Entertainment

   Clooney calls out DiCaprio on bad basketball skills

There are many things that Leonardo DiCaprio does well - star in movies directed by Martin Scorsese; wear a suit; protect endangered species; date models - but according to George Clooney, basketball is just not one of them.

Esquire: Photos of George Clooney from the shoot

It seems the 52-year-old star indulged the younger actor in a game of hoops not too long ago, and in the end, as he tells Esquire magazine in its December issue, he arrived at two conclusions: one, DiCaprio's team talks a lot of trash; and two, they can't back it up.

The story goes that the two A-listers are both basketball fans with homes down in Cabo - as one would have, naturally - and after running into each other there thought they should get around to hitting the court.

DiCaprio, Clooney says, agreed to a game, but assured him that his team is "pretty serious."

To which Clooney responded, "you know, I can play. I’m not great, by any means, but I played high school basketball, and I know I can play. I also know that you don’t talk s*** unless you can play. And the thing about playing Leo (DiCaprio) is you have all these guys talking s***."

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Clooney didn't specify how long ago this game occurred, but it couldn't have been too far in the past - he's now 52, and he tells the magazine that he and his teammates were around 50 at the time. Even with their advanced age - DiCaprio is 13 years Clooney's junior - Clooney claims his team still beat the pants off DiCaprio's boys.

"We get there, and there’s this guy, Danny A I think his name is. Danny A is this club kid from New York," Clooney recalls. "And he comes up to me and says, ‘We played once at Chelsea Piers. I kicked your a**.’ I said, ‘I’ve only played at Chelsea Piers once in my life and ran the table. So if we played, you didn’t kick anybody’s a**.’ And so then we’re watching them warm up, and they’re doing this weave around the court, and one of the guys I play with says, ‘You know we’re going to kill these guys, right?’ Because they can’t play at all. We’re all like fifty years old, and we beat them three straight: 11–0, 11–0, 11–0. And the discrepancy between their game and how they talked about their game made me think of how important it is to have someone in your life to tell you what’s what. I’m not sure if Leo has someone like that.”

With details like that, it's not really a surprise that Clooney hasn't taken to Twitter (can you imagine his subtweets?).

As the "Monuments Men" director and star explains, he just doesn't feel comfortable with the potential for 140 characters to completely undo his career.

“If you’re famous, I don’t—for the life of me—I don’t understand why any famous person would ever be on Twitter," Clooney says. "So one drunken night, you come home and you’ve had two too many drinks and you’re watching TV and somebody pisses you off, and you go ‘Ehhhhh’ and fight back. And you go to sleep, and you wake up in the morning and your career is over. Or you’re an a***ole. Or all the things you might think in the quiet of your drunken evening are suddenly blasted around the entire world before you wake up."

Like, for example, how much better he is at basketball than Leonardo DiCaprio.

Jennifer Lawrence: Deaf and drinking on 'Catching Fire' set

Jennifer Lawrence's hair has had a drastic makeover, but the actress herself is as refreshingly frank as ever.

The actress participated in a few fan events on Wednesday, including a Google+ Hangout with her "Hunger Games" co-stars Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth, a Yahoo! "fireside chat" along with "Hunger Games: Catching Fire" director Francis Lawrence, and another Facebook Q&A along with the whole crew.

One persistent question, of course, was what prompted Lawrence's big chop.

"I cut it earlier, and it grew to that awkward gross length and I kept putting it back in a bun, and I was like, 'well, I don't want to do this,' so I just cut it off. It couldn't get any uglier," she joked with the audience at Yahoo!. "This isn't how Katniss is going to look in the next movies, don't worry. I'm wearing a wig."

It was evident from Lawrence's interaction with her cast mates that they've developed a familial bond, and, like a lot of siblings, that bond has included accidental injuries. As Hutcherson said during Google+'s hangout, Lawrence once nearly knocked him out.

"When we were filming the first movie, 'The Hunger Games,' in North Carolina, we were goofing around and all of a sudden she does a textbook roundhouse kick, right to my temple," he recalled. "I kept consciousness, and we kind of laughed about it and I walked away. I went to the medic, and ... I had a mild concussion."

