Comfort Over Style?

Nuttin' like sporting some Vans kicks with a ball gown:

--Call Manolo, Lindsay! :)

Quit Whining

Just stop talking, Tara:

Tara Reid is bordering on a breakdown now that her E! show, "Taradise," has been officially canceled and other offers of work have dried up, her friends say. The "American Pie" star — who has fired her publicist and moved back to New York — had a "complete meltdown" Wednesday during a rambling interview for Chaunce Hayden's Steppin' Out magazine, Hayden says.

Reid's voice cracked, and she sounded on edge as she told Hayden: "How many more years are [the media] going to pick on me? There's other new young bad girls. Move on to someone else! . . . I need one more great movie role so they say, 'Wow, she can act! She's a great actress.' Then I think they'll leave me alone . . . If I'm going to try and do something, it has to happen this year. I'm not stupid."

Reid was recently photographed being helped out of a club as her denim skirt rode up, revealing a sadly out-of-shape derriere. Hollywood insiders say she has gained at least 15 pounds and will have to undertake a fitness regimen before she gets parts.

But Reid blames the media. "People think [I am just a party girl], and it's bull[bleep]," she ranted to Hayden. "I wish they would just tell the truth. I'm not a drunk . . . I don't have a drinking problem. I don't have a drug problem, for sure. "Listen, if I could get good movies, you would never see me going out. But when there's nothing to do, what am I supposed to do, just sit in my house and go crazy? But going out is not all I do. "I'm just fed up. I just want a chance again. I want to show that I am an actress . . . I just wish a director would believe in me.

"The gossip reporters know the truth. They know they could write good things about me. They could write I'm a good person who is cleaning up her act. I am getting older, and I want different things in my life. I want to get married and have kids. "I've had a million publicists, and they've done nothing for me . . . Publicists are supposed to fight for me and believe in me, and they don't do that. They don't! "I thought 'Taradise' was going to help me . . . I wanted to show the whole world the truth — I'm fun . . . But do I think it was cut like that? No. It could have been a better show . . . I didn't want to look like a total party-girl drug retard. I think the shots they show aren't fair."

Duff Says, "Don't get fat!"

Teenage pop star Hilary Duff has celebrated her 18th birthday by recording an anti-obesity radio ad for the Looking Good California campaign. The singer/actress turned 18 yesterday, the same day as her new spot started airing.

In the short ad, Duff urges fans to "stay fit and eat right" because "what goes inside is eventually going to show on the outside."

Carson Desk To Be Auctioned

The rosewood desk Johnny Carson sat behind for countless celebrity interviews is among several "Tonight Show" items headed for the auction block.

"If the microphone was his pen and sword, the desk was his field of battle," said Doug Norwine, director of Heritage Galleries & Auctioneers' music and entertainment memorabilia. "This is a desk with a story."

In April, Heritage Galleries sold Carson's on-air microphone at auction for $50,787. Among the unique features of the gold-colored, inlaid top desk: a hidden, sliding ashtray holder Carson used to conceal his lit cigarettes; a trash bin; and a lining of orange shag carpet with a burn mark from the time Carson set fire to his index cards after his jokes kept tanking.

Valentino Lashes Out

Look out Cameron Diaz, fashion designer Valentino has been spreading his claws.

According to the Italian style expert the actress and her My Best Friend's Wedding co-star Julia Roberts are nothing short of "bag ladies". It seems the designer is missing the glamorous old days of cinema, when stars of the silver screen looked stunning every minute of every day. And to prove his point, Valentino has singled out Julia and Cameron for a dressing down.

"Today you see Julia Roberts and Cameron Diaz running around looking unkempt in jogging trousers," the catwalk guru told German magazine Die Zeit. "They look like bag ladies, like homeless people. In the past you never saw that. "In the past, actresses had to commit in their contracts to appear in public like stars when they left their homes. "Women had less to do and looked after their appearance. They changed their outfits two or three times a day or had a complicated hairstyle."

Couric on the Defensive

Morning-news divas apparently have feelings, too.

Months after several scathing news stories portrayed Katie Couric as a tyrannical prima donna whose mere presence in the NBC hallways sent staffers scurrying for cover, the Today show co-anchor has gone on the defensive, reports the New York Daily News.

In a recent interview, Couric admits that reports of her off-camera bad behavior have gotten under her skin. "Nobody enjoys being trashed," says Couric in the latest issue of AARP the Magazine. "But it comes with success, with an increasingly snarky environment in the world today."

Couric goes on to call the stories "predictable and tiresome" and "full of malarkey."

Theron Gets Star

Oscar winner Charlize Theron's career came full circle Thursday when she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame only blocks from where she was first "discovered."

"I had big dreams when I came here, but this is an incredibly amazing gift ... two cherries on top of the cake," Theron told a cheering crowd at the star's unveiling.

Surrounded by family and friends from her native South Africa, Theron recounted how at 18 an agent found her in line at a bank on Hollywood Boulevard. Her mother, in attendance, had pushed the tall, beautiful star to move to Los Angeles to pursue film acting.

Initially a model, and then a ballerina, the 30-year-old danced for New York's Joffrey Ballet before rising through the ranks of Hollywood.

Renee and Tom Team Up Again

Renée Zellweger's work schedule is filling up. With the actress signed up for a biopic about Peter Rabbit author Beatrix Potter, now comes word that the Cold Mountain Oscar winner is also set to work for her Jerry Maguire costar, Tom Cruise.

Zellweger has signed with Paramount Pictures to star in The Eye, a remake of a 2002 Thai thriller of the same name in which a blind heroine receives a cornea transplant that even allows her to see ghosts – not all of them friendly. Cruise is producing the remake with his film-company partner Paula Wagner, reports Variety.

The new version is being is envisioned as a psychological horror film. No start date has been announced.

Too Lazy to Fill Pages

Paris Hilton has announced plans to release a second book - but she wants her fans to write it this time around.

The hotel heiress is preparing a sequel to her book Confessions Of An Heiress, which will include a partially empty journal. Your Heiress Diary: Confess It All To Me, due in November, will feature more than 150 photographs of Hilton, along with messages from her guiding the reader on subjects.

Fires Threaten Homes

Wildfires have ravaged nearly 7,000 acres of the southern California hills outside of Los Angeles, where many celebrities call home. Stars like Will Smith and his wife Jada have a home in the area, but their spokesperson has told ET their house has, so far, been spared.

Other A-listers who live in the threatened locale include "Everybody Loves Raymond" star Brad Garrett, Alyssa Milano, Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey. The blaze is now five percent contained, but firefighters face a tough day of dry, hot and windy weather. It is not known how the fires began.

D&G Celebrate 20 Years

An emotional Dolce & Gabbana celebrated their 20th year of business on Thursday, flicking through archive footage of the sexy style that shot them to stardom and striding into the next decade down on the farm.

This was the show fashionistas were looking forward to at Milan fashion week and even the huge, sweaty queue outside and the hour-long delay did nothing to dampen their enthusiasm.

When the lights finally went down, a cinema projector flickered into life and flashed up reams of black and white pictures of past Dolce & Gabbana shows while the duo's romantic signature tune from the opera "Cavalleria Rusticana" blared out.

"Their greatness is to have stamped their imprint on a whole look," Franca Sozzani, editor of Italian Vogue, told Reuters. "The image of strength and confidence they created is so recognizable that it truly stands out on the street."

