ELF 20th anniversary… Lawsuit round-up… SAG-AFTRA has granted movie an interim agreement… Kim Kardashian & Odell Beckham Jr. rumored to be dating… and Patrick Dempsey as PEOPLE’s 2023 Sexiest Man Alive

Listen to “Showbiz – Nov 8, 2023” on Spreaker.

I somehow missed it yesterday — but it was on Nov. 7, 2003, that the movie “Elf” was released in theaters. The movie grossed $220M worldwide against a $33M budget, and it’s a holiday classic my husband still refuses to watch because he doesn’t think Will Ferrell is funny. But in honor of the 20th anniversary of its release yesterday, here are some fun facts you may not have known about the movie. Did you know Will Ferrell wasn’t the first choice to play Buddy the Elf? The screenwriter wrote the script back in 1993 with Jim Carrey in mind for the lead. Apparently, Jim was on board at the time, but dropped out sometime during the decade it took to get “Elf” made. In the movie, Buddy reveals, “We elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns and syrup.” As Buddy the Elf, Will actually ate spaghetti covered in maple syrup and candy. But those cotton balls Buddy ate in the doctor’s office were actually balls of un-dyed cotton candy. Will reportedly turned down $29M to make a sequel. Not only was he worried the movie would suck, he also didn’t want people accusing him of doing it just to get that big paycheck.

The best way to spread ELF 20th anniversary cheer is singing loud for all to hear! pic.twitter.com/oKuUiRTdvM
— Warner Bros. Entertainment (@WBHomeEnt) November 7, 2023

Celebrity lawsuit roundup! Rob Lowe is being sued by a former employee who claims she was wrongfully fired after getting sick. In the court documents obtained by The Blast, this woman claims that back in January of 2022 she was hired to be Rob’s estate manager, but she was more like a personal assistant. After 18 months, she claims she was fired after she opened up to Rob about struggling with physical and mental illness and showed him a doctor’s note recommending she take a month off work. That’s when she claims she was fired. Rob is denying the allegations, claiming this woman simply ignored repeated phone calls and demanded a month off. By the way, if you’ve always been curious about how much jobs like this pay, the lawsuit says her annual salary was $100K with an hourly rate of $48.07. In other celebrity lawsuit news, eight months after filing, Khloe Kardashian’s former personal assistant has filed to dismiss his lawsuit. Matthew Manhard was suing for unpaid overtime and poor working conditions, but Khloe either had proof she didn’t owe him anything or coughed up the cash because Matthew asked for the case to be dismissed with prejudice, meaning he can never sue her over this again. And one more! Three years after suing Kris Jenner for sexual harassment, her former bodyguard has filed for dismissal of the entire thing. Kris always denied it, and now she doesn’t have to defend herself in court over it.

Rob Lowe Sued by Ex-Employee For $100k Over Alleged Discrimination https://t.co/to8ZAGEJj3 Click the image for details:
— Radar Online (@radar_online) November 7, 2023

SAG/AFTRA granted exemptions for a handful of movies, allowing its actors to promote them. Zac Efron is probably wishing his movie was still on the “do not promote” list. While doing press for his movie “The Iron Claw” all people can talk about is his face. People are not just being nosy…some are being downright rude and cruel. Back in April 2021, Zac went viral after appearing in a Facebook Watch special about Earth Day because his jaw was incredibly chiseled. He finally talked about it in the October 2022 issue of “Men’s Health.” Zach explained that he was running through his house wearing socks when he slipped and smacked his chin against the granite corner of a fountain. He was knocked out cold, but when he woke up, his chin bone was hanging off his face! He had surgery to reconstruct his jaw, but during his recovery, some of his facial muscles began overcompensating and got really big. He worked intensely with a physical therapist to reduce those muscles, but yes – he does look different.

Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White’s ‘Iron Claw’ Locks Up SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreement https://t.co/YpIU6bX922
— Variety (@Variety) September 22, 2023

Rumors have been out there since summer that Kim Kardashian had a little something going on with Odell Beckham Jr., who would’ve still been with Lolo Jones — the mother of his almost 21-month-old son — at the time. But in September, we learned that Odell and Lolo had broken up after 4 years of dating. And as far as Kim and Odell hanging out, sources said the two of them were just friends who happened to have a lot of mutual friends in common. Fast forward to this past Monday night when Odell celebrated his 31st birthday in NYC and Kim showed up and showed off in a plunging black dress. Some sources are saying the two of them were huddled up the whole night, others are saying they didn’t seem flirty at all. Who are we going to believe?

Kim Kardashian Attends Odell Beckham Jr.'s Birthday | Click to read more https://t.co/UytitC7laB
— TMZ (@TMZ) November 7, 2023

Jimmy Kimmel had the honor once again of introducing People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive. Playing a game of 20 Questions with his audience, they finally figured out that Patrick Dempsey is the choice for 2023. What took so long and why now? These are two very valid questions. It would’ve made sense for Patrick to win at the height of his Dr. McDreamy-ness on “Grey’s Anatomy” and he has come close to winning this honor several times over the years, but for whatever reason — perhaps because he has a great publicist and the horror movie “Thanksgiving” coming out Nov. 17 — this is Patrick’s year. And his fans are fiercely defending this choice on the internet.