The Sex and the City movie was set in New York City, filmed in New York City, and treats New York City like the oft-touted "fifth character" of the story. But last night, it got its world premiere in London. Controversy over New Line Cinema's decision to debut the film across the ocean from its home town almost overshadowed the debut itself. The question "Why London?" followed the four leading ladies onto the sparkly red carpet. When pressed for a reason, producer and star Sarah Jessica Parker explained that that was where their "bosses" decided to have the premiere. Smooth move SJP, but aren't you sort of one of those "bosses" you're so swift to pass the buck to?

In another article via the Telegraph, Cynthia Nixon offers further explanation, saying that they're just "building to the New York premiere," which promises to be a much larger affair than the "smallish premiere" in London's Leicester Square.

Channeling Carrie Bradshaw for a minute here (and then I promise never to do it again): In reading all this hoopla about choosing London over New York, I couldn't help but wonder: At what point does bad press about a movie premiere overshadow the good buzz about the movie itself?

New Line Cinema and/or Parker should think about coming up with some kind of definitive answer to fans' questions. Perhaps London offered better fashion freebies, or a clueless assistant got "Big Ben" and "Big Apple" mixed up. No matter what the real reason is, all too often the speculation is worse. Rumors are nasty things, and Carrie & Co. should know that better than anyone.

File under "Cool TV Shows You Never Thought Would Be Made Into a Movie, But Kinda Always Hoped They Would": Fraggle Rock. That's right, the '80s show from the late, great Head Muppet himself, Jim Henson, is going to be made into a feature film. The musical will take the "core characters" from the show "outside of their home in Fraggle Rock, where they interact with humans, which they think are aliens." It's a lesson in cultural perspective, with puppets!

Adrian Grenier isn't just a pretty face. He wants you to know that his caveman chic beard is hiding a face of concern and consideration. To that end, his Reckless Productions has joined forces with financier John Loar to create what Grenier calls "socially conscious" films and documentaries. According to Variety, Grenier will produce and direct the films, one of which is about the "musical odyssey" of a Los Angeles band as they record an album. The other is a paparazzi-themed film, which at this point is being referred to as "The Untitled Media Culture Documentary." It will examine the "relationship between celebrity and society."

I wonder if it means something that the poster for Kung Fu Panda looks so much like the poster for You Don't Mess With the Zohan.

With the Cannes Film Festival kicking off on Wednesday, the world is buzzing about the 61-year-old festival. Hollywood and indie tend to meet (and compete) at the world's biggest film fest, and this year is no exception.

You'd think it wasn't possible, but it's getting even harder to work with David O. Russell. This time SAG is actually stepping in and making actors leave the set.

We've all heard about the difficulties (that's putting it mildly, isn't it?) of working with director David O. Russell: First, he was a jerk to George Clooney, which is crazy since Clooney is the coolest guy on Earth. But, you know, they still made a damn good movie together, so I forgave Russell that one.

Fans of The Hills can rejoice: Soon, they will be able to see one of the girls from the show really stretching it as an actor -- you know, as opposed to what they do on The Hills, which is to memorize a script. Totally not acting, right? It's a "reality" show, after all.

If it weren't such a terrible movie, I might actually feel a little bad for Speed Racer being such a terrible flop at the box office. But it is, so I don't. And, to top it off, Iron Man was so great that it's easy for me to find immense joy in its second straight week at the top.

Bronte: Fresh from London via the Hollywood Reporter comes news of Natalie Portman's departure from Wuthering Heights. As mentioned last month in the Moviefile, Portman had been tapped for the role of Cathy Earnshaw in John Maybury's adaptation of Emily Bronte's brooding novel of love, revenge, and having the hots for your stepbrother. No reason was given for her splitting from the film, but according to the news, Portman's sudden exit left "financiers, sellers and producers" in a bit of a pickle this close to the Festival de Cannes, where the movie was supposed to be sold. Coincidentally, Portman is on the Feature Film Jury at the Festival, so they're bound to run into each other now and then. Awkward! But Maybury is saying that the English role should go to an Englishwoman, so maybe they did mean to hire Keira Knightley in the first place, after all.

A warning for anyone who insists on going to see Speed Racer: It could cause nausea, seizures, vomiting, or leave the theme song stuck in your head (it's not used enough, but if you know the song, it's enough to leave a mark).

There is also the small problem that it doesn't know what kind of movie it wants to be and therefore makes very little sense, but that's a small quibble if you're seizing or vomiting in the theater aisle.