For the grand finale, the soundtrack changed to Giuseppe Verdi's "La Traviata" and a dozen courtesans rose from the stage floor, barefoot in billowing ballgowns with pastoral prints and cowgirl broderie anglaise mixing with acres of tulle skirt.

Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana then emerged from the pit, hand in hand despite their well-publicized break-up, and walked the runway dewey eyed as the fashion crowd jumped to their feet for a standing ovation.

HooterControl

It's nearly a year since Tara Reid popped out of her dress at Diddy/ Puff Daddy/ P Diddy/ Puffy's 35th birthday party - and she's finally spoken out about Taragate.

The American Pie star promises she's finally got her "hooters under control" and says she can't believe the storm it caused - as if her boob "popped out and shot Gandhi".

Tara was left blithely exposed as the cameras flashed at Sean Coombs' bash, exposing a pretty major nipple scar. And she just can't believe how much exposure her exposure got.

"People act like it was the worst crime in the world. It was a mistake, you know!" Tara said in an interview for the November issue of FHM. "But you would think my boob had popped out and shot Gandhi! "My hooters are under control. I'm taped up now, totally. I'm using double tape. Double double tape. My boobs are going nowhere again."

But for all the protestations, it may not be the last we see of those 'hooters'. Tara also tells FHM that Playboy have offered "millions" for her to do a nude spread and just keep on calling - it may be just a matter of time?

Lohan to Bare All

Lindsay Lohan is set to bare all for an upcoming Vanity Fair cover.

The 19-year-old star, who has been the subject of weightloss shock stories in the media for the past year, is keen to show off her healthy figure - and she has chosen to get naked for the style magazine.

According to In Touch magazine, Lohan shot the top secret cover photo on a beach in Malibu, California last week - and it was actually her idea to pose naked.

A source says, "It was Paris Hilton's recent Vanity Fair cover, where she's topless and covering her breasts with her arms, that inspired Lindsay to push the envelope even further." In some of the Vanity Fair photos, Lindsay mimics her idol, Marilyn Monroe.

Spring Wedding For Crowstrong

It's going to be a spring wedding for Sheryl Crow and Lance Armstrong.

A spy says the lovebirds will tie the knot in April at the Bacara Resort in Santa Barbara, Calif. Crow will wear a Ralph Lauren dress and has hired Lauren to personally "design" the entire event. "Everything from the dress down to the candles and flatware will be from his collections," the source said.

Moss Goes to Rehab

Kate Moss has checked into the $4,000-a-night Meadows Clinic in Phoenix, Ariz., for a month of "medical treatment and therapy," reports the Times of London.

The British supermodel, 31, was photographed by a London tabloid earlier this month allegedly snorting cocaine. As a result, she has lost several lucrative modeling contracts – with Burberry, Chanel and H&M, among them – and is currently under investigation by police.

Moss will reside at the clinic without her 2-year-old daughter, Lila Grace, says The Times, which reports that the move is part of Moss's attempt to start rebuilding her career. The paper also says that Moss will be cut off from friends and family members during her recovery treatment program, and will not be permitted use of the telephone or allowed to smoke cigarettes.

I May Get a Cavity

Pop beauty Jessica Simpson has announced plans to launch yet another candy-flavored beauty line.

The singer is naming the line after her 1999 album, Sweet Kisses, and will be the fourth of her kissable collections - following Dessert, Taste and Treats. Unlike the other lines, Sweet Kisses will only be available at discount chain Wal-Mart, instead of Sephora, which has carried most of her previous ranges.

Sweet Kisses, hitting shelves next month, comes in the new flavors of vanilla cupcake, creme brulee and strawberry sorbet, and will include flavored fragrance, hair and body shimmer mist, body frosting and lip gloss, reports MTV News. Simpson says, "Sweet Kisses is very personal to me, and I can't wait to share it."

Dallas Movie

John Travolta, Mel Gibson and Kevin Costner are all said to be in the running to play J R Ewing in the movie remake of Dallas. Variety says John Travolta has been widely tipped for the role which was originally played by Larry Hagman on TV. But it adds that Mel Gibson "hasn't completely ruled out the job", Kevin Costner "wants to see the rewrite" and that Tommy Lee Jones is also in the frame.

The leading candidate for Sue Ellen is Catherine Zeta-Jones, but Demi Moore and Jennifer Lopez are also said to be interested.

Matthew McConaughey and Owen Wilson are both being courted to play Bobby Ewing, says Variety.

Drew Barrymore and Reese Witherspoon are both said to be up for the role of Pamela while Lindsay Lohan, Jessica Simpson or Mandy Moore could play Lucy.

Jane Fonda is rumored to be in the running to play Miss Ellie.

--What a potentially awesome ensemble cast!

Anti-Paris Brigade

Film veterans Shirley MacLaine, Shirley Temple and Catherine Deneuve have joined the list of stars criticising socialite Paris Hilton, because they believe the hotel heiress does not deserve her film roles.

MacLaine, 71; Deneuve, 61; and former child star Temple, 77, join country singer Gretchen Wilson, Jon Bon Jovi, Sharon Osbourne and designer Valentino, who have all admitted disliking Hilton.

MacLaine scathes, "She just shops and turns up to parties. "So she wears pink and has blonde hair and suddenly calls herself not a starlet or an ingenue - no, according to Paris, she is a movie star. "It irritates me. In my day, you had to really work. It took Bette Davis seven years of hard slog to reach the point where her name was above the title on a movie."

Temple adds, "(Paris) is stealing the thunder from really talented actors who have learned their craft."

Meanwhile, French beauty Deneuve asks, "Who is she but a provocative young Barbie doll?"

Cox to Head to Wisteria Lane?

Courteney Cox is reportedly in talks to guest star on Desperate Housewives.

The 41-year-old Friends star is in negotiations to play a mental institute escapee in a future episode, reports the New York Post. It would mark Cox's comeback after the birth last year of her daughter Coco Riley.

Jen Digs Deep

Jennifer Aniston is seeking solace in the teachings of late revered spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi following her split from husband Brad Pitt earlier this year.

The former Friends star has reportedly transformed her lifestyle after a confidante presented her with a book of the Indian philosopher's teachings, and she is especially interested in learning Gandhi's doctrines of self-sufficiency and fearlessness.

A source tells British newspaper the Daily Mirror, "Because of the book she is re-evaluating her life. "She's undergone a major life-change so she's got the chance to experiment."

Johnny Cash Musical

He topped Nashville charts, conquered New York publishing and is the subject of a new movie. Now the late Johnny Cash will reach Broadway in February with the opening of "Ring of Fire," a musical featuring the classic songs of the legend known as "The Man in Black."

The producers said on Wednesday the musical featuring 38 of Cash's songs would begin performances in New York in February, directed by Richard Maltby, who won a Tony Award for conceiving and directing the Fats Waller musical "Ain't Misbehavin'."

The Benator?

The Benator?

That's the hot new idea being tossed around by Virginia Democrats, who are desperately searching for a big name like Ben Affleck to challenge the reelection bid of rising GOP star Sen. George Allen next year, now that outgoing Gov. Mark Warner has ducked out.

Why, who should happen to be pondering a move to Thomas Jefferson country but a certain square-jawed media magnet with a taste for liberal politics and millions to spend on it . . . Ben Affleck ! Star of "Gigli" and the J.Lo tab romance, now happily settled with "Alias" star Jennifer Garner.

