Just yesterday, Brett Ratner stepped down as co-producer of next spring's Oscars ceremony following his use of a gay slur at the screening of his new film. Now, his Tower Heist star Eddie Murphy has backed out of his hosting duties, leaving the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences just three months to find a replacement. 

You have surely heard about the controversy surrounding director Brett Ratner, and if not, here’s a quick recap: At a screening of his latest film, Ratner, who is producing the upcoming Academy Awards ceremony, told the gathered audience that “rehearsing is for fags,” when asked about his style and routine. Needless to say, people were appalled, and many are calling for him to be fired from his Oscars gig. Despite universal outcry, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Tom Sherak told Deadline that Ratner’s apology was enough, and they have no intention of replacing him.

Celebrated film auteur Brett Ratner, accomplished director films such as Rush Hour, Rush Hour 2, Rush Hour 3, and the recently released Tower Heist (as well as countless other movies that do not focus on the race relations between mismatched comic-action duos), has come under some scrutiny this week after some homophobic, misogynistic, and vaguely racist remarks.

Brett Ratner’s new movie, Tower Heist, is a buddy comedy about a mismatched pair (Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy) trying to rob a Bernie Madoff-like character. It’s rated PG-13 and doesn’t contain any scenes of hardcore sexual deviancy, bestiality, religious defamation, or shocking violence. So why is Cinemark, the country’s third-largest theater chain, threatening to boycott it in their cinemas? Reuters reports that Universal, the company producing Tower Heist, is using the film to test out a new strategy by offering it to cable subscribers for $59.99 three weeks after its release.

● Amy Winehouse's parents are turning their daughter's $4 million North London home into the headquarters for a rehabilitation foundation. [NME] ● Roseanne Barr announced her intention to run for president on last night's The Tonight Show. "I'm really good at speeches," she says. Sounds like a shoe-in! [NYM] ● The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is, for some reason, letting Rush Hour director Brett Ratner produce this year's Oscar show. [ArtsBeat/NYT]

The Daily is an iPad-based news publication you may have heard of. A couple weeks ago they did a funny bit on superhuman James Franco, with a related follow-up. The trouble with these bits was that they were too literal; plus, despite the invention of penicillin, I'm confident I could engineer a scenario where Franco would, in fact, contract of and die from syphilis. Note that I wouldn't wish that upon James Franco! He seems like a fun sort. Even so, there are still many things he simply could not achieve if given an iPad 2, the tablet product update due to be announced next week by Apple.

● Amy Winehouse allegedly punched out a theater manager when he tried to move her after she started cursing at the actors on stage during a production of Cinderella. Is there no place in England that’s Winehouse-safe? [People] ● Alyssa Milano shows the ugly side of beauty, and the influence of Jersey Shore, by Guido-fying herself for our viewing pleasure. [Funny or Die] ● Britney Spears and her team have made a list of the biggest bullsh*t articles about B. Spears in ’09: She was not so poor she once ate squirrels for dinner, she has no intention of opening a bead shop in Venice and she did not request a stripper pole in Dublin. [Britney Spears]

● Lindsay Lohan is reportedly failing her court-mandated alcohol education; the course alerted the court she's violating the terms of class. Maybe they saw those photos of her drinking in Paris? [TMZ] ● Paris Hilton’s line of sparkling wine, served in a classy tin can, has bombed, not winning favor with foodies or, really, anyone. [TheSun] ● Blake Lively has revealed she was banned from Disneyland when she was six after trying to con her way into the magical kingdom. [Showbizspy]

In Being There, Chauncey Gardner (played by Peter Sellers) says, “I like to watch.” Nowadays, everybody is watching. Everybody is surveilling. I used to think surveillance was cool until I started being watched myself -- not by the CIA or the feds, like John Gotti was in those FBI videos I used to love as a kid -- but by anyone and everyone with a BlackBerry and a Twitter account.

Sometime after X-Men: The Last Stand caused silver screens nationwide to cry celluloid tears, I decided to partake in scientific experiments in a bid to pay off some heavy debts. The ensuing series of tests can most summarily recall the general thrust of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. In the following weeks, all memories of seeing any third X-Men film were eventually eradicated from my brain. That is until right now, when the name "Brett Ratner" sends chills up my spine -- as he is expressing a yen to wield his flashgun and blow more holes through the once-prestigious superhero legacy.