After rumors bubbled up about a possible end to Robert Rodriguez and Rose McGowan, her rep told People: "the production of all three films is moving forward with Rose to star." I'd question that since all the double R seems to be doing lately is acquiring projects that don't seem to go anywhere. Yes, there's a chance that they might be on hold while he films Shorts, but that production is where the new hub-ub is coming from (via Defamer).

I highly doubt there's any truth to the matter, but it's worth a glance into the rumor that Rodriguez is now canoodling his new young star, Kat Dennings. She's the girl who got her start on Sex and the City as the "f**king fabulous" rich girl having a bat mitzvah, and has since got a stepdad in a 40-year-old Virgin, and impressed audiences with her time with Charlie Bartlett.

Apparently, Hollywood (and all watching) cheered too soon -- a representative for Rose McGowan has hit back at the reports that she has split with Robert Rodriguez, or scrapped their movies. McGowan's rep told People Magazine that "the production of all three films is moving forward with Rose to star." And one of those mysterious sources "close" to the actress insisted their relationship was fine.

Now, naturally we here at Cinematical could really care less about the status of their engagement -- we just wanted to know what was going to happen to those movies. And that all depends which dubious glossy you believe -- the New York Post, who broke the story, or the damage controlling People. We all know those official statements and mysterious sources can mean nothing in six months.

But even if this was all tabloid fiction, it really should serve as a wake-up call for Rodriguez and McGowan. What must it be like to turn on your television, laptop, or radio and hear people rejoicing over your break-up in the hopes that, now, Red Sonja would not be remade? They've even gone so far as to "officially" recast Barbarella with Jessica Alba on many news sites. That has to hurt. So, maybe it's time for you crazy kids to scale it back a bit. Pick one of your three love projects to make (we can give you that much), and then devote your time and talents to a movie that doesn't involve your other half. I can't really speak for McGowan, but might I humbly suggest A Dame to Kill For to Rodriguez?

We usually don't report the goings-on of Hollywood relationships (be them long term or of the booty call variety), however this one is pretty epic. According to -- ugh -- the New York Post, sweethearts Rose McGowan and Robert Rodriguez are no longer together and no longer getting married (they were engaged prior to this). Why is this important news? Why should people care? Well, partly because Rodriguez was in the process of lining up a few interesting movie remakes (Barbarella, Red Sonja) with McGowan in the lead. One imagines McGowan had snagged the roles because, well, she was boinking Robert Rodriguez. But when there's no more action between the sheets, does that mean there's no more McGowan in the starring role?

The Post claims their break-up was partly due to the fact that Rodriguez was having a hard time finding financing for Barbarella with McGowan in the lead because she's not a big enough box-office draw. I know some of you beg to differ because she's got the hot "I'll sleep with your man if you leave him alone for five seconds and he can put me in one of his movies" seductress thing going on, but could you seriously see a flick starring Rose McGowan bringing in at least $70 million (reported budget for Barbarella) to the box office? Personally, I can't. With Jessica Alba or Charlize Theron or Angelina Jolie? Sure. Not Rose McGowan. (Last time I checked, her ass didn't exactly ignite a box office firestorm for Grindhouse.)

Should be interesting to see what develops from here. What would you like to see happen?

It's been a long time since the Red Sonja remake was announced -- actually, it's not so much a remake as an all-new movie based on the character who originated in the pages of Marvel Comics (and who was based on two separate characters created by Robert E. Howard) -- but now we finally have some updates, courtesy of USA Today. First, filmmaker Robert Rodriguez (Desperado) will be producing. Second, Rodriguez' girlfriend, Rose McGowan (Grindhouse), is playing the lead. Third, Rodriguez protégé Douglas Aarniokoski (second unit on Once Upon a Time in Mexico) is directing. Fourth, shooting begins this October. Supposedly neither Rodriguez nor McGowan have seen Richard Fleischer's 1985 version, so we should attempt to wipe away all memories of that critical and commercial failure, if possible, and try to imagine something completely different. Something that will be good enough to kick off a franchise.

