While there are conflicting reports about Megan Fox’s reaction to tonight’s release of “Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” there are indications the female lead of the first two “Transformers” flicks has deep regrets that her run-ins with director Michael Bay doomed her chances of being cast in the third movie in the mega-hit franchise.
“From several of her comments recently, it seems clear she wishes it was her and not Rosie [Huntington-Whiteley] who was getting all this attention for this third film,” said a source who has long known Fox.
A Paramount Pictures insider who worked with Fox on the last “Transformers” film and has stayed in touch with her said Monday, “I know Megan feels it should be her and not Rosie who should have been in Moscow [for the world premiere] last week — and should have been allowed to complete filming the trilogy.”
(While Bay and star Shia LaBeouf have said they believe this third “Transformers” movie should be the last, many Hollywood pros think huge box office for this film will generate strong pressure to keep the franchise going, even with a new director and stars.)
† That said, another longtime personal friend of Fox’s laughs off this speculation, saying, “Megan has long since moved on and is looking forward to moving her career in a new and exciting direction.”
Fox will be seen in two upcoming comedies: “Friends With Kids,” also starring Kristin Wiig, Jon Hamm and Maya Rudolph, and “The Dictator,” starring Sacha Baron Cohen. IMAGE ISSUES: A class-action lawsuit has been filed by a Michigan law firm, claiming Lady Gaga skimmed inappropriate profits from her sale of wristbands to raise funds for Japanese earthquake and tsunami relief.
According to the suit, filed by legal network 1800LAWFIRM, Gaga’s team charged inflated shipping charges of $3.99 for the $5 plastic bracelets. That violates a number of federal racketeering and consumer protection laws, the suit says.
The basic problem: Lady Gaga claimed that 100 percent of all funds received for the wristbands would go directly to earthquake and tsunami victims. The entertainer, currently in Japan on tour, has not commented on the lawsuit.
TV TALK: Sounds like Charlie Sheen’s claim of returning with a new sitcom is coming true. The actor reportedly has teamed up with Lionsgate Television to create a new show — with the actor starring in a role that will “closely mirror the charming bad boy he played as Charlie Harper on ‘Two and a Half Men,’ ” according to a Lionsgate insider. As first scooped by RadarOnline, this new show will be “a lot racier” than the long-running “Two and a Half Men” on CBS.
According to my Lionsgate source, both network and cable outlets are indicating interest in the program, with TBS being the most likely winner in a bidding war for Sheen’s show. Officially, Lionsgate is making no comment on the proposed sitcom.
When asked for her reaction Monday, a longtime Sheen associate on “Two and a Half Men” said, “I think it’s a shame that Charlie can’t do anything else — besides playing himself.
“You’d think he would want to leave Charlie Harper in the past and do something new and different.”
† Kudos to Chicago singer-songwriter John Kamys whose song “You Smell Like Dinner” not only will be featured on this Sunday’s episode of “True Blood,” starring Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer, but also led the producers to name the episode after it.