Miley might be gunning for racy film role

Courtney Hazlett The Scoop

Some industry insiders are beginning to wonder whether Miley Cyrus’ Vanity Fair shoot might have been a well-orchestrated blessing in disguise for the “Hannah Montana” star and her career.

“I challenge you to show me a child star who really made the transition to adulthood smoothly,” says one source. “Miley doesn’t have plans to leave showbiz any time soon, and to get that big ‘grown-up’ part, she needs to start looking like a grownup. That shoot helped.”

So what’s up next? Cyrus is rumored to be interested in the lead role in “Undiscovered Gyrl,” the film version of Allison Burnett’s new novel. It’s still early for casting — Burnett’s agent Richard Abate has reportedly just begun shopping the manuscript to publishers and has yet to secure a deal for the film.

However, a source close to the project says Cyrus is interested in the part, which would be that of “a lovable, lost suburban girl who descends into a life of reckless partying and promiscuity.” The source says if Cyrus did take the part, you’d be seeing a lot more of Cyrus than what appeared in the Vanity Fair photos. “There would definitely be nude scenes,” says the source.

Cyrus’ camp had no comment.   

Tom Cruise’s ‘Tropic Thunder’ role
Tom Cruise’s role in the new Ben Stiller comedy “Tropic Thunder” was supposed to be a secret. No such luck, thanks to an eager paparazzo who snapped photos of the star on the film's set last fall, wearing a fat suit and chest wig.

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Now that the film is closer to release, Stiller is talking about just how Cruise's role as a studio head came to be. “The role was his idea, it wasn’t even in the script,” Stiller told Playboy. “He had the notion that if we had a studio head along with the actors, you’d see the whole business, how people interact. We decided the studio head would determine that the actors were more valuable dead; the studio would make more money by cashing in on their insurance policies.”

‘Mamma Mia!’ — film and fashion success
The weekend box office wasn’t only about “The Dark Night” — the $27.6 million “Mamma Mia!” earned set a record for the strongest debut for a musical (“Hairspray” previously held the record at $27.5 million). The film’s success has already helped sales of the the original ABBA tunes in the film, and Glamour.com’s Suze Yalof Schwartz predicts a bump in Greek-themed clothing as well. Check out her blog to see what she liked.

Have you heard?
This is the last week you can get your hands on the new Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavor inspired by Elton John. “Goodbye Yellow Brickle Road” is available only in Vermont, and proceeds of sales go to the Elton John AIDS foundation. (If you can’t get to Vermont to try it, Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Jerry Greenfield describes the flavor as “an outrageous symphony of decadent chocolate ice cream, peanut butter cookie dough, butter brickle and white chocolate chunks.” )... Alanis Morissette announced her North American tour. She will hit 38 cities beginning Sept. 18 in Charlottesville, Va. ... Ty Pennington is announcing a scholarship fund for students with ADHD. The scholarship will be geared toward adults who want to enter creative fields.

Courtney Hazlett delivers the Scoop Monday through Friday on msnbc.com.

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