Scoop: Paula Abdul Gets Pranked by “Bruno”

When Paula Abdul encountered a German camera crew and a Captain Nemo lookalike in a home in the Hollywood Hills, she thought she’d stumbled upon the set of a fun Japanese game show.

If that’s difficult to sort out, then imagine being Abdul, forced to learn that “the fun Japanese game show” was actually the set of “Bruno,” the latest film from "Borat" creator Sacha Baron Cohen. And she was about to be the butt of a joke that left her “scarred for life for a year.”

Abdul described the harrowing experience on the Johnjay & Rich radio show April 30. The "American Idol" judge said she learned from her publicist she’d just won “Artist of the Year” in Germany and had to go to a home in the Hollywood Hills to tape something associated with the award.

When she got to the house, there was no furniture, and she was ordered by the Nemo lookalike (Bruno) to sit atop two gardeners instead.

“This is crazy. This is not funny, this is discrimination. This is abusive stuff going on here.” Abdul recounted. “And (Bruno) says, ‘I need you to change your clothes,’ and I said, No, I won't be doing that. I have to go to work ... And by the way, where's my award?”

Obviously there was no award, and Abdul fled the scene (with cameras and Bruno following). Her team attempted to contact the production office, but it didn’t really exist. (The Smoking Gun did a great job exposing Sacha Baron Cohen’s fake production company Web sites.)

Upon realizing what happened long after the fact, Abdul said, “You just don't expect it. Like I said, I thought it was just one of those Japanese TV shows where they do crazy things. They wanted me to jump up against a Velcro wall.”

Room for one more in the Suleman household
With 14 kids and nine nannies, Nadya Suleman feels her family isn’t quite complete. No, she hasn’t been able to bring a man into the fray. Nor is she getting a pet pig, as she told the San Gabriel Tribune on April 22.

“That idea was short-lived. The pig is not happening,” Suleman’s lawyer told Us Weekly.

Instead, she’s getting a shih tzu, according to the magazine. At least she won’t have to add swine flu to her growing list of concerns.

Weekend box office
If you fall into the “not even a pandemic can keep me away from a theater full of strangers,” category, then there are couple offerings that are likely to attract your attention.

Matthew McConaughey opens the barn door and rides his one-trick pony in the romantic comedy “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past.” Early buzz on this flick is for the most part, terrible, but so was early buzz for “Fool's Gold,” opposite Kate Hudson in 2008, which ended up performing pretty well.

There’s also “Battle for Terra,” a 3-D sci-fi flick. While 3-D might be a draw for families, the film’s undertone of the horrors of genocide might not make it family fare.

Which is why, despite the leaks and despite the so-so reviews and despite the canceled premieres, “Wolverine” will be number one at the box office. The only thing that remains to be seen is what kind of attendance theaters get this weekend.

Courtney Hazlett delivers the Scoop Monday through Friday on msnbc.com. Follow Scoop on Twitter: @ courtneyatmsnbc.

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