The Weekly Casting Couch: Sandra Bullock, Kate Walsh, Olivia Thirlby, Kathy Griffin

Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Walsh, Julie Andrews, Olivia Thirlby, Shannon Lucio, Norah Jones and the cast of Precious lead this installment of the Hollywood Trade Roundup, a collection of hotties making headlines in The Hollywood Reporter and Daily Variety.

The Twilight vampires ruled the box-office for the second week in a row as New Moon added $42 million in holiday ticket sales, increasing its cume to a massive $230 million as moviegoers made room for Kristen Stewart and sappy romance during the long Thanksgiving weekend. Sandra Bullock’s The Blind Side finished second with $40.1 million.

Gwyneth Paltrow has joined Leighton Meester and Tim McGraw in the drama Love Don't Let Me Down, the story of a singer-songwriter who falls in love with a fallen country singer (Paltrow). Meester will play a beauty queen-turned-singer. Production begins in January in Nashville.

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Private Practice’s Kate Walsh has been tapped to star alongside Jeremy Piven, Thomas Dekker and Lynn Collins in Waska, an indie film also starring Mira Sorvino and Elizabeth McGovern. Walsh’s role has not yet been disclosed in the story of a father whose son freezes to death during a fishing trip.

Juno's Olivia Thirlby will star in The No Name Game, a feature that tells the story of an adopted Upper West Side Jewish girl who travels to Israel and discovers her birth parents were Palestinian. Marcia Gay Harden and recent Emmy winner Shohreh Aghadashloo co-star.

Gay icon Julie Andrews will appear at London’s O2 Arena on May 8, where she returns to the British stage for the first time in three decades. The singer-actress had non-cancerous throat nodules removed in 1997 that initially left her unable to sing.

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Aunjanue Ellis has joined the cast of CBS’ sophomore drama The Mentalist, where she will play the tough new head of the California Bureau of Investigation. She is set to join the show in April. Her credits include The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3.

Recognizing the year’s best in independent films, the 19^th annual Gotham Awards kicked off awards season by awarding a pair of prizes to the Iraq War drama The Hurt Locker, whose director, Kathryn Bigelow, received a career tribute at the ceremony.

The Spirit Awards, which also honor indie films — but with a budget of less than $20 million — also announced nominations this week, as Precious was among the leaders with five mentions. The story of an inner-city teen who finds support from a lesbian teacher, also received nominations for Gabourey Sidibe for female lead, where she’ll face Helen Mirren, Maria Bello, Nisreen Faour and Gwyneth Paltrow. Precious’ Mo’Nique also earned a nomination for supporting actress, where her competition includes Dina Korzun, Samantha Morton, Natalie Press and Mia Wasikowska.

HBO fanger True Blood got another step closer to finally collecting some awards as the Alan Ball drama was nominated for a Producers Guild of America award. Cable led the nominees, with 20 programs up for awards as the broadcast networks collected six: Lost, 30 Rock, The Office, The Amazing Race, 60 Minutes and American Idol. Kathy Griffin’s My Life on the D-List earned a nomination in the nonfiction TV category. The PGA Awards will be announced Jan. 24 during a ceremony at the Hollywood Palladium.

Shannon Lucio has joined True Blood, where she will play Caroline Compton, the Civil War-era wife to Stephen Moyer’s Vampire Bill. Amber Dawn Landrum played the character in a flashback during the first season. Shooting of the upcoming third season began this week in Los Angeles. Lucio’s credits include stints on Grey’s Anatomy and Prision Break.

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Turning to music sales, “The Fall,” Norah Jones’ latest, entered the Billboard 200 albums chart at No. 3 as sales of John Mayer’s “Battle Studies” and Andrea Bocelli’s “My Christmas” finished at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively. Carrie Underwood’s “Play On” slid from No. 3 to No. 9, and Taylor Swift’s “Fearless” dropped five slots to No. 10.

Looking to the weekend at the boxoffice, the Oscar race heats up as the Natalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhaal and Tobey Maguire starrer Brothers leads the four wide openers. Other new releases include Everybody’s Fine, starring Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale and Robert De Niro; Armored, the thriller with a cast including Jean Reno, Matt Dillon and Laurence Fishburne; and the horror-thriller Transylvania. In limited release, Up in the Air, one of the main Oscar best picture contenders, opens on 10 screens; Serious Moonlight, with Kristen Bell and Meg Ryan, also bows on a few screens.

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