The sed in src_prepare() to "avoid lsb-release dependency" no longer works since changeset 26631[1], as xbmc no longer hardcodes the lsb_release location. Changing the sed substitute pattern from '/usr/bin/lsb_release' to 'lsb_release' fixed it for me. [1] http://trac.xbmc.org/changeset/26631
probably fixed now then, thanks http://sources.gentoo.org/media-tv/xbmc/xbmc-9999.ebuild?r1=1.58&r2=1.59