ROLL CALL: A ‘McSteamy’ Magazine & A ‘Perky’ Pickler!

Your Daily Dispatch of Celebrity Shenanigans by Tommy Vergason

May 15, 2007

‘ANATOMY’ OF A COVER: To celebrate the McSteamy May issue of Men’s Health magazine, cover boy Eric Dane had a party held in his honor at hotspot Tenjune last night. USA TODAY reports that The “Grey’s Anatomy” star was joined by some of his castmates at the party, who commented on his “cover-worthiness.” Ellen Pompeo reportedly told USA Today that Dane was hot because “he’s such a nice guy,” while Sara Ramirez said “He’s got this devilish quality, and he’s hilarious on set. He’s a sweetheart.” Dane’s wife, Rebecca Gayheart, offered her very qualified opinion on the matter. She is quoted as saying, “When he’s getting dressed and he’s half dressed, with jeans but no shirt, that’s when he’s the hottest to me.” Dane himself reportedly said “It’s a little bit surreal” about being featured in the magazine, but joked that he spends enough time in the gym to qualify for a Men’s Health cover.

More Celebrity Scoop After the Video!

FALL FALLOUT: While Dane may be McSteamy, Comedian George Lopez is reportedly steaming. The star of “The George Lopez Show” reportedly tells THE LA TIMES that his series was “unceremoniously” canceled by ABC, who failed to renew it for next season after five years on the air. “TV just became really, really white again,” he is quoted as saying about the cancellation. According to the report, Lopez said Steve McPherson, ABC president of prime-time entertainment, called him over the weekend to explain that “financially” it wasn’t working out, that the network would lose money if it picked up the show again. But that explanation doesn’t sit well with Lopez, who remarked that his show out-performs other shows that did get renewed. “They dealt with us from the bottom of the deck,” Lopez reportedly said. “Which is hard to take after what was a good run.”

DEAL OR NO DEAL?: Donald Trump may be in a similar situation, as there was no word of “The Apprentice” being renewed when NBC made their 2007-08 season announcement yesterday. However, there was no word of it being canceled, either. NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly reportedly told REUTERS that the decision is still up in the air, pending the unveiling of the other networks’ schedules: “We couldn’t find the right spot for it. So we’re going to regroup after everybody announces their schedule. We’re going to look at everything in context and then make a decision about it.” While REUTERS got no immediate comment from Trump, TV GUIDE spoke with one of his reps, who claimed that NBC has until June 1st to make a final decision on the show’s fate. The rep reportedly added, “We’ve actually been approached by one of the other three broadcast networks, should NBC pass.”

A LESSON IN CUTENESS: “Little Miss Sunshine” Oscar nominee Abigail Breslin has moved on to a new role, as the star of “Kit Kittredge: An American Girl Mystery,” currently shooting in Toronto. THE NY POST’s CINDY ADAMS spoke to the 11-year old actress, who reportedly told her about being home-tutored while she films movies. “I’m home-schooled with a tutor or my mom because I travel so much,” said Breslin. “My best subjects are reading and history. My worst, math. It’s like a regular school with tests sent in, which we send back and a report card every quarter.” In between traveling, studying and filming, Breslin loves to go to the movies, and she lets Adams in on a little secret: “I love the popcorn. My brother, who’s 15, came up with a great idea. You know how popcorn butter is always on the top or on the bottom and never enough in the middle? Well, he discovered if you stick a straw into it and run the melted butter right through that, there’s butter everywhere.”

PICKING ON PICKLER: Former “Idol” finalist Kellie Pickler seems to be keeping her own secret under wraps, despite repeated attempts at disclosure from Ryan Seacrest. PEOPLE reports that Seacrest tried in vain to get Pickler to spill the beans on a rumored “augmentation” she had done to herself on his radio show yesterday, following weeks of speculation after Pickler’s guest appearance on “American Idol” earlier this season. The jovial Pickler reportedly told Seacrest, “Are you talking about my boobs again? Why are you looking at my boobs anyways, you pervert?” When pressed, she reportedly replied, “Ever since the show and your comments, all I hear about is my boobs. But you know me, Ryan, I like to be the center of attention, and right now me and the girls, we are pretty much getting a lot of attention. I like to keep it a mystery. Let the mystery live on because as soon as I say yes or no then no one is going to care anymore.”

‘IDOL’ CHAT: With “American Idol” reaching its climax, MTV.COM assembled a group of former “Idol” finalists to weigh in with their opinions on the final three contestants. Season five’s Kevin Covais, season four’s Anthony Fedorov, season one’s Tamyra Gray and season two’s Josh Strickland held a roundtable discussion of this past season, including their thoughts on finalists Jordin Sparks, Blake Lewis and Melinda Doolittle. Topics range from season highlights to judges’ influence to “diva” contestants — and while the final three are the main topic of discussion, don’t think for a moment that a certain ousted finalist named Sanjaya doesn’t get his due from the panel!