We Could Have Told You That

Hugh Jackman, longtime Movie Dearest Cinematic Crush and star of the upcoming Australia and X-Men Origins: Wolverine, has been named People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive for 2008.

And for those of you who can't get enough of Hugh (who couldn't?), he may be returning to Broadway (following his Tony Award winning performance as Peter Allen in The Boy from Oz) in a stage musical version of the classic A Star is Born.

As for the X-Men, looks like Twentieth Century Fox is finally moving forward on that rumored about fourth film. X-Men: First Class, which could be a prequel of sorts featuring the original X-Men or a look at the younger mutants seen in the previous movies (such as Rogue and Iceman), will be penned by Gossip Girl creator Josh Schwartz.

Women We Love: Janet Gaynor

Object of our affection: Janet Gaynor, actress.

- A superstar of the silent screen, she was the first Academy Award winning Best Actress, for the films Sunrise, Seventh Heaven and Street Angel. She held the record as the youngest Best Actress winner for almost sixty years.

- She successfully made the transfer to sound and was Oscar nominated again for the original film version of A Star is Born; other notable films include The Johnstown Flood (her first starring role), State Fair, Small Town Girl and Three Loves Has Nancy.

- On Broadway, she starred as Maude in the stage adaptation of Harold and Maude.

- Her last screen performance was on an episode of The Love Boat.

- You can catch up on a few of her films tonight on Turner Classic Movies, including the TCM premiere of The Young in Heart, her golden age swan song. Also, the three films she won an Oscar for will be included on the upcoming DVD collection, Murnau, Borzage and Fox.

Toon Talk: Happy Birthday Mickey!

Eight decades ago today, Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse made his first appearance on the public stage in the first synchronized sound cartoon, Steamboat Willie. The seven-minute classic made him an instant superstar, and he would eventually become the most recognizable fictional character on the planet.

Over the years, Mickey has had quite the varied career, from Academy Award-winning movie star to wristwatch model to comic book character to television host to theme park ambassador to recording artist to video game hero to corporate symbol (whew!). Through it all, our pal Mickey has endured and thrived, delighting audiences of each and every generation with his good humor, innate charm and dashing good looks (who else could turn ears like that into a fashion statement?).

To celebrate his milestone 80th year in show biz, Toon Talk counts down his top ten greatest performances from the silver screen ...

Click here to continue reading at LaughingPlace.com. Coming tomorrow: my review of the WALL-E 3-disc special edition DVD.

Truly Scrumptious

The magical car known as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang will soon be flying into a theater near you. The stage musical version of the beloved movie (itself based on the Ian Fleming book) launches its first American tour tonight in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Nominated for three Olivier Awards in London and five Tony Awards on Broadway, the tech-heavy tuner features the classic music by the Sherman Brothers, including the Academy Award nominated title song.

And speaking of the Shermans, they (along with Olivia de Havilland, Stan Lee and others) received the National Medal of Arts yesterday. The award is the highest honor bestowed to artists by the US government.