AfterElton Briefs: Barack and Spider-Man join forces, India's out Prince goes undercover, and more!

Haaz Sleiman at the 2008 National Board of Review Awards Gala (pic: Getty)

Following this assortment of carefully-selected news items, interested readers can find a refreshing pic of a hot man in underwear after the jump. Yes, we're serious.

• The stars came out last night in NYC for the 2008 National Board of Review Awards Gala, including Haaz Sleiman, who'll you'll be seeing as the gay best friend to Edie Falco in the new Showtime series Nurse Jackie.

• For me, the best skit from the Neil Patrick Harris edition of Saturday Night Live was the "Save Broadway" bit, with Neil mocking the tics and mannerisms of the character Mark from Rent. The original Mark, out Anthony Rapp (who's now touring with the road show), says he was "very tickled" by the impersonation.

• That film version of the Tom Wolfe classic The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test is going forward with the Milk team of out director Gus Van Sant and out screenwriter Dustin Lance Black at the helm. As far as casting is concerned, Gus says the late Heath Ledger would have been the ideal choice to play leading man Ken Kesey, but he may go a different (and more comedic) route and seek the talents of Jack Black.

• Above you can see a clip from last night's Nightline about the stampede to get the first copies of the special Spider-Man issue featuring Barack Obama, with cover art by famed NYC out artist Phil Jimenez (he's the silent one sitting next to Marvel editor Stephen Wacker in the clip). Personally, I can't see rushing out to buy a comic book, unless it's Little Dot or that one you get at the dentist's office about Captain Plaque & The Cavity Crusaders.

• Tonight on BBC Three is the premiere of the reality show The Undercover Princes, which features three princes from around the world going incognito to try and find true love. Among the three is India's out Prince Manvendra, who worked as a hotel housekeeper and a waiter while keeping his real identity secret, and apparently did find a suitor.

And today's Briefs are brought to you by...

This guy!