Between the box office success of “The Blind Side” and Sandra Bullock’s spate of awards and recognition, the Oscar-nominated actress would seem to be having a great couple months.
Privately, though, Bullock and her husband, former “Monster Garage” host Jesse James, are still in the midst of a custody battle over James’ daughter, Sunny. The two are taking steps to formally adopt the 6-year-old.
“Sandra and Jesse have custody of Sunny, but now they want to take it a step further so that Sandra can become her legal mother," a source told In Touch Weekly.
Sunny’s mother, adult-film star Janine Lindemulder, was recently granted the right to make daily phone calls to the 6-year-old, but she still does not have overnight visitation. According to court papers, James has said that he doesn’t want Lindemulder to have custody of their daughter because he fears she could be exposed to “pornographers, drug addicts, guns and firearms, felons and other unsafe environments.”
As for Bullock, she’s talked in the past about how much she enjoys being a stepmom to Sunny. “I may never hear that word ‘mom,’ but being a parent is not about breeding. It's about caring,” Bullock told a CBS affiliate last fall.
Trademarks sought for The Situation
A nickname given to one “Jersey Shore” castmate’s abs has led to the filing for trademarks, according to paperwork The Smoking Gun uncovered. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office received two applications for “The Situation,” the nickname of Michael Sorrentino.
A Dec. 28 trademark application for T-shirts and underwear was filed by a Las Vegas firm that operates several porn Web sites.
U.S. & World
According to The Smoking Gun, that business, Naughty Limited, is operated by Sorrentino's older brother Marc.
The other trademark application for “The Situation,” filed Dec. 11, was made by Matthew Hunter (no apparent relation to Sorrentino), who wants to put “The Situation” on a variety of clothing items, including bathing suits, underpants, tennis wear and tracksuits.
‘Grey’s’ creator denies fighting rumors
Entertainment Weekly’s Michael Ausiello published a blind item on Tuesday headlined “Feud throws hit show ‘into chaos. ” Ausiello wrote that “growing tension between the showrunner and the leading man has led to a complete breakdown in communication.”
A show staffer was quoted as saying, “They are no longer speaking to each other. Things are really bad.”
Many (including yours truly) immediately thought that the hour-long drama in question could be “Grey’s Anatomy” or “Private Practice.”
But it’s not, at least according to showrunner Shonda Rhimes. Rhimes denied being the subject of the item via her Twitter feed (and for those who don’t follow her already, know that she does not have a history of being exceptionally sweet in her tweets).
First, she responded to a follower who suggested Ausiello’s item “seems to be about you and Dempsey,” by saying, “Hilarious. Not us.”
Then minutes later, in response to another follower who wrote, “some people are saying that the blind item could be you and Tim. True?” she wrote, “Even more hilarious. Nope, not me and Daly either.”
So that’s that. Keep guessing, folks.
Courtney Hazlett delivers the Scoop Monday through Friday on msnbc.com. Follow Scoop on Twitter @courtneyatmsnbc.