The couple, expecting their first child, have been shopping for real estate around Charlottesville. British tabloids claim it's a done deal; we will only go so far as to report that they checked out at least one country estate a few weeks ago.

It was about that time that party officials started batting Affleck's name around. "It's spread pretty widely, at least in the political underground," University of Virginia professor Larry Sabato, Virginia's premier pundit, told Michael Shear, The Post's Richmond correspondent.

Another name on the wish list: blockbuster legal-thriller writer John Grisham . But the central Virginia farmhouse owner, who gives generously to Democrats and did a stint in the Mississippi legislature, has brushed off past overtures, sources say.

In truth, the Dems are less concerned with beating Allen than slowing him down. Both he and Warner are eyeing the 2008 presidential race.

Moron

"Jackass" star Steve-O claims he can't remember any of his drunken antics on Monday night's "Too Late With Adam Carolla."

In an e-mail to one of the show's producers, Steve-O says: "I just woke up with no recollection of taping Adam's show. Wow. I can't help being more proud of myself." On the show, an extremely lubricated Steve-O came out swearing and spitting, tried to tackle Carolla and broke a glass coffee table by smashing it with his fist — sending blood from his cut leg spurting all over the stage.

Back Together?

SCOTUS and Anna

The Supreme Court shed its staid image Tuesday, giving stripper-turned Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith a new chance at a piece of the fortune of her 90-year-old late husband.

The court said it would hear arguments early next year as part of Smith's effort to collect as much as $474 million from the estate of J. Howard Marshall II. The oil tycoon married her in 1994 when he was 89 and she was 26. The case promises to be the sexiest of the nine-month term which begins next week.

"She's very excited. She will be attending arguments, there's no question about that," Smith's lawyer, Howard K. Stern, said in a telephone interview from Vermont where the television reality star is filming a movie.

Gwyneth Says...

Gwyneth Paltrow wishes she found success in her later years, because she had nothing to strive for after winning her Oscar.

While Paltrow's popularity in Hollywood peaked at the age of 26, the actress admits she was unequipped to cope wit the pressures of fame and didn't want to reach the pinnacle of her career so early. After leaping to fame in 1995 thanks to her romance with Brad Pitt, Paltrow's more recent films have failed to match the huge success of 1998 period romance Shakespeare In Love, for which she won an Academy Award.

Paltrow, who turns 33 today says, "When you reach the pinnacle of your success at 26, as I did, it's not healthy. It leaves you in a sort of crisis in terms of what you're supposed to be and do for the rest of your life. I made the mistakes of working too much and it turned out to be really the wrong thing. I just had a lot of life in 10 years. I achieved a lot early, but I wasn't very happy."

Since her 2003 marriage to Chris Martin and the 2004 birth of their baby Apple, Paltrow is finally happy. She enthuses, "At this point in my life, I have a real life. Having Apple has changed everything for me."

Ozzy Pulled a Jude

Ozzy Pulled a Jude:

Sharon Osbourne says Ozzy cheated on her with his children's nanny on the night son Jack was born.

Sharon, 52, whose autobiography Extreme is being serialised in The Sun, said: "Ozzy was loaded when he got to the hospital. Then he collapsed and went home. "My assistant popped in to see if he was OK and found him in bed with the nanny. She wasn't a beautiful blonde - she was an ugly old cow."

But Sharon says that Ozzy eventually gave up cheating for good - after a faulty AIDS test came back positive. Sharon insisted he had the test in 1986 after he admitted bedding "some old tart he picked up at a bar".

She says: "I wanted to give him a shock. And it certainly did that."

Stupid

After three smash American Pie movies, the film's producers figure fans are up for a fourth slice.

But American Pie: Band Camp won't arrive in theaters; it's going direct to DVD. And only Eugene Levy remains from the original cast of the hit comedy franchise.

For movies that have developed fan bases through several theatrical sequels, direct-to-DVD versions can be a cost-effective way to wring more dollars out of an established movie franchise.

Producer Martin Bregman, whose Carlito's Way: Rise to Power, the prequel to 1993 Carlito's Way, arrives on DVD today, says that with rising production costs and star salaries, "in many cases a film will go directly to DVD because it's simply a more profitable situation for a studio."

Kirsten Spills It

During an interview this weekend promoting Elizabethtown, Kirsten Dunst confirmed rumors that Thomas Haden Church will play Sandman and Topher Grace is Venom in director Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3, opening in theaters on May 4, 2007.

"We have really great people though as the villains in this film, Thomas Haden Church and Topher Grace -- Venom and Sandman," said Dunst, who plays Mary Jane Watson in the Spidey films.

"Maybe I wasn't supposed to say that," she added before reversing her claim. "It's the other way around. You're right," she conceded to a journalist.

R. Kelly and Wife Separated

R. Kelly's got another chapter of marital drama to sing about — but this time, it's from his own life. Earlier this month, Kelly's wife, Andrea, was granted an emergency protective order to keep the singer away from her, claiming physical abuse, harassment, stalking and interfering with her personal liberty. She had written in her petition that she didn't want any contact with him "at all, by any means."

When that order expired on Friday, she asked for it to be dismissed instead of extended — but she's since hired one of Chicago's top divorce attorneys, Donald Schiller, who told MTV News that while Andrea Kelly hasn't filed for divorce, the couple are now separated and she's moved out of their home.

"My wife and I had a heated argument, and we are now in the process of working it out," R. Kelly said in a statement released Monday (September 26). "We hope that the press and public will give us the time and privacy we need to resolve this very personal situation."

In Andrea Kelly's petition to the court, however, she referred to not one but several such heated arguments, including one in which she asked for a divorce. She wrote that Kelly "snapped" at her because a man turned up in the background of a photo she took with her children in Miami in August, and that two days after that, he "snapped" at her again, because of a comment she made about a man in a magazine.

Tupac Screenplay

A screenplay written by slain rapper Tupac Shakur is being produced as a feature film.

"Live 2 Tell," a script Shakur wrote in 1995 about an inner-city black youth who becomes a drug kingpin and later goes straight, was acquired by Insomnia Media Group, which plans to begin production next March, company Chairman Bret Saxon and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bowler said Tuesday.

Insomnia acquired the rights from Tupac's mother, Afeni Shakur, who will be a producer on the film, which has not yet been cast.

SJP Says...

Sarah Jessica Parker doesn't consider herself to be a fashion icon.

"It's not the way I perceive myself, I'm so low on my priority list," she says. "I love beautiful clothes and am privileged enough to have access to them a lot… but they also are returned the next day. They are not mine."

In Toronto this week for the Canadian launch of her fragrance, Lovely, the 40-year-old actress says that she always wanted the scent to be subtle. "We've all been hugged by people who are wearing something really confident," she says. "I didn't want people to be apologizing, 'Sorry. It's not me, I hugged Sue earlier.'"

Hollywood Wedding

Jennifer Jason Leigh and director Noah Baumbach have married, the new groom confirmed on Monday night at the premiere of his new movie. The pair exchanged vows in Hollywood over Labor Day weekend.

"I expect to be with her the rest of my life," Baumbach said at the New York Film Festival premiere of his new film The Squid and the Whale, which opens in limited release Oct. 5.

It's the first marriage for both. The couple met while Leigh was starring on Broadway as Catherine in Proof, a role she took on in 2001. The pair currently split time between New York and Los Angeles. "We're New Yorkers with a country place in Los Angeles," Baumbach recently told The New York Times.