Lawrence - who's been profusely apologizing for kicking Hutcherson in the head for the past three years now - didn't escape filming the newest "Hunger Games" movie, "Catching Fire," without hurting herself, too.

"I went deaf in one ear for two-and-a-half weeks," the 23-year-old actress revealed. "I got a double ear infection because I had to keep diving into this water, and then I had to keep jumping into this water that was supposed to be like hurricane water, with really powerful jets ... and punctured my eardrum."

Never say Lawrence doesn't suffer for her art. It wasn't all pain behind-the-scenes, though. Occasionally, the cast - particularly, it sounds like, Woody Harrelson – likes to let loose with a few drinks. While they were filming at a convention center in Atlanta, Hutcherson and Harrelson were "running around acting like total idiots while you guys were trying to film - it was so much fun."

"We were drunk," Lawrence interjected. "That was fun. That was the first time I'd ever drank at work."

At least the shot turned out OK. "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" opens nationwide on November 22.

Terrence Howard forced from 'Iron Man' and more news to note

You may not want to talk to Terrence Howard about his time on the "Iron Man" set. While promoting his new film "The Best Man Holiday," the actor said during an appearance on "Watch What Happens Live" that he was pushed out of his role as James Rhodes, which subsequently went to Don Cheadle. “The person that I helped become Iron Man, when it was time to re-up for the second one, took the money that was supposed to go to me and pushed me out,” he said. Wonder how Robert Downey Jr. feels about that [EW]

Hear that sound? It's the sound of cash rolling in for FXX who reportedly just landed a deal to become the cable destination for "The Simpsons" [Hollywood Reporter]

Speaking of making it rain, word is Drake and Rihanna dropped a collective $17K recently at a Houston strip club. Why is there no Vine of this?!?! [E!]

Has "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" become the new "SNL" launching careers in comedy? At least one writer thinks the idea is worthy of debate [Variety]

Millions of fans may be watching Demi Lovato on "X Factor" but after surviving an eating disorder, she can't watch herself on the small screen. [People]

Ashley Judd's estranged husband, Dario Franchitti, is on the mend from his bad accident, but has announced that he is retiring from race car driving [Dario Franchitti's Twitter]

Chris Brown out of rehab, but possible legal troubles loom

Chris Brown checked out of a rehab facility, but he will continue the program as an outpatient, his representative told CNN on Thursday.

The singer entered an in-patient rehabilitation center last month, a day after he was released from a Washington, D.C. jail following his arrest on an assault charge.

When Brown entered the rehab program on October 28, Perna said, "His goal is to gain focus and insight into his past and recent behavior, enabling him to continue the pursuit of his life and his career from a healthier vantage point."

"Chris is continuing his rehab program as an outpatient and is also completing his community service in the Los Angeles area," rep Nicole Perna said Thursday. "He appreciates all of your encouragement and support."

Brown must complete 1,000 hours of community labor in Los Angeles as part of his punishment for beating former girlfriend Rihanna on the eve of the Grammys in February 2009.

The behavior that has landed Brown, 24, in legal trouble over the past several years has been anger management.

His arrest on a sidewalk near the White House on October 27 put Brown on a path toward a possible prison sentence because of his California probation. The U.S. attorney in the District of Columbia charged Brown and his bodyguard with simple assault for a brawl last month in which a 20-year-old Maryland man suffered a broken nose.

The Rihanna incident resulted in a felony domestic violence conviction that carried a lengthy probation period.

A judge found Brown in violation of that probation in August because of discrepancies in proving he fulfilled the court-ordered 1,400 hours of community labor. He imposed another 1,000 hours of work.

Brown is in a vulnerable position. The Los Angeles judge overseeing his felony probation could order him to complete as many as four years in prison for the beating of Rihanna if he is found in violation of probation.

Secret Service report could help Chris Brown's defense

Brown is due in a Los Angeles court on November 20 for a probation status hearing. Prosecutors are waiting on the probation officer's report due next week to decide whether they will seek to put him behind bars, a spokeswoman said.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office appears in no mood to cut Brown any breaks, which suggests that prosecutors will ask for jail time for him because of the arrest in Washington.