I'm actually not sure if I ever saw the old Red Sonja, either, but I can still only picture Brigitte Nielsen in the title role. It's just one of those iconic -- I don't want to say performances, because it's just the actress and costume I picture -- casting decisions. You know you can see her, too: that awesome red mullet; that scale armor skirt; the breast plate that hardly covers her breasts. OK, now try to imagine Rose McGowan in the same costume. I know, it's hot, but it still doesn't seem right. However, Rodriguez told USA Today exactly why she does seem right: "Rose is a pistol. She's whip-smart, has attitude to burn, is sexy, extremely strong, yet has a vulnerable side that would surprise her closest friends. That description also fits Red Sonja."

Though they're apparently still very busy in the early planning stages on that Barbarella remake, that's not stopping the dynamo team of Robert Rodrizguez and Rose McGowan from moving ahead on another project. This one, however, is for the small screen. The Hollywood Reporter confirmed a story AICN ran last week about how Rodriguez is shopping a spec script written by Josh Miller and Mark Fortin called Women in Chains to a number of different networks. Essentially, it's a female prison drama -- or as AICN calls it: "... a show with Sadistic Guards, Cafeteria Hosedowns, Mud Wrestling, Violent Vendettas - a women in prison exploitation show called WOMEN IN CHAINS!"

The idea is for Rodrizguez to direct and McGowan to star as "one of five chained women at the center of the show ..." Right on! It's like Desperate Housewives for women who hate Desperate Housewives! Unfortunately, as dirty and nutty as this one sounds, it doesn't look like HBO will be picking it up; THR notes they've already snagged Bad Girls, an American version of the British female prison drama. Knowing Rodriguez and McGowan, though, one hopes this lands at a network that likes to take risks.

Here's my question: What's up with all the female prison dramas? Have we all been itching for a little female-on-female gang violence mixed with the personal stories of five women just trying to make it through each day without being shanked?

Last May, I asked whether Robert Rodriguez would cast his lovely girlfriend Rose McGowan as the star of Barbarella. Of course, he did just that very thing. But then there was news of turmoil and issues with Universal. "No, no, it's not Rose that's the problem!" Rodriguez then claimed, stating that the whole mess was just a matter of money -- an excuse that seems pretty ridiculous considering what the double R can do with almost no money. Now Rose has assured MTV that she is still the star, and things are moving along quite quickly.

Discussing the rumor about her being a troublesome casting choice, she says that it "was really irritating because I know all the people over there and obviously it wasn't true. It was very malicious and there was no proof. Oftentimes these things have basis in truth, but this didn't. I have the contracts to prove it."

From there, McGowan went on to mention how far production has come. She says that they've finished the costumes, half the sets have been made, and she has "even got my spaceships." But the new wrench is casting the rest of the parts. Rose notes that it will be a long shoot that can, in no way, be finished before June, so I imagine they'll wait until a SAG resolution is reached before moving forward. Oh, that sinister, dark strike cloud...

You might have caught the news last week that the Barbarella remake was in trouble because Universal reportedly wasn't going to spend $100 million on a sci-fi, sexy-time romp with Rose McGowan. Sources claimed that Robert Rodriguez wasn't listening to everyone who warned him that Rose couldn't pull it off. IESB then went to Rodriguez about this whole mess, and he says the problem has always been the budget, and not the casting. He even says that the project might go back to Universal, and that they'll know in the next week. It should, because there's absolutely no reason that RR can't make this picture super cheap -- he's the king of making little money work.

Of course, I'm not witnessing this all first-hand, but it seems to me like McGowan has become the scapegoat for money issues. Why say Universal thinks the price is too steep when you can blame it all on the sinister woman tugging at the strings behind the scenes? Yawn. We're talking about a goofy cult classic here! This isn't some big production where McGowan's casting is completely surprising. If Rodriguez had cast her in a serious period piece about Eleanor Roosevelt, then I'd get it. Heck, I'd be on the whipped bandwagon myself, scheming up ways to bring Rodriguez to his senses (and I'm a McGowan fan), but this is super space babe Barbarella, and there's nothing irrational about thinking Rose should play her. McGowan is at her best when she's campy, sexy, and tough, so until Robert tries to cast her in something else, why blame the relationship?

