BITS AND PIECES 02/23
agcbli...@yahoo.com
--Former "American Idol" contestant Vonzell Solomon tells Tyra Banks
tomorrow that she's won the lead in a New York stage production of "The
Return," based on Sonia Levitan's bestseller about Ethiopian Jews
fleeing persecution in Africa. Vonzell will play the lead character
Vesta, and the show will apparently rehearse in L.A. Quincy Jones'
daughter is an executive-producer. If the show does come to New York,
Solomon will join Frenchie Davis ("Rent," "Dreamgirls"), Diana DeGarmo
("Hairspray") and Tamyra Gray ("Bombay Dreams") as former "Idol"
contestants who've segued to the Manhattan stage.
--FOX fixed a glitch yesterday on its "American Idol" Web site that may
have been tapping into fans' wallets. After some "Idol" viewers
complained that they believed their text-message votes were getting
tossed, Fox clarified a section of its FAQ about the show. Only text
message votes cast on Cingular cell phones count - other text message
votes are disregarded, fan blogs complained yesterday. After a call
from The Post, the top of the FAQ section was updated to make it clear
that Cingular phones are the only way to cast a text-message vote. A
Fox spokeswoman said that "Idol" host Ryan Seacrest frequently mentions
on the show that Cingular is the only acceptable way to text message in
a vote.
--IF given the choice, most women would pick an HDTV set over a new
pair of pricey Manolo Blahnik shoes. The findings, which run counter to
the notion that women are less technically inclined than men, appeared
yesterday as part of a new survey from media giant Scripps Howard.
Other choices included a toaster and a day off. But HDTV - the latest
in high-tech television - was chosen by 29 percent of respondents as
their top choice. The only option that beat HDTV was a weekend getaway,
which 42 percent of those surveyed opted for. The survey also found
that the most desired genre of programming respondents want to see in
HD is documentaries, followed by dramas and sports. Lifestyle
programing like Scripps' own HGTV or Food Network ranked third. The
poll included 878 adults and was conducted in conjunction with HGTV's
launch in HD next month. Since the once-sky-high prices of HDTVs have
dropped in the last two years, the gadget has become one of the most
sought-after home entertainment components around.
NY POST/PAGE SIX...
--KID Rock has convinced a federal judge to block the company that
peddled the Paris Hilton porno from selling a video showing him and
ex-Creed singer Scott Stapp having sex with four strippers on a tour
bus. The temporary restraining order issued by U.S. District Court
Judge John Feikens bars World Wide Red Light District from selling or
promoting the X-rated romp. This isn't the first time a rock star has
been granted a court order to stop the release of a sex tape: In 1998,
former Poison singer Brett Michaels won an injunction squelching his
tape with Pam Anderson, who didn't fare as well when she tried to halt
her infamous video with Tommy Lee.
--MIAMI Heat coach Pat Riley chatting with Marlee Matlin before the
christening of Holland America's Noordam, for which the actress serves
as godmother, before the ship left on its maiden voyage from the Cruise
Ship Passenger Terminal.
--SCOTT Baio with a young blonde at the Sky Hotel in Aspen having an
apres-ski cocktail.
--PEOPLE are still talking about how bad Whitney Houston was performing
at the Olympics in Turin. "Nowhere close to a gold-medal performance,
nor even a bronze contender," a witness told Canadian columnist Shinan
Govani. Houston coughed, sniffled and talked her way through one song
and told the crowd: "Why did they choose to do this outdoors? I don't
sing in the cold. It makes my voice funny." Her last number, "I Will
Always Love You," quickly became "her all-time low moment," the witness
reports. Unable to reach the high notes, "Whitney smiled, waved and
winked to the fans. Karaoke drag queens can belt it out better."
--WE may be seeing a lot more of Amanda Lepore . New York's most famous
transsexual has been featured on "The Insider" all week, and now she
tells PAGE SIX she's been signed up by the William Morris Agency -
which is looking to get her a television show. "It would be about me
and all my friends and going out," the Heatherette model and David
LaChappelle muse says. Lepore would be up against Suzanne Bartsch, who
also claims to be getting her own night-life show.
