Hathaway able to laugh at herself on ‘SNL’

Courtney Hazlett The Scoop

When Anne Hathaway rebuffed David Letterman's attempts to discuss her ex-boyfriend, Rafaello Follieri, during her appearance last week on "The Late Show," some wondered: Would all things Follieri be off-limits when she appeared on "Saturday Night Live" Oct. 4?

Just moments into her opening monologue, the answer became clear. Hathaway joked that, last summer, "I broke up with my boyfriend... and two weeks later he was sent to prison for fraud ... I mean, we've all been there, right, ladies?"

Friends close to Hathaway say they weren't surprised that Hathaway was a good sport.

"She is so moving on," says a friend. “People didn't really give her enough credit when she was in the middle of it all. News flash — she's always been fun and a little self-deprecating."

Hathaway's appearance on "SNL" helped the show score one of its highest-rated shows since 2002. Tina Fey, who reprised her role as vice-presidential candidate and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin was also a huge draw. Although a few well-placed sources maintain that Fey will indeed appear as Palin every week until the elections, a rep for "SNL" says, "There is no way to confirm her."

McCain prefers to read his TV shows
The television viewing habits of presidential candidate Senator John McCain are unlikely to sway voters in one direction or another, but they certainly are interesting.

Video Scoop on the politics of ‘SNL’ Oct. 6: Courtney Hazlett talks with ‘SNL’s’ Lorne Michaels about the show’s political leanings and cast member Fred Armisen on his Obama impersonation.

McCain told Radar magazine in an upcoming interview that his favorite shows are "Dexter," "Lost," "Seinfeld," "The Wire," and "The Tudors."

This is where it gets peculiar: McCain says that he often doesn't watch the shows themselves, instead he just reads the scripts, "because obviously with my schedule and such, I don't get a chance to watch them on a regular basis."

(Is this more efficient than getting the DVDs sent from the studios? Downloading to an iPod? Just saying.)

McCain, who hadn't yet cancelled his Letterman appearance when the interview took place, did make reference to his good relationship with the host, Portfolio.com points out. They quote McCain as saying, "It's always pleasant to be on those shows, because Leno and Letterman are both very good guys," he said.

Kimmel and Silverman back together?
Although funny couple Jimmy Kimmel and Sarah Silverman split last July after five years together, the two looked pretty comfortable around each other this past weekend.

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Silverman and Kimmel were spotted arriving and leaving several events together in New York City.

One friend of the couple's said that although the two were "definitely flirtatious," no one was reading too deeply into the fact they were together.

"If you had any idea how many times these two have broken up and gotten back together," said the friend.

Weekend box office
As predicted, the dogs had their day at the box office over the weekend. "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" grossed $29 million, the best October debut in Disney history. Also keeping in line with predictions: "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" came in third place. The Michael Cera flick brought in $12 million over the weekend, which wasn't enough to beat out last week's number one, "Eagle Eye." Also noteworthy: Bill Maher's "Religulous," which only opened on 502 screens, grossed an estimated $3.5 million. Translation: Per location, "Religulous" did better than every other film on the top ten chart, aside from "Chihuahua."

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

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