'Eclipse': Purported script hits Internet

A purported script for Eclipse, Summit Entertainment’s third Twilight film, has landed on the Internet. The studio would not confirm whether the 112-page draft is authentic, but a source close to Summit tells EW that the document being circulated is not a final shooting script. The name of actor Jackson Rathbone(pictured) is watermarked onto the pages of the script. A call to Rathbone’s manager was not immediately returned. Last May, a draft for New Moon popped up online, and that sequel went on to earn $683 million worldwide (and counting).

The leak follows reports, denied by Summit, that the much-anticipated film screened for test audiences last weekend. Eclipse is set to release this June.

PETA Features Michelle Obama in Ad Without Her Consent

PETA, the animal rights group, is featuring Michelle Obama in an ad with Oprah Winfrey, Carrie Underwood and Tyra Banks without the first lady's permission. PETA's position is that it is honoring her -- and the other stars -- for not wearing fur.

"We did not consent to it," Semonti M. Stephens, a spokesman for Mrs. Obama, told Politics Daily on Wednesday,

The banners, posted at the Dupont Circle and Friendship Heights subway stations in Washington, are headlined "Fur-Free and Fabulous!" There are also two vans driving around Washington with a similar message, and serving hot soy cocoa.

Stephens has said Mrs. Obama does not wear fur.

PETA President Ingrid Newkirk told Politics Daily on Wednesday that using Mrs. Obama's image is "fair game" because the organization is "reporting a fact . . . that she is fur-free" -- as any news organization would.

"So we are reporting that she is fur-free, which is a fact and our opinion is that makes her pretty fabulous."

The East Wing, she said, "could never give their permission for something like that. It is a compliment to her. We are honoring her, by making her a prime figure with women who have sworn off fur."

The ad campaign will remain up as long as it is cold; that should be awhile.

I asked Newkirk if this wasn't just a publicity stunt. She replied, "That's our job, to put out the message of how animals suffer far and wide."

Groups with shoe-string ad budgets have learned how to leverage a few relatively cheap ads to get national attention. PETA's poster ad buy in Washington, a media center, translated into stories (yes, including this one) in national broadcast, print and Web outlets. The East Wing is not pleased, but if officials complained, it would only generate more publicity.

The exception is when the privacy of the Obama daughters, Malia and Sasha, is at issue. Last August, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine posted advertising posters at Washington's Union Station. The campaign promoting healthy school lunches referred to the Obama girls. The posters stayed up despite calls from White House lawyers to take them down and spokesman Robert Gibbs calling them a "publicity stunt."

Michael Cera & Jersey Shore's Pauly D & JWoww (PHOTOS)

Michael Cera is riding the publicity wave of the "Jersey Shore" and has eaten some pizza with JWoww and done his hair with Pauly D.

Cera stars in "Youth In Revolt," which opens this Friday.

Pauly tweeted that his is in NY filming a bit for the film, so watch out for a tight turnaround to have it make the movie. But a publicist said he's filming a bit for an MTV special airing Thursday.

PHOTOS:

GERARD BUTLER: EATING FOR 300

Everyone likes to let themselves go and over indulge a little bit during the holidays.

But looking at Hollywood hunk Gerard Butler's flabby gut, this dude has been slacking on his diet for some time.

You don't develop a paunch and man boobs like that overnight.

And he certainly didn't look like that when he appeared as a buff gladiator in the movie ''300.''

So Gerard, if only to keep your female fans happy, hit the gym and keep off the burgers for a few weeks and those love-handles will disappear.

Teri Hatcher Dons A Fat Suit (VIDEO)

Teri Hatcher looked like she'd gained more than a few pounds over the holidays on Sunday night's episode of 'Desperate Housewives.' Lucky for Teri, that's just because she was wearing a fat suit for a hypothetical dream sequence.

In the scene Susan Meyer has stayed with her ex-husband, Karl, and she comfort eats her way through revelations of his infidelity. Here she shares a scene with Mike, who is still just her plumber.

WATCH:

Aston Martin Cygnet: Small But Not Cheap

Toyota-based small car will likely come to America

The Toyota iQ-based Aston Martin Cygnet will set a new standard for small (and we mean really small) luxury cars when it goes on sale in Europe in 2010. (Aston Martin)

The reason for the first trend is clear: legislation of fleet fuel averages and emissions, as well as gas prices, tend to favor smaller cars. And since automakers known more for larger luxury cars are no more exempt from those realities than isKia, they will be responsible for the second trend.

