(GettyImages.com)

(GettyImages.com)

Russell Crowe and Hugh Jackman will star opposite each other in a new film adaptation of Les Miserables.

The King’s Speech director Tom Hooper is behind the project, which is based on the long-running musical take on Victor Hugo‘s classic novel.

Crowe has signed on to play Javert, the police inspector who pursues Jackman’s ex-con, Jean Valjean.

And, yes, both stars will sing.

“Even though I have dreamt about making the film of Les Misérables for over 25 years, I could never have imagined that we would end up with the dream director Tom Hooper, and the dream cast of Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe as the two great protagonists Jean Valjean and Javert,” said producer Cameron Mackintosh, who originally brought the story to the stage and is now taking it to the screen.

“Not only were they born to play these roles vocally, but they thrillingly inhabit this great score,” says Mackintosh.

Les Miserables is scheduled for a December 2012 release.

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(Warner Bros)

Warner Bros. has released the first official image from Zack Snyder‘s Superman reboot, Man of Steel, starring Henry Cavill as the iconic superhero.

Amy Adams will play Lois Lane in the highly-anticipated remake, while Kevin Costner and Diane Lane are on board as Ma and Pa Kent.

Russell Crowe is reportedly in talks to play Superman’s father Jor-El.

Check out a larger version of the photo below.

Are you excited for Man of Steel?

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(Warner Bros.)

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Russell Crowe is reportedly in negotiations join Man of Steel as Superman’s father Jor-El.

The role was famously played by Marlon Brando in the classic 1978 Superman.

It’s not been confirmed that Crowe will appear in Man of Steel, but multiple reports say a deal is close.

Henry Cavill stars as the title character in the new film, directed by Zack Snyder.

Kevin Costner and Diane Lane are set to play Clark Kent’s human “parents.”

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Russell Crowe will probably not be invited to anymore brises.

Last night, The Gladiator star went off on circumcision.

Crowe tweeted, “Circumcision is barbaric and stupid. Who are you to correct nature? Is it real that GOD requires a donation of foreskin? Babies are perfect.”

After a follower expressed the belief that circumcision is often done for hygienic reasons, Crowe shot back: ”Hygenic? Why don’t you sew up your a** then?”

Next, the Oscar winner tweeted at his The Man with the Iron Fists writer/producer Eli Roth, ”many jewish friends, I love my Jewish friends, I love the apples and the honey and the funny little hats but stop cutting yr babies.”

Crowe added, “if u feel it is yr right 2 cut things off yr babies please unfollow and f**k off, I’ll take attentive parenting over barbarism.”

While Roth joking replied, “You didn’t seem to be complaining when I was recutting you this afternoon,” Crowe must have realized he may have insulted some Jews with his opposition to circumcision and calling the religious garment of yarmulkes “funny little hats,” because he later deleted his tweets and apologized.

This morning Crowe wrote, “I have a deep and abiding love for all people of all nationalities, I’m very sorry that I have said things on here that have caused distress… My personal beliefs aside I realize that some will interpret this debate as me mocking the rituals and traditions of others. I am very sorry.”

What’s your take on Crowe’s circumcision tweets?

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(The Ellen Show)

If you thought Ricky Gervais was tough when he hosted the Golden Globes last year, you may want to brace yourself for Sunday’s show.

Gervais, who’s hosting the award show for the second consecutive year, is on “Ellen” today. He tells Ellen DeGeneres he’s already picked out a few “targets” for his barbs.

Such as?

“Charlie Sheen has obviously put his head above the power pit. Like last year, Mel Gibson was a gift from the comedy god. So yeah, that’d be two good people out of the audience,” notes Gervais.

In response to DeGeneres asking, “Do you worry about anyone coming after you after you do it?” Gervais explains, ”I only go for the weak and the feeble.”

That’s why “I’m not going to have a go at Russell Crowe or Mickey Rourke,” says Gervais, before adding, “Mickey Rooney maybe. Betty White, I’m not scared of her.”

