about this big news? Here's what our faves had to say about their continued employment, along with the must-see completely and totally awesome video of the Community cast getting the pickup news:
Kid Rock: Cowboy, Not Cornball
Is the proof in the put-down?
Accused of aiding in the assault of three guys who asked for his autograph in 2006, Kid Rock testified Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court that, first of all, the plaintiffs are lying when they say he lashed out at them with the threat: "Who wants a piece of me next?"
"I wouldn't say something corny like that," the self-proclaimed badass said on the stand, before further denying that he punched, kicked or in any other way assaulted Michael Medlin, Jose Perez and Carlos Bonilla, who sued the music star in March 2008.
"It was kind of chaotic," Rock remembered. "There were cameras everywhere and people yelling."
And yeah, maybe things got out of hand, but not because of him, the rocker added.
Link Party: Kristen Stewart & Dakota Fanning Get Naughty in Runaways Trailer
• Finally we get a full-length Runaways trailer so we can see what's really going on. Dakota Fanning looks awesome and Kristen Stewart is present, so that's cool. Except that the Joan Jett biopic is rated R, so how are all the Twi-hards going to get in?
• Mickey Rourke has something he'd like to share: "I once spent a weekend in the U.K. and had 14 women in one night." All right, that's enough out of you. Goodbye.
• Gwyneth Paltrow has been working hard on a theme song for GOOP. Here's a sneak peek of it, aptly titled "Killing Me Softly."
• Tom Cruise has a cute fresh tan.
• Good news Aniston fans, now you can smell like Jen! She's been working on a fragrance for a while, but is having trouble with the name. Right now Echo is in the lead, but, you know, it's like some secret perfume naming source says: "It's all about capturing the idea of romance and freedom at any age but it's hard to do that in just one word."
• Everyone exicited for the Oscars this Sunday? Will Giuliana do anything embarrassing? Maybe! But it's OK, she tells the Washington Post: "Anything could happen to me on live television and I sincerely don't care."
________
Whoa, guys, you gotta check out this Lindsay Lohan photo in our Big Pic gallery.
Conan O'Brien "Firming Up" Tour Dates
What else to do when you're out of work? Why, take a road trip. And that's just what Conan O'Brien is planning to do.
A source close to the former Tonight Show host tells E! News that O'Brien will officially announce performance dates next week on his new Twitter page. O'Brien will perform a live theatrical revue in major cities across the country beginning in April.
Guess that Home Depot gig didn't pan out, huh?
One potential date was leaked earlier today when Ticketmaster accidentally posted a notice that Big Red would be at Phoenix's Dodge Theater on April 30, with tickets going on sale Monday. The message has since been removed, and O'Brien's rep said the listing was premature and they were still "firming up dates." San Diego is reportedly one of the other cities making the cut.
No word whether the rest of Team CoCo, like Andy Richter and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, will be along for the ride. But the show will combine music and comedy, hearkening back to what O'Brien did back in 2004 when he transplanted NBC's Late Night to Toronto for a string of shows.
We'll be anxiously monitoring Conan's tweets. (Sarah Killen, you're life's about to change!)
Exclusive
Chris Weitz: Of Course, I Thought About Directing Breaking Dawn
Chriz Weitz may not be directing Breaking Dawn, but that doesn't mean he didn't think about it.
"Of course when I was making New Moon and it was doing well, it was natural to think about doing other films in the series. But I haven't been pressured in any extreme way or anything," Weitz tells us, adding, "I think it's time for someone else to step up and do it, just because the third film was done by somebody else."
That's not all Weitz had to say. Read on to find out what he thinks about the Rob Pattinson and Kristen Stewart romance, splitting Breaking Dawn into two flicks and who he thinks should direct the rest of the series...
Why Sandra Bullock Won't Win
You know the favorites. We know the favorites. To keep us all from getting bored between now and Sunday's show, we're back with our sorta-annual look at why the Oscars won't go the way we think know they're going to go.
To be honest, Sandra Bullock doesn't have a thing to worry about. Until, perhaps, she checks out our list of why-nots and what-could-bes:
Why The Hurt Locker Won't Win Best Picture: It's December again, and Avatar is the too-successful-to-ignore lock.
Exclusive
The George Clooney Footage the Movie Studio Didn't Want You to See!
OK, it's not so much that they didn't want you to see it—more like, it just didn't quite make the final cut. But this is Oscar weekend, after all, and seeing as how we're in the general vicinity of Hollywood, we're pretty much required to engage in some kind of hyperbole.
That being said, we did manage to get our hands on an exclusive deleted scene from the Academy Award-nominated Up in the Air, featuring not only George Clooney but fellow nominees Vera Farmiga and (our new BFF!) Anna Kendrick.
And those feet-draggers who still haven't made it to the theater need not worry: the clip, which takes place as the leading man prepares for his sister's wedding, is more or less spoiler-free.
So watch it, love it, buy the DVD or Blu-ray when it's released on Tuesday (with more deleted footage), and then get yourself ready for Sunday night's festivities with our Oscar Prediction Quiz! If you promise to take it, we promise to waive our 10 percent cut of whatever you win in this year's Oscar pool.
________
Get everything we have on the Oscars.