Melissa Leo book will include turbulent times with John Heard

Melissa Leo, fresh off her televised F-bomb after winning at the Academy Awards, is coming to a book store near you.

Leo, who won the supporting actress Oscar, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award for "The Fighter," will publish a memoir with Simon & Schuster, slated for release in 2013.

The publisher promised a memoir from the "Treme" actress covering "decades working in both television and film, as well as her childhood, and tumultuous relationship with actor John Heard," EW said.

Leo and Heard have a 24-year-old son, Jack. In 1996, the Oscar winner accused Heard of stalking the boy, herself and a new beau following their own split. Heard was formally charged in 1997.

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— Matt Donnelly
twitter.com/MattDonnelly

Photo: Melissa Leo at the New York premiere of HBO's "Treme." Credit: John W. Ferguson / Getty Images.

'Mildred Pierce' premiere: Kate Winslet, Guy Pearce, Melissa Leo go to HBO

Kate Winslet, Guy Pearce and the stars of "Mildred Pierce," the Todd Haynes-directed HBO series based on James M. Cain's 1941 cult novel, walked the red carpet Monday to debut their new miniseries.

The series stars Winslet as a divorcee and single mother attempting to make ends meet while gaining her daughters' respect during the Great Depression. Joan Crawford starred in the 1945 film also based on the book and snagged a best actress Oscar -- her only Academy Award -- for the role. 

Winslet arrived at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York in a black sheath with sheer polka dots down the left side. She posed for photographs with costar Pearce, who plays the fictional Pierce's second husband Monty Beragon.

Haynes co-wrote the script and directed the 2002 Julianne Moore movie "Far From Heaven."

Oscar-winner Melissa Leo, who plays Mildred's friend Lucy Gessler, made the scene -- and we like to imagine that she and Winslet discussed how to keep their Oscars so shiny.

Evan Rachel Wood, who stars as Mildred's disgusted and rebellious daughter, Veda Pierce, arrived in a plum-colored Elie Saab dress. Morgan Turner plays the younger version of Veda, while the adorable Quinn McColgan plays Pierce's younger daughter, Ray. Their father Bert Pierce is played by Brian O'Byrne, who posed for photographers with his on-screen daughters. Click the pics for more photos from the premiere.

Mare Winningham, who plays Mildred's friend Ida Corwin, and "Mercy's" James LeGros walked the red carpet.

Also spotted: "30 Rock's Cheyenne Jackson and "Boardwalk Empire's" Gretchen Mol. Mariska Hargitay of  "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" showed up for the fete in all black.

Guests gathered later for an after-party in the Grand Ballroom at the Plaza Hotel.

The miniseries hits HBO on March 27.

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— Nardine Saad
twitter.com/NardineSaad

Left photo: Guy Pearce and actress Kate Winslet attend the premiere of HBO's "Mildred Pierce." Credit: Evan Agostini / Associated Press

Right photo: Evan Rachel Wood at the premiere. Credit: Stephen Lovekin / Getty Images

2011 Vanity Fair Oscar party: Impossible glamour (and a taste of In-N-Out Burger)

With a giant photo of actor James Dean looming over the entrance to Los Angeles' Sunset Tower Hotel, Vanity Fair welcomed an army of stars to its 2011 Academy Awards post-party.

Notoriously exclusive and always glamorous, the annual event did not disappoint as big winners including Natalie Portman, Colin Firth, Melissa Leo and director Tom Hooper came with trophies in hand to greet Editor in Chief Graydon Carter.

Portman was naturally the belle of the ball, hand-in-hand with fiance Benjamin Millipied as countless people congratulated her on her awards-season sweep.

Jude Law palled around with Cameron Diaz and "Contagion" costar Gwyneth Paltrow while Gabrielle Union chatted with Jamie Foxx -- who then ran into his friend Jessica Biel. Biel and Foxx  went off together to circulate while Justin Timberlake stood with Andrew Garfield and his girlfriend.

Gorgeous women weren't in short supply, including newly single Scarlett Johansson, who was engaged in deep conversation with Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter. Though this was Portman's year, few could quite contain themselves when nominee Michelle Williams floated by.