WATCH:

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Oprah Winfrey is now relaxing in picturesque Fiji, following a frenzied week with fans in Australia.

After Winfrey and her audience visited some of Australia’s major attractions, including the Outback and the Great Barrier Reef – and taped shows at Sydney’s famed Opera House, the talk show host is spending this week (and Christmas) on the South Pacific island nation with longtime boyfriend Stedman Graham.

“Fiji is one of those destinations where we like people to come and have their own private time, and we’re here to ensure that happens,” said Fiji’s tourism minister, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, without an ounce of irony. Sayed-Khaiyum, who confirmed Winfrey’s stay by acknowledging, “We know she is here for a holiday and respect that,” added, ”We don’t want Fiji to become a playground for the paparazzi.”

While their was criticism about the Australian government picking up the $5 million tab for Winfrey’s work trip, the talk show queen countered that the publicity for the country was well worth it.

She told reporters: “It is immeasurable what four hours of a love festival about your country broadcast in 145 countries around the world can do.”

Among Winfrey’s guests on the shows from Down Under were Jon Bon Jovi, Jay-Z, Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, Bono, Russell Crowe, and Hugh Jackman, who was injured during a grand entrance onstage.

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In today’s lineup, Nicole Richie gets dressed three times, Lindsay Lohan gets upset about being dressed down, and Jennifer Grey dresses her wounds after surgery.

1. Lindsay Lohan is “so upset” by Gwyneth Paltrow‘s “hurtful” appearance on “Glee.” (RadarOnline)

2. Nicole Richie wore three different gowns at her wedding on Saturday. (Us Weekly)

3. Russell Crowe joined Oprah for a cruise around Sydney Harbour. (AP)

4. Jennifer Grey is recuperating from surgery to repair a disc that ruptured during the “Dancing with the Stars” finale. (People)

5. Black Swan leads the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards with 12 nominations. (THR)

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(Warner Bros.)

The end has begun… and it is HUGE.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, the second-to-last movie in a magical series that has steamrolled the competition for a decade, showed that Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint still have special box office wizardry.

The film earned a mind-boggling $125.1 million this weekend, easily nabbing the #1 spot at the box office.

Megamind, last week’s leader, took second place with $16.2 million, and Unstoppable came in third with $13.1 million.

Due Date took fourth place with $9.2 million, and in the fifth spot, with approximately $6.8 million, was The Next Three Days, the newly released thriller starring Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks.

Rounding out the Top Ten were Morning Glory ($5 million), Skyline ($3 million), Red ($2.2 million),  For Colored Girls ($1.8 million), and Fair Game ($1.1 million).

What are you seeing this weekend?

Check out VIDEO of an hysterical encounter Conan O’Brien has with a Harry Potter fan

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The National Enquirer blubbers that producers of the Russell Crowe film, Robin Hood, were “forced to shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars to erase his bulging gut via digital photography.”

What?

According to a made-up Enquirer source, “Crowe just couldn’t manage to drop the last 10 to 15 pounds he’d packed on, and producers were horrified by several scenes where he looked totally FAT!”

“So they used a CGI special-effects machine to trim his abdominal area and give him a body makeover,” continues the “source.” “Russell not only didn’t mind, he actually wanted the execs to apply digital cosmetics to ALL his scenes.”

Really?

NO.

Not only couldn’t Gossip Cop find a single person involved in the production to confirm this big, fat tale, but a rep for Crowe also dismissed it as “Not true.”

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Russell Crowe is NOT dead.

Another heinous celebrity death hoax took root online this morning with Crowe as the victim.

As was the case with previous “deaths,” the actor was said to have suffered a fatal fall while filming in a remote location. Specifically, in the Hahnenkamm mountains of Austria.

New York radio station Z100 and other outlets reported the news as fact.

Fortunately, it’s just another vile, disgusting FAKE.

The Crowe hoax comes from FakeAWish.com, the same disturbed “death” generator that’s claimed previous victims such as George Clooney, Natalie Portman and Kristen Stewart.

