Just how hot is Jay Mohr these days?

Well, in the short time between when we spoke to him for Mediabistro’s weekly series “So What Do You Do?” and the publication today of that interview, he added a Hulu game show. Money Where Your Mouth Is premieres later this year and will feature male friends wagering their most prized possessions in a three-round, head-to-head Mohr-hosted battle.

We wondered how Mohr’s daily FOX Sports Radio show is affecting his ability to pursue TV guest star roles, feature films and the like. He told us so far, so good:

“I just did the season finale of Suburgatory, and they were very accommodating. I thought I might have trouble continuing to do the acting, but so far people are making it work.”

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Seth MacFarlane‘s Hitler joke during this morning’s announcement of the 2012 Oscar nominations rippled awkwardly through the AMPAS room. (And brought back memories for FishbowlLA of Ricky Gervais‘ aborted plans to come out for one Golden Globes telecast dressed as the Führer, waving at the crowd “Heil!” style.)

But that was nothing compared to what happened when the nominees for Best Director were announced. The tweets quickly started flying as west coast entertainment journalists rustled up at the break of dawn reeled in the face of the omission of Ben Affleck (Argo) and Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty). Tom Hooper was also passed over in the category for Les Miserables, but that was something a number of pundits had actually been expecting.

The first wave of shocked analysis is floating all kinds of theories as to why Bigelow and Affleck were snubbed. Did accusations of Zero Dark Thirty being “pro-torture” hurt Bigelow? Was all that fawning over Affleck this awards season too much for jealous Academy members to bear?

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First, we wrote about how People magazine embedded their 2012 “Sexiest Man Alive” issue into last night’s episode of Don’t Trust the B— in Apartment 23. Then, we wondered if a November 3 scoop by gossipcop.com “top cop” Michael Lewittes might hex Channing Tatum and prompt the magazine to opt for someone else. Today, with Tatum still strutting his stuff on the cover, we’re debating if mention of the actor in last night’s episode might have had something to do with the magazine’s decision to stick with the 32-year-old actor.

Lewittes’ SMA advance reveal was a huge media scoop, the latest in a long line of solidly vetted exclusives published by the three-year-old New York-based website. “We’ve had a number of scoops,” Lewittes tells FishbowlLA via telephone. “For instance, when no one even had Jennifer Lopez or Steven Tyler for American Idol, we went with it. Everyone thought we were crazy, and when it was announced a couple of weeks later, they realized we were right.”

Adding insult to injury, Gossip Cop posted the Tatum cover at 6:45 a.m. ET this morning, about an hour ahead of people.com, after grabbing a copy at a local newsstand. All in all, we’re pretty sure Lewittes’ nickname around the hallways of the  magazine is nothing close to “magic Mike.”

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Pop singer Mariah Carey will join American Idol next season as a judge on the sinking music competition series.

“I am so excited to be joining ‘American Idol,’” Carey said during the Television Critics Association on Monday. “This kind of all just happened really quickly.”

A judge that can actually sing? (Sorry, Jennifer Lopez) What a concept for a singing show.

As for Lopez, executive producer Nigel Lythgoe is holding out hope that J-Lo could return for Season 13, per The Associated Press:

Earlier Monday, veteran “Idol” executive producer Nigel Lythgoe said there’s a slender possibility that Jennifer Lopez might return. His reasoning: Since she told “Idol” host Ryan Seacrest she was 99 percent sure she was leaving, that means there’s a 1 percent chance she won’t, Lythgoe said Monday.

That should sum up how desperate the folks over at AI are for another competent judge.

Guess 12 hours wasn’t enough time for American Idol to convince Jennifer Lopez to stay.

Lopez followed Steven Tyler out the door, calling into Ryan Seacrest‘s radio show on Friday to break the news.

“I honestly feel the time has come to get back to do what I do. I have put it on hold because I love Idol so much. You have a lot of other responsibilities and other things you want to do,” Lopez told Seacrest. ”We had an amazing run.” Read more

You just got played, American Idol.

After a two-year stint in order to become relevant again, Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler is quitting the Fox singing competition show:

“After some long … hard … thoughts … I’ve decided it’s time for me to let go of my mistress ‘American Idol’ before she boils my rabbit. I strayed from my first love, AEROSMITH, and I’m back – but instead of begging on my hands and knees, I’ve got two fists in the air and I’m kicking the door open with my band. The next few years are going to be dedicated to kicking some serious ass – the ultimate in auditory takeover. On Nov. 6, we are unleashing our new album, Music from Another Dimension on the Earth, Moon, Mars, and way beyond the stars. IDOL was over-the-top fun, and I loved every minute of it … Now it’s time to bring Rock Back. ERMAHGERD.”

Of course Tyler is leaving the show just months before Aerosmith drops an album.

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In addition to being faithfully linked at the Drudge Report, another way London’s Daily Mail website continues to rack up ridiculous traffic numbers is volume, volume, volume.

As English pudding-proof, consider the trail left in the past 24 hours by LA based showbiz correspondent Sarah Fitzmaurice (pictured). It starts with a dispatch about Jeff Goldblum‘s mystery woman at The Grove and ends with a look at Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast member Kim Richards‘ return to rehab.

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Manager and legal precedent advocate Rick Siegel is backing personal manager Judy Coppage in her fight with Ronald Reagan’s daughter Patti Davis over a lawsuit about whether Coppage tried to get Davis a screenwriting job.

Siegel has been fighting this good fight, first for himself, now for any managers like Coppage who attempt to represent writers, directors and actors though they’re not allowed by an antiquated state restriction that prevents managers from procuring work — even though hundreds of managers exist in Los Angeles all the time by getting work for clients.

Below are the details regarding Coppage and Patti Davis:

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We didn’t think the LAT was ever going to acknowledge the redesign Spring Street sprung on us a few weeks back — but, alas, they did.

Before you click below for the press release, riddle us this: Is that not the best picture of Jennifer Lopez and Beck that has never been taken? Seriously. You wanna talk redesign? Brangelina are shape-shifters:

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Yahoo’s made a deal with Sony BMG so consumers can add music and video content from the label and its artists to their home-made creations.

The deal expands the catalog of music videos on Yahoo Music from Sony BMG, whose artists include Alicia Keys, Daughtry, Bruce Springsteen and Jennifer Lopez. It also allows the distribution of videos through a media player that users can access on other Yahoo properties and embed on third-party sites.

Steven Bryant explains why this is no deterrent to pirates.

We think anyone who wants to add Dancing in the Dark to their wedding video is welcome to do so.