In stunning Chanel haute couture, Williams had a soft glow that stopped conversations and, frankly, assured us she'll make a convincing Marilyn Monroe in the forthcoming "My Week With Marilyn."

Let us not forget Williams' humble roots, however: She looked right at home speaking with former "Dawson's Creek" costar Busy Phillips. 

Star couples -- including Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, designer Tom Ford and Richard Buckley, Reese Witherspoon and Jim Toth, Jon Hamm and Jennifer Westfeldt, Liev Schreiber and Naomi Watts, and Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann -- put up unified fronts.

But no couple was so convincing as Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez, the picture of young Hollywood come to the grown-ups' table, running back and forth between the Tower bar and terrace holding hands (yes, they were). Taylor Swift made an appearance in a gold mini, snacking from a cone full of In-N-Out Burger fries that was getting passed around. Meanwhile, her former flames Jake Gyllenhaal and Joe Jonas worked the crowd. 

It's a good year to be a television star, being that many small-screen favorites were invited to film's big night: Sofia Vergara of "Modern Family" and "Glee" folks including Lea Michele, Chris Colfer and Matthew Morrison made the scene.

Fellow gleek Dianna Agron showed up, looking nowhere near as traumatized as some since-debunked reports would have her after her split with actor Alex Pettyfer. 

Oscars: Melissa Leo and the F-bomb — forgive, or forget you? [Poll]

The F-word achieved a bit of respectability this award season, going undercover as in the title of Cee Lo Green's Grammy-nominated hit, "Forget You," and starring in a key scene in "The King's Speech." But it took Melissa Leo to unforgettably turn it back into the F-bomb at the 83rd Academy Awards on Sunday night.

Overwhelmed upon winning the Oscar for supporting actress and having declared herself "kinda speechless," "The Fighter" actress blurted, "When I watched Kate [Winslet] two years ago it looked so ... easy" (you fill in the blank, OK?).

Backstage, Leo apologized. "Those words — I apologize to anyone if they were offended," she said. "There's a great deal of the English language that is in my vernacular."

The Oscars were, she said, "an inappropriate place to use that word in particular."

Coming off supporting actress wins at the Golden Globe Awards in January and the Spirit Awards on Saturday, Leo had walked down the Oscars red carpet Sunday looking incredibly excited in her gold and cream Mark Bauer gown.

"This dress was made especially for me," she said before the show started. "I saw it on a dummy a month and a half ago, but it's so cold now!"

Forgettably cold, perhaps?

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— Christie D'Zurilla and Jessica Gelt

Photo: Melissa Leo accepts the Oscar for actress in a supporting role for "The Fighter" at the 83rd Academy Awards on Feb. 27. Credit: Chris Carlson / Associated Press.

 

Oscars: Halle Berry, Women in Film toast female nominees

Halle Berry brought some girl power to Oscar weekend, hosting a cocktail reception Friday for all the female Academy Awards nominees.

At Soho House, Berry joined forces with Cathy Schulman of Women in Film, nabbing the likes of Melissa Leo, Amy Adams and Hailee Steinfeld -- all of whom are up for gold trophies Sunday.

Though Berry may be embattled in her personal life, she showed no signs of it on this rainy evening, looking lovely in a cocktail dress and bling, rubbing elbows with Kate Walsh, Jackie Weaver of "Animal Kingdom," Brenda Song, Dale Dickey and Sharon Lawrence, to name a few.

Berry spoke to the crowd on the importance of "women holding each other up" and continuing to make creative strides in Hollywood -- the actress herself recently starred in and produced the drama "Frankie and Alice."

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Photo: Halle Berry, left, and producer-Women in Film boss Cathy Schulman. Credit: Christopher Polk / WireImage

SAG Awards: For Melissa Leo, a nap isn't silly at all [video]

It seems like only yesterday that Melissa Leo was bounding onstage to accept a Golden Globe award for her supporting role in "The Fighter," and indeed, at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday, the actress said she'd barely had a second to breathe.

"There's not been a lot of room to let myself down," Leo said on the red carpet, on her way in to take home another trophy for playing tough mother Alice Ward. "I do when I can. Even a five-minute nap seems to do me a world of good sometimes."

So is that Leo's secret for staying calm at award shows? Catch a little shut-eye before hitting the red carpet?