FakeAWish.com notes on its site that it fabricates stories “for the purpose of entertainment,” but Gossip Cop is having an impossibly hard time finding the entertainment value in scaring friends, family members, and fans of people like Crowe.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, Gossip Cop is at a total loss as to why anyone would concoct phony fatalities, and sincerely hopes the only thing that dies out is that horrible website.

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(Paramount)

UPDATE – 5/16/10

While the actual numbers for both films look to be slightly under initial projections, Iron Man 2 will hold off Robin Hood to keep the box office crown this weekend.

Iron Man 2 will finish with roughly $49 million for the weekend. It has broken the $200 million barrier in its first two weeks of release.

Robin Hood — though the #1 film internationally — scored about $36 million in North America.

*****     *****     *****     *****     *****    *****

ORIGINAL POST – 5/14/10

Bows and arrows were no match for modern weaponry.

According to early projections, Iron Man 2 will dispatch newcomer Robin Hood to remain the #1 hero at the box office, after an estimated $16 million Friday put it on pace for a $53 million second weekend.

Robin Hood earned roughly $14 million on Friday and tracks to about $40 million for second place, propelled by Gladiator‘s high-powered team of Russell Crowe and Ridley Scott.

At #3 is an expected $14 million weekend debut for Letters to Juliet, starring Hollywood’s new darling, Amanda Seyfried. Queen Latifah‘s Just Wright should open at #4 with an estimated $9 million.

These are still just projections. Gossip Cop will have the final numbers later this weekend.

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(GettyImages.com)

If you see Robin Hood this weekend and happen to think Russell Crowe has a bit of Irish accent in the film, it’s best not to say anything.

The actor abruptly ended an interview with the BBC after a journalist from the outlet told Crowe his Robin Hood character’s intended British accent sounded more Irish-like.

“You’ve got dead ears, mate,” said the Aussie actor, adding, “seriously dead ears if you think there’s an Irish accent.”

Crowe continued to express how baffled he was by the characterization, saying, “I’m a little dumbfounded you could possibly find any Irish in that character. That’s kind of ridiculous.”

When the interviewer followed up by asking if he was aiming to sound northern English, Crowe mockingly replied, “No, I was going for an Italian,” he said. “Missed it? [Expletive] me!”

But that wasn’t all.

After an entirely unrelated question concerning his Oscar-winning flick Gladiator, an exasperated Crowe got up, took off his microphone, and headed for the door as he said, “I don’t get the Irish thing.”

Note to future interviewers: Don’t get Crowe’s Irish up.

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(GettyImages.com)

Over the summer, Gossip Cop got a British paper to apologize to Russell Crowe for wrongly reporting that the Brickmakers pub in Windlesham (outside London) had tossed out the actor for causing a ruckus. In fact, Crowe had never even been to the bar.

At the time, Crowe was in the town filming Ridley Scott‘s “Robin Hood.”

The film’s trailer has just come online, and Gossip Cop thought we’d give you a peek. Take a look:

The movie is due for a May 2010 release.

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(GettyImages.com)

On Friday, you’ll recall, Now Magazine printed Robert Pattinson quotations they’d lifted directly from an old Daily Mirror piece – even though the Mirror had fabricated the interview in the first place.

Gossip Cop called them out. And this morning, even though Now left the article up, editors have scrubbed away the offending quotes.

While we still haven’t seen an official apology – as we did when Gossip Cop busted phony Russell Crowe rumors – we’re thrilled to get results. Gossip Cop is already making a difference, and the more momentum we gain, the harder it will be for outlets to get away with nonsense like this!

(GettyImages.com)

Demi Moore was in Gossip Cop a couple of times this week. First, it was inaccurately reported that she was going to be in a few episodes of “The Beautiful Life,” produced by her husband Ashton Kutcher. But much more notably, “The G.I. Jane” star was in a battle with Perez “Scoop” Hilton.

