Ask the Answer B!tch

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Why are most stars Democrats? You would think as high wage earners, they would be Republicans.
—Dawn

Remember: Top-paid actors are also members of a massive union—the Screen Actors Guild. Unions traditionally see themselves as underdogs against a more powerful class, in this case, studio heads, film financiers and other producers. Stars know that they wouldn't get half the perks they enjoy—rest periods, minimum pay—without their union.

So their pay may give them something in common with the Bush family, but their culture does not. Unless you count Heidi and Spencer; they're Republicans.

You see celebs attending all kinds of sporting events. So have any celebs been to the Olympic Games this year?
—Becky

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Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

How do you get VIP or backstage passes at concerts? I'm not a crazy, but I would love to meet Foo Fighters next time they play here.
—Jenna, Melville, N.Y.

I'd like to take this opportunity to dedicate this column to Kevin, That Other Jonas, who gets such little love from the kids. Everyone is always going on about Foo Fighters or Rihanna or the two hot Jonas Brothers. Doesn't anyone want to hang out backstage with What's-His-Name Jonas? Kevin? No?

Anyway, no matter. From what I learned today from Industry insiders, you stand very little chance of a backstage meeting with any of the above. Sorry. Actually, no I'm not. But I am fairly certain in my convictions. Find out exactly what's wrong with you after the jump.

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Paul Fenton/ZumaPress.com, AP Photo/Chris Pizzello

Is The Suite Life's Brenda Song Disney's next billion-dollar cash cow?
—Lizzie

Knock it off. You're making Selena Gomez cry.

See, Disney is trying awfully hard to make us like Brenda Song. First she appeared in two Disney shows—Phil of the Future and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. Then came her Disney movie, Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior, which showcased Song's martial arts skills and singing chops. Next up is The Suite Life on Deck.

"Next she might do records, fashion and online entertainment," says Darrell Miller, a branding expert and lawyer now negotiating offers for Idol contestant Syesha Mercado.

But Song isn't Big Media's only new walking ATM. Another rising star has just been signed—and if Song and Gomez are the next Miley Cyruses, then Nickelodeon is replacing Jamie Lynn Spears with...

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AP Photo/Matt Sayles

Jennifer Hudson literally went from zero to hero thanks to her role in Dreamgirls. She also went from fashion nobody to fashionista in about 10 seconds. When stars are newly famous, who hooks them up with publicists, stylists, makeup and hair people for their first red carpet appearances? How do they get couture gowns if it's their first starring role and nobody really knows them yet?
—Erin, South Africa

Usually, their managers or agents. Unlike the stars, who are new, the agents are not, and they know everybody. Now, let's shine a light on more of your Burning Q's!

Oh, you amazing B!tch! Whatever happened to the season-three cast of Laguna Beach? Please give me more intellect on the matter, great Answer B!tch!
—Ramsay, London

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Merie Weismiller Wallac/Dreamworks

What's with movies opening up on Wednesdays? First Pineapple Express and now Tropic Thunder as well.
—Lee

The release date for Tropic Thunder actually was changed before that of Pineapple Express.

According to Chad Hartigan of Exhibitor Relations, movie ticket sales gradually slow down as August progresses. So the Thunder people decided to open a few days earlier, to sell as many tickets as possible among the coveted teen-male crowd before they all started heading back to school.

Then the Pineapple people found out what the Thunder people were planning. Like Thunder, Pineapple is aimed at the teen-male audience. But now it would have only five days in theaters before Thunder moved in. So the Pineapple people, too, moved back their date, Hartigan speculates, so that it could a few more days to itself.

Now, on to more of your Burning Q's!

Do you think that Britney Spears can ever really make a comeback?
—Autumn

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AP Photo / Tammie Arroyo

How do famous design houses manage to hook up celebrities with dresses than are often hideous? Shouldn't they know what looks hot and what doesn't?
— Ryan

Hot is relative, my dear. Look at Jennifer Aniston, poor little spud-faced thing. Eyes like a Siberian husky, she has. And yet some people just adore her looks, and think she's a Greek goddess in the manner of Aphrodite or Persephone. Then there's Sarah Jessica Parker. Someone at Vogue must have thought she was pretty, because they put her on the cover a few months back.

Same deal with designer dresses and accessories. One person's hideous is another person's irresistible. Otherwise, how do we explain ScarJo in that scary red-orange dress on the left that makes her look like a roadside warning cone? Or Jennifer Hudson in that space bolero at the Oscars? We don't. That's how.

