Madonna's in ‘full meltdown mode’

Courtney Hazlett The Scoop

On the heels of a British report that Madonna has asked her assistant to gather all the items she received from Guy Ritchie so she can bury them, a source close to the Material Girl says that friends are worried Madonna is in "full meltdown mode."

"In recent years she's really relied on her Kabbalah advisors, but more for big decisions. She's barely functioning without a consult at this point," says the source.

What does this mean for the singer's friendship with Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez?

"Madonna's going through some tough times, but she's still planning a trip to Malawi when the divorce is finalized and her tour is over, and she still expects A-Rod to come on the trip with her," says the source. "There's very much a deep relationship there, even when she's going through what she is now."

Life support for 'ER'
According to a well-placed source at NBC, there's a "good chance" that ER won't be checking out of the network after the 19 episodes originally scheduled for this, its final season.

"The show's doing well. Look what else there is to work with in primetime, it would be crazy not to try to keep it alive a little longer," says the source.

The change in thinking comes from the sudden boost in "ER" ratings the past two weeks. The medical drama has outperformed ABC's "Life on Mars" and CBS's "Eleventh Hour," both new shows.

The medical drama, once a lion of primetime, has declined in the ratings year after year, and is in its final season. But don't expect that to change, at least not now.

If "ER" does receive a stay of execution from the network, "no one is talking beyond this season yet in any realistic terms," says the source. Expect just a handful of additional episodes.

Kim Kardashian peddling pics of partying Reggie Bush
Reality star Kim Kardashian looked the part of a perfect girlfriend when she spent her 28th birthday by beau Reggie Bush's side in the hospital as he recovered from surgery.

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But her behavior this past weekend had some questioning her loyalty to Bush, a running back for the New Orleans Saints who can't play because of a knee injury.

"Kim was peddling pictures of Reggie Bush partying with her in Vegas while he's supposedly 'injured'," says a well-placed source.

Another source says that Kardashian is trying to spin Bush's injury to her benefit.

"She is trying to make it out to look like he isn't hurt, that he's pulling a fast one on his team and just partying it up with her instead of being with the Saints," the source says. "You could argue if he's well enough to party in Vegas, he could at least show his support on the sidelines, but selling pictures? That's pretty low too."

'Saw' can't cut up 'HSM 3'
The "Saw" franchise didn't stand a chance of besting "High School Musical 3" at the box office.

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The third installment of the musical series became the first global number-one opening since the July release of "The Dark Knight."

Domestically, "HSM 3" brought in a hefty $42 million; overseas theaters brought in another $40 million to bring the weekend take to an incredible $82 mill.

That's not to say "Saw" didn't do well: This weekend's opening brought the film $30.5 million in ticket sales, which was enough to make it the top grossing horror franchise in history.

A quick word about "W." As I predicted, its second-week sales were pretty abysmal. Sales dropped 58% over last weekend; the biopic made only $5.3 million and came in 7th place.

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

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