Sasha Baron Cohen's various fictional onscreen incarnations would be nothing without their outlandish wardrobes. Borat's banana hammock and Bruno's more recent otherworldly red carpet ensembles, for instance, are nothing short of genius. Relatively unknown, however, is the man behind the sartorial madness: Jason Alper. A classically trained costume designer, Alper began working in theatrical costuming 20 years ago. Eight years later he met Cohen in a mutual friend's London apartment, and ever since, Alper has been the actor's go-to stylist.

Brüno has its fair share of wow moments, but for some reason, the one I kept spoiling to friends was when he consults with identical twin PR girls (Paris duplicated) about starting a charity, part of his quest to get famous fast. “What charities are hot right now,” asks the Austrian fashionista. When the twins answer with Darfur, he asks them where that is. And if they knew the answer, well, then they wouldn’t be in the movie. By the time he gets to asking them about "Darfive," you can barely watch. So who are these poor unsuspecting girls, and how did two L.A.-based PR queens get fooled by one of the biggest stars in Hollywood? [UPDATE: Also see the girls' reaction on actually seeing the movie.] To find out, I decided to ask them.

● Hayden Panettiere is dropping towel, as it were, in her new film I Love You, Beth Cooper. Panettiere says, "If I can't flaunt it at 20 ..." [People]
● Who could have known Michael Jackson’s death would be such a big story --, certainly not Us Weekly, or else they wouldn’t have forked over $120K for the exclusive rights to Kendra Wilkinson and Hank Baskett's wedding. [P6]
● Lindsay Lohan says she’s the hardest working person she knows. [PopCrunch]

There is a bounty of astonishing moments in Sacha Baron Cohen's guerrilla comedy Brüno, but rather than spoil what's in the movie, I'll spoil what isn't. A few months ago, Mike Walker of the National Enquirer called The Howard Stern Show and claimed that Ben Affleck had told Sarah Silverman he just did an interview with a “very famous openly gay fashion journalist,” and that it was the weirdest interview of his life. Even though I found it hard to believe that a savvy Hollywood vet like Affleck could be fooled by Baron Cohen's now unmistakable character, I still waited for his all-American jawline to pop up on screen.

● Now that Michael Jackson’s death has sunken in, the question is: will his funeral be bigger than Princess Diana’s? [DailyMail]
● Jermey Piven’s alleged mercury poisoning incident may be over, but the actor has been fish-free for the better part of 10 months. [People]
● A week after breaking up with Nick Lachey, Vanessa Minnillo has allegedly moved on to Topher Grace, of That '70s Show fame; le hook-up is said to have occurred at Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane’s house. [Radar]

Maybe it's Manhattan's own homage to the stringent moral precedents of Iran's Islamic culture. Grand Central Station's Hudson News, the last place in the universe to buy a Redbook and ginger ale for that unsavory commute out to the mafia don in Yonkers to whom you owe hundreds, is playing censor. They've decided that Sacha Cohen Baron's leg-dimple on his current GQ cover is perhaps a little too pornographic.

Bruce Willis isn't the only Hollywood gent disrobing for fashion magazines these days. Brüno is following in the former's footsteps, posing sans clothing for GQ's July issue. Photographer Mark Seliger captured the flamboyant Austrian fashionisto soon to hit a silver screen near you in a variety of coquettish poses, sporting everything from S&M bondage gear to a leopard-print onesie. In light of Brüno's bare bod, GQ took the opportunity to ask the provocateur's stance on "manscaping" down there, among other male upkeep queries.

● Michael Jackson is on a hunger strike because he fears being fat will damage his chances of surviving cancer, ‘cause he evidently has cancer. [TheSun]
● No need to worry -- that National Enquirer “exclusive” about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie splitting has no truth to it. They and their six kids are as happy and beautiful as can be. [People]
● The debate can end regarding whether or not Eminem knew Sacha Baron Cohen as Bruno was going to drop in his lap; the rapper reveals that it was indeed planned and rehearsed. [People]

Having a celebration for "the best films of the year" after The Oscars, no matter how "quirky" categories like "Best Kiss" and "Best Villain" are, is like trying to nurse your hangover with a big gulp of warm beer left over from the keg. It also raises many questions. Like, first of all, who these days even has a kegger? And secondly, why nurse your hangover with warm beer and not a sensible alimosa instead? And thirdly, what does Eminem have to do with a movie awards telecast that couldn't count his biopic about growing up on the mean streets of Toronto Detroit as among its primary contenders this year?

News came (heh, heh) recently that art-house legend Peter Greenaway has begun casting for his next film. Nothing surprising here, except that Greenaway (whose A Zed & Two Noughts is a staggering, symmetrical exploration of entropy and one of the pinnacles of contemporary cinema -- not to mention the closest any filmmaker has gotten to replicating the magic of Vermeer’s lighting) has allegedly asked potential female stars the following two questions: "Would you be willing to have unsimulated intercourse on screen?" and "Would you be willing to appear in a shot in which semen leaks out of your vagina?" Rarely do acclaimed directors incorporate full-on home-stealing into their films, but it’s certainly happened before. (Here’s looking at you, Mr. John Cameron Mitchell.)