We already feel like we’ve been talking about Super 8 forever, which is funny because Paramount Pictures just released the official movie trailer online. Besides being much easier on the eyes than previous bootleg versions, this teaser for the Steven Spielberg-produced JJ Abrams-directed project has revealed several easter eggs tied to the film’s viral marketing campaign. A guide to what we know so far, along with the HD trailer, after the jump.

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1. Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Mamet is producing a new film version of The Diary of Anne Frank for Disney. [via Variety]
2. David Byrne is auctioning off the folding bike he has ridden all over the world on eBay; proceeds will be donated to the London Cycling Campaign. [via David Byrne]
3. Thom Yorke says Radiohead will not release more full-length albums; they might put out some singles. [via Billboard]
4. Stephen King has sold the film rights to his Dark Tower series to J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof (co-creator of Lost) for $19. [via Cinematical]
5. Bansky might have put a new piece up — of a crucified Jesus in a graphic tee —  in his hometown of Bristol. [via Evening Post]

Before he was creating popular TV series like The O.C. and Gossip Girl, Josh Schwartz used to perform stand-up comedy as a student at USC. You know him as the force behind Star Trek, Alias, and Lost, but J.J. Abrams also composes music. Jenny Lewis had her artistic debut in a Jell-O commercial, and Beck works on collages and drawings with his grandpa, Al Hansen. Michel Gondry was the drummer in a band called Oui Oui back in the ’80s, and Stephen Colbert once fronted a Rolling Stones cover band. Read More »

1. Five J.J. Abrams surprises you might have missed in Star Trek [via MTV]

2. Lily Allen gets church giggles performing censored lyrics on the BBC [via Daily Mirror]

3. The Hollywood madam who “makes Heidi Fleiss look like Mary Poppins” [via NYDN]

4. Warner Home Video wants to help you find a Facebook friend to watch Watchmen with [via THR]

5. Why Santiago Calatrava’s “heart wrenching” transportation hub at ground zero keeps stalling out [via NYT]

In the past, identifying as a Trekkie was often equated with being a total weirdo. But with the much anticipated release of the revamped Star Trek, it’s finally OK for the closeted to come out from hiding. Easing their woes? The fact that the film is garnering across the board raves, with record breaking box office predictions. And if the always cooler than thou Winona Ryder (who doesn’t look a day over Girl, Interrupted) set aside her pain killers to film a handful of scenes, you know it’s the place to be. Need more proof? Allow us to present a slideshow of smokin’ hot VILFs for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

I’m no stranger to lavish weddings. When I graduated college I took a summer job as a banquet caterer, serving at $60,000 to $200,000 receptions. While the bride and groom always insisted on having a “hand tailored” and “unique” wedding, most of them ended up looking exactly the same to an outsider. Which explains why the trend of “alterna” weddings (smaller weddings often held in unusual locations, with zany themes) has skyrocketed in popularity in the last 10 years. Read More »

Most people look forward to retirement, but there are certain spheres within which it becomes really hard to stick to. How many times have we heard that a musician or actor is retiring from their field, only to see them pop back up as if they never said a word? As he approaches 80, we wouldn’t have been surprised if Leonard Nimoy really kept to his 2002 pronouncement that he was done with the acting world. Yet, following the news that he’ll be back on screen for J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek reboot next month, word has also leaked that the man best-known for playing the all-too-logical Mr. Spock has also teamed with Abrams for a recurring role on the Lost creator’s other show, Fringe. It may be an unexpected career move on Nimoy’s part, but then, the man has made plenty of them. After the jump, five ways you probably never knew Leonard Nimoy, from poetry to Hobbits.

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Books: Someone’s not such a big fan of Jodi Picoult [via Guardian]
Dance/Opera: Critics condemn London show featuring Israeli Defense Force dance troupe [via Guardian]
Design: Daniel Libeskind reinvents the mall (video) [via BW]
Film: The truth about those Lord of the Rings prequels [via Paste Mag]
Music: The Sassiest Boy in America talks Kanye West [via Village Voice]
Television: The Daily Show Presents: America’s Got Torture [via Gawker]
Theatre: Tharon Musser, who “painted with light,” dies at 84 [via NYT]
Visual Arts: Joe Tilson: the forgotten king of British Pop art [via Telegraph]
Web: Can you find the messages from J.J. Abrams in this month’s Wired? [via NYT]

Name one thing you thought Lauren Conrad w/could never do. OK. Now read this: “In addition to getting back to work on the clothing line, Conrad will be hard at work penning her ‘L.A. Candy’ young-adult novel series, [Whitney] Port said. ‘I know she’s been working and writing some books,’ she said. ‘I think it’s like some sort of play on a biography.’” We know that everyone has to pretend these tales of teen excess were penned by LC, but we hope that someone’s planning to ghostwrite the shit out of this series. [via MTV] Read More »

HBOprah: It looks like Oprah continues to monopolize American culture, as she has signed a multi-year contract with HBO to produce TV series, movies and documentaries for the network. Interesting move from the home of Carrie Bradshaw and Tony Soprano — we can’t wait for HBO to get a million times more optimistic and inspiring. [EW]

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