--I-MADE-it-up memoirist James Frey's new megabucks book deal has
exploded into a million little pieces. Frey had a deal with his current
publisher, Penguin-owned imprint Riverhead, for two more books, which
was inked just before it was scandalously revealed last month that Frey
had fabricated much of his story. The reputed new seven-figure contract
included Frey's "first" novel, a "multi-voiced, multi-threaded story of
contemporary Los Angeles," slated for publication in fall 2007. But a
publishing source told PAGE SIX's Jared Paul Stern that Riverhead
decided the author was too much of a liability and has just nixed the
deal after much discussion. "That is correct, and we have no comment,"
Frey's rep says. Earlier this month, Frey's literary agent Kassie
Evashevski, who negotiated the deal, dropped him citing "broken trust."
Meanwhile, Warner Bros. is re-evaluating its big screen adaptation of
Frey's faux memoir "A Million Little Pieces." But none of the
negativity has had much impact on sales of the book, which recently hit
the 3 million mark.
--TIGHT-lipped Busta Rhymes hasn't always been that way. The rapper,
who has yet to share with police what he saw when bodyguard Israel
Ramirez was gunned down, was all about snitching several years ago.
Rhymes dropped the dime on his baby-mama Joanne Wood when she flipped
out on him, damaging his car and front door and ripping several
dreadlocks out of his head, Media Take Out reports. He even provided
cops with her physical description. Apparently she had caught him with
another woman. Rhyme's manager, Mona Scott, declined to comment, saying
"I have no memory of it happening."
--MARIANO Rivera , the best closer in the history of baseball, is
preparing for life after the Yankees. The Panamanian fireballer is
opening Mo's New York Steak House in downtown New Rochelle in
partnership with chef Gary Fosina, whose father, former New Rochelle
Councilman Joe Fosina, is best pals with the pitcher. Rivera, 36, is
seen often at Dino, a small tailor shop across from the local high
school where owner Abramo Dispirato calls him "the nicest man I've ever
met. And his wife is just as nice."
--JAMES Bond fans - infuriated that suave Pierce Brosnan, 52, was
dumped for beady-eyed blond Daniel Craig, 37 - won't be won over by the
photo at right of the new 007 showing off his hairless chest. Fans have
created a Web site, craignotbond.com, asking how the tall, dark
superspy can be played by an actor with the face of a boxer and a
penchant for playing killers, cads and gigolos. They were even more
upset when they learned that Craig can't even drive the classic Bond
car, an Aston Martin DB5, because he can't handle a stick shift.
--LINDSAY Lohan is shaping up to be Hollywood's biggest maneater. Just
19, Lohan has already been linked to Colin Farrell, Joaquin Phoenix,
Jude Law, Wilmer Valderrama, Jared Leto and a host of others - and now,
there's another name to add to the list: "Match Point" star Jonathan
Rhys Meyers. On Monday night, Lohan and Rhys Meyers pulled up to the
Spotted Pig in a black SUV and, spies say, "were escorted into the
draped- off VIP room alone for some privacy . . . They were alone, and
left in the car together." We're sure they're "just friends."
--WHEN beloved downtown celebrity Harold Hunter was found dead of an
apparent cocaine overdose in his Lower East Side apartment last week,
some called it "The Curse of 'Kids.' " Hunter - a professional
skateboarder and man-about-town who appeared in magazine ads for the
Zoo York clothing line - wasn't the first star of Larry Clark's
controversial 1995 movie "Kids" to meet a tragic and untimely demise.
Justin Pierce, who co-starred in the grim but arresting cult classic
about out-of-control teens, hanged himself in a Las Vegas hotel room in
2000. "Kids" launched the careers of Chloe Sevigny and Rosario Dawson,
whom Hunter dated until she took up with his more famous friend
Leonardo DiCaprio. But unlike those lucky "Kids" alums who were
propelled into stardom, Hunter was content to be a local skateboarding
icon, occasional actor and popular fixture on the Lower East Side
scene. Sadly, his bohemian lifestyle didn't leave Hunter with an
abundance of cash, so his grieving friends held a fund-raiser for his
funeral expenses in the private lounge at Hotel on Rivington that went
into the wee hours yesterday morning. Those who wish to contribute are
encouraged to go to haroldhunter.com.
