Here’s some WTF news: James Franco has signed on for a role on “General Hospital,” which will have him hanging in Port Charles for two months. According to Soapnet, “He’ll be playing a mysterious character who will ... make Jason’s life a living hell.” Jason is a mobster who was once a prepster who went bad after a head injury. I stopped watching “General Hospital” after Carly 2.0 left and the rest of the cool characters turned into pansies, but I might have to start DVRing this s**t, just to see Franco have deep conversations by the dock, make sweet SFW love under strategically draped sheets, and do that awesome delayed-look-into-the-camera acting technique. [DListed]

It would be more fun if celebrities had to fight to the death for roles. Or maybe casting directors could make them compete in elaborate ropes courses? This week, some very talented celebrities are up for the same roles. James Franco and Robert Pattinson are neck-and-neck for the honor of playing musician Jeff Buckley in a biopic. Meanwhile, producer Dan Lin has announced his plan for another installment of “Tomb Raider.” But could Angelina be out in favor of Megan Fox? After the jump, how we think it will shake out.

• Nine year-old Rubina Ali is more than just an adorable actress from “Slumdog Millionaire”—she’s also a soon-to-be author! [People] – From the description, the memoir sounds just as vivid as the beautiful film.
• Denise Richards talks about her “complicated” life in an interview with PopEater. [Pop Eater]—She actually sounds fairly intelligent! Way to step it up, Denise! Now if you could just stop flaunting your bra straps like a wannabe bimbo…
• Now that James Franco has bailed on giving the UCLA commencement speech, students are rallying together to try to get Conan O’Brien to give it. [Perez]—Here’s hoping they can get the hilarious redhead to show! I will be very jealous if they do.

• “Kill Bill” star David Carradine, 72, was found dead this morning, hanging from a rope in his closet.[Pop Eater]—RIP Carradine.
• James Franco bails on giving the UCLA commencement speech—just two weeks before the big day. [Perez]—He claims he has a scheduling conflict, but I think it might have to do with the fact that most of the student body protested against having him as their speaker.
• Candace Bushnell talks to CNN about her road to success, and the bumps along the way. [CNN]

Reading celebrity Twitters is like flipping to US Weekly‘s “They’re Just Like Us!” section. They whine about bad TV, do battle with technology, and wonder what other people think of them. This week, Nicole Richie’s Blackberry broke, John Mayer was busy, James Franco saw “Star Trek”, Samantha Ronson watched MTV, Karl Lagerfeld tried to make us feel better about buying his clothes, and Mindy Kaling may or may not have gone to Paris for a boob job.

If the best kind of friends are the ones who know how to laugh at themselves, Lindsay Lohan is totes my new BFF. Sure, the girl might be nutso, especially after her split from Samantha Ronson, but I’ll take a dose of the crazy if it makes me snarf my Diet Coke with glee.

Rihanna was spotted getting rather cozy with Wilmer Valderama at Geisha House in Hollywood, where the former “That ‘70s Show” star hosts a weekly karaoke night. Wilmer doesn’t have the best track record on the Hollywood dating scene. He has dated Lindsay Lohan, Mandy Moore, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Ashlee Simpson. And in March 2006 Wilmer went on “The Howard Stern Show” to kiss and tell about his widely publicized relationships. Classy! At this point, anyone is better for Rihanna than Chris Brown, but Wilmer Valderama, really? She can do so much better.

Celebs are fond of dual careers, especially careers that allow them to indulge their many “creative” endeavors—painting, music, fashion design, etc. But with the recent reveal of the cover for Lauren Conrad’s first chick lit novel, “L.A. Candy,” and the news that hot smarty pants, James Franco (he has a degree from Columbia), is working on a book of short stories, it seems “novelist” is the hot new resume addition for the rich and famous. But will Conrad and Franco’s novels be any good? My hunch is a resounding “no,” at least for Conrad’s effort, but I may be willing to give Franco a chance. Of course, they are hardly the first celebs to pick up a pen—after the jump, seven celebrity penned books that should be burned.

The movie business holds the Academy Awards in such high regard it can make or break a distribution deal.  Luckily, actors don’t (always) take themselves so seriously. Aside from the over-the-top gushing that came when past winners introduced the nominees for the acting awards, there were plenty of LOL moments from last night’s Oscars (not including the moment when the camera caught Angelina Jolie laughing at Jennifer Aniston[‘s joke], above). From Styx lyrics in speeches to Steve Martin’s ego mania, here are our five favorite funnies…

“After our kiss, Sean texted Madonna – his ex-wife, Madonna – and said, ‘I just popped my cherry kissing a guy. I thought of you. I don’t know why.”—James Franco in Out

What kissing Franco doesn’t deserve an OMFG?!

Born: April 19, 1978, Time Unknown, Palo Alto, California
Sun Sign: Aries
Ascendant: Unknown
Moon: Virgo
Venus: Taurus
Mars: Leo

2008 was a year filled with ups and downs.  We laughed, we cried, and we captured it all on camera!  While 2009 promises plenty of tears—thanks to Brody Jenner’s upcoming show “Bromance,”, we must honor the whimper that was the past 12 months.  So, to commemorate those who weren’t afraid to just let it all out, here are the Best Cries Of 2008:

10. Kenley Was Finally Humbled On “Project Runway”

Project Runway’s most hatable hack, Kenley, wouldn’t even tone it down when Tim Gunn gave her a talking to, but Diane von Furstenberg was finally able to break her! Just the mere sight of the fashion icon turned Kenley into mush.  Damn, wrap dresses really do amazing things for women!

Nudity expert Mr. Skin complied a list of celebrity ladies who took it all off in the name of their art this past year. From Angelina Jolie to Mena Suvari, there were some choice bare babes, but 2008 didn’t slight the men either. There was a whole lot of manhood captured for movies and even network television. Thanks to these hotties, 2008 will be remembered as the year of nude dudes! In honor of these studs, we’ve put together a list of guys who flash more than their smiles at the cameras. Here’s looking at you, boys!

He’s sexy enough to play James Dean, funny enough to host “Saturday Night Live,” bad enough to play a classic comic book villain, sophisticated enough to be the face of Gucci pour Homme, and brave enough to go gay—twice. James Franco is more than just a pretty face, he’s the kind of actor that at 30 has already earned the respect and admiration of his peers. Ask anyone, from Tinseltown to his hometown: To know James Franco is to love him. In his latest movie, “Milk,” the story of gay activist and San Francisco city supervisor Harvey Milk, he stars alongside Emile Hirsch and Sean Penn. The flick opened over Thanksgiving weekend, and it already has major Oscar buzz. In it, Franco plays, as he says, “the supporting wife” role, Milk’s lover, Scott Smith. It’s a bold move, but James Franco isn’t your average actor. Here’s what we found out about the man behind all those legends.

Last night, I got to sneak a peak of the movie “Milk”, which opens in theaters on November 26th, and James Franco naked, swimming in a pool. I’m not sure which one was more life changing, the booty or the biopic,  but they were both even better than I had dreamed. “Milk,” about the life and times of Harvey Milk, the first gay man elected to public office back in the 1970s, seems unbelievably relevant today with the passing of Prop 8 earlier this month. While the film was shot long before the recent rallies, eerily enough, Milk was largely responsible for stopping California’s Prop 6, which would have made it legal to fire any employee and deny them housing simply because they were gay. The interwoven documentary footage from Milk’s protests look almost identical to that of this past weekend’s Join The Impact nationwide march—same cause, different decade.