Morning Meme: Gareth Thomas Has Good Friends, Sir Elton Discusses Fatherhood, and Ryan Murphy To Direct "Annie?"

From the unlikely friendship files, Christian Louboutin and Gareth Thomas have been hanging out. Louboutin sent Thomas a custom pair of shoes when he first came out, and the two have been pals since then. No word on how high the heel was.

Also in the unlikely file, Mickey Rourke is still planning on playing Gareth Thomas in the biopic. He’s planning on being at opening day for the rugby star’s Super League opener.

In the grand scheme of conservative anti-gay Republican politicians having sex scandals, sending shirtless pictures of yourself to a woman (not your wife) you’re trying to hook up with on Craiglist barely rates. But Rep. Chris Lee still resigned the same day the news broke.

You know those moments you really wish you lived in New York City? Reading that Patti LuPone, Stephen Colbert, Anika Noni Rose and Martha Plimpton would be joining Neil Patrick Harris in a production of Company almost had me packing my bags.

I’m horrified at the thought that Ryan Murphy is at the top of the list to direct the new version of Annie starring Willow Smith. That means someone here would have to cover it. Allow me to be the first to shout “Not it!”

Charice says she’s still set to do four episodes of Glee, just not when she’s going to do them. But she’s supposed to be a diva-foil for Lea Michele, which amuses me. Also, since she was last seen in the company of Cheyenne Jackson, that means the badunka-hunk is headed back to our screens.

The highest paid man on television, Charlie Sheen, has offered to pick up 1/3 of the salaries for the crew on Two and a Half Men while he’s in rehab. If you recall, all the late night hosts paid their crews out-of-pocket during the last writers strike.

The Republican majority in the House plans to kill Big Bird.

There are so many procedurals on television these days, the corpse business is booming. You’ll only be paid $139/day to lie on a slab, but can pick up overtime, plus bonuses for makeup and flashback scenes.

Pete Wentz and Ashlee Simpson have filed for divorce, freeing Wentz to sext pictures of his junk, make out with boys, and start wearing guyliner again.

Guitar Hero is no more. Activision has announced the hugely successful franchise is over, and the entire music games unit is being... disbanded.

Guess who’s replacing Johnny Storm?

I hate admitting this, but thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster than Andy Cohen was in place to veto Spencer and Heidi joining the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

Indiana will not honor Harry Baals.

Jamie Bell says that while he did come incredibly close to landing Spider-Man, he never got to put the suit on during screen tests, so there are no photos floating out there for us to compare his butt to Andrew Garfield’s butt in spandex.

German soccer player Manuel Neuer joins the growing chorus of professional athletes that want gay players to come out the closet. “Yes, those who are homosexual should say so. That would take a load off their minds. And the fans would get over it quickly. What is important to them, is the performances on the pitch of the player, not his sexual preferences."

Voting is open over at E! for TV’s Top Couples. Kevin and Scotty, Cam and Mitchell, Kurt and Blaine and Brittany and Santana are all up for shots at the top prize, and the way it’s currently set up, you can vote for all of them in this round, putting off the eventual Sophie’s Choice moment.

This kid is awesome.