The probation officer's job is to prepare a report for the Los Angeles judge. While the simple assault charge is a misdemeanor, it could trigger a probation revocation.

Going to rehab -- as his rep said "to gain focus and insight into his past and recent behavior" -- could allow Brown lawyer Mark Geragos to argue that the entertainer is getting proper help for his core problem.

The statement from Brown's rep did not disclose where the singer is going for rehab or what might be a "healthier vantage point" for him.

Rihanna and Chris Brown's relationship through the years

Andy Kaufman's brother says he is victim of hoax

It seemed too good to be true. Andy Kaufman still alive.

The Internet erupted with the buzz after Kaufman's brother read a letter purportedly from Andy at a comedy club on Monday night and introduced a 24-year-old woman as his brother's daughter.

But almost as quickly as reports surfaced Thursday, the news seemed to fizzle, with Michael Kaufman telling CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper" that he believes he's the victim of a hoax.

"Now that it's Thursday, not Monday anymore, I believe I am part of a hoax," Kaufman said in a bizarre, rambling interview where he spoke in a monotone not unlike his brother.

"I don't believe she's acting on her own, though," Kaufman said of the woman he introduced Monday night. "But, you know, that's all I know."

Tapper pressed him: "Just to reiterate, you now don't think that it's true -- you think that this is a hoax and you were a victim of the hoax?"

"Correct," Kaufman said. He denied he was part of the hoax.

The Smoking Gun reported the woman is actually an actress named Alexandra Tatarsky, and her father is a 58-year-old psychologist. The website reported that Michael Kaufman met her earlier this year at a Manhattan gallery and recruited her to pose as his brother's daughter.

"That is not true," Michael Kaufman told CNN. Attempts to reach the Tatarskys were unsuccessful.

Asked if he was angry, he said, "I'm still processing it. As Andy's brother, you learn over the years, you know, to go with the flow, kind of. So I have mixed emotions. I never allowed myself to get too excited, but I was always slightly skeptical."

Andy Kaufman, the comedic genius, had often talked about faking his death and joked about his eventual return. Sightings of Kaufman's boorish character Tony Clifton were reported at comedy clubs following the comedian's death in 1984 from a rare form of cancer at age 35. Even some of his closest friends never quite believed Kaufman died. A cult following ensued.

As the latest reports spread Thursday, the Los Angeles County Coroner took the unusual step of re-releasing Kaufman's death certificate. "Andy Kaufman is dead," the coroner's office said in a statement.

Kaufman's manager, George Shapiro, was at the comedian's side at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on the day he died, May 16, 1984. "Andy's very much alive in our hearts, but I don't think his body is around," Shapiro told CNN Thursday. "He died. I was in the hospital."

Michael Kaufman told Tapper he, too, was at his brother's deathbed. "I saw him emaciated. I saw him die."

The latest story began Monday. In a tale almost as outlandish as his brother's skits, Michael Kaufman told an audience at a New York comedy club that he received a letter from his brother 15 years after his death. A woman then came on stage and said she was Andy Kaufman's daughter born in 1989.

Michael Kaufman explained he was going through Andy's writings many years ago and found a reference to him "talking about faking his death," including the line, "I will reappear." It said Andy's reappearance would take place at a restaurant on Christmas Eve in 1999.

When Michael Kaufman went to the restaurant, he said, a parking attendant gave him a letter purportedly from his brother. Michael Kaufman read the letter to the audience at Monday's annual Andy Kaufman Awards show.

"It was too much pressure to be Andy Kaufman. I just wanted to be Andy," Michael Kaufman read. "I think that's why I got sick. I had to change completely and quickly. I'm extremely very happily married with the most wonderful wife in the whole wide world and with the two greatest kids: a 10-year-old daughter and a son who is 8."

Michael Kaufman told the audience a woman approached him about a month after his father, Stanley Kaufman, died this summer: "She told me a lot of secrets that Andy and I had together, like our secret handshake, the way Andy made fun of me for being too nice of a guy."

She then came onstage.

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Kaufman was beloved for his portrayal on "Taxi" of Latka Gravas, the wildly entertaining foreigner who struggled with English and multiple personality disorder. Yet to the dismay of the entertainment world, Kaufman started wrestling women in night clubs around the country in the early 1980s.

