I was not supposed to meet Jared Leto.

I wasn't supposed to be in that picture. I wasn't supposed to be charmed by him or his band, who I'd never listened to before this. I definitely hadn't intended on spending a day with the three of them in downtown New York, followed by paparazzi, rabid teenage fans, and a procession of managers, publicists, and stylists, for a feature to go in our November issue. And I definitely didn't set out to think -- or write -- any of the following things about Jared Leto, the actor, the rock star, the heartthrob, the celebrity. In my life, Jared Leto had existed in exactly the context I needed him to, and for whatever it's worth, I think it's safe to assume (or will be after this), vice versa. I was fine with it, and it didn't need to change.

But it did.

And it started, like so many stories, with a problem. And the problem was that my editors fucked me out of a day-trip to Philly.

Actor-musician Jared Leto and his certified-platinum band 30 Seconds to Mars have been keeping busy, readying their third album, This is War, for release on December 8th. But not so busy they can’t play with Manhattan’s punks and paparazzi. It’s all in a day’s work for the hardcore heartthrob. (Also check out our behind-the-scenes report.)

● Jeff Buckley fans will not only be horrified to learn that there is a biopic in the works, but that Jared Leto, James Franco, and Robert Pattinson are all in the running to play the late singer. [Exclaim]
● Peaches Geldof, 20-year-old divorcee and party girl, says she’s a better role model than Disney mascot Miley Cyrus. [TheSun]
● Megan Fox is all for the legalization of marijuana and doesn’t appreciate that people think she’s a “crazy hippie” for smoking a doobie once in awhile. [KansasCity]

● Now that Coachella recovery has begun, Perry Farrell has unleashed the line-up for Lollapalooza 2009; headliners include Depeche Mode, Tool, The Killers, Beastie Boys, and of course the newly reunited Jane’s Addiction. [Lollapalooza]
● Lindsay Lohan took in a performance of Vegas act Peepshow over the weekend; now comes word she’ll be joining the production. Fail-upwards tactics in full effect. [People]
● Jared Leto is collaborating with Kanye West for a song called "Hurricane" for an upcoming 30 Seconds to Mars album. Leto says the randomness of the collaboration is what interested him, not the fact the West is the "greatest" musician of our generation. [Rolling Stone]

It's a relief to know that few are taking Christian Bale's absurd man-trum sitting down. His gratuitous lobbing of F-bombs at a crew member on the set of Terminator: Salvation has no doubt made a considerable number of us forsake him as our caped crusader of choice. If anything, he's the spitting image of Two-Face, as he's doubtlessly more convincing than Aaron Eckhart in the role. Perhaps Batman director Christopher Nolan should eye a release date beyond 2011. Because ultimately we're a culture of fickle amnesiacs, and by then, more traumatic things will have happened. For instance, like Jennifer Connelly melting down after coming to terms with the fact that no, it wasn't a nightmare; she did star in this schlocky rom-com. And contrastingly, that'll make Bale's freakout look positively microscopic. Nolan may be firm in that release date, in which case, he'll need some help recasting Batman. Considering that most of the next film has already been cast, this shouldn't be too difficult.

Jared Leto stole my jacket. Yesterday, while readying myself for a magazine photo shoot, I came across the leather-and-plaid number seen left. I asked to borrow it for the afternoon, but it turns out they had already sent it over to Mark David Chapman for some event. What about my event, Leto?