The 43-year-old Leigh's credits include 1982's Fast Times at Ridgemont High, as well as Single White Female and Palindromes. Baumbach has directed such films as 1995's Kicking and Screaming and Mr. Jealousy, and he co-wrote last year's The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.

Melania's Pregnant!

Donald Trump and his wife, Melania Knauss, are expecting their first child together, his rep confirms.

"They are expecting in the spring," says the spokesperson, adding: "They are very happy."

As for becoming a father again – while this will be his first child with the 35-year-old Melania, he has four other children – Trump, 59, "is loving it," the rep said. "He's always said he wouldn't mind having more of a family."

The New York-based Apprentice star and real-estate developer has three children by his first wife, Ivana (Donald Jr., 27; Ivanka, 23; and Eric, 21) and a daughter with second wife Marla Maples (Tiffany, 11).

Were We All Punk'd?

Could it be? Could the recent Demi and Ashton wedding really be the ultimate Punk-ing?

Jossip has the scoop on a note they received from a man claiming he has "insider information" and that the wedding was indeed, the ultimate punk of Us Weekly. Click here to read.

Samantha Jones, Godmother?

Britney Spears will reportedly ask 'Sex and the City' star Kim Cattrall to be her new son's godmother.

The sexy actress, who played raunchy Samantha in the hit show, has been friends with Britney since playing her mother in the movie 'Crossroads'.

So the pop babe is keen for Kim to play an important role in baby Sean Preston's life. A friend is quoted by Britain's News of the World newspaper as saying: "Britney loves Kim and will be asking her to be her godmother."

Celebrity Quotes

Some recent celebrity quotes:

"It sounded like Dodger Stadium in there."
– Taryn Manning (Hustle & Flow), on the burst of applause following the landing of a crippled JetBlue airliner in L.A. The actress was one of 140 passengers who watched their own ordeal on inflight TV

"What's Tom Cruise going to stand on?"
– Chris Rock, visiting Oprah Winfrey's new set, which lacks a couch

"It has been reported that the Church of Scientology is reaching out to model Kate Moss to help her with her cocaine problem. Tom Cruise told Moss, 'Trust me, you don't need cocaine to jump around like an idiot.' "
– Conan O'Brien

"I went to Europe for a month on tour and we kinda dated by Blackberry."
– Sheryl Crow, on the beginning of her relationship with fiancé Lance Armstrong, to Entertainment Weekly

"Just having fun. Got to do it while I've still got it."
– Tiger Woods, on why he dyed spots in his hair

Coach Suge

Hip-hop boss Marion "Suge" Knight is considering quitting the rap game and becoming a college football coach.

The Death Row Records founder, who was shot in the leg last month, says he wants to take gang youths in L.A. and turn them into athletes. "I'm at a point where probably in the next couple of years I'm gonna go coach football," he tells contactmusic.com. "It's something I enjoy. I don't need a paycheck for it."

The 325-pound Knight went to University of Nevada at Las Vegas on a football scholarship and briefly played for the Oakland Raiders.

Clooney's Retro-Casino

George Clooney hopes to take revelers back in time when he opens his new Las Vegas, Nevada casino, because he wants it to be the type of venue his late aunt Rosemary Clooney would have played in her heyday.

The movie star admits he's a huge fan of big band era venues that catered for crooners and the swinging stars of yesteryear - and he wants to recreate that in Sin City.

He explains, "We have this romantic vision of putting on a suit, getting dressed up and going down to the casino and having a big band playing, having dinner and pushing the tables back and people dancing. It's the way I grew up watching (aunt) Rosemary sing at those places. I found some people who are crazy enough to let us get away with it." The new casino complex, Las Ramblas, is set to open at Christmas 2007.

New Coupling?

With a stellar collection of past girlfriends, including Nicole Kidman, Kylie Minogue, Adriana Lima and Vanessa Paradis, Lenny Kravitz knows a good thing when he sees it. Apparently, the "Fly Away" singer may have set his attention on an equally talented musician and fellow Grammy winner - Alicia Keys.

The New York Daily News reports that the two were seen together at New York's Mr. Chow, laughing, talking and feeding each other. While Keys' flack described Kravitz as a "friend" and refused to comment on whether or not she was still dating Kerry Brothers, her business partner, spies witnessed the soul man looking like he wanted to eat her up as they sat next to each other in a booth.

2 More Bite the Dust

2 More Bite the Dust:

--Chad Michael Murray, 24, and Sophia Bush, 23, have separated after five months of marriage. A spokesperson for Bush confirmed the split, but offered no further details on the relationship between the couple, who star together on One Tree Hill.

"This is a difficult and unfortunate situation," said Bush in a statement. "I am glad this is being resolved sooner rather than later." "I am saddened to announce that Sophia and I are separating," said Murray. "This is a very difficult time for me."

--Comedian Kathy Griffin filed for divorce from her husband, Matthew Moline, in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday. Her rep declined to comment, but the divorce papers cited irreconcilable differences. The couple have no children.

Griffin and Moline wed in Hollywood in February 2001, as maid of honor Brooke Shields and guest Camryn Manheim looked on.

AFI's Top Film Scores

Not only was his score for 1977's Star Wars named the number one Greatest Film Score of all time by the list-happy folks at the American Film Institute, but the music he wrote for 1975's Jaws and 1982's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial also made the cut, coming in at number six and 14 respectively.

A jury of over 500 film artists, composers, musicians, critics and historians were tapped to determine which of the most memorable scores would be chosen for The Big Picture—AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores, a new list commissioned by the famed institute in association with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association.

The Top Ten:
Star Wars (1977); John Williams
Gone with the Wind (1939); Max Steiner
Lawrence of Arabia (1962); Maurice Jarre
Psycho (1960); Bernard Herrmann
The Godfather (1972); Nino Rota
Jaws (1975); John Williams
Laura (1944); David Raskin
The Magnificent Seven (1960); Elmer Bernstein
Chinatown (1975); Jerry Goldsmith
High Noon (1952); Dimitri Tiomkin

101 Things...

Click here for 101 Things You Didn't Know About Rock 'n Roll.

• dustbury.com linked with I knew 46 of these
  
  

"Lestat"

"Lestat" sings on Broadway next April. The Elton John-Bernie Taupin musical featuring novelist Anne Rice's seductive vampire hero will open on Broadway April 13 at the Palace Theatre. Preview performances begin March 11. The musical will have its world premiere in San Francisco Dec. 17-Jan. 29 before moving to New York.

Hugh Panero, Broadway's most recent "Phantom of the Opera," will portray the title character in the show, which has music by John, lyrics by Taupin and a book by Linda Woolverton. The director is Robert Jess Roth.

Also in the cast of "Lestat'" are Carolee Carmello as Gabrielle and Jack Noseworthy as Armand.

And in other Broadway news:

Talk show host Oprah Winfrey is branching out to produce a Broadway musical based on Alice Walker's critically acclaimed novel The Color Purple.

Winfrey starred alongside Whoopi Goldberg in the 1985 film version which depicts the struggles of a young black girl who is raped by her father. The plot is of harrowing significance for the talk show star as she also suffered sexual abuse as a child. And she hopes her fame will help the show reach a wider audience. She says, "I hope to open the door to the possibilities for a world of people who have never been or even thought of going to a Broadway show."

Choo Does Music

What does a four-inch stiletto sound like? Jimmy Choo fans are about to find out, as the 9-year-old label launches its very first CD in stores this week.