It was in Memphis, Tennessee, where his wrestling gig hit the stratosphere, challenging local legend Jerry "The King" Lawler in epic matches.

"I would like nothing better than to know that Andy was still alive and been with us all this time," Lawler told CNN Thursday by phone. "But like anybody else, I really don't know any more than what I've heard.

"It could be a great hoax in his honor, dreamed up by his friend Bob Zmuda and his brother, Michael. That would be something that would be in keeping with Andy's tradition, but who's to say. It could really be legit."

Lawler challenged Kaufman, if he really is alive, to climb back into the ring. "There should be a WrestleMania rematch between Andy and The King," Lawler said. "We could rekindle the feud with no problem."

Longtime friend Dennis Raimondi said Kaufman confided in him around 1980 about his desire to fake his death and how he planned to do it.

"It's certainly something he gave a lot of thought to," Raimondi told CNN Thursday. "One of his concerns at the time was the reaction of his parents. He cared about them."

CNN spoke to Kaufman's father prior to his death this summer. Stanley Kaufman, then 90, said his son had driven him and his wife crazy from a young age -- even more so when he entered the wrestling ring.

"My wife and I used to go bananas when we would see what he was doing. We thought: 'Good God, he's gonna get killed!'" he said. "But my son was a nut, what can I tell you? He knew what he wanted to do."

He said he had no doubts of his son's death and that he missed his boy greatly. "Andy scared the hell out of us," he said. "In retrospect, of course, I'm so, so very proud of him. But at the time, it was scary. I used to be embarrassed by my son. But he knew everything that he did, everything was deliberate, everything was calculated.

"He did a good job with what he intended to do. I am proud of the kid."

Kaufman did have a daughter. She was given up for adoption when Andy was 17. For years, Stanley Kaufman wondered about his granddaughter and what became of her, especially after Andy died.

He reunited with Andy's daughter nearly 20 years ago and the two became exceedingly close. As Stanley suffered from cancer in recent years, she became one of his confidantes. He called it a "beautiful, beautiful relationship."

"She's the greatest gift my son gave me," he said.

Have you ever watched a movie scene and thought to yourself, "that could never happen in real life?" The creatives behind New York prank collective Improv Everywhere haven't.

Instead, the group has made it its mission to re-enact famous scenes from movies -- romantic comedies, action, fantasy films, you name it -- in ordinary situations.

The group's most recent stunt took place at Katz's Delicatessen, the setting for the classic fake orgasm scene in 1989's "When Harry Met Sally."

Meg Ryan's Sally was proving a point to Billy Crystal's Harry that women can indeed simulate pleasure without actually being satisfied, and her performance was so convincing, another customer wanted to "have what she's having."

But what would happen if that scenario was repeated in real life? Better yet, what would happen if not one, but 20 women pretended to orgasm simultaneously in the middle of Katz's lunch rush?

When it comes to on-screen chemistry, "Hunger Games" co-stars Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson are naturals.

"We're great together," Lawrence, 23, told CNN in a recent interview. "We can really kiss."

To be sure, the two have had plenty of practice. As "Hunger Games" characters Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, Lawrence and Hutcherson are asked to do some lip-locking on camera in both 2012's "The Hunger Games" and its November 22 follow-up, "Catching Fire."

If you're not familiar with the book trilogy from Suzanne Collins that the movies are based on, know that part of the central plot revolves around Katniss and Peeta's relationship -- it's mostly a survival strategy as the two impoverished District 12 citizens are sent to fight to the death in the sadistic Hunger Games, but there's also an undercurrent of something more. There's the additional complication of Katniss' relationship with childhood friend Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth), who's a likely lover as well.

So as Katniss, Lawrence isn't wanting for love scenes. Yet in her typical casual manner, the Oscar-winning actress can shrug it off.

"You just kiss," she said to CNN, admitting, "I've had a couple bad ones."

Hutcherson, though, isn't disappointing, although the 21-year-old actor isn't quite as experienced as his counterpart.

"I haven't had any bad ones," Hutcherson said, telling Lawrence, "You're my first real big kiss in a movie."