--WHILE actress Natasha Lyonne has yet to resurface - after a stint in
a New York hospital for Hepatitis C and an outstanding warrant for
missing a court date - her self-promoting, radio-host father, Aaron
Braunstein, is preparing to move his WSNR-AM radio show from Sardi's to
Elaine's. "Elaine Kaufman invited me to broadcast 'New Yawk New Yawk'
from there - with the same formula Woody Allen used in 'Broadway Danny
Rose,' " Braunstein tells PAGE SIX. "[Boxing writer] Bert Sugar,
[lawyer] Mel Sachs, myself and Elaine will sit in a round-table,
discussing films, gossip and sports."
NY POST/CINDY ADAMS...
--SO what becomes an Oscar-nominated screenwriter most? Says Noah
Baumbach, up for "The Squid and the Whale," it's New York: "I'm born
and raised in Brooklyn, and I've made only a little bit of a move. I
now live in Manhattan. I basically try to write everything about New
York and try to film it around New York. I get anxieties when I'm out
of my comfort zone. "I need the New York sensibility. I get up
eight-ish or whenever I get up, and although I live with my wife, I go
out for my morning coffee. I like those mom-and-pop-type coffee shops.
I like the portable cardboard cups with the plastic tops. I like how
they feel. I like to carry the thing around. There's no analysis for
why, but as if there's the promise of more, I keep it even after it's
finished. "Then I go to my old apartment in the West Village, which is
now my office. There I steal an Internet connection from my neighbors,
who know I'm doing it. If I paid for it myself, I'd use it more. I'd
waste time more because I'd Google people more. My lunch is at the
desk, working. Pretty much every day it's granola, which tastes like
sawdust. And I take phone calls. That's another way of wasting time,
but it's factored in." Baumbach knows about the passage of time. It
took five years to get "Squid" made. Next up for this normal abnormal
New Yorker is a comedy drama starring his wife, Jennifer Jason Leigh,
and Nicole Kidman playing sisters. Producer, Scott Rudin. They'll shoot
in the spring. The farthest locations are in our nearby countryside
because the picture deals with characters traveling from city to
country. A casting search is on for a boy, 12-14, whom Baumbach
describes as, "Someone who watches a lot. He's introspective. Stares at
adults. Absorbs. And until we find him, so do I. I'm studying piles of
DVDs." The young boy who was in "Squid," how did he find him? "We're
friends with Kevin Kline and his wife, Phoebe Cates, and my wife said,
'We need someone who's just like Owen.' Owen is their son. So I asked
would he audition. And he did. And that's how we got him." And, after
that, Oscar nominee Noah Baumbach hung up and went back to his granola.
--JULIA Roberts, who's due for a limited engagement for "Three Days of
Rain" at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, opening in April, did Palm West
with her director Joe Mantello and their crew..
--Joan Rivers, who fell down QVC stairs while on-camera and, despite
bleeding, stayed on-air, hobbled into "Forbidden Broadway." She gave
them a one-legged standing ovation.
--Doug Thompson, soon-due with a book on Michael Flatley, meeting with
Mrs. Marvin Mitchelson for a bio on the late divorce lawyer. Mitchelson
created the concept of "palimony."
--Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has a bit part in "All In," a film
about poker . . . Shades of the Wayne Gretzkys, ace golfer John Daly's
wife, Sherrie, is doing five months on a federal charge involving a
gambling operation. Daly's cousin is David Hale, who blew Whitewater's
whistle.
--THE American Bar Ass'n sent members 10 rules for media relations. On
the list: Don't antagonize a reporter. Never say "no comment." Always
tell the truth. Do not try to make friends with reporters; their
allegiance is to the story, not you. Journalists don't care about
lawyers, they care about news. E-mail, don't fax. Lose the legal
jargon. Speak plain English to those without law degrees. Do not
micromanage. Do not request editorial approval or questions in advance.
Ain't going to happen.
--OSCAR-winning producer: "If the Academy really cared for us, on
Awards Night they'd arrange toilets closer. Some of us need to go in
the break, and we're not all 22. The walk to the john is very far, and
there's a line, and by the time I could get my body's water pressure up
enough to work, and then tried to run all the way back, I missed the
next two awards. My leading lady won and some poor seat-filler watched
my star's acceptance speech. I missed it. Dustin Hoffman felt so sorry
for me that he knocked on a door to try to get the guy who was in there
to come out and let me in. "If they don't make better arrangements for
us old farts, I'll have to wear a diaper or pee in the seat."