While Jimmy’s shoe collection is curated by creative director Sandra Choi, its music is culled by DJ Daniel Yeardye, a popular London DJ who chose beats from Jamaica, Africa, and China to compliment his own original melodies—and the original shoes and bags in the Jimmy Choo store.

The CD is packaged in a lilac Jimmy Choo case, and retails for $20 in Jimmy Choo stores.

Ashton and Demi Wed

Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore are now husband and wife. The star couple were married Saturday night at their home in Beverly Hills, a source confirms.

Moore, 42, and Kutcher, 27, exchanged vows in front of 100 guests, including Demi's daughters, actress Soleil Moon Frye and her husband Jason Goldberg (who is Kutcher's Punk'd producing partner), as well as other close friends and family. "They are so happy together," says a source close to the couple.

The ceremony came together at the last minute; final preparations were completed within 24 hours. "It was a Kabbalah ceremony," according to a source. The couple's rep declined to comment. This is the first marriage for Kutcher and the third for Moore, whose previous unions – to rock musician Freddie Moore (1980-84) and to actor Bruce Willis (1987-2000) – ended in divorce.

Kutcher and Moore initially met at a casual dinner in New York City in 2003. After the That '70s Show star began dating Moore that May, he quickly carved out a place in the lives of her three daughters by Willis – Rumer, 17; Scout, 14; and Tallulah, 11 – who came to embrace Kutcher as a third parent, affectionately calling him MOD, short for "My Other Dad." "We talk about everything," said Kutcher of his close ties to the young women. "It's amazing."

As for the key to the couple's blissful bond, they curb their negative emotions – a basic tenet of the pair's Kabbalah beliefs – and they are also always up-front with each other. "When I'm putting up a front, she calls me on it," Kutcher told Oprah Winfrey in April. "And I call her on her crap."

Playful Rivalry

Val Kilmer doesn't have an Oscar, unlike his old Julliard classmate Sean Penn — but he's better looking.

Kilmer says he was turned down for a role in a college play that ultimately went to Penn — but he didn't mind at all, reports The Boston Herald. Because the note he got from the director explained that Val was "too strong and good-looking" for the part! "So we used to rib each other," Kilmer says.

"During the run-up to the play, Sean Penn made the cover of Rolling Stone with the title 'The Next James Dean.' He put it on my door. So I Xeroxed the letter from the director and put it on his door. I addressed it: 'Dear 'Weak and Ugly,' Glad you were on Rolling Stone. Suck on this.' "

Fashion Disaster

Lindsay's outfit looks like something Ana Gasteyer's character Margaret Jo McCullen would wear on the SNL skit, Delicious Dish.

But He's Not Racist

Kanye says:

"I hate music where white people are trying to sound black. The white music I like is white."

"I like Franz Ferdinand. That's the shit."

Watch Your Back, Kristen

Kristin Cavalleri from MTV's Laguna Beach gabbed to Rolling Stone about Lindsay Lohan's prior relationship with Laguna Beach's Talan Torriero.

According to Kristin, "One night when [Lohan and Torriero] were dating, I slept in Talan's bed, I mean, I was fully clothed, wearing a long T-shirt - nothing went down. Then at, like, 6 a.m. Lindsay comes in and freaks out! She starts crying, going 'Aaargh!' and slams a glass on the table. I was like, 'Are you kidding me right now?' Talan had to tell her to leave."

--Something tells me Lindsay would win in a catfight between these two.

J.Lo Won't Diet

Superstar Jennifer Lopez once fired her manager because he ordered her to diet, something the voluptuous star was determined never to do.

The actress was appalled when the manager told her to aim to look like slender Spin City beauty Heather Locklear. Lopez says, "At the beginning, when I first started doing music and movies I think I had this attitude that I didn't have to be like anyone else. I didn't have to conform to being very thin. I had this manager who was very critical of my shape, he felt that everyone should look like Heather Locklear - thin and blonde. I fired him."

Nick To Model

Abercrombie and Fitch has approached Nick Lachey, the husband of pop star Jessica Simpson, to pose in their upcoming campaign. They plan to pay him $750,000 for his work.

Madonna Dropped For Ashlee?

Madonna has been dropped from the front cover of a magazine in favor of Ashlee Simpson.

The singer was set to pose for the December issue of Blender as part of a promotional tour for her next album, Confessions On A Dancefloor. However, it now appears that pop star Ashlee Simpson will be taking Madonna's place.

"Madonna was fuming. She never wanted to do Blender in the first place; she wanted to do Rolling Stone," a source told Teen Hollywood. "And then this put her over the edge." A representative for the star insisted, "She's too busy healing from her [horse-riding] accident. I was talking to several publications, including Blender. Trust me, you'll see plenty of Madonna in the weeks to come."

Miller To Replace Moss?

Sienna Miller could replace Kate Moss as the face of Burberry's advertising campaigns, according to reports in The Daily Telegraph.

Model Kate was dropped by the company following allegations of drug abuse. The fashion label is also said to be in talks with world-famous photographer Mario Testino, who is due to shoot the Spring 2006 campaign.

What A Mess

Country singer Mindy McCready was listed in fair condition Friday afternoon after being hospitalized earlier in the day for overdosing on about 30 antidepressant pills, according to the Associated Press, relying on a Nashville police report.

The police report said that the pregnant McCready and William McKnight, the father of the unborn child, were arguing on the phone about whether his parents would help pay for the pregnancy. McKnight reportedly cursed at McCready and she became angry and took the pills, the report goes on to say. After McKnight called her back and she didn't answer, he called police and an ambulance. McCready's lawyer did not return a phone message to his office.

In recent months, the "Guys Do It All the Time" singer, 29, has made news for a series of legal and personal problems. These include a drunken driving arrest in Nashville, a suicide attempt and an arrest in Arizona on charges stemming from her involvement with a con man whom she said she was assisting police in apprehending. McKnight was also charged earlier this year with trying to kill her after she said he punched her in the face and tried to choke her.

Last year, McCready was charged with fraudulently obtaining the painkiller OxyContin at a pharmacy. She pleaded guilty and was placed on three years' probation.

Jen Moves On

After announcing to the public she was ready to date, Jennifer Aniston has apparently had an offer. The National Enquirer reports that the former Friends star and soon to be ex-wife of Brad Pitt is now dating actor Geoff Stults.

Stults co-stars with Aniston in her new film, The Break Up, playing her boyfriend. While the tabloids were busy reporting news of an on-set affair between the actress and Vince Vaughn, Aniston and Stults were free to get friendly.

"During the final weeks of filming in Chicago, she (Aniston) flirted outrageously with Geoff," a tattler told The Enquirer. "Everyone couldn't help noticing the sexual undercurrent between them.... At a buff six foot three (inches), Geoff looks like a super-sized version of Brad."

Pink Diddy

Estée Lauder is introducing a brand new pink product into her collection: a camisole made by Sean Combs, with all proceeds supporting breast cancer awareness.

The collaboration between “Diddy” and Lauder comes on the heels of the duo’s successful, if unlikely, pairing during Olympus Fashion Week, when they hosted a cocktail party together. The temporary partnership may be a harbinger of other projects between Combs and Lauder in the future. As for the camisole, it’s pale pink silk and available for $85 at both Bloomingdale’s New York locations, with money going to Evelyn Lauder’s Breast Cancer Research Foundation, along with profits from thirteen other Estée Lauder products, including a Stila lip gloss and a jar of Crème de la Mer, packaged in a special pink box.

