Christina Ricci had a make to a quick pit stop to pick up a six-pack of the life force that keeps Hollywood running, Diet Coke. Ricci wasn't sure if she was running low at her house, but the svelte Speed Racer star's sixth sense kicked in. Ricci said, "I was just driving back from the gym and I just felt this need to stop at the first place I saw and get a six pack of Diet Coke. I was feeling really tense and anxious and then I put that six pack in my hands. It just went away. As if the entire weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders." Upon leaving the store, Ricci gently placed the six-pack in the front seat and strapped it with a seat belt.

Pierce Brosnan waving to fans on his way out of Da Silvano ... Agyness Deyn taking her puppies for a walk, iced coffee in hand ... Lourdes Leon checking out her manicure outside Madonna's Upper West Side apartment ... Kirsten Dunst carrying a stack of magazines and a cup of lemonade through SoHo ... John Mayer leaving his apartment downtown, en route to a gig on Long Island ... Carolyn Murphy, Gwyneth Paltrow and Elizabeth Hurley outside the Waverly Inn.

No blog, talking head or alcoholic British songbird can compete with PETA when it comes to snark. For decades, the animal lovers have verbally beheaded countless starlets for their fur and snakeskin accessories, but only recently have their targets bitten back. After seeing a recent photo of plumper-than-usual Jessica Simpson sporting one of those so-last-season message t-shirts reading "Real Girls Eat Meat," we wondered how many of her peers have boldly set themselves up for one of PETA's trademark white powder massacres. Having called Nicole Richie "an incredible shrinking woman with the heart to match," advising Ashley Olsen that "wearing fur does add 20 pounds, but if [she] wants to fill out her frame, we suggest using a fork instead," and telling Lindsay Lohan "there's no road to recovery for the foxes who are anally electrocuted so that you can look skanky," has PETA inspired any other starlets to publicly react just as vehemently? We take a look at the ongoing battles after the jump.

Mixing two high-profile sects like A-list stars and fashionistas will inevitably result in a bit of drama, but at Monday night's Costume Institute Gala, drama took on a whole new meaning. Catfights! Divas! Public Displays Of Aggression! From Christina Ricci's early departure to Peacock King's Jeff Zucker's bitchy avoidance of Darth Weinstein on the red carpet, everyone's claws were out on Monday night. Adding fuel to the fire, one married actress decided to show up to the event sans wedding ring amid rumors of a pending divorce. All the details, including Jennifer Aniston's fling-of-the-week's comments on whether or not the whole mushy affair is for real, after the jump.

Speed Racer doesn't have enough going for it, evidently, for Warner Bros. to sell an April 25 sneak preview in Los Angeles on its own hotly anticipated merits. And its venue partners at the ImaginAsian Theater apparently could take or leave stars Emile Hirch, Christina Ricci, Susan Sarandon and others. No, what this movie really needs is a boost from one of the world's most famous international pop stars to get people interested — i.e. Rain, the Korean sensation (and Speed Racer co-star) whose profile dwarfs the WB tentpole by comparison. And with free, first-come-first-served seats, we imagine a perfectly calm crowd will be on hand to join him. Follow the jump for details about joining the riot.

Not having done enough Google legwork, BlackBook's George Gurley asked Christina Ricci, "What's it like being the face of Louis Vuitton?" Her reaction: "The actress paused. Then she said, 'Well, I'm not anymore. I was one of four actresses that they used in a campaign once and it was really fun. I liked it. I would like to be the face of Louis Vuitton. I am not, however. You know who is? Scarlett Johansson is the face of Louis Vuitton. Wrong interview.'" [WWD]

Christina Ricci is on the cover of this month's BlackBook magazine, talking about her role in the upcoming weirdo futuristic kind-of-cartoony live action Wachowski brothers-directed action zoom zoom anime car movie jam Speed Racer. And look at her! In the car! With the little bob haircut and purple bathing costume! She's come a long way from Casper. Click through for larger image and a Speed Racer trailer. [Image via Splash]

Svelte actress Christina Ricci objected to the vegetable tray presented to her while on the set of New York, I Love You. Ricci explained to the craft services caterer that she only eats organic vegetables. The caterer rolled her eyes and quietly said, "I bought this at Whole Foods."

Over-sharey reporter George Gurley interviewed Christina Ricci for the upcoming issue of Black Book. They've got the SEXY PHOTOS of disconcertingly tiny Ms. Ricci up at their site, but you might be more interested in the Observer columnist embarrassing himself a bit, as would be his wont if he was capable of embarrassment. After the jump, Ricci, who is trying to promote some sort of movie about a speedy racer, makes the mistake of looking at Gurley's notepad.