NY POST/LIZ SMITH...
--'I'M AS MAD as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" That
was Peter Finch's great rant in the famous 1976 film "Network," which
was all about the rise of TV news and infotainment. (Finch was awarded
an Oscar - posthumously - and Faye Dunaway also took the statuette for
Best Actress.) Well, screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky's satire from 30
years ago, has turned, scarily, into our daily dose of small-screen
reality. And because everything old is new again - especially when it
is so relevant - "Network" will be remade for television by CBS.
Although the rumor of such a project has been around for years, Les
Moonves, the CEO of the Tiffany Network, made it official at the TV
Critics Association Convention in Pasadena a few weeks back. The last
time the rumor floated, it featured George Clooney, who said he would
direct. (The actor was then in the midst of doing publicity for his
Edward R. Murrow flick, "Good Night, and Good Luck.") Clooney also
revealed that because it was Moonves who suggested the remake, he would
actually cast the TV titan himself as . . . a TV titan. He wanted
Moonves for the Ned Beatty role. So the film is going ahead, and Les
Moonves, who once acted for a living, says he will take the role of the
network chief. He thinks it's "a fun part." (Moonves also said he
expects the remake to be as scathing as the original. "Everything works
today . . . it's not dated at all!") But Clooney, with all those Oscar
nominations on his plate, has changed his mind - he won't be the
director. Perhaps he has had enough of examining the sociopolitical
world of television? No cast has been announced, but allow me to
suggest Diane Lane in the Dunaway role of the crazily ambitious Diana
Christensen. And perhaps Anthony Hopkins as the desperately unhinged
anchorman? Fans of the original movie can look forward to Warner Home
Video releasing a 30th-anniversary DVD next week. Fans of Paddy
Chayefsky can dip into Shaun Considine's bio on the screenwriter, "Mad
As Hell," which has been reissued. Big P.S. - Negotiations are now
under way to bring "Network" to Broadway as - what else? - a musical!
--ON MARCH 12, Liza Minnelli, eternally girlish and optimistic, turns
60. The next night, on March 13, Liza will preside over a grand event
at the Ziegfeld Theater. This is the premiere of the dazzlingly
restored 1972 "Liza With a Z" TV special. (Showtime will air the
concert April 1, and a DVD follows.) This Bob Fosse-directed gem
presented a healthy, outrageously talented Liza at the peak of her
early success - fresh from her "Cabaret" Oscar win. That special
garnered for Liza an Emmy, making her one of the very few performers to
win that prestigious trifecta: Oscar, Tony, Emmy. (She had won the Tony
at age 19 for "Flora, the Red Menace" in 1965.) Liza has been way up
and way down. Why, a few years back she emerged from an illness with
doctors telling her she'd never speak or walk again - no less sing or
dance! But despite heartache perpetually nibbling at her nimble heels,
Liza Minnelli always lands on her feet. She has survived far longer
than her similarly troubled mama, Judy Garland. Liza is made of
sturdier stuff, can cope with her problems openly (addiction is not the
shame it once was), and although, like her mother, vulnerability is a
trump card in her public persona, Liza doesn't place blame. Childhood
horror stories? You won't get them from Liza. And so Miss Minnelli's
fans will be out in force on March 13, cheering a vibrant, still
youthful woman on one of the great nights of her life - on-screen
performing with all her heart, and in the audience, a glittering symbol
of continual rejuvenation and hope.
NY DAILY NEWS/RUSH AND MOLLOY...
--Drummer Liberty DeVitto has been on every Billy Joel tour since 1974.
So why wasn't he hammering the skins at the Piano Man's recent run at
Madison Square Garden? "Artistic differences," says Joel's rep. "I
guess that's what they call it when you try to tell a friend the
truth," DeVitto tells us. DeVitto, who has known Joel since they were
teenagers, says their trouble started at the end of their last tour. "I
told him I was getting divorced, my ex-wife was getting everything,
could he help me out? I helped him create hits, but I wasn't getting
any royalties. The next day, he had the tour manager tell me, 'No
way.'" When Joel didn't invite him to his 2004 wedding to third wife,
Kate Lee, DeVitto says, "I wrote him a letter, confronting him about
his drinking and certain management issues. People said I discredited
him. But then he went into rehab and proved me right." Lately, DeVitto
says, "Billy has said no one is allowed to talk to me." Seeking
conversation, DeVitto has been talking to Mark Bego, whose Joel bio,
"River of Dreams," is due out next December. (It's Bego's 50th book.)