McSexy In Japan

On the heels of Paris Hilton's sexually supercharged burger campaign for Hardee's and Carl's Jr, fast-food giant McDonald's is serving up a new generation of Ronald McDonald – one that's not a clown, and not even a Ronald for that matter.

The McMarketing campaign in Japan replaces the traditional baggy-pants male clown with a sexy, bikini-clad woman. "In the Japanese TV commercial," notes Britain's Guardian newspaper, "the foxy female version, with shoulder-length straight auburn hair in place of Ronald's frizzy mop, smolders at the camera in a flowing yellow dress, and later a red and white striped bikini with thigh-length leggings and red high heels."

"The customers are calling her the female Ronald but that was not our intention," said campaign creator, Hidekazu Sato, known by his nickname Kazoo, through a translator. "We devised the costume and took the red and white stripes and the yellow, which were recognized and converted them into a stylish dress. "We were assuming that even if we didn't include the McDonald's logo and even if the model was a beautiful Caucasian just those colors of the mnemonic design would wake up people's association with McDonald's. The important point is we didn't change Ronald himself – we played around with his costume."

Lohan On Her Weight

Fans of the voluptuous, red haired Lindsay Lohan have reason to rejoice - she's headed for a comeback.

The tabloids have noticed that Lindsay has put on a few much-needed pounds lately, perhaps in response to the public outcry over her recent rail thin appearance. And on Tuesday night, she debuted a new strawberry blonde hairstyle, reminding everyone she's still proud of her redheaded roots.

Lindsay spoke with "Entertainment Tonight" about her new (old) look and said, "Now [the tabloids are] going to say I am overweight, which is ridiculous. I don't know what to say to that ... you grow up and you mature. I was going through a rough time and I probably wasn't taking care of myself - I wasn't. I want to encourage young girls to not get to that point."

Clearly Miss Lohan has accepted that she did, in fact, get too thin at some point. Perhaps that's why she's been seeing less of her pal, Nicole Richie. The pair was nicknamed "The Skeletwins" by gossips.

--Looks like she's tapping into her inner Liberace in the pic.

Interesting

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin is planning to put stadium rock to one side and work on a country album with a hip-hop flavor.

Martin is so keen to expand his musical boundaries, he is planning a collaboration with retired country singer Garth Brooks and Kanye West.

The 28-year-old says, "Country is a very sleeping beast within us. We have two things we're not allowed to do - country and rap - just because of where we're from.

"So I think they'll rear their heads at some point in the future. In fact, I think the only future for music is if you bring together the most disparate worlds. "That would be an album between Garth Brooks, Coldplay and Kanye West and produced by Timbaland."

Can It, Love

Hollywood actress Jennifer Love Hewitt believes bosses at fashion retail chain H+M have done Kate Moss "a favor" by dumping her as the company's spokesmodel. Hewitt believes the action will prompt Moss to get help.

She says, "I have to say that I think maybe they did her a favor, and maybe she'll actually get help. Coffee's one thing, but coke is another. It's not something you want to really have as a problem in your life." "I think we have to kind of stop rewarding bad behavior and actually start helping people."

"You know when you're out in public that there are gonna be people who watching you, so you should just try to act like somebody that you would want to be proud of if they got a photo of you. Not that you should always feel like you're always working, but it goes with the job, I think."

--Oh, stuff it Love. Get off your holier-than-thou high horse. Oh wait...I guess it wouldn't be a "high" horse.

Put It Away, Ben

Everyone (including myself) was pretty hard on Kevin Federline for smoking all the time around then-pregnant Britney. However, let's keep the flack consistent. It doesn't appear that BennyPoo has much respect for Jen in that regard either. Case in point:

Did Tori Cheat?

Saying that she hopes to sit down with her estranged husband Charlie Shanian and "talk about all this in detail," Tori Spelling admits to People in its new issue: "I went into the marriage with the best intentions, hopes and dreams. I feel that I've really disappointed people. I've disappointed everyone who came to my wedding. I'm disappointed in myself." She adds: "I don't know exactly what happened and when things started to go wrong."

Since early August, the former Beverly Hills, 90210 star, 32, has been living apart from Shanian, 36, a writer-actor she met in Los Angeles in 2002, when she starred in the play he co-wrote (Maybe Baby, It's You). The pair married at a $1-million wedding in July of last year.

In a conversation with People on Sept. 16, the actress expressed uncertainty and sorrow as she talked about a day she hoped would never come. For his part, Shanian declined to comment about the breakup. But according to a source close to Spelling, by the beginning of August, when she was in Ottawa to film the TV movie Mind over Murder, she and Shanian were "living separate lives."

Away on the set for three weeks, "She realized the relationship was not right for her," says her friend. She also realized something else: She was developing feelings for costar Dean McDermott. The actor, 38, who according to a source was also in a "marriage that was not working," was equally drawn to Spelling, and the two became romantically involved. "It just happened," says Spelling's friend. "No one meant any harm to anyone. You can't help who you fall in love with and who you're right with."

Still, her friends insist, the romance between Spelling and McDermott – who filed for divorce on Sept. 9 from his wife of 12 years, Mary Jo Eustace – had nothing to do with Spelling's breakup. "The marriage was over a long time ago," says a friend of hers. "They never should have married in the first place."

FBI Releases Files on Stars

Late screen siren Marilyn Monroe was a suspected communist and tracked by the FBI.

Newly-released documents reveal Monroe was just a number of stars the Federal Bureau of Investigation kept files on - including John Lennon, Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys, Louis Armstrong, Albert Einstein, Lucille Ball and Liberace.

The Some Like It Hot actress was targeted after she applied for visa to visit Russia. She was then tracked meeting a communist group during a holiday to Mexico organized by Sinatra. Sinatra aroused suspicion because the FBI were tipped off he had attended sex parties with President John F. Kennedy. Lennon was added to the list when agents deduced he planned to disrupt the Republican National Convention in 1973, but struck him off because his drug habits rendered him incapable of being a revolutionary.

The Jets v. the Sharks

At Tuesday night's Teen Vogue Young Hollywood party, rivals Lindsay Lohan and Hilary Duff divided guests into two factions on opposite sides of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel pool, then exchanged ominous glares all night long.

"Lindsay came to the event to support her sister Aliana, who was featured in the Young Hollywood issue," said Lohan's rep. Duff's rep scoffed: "Hilary and her sister, Haylie, got there at 9 p.m. and stayed 40 minutes. They didn't even see Lindsay."

On Lohan's side: Kirsten Dunst, the incredible shrinking Nicole Richie, and Richie's fiancé, DJ AM. On Team Duff: Kimberly Stewart, Duff's boyfriend, Joel Madden, Haylie Duff, Lohan's ex Wilmer Valderrama, Greek shipping heir (and Mary-Kate Olsen boy toy) Stavros Niarchos and the "Laguna Beach" kids.

An eyewitness reports: "There was a lot of tension, a lot of evil looks. Nobody went into the other's territory." Says an insider: "Lindsay called Hilary and was like, 'Enough?' And Hilary just said, 'No f-ing way,' and hung up on her. Hilary's a wolf in sheep's clothing, so Linds is done."

Top TV Kisses

Ross and Rachel's first kiss on Friends has topped a new poll of TV smooches.

