Celebrity Dish: Serving up the gossip you should know!

New York City and Los Angeles are generally recognized as the entertainment centers of this country. But last week, all the attention was a little further down the California coast in San Diego for Comic-Con.

Some of the highlights: Johnny Depp appeared with Tim Burton to talk about Alice in Wonderland. Peter Jackson spoke about The Hobbit. James Cameron screened 25 minutes of footage from Avatar. Robert Downey Jr. doubled his pleasure by talking about two upcoming films: Sherlock Holmes and Iron Man 2, Clips were shown from Heath Ledger’s last film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. And, of course, stars from some of our favorite TV shows (Lost, Big Bang Theory, Dexter) stopped by to discuss the upcoming seasons.

But what drew the biggest crowd was the New Moon press conference and panel. Twilight fans camped outside for more than 24 hours to get a chance to be in the room as stars Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson, along with director Chris Weitz, answered questions and introduced clips. Or should I say, answered some questions. Summit, the studio behind the Twilight films, told reporters before the press conference that there were to be no questions regarding the actors’ personal lives. One reporter did slip one in, though, asking Stewart about her off-screen chemistry with Pattinson. Her reaction: “Are you kidding me?” Maybe it’s a good thing Lautner was sitting between the two of them. I mean, we wouldn’t want anyone getting the wrong idea, now would we?

Two new clips were shown, and Weitz talked about the song selections for the soundtrack. Unfortunately, Pattinson won’t be in this one. But my fingers are still crossed for an achingly beautiful and romantic track on the Remember Me soundtrack. So, for those of you who made it into Hall H at the San Diego Convention Center – are your ears still ringing from all the squealing?

Speaking of the Twilight cast, news broke this week that Nikki Reed is dating Paris Latsis, ex-fiancé of that other Paris. The couple reportedly met six months ago, and their families have met. Apparently she likes men with a European flair. Here’s hoping it works out for her.

And there were rumors that Jon Gosselin went from soon-to-be-ex-wife Kate to Star reporter Kate Major. Gosselin denies the claims, and Major has since left her job. Wonder what Hailey Glassman has to say about that?

To the general public, these two events would seem totally unrelated. LeAnn Rimes and her husband, Dean Sheremet, have separated. So have Eddie Cibrian and his wife, Brandi Glanville. But true gossip gurus know that there were big rumors of Cibrian and Rimes having an affair while filming a movie for Lifetime. Maybe it was more than acting …

Krista Richmond is a journalist and pop culture enthusiast. Have a question, suggestion or hot gossip tip? Send them to her at krista@killerfilm.com.