Thandie Newton and Tupac?!?

'Norbit' and 'The Pursuit of Happyness' star Thandie Newton in Essence Magazine. [scans spotted at Ghetto Fabu]

Myra of Panache Report posted up an interesting tidbit about Thandie Newton and Tupac: Actress Thandie Newton offered up her filthy thoughts to one-time co-star Tupac when she asked about the penis tattooed on the rapper's arm. The British star was working with Shakur on 1997 film Gridlock'd when she asked him about his many tattoos. She recalls, "Because I'm not a typical homegirl, one of the first things I said to him was, 'What's that tattoo? It looks like a penis.' "He laughed and laughed and laughed, I think it was actually a crucifix. My filthy English mind!" And Newton further embarrassed himself when she quizzed the late rapper about his gunshot wound. She tells Giant magazine, "He said, 'It's a scar from being shot.' `What? You were shot?' He's like, 'You don't know I was shot at point-blank range?' "He told me the whole story about how he was shot for the first time in the (testicles), then his f**king skull. But it was someone sweet telling you the story."

In Related News: Actress Thandie Newton is still upset “Crash,” director Paul Haggis wasn't straight with her about the film's controversial "hand rape" scene - because she'd have portrayed her character differently if she'd have known. The pretty Brit's character is violated by Matt Dillon’s cop in the gritty Oscar-winning film, and she admits she was perhaps a little naive to shoot the controversial scene without knowing exactly what Haggis wanted in advance. She tells Giant magazine, "When I read the script, that scene... was really sparcely written... I'm sure this is because otherwise they wouldn't have gotten funding: 'He puts his hands inside her skirt.' I thought it was more like, 'He suggests what he could do.'" But her suspicions were raised when Haggis left the scene until the end of the shoot and then couldn't look Newton in the eye when he briefed her about the shot. After quizzing her about the underwear she had on, and suggesting she might be more comfortable wearing "boy shorts," the writer/director told his star, "We need the scene to really, really, really drive the point home," according to the actress. She now regrets not finding out more about the controversial scene before filming her character's reaction later in the movie - something she had already shot. Newton adds, "I would have played the bedroom scene with Terrence Howard very differently. I would have played her as traumatized, not furious."