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VENICE, Italy — Sofia Coppola gives audiences an insider's look into two worlds she knows intimately in her latest film: hotels and Hollywood.

"Somewhere," which made its world premiere Friday at the Venice Film Festival, is the story of a movie star, played by Stephen Dorff, who comes to see the emptiness of his existence through the eyes of his 11-year-old daughter, a role performed by Elle Fanning.

Like "Lost in Translation," which Coppola also premiered in Venice in 2003, "Somewhere" takes place nearly entirely in hotels, mostly the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, one of the places the director remembers staying with her famous father, Frances Ford Coppola.

"We spent a lot of time growing up living in hotels when we were on location with my Dad. I always like when you are living in hotels; it's like a world unto itself," Coppola said.

"Also it is an impermanent place. A lot of the characters I am interested in with are in a moment transition, so it seems fitting they would be in an impermanent setting."

Dorff's Johnny Marco is in transition – though he hardly appears to know it as he indulges in the trappings of stardom. He's just finished up a movie and is in a sort of netherworld between gigs.

"The one thing I found very realistic ... there is an isolation that happens to an actor when a film is finished," Dorff said. "For film actors, we work together three months, then the movie ends. I don't go to an office every day. I am kind of left with not knowing what I am going to do, until the next movie arrives."

Coppola said she wanted to do "a portrait of today's L.A." and the idea for the movie took shape while she was living in France after finishing "Marie Antoinette," her last film, and viewing Los Angeles from a distance through the pages of tabloids brought by visiting friends.

The 39-year-old director gives a fresh and often wry twist to the excesses of showbiz fame. The twins who pole dance at the foot of Johnny Marco's bed perform with all the sex appeal of cheerleaders, stiff, slightly out of synch and failing to excite much of a response from Marco.

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Get ready to get Glee-ful when you check out this preview for the show’s second season premiere!
Hey Gleeks! If, like Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) says in this preview for the second season of Glee , “You’re sick of show tunes and ’80s pop”, then get ready for a whole new bag of modern music, like THIS cover of Jay-Z and Alicia Keys’ love letter to NYC, “Empire State of Mind.”

What else is in store this season? Besides a Britney Spears episode and Lady Gaga covers, you’re going to hear Billy Joel tunes AND watch Finn (Cory Monteith) and Rachel (Lea Michele) fall back in love! Oh yeah, and how could we forget? Tracksuit wearing Cheerios coach Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) will still on hand to provide us with endless one-liners about the Keebler Elves that live in Mr. Schuester’s hair!

We can’t wait until Glee returns Sept. 21! Can you?

Ashton fires back following allegations he was spotted making out with a woman in the bathroom of a popular LA restaurant!
Ashton Kutcher is not taking rumors that he was spotted cheating on wife Demi Moore with another woman lying down — he is denying the claims and saying he may sue! Ashton tweeted in response to a story in Star that quoted an eyewitness who claims they saw Ashton and a mystery blonde making out, “I think Star magazine calling me a ‘cheater’ qualifies as defamation of character. I hope my lawyer agrees.” Wow!

32-year-old Ashton also claimed the magazine was not practicing freedom of the press — as the story is fiction!

The story is an eyewitness account from someone who claims they saw Ashton and some friends hanging at Madeo, the popular Italian restaurant in LA, and then later watched as Ashton and a blonde woman made out in the bathroom. “His hands were on her hips, and she was pushed up against the mirrored wall so she couldn’t move. He was grinding on her,” said the source.

It looks like Ashton has one very important person in his corner however – his 47-year-old wife Demi! She responded to Ashton’s tweet about Star defaming his character by tweeting herself, “No question!”

It will be interesting to see what happens with this from here!

So HollywoodLifers, do you think Ashton is telling the truth or angry the mag caught him in the act?

While some resources are available for inmates looking to turn their lives around after jail, many children with incarcerated parents end up making many sacrifices due to a crime they did not commit.

One student at Southern Illinois University wants to help those children go to college.

Stephen Ross, an agribusiness economics major at SIU, started the "Peanut Scholarship Fund" after his friend went to prison--leaving his son (nicknamed "Peanut") behind. Ross told the Saluki Times that he knew the child would face an uphill battle trying to pay for college with an incarcerated parent.

Ross, who is from Chicago, told the Associated Press that the "Peanut" fund would provide need-based scholarships to potential students at the Carbondale school whose parents can't provide financial support because of crime, either because they are in prison or have been victims of crime.

Ross hopes to raise enough money to provide full-ride scholarships to eligible students.

A fundraiser for the "Peanut Scholarship Fund" will take place from 4 to 8 p.m. on Sept. 8 the SIUC Student Center at the Carbondale university. The event will feature a screening of the Norwegian film, "Troubled Water," according to the Saluki Times. The film tells the story of what happens when a young man recently released from prison encounters the victims of his crime.

Admission to the event is $2.

Illinois politicians came out on top (and bottom) of a new "Best & Worst of Congress" list in the September issue of the Washingtonian magazine.

Republican Aaron Schock of Peoria made it into five categories on both sides of the list--and was the only House member from Illinois who made it on at all. Schock was deemed the No. 1 male "hottie" in Congress, No. 2 "gym rat," No. 3 "best dressed," and second most likely to star in a scandal.

Though the list is not online yet, the Chicago Tribune reports that Democrat Dick Durbin came off looking quite well. The senator from Illinois was ranked No. 1 "workhorse" and the No. 1 "most eloquent" member of Congress. The magazine's list is not scientific, as the Tribune explains:

The magazine's unscientific findings are compiled by survey of administrative aides, press secretaries, legislative directors and high-level committee staffers willing to participate. The top three vote getters in most categories made mention in the magazine.
Illinois was also represented on the "worst" list. Roland Burris, the senator appointed by convicted felon and former governor Rod Blagojevich, was named No. 1 "most clueless" and third "most likely to star in a scandal."

