Just this past week, HBO announced the addition of Gretchen Mol to the cast of its upcoming series 'Boardwalk Empire,' starring Steve Buscemi as Atlantic City gangster Nucky Thompson. With a string of respectable supporting roles, Mol's made a career out of not-quite making it, starting with her famous 1998 'Vanity Fair' cover that asked the entirely premature question: "Is Gretchen Mol Hollywood's New It Girl?"

But though Mol didn't exactly fade into obscurity (she earned kudos for her eye-opening turn in the indie 'The Notorious Bettie Page' and co-starred in ABC's short-lived 'Life on Mars'), neither did she become the huge success the industry predicted she would be. What happened? Was it luck, timing, bad choices or simply a case of too much hype? Whatever that case, Mol's casting got us thinking about other "Almost It" girls that Hollywood left behind about as quickly as it tried to make them mega-stars.

Vanity Fair has done a piece on Gossip Girl profiling the likes and dislikes of its young Hollywood starlets. Amanda Seyfried, who's starring in the upcoming film Mamma Mia! with Meryl Streep, wants to work with Michael Caine on day. When asked whether she drove a hybrid or an Escalade, she said, "Audi. Maybe I should drive a hybrid. I do have a shirt that says, 'Go Green.'?" Well, that helps, I guess.

Blake Lively, who got her start playing Bridget in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, got the car question too: "Hybrid. Even if anybody picked the Escalade they wouldn't say it, 'cause it'd be, like, bombed."

VH1.com pointed out that in the article Gossip Girl ripped off a famous Friends photo. The pictures features each cast in evening gowns and tuxes while lugging champagne. Technically, Vanity Fair ripped off Friends. I feel indignant at any comparison, intentional or not, made between Friends (*cue choir of angels*) and Gossip Girl. Check out the pictures and let me know what you think.

Miley Cyrus is doing mea culpas all over the news about the racy photo shoot in Vanity Fair, basically saying she's embarrassed, but blaming Annie Leibovitz for the pictures. Umm, Miley, you were there. You could have said, "Oh, no, I won't do photos like that cause I'm a Disney girl and Hannah Montana can't do that, get it?" Whatever. Her story is getting press, but it's another Disney Channel star, Brenda Song, who's filed a lawsuit. She really has a reason to gripe.

Brenda Song, who co-stars on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody as London Tipton -- sort of a Blair Warner for today's teens (and if you don't know Blair Warner, you never watched The Facts of Life), has filed a lawsuit with a company that used her image in an escort service print ad that appeared in L.A. Weekly.