Meanwhile, DeVitto has put together a smoking band, the NYC Hit Squad,
featuring vets from Deep Purple, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and the
Asbury Dukes. They play the Cutting Room tonight.
--Watergate sleuth Bob Woodward says his "darkest fear" is that the
reprieve in terrorist attacks on U.S. soil came about merely because
enemies are waiting until "multiple, high-stakes attacks" can be made.
"Nine-11 will be a footnote, but it could happen, and if it does, we
will become a police state," he told business leaders in Texas. Another
prediction? "You're going to think I'm crazy, but you heard it here
first. I think [Republicans] could nominate Dick Cheney [in 2008]." The
San Antonio Express-News reports that Woodward also worries about the
"immense" secrecy of the Bushies: "Democracies die in darkness."
--The bidding for a diamond-studded glove allegedly worn by Michael
Jackson starts at $250,000, but some die-hard Jackson fans are
questioning its authenticity. In 2002, Jackson told Webster Hall's
Baird Jones that he gave his gloves only to charities, never "to
individuals, even if the person is someone very close to me." The glove
had belonged to Liza Minnelli's ex David Gest, who produced Jacko's
2001 Madison Square Garden concert, and is now being offered by a
Parisian seller. A rep for Gest insists that it belonged to Jackson.
NY DAILY NEWS/LLOYD GROVE...
--PETA President Ingrid Newkirk is using scare tactics against
Universal Studios, whose home entertainment division is hyping the DVD
release of the Uma Thurman/Meryl Streep comedy "Prime" by sending out
100 4-pound boxes of beef on dry ice - each containing six prime rib
filets and six burger patties. "What a limp excuse for a PR stunt,"
Newkirk told Lowdown yesterday. "Many men, in the 'prime' of their
lives, find that eating meat lets them down in the bedroom. Yes, eating
meat is linked to impotence because the fat and cholesterol in meat
eventually clog the arteries to all organs - not just a man's heart."
--PR divo Ronn Torossian misses no opportunity to get his name in the
paper. But I bet that Martha Stewart - once she stops gagging - will
have no trouble rejecting his kind offer of a PR apprenticeship so she
won't get cold-cocked in the future by Donald Trump. "Watching this
public feud unfold," Torossian says, "makes me and my staff cringe."
Touching, I'm sure - but the last time I checked, Ronn, Martha was a
near-billionaire with a corporate empire and a TV show named after her.
And you?
NY DAILY NEWS...
--Mets fans still fuming over John Rocker's many slights will get a
chance to take a swing at the washed-up reliever. Nine lucky New
Yorkers will have the opportunity to hit three pitches off Rocker when
Spike TV brings the surly one to town for a promotional stunt to
coincide with the premiere of "Pros vs. Joes" (March 6 at 10 p.m.), in
which regular guys get to play with professional athletes. ESPN Sports
Radio (AM-1050) listeners can call in for their chance to be selected.
Rocker, with copious security in tow, will be at Bryant Park, March 6
from 7 to 11 a.m. He doesn't expect a warm reception. "I don't know if
they're going to boo me or spit at me," he said.
--Greta Van Susteren anchors "On the Record" from New Orleans tonight
and tomorrow (10 on FNC) as the city embarks on its first post-Katrina
Mardi Gras.
--One of NASCAR's top team owners is getting in with the mob - a
fictional one. HBO has linked with team owner Richard Childress to have
"The Sopranos" on the front of a Chevrolet driven by Clint Bowyer for
the March 12 race in Las Vegas, the same day the mob drama returns to
the airwaves. Bowyer's usual sponsor is Jack Daniel's, which we're
pretty sure they serve at the Bada Bing.
--Chris Cuomo talks with Joran van der Sloot - the prime suspect in
Natalee Holloway's disappearance - on tonight's "Primetime."
