Awards shows won’t hire Jon, even for free

Courtney Hazlett The Scoop

The odds that Jon Gosselin soon could slip into obscurity are increasing, and not just because there’s an end in sight for “Jon & Kate Plus Eight.”

The reality-show dad reportedly has approached awards shows with requests to appear as a presenter, and has been turned down by at least two productions, according to producers.

And while Gosselin was asking for appearance fees in the $30,000 range as recently as September, he’s now offering to present for free, asking only to have travel and accommodations covered.

“There was absolutely no interest in having him be a part of our show, no matter how much it was not going to cost us,” said one producer. “He thinks he can attach himself to any project that has cameras. I guess he doesn’t realize that the world is not his personal reality show.”

Jessica Simpson facing fat flack from dad
Jessica Simpson can’t catch a break when it comes to her weight. First there was the Burger King sponsored cartoon that mocked her size (both Burger King and Fox, which aired it, have apologized).

Now her dad, Joe, is suggesting Simpson look to Uganda’s standards of beauty in order to feel better about herself.

“In Uganda, fat is beautiful,” Joe told Life & Style magazine. “(Jessica is) always scrutinized by the world. Beauty starts from within.” Jessica and her hairdresser Ken Paves were recently in Uganda filming her new reality show, “The Price of Beauty,” which premieres in 2010.

Keep your swine flu to yourself
This just landed in the Scoop inbox from Us Weekly: Melissa Rycroft has revealed she has swine flu.

In an exclusive statement, the “Dancing With the Stars” and “Bachelor” veteran said, “Like most people who become infected, I thought I had a mild case of the common flu, but when my symptoms exacerbated, I immediately went to the hospital where I was diagnosed with H1N1 and given the proper medications to cure the infection.”

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Although I hope Rycroft is feeling better, no one outside her family needs to know about her swine flu.

The argument to be made when celebrities back a cause or draw attention to an issue is that they’re bringing extra resources to bear by publicizing their situation. I think in this case, the scores of doctors imploring people to be vaccinated for and be cautious about H1N1 have the situation under control.

So if swine flu doesn’t necessarily need a celeb for attention, that leads me to believe Rycroft is subscribing to the corollary, that a celeb needs swine flu for attention … or at the very least, for a reason to put out a press release.

‘Wild Things’ prepare to pounce on box office
Three major releases plus the expansion of a surprise indie hit will make for a busy weekend at theaters.

The biggies include “Law Abiding Citizen,” and given the lukewarm reviews, it sounds like the film’s biggest asset will be its oft-shirtless star, Gerard Butler. There’s also horror flick “The Stepfather,” but even though it’s a popular genre, the odds of it (or “Law Abiding Citizen”) toppling “Where the Wild Things Are” are slim.

“Wild Things” should be No. 1. But there’s the possibility that the little indie film that could, “Paranormal Activity,” could surprise. It finally gets a wide release this weekend.

Courtney Hazlett delivers the Scoop Monday through Friday on msnbc.com. Follow Scoop on Twitter @courtneyatmsnbc

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