Premium brands offering smaller cars at premium prices is nothing new in Europe. Prices over the pond don't directly translate to their equivalents in U.S. dollars, but In London, for instance, a base, 3-door Toyota Yaris starts at £10,040, or $16,614. The Mercedes-Benz of small car offerings, the A Class -- which is about 5 inches shorter than the Yaris -- is £14,290, or $22,831. The difference is explained in the brand argument, which is held to be the same for small cars as for large. You pay more for the Mercedes, and in return you get Mercedes engineering, luxury, and brand cachet.

For the American car buyer, having been raised to equate "small" with "cheap to buy and cheaper to own," that will be a harder argument to win. The Mini is generally credited for initiating the U.S. market into the idea that small doesn't mean inexpensive: a base Mini Cooper, before you've even put metallic paint on it, is $19,500. Go for the Mini Cooper S and you're talking about $23,000. That's more than a Chevy Camaro.

But that hasn't stopped BMW from selling as many as it could build. What's more, following in its tire tracks and headed this way will soon be dinky runabouts like the Audi A1 and Fiat 500, and potentially the Mercedes A Class and B Class cars and a Porsche that will be the spiritual successor to the 914. They'll be small. They won't be cheap.

Gallery: Aston Martin Cygnet

Nevertheless, those examples center on cars that have expanded a parent company's portfolio but haven't compromised the brand's image. Mercedes makes smart cars, but no one confuses them with Mercedes. The Mercedes A- and B Class might be inexpensive Mercedes', but they're still sufficient representatives of the 3-pointed star.

At the opposite pole is a small car unlike any other we can remember: the Cygnet, a union of the world's premier luxury brands and one of the world's premier budget brands. The Cygnet, you see, is a Toyota iQ dressed up to look like an Aston Martin.

Aston Martin and Lexus shared a pitlane garage at last year's Nurburgring 24-Hour race. Aston CEO Dr. Ulrich Bez had a few words with Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda, and it is said that that's where the idea for the Cygnet began.

Aston's official explanation for Cygnet, likened to "an exclusive tender to a luxury yacht," is that it "represents a creative, environmentally conscious solution, being small, yet with presence — and highly fuel efficient, now combined with the prestige of Aston Martin's luxury brand ownership." Dr. Bez said the Cygnet is a "distinctive, intelligent and exclusive solution for urban travel in style and luxury," and that it "will allow us to apply Aston Martin design language, craftsmanship and brand values to a completely new segment of the market."

How will it do that? It's all in the dressing.

Toyota will ship iQs to Aston Martin's factory in Gaydon, England. There will only be one mechanical spec available, fitted with a 1.3-liter, 97-hp engine and a CVT transmission. There, the tiny car's exterior will be reshaped with Aston cues like hood and side scoops, pull-out door handles, new taillights, and a miniature version of Aston's grille. It also rides on exclusive wheels larger than the iQs standard rims. And it has Aston badges.

Inside, the revamp will be more compelling. The iQ gets thick, hand-stitched leather slathered everywhere, veneers, different instrument details, and the Emotion Control Unit key system that James Bond showed off to glorious effect in Casino Royale. Most importantly, though, buyers will have access to the same range of customization options they would get if buying a more traditional Aston, so a Cygnet could end up costing as much as an E Class.

The first question you probably have about this car is "What does 'cygnet' mean?" That one is easy: it means a young swan.

Your next question, "But why?", doesn't have an answer that anyone outside Aston has yet pinned down.

Aston said that about 30% of its buyers have a small car, like a Mini or smart fortwo, that they use for quick trips. In that case, there's no reason Aston should leave BMW and Mercedes to make that money, and the Cygnet will help keep Aston owners in the brand family round-the-clock. As well, unlike Bentley and Rolls-Royce, Aston has no corporate parent selling more efficient vehicles that could offset Aston's understandably elevated emissions and fuel consumption figures: the Cygnet gets 48.9 miles to the gallon and emits 120 g/km of CO2. The most frugal Aston gets about 16 mpg and emits 318 g/km of CO2. Those kinds of numbers can make a huge difference in a lineup with just four cars.

Aston hasn't released an exact price, but suggested something in the neighborhood of €25,000 to €30,000, which equates to $36,000 to $43,000 in the U.S. In Germany that base Toyota iQ retails for €17,200. Those U.S. prices don't matter for the time being, though, since the Cygnet will only be sold in Europe to begin with, and only to Aston Martin owners. Production numbers have been estimated to be anywhere from 1,000 to 4,000 annually, which would be about 20% of Aston's sales on the low end, 80% on the high end.

The Cygnet is expected to go into production at the end of 2010 and eventually zoom on over here to the States. Aston will have plenty of time to tweak its strategy before that happens, and it will also have plenty of bellweathers to monitor: the small cars on the way from mass market luxury makers will help take the American buyer's pulse, and the Scion version of the iQ is said to be arriving next year. In the meantime the English maker of bespoke luxury cars will be making sure its reputation isn't cratered by applying its brand of lipstick to the eminently kissable lips of a Toyota iQ.