Moore had had enough of Perez making lewd remarks about her 15-year-old daughter Tallulah. She rightfully objected to Perez tweeting out a photo of Tallulah’s partially exposed breasts with the comment “slut,” and a post in which the bad blogger showed a photo of the minor, hugging her dad Bruce Willis, with the word “ass” written over an area to point out where her jean shorts inadvertently rode up a little to expose a bit of her behind. Moore noted the inappropriateness when she tweeted, “Let me ask all of you, what is it called when someone is telling people to look and focus on a child’s ‘boobs & ass’ while providing photos?” Gossip Cop felt the only “ass” in this battle was Pervy Perez.

Actually Perez was (predictably) wrong about a bunch of things this week. He began the week by floating the rumor that Tyra Banks was engaged, based on a photo of her wearing a ring. Gossip Cop shot it down, explaining it was simply her old high school ring that the TV hostess often wears. Perez also picked up from dubious sources and reported as fact a ludicrous story about Madonna training for a 6-day, 151- mile marathon in Morocco. If you recall it was not only a tall tale that was proven false by Gossip Cop, but it was also one we debunked a loooong time ago. Again Perez was wrong and late, and not “late” as in the “late Fidel Castro.” Ha!

On the subject of Madonna, there were a few stories that were incorrect about her this week. One had Justin Timberlake jetting off to Israel to perform at her concerts. But Gossip Cop found the Israel story was not real.  We did, however, accurately report that Madonna and boyfriend Jesus Luz went to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Jerusalem home to light Sabbath candles. And despite being with Luz, In Touch reported that now that Sean Penn is getting divorced, he and Madonna will get back together. Totally false.

In the Random Rumor cop needed section, Gossip Cop called Chris Brown out on his faulty memory. He claimed on “Larry King Live” that he didn’t remember beating Rihanna, but Gossip Cop reminded him that he knew exactly what he did since he told People magazine, “I went to my mom on the same night and told [her] what happened and broke down.” We also pointed out how off Radar was when it said Salma Hayek had thrown a fit at the Chateau Marmont because its restaurant wouldn’t serve her without a reservation. While it’s true she was at the Chateau Marmont after having had a birthday dinner, she did not have a tantrum of any sort when she met her family and friends for drinks at the famed hotel. Radar has since pulled down its false report.

The Star had a series of questionable articles. First, its cover said that Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott were in a “loveless” marriage, and that the relationship “has been a lie from the get-go!” The source for the (mis)information was an alleged pal of McDermott who said on the record, “There is no question Dean is with Tori for the money and the fame,” and that their marriage is rooted in Dean’s desperation for the spotlight. Not only did her rep say the story wasn’t true, but Tori herself even tweeted, “R they kiddin? DON’T believe. Uggh. Hate tabloid lies!” We didn’t believe that Star story or the one that Ashlee Simpson-Wentz is talking to divorce lawyers after she suspected that her rocker husband Pete Wentz was cheating on her. Ashlee has since tweeted about missing her husband and son Bronx, and even a rep for the couple dismissed talk of a divorce as “absolutely not true.”

We reported as fact details of Selena Gomez’s trip to Ghana as a new UNICEF Ambassador. Gomez’s rep told Gossip Cop that the young star was in Africa “looking at UNICEF child survival programs,” and in the future would be “involved in educating, advocating, and fundraising” for UNICEF.”

Another true story was Russell Crowe beating a gossip columnist. The Daily Telegraph mocked Crowe for a fitness regimen of “smokes and fatty foods” after the Oscar winner was pictured having snacks and a cigarette during a break from biking. So he challenged a gossip columnist to a bicycle race through Sydney, which he easily won.

Fellow Aussie star Nicole Kidman was the target of an old rumor. In Touch reported Kidman’s kids Connor and Isabella no longer call her “mom,” and instead simply call her “Nicole.” These days, the weekly claimed, they call Katie Holmes “mom.” Once again In Touch was out of touch.