[Actress Christina Ricci arriving at the Today show this morning; image via Splash]

Looks like Penelope co-stars Christina Ricci and Reese Witherspoon could learn a thing or two from touchy-feely new couple Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman: when co-starring in a film that's not guaranteed to be a hit, don't stop at matching haircuts and standing thisclose together at the premiere. Go in for the kill already! Holding on to each other and smiling from ear to ear (but not rear to rear), Reesetina looked almost as lovey-dovey as ScarNat at the LA premiere of Penelope last night, but one set of tattooed cleavage does not a Fake Kiss make.

The petite actress with quirky looks and bulging eyes is a favorite of goths and indie film fans.

• The final verdict on Britney's VMA disaster: "She danced like she had a pantload." You stay classy, Post! [NYP]
  

Not that you've never seen Christina Ricci's nipples before, but here's your latest chance to reacquaint yourself with one of her runaway areolas. [Egotastic]

If you don't mind how the posts tend to stick together, our pervy cousin Fleshbot is always a great place to go for the latest in XXX takes on Hollywood releases. In the grand tradition of The Da Vinci Load, then, we present for you their latest discovery—Black Snake Boned!. Amazingly enough, the filmmakers have somehow spun the quaint source material—about a white, Southern, nymphomaniac party girl chained to a radiator by a physically intimidating African American bent on "taming" her—into something more appropriate for adult fare.

· Directors Bryan Singer and Gus Van Sant race to be first into production with their competing biopics about Harvey Milk (The Mayor of Castro Street and The Untitled Fuck Bryan Singer, I'm Doing This Anyway Project, respectively), the first openly gay elected official in America. [Variety]
· Appropriately cartoon-like actress Christina Ricci joins the cast of Warner Bros.' Speed
Racer adaptation, joining Susan Sarandon, John Goodman, and Emile "The Wachowskis Were Big Fans Of My Understated Work In 'The Girl Next Door'" Hirsch. [THR]
· A pick-up happy Showtime renews The Tudors and This American Life for second seasons, then greenlights a new Tracey Ullman series, State of the Union, in which the semichameleonic actress could disguise herself as "Arianna Huffington in her Los Angeles boudoir, David Beckham and wife Victoria with the L.A. Galaxy or Nancy Pelosi at her D.C. dermatologist" in any given episode. [Variety]
· NBC cleans house on its returning summer-schedule-filler competition shows, jettisoning the old faces of America's Got Talent, The Biggest Loser, and Last Comic Standing in favor of fresh hosting meat. [THR]
· Var philosopher-king Peter Bart asks deceptively "trivial" questions of Hollywood designed to melt the industry's collective, underutilized mind. [Variety]

With the first Love-Crazed-Astronaut-related project now officially jammed into the development pipleline (even one that's only tangentially connected, but apparently sold on astro-sizzle), studios that want to stay on the cutting edge of fundamentally cinematic batshit-level insanity should already be scrambling to discover the next unhinged hotness. In the interest of making their jobs a little easier, we introduce you the The Valentine's Day She-Vampire:

Send sightings to tips@gawker.com
· "Where: Loews 42nd St Theatre Who: Jimmy Fallon JF looked a lot older in person — maybe because he was so uncharacteristically subdued. My friend thought he was very plain looking. We were, however, impressed by his Yoji Yamamoto Adidas sneakers (they�re like $400!!).
· in LA: "Bill Maher smoking dope in his limousine with Dennis Miller in front of the CBS Artist's Entrance on Beverly in LA. Every Wednesday. He leaves the doors open to be cooler."
· "just saw the poser punk rockers from Good Charlotte on 54 Street, they look like they just walked out of a mall."

· Jeff Soref, the openly gay heir to the Masterlock fortune who's an up-and-comer in the Democratic Party and "controls the wallets and pocketbooks of gays and lesbians nationwide" is being talked about as a potential successor to DNC treasurer Andrew Tobias. [Page Six]
· Candace Bushnell is responsible for the term "toxic bachelor," which she coined when writing her "Sex in the City" column for the Observer. [Page Six]
· Cher's wig has been stolen! Cher's wig has been stolen! OH! MY! GOD! [Page Six]
· Salman Rushdie, one of Those People who bring up Iraq at dinner parties, was doing just that to fellow partygoer Al Pacino recently. [Cindy Adams]
· Maer Roshan, when asked "what if something happens" to the writer he dispatched to Baghdad on behalf of Radar: "Just pray that he first sent in the story." [Cindy Adams]
· Liz Smith notes that Harvey Weinstein's "Mila 18" project has been in development for years. [Liz Smith]
· Christina Ricci gets naked in her next role. (She plays a lesbian serial killer.) [NY Daily News]