Antonio Banderas

Spanish director Pedro Almodovar's The Skin I Live In will be out in the US this Friday, and he was in NYC this week to screen the film during the New York Film Festival. He and his leading man Antonio Banderas linked up for interviews Monday. The thriller is their latest collaboration after a 21-year break from working together; their last project was 1990's Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!, and Almodovar helped launch Banderas's career with other Spanish-language projects like Matador and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. Both spoke about their professional reunion, and Banderas revealed what it's like to fully place his trust with a director. Almodovar, who prefers to work independently in Europe, also spoke about the only two actresses he'd be tempted to work with in English. They said:

• Almodovar on working in English: "I would like to discover Meryl Streep, Kate Winslet . . . no seriously! One of the reasons, if I make a movie in English, one of the reasons will be just to work with many wonderful actresses and actors that are here. Just the two that I mentioned. But that unfortunately the movies will be in English and I would have to improve my English . . . But really I would like to discover in the sense that it would be the first time for me."
• Banderas on what it meant to work with Pedro again: "I did what I think any actor who works with Pedro Almodovar should do, which is to take a leap of faith. With Pedro Almodovar especially."
• Almodovar on reuniting with Antonio after 21 years: "What was the same was his disposition toward the work. And fortunately, he's still an attractive man. And he's still so at the age of 51 . . . For me, what was fantastic was that during the shooting he was absolutely the same person. I don't know if he is conscious of that. I have pictures from Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! . . . They are almost the same pictures. The way he behaves with the rest of the crew, or even with me."

To read more about Almodovar not going Hollywood and Banderas on channeling old Hollywood, just read more

Boys will be boys, and as Woody Allen's latest You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger proves, they're suckers when it comes to matters of the heart — or well, libido.

As a rendition of "When You Wish Upon a Star" plays in the background, we meet Roy (Josh Brolin) and Alfie (Anthony Hopkins). Roy is a one-hit-wonder author who is unhappily married to Alfie's daughter, Sally (Naomi Watts), an art gallery assistant with babies on the brain. When the film begins, Alfie leaves his wife Helena (Gemma Jones) when his approaching mortality brings on the desire to reclaim his youth. He satisfies the urge with gym time and by trying to date women half his age. Delusional? Absolutely. But then again, so is every character in this wry comedy. They feed into the notion that the grass is greener on the other side, and this sense of entitlement makes them mostly unlikable (even though at times they are funny to watch). For more on what I mean, just keep reading.

You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger looks like all of Woody Allen's signature ingredients: neuroses, dry humor, and a delightfully tangled plot. Naomi Watts stars as the wife of Josh Brolin; she's eyeing Antonio Banderas, while her husband is flirting with Freida Pinto. Anthony Hopkins plays Watts's father, and the hilarious Lucy Punch is his younger bride-to-be — much to the chagrin of his ex-wife, Gemma Jones (you know her as Bridget Jones's mom). Follow all of that?

The film already opened at Cannes to average reviews — many saying it's not the director's best, but not his worst, either. I'm still intrigued. How will Brolin fare in the comedic, Allen archetype? Will Banderas and Watts have romantic heat? Plus, Freida Pinto in her first role after Slumdog Millionaire! I have plenty of reasons to watch, but tell me your take. The film hits theaters Sept. 22. Check out the trailer (just ignore the subtitles) when you read more

The nose knows, and yesterday, a few fragrances were awarded at the Fragrance Foundation's annual FiFi Awards. This year's winners were announced last night, with the coveted Hall of Fame award going to Calvin Klein's standby, Ck One ($60). To find out what other scents got top honors, just read more.

Last night's Lakers game at the Staples center was the place to bring your date as Hilary Duff and Mike Comrie shared courtside PDA watching the home team win game one of the Western Conference finals against the Phoenix Suns. Basketball fans Jessica Alba and Cash Warren came out to support the team, tweeting cute photos from their front-row seats before heading to dinner after the big game. Khloe Kardashian made the evening a family affair, cheering on husband Lamar Odom with her mom, Kris, and brother, Rob. The Keeping Up With the Kardashians star has been a constant fixture at the games, but Khloe's looking forward to the end of the playoffs so she can enjoy a postponed honeymoon with Lamar.

To see more photos from the Lakers game just read more

Cameron Diaz went with a short red number yesterday for the LA premiere of Shrek Forever After — reminds us of the amazing pink mini she wore for Shrek 3 three years ago! She was the lone female star of the movie to pose on the green carpet with Antonio Banderas, Mike Meyers, and Eddie Murphy. Cameron is home in California after a busy few weeks of travel that included time in NYC with Alex Rodriguez and Chicago, where she recorded an episode of Oprah with Tom Cruise. They were there to discuss their film Knight and Day and she also shared her passion for cooking oatmeal for breakfast. With Cameron on the West Coast, Alex Rodriguez had to find another date for a party on Saturday — his 5-year-old daughter Natasha was on his arm to celebrate his new Gotham magazine cover.

To see more photos of Cameron and the rest of the cast, just read more

• Mila Kunis will costar with Justin Timberlake in Friends With Benefits — HitFix
• Video of a 9-year-old Lea Michele on Sally Jesse Raphael. Amazing — PopWrap
• Producer confirms that Lindsay Lohan will play porn star Linda Lovelace — People
• Antonio Banderas signs on for Pedro Almodovar movie — Vulture
• What do you think of Miley Cyrus's new video? — PopSugar
• Joel McHale joins Anna Faris movie What's Your Number? — PopWatch
• Kelly Ripa re-creates Tenley's dance from The Bachelor, and it's hilarious — TV Squad
• Patrick Dempsey will play a "dark" character in Transformers 3 — MTV
• Glee inspires us to Get Physical! — FitSugar
• Is The Boondocks TV's most daring show? — TV.com