Gawker got it wrong and wrong in a piece titled, “Cosmetics Company Uses Kristin Davis and Then Kicks Her Out.” The story began, “Ahava Dead Sea Laboratories, hired Sex and the City’s Kristin Davis to help their image. Because she worked with the disputed company, she got the boot from human rights group Oxfam International. Now Ahava is giving her the heave-ho too!” It was not true that the “Sex and the City” star was fired from the Palestinian-leaning Oxfam International, with whom she still has a relationship nor was it accurate that she was let go by the Israeli company Ahava. Rather, her contract with the beauty goods company expired.  Gawker has since updated its site to reflect its two mistakes.

And Eric Dane and Rebecca Gayheart, the subjects of a recently leaked naked video, were accused in the National Enquirer of doing lines of cocaine at a Hollywood Hills party last year. The only lines there were the lines fed by a so-called source. A rep for the two stars told Gossip Cop it was a “bunch of lies. If it happened, where are the photos?”

Rest assured, Gossip Cop is on the beat this week patrolling the blogs, magazines, and TV shows so that you get the truth, and nothing but the truth.

(GettyImages.com)

You’d think with all the stories about him the tabloids have bungled, Russell Crowe would be happy to steer clear of the gossip pages. But after The Daily Telegraph mocked him this week for a fitness regimen of “smokes and fatty foods,” the Oscar winner struck back – by challenging the columnist to a bicycle race through Sydney.

Annette Sharp poked fun at the one-time “Gladiator” in her column after photographs appeared showing the actor mixing cigarettes and snacks into his exercise routine. But the tables turned when Sharp received a call from Crowe’s spokesman, who told the gabber, “Get on your bike. Russell wants you to go riding with him. Are you ready to die?” Sharp agreed, and the two met for a 12-mile race at dawn through the city’s streets. Video shows Sharp struggling to keep pace with Crowe while both make good sport of it.

Gossip Cop likes it when celebrities and the media have a bit of fun with each other. And we suspect the Sydney “duel” might put the brakes on future jokes about Crowe’s waistline.

This past week started off with a smattering of poorly reported Perez Hilton pieces. We learned that Perez doesn’t just turn a blind eye to fact checking, apparently he has one, too. He actually compared handsome “Twilight” star Robert Pattinson to the blue creature from “Avatar.”

This week also marked the second anniversary of Perez’s “scoop” that Fidel Castro had died – he was, and continues to be, dead wrong. And we also pointed how Perez got it wrong both when he initially reported that Beyonce was being sued by a reality star, and how George Clooney broke his hand.

And while we’ve grown accustomed to Perez’s inaccuracies, we were a bit surprised by how legitimate news agencies like CNN, the New York Times, and the Washington Post dropped the ball this week.

On CNN’s “State of the Union,” Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman was asked about the possibility of Alec Baldwin running against him for his senate seat. The major media picked up on Lieberman’s “make my day” response, but it took Gossip Cop to alert the other news agencies that Baldwin’s non-serious challenge to Lieberman was, in fact, an old comment the “30 Rock” star made to Playboy, and one in which he also said he had no plans whatsoever to leave New York.

But it wasn’t just CNN. The venerable Chicago Tribune posted a video on its website of a man, bearing a resemblance to Michael Jackson, jumping out of an L.A. Coroner’s van, and posed the question whether the King of Pop was indeed possibly still alive.

And the New York Times, Washington Post and the BBC were among those who were completely misguided when reporting that Bob Dylan might voice GPS directions after the the “Jokerman” singer joked on his radio show that he was approached by auto manufacturers. Who’s laughing now? (Gossip Cop.)

In “Twilight Tales,” a story brewed that Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart strolled through Vancouver to go out for coffee together. Gossip Cop filtered the fact out from the fiction. We also broke details about a second hard cover bookazine that Us Weekly is preparing about the Twilight Saga and its stars, slated to hit bookshelves around the time of the release of “New Moon” in November. And we’ve been all over the controversy of whether the Twilight Saga will be told in four or five films.

And once again stories surfaced that Pattinson and Stewart were moving in together. This time the yarn that was spun had Stewart buying a $3 million “love nest” in L.A. for them. Not true.