As one would expect of Aston, however, the Cygnet will have one final trick up its sleeve in comparison to every other supermini unveiled by a mass market luxury maker: since you need to own an Aston to buy a Cygnet, the cheapest Cygnet will set you back about $140,000. At that price, no one will ever doubt that you have bought the Aston Martin of small cars.

The North Pole is moving!

According to National Geographic, a new research study shows that the magnetic North Pole is changing positions at a surprisingly quick pace, sliding towards Russia at a speed of about 40 miles per year. Traditionally, the Pole has been located in Northern Canada, but these rapid shifts are causing it to jump dramatically.

Scientists believe that changes deep within the Earth's molten core are to blame for the shift, although it is difficult to measure and track those changes. Researchers have detected a disturbance on the surface of the core that is creating a "magnetic plume" which is responsible for the change in the Pole's location, but how that plume was created remains a mystery.

The shifting of the magnetic pole is not quite as problematic as it once would have been. For centuries the North Pole has been used for navigational purposes, but for the most part, standard compasses have been replaced with sophisticated GPS tracking systems. Still, many explorers, mountaineers, backpackers, and the like still prefer using a compass over an electronic device. As the pole shifts position, they'll need to learn to take into account its new location when plotting their course.

At this point, scientists are unsure exactly how far the pole will move or if it will become a permanent shift in location. The mysterious plume could dissipate and cause the pole to return to its original position, not far from Canada's Ellesmere Island, or it could continue to move for years to come.

Did Tiger's Troubles Cost His Corporate Sponsors $12 billion?

A new study by a pair of University of California Davis economics professors suggests that the Tiger Woods scandal has cost his corporate sponsors as much as $12 billion. If the study was correct -- and I think it's silly -- then one might ask: Should Woods compensate his sponsors for their lost value? If so, he'll be in serious financial trouble, because his wife wants half of his $1 billion net worth, which would leave him with a mere $500 million to pay back those sponsors.

Who are these professors and what is their angle? Victor Stango, a professor at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management and his colleague, UC Davis professor Christopher Knittel,found that seven of Tiger's publicly-traded sponsors -- including Accenture (ACN); AT&T (T); Electronic Arts (ERTS), maker of Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf; Procter and Gamble (PG), for which he endorses Gillette; Nike (NKE); and PepsiCo (PEP), for which he hawks Gatorade -- lost a total of 2.3%, or $12 billion of their market value, during the 13 trading days between Nov. 27, the date of Woods car crash, and Dec. 17, a week after he left golf.

Also on the list of sponsors -- TLC Laser Eye Centers, which is in Chapter 11 and was delisted from NASDAQ on Dec. 17, coincidentally, the final day of Stango and Knittel's study. It's stock value has been hovering near zero for months, long before Woods' issues came to light.

The study also mysteriously claims to include the stock price changes of Conde Nast (publisher of the Tiger-sponsoring Golf Digest), which is not publicly traded.

Regardless of those minor flaws, I don't think this is the right way to measure the effect of Tiger's departure from golf -- or his fall from his pedestal -- on his sponsors. If the impact of Woods' departure is so terrible, why has Nike stock risen 3.1% since it announced its continued support for him Dec. 11? And why is Accenture stock roughly unchanged since Dec. 11, when it pulled images of Tiger off its website and announced it would discontinue its relationship with him?

These data points suggest that it is poor reasoning to suggest anything more than a weak correlation between a company's stock price and its association -- or lack thereof -- with a sports icon. If Tiger's situation mattered to Nike's stock market value, then one would expect that his departure from golf would cost Nike sales, and its stock would fall accordingly. And if he was so important to Accenture's market value, then the lack of change in that value since Accenture started to separate from Woods would not make sense.

The simple reality is that nobody knows why stocks go up and down. These professors' efforts to relate Woods' troubles to his sponsors' stock market values is good for drawing attention to their work, but I am not sure that their scholarship stands up to the scrutiny.

In my humble opinion, there is probably very little relationship between a sports star's promotion of a company like Nike or Accenture, and that company's financial or stock market performance. It's difficult to make a clear connection between having Tiger as a sponsor and people's decision to buy that company's products or services.

My hunch is that affiliating with a sports star like Tiger is more a balm to management's ego than a boost to the company's financial or stock market performance. It may be similar to a company's decision to put its name on a sports stadium or to build a huge new headquarters building. If Tiger got to be a billionaire by letting his likeness appear in some corporate advertisements, no crime was committed.

Nor is it a crime for these professors to claim that Tiger's misbehavior slashes the stock market value of his sponsors. But this particular snapshot of the markets doesn't do much to illuminate whether superstar spokes-athletes affect the stock values of their sponsors or not.