At first, Claire Danes was worried about becoming self-conscious about her lead role in the biopic “Temple Grandin,” based on the life of the venerated animal scientist and author, chiefly for three reasons, the actress told CNN.

"It was a little scary to play somebody who, one, is alive, and two, is valued very deeply by huge sways of people, and three who is wired in such a fundamentally different way than myself," Danes, 31, explained.

But after immersing herself in the study of Grandin’s movements and turns of phrase, Danes ended up portraying the scientist and autism advocate in a way that not only earned Grandin’s respect, but also the attention of her peers. Danes nabbed a nomination in the outstanding actress in a miniseries or TV movie category, and "Temple Grandin" is also in the running for outstanding made for television movie.

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The Malibu Hills police department has opened an investigation into the alleged domestic violence dispute between Mel Gibson and his former girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva, CNN has confirmed.

The 54-year-old actor has been caught in a custody dispute with his former girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva, over the couple's 8-month-old daughter. Toward the end of June, Grigorieva, 40, filed a restraining order against Gibson alleging that the actor and director struck her in the face, People reported.

Police said they are still in the process of gathering information surrounding Grigorieva’s allegations, and because the investigation is in preliminary stages, there isn’t more information available.

CNN has reached out to both Gibson and Grigorieva's reps for comment.

Despite being cable’s most watched show, USA’s “Burn Notice” had yet to pick up an Emmy nomination. So after four years as Madeline Westen, Sharon Gless – who was last nominated in 2008 for her guest appearance on “Nip/Tuck” - had just about given up on the idea.

“Usually by the fourth year, when no one’s recognized you, you just think, ‘OK, we’re not their cup of tea.’ But they proved us wrong today,” she said.

Gless – who received a nod for outstanding supporting actress in a drama series – garnered two Emmys for her role as Christine Cagney on “Cagney & Lacey” in the 1980s, in addition to being nominated a total of 10 times. But, she said, it never gets old.

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Lindsay Lohan might have been sentenced to 90 days in jail, but she’s still free to tweet and, for two more weeks, party too.

Thankfully, she decided to skip her own party to celebrate her 24th birthday last night. But this morning at our meeting, we could not ignore her outrageous tweets! She quoted something from the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human rights, writing, “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment," and then linked to an article entitled “Iranian Woman Faces Stoning for Adultery."

Clearly, the "Showbiz Tonight" staff was mystified by the timing and choice of her tweets, which lead us to wonder if she’s actually comparing her jail sentence to international human torture. What do you think they could mean?

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Lindsay Lohan’s lawyer, Shawn Chapman Holley, has released an official statement regarding the 90-day jail sentence her client was handed on Tuesday.

“Ms. Lohan and I are extremely disappointed in the sentence handed down by Judge Revel. We believe that the penalty is far harsher than what others would have received under similar circumstances,” Holley said in the statement.

“To be punished so severely for doing so, particularly in light of the fact that she substantially complied with each of her probationary conditions, is harsh and unfair.”

And about that manicure – which Lohan has already tweeted was a joke – Holley said, “the fact is, the words could barely be seen by the naked eye. That a courtroom camera, purportedly there to accurately chronicle the proceedings, would use a telephoto lens to zoom in as it did to Ms. Lohan's fingernail is a commentary on the entire issue.”

The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences is clearly a fan of Julia Louis-Dreyfus' work in “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” as the actress has been nominated for the best actress in a comedy Emmy ever since the show started in 2006.

But after her memorable Hollywood Walk of Fame mishap, Louis-Dreyfus told CNN, "I was relieved to see that the Academy spelled my name right.”

“And,” she added, “as I am now a free agent, Lebron and I will be announcing our plans later this evening."

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He's won two Emmys in a row for his role as Walter White on “Breaking Bad,” but for Bryan Cranston, being nominated never gets old.

“If you believe in past lives, in my last life I must have been grossly mistreated because something turned around and this has been amazing,” said the actor, who was nominated again this year.

It’s a double congratulations day, as Cranston and his wife are also celebrating their 21st wedding anniversary. FULL POST

In the grand tradition of reality TV, you can go from top of the pack to the bottom of the heap in a flash.

So with a double elimination on the horizon, all of the cheftestants knew it was either aim for that top spot or risk getting the boot.

But aside from a double elimination, “Top Chef” got personal this week. A Quickfire challenge focused on hosts Tom and Padma’s new infants had the chefs cooking up great food and then pureeing it into baby mush.

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The hit ABC comedy “Modern Family” has a 50-50 chance of scoring an Emmy for best supporting actor in a comedy series.

That’s because three out of the six actors nominated appear on the show: Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who portrays straight-laced attorney Mitchell Pritchett; Eric Stonestreet who appears as Pritchett’s always over the top partner Cameron Tucker; and Ty Burrell who stars as the lovably clueless dad, Phil Dunphy.

Stonestreet and Burrell spoke with CNN about how thrilled they each were for their first time nominations.

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"Knight and Day" star Cameron Diaz opens up about loves old and new in the August issue of Harper's Bazaar.

She recently teamed up with former flame Justin Timberlake, 29, to film next year's comedy "Bad Teacher," but Diaz claims that co-starring with her ex didn't feel strange because they've always shared a sense of humor.

"Justin and I have laughed together for years," the 37-year-old actress explained, who plays a gold-digging seventh-grade teacher in the flick. "He is the funniest guy; you've seen the stuff he does on 'SNL.' "

As for her new love, New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez, 35, Diaz prefers to play it coy and won't even reveal whether they've gotten to first base. However, the California girl does throw the magazine this curveball: "I grew up with the Dodgers," she said, "but now I'm a Yankees fan."