--SAO PAULO, Brazil - Serial kissers at Brazil's racy carnival parades
can now swap saliva with even more revelers thanks to a mouth spray
designed to fight germs, just one of many weird products companies have
launched to profit from traditionally libidinous revelry. The spray was
launched by a local company for celebrations this weekend in Salvador
and Sao Paulo, where French kissing among strangers is rife. Its slogan
was "Kiss a lot, kiss pleasurably, kiss safe." "Beije," or "Kiss," is
made with propolis, or beehive glue. Although propolis has long been
used in natural medicine, many health experts disagree about its
positive effects. Brazilian researchers insist propolis extracts from
tropical Bahia state have special qualities that fight microorganisms
and boost the immune system.
--Shakira and Daddy Yankee headline tonight's "Premio Lo Nuestro,"
broadcast live from Miami on Univision. The annual Latin music awards
show is second in popularity only to World Cup soccer among Hispanic
viewers. Shakira is fresh from a sellout Asian concert tour, and Daddy
Yankee has proved a master showman. At last year's awards, the Puerto
Rican reggaeton pioneer arrived in a flying red sports car. Producers
are mum on Daddy Yankee's entrance plans this year. Other artists
scheduled to perform include Juanes, Laura Pausini, Marco Antonio
Solis, Wisin y Yandel, Luis Fonsi, Intocable, Ana Barbara, Los Elegidos
and Ana Gabriel.
USA TODAY/JIM CHENG...
--Film tough guy Joe Pesci will not be charged for allegedly punching a
fan who photographed him in a shopping center parking lot. The Palm
Beach County State Attorney's Office will not file charges against the
"Goodfellas" Oscar-winner because there was no likelihood of
conviction.
--A Paris appeals court fined three photographers the equivalent of
$1.19 each for invasion of privacy by taking pictures of Princess Diana
and boyfriend Dodi Fayed the night of their fatal 1997 car crash. It
also ordered the photographers to pay for announThe CW network has
landed a new actor for its Aquaman project. Justin Hartley has been
cast to replace Will Toale, who was cast when the pilot was ordered by
WB. Hartley is best known for his role as Nicholas Foxworth Crane on
NBC daytime drama Passions. Aquaman, from the team behind WB's
Smallville, also stars Ving Rhames as Aquaman's mentor, McCaffery, and
Denise Quinones as Rachel Starling..
--Jaheim's Ghetto Classics, the R&B singer's first release to crack the
top five, enters Billboard at No. 1 after selling 152,000 copies,
bumping Jack Johnson to second place, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Barry Manilow remains third, trailed by Mary J. Blige, Andrea Bocelli,
the High School Musical soundtrack, Carrie Underwood, James Blunt,
Jamie Foxx and Eminem. Matchbook Romance's Voices lands at No. 43, and
Sergio Mendes' Timeless arrives at No. 44, both with roughly 28,000
copies.
--Comedy Central has enlisted adult-film icon Jenna Jameson to co-star
in its first original animated mobile series, Samurai Love God. Ed
Helms (The Daily Show with Jon Stewart) voices the title character, and
Jameson provides the voice of P-Whip. The series will launch later this
year with eight 2-minute episodes.
--Vin Diesel is the driving force behind The Wheelman. Midway Games,
MTV Films, Paramount Pictures and Diesel's Tigon Studios have entered
into a deal that includes a video game and film. Diesel will star in
the film as a getaway driver who comes out of retirement. cements of
their conviction in three publications.
3 A.M. GIRLS/Kiki King, Eva Simpson & Caroline Hedley
--SHE was set to quit London for LA in a bid to turn her life around -
but it seems something Moss have changed Kate's mind. It looks as if
the 32-year-old clothes horse just can't bear to turn her back on
Blighty just yet - as she misses it so much. Kate had even enrolled
daughter Lila, three, at an American nursery and rented a mansion in
Malibu, but now she has changed her mind. We hear the rock chick was
letting her hair down with old pals Sadie Frost and Davinia Taylor at
the sellout Shockwaves NME Arctic Monkeys gig at London's Brixton
Academy last Friday. She was overheard telling All Saint Nicole
Appleton: "I'm really glad to be home after all the sh*t that has
happened. It's been a difficult few months." A source close to the
model tells us: "Kate hadn't been in Britain for four months after the
Mirror revealed her cocaine shame and then she came home. She suddenly
realised how much she enjoyed being back and how much she had missed
her life here. "She has withdrawn Lila from the US nursery and is
making plans to settle back here for good." Kate was quizzed by police
this month and is still waiting to hear if she will face charges for
taking the class-A drug. We also hear she is so determined to mend her
ways that she's distanced herself from the rest of the notorious
Primrose Hill set - Moss's Posse. The source goes on: "Kate still sees
her old buddies as friends, but she's not going to be spending as much
time with them as she once did." Kate idea, girl.
