News Round-up: Thom Bierdz, Amalia Zinser, James Sutton

OUT.COM: The Long Road Back
“I was always scared because I was a closeted gay soap star living in a straight world,” says Y&R's Thom Bierdz, whose management warned him to keep quiet about his sexuality or risk jeopardizing his career. “I knew I could never bring my lover to Y&R events or discuss my personal life. I had to take fake girlfriends to industry parties and lie to fans who asked me if I had a girlfriend.”

Amalia Zinser joins 90210
Amalia Zinser has been cast as Ivy, a surfer chick who will tempt 90210's guys. Tomboy Ivy is just one of West Bev's guys, and as such she'll flirt with both Dixon and Liam (which doesn't bode well for Silver and Naomi) at the beach. "She's the quintessential California girl — easy-going, athletic and full of fun," says a mole. Ivy's first appearance will be in October.

James Sutton receives 'freaky fan mail'
James Sutton (Ryan, EMMERDALE; ex-John Paul, HOLLYOAKS) has revealed some of the memorable fan mail he has received. He told the Sunday Mirror: "On HOLLYOAKS I used to get a lot of letters with people saying, 'Sorry I’m writing in crayon. They won’t let me have any sharp objects’ The dirtiest one was this beautiful handwritten letter from a guy saying he loved my work and loved my character - it was very eloquently written. Then I got to the end and it said, 'PS, I’ve been masturbating the whole time I’ve been writing this'."

Streamlining the TV viewing experience
In this age of second-chance TV, the math is simple: Watch now for hours, or watch later in minutes.

AD AGE: Could Twitter Destroy Hollywood's Marketing Magic?
A little more than 1 in 10 polled moviegoers are using Twitter as something of a movie recommendation -- or non-recommendation -- engine; pretty remarkable when you consider how new and nichey Twitter still is. And that should have Hollywood on edge. Because what if real-time commenter culture -- Twittering and Facebook updating and etc. -- ends up almost instantaneously neutralizing the ability of a studio's multimillion-dollar marketing blitz to get moviegoers to keep going to see a crummy movie in the early days of release?

Inglorious Basterds Is Twitter Age's 1st Success Story
Finally, a Twitter effect that benefits a movie instead of hurts it.

B&B's Drew Tyler Bell gets married
Drew Tyler Bell (Thomas, B&B) wed his fiancée Sarah Grunau in the private garden ceremony on August 2 in Los Angeles. Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Bell!