"There's no routine to it, honey," Leo said, laughing. "We gotta make sure we got the dress, and then we have to make sure the shoes, but the shoes don't fit, and the dress needs to be altered, so somebody has to come over. And then you realize there's no bag to put anything in, so, 'Oh, you don't need a bag.  So somebody will carry something.'

"I mean, it's a lot," she said. "It sounds so silly, and it really is totally silly."

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Sundance: Celebrity sightings around snowy Park City

The 2011 Sundance Film Festival raged on this week in Park City, Utah -- despite the teensy distraction of Oscar nominations Tuesday -- with some serious boldface names playing in après ski wear and getting down with indie filmmakers.

Bing Bar served as a major mecca for creative panels, after-parties and simply happy hour. The hot team from "The Details" celebrated their film there, with appearances by Tobey Maguire, Kerry Washington (drenched in Lia Sophia jewels), director Jason Reitman, Dennis Haysbert and movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. 

Kevin Smith made his attention-grabbing rounds promoting "Red State," his cult-conservative thriller starring John Goodman and Melissa Leo, talking with fans between sending impassioned tweets and having fun with fevered film protesters.

Meanwhile, the Fender Music Lodge hosted a charming portrait studio with a chalkboard, where the likes of "Worst Enemy" director Lake Bell and Oscar winner Michael Shannon got to express themselves with doodles, while the chance to participate in Save the Children PSAs brought stars like Rosie O'Donnell, Chelsea Handler, Patrick WIlson and Emily Mortimer to the House of Hype Livestyle lounge.

A fashionable crowd attended the Superdry and 944 magazine's afternoon escape, where Susan Sarandon chatted up Adrian Grenier, who later performed in the space with his band the Honey Brothers. 

Oh baby: Mark Wahlberg is a hit at 'The Fighter' premiere

In "The Fighter," Mark Wahlberg plays a tough guy — a down-on-his-luck boxer trying to make a comeback. But in real life, the actor might just be a big softie.

At the film's Hollywood premiere Monday evening, he was doing the press rounds on the red carpet when one fan — standing behind a barricade on Hollywood Boulevard — began shouting in Wahlberg's direction.

"Can you take a picture with my baby?" the fan yelled.

Wahlberg politely declined — after all, the baby was a good 5 feet from him. But the fan persisted, getting a cameraman to awkwardly pass his child to Wahlberg, who grinned and posed with the frightened-looking baby.

When the actor's attention was off the baby, he talked about the serious effort it required to make such a dramatic physical transformation.

"I had to trim down a lot more," Wahlberg said of his workout routine. "I usually walk around at 185, 190. Micky [Ward, whom Wahlberg plays] fought at 140, 147. I didn't get down that low."

He put in the work, he said, because he wanted his appearance to look authentic.

"We wanted it to look like a boxer who could win the title, not an actor who was shot the right way and cut the right way who looked decent in the ring with doubles and stuff like that. We didn't want that at all."

Keep going to watch an interview with actress Melissa Leo, who plays Ward's mother in the film. "The Fighter," which also stars Christian Bale and Amy Adams, opens Friday. Click the pic of Bale and former boxer Dickie Eklund, above, to see photos from the red carpet.

'Welcome to the Rileys' premiere: Kristen Stewart survives another red carpet

Good news: Kristen Stewart's "Welcome to the Rileys" pole-dancing bruises were long gone by Monday, when she rocked an extremely short Valentino number on the red carpet at the film's New York premiere.

KStew plays a stripper and prostitute in the film, which also stars James Gandolfini and Melissa Leo, who turned out along with director Jake Scott at the Tribeca Grand Hotel.

 

 

Also spotted: Christina Hendricks, Danny DeVito, James Woods and Gandolfini's "The Sopranos" castmate Tony Sirico. Click on the photo of Hendricks, above, to launch a gallery of pictures from the event.

The film, which had its world premiere at the Sundance International Film Festival in January, opens in limited release in U.S. theaters on Oct. 29.

-- Christie D'Zurilla

Photo:  James Gandolfini and Kristen Stewart on the "Welcome to the Rileys" red carpet in New York on Oct. 18, 2010. Credit: Peter Kramer / Associated Press