--DANNII Minogue complaining that the mini bottles of champagne at the
Atlantis Gallery after-party kept fizzing up and spilling.
--Songstress Mariah Carey - nickname: Mimi - braved New York's plunging
temperatures in a revealing top. But she kitted out her beloved Jack
Russell, Jack, in a thermal parka jacket. The 35-year-old beauty, who
scooped three Grammy awards earlier this month, was visiting the MTV
studios in Times Square on Tuesday. An onlooker said: "Mariah was
flaunting her figure but she made sure that Jack was well wrapped up.
She loves him like a baby".
--LOOKS like we've started a right old LA girlie cat fight. First
Mischa Barton called Paris Hilton a "silly bitch" when we spoke to her
at the Baftas on Sunday. Now Paris has hit back. "I don't even know the
girl," Paris drawls. "But she seems to spend a lot of time thinking
about me." But a friend of Mischa claims Paris left Mischa messages on
her mobile after she split with her pal Brandon Davis. "Paris left many
hurtful messages," the friend says in the New York Daily News. "She'd
call her a cow. Mischa had to change her number." Ding, ding, round
four.
--PERHAPS Janet Jackson's struggle to shed weight is why she can't get
a date. Why else would she have to stroll around Beverly Hills in a
T-shirt saying: F*** Me I'm Famous? The 39-year-old singer was ordered
to slim down by her record company after her weight ballooned in the
past six months. It's good to see all her hard exercise and strict
dieting is paying off.
LAS VEGAS JOURNAL/NORM CLARKE...
--Another big step for Roy Horn. After walking on stage with a cane
during an awards presentation Wednesday at the World Magic Seminar at
The Orleans, he told the fellow magicians he had made a New Year's
resolution. With that, he tossed aside his cane, took several
unassisted steps and announced, "The magic is back." Horn couldn't
think of a better place to demonstrate his ongoing progress than a room
full of his fellow magicians, said Dave Kirvin, a spokesman for Horn
and Siegfried Fischbacher.
--Jerome Bettis of the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers, dining
at Tao (The Venetian) on Wednesday night, while teammate Ben
Roethlisberger was downing N9NE Steakhouse Kobe beef burgers at the
Palms' new Mint high-roller salon.
--At Wynn: Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day and Usher, separately
checking into the Tower suites; actor Terrence Howard, dining at
Tableau and Russell Simmons of Def Jam Records catching lunch at
Terrace Point Cafe.
--Guitarist Ted Nugent, in town Wednesday on some hush-hush mission. I
hear he's joining up with a group of well-known rockers for a smokin'
jam for VH1.
--Wilmer Valderrama of "That '70s Show," lunching at Postrio (The
Venetian) on Wednesday.
--Former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka, surrounded by admirers during
lunch at Mesa Grill (Caesars Palace) on Tuesday.
--At Jaime Pressly's fashion show for her J'aime line Tuesday at Pure
(Caesars): members of Green Day, Suicidal Tendencies, boxer Floyd
Mayweather, Kansas City Chiefs stars Larry Johnson and Tony Gonzalez,
illusionist Criss Angel, and Christopher Knight and Adrienne Curry of
"Surreal Life 4."
--At ghostbar (Palms) on Tuesday for a party for a clothing line by
Blink 182's Travis Barker: Nelly and rapper Paul Wall, performing
together; rapper Fabolous and Benji Madden from Good Charlotte.
--A popular Internet beauty twice has left a $1,000 tip in recent weeks
for her favorite guy in Sapphire's male revue.