The television couple, played by David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston, first locked lips in the second season of the sitcom and their kiss beat Richard Chamberlain's romantic encounter with Rachel Ward in The Thorn Birds in the new poll in TV Guide.

The top 10 TV kisses are:

1. Ross + Rachel (Friends) 2. Father Ralph + Meggie (The Thorn Birds) 3. Sam + Diane (Cheers) 4. Carrie + Mr Big (Sex + The City) 5. Kate + Sawyer (Lost) 6. Buffy + Spike (Buffy The Vampire Slayer) 7. Susan + Mike (Desperate Housewives) 8. Pacey + Joey (Dawson's Creek) 9. Sydney + Vaughn (Alias) 10. Marissa + Ryan (The OC).

Jagger To Act?

Mick Jagger is considering playing former Czech president Vaclav Havel in a new film about his life.

Havel told a newspaper that he and Jagger had discussed the idea and that the singer was really keen. Civil rights activist Havel, 68, is a close friend of the Rolling Stone, who co-owns the Jagged Films Production Company that has produced movies such as Enigma starring Kate Winslet.

Havel said it was not the first time a film about his life had been discussed. He was approached by Jane Fonda 15 years ago with a similar idea. "She wanted to make a film about me and my former wife Olga, with her playing Olga. It's probably a good thing that nothing came of it," he said.

--What musical mentions Vaclav Havel in a song? Iceman can't answer.

O'Hurley Wins Rematch

The votes are in - and John O'Hurley has bested Kelly Monaco to win the "Dancing with the Stars" title many thought he deserved in the first place. "I'm very rarely beyond words, and I am right now," O'Hurley said after the results were announced Thursday on the ABC show.

In a rematch, O'Hurley and his professional dancing partner, Charlotte Jorgensen, bested Monaco and hers, Alec Mazo. Monaco beat O'Hurley in the July 6 season finale of the show, but the win over the popular O'Hurley prompted skepticism over the voting process.

The victor of the rematch was chosen purely by viewers - and co-host Tom Bergeron said the winner and loser were separated by just 1 percent of the votes.

Sad

It has always been much more than a department store. It's the magical place where parents brought their children to see the windows at Christmastime, where those children grew and did the same with their kids — stopping, of course, to visit the one true Santa Claus. It is Marshall Field's. Or simply "Field's" to everybody in Chicago.

For longer than anyone can remember, Marshall Field's has been one of the few constants in an ever-changing city. With its famous clock, the store that was built in stages between 1892 and 1914 is as much a part of the city's landscape as Wrigley Field and Sears Tower.

On Tuesday, Federated Department Stores Inc., said it is planning to change to Macy's the name of all 62 Marshall Field's, including the one on State Street that dates back to 1892. And if it seems like just another merger or name change that happens all the time with very little fuss — even in Chicago, there wasn't much noise when the White Sox's Comiskey Park became U.S. Cellular Field — to those who grew up with Marshall Field's this is different.

"It's so awful I can't even believe it," said Tracy Kepler, a 37-year-old attorney who can recall in vivid detail time spent at the store as a child, including the trip to see the windows every Christmas Eve day, followed by a meal in the Walnut Room.

--I love eating at the Fields Walnut Room. I'm not a native to Chicago, and this still just seems wrong to even a mere visitor like myself.

The Next Surreal Life Cast

Check out who VH1 has chosen to be in the next Surreal Life house. I think they're scraping the bottom of the barrel with this crew. I had only heard of a few of them.

The cast includes: The man who's band made Shrek rock, Steve Harwell of Smashmouth; the actor who made George Jefferson more famous than that other Jefferson, Sherman Hemsley; the original video vixen, Tawny Kitaen; the wildest rock and roll axeman ever, C.C. Deville from Poison; Playboy TV's covergirl, Andrea Lowell; and the XX and XY of the Arquette family, Alexis Arquette.

And this season, special guest star Florence Henderson joins the show as
the cast's full time and on-call therapist/advisor.

Sean Spederline Home

Britney Spears and Kevin Federline's new bundle of joy, Sean Preston Federline, is now safe at home in his new Malibu nursery.

People magazine, on newsstands Friday, reveals more new details about Britney's delivery, as Spears and Federline showed up at Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center early Sept. 14 with Spears's mom, Lynn, and sister Jamie in tow. Originally, Britney had been scheduled for a C-section the next day, but the surgery was moved up after she began experiencing early contractions. With her husband at her side, Spears, 23, was wheeled into the operating room, and both parents were crying when the baby was born. Sean Preston weighed in at 6 lbs. 11 oz.

Federline, 27, who held his wife's hand throughout the operation, "was very affectionate toward her," says a source. After the delivery, the new mother was moved to the maternity ward's VIP suite, where, the source also says, "The baby never once left her side."

Now home in Malibu, Sean has a brand-new nursery in Mom and Dad's just-renovated, 9,000-sq.-ft. crib. And he already has a substantial wardrobe to supplement the gifts Britney got at her Aug. 6 Moroccan-themed baby shower.

On one visit to Kitson Kids on Aug. 2, "Britney was completely in baby mode," owner Fraser Ross said. Among her purchases: onesies and a cashmere sweater with a faux Mommy tattoo on the sleeve – to go with such gifts from friends and family as a pair of Yo My Booties angora booties, a tunic and a hat from an assistant and some T-shirts from a pal.

Paris' New Vid

If you thought the sight of a scantily clad Paris Hilton practically fornicating with a hamburger and writhing around with a water hose in that Carl's Jr. commercial was hot, the heiress has a few words for you: You ain't seen nothing yet.

Hilton, who has been working on her debut solo album with famed beatmaker Scott Storch says her first music video will set TV screens on fire. She even wants to recruit the same director, Chris Applebaum, who helmed the clip that some TV watchdog groups labeled "soft-core porn."

"It will [definitely have] a lot of sexiness," the 24-year-old socialite said recently. "If I did a [fast-food] commercial that hot, imagine what I can do with my own video."

Jay-Z Mum On Relationship

Rapper Jay-Z is still refusing to speak to the press about his relationship with Beyonce Knowles - despite dating the Destiny's Child beauty for three years.

Jay-Z is notoriously private about his life with Knowles, and he insists that side of him will never change. He tells British magazine GQ, "Right. We're not going to talk about that at all." "It's self-explanatory. I don't talk about it. Certain things you have to keep private."

Utah State Fair

Check out the ad for the Utah State Fair:

Cabrera To Do Reality Show

Ashlee Simpson's ex-boyfriend Ryan Cabrera is hoping to boost the love lives of others with a new dating reality show. The 23-year-old singer will host the new MTV show Score, where contenders will win dates based on their songwriting skills.

He explains, "Basically, two aspiring singer/songwriters have one day to write a song. They're trying to win a date with girl and so they have got to write the song during the day, perform it that night live, and she picks who she wants to go on a date with based on their songs." "I'm the host and I help them write and then I perform a song at the end of every episode. She doesn't get to see the guys (until she makes her selection)."

Nelly To Do Reality Show

Nelly has inked a deal to develop a reality television series with A. Smith & Co. Productions, it was announced Wednesday. The show will chronicle "the day-to-day life" of the rapper.

"I look forward to showing my fans what my world is about and bringing more attention to my nonprofit organizations," said Nelly, whose real name is Cornell Haynes Jr., in a statement.

