'Glee' flash mob surprises Rome shoppers in a busy mall

While Gleeks in the U.S. await the return of the Fox series "Glee" -- in the middle of April, for the love of all things holy -- new fans are being courted overseas as the series continues to roll out worldwide. (The pilot aired in Britain last week.)

The Wrap speculates that Fox Italy was the force that arranged for these attractive Italians to invade the Galleria Alberto Sordi mall in Rome right before Christmas. They performed a choreographed dance to music from the show about musically inclined high school misfits.

Yes, this event clearly had higher production values than many typical flash mobs, but it's still fun to watch -- especially if, like "Twilight" actress Ashley Green, you consider yourself a Gleek. 

Psst -- if you want to see the No Pants Subway Ride 2009 ... 

Equal time for Alyssa Milano: A very tan argument against 'Jersey Shore'

Alyssa Milano's Evolution: Jersey Shore from Alyssa Milano

Alyssa Milano does not love the show "Jersey Shore." Annd as you might have noticed, the Ministry's Leslie Gornstein has sort of swayed in favor of the show "Jersey Shore." But the Brooklyn-born, Staten Island-raised actress is not alone in wishing the show were off the air.

Well, this is a little uncomfortable. What to do?

How about equal time?

Yes! (Leslie is off for a few days, shh, so don't tell her, OK?) The Ministry of Gossip is proud to present Alyssa's heavy-on-the-tan-and-tease-and-tatas visual argument against the MTV series! (A video that is getting tons of Internet love, incidentally.)

About her decision to do a parody, Milano told Yahoo News: "We wanted to make something funny and smart, but also, a video that didn't take itself too seriously. I'm a big fan of the Dove: Evolution campaign. ... But who am I kidding? I jump at any opportunity for the world to see me with frizzy hair and without makeup. Happy Holidays, Internet!"

Full disclosure ...

Darth Vader and friends get a star turn on Wall Street

Now, this isn't something you see every day. But if you did happen to be at the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday morning, you could've caught a glimpse of Darth Vader and some Stormtroopers ringing the opening bell. 

"The 'Star Wars' guys cheered us up," trader Raphael Mandoca told the New York Post. "I thought it was pretty cool."

The celebrities from a galaxy far, far away reportedly were mobbed for photo ops after the bell rang. Maybe that spin with the conducting the Icelandic Philharmonic Orchestra has Darth hankering for the good life. Even if James Earl Jones isn't currently part of the picture.

And that white-haired human in the middle?

Paris Hilton goes back to the recording studio; the Ministry goes back to its Santa smackdown poll archives

"Going into the studio to work on my album" -- such an innocuous sentence, except if it's being tweeted by Paris Hilton.

So while we ponder the apocalyptic ramifications of another pop music effort from everyone's favorite celebutante, we'd like to bring back a blast from the Ministry's past: the Paris Hilton-Billy Bob Thornton Santa Smackdown poll. 

Why? Because we can. Because it's even closer to Christmas. And ...

Kiefer Sutherland, naughty or nice? Jack Bauer interrogates Santa ...

Kiefer Sutherland's been staying out of trouble lately, but it looks as if his "24" alter ego, Jack Bauer, is feeling a bit naughty, what with the strain of the season and all. 

This video from the Rebel Viral Team has Jack up against someone who just has to rub him wrong. Really, who needs a whole day to save the world? This old fella gets the job done in one night.

Fans of "24" can once again see Jack beating up characters who deserve it starting Jan. 17. (A trailer for Season 8 is after the jump.)

-- Christie D'Zurilla

Photo: Kiefer Sutherland arrives at the "24" Season 7 finale screening on May 12, 2009, in Los Angeles. Dan Steinberg / Associated Press

Important news about men in Santa hats -- and cows

Normally the Ministry wouldn't be promoting something that's solely, well, promotional.

But this video caught our eye (that Russell Crowe trailer got me wound up, what can I say?), and when we saw that the winner's "hottest bod in the world" poster will be taking the place of a Los Angeles Times billboard on the side of the W hotel in Hollywood, well, this became news.

(Shh, that's what I'm telling my boss.)

Now you can say, "I knew that shirtless guy before he was the shirtless guy on the billboard!"

Happy Hanukkah from the Ministry of Gossip (with help from Adam Sandler and Neil Diamond)

It's that time of year again -- the first night of Hanukkah. It's probably too late to get your DIY menorah on, but there's some time left if you're looking for a little gifty gift or two.

Rather than a more traditional celebration, the Ministry of Gossip presents that new classic, Adam Sandler's celebrity-packed "The Chanukah Song" --covered by Neil Diamond.

The Ministry wishes you a Happy Hanukkah with lotsa latkes, if you are Jewish. And happiness in general, whether you're Jewish or not.

-- Christie D'Zurilla

Want the headlines? Follow the Ministry of Gossip on Facebook and Twitter (we're @LATcelebs on Twitter).  We just got a new address on Facebook -- find us at facebook.com/ministryofgossip.

Leaked 'Twilight: Breaking Dawn' footage? It's the glitter versus the litter!

Video Game - E3 2010 - Comedy

The twisted minds over at "Attack of the Show" are working the "Twilight Saga" wave, skipping "Eclipse" and driving straight toward the still-hypothetical  "Breaking Dawn."

(Apparently getting some inspiration from an errant Australian gossip mag along the way.)

The Ministry wants to know: Is that what age is going to do to Taylor Lautner?

Say it isn't so! But wait, there's more at G4tv.com from Kevin Pereira and Olivia Munn.

-- Christie D'Zurilla

P.S. Hat tip to In-House Consultant Jevon Phillips. 

Photo: Kellan Lutz, who's in "The Twilight Saga" but not in this video, leaves an after party for the "New Moon" screening Nov. 19, 2009, in New York. Credit: Stephen Lovekin / Getty Images for D&G.,

Click on for related dispatches from the Ministry of Gossip's temporary Office of Never-ending Twilight: 

The Muppets' 'Bohemian Rhapsody': What's not to love?

This video is screaming through the Internet -- and the Ministry loves it too!

Our friends over at the Pop & Hiss blog have all the artsy-fartsy analysis about how the Muppets out-Queen Adam Lambert, but we here at the Ministry are a tad less sophisticated when it comes to music.

The Ministry just thinks the drummer is totally hot.

Hit the jump for a mashup of the original Queen video, performance video and the classic scenes from "Wayne's World," so you can do a side-by-side comparison and decide how on target the Muppets Studio folks (that's Disney now) really are.

Celebrity public service announcement: Alton Brown and his turkey brine recipe [POLL]

The Ministry was frantically watching the wires today, hoping and praying that the Food Network's Alton Brown would make a racy music video, or take his clothes off, or get in a drunken brawl, or show up at the White House for dinner and pinch the first couple on the rear or something -- so we could post about him!

Alas, no.

Still, at the Ministry's North Texas bureau, Alton is just about the Biggest Celebrity Ever this time of year, so we decided to go ahead and post his turkey brining video, above, as a public service. And our friends over at Zap2It have the recipe for Alton's "Good Eats" roast turkey. 

The Ministry plans to whip up some pumpkin pie with bourbon-bacon crust this year, courtesy of The Times' Test Kitchen (we tasted this when in-house celebrity chef Noelle Carter was testing it, so we can vouch for the numminess). 

So there you have it, our celebrity chef tips -- with plenty of time for you to still go shopping and get cooking! Preferably after humoring the Ministry's Division of Absolutely Accurate Online Statistics by participating in its pie poll, after the jump.