Associated Press
--NEW YORK (AP) -- Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan and REM frontman
Michael Stipe will headline a New York concert to urge the withdrawal
of U.S. troops from Iraq. The concert, dubbed "Bring 'Em Home Now!"
will be held at the Hammerstein Ballroom on March 20, the 3rd
anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. Rufus Wainwright and Bright Eyes
will also perform, it was announced Wednesday. Sheehan, of Berkeley,
Calif., who camped outside President Bush's ranch in Texas last year to
protest the Iraq war, will speak during the concert. Her 24-year-old
son, Casey, was killed in Iraq in 2004. Chuck D, Fischerspooner,
Peaches, Steve Earle and Devendra Banhart are also scheduled to
perform. "It is impossible not react to the current state of affairs
through personal action and artistic production," said Casey Spooner of
Fischerspooner in a statement. Organizers said the concert will be
followed by a national "Bring 'Em Home Now!" speaking tour that will
feature Sheehan and various authors traveling to 15 U.S. cities in
April. More concert performers were expected to be added later.
--His credits include radio, books, cable TV and movies. Now Howard
Stern is adding talent scout to his "King of All Media" resume. Stern
is seeking entries for the Howard Stern Film Festival, In Demand
Networks announced Wednesday. Submissions of the films, which need to
be five minutes or less, will be accepted until April 11. The top three
films will earn cash prizes and air on Howard TV On Demand. The
winner's share will be $15,000. Network president Robert D. Jacobson,
said the film festival is part of Stern's "commitment to democratize
entertainment." The event gives "the next generation of weird but
brilliant filmmakers a festival they can call their own," Jacobson
said. The festival winner will be announced in New York on April 27.
Entrants can find details on Web site www.howard.tv.
--The former manager of the rock group The Killers has filed a federal
lawsuit against the band members and their lawyer, seeking $16 million
for what he calls breach of contract. Braden Merrick of Los Angeles
alleges in the suit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas
that he was fired last May, once the Las Vegas-based band gained
success. "As soon as he made them superstars they decided to stop
paying him," Howard King, Merrick's Los Angeles lawyer, told The
Associated Press on Wednesday. "He's entitled to a percentage of their
income for his services as a manager and a producer." Merrick's
contract was to have run through 2007, his lawyer said. The two sides
had been negotiating a settlement before the lawsuit was filed. The
band's lawyer, Robert Reynolds, said he and band members Brandon
Flowers, Ronnie Vannucci Jr., Dave Keuning and Mark Stoermer were
surprised by the lawsuit. "The only statement the band would like to
make at this time is that the claims alleged by Mr. Merrick are
absolutely meritless and we intend to defend this action vigorously,"
Reynolds said. The one-time garage band, formed in 2002, signed with
Island Def Jam Records and had a hit with its first release "Hot Fuss."
It sold more than 6 million copies, according to the lawsuit. The
Grammy-nominated band recently began recording a second album.
--As leader of the band that helped give birth to psychedelic music,
Jerry Garcia's name was often associated with fans of leafy herbal
substances. Now the legendary Grateful Dead guitarist has five such
herbal blends named after him and, even better, these are legal. The
first batch of J. Garcia Artisan Teas are expected to make their debut
at premium tea shops and gourmet food stores next week, said Marideth
Post, spokeswoman for The Republic of Tea. The blends, licensed by the
estate of Garcia, who died in 1995, are already available through the
Novato, Calif., company's Web site. Post said a portion of the profits
are being given to DrawBridge, a charity that provides art supplies for
children in homeless shelters. "I think Jerry would be very pleased by
this," said Dennis McNally, Garcia's longtime friend and Grateful Dead
biographer. Although best known for his music, Garcia was also a well
respected abstract artist who created hundreds of works in watercolor,
pencil, ink and other forms. One of his illustrations adorns each tin
of tea. The teas are named with a bit of whimsy that pays tribute to
the artist. "Morning Brew," for example, takes its name from "Morning
Dew" a song the Grateful Dead often performed. "Shady Grown," a blend
of Brazilian and South African teas, is derived from "Shady Grove" a
bluegrass album Garcia recorded. Then there is "Magic Herb Blend," a
tea that pays tribute to a band that during its early years was known
to perform while under the influence of magic herbs. "We had a little
bit of fun with 'Magic Herb Tea,"' Post said with a laugh.
--LOS ANGELES - Tom Gregory just spent $100,000 on two used cowboy
shirts - and he couldn't be happier. The shirts are the ones worn by
the ill-fated lovers, played by Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, in
Oscar front-runner "Brokeback Mountain." "They really are the ruby
slippers of our time," said Gregory, 45, a longtime gay activist. Focus
Features, distributor of "Brokeback Mountain," donated the shirts,
which were sold on eBay to benefit a children's charity.