But you can't blame only the designer for creating an ugly dress. What about the middlemen? The minions? Find out who the real sinners are when it comes to bad red carpet looks, after the jump.

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It is interesting that as kids both Jodie Foster and Lindsay Lohan starred in Freaky Friday and they both might be gay. Is there a connection?
—Putter

Yes, absolutely. Freaky Friday gives you the Gay. The world of science may now put that mystery to rest. Onward, with more of your stunningly insightful Burning Q's!

Why did you let E! Online split your answers so that readers must jump to another page to finish reading? Can ya make them switch it back? Please? Pretty please?
—Shannon

Find out—after the jump!

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Jim Spellman/WireImage.com, Nick Harvey/WireImage.com

I don't want to sound jaded, but why is there a criminal investigation into Heath Ledger's death? Thousands of people overdose every year, but I don't see a federal case being made out of their deaths. What's up with that?
—T. Freckleton

Apparently, anyone who dies of a prescription-drug overdose attracts the attention of the Drug Enforcement Administration. When Heath Ledger first died in January, the DEA insisted it was "routine," in the words of a spokesperson, for them to look into possible illegal sales of the drugs involved—in light of doctor shopping and whatnot.

I normally wouldn't buy that line, especially given the number of agents who were apparently leaping like horny salmon all over Mary-Kate Olsen and anyone else who ever breathed the same air as Ledger. It all seemed way too eager and special.

But there is one piece of information that leads me to believe that the DEA is largely telling the truth. Find out more about what I know, after the jump.

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Sony Pictures

I'm wondering about straight-to-video releases. It has to be obvious to everyone involved during filming that the movie they had hoped would be "box-office magic" is actually a stinker, especially when the lead actors are terrible (hello, Jessica Simpson!). So why go through with something that not only has no hope of ever making any money but will eventually be an embarrassment for all?
—CJM

You obviously speak of the Simpson bomb Blonde Ambition. You should know that clunker was made for the nearly microscopic—in Hollywood terms—sum of somewhere between $10 million and $12 million. Not even a Woody Allen movie is that cheap. Obviously these producers thought if the movie was inexpensive enough, they would have to make at least a little profit. They, shall we say, miscalculated, though the movie did reach No. 1...in Ukraine.

However, you should know that some movies are made with the express intention of skipping theaters and going straight to disc. The big motivation: saving money, not losing it. Find out which actors and cult-hit franchises are benefiting from the flourishing straight-to-DVD market, after the jump.

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Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

I really like that M.I.A. single "Paper Planes." But I hear she supports terror. Is that true? Is she a terrorist?
—Mela, Los Angeles

Don't bother trying to catch M.I.A. at the border. Haven't you seen the Pineapple Express trailer? She's got papers in her name!

For the record, M.I.A., also known as Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam, is a Sri Lankan ethnic Tamil who spent much of her childhood in England. Her father is credited as a cofounder of a militant pro-Tamil group EROS, which, in turn, was once linked to the Tamil Tigers. The Tigers have been labeled a terrorist group by many countries, including the United States.

In a 2005 interview, M.I.A. was adamant that she doesn't support terror:

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With all the warnings and advisories on the hazards of smoking, why are so many of the younger celebs, like Katherine or Britney, seen with cigarettes just smoking away?
—Mij

Remember: People who quit smoking tend to gain weight. As nutritional psychologist Marc David recently told a London paper: "It's a choice, really. You are choosing possible lung cancer and death over treating your body with respect, all in an effort to be slim." Also consider: About 23 percent of men in the United States smoke. Same deal with women: Just over 20 percent. Why do all those other people smoke? You go ahead and start with the men, and I’ll wait over here and answer still more of your Burning Q's.

What is Lindsay Lohan's most-successful/highest-grossing movie to date?
—Rachel

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Is Joe Jonas dating anyone?
—Cinderella

If you believe Vanessa Hudgens—and, really, who doesn't?—then he may be dating Chelsea Staub. When Staub's name came up in a CosmoGirl interview that runs this weekend, Hudgens says, "Isn't she dating Joe [Jonas]?"

The CosmoGirl reporter then notes that Vanessa "catch[es] herself, as if realizing she'd broken some celeb code of secrecy."

"I mean, she's been seen with him," Hudgens then grins to the reporter.

As if that weren't fascinating enough, I now proceed to more of your Burning Q's!

Is Hannah Montana the show really ending after this season?
—Adorable

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