Wesley Snipes is all set to star in a new movie, Inmate 57.  I kid, I kid. His number is probably much higher than that.  I was just being humorous.

Wesley Snipes must begin his three-year prison sentence for failing to pay taxes before the holidays as originally ordered, and not afterward as the actor had requested.
Snipes asked a judge if he could surrender on Jan. 6 in Pennsylvania instead of on Thursday. The motion says Snipes has four young children and the “surrender date is in the middle of the holiday season.”
But a Florida judge denied his request Monday. The judge wrote that Snipes had plenty of time to prepare “for the impact that his incarceration will have upon members of his family” since he was sentenced more than two years ago. [Yahoo]

Long story short, Snipes says he was misled by his financial advisors (you can see him explain as much during his appearance on Larry King below).  Other fun trivia: TV Judge Joe Brown testified as a character witness on Snipes’ behalf at his sentencing hearing — a legal strategy I like to call “always bet on black” (sorry, had to shoehorn that in there somehow).  Meanwhile, Forbes suggests that the real story is that Snipes is part of a radical anti-tax group, and that the government is trying to make an example out of him:

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Here’s Pixar’s contribution to the It Gets Better campaign.  Kudos to the people who make these, they’re tough.  Not bullying gay people is I guess one of those things that still needs to be said, even if it should be completely obvious to anyone with a half a brain.  At some point, I’d love to see this and Take Back the Night folded into a more inclusive “don’t be an *sshole moron” campaign. Or maybe a Heterosexual White Males: We’re Not All Out to Get You campaign.

Daniel Day-Lewis is Abraham Lincoln.  Incredible actor, certainly has the whole “looking angular” thing down.  The Steven Spielberg-directed film (based on the book Team of Rivals) begins next fall and Day-Lewis is already preparing by “visiting the state where the former president began his political career.”  I.e., Illinois.  He’s preparing to play Abraham Lincoln by visiting the state of Illinois.  Okay.  I know as an actor he probably wasn’t doing anything anyway, but could someone just rent Bill & Ted for him?  You’re making a Spielberg movie, dude, you’re not freeing the slaves. |AP/yahoo|

George Hickenlooper’s Death Ruled Accidental Overdose.  The Casino Jack/Factory Girl director who died a few weeks ago was found by the Colorado medical examiner to have died of an accidental overdose “after taking ethanol and oxymorphone.”  Wait, that’s still booze and pills, right?  Who calls it “ethanol”?  Dude was chuggin’ whiskey, not siphoning flex fuel. Unless he was much more hardcore than we ever imagined.|AP|

Crocodile Dundee’s Criminal Tax Evasion Charges Dropped. Paul Hogan reportedly owed $34 million and was barred from leaving Australia (he lives in LA), but apparently all that (at least the criminal part) is over now. Said Hogan, “That’s not a tax bill, THAT’s a tax bill,” and pointed to a red kangaroo with a comically oversized scrotum. He and the tax official had a good laugh about that before bonding over stubbies, loudly cursing the English, and finishing the night with a brotherly fist fight. |AP|

Wesley Snipes Sentenced to Three Years for Tax Evasion. Ouch.  Though he’s still not in custody and his lawyers are still trying to keep him out of prison. So, uh… good? Maybe you should’ve given the lawyer money to the gubment? Don’t you know “always bet on black” doesn’t hold up in court?  Anyway, good luck, and look out for autoerotic asphyxiation ninjas. |TorontoSun|

(Arrow added to emphasize titties)

Well this is weird. Just last night someone was talking about Brooklyn’s Finest. He said he’d seen it at Sundance last year and I asked why it wasn’t out yet, and he said probably because the ending was ridiculous and terrible.  It comes from Training Day director Antoine Fuqua (is it just me, or is everyone named Antoine either a flaming gay or a big scary tough guy?) and stars Ethan Hawke, Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, and Wesley Snipes.  As the headline would indicate, it basically looks like if Crash was set in Brooklyn.  So much crime and racism, it’s a shame what’s happened to our inner cities.  If only Sandra Bullock would teach more blacks to play football.

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Though it doesn’t have a set release date yet, Sony has bought the rights to Blood: The Last Vampire. Here’s the rundown:

From the Producer of Hero and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon comes BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE, based on the cult hit series. Demons have infested the earth. And only one warrior stands between the dark and the light: Saya, a half-human, half-vampire samurai who preys on those who feast on human blood. Joining forces with the shadowy society known as the Council, Saya is dispatched to an American military base, where an intense series of swordfights leads her to the deadliest vampire of all. And now after 400 years, Saya’s final hunt is about to begin. [Twitch]

Um, isn’t this the exact plot of Blade?  It doesn’t pay to steal from Wesley Snipes, you know. You’ll just have to give half to the IRS.
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Wesley Snipes was sentenced to three years in jail for tax evasion last year, but has since been free on bail pending an appeal. Sadly, he recently got caught leaving the country to go to “the party of the century” in Dubai, and a federal judge has revoked his passport.

Government lawyers argue that Snipes, 46, made an “unauthorized” trip last November to the United Arab Emirates for the star-studded opening of the $1.5 billion Atlantis, The Palm Hotel. As a result of the Dubai trip, a federal judge in Florida ordered Snipes to surrender his passport. Prosecutors apparently only learned of Snipes’s travel to Dubai when paparazzi photos from the hotel opening were published.
Last week he sought permission to travel to Italy for 14 weeks to film “Game of Death.” He also wants to spend two weeks in Namibia for reshoots on “Gallowwalker.” In opposing Snipes’s travel requests, federal prosecutors also noted that Namibia “has become known as a haven for international fugitives.”

Ouch.  That seems like an unnecessary dig.  I bet the prosecutor just wanted to stand up in court and say, “Wesley Snipes is… INTERNATIONAL FUGITIVE.“  And then the Defense could stand up and be all like, “Your honor? ALWAYS BET ON BLACK.”