Rahm Emanuel, who wants to be Chicago's mayor some day, was given some mixed reviews. The president's chief of staff was named No. 2 "Best Obama administration figure" and No. 3 "Worst Obama administration figure." The full list is available in the September issue of the Washingtonian.

Back in 2008, when the military was struggling to maintain recruiting levels, the Army launched a program at Fort Jackson in South Carolina geared toward giving aspiring soldiers the chance to earn their GED while training for an Army career. The program appears to have been a success.

According to this AP report, "About 11.6 percent left before a two-year term of service was up, compared with 16 percent who earned GED certificates on their own and then enlisted." Program beneficiaries tell the same tale:

For 20-year-old Jayson Reimers of Seattle, who had a young son to support, the GED program was a ticket out of a dead-end part-time mall job. The teachers helped him brush up on subjects he missed when he dropped out of school as a senior, and he passed the GED test on his second try.

"I wanted to work on cars. I wanted a skill," said Reimers, who will head to mechanics' school here.

Sadly, this program is about to be shuttered. Colonel Kevin Shwedo, Fort Jackson's "deputy commander," says, "We're a victim of our own recruiting success."

That's one way of looking at it. Here's another way:

The GED pilot program known as the Army's prep school started here in summer 2008, when the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan left the service scrambling to find soldiers. But since then, with the economy in a downward spiral and jobs hard to come by, more people with diplomas have been enlisting.

For most women, getting naked with George Clooney would be intimidating.

But for his costar in the upcoming thriller The American, there was no such trepidation – on her part, at least.

"He confessed … that he didn't do lots of sex scenes," Violante Placido, who plays prostitute Clara and Clooney's love interest in the film, tells PEOPLE. "I felt like this was in a way something new to him, he wasn't that experienced."

She says the relatively graphic love scene came together well, though, once they agreed to trust each other.

"We had to find a way to make it natural and let your body speak somehow," Placido says. "We were very open to one another to try and make it work. We just said 'let’s trust each other' and we did. I felt like we had to let ourselves go."

Ultimately, she says, the scene was an important one to get right.

"It had to look real; it is the turning point for the two characters," she says. "I can tell you that watching it, I don't feel as calm as I did when I was on set filming it. Just watching it is a little like … wow."

In the film, Clooney plays Jack, a professional killer attempting to escape his trade after one last assignment to the Italian countryside. The movie hits theaters Sept. 1.

LOS ANGELES — Leonardo DiCaprio has been granted a temporary restraining against a woman he said claims to be his wife and carrying his baby.

Court records show Superior Court Judge Carol Boas Goodson granted the order Wednesday against Livia Bistriceanu, 41, of Chicago.

"Given this obsessive and harassing behavior, I am frightened of Ms. Bistriceanu and feel that my personal safety, and the personal safety of those around me, is in jeopardy," DiCaprio wrote in a sworn declaration.

An e-mail message sent Friday to Bistriceanu seeking comment was not immediately returned.

DiCaprio's request included statements from the actor and his security team claiming Bistriceanu had traveled from Chicago to Los Angeles at least twice to try to meet DiCaprio at his home and business office. She refused to leave the properties and acted aggressively, the court filings state.

The Academy Award-nominated actor wrote that she "has evidenced a willingness to make physical contact with me regardless of the consequences."

Bistriceanu has been placed on a psychological hold twice, according to the documents.

DiCaprio said he has never met Bistriceanu, but she has sent him numerous handwritten letters. Some were attached to his request for the restraining order and reviewed by the judge.

One letter included the greeting, "Dear husband Leo," and contained statements that Bistriceanu believed DiCaprio was the father of baby Jesus.

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On Thursday, another woman was ordered to stand trial on a charge of slashing DiCaprio's face with a piece of glass during a party in 2005.

Aretha Wilson pleaded not guilty to assault with a deadly weapon after being returned to Los Angeles from her native Canada.

DiCaprio suffered injuries to his face and neck.

More curves are coming to New York Fashion Week!

We recently told you about OneStopPlus's plus-size runway show. Now, Jessica Simpson has announced that she'll be using "real women" to model her clothing line, Contact Music reports.

"Jessica Simpson plans to unveil her latest collection for the media at New York Fashion Week in September, but there's a twist," a friend of the budding fashion mogul reportedly told Life & Style Magazine.

"Instead of using super-skinny models to showcase her designs, Jessica has decided to send her best friends -- real women in real sizes -- down the aisle."

We'd expect nothing less from Simpson, who recently shared her pro-curves stance with Lucky.

"We all obsess over looking like the perfect Barbie type, and that's not always what's beautiful," she told the shopping magazine.

"It's about making peace with yourself."

Way to put your money where your mouth is!

The Mad Men actress flaunts her killer curves for her latest shoot!
Not only was Christina Hendricks recently named the Best Looking Woman in America by Esquire magazine, but now she’s the face of London Fog for their fall campaign! Shot by photographer Nino Muñoz in Los Angeles, the super-confident star certainly wasn’t shy. “The sexiest way to wear a trench is with nothing underneath at all,” she said while on set.

It looks like Christina has an affinity for a classic trench. “London Fog is a classic brand, which I love. It also ties in to Mad Men, we used London Fog in the show and this was a nice way to tie everything together. The trench is such an iconic shape for men and women. It works for anyone – it worked in the 1960s and it works now,” she said.