The good news: We are still in fact giving away a trip for two to India to the winner of last week's Darjeeling Limited contest. The bad news: Contrary to what some ill-informed stooge (me) stated in last week's post ("Winner will be announced Friday, October 11 12 @ 4:00 PM EST), we are still in the process of confirming our winner and will most likely not announce his or her name (and caption) until next Friday. As the expression goes, with free trips to India for photo caption contests comes all sorts of legal technicalities the average stooge doesn't take into account. But thanks to the thousand-plus of you who entered, we were rooting for you.

So onward with more prizes... But following up a free trip to India is hard. So below please find a photo of "two hot chicks on a motorcycle." You may also know them as Rose McGowan (soon to be Mrs. Robert Rodriguez) and Marley Shelton, stars of Rodriguez's 1973 2007 zombie movie Planet Terror, released in theaters as one-half of Grindhouse. Writers of our favorite caption will win a framed poster signed by Rodriguez, as well as the DVD and an action figure (of McGowan, not Rodriguez). Two runners up will win the DVD and action figure.
Good luck!

UPDATE: WINNERS ANNOUNCED! Click Here

Folks, they've made it official -- Rose McGowan and Robert Rodriguez are entwined like a couple of lust bunnies. TMZ reported yesterday that the couple has finally brought their relationship to the public, sliding around hand-in-hand for the premiere of Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof in Cannes. While normally this would be a big "So what?," you might have noticed that the director was just tapped for the Barbarella remake, throwing Peter Webber out the door. Rodriguez had said about the project: ""I love this iconic character and all that she represents, and I'm truly excited by the challenge of inviting a new audience into her universe."

Would it be a jump to think "iconic character" could be interchanged with "Rose McGowan?" I think not. And actually, I really don't mind. The biggest casting rumor so far has been Kate Beckinsale, who doesn't completely cut it for me. The only way Barbarella will have a chance to survive, or a chance to be reborn, is if someone slides into the wacky outfits and somehow makes it seem natural. If Rose can make a machine-gun leg seem sexy and everyday, I'm sure she can handle some super-saucy spacewear. I'm not sure why I didn't think of her from the get-go. It's probably all of that Charmed residual. As Chris Ullrich recently described, while Barbarella battles Duran Duran, "she manages to lose articles of clothing, engage in various erotic acts and eventually finds herself "tortured" by the aptly-named Orgasmatron."

Last month, Monika brought you the announcement of Rose McGowan's upcoming film, Black Oasis. When I saw the title, I was thinking maybe this would be some kind of strange biopic with Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock singing "Wonderwall," but alas, I was mistaken. Black Oasis tells the story of B-movie queen Susan Cabot. Cabot was bludgeoned to death by her own son -- who suffered from dwarfism. Sounds intriguing to say the least, and call me crazy but I find that Rose McGowan rather attractive! The movie will be written and directed by Stephan Elliott, who also did the cult cross-dressing flick Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. And speaking of cross-dressing, Oasis has just added Rodrigo Santoro, who certainly appeared to be rocking some sort of drag look during his scenes in 300.

I recall seeing Love, Actually in the theater and hating Santoro. Not because of his performance, but because when he took his shirt off, every woman in the audience gasped and squealed. I actually assumed he'd be a much bigger star by now. Known as the "Brazilian Tom Cruise," Santoro was #12 on People Magazine's 2006 "Sexiest Men Alive" issue -- beating me out by just two spots. He was in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, he played the universally hated Paulo on Lost (where the hell did he come from, by the way?), the absolutely ridiculous character Xerxes in 300 (please don't hate me, commenters!), and he hasn't really been in much else here in America. His role in Black Oasis sounds like it will be the one that decides whether or not he's got the talent to back up the looks.