Miss Information: This week while it was true that Madonna was booed in Romania for speaking her mind about the treatment of that nation’s Gypsies, it was totally false that she’s training for a six-day, 151-mile marathon through the Sahara desert.

Katie Holmes was again the subject of several inaccurate stories. The tabs wrongly reported that she’s happier when she’s away from Tom Cruise, whom they also claimed controls her diet and career choices. There was also a tale that she’s designing “uniforms” for the Church of Scientology – it’s uniformly not true.

And with Lindsay Lohan’s burglarized home came a slew of stories claiming she had “incriminating videos” and more than $2 million in borrowed jewels stolen from her safe. Her rep told Gossip Cop than neither rumor was accurate. Another Lohan story, not based in reality, had her looking to star in a reality series about her own “trials and tribulations” finding work as an actress. Gossip Cop found no truth to that either.

Wrong Romance: The rumor linking Jennifer Aniston to Gerard Butler returned for another round – and it’s still false. Stories that “Phantom of the Opera” star Emmy Rossum is making beautiful music with Counting Crows lead Adam Duritz are also way off key. And the New York Post struck out in a piece about Yankees captain Derek Jeter being engaged to “Friday Night Lights “ star Minka Kelly.

Casting Corrections: Hundreds of outlets reported that Robin Williams, who starred in “Mrs. Doubtfire,” was asked to play “Britain’s Got Talent” standout Susan Boyle. (That’s like mistaking us for rumor cop.) Gossip Cop was the first to dispel that cross-dressing rumor. We also were ahead of the pack to report that Megan Fox is NOT signed to star as Catwoman.  And the story that Justin Timberlake and Snoop Dogg are doing a musical together also went up in smoke, thanks to Gossip Cop.

Miscellaneous Mistakes: Gossip Cop debunked the rumor that Gwyneth Paltrow told her husband Chris Martin that he should go solo from Coldplay; that Britney Spears is “pining” for paparazzo Adnan Ghalib, against whom there’s a restraining order; that Leonardo DiCaprio was told by the producers of his film “The Inception” to drop 30 pounds; that Hilary Duff refused to leave her trailer on the set of “Gossip Girl;” and that Miley Cyrus was offered more than $1 million to do a Guess jeans ad.

And – pat on our back – the British tabloid The Express had to eat crow after Gossip Cop corrected its fabricated story about Russell Crowe causing a fight in a pub outside of London. It never happened, and after Gossip Cop called them out, the paper issued Crowe a public apology.

(GettyImages.com)

A few weeks ago the British paper The Express reported that Russell Crowe had been tossed from a pub outside London called Brickmakers for causing a ruckus after being told he wouldn’t be served drinks after closing time. At the time the paper said, “Eventually he left . . . but not before smashing a plate.” The manager was quoted as adding that “He’s been asked not to return.”

As we pointed out then, and will repeat again now – Crowe was NEVER at that bar. Well, The Express was apprised of their mistake, which Gossip Cop corrected, and now the tab is eating Crowe. In an apology, the paper wrote, “We have been informed that Mr Crowe has never been to the Brickmakers pub and therefore the incident never took place.  We apologise to Mr Crowe for our error.”

Gossip Cop is already on to the next case.

(GettyImages.com)

According to reports in the British tabs, which have been picked up and repeated across the globe, Russell Crowe has been banned by a bar named The Brickmakers, located an hour outside of London in Windlesham, where he is filming “Robin Hood.”

So what reportedly happened? A local told The Daily Mail, “He offered money to be allowed to keep drinking after closing time.” But when the pub refused, according to the paper, the actor started an argument. “Eventually he left,” The Daily Express quoted a manager at The Brickmakers as saying, “but not before smashing a plate.”  The manager added, “He’s been asked not to return.”

There’s a very good chance Crowe will never be seen at that bar – because he’s never set foot in it before. Not only does his press agent swear the story is a “total fabrication,” but he also notes that Crowe “has never ever been to this place.”

Maybe some locals had too many when telling the story.