Nelly runs the nonprofit organization 4 Sho 4 Kids. He has participated in campaigns for bone marrow registration in honor of his sister, Jackie Donahue, who died in March after a long battle with leukemia. The program is expected to air sometime early next year. No further details were available.

How Lance Proposed

When Sheryl Crow sashayed into Versace's grand relaunch party in London on Monday, the singer couldn't help but gush about the moment fiancé Lance Armstrong popped the question.

"He rowed me out into the middle of a lake in the mountains and asked me to get married," Crow, 43, said. "It was very romantic."

She also showed off her huge platinum-set diamond ring that Armstrong, the 34-year-old Tour de France champ, gave to her. "He picked out the ring himself and had it designed. It's absolutely gorgeous," said Crow, adding that they're already planning a spring wedding, likely in the U.S.

J.Lo's Mink Eyelashes

Heather Mills McCartney's campaign against Jennifer Lopez took another step up when she discovered the diva wears fake eyelashes made from mink.

Animal rights campaigner Mills McCartney is disgusted by revelations that Lopez sports a pair of false eyelashes made from real mink in her the video for the new song, "Hold You Down."

Mills McCartney, who works closely with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, is heavily embroiled in a high-profile campaign against J.Lo, and recently threatened to stalk her unless she stops wearing fur.

NYC Skyline Goes Pink

This would have been really cool to see:

The New York City skyline was pretty in pink 2 nights ago thanks to City in Pink, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation's tribute to breast cancer survivors and those who died of the disease.

Nearly 20 buildings across the city — including the Empire State Building, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, The Shops at Columbus Circle/Time Warner Center and the Woolworth Building — will be ablaze with pink lights every night until Sunday, making this the biggest lighting campaign in the group's history.

"The idea was to serve as reminder of breast cancer," says Nicole Rubin, executive director of the Greater New York City Affiliate of the foundation. "It's a way of showing support."

Expensive Helmet

The helmet that Robby Gordon threw at Michael Waltrip was temporarily pulled off the online auction site eBay on Wednesday after bidding exceeded $10 million.

The site ended the auction because it was unable to verify the legitimacy of the bids and because Gordon didn't have the proper documentation showing that he planned to donate the proceeds of the sale to charity, eBay spokesman Hani Durzy said.

The helmet was re-listed late Wednesday night with the assistance of AuctionCause, a company known for helping in fund-raising efforts with experience in prequalifying bidders.

Gordon listed the helmet on eBay on Tuesday and planned to donate all proceeds to the Harrah's Employee Relief Fund, a charity designed to aid Harrah's employees affected by Hurricane Katrina. Bidding was spirited all day and the helmet was listed at more than $100,000.

More Blows for Moss

Burberry canceled a deal with supermodel Kate Moss and Chanel decided not to renew her contract Wednesday, as police said they were investigating allegations that she recently used cocaine.

Confirmation of the investigation came a day after Hennes & Mauritz, Europe's largest fashion retailer, canceled plans to use the 31-year-old model in an upcoming ad campaign.

Moss has made no public comment. No one answered the phone Wednesday evening at the Storm modeling agency in London, which represents her.

More Brangelina Drama

Brad Pitt fired a pregnant employee from his production company because she dared speak out on behalf of his estranged wife, Jennifer Aniston.

Pitt, 41, was furious that Aniston's pal Kristin Hahn — an exec with Plan B (the film company he and Aniston, 36, founded in 2002) — told Vanity Fair it would be "beyond painful" for the actress to see Pitt and girlfriend Angelina Jolie, 30, have a baby together.

An Us Weekly source claims Pitt "screamed" at Hahn, claiming she violated her contract by speaking about him without his approval — although Aniston had given hers.

Hooters Handbook

A peek at the Hooters Employee Handbook from The Smoking Gun:

--"Only approved Orange Hooters Girl Shorts are to be worn, sized to fit, and should NOT BE SO TIGHT THAT THE BUTTOCKS SHOW."

--"This is show business, just like a modeling industry."

--"No large hair clips or scrunchies."

--"Our look is wholesome, yet sexy, and the uniform is athletic by design."

--"All shirts must be sized to fit. (NO BAGGINESS)".

--"SMILE! A big smile is an important part of the Hooters girl look and your stage appearance."

--"The essence of the Hooters Concept is entertainment through female sex appeal, of which the look is the key part."

Spielberg Annoyed With Cruise

Tom Cruise shouldn't wait by the phone for his old "friend" Steven Spielberg, who directed him in "War of the Worlds," to call.

Reports from Budapest and Paris, where Spielberg is filming "Munich," say the director is still steamed at Cruise for ranting, during what were supposed to be promotional appearances for the Martian-invasion film, against the widespread use of Ritalin to treat unruly children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder. One source said: "Steven and his wife [Kate Capshaw] have five children themselves and know some children for whom Ritalin does a lot of good. They took exception to what Tom said about the drug."

Spielberg was also said to be annoyed that Cruise played up Scientology more than the movie during press interviews.

Wow

Recognize this person? I sure didn't. No, it's not Slash. No, it's not Lenny Kravitz.

It's Jada Pinkett Smith. Wow.

I'm all for her getting into her band gig and all, but damn!

--Pic from A Socialite's Life.

Tupac In Bronze

Tupac Shakur became the first rapper to be immortalized in a bronze when a new statute of the late star was unveiled last week.

Over 1,000 people turned out for the ceremony which was held at the Peace Garden in the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center For The Arts (TASCA).

The statue is the latest addition to the center, which recently opened the first of three phases of construction, and founder of the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation (TASF), Ms. Afeni Shakur – Tupac's mother - is said to have found the event "an emotional, yet joyful experience".

Occupying the center of the six-acre Peace Garden, the seven-foot bronze statue is surrounded by poetry and quotations from the rapper's work and sits atop a three foot base. The sculpture – designed by Tina Allen - shows Tupac dressed in a suit and holding a copy of his book of poetry penned when he was just 19, 'The Rose That Grew From Concrete'.

Stamos Heads To ER

Uncle Jesse Heads to ER:

With his ABC comedy "Jake in Progress" not due back on the air until January, John Stamos will spend part of his fall in the "ER."

Stamos has signed on for a two-episode guest stint on the long-running NBC series, playing a veteran of the 1991 Gulf War who works as a paramedic and is also attending medical school. His episodes are set for Nov. 10 and 17, during sweeps.

Alley Slims Down

Actress Kirstie Alley has lost 50 pounds. The star of Showtime's reality-comedy series "Fat Actress" says she managed the loss through dieting and exercise.

"I am the Jenny Craig evangelist!" Alley, a spokeswoman for the company, declares in the Sept. 26 issue of People magazine, now on newsstands. By limiting calories with the diet program, the 54-year-old actress — who had ballooned up to about 200 pounds — has slimmed down noticeably and is 30 pounds away from her original goal.

"When I got fat, I was being stupid. It was a little bit like when I used to do drugs," says Alley, who has long been sober. "Before I stopped doing drugs, I had to spiritually get a grip and go, `What do you want your life to be like?'"

She says the full revelation didn't come until seeing early episodes of "Fat Actress." "I didn't realize I was that fat," the 5-foot-8 actress says. "Seriously."

Super Sizemore

Actor Tom Sizemore, who has been in the news more for his legal problems than for his on-screen work, is turning his life into a reality show.

"Super Sizemore" would chronicle his numerous court appearances, his struggle to become sober and his new role as a father to twin boys.