"Really?" Lawrence responded. "Oh my God, was I gentle?"

To be frank, "no," Hutcherson replied. "It was a little abrasive, if I'm being honest. A little shocking."

"It was very slobbery," Lawrence agreed.

That sort of honest, spontaneous exchange is what makes the duo, but especially Lawrence, so in demand. Just three years ago, Lawrence was best known for an indie film called "Winter's Bone," which earned the actress her first Oscar nomination. But then came an onslaught of films that permanently changed the tide, as Lawrence starred in one high-profile project after another: 2011's "The Beaver" and "X-Men: First Class," "The Hunger Games," and 2012's acclaimed "Silver Linings Playbook," which earned the young star an Oscar.

Born in Kentucky with two older brothers, Lawrence presents herself with an unguarded irreverence that both Hollywood and the public eat up with spoons. Even as she transformed into one of the biggest stars in the industry, Lawrence remains grounded and outspoken in her interviews, seemingly unaware of her celebrity status.

When she won the best actress Oscar for "Silver Linings Playbook," nothing changed on set, Hutcherson told CNN.

"I don't even think we had a conversation about it," Lawrence said. "You guys were like, 'Congratulations, that's great.' And then it was like, 'Cool.' Then we started talking about farts."

And yet, as the public face of a franchise that has thus far made $691 million worldwide, Lawrence isn't completely oblivious to her new place in the world.

When the first "Hunger Games" movie came out, the actress tried to stop by Whole Foods, and was quickly reminded of just how famous she's become.

"Literally the day the movie was released, I had no idea I was famous yet or that anybody had seen the movie," she said. "I don't think actually I knew the movie came out that day."

Whole Foods "had to call the police and I had to go down the cargo elevator and I was crying. And I saw my ex-boyfriend there and he's like, 'How's your life?' And I was like, 'Really bad.' It was the worst."

Her popularity began to make her nervous about appearing in public, and she would skirt dinner plans to avoid the inevitable requests for a photograph. But she's learned that one has to face fame the way you would face anything else.

"Sometimes I'm nice, sometimes I'm in a bad mood," Lawrence said. "Like if I'm at dinner and I'm eating and somebody wants me to stand up and take a picture -- that's actually helped with my anxiety, knowing that I don't have to say yes and I can say no. ... It is hard because you don't want to feel rude, but at the same time, I have to defend my life and my mental wellness."

The Killing" was AMC's real zombie show.

Netflix has struck a deal with Fox Television Studios to resurrect the rainy crime drama for a fourth season.

That's right: "The Killing," a show that's been canceled twice, is coming back to life for a second time.

AMC axed "The Killing" after its second season last year, only to pick it up again after talks between the studio and Netflix sparked interest in another round. The third season aired this summer on AMC to fairly modest ratings (ending with 1.5 million viewers). In September, AMC cancelled the increasingly ironically titled "The Killing" — again.

But apparently those cable executives didn't execute a proper double-tap to the head.

Because Netflix is bringing "The Killing" back with a six-episode fourth and final season. Stars Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman are on board, and so is showrunner Veena Sud.

"The rich, serialized storytelling in 'The Killing' thrives on Netflix, and we believe that it is only fitting to give Sarah Linden (Enos) and Stephen Holder (Kinnaman) a proper send off," said Cindy Holland, vice president of original content for Netflix. "We are looking forward to offering fans — both existing and new — a series that we know is perfectly suited for on-demand viewing."

Netflix previously revived Fox's cult favorite "Arrested Development" for a 4th season, and is often a company that studios call when their shows are axed to see if there's any interest. The move could be a smart play for Netflix since it gives the company an exclusive lock on the conclusion of the show without a big episode commitment (AMC is not part of the deal). Whenever viewers stream "The Killing" for years to come, if they want to see how the series concludes, they'll have to watch it on Netflix (or a company that makes a distribution deal with Netflix).

Unless ... of course ... this is not REALLY the end of "The Killing." A Netflix rep assures this order will conclude of the show, but unless the final shot of season 4 is Linden and Holder skewered on top of the Space Needle, there's always going to be a few fans wondering if The Killing could rise again, rainier and more murderous than ever.