According to Hilton, the split between McGowan and Rodriguez came as the result of the duo's Barbarella plans:

Rumor has it that Rodriguez couldn't find adequate financing for Barbarella because proposed star Rose is not a big enough name, which led to a major blow up between the two.

The new name he's touting to replace Rose in stepping into those space gogo boots? Jessica Alba. Which, if it's true, leads me to this simple question for Robert: Are you fucking high?

Look, I know that Jessica has some level of geek cred from starring in the two Fantastic Four movies as well as your very own Sin City, but don't let that blind you to the simple fact that - well, she can't act. Don't get me wrong, she's very cute and all, but when has she done anything awesome as having a machine gun for a leg or... um... being Alyssa Milano's sister in Charmed? Okay, so I'll admit that it's not like Rose's credits are that much more impressive, but it's all in the attitude: You can believe that Rose would be the kinda girl to strap herself into space and stop interstellar war. Jessica Alba? She's not even someone who can turn herself invisible convincingly.

Bob, Bob... I can call you Bob, right? Listen, Bob. I get it. You don't want to work with your ex. That's fine, even though there's a lot of us who wish you felt differently. But that doesn't mean that you have to replace her with someone with such a black hole of charisma as Jessica. Surely there's a middle ground we can agree on?

...And no, that doesn't mean Scarlett Johansson.

A 'Muse' No More! [Perez Hilton]

According to the USA Today article about the Red Sonja movie, McGowan came to Rodriguez with a script about the scrappy warrior who vows never to sleep with a man until he's bested her in combat. He became excited by the script, but she was originally startled to be offered it. "When they first came to me with it, I thought it was funny," she said. "I do have a body made for sitting on a veranda with mint juleps and a parasol. I don't know why I always have to save the planet."

Rodriguez says McGowan is perfect for Sonja, because she's scrappy. "Rose is a pistol," he explained. "She's whip-smart, has attitude to burn, is sexy, extremely strong, yet has a vulnerable side that would surprise her closest friends. That description also fits Red Sonja."

So what's up with Barbarella? After all, it already has those half-built spaceship sets, but filming on Red Sonja (directed by Rodriguez associate Douglas Aarniokoski) starts in October. It turns out that McGowan and Rodriguez were already shopping around another script for her to star in as of last month — a women in prison TV drama called Women In Chains, according to our sister site Defamer. (I wonder if the script has the Pinocchio sex joke that every women-in-prison movie includes.) And Rodriguez is busy directing a family comedy called Shorts. So it sounds as though they'd already kind of given up on Barbarella, deep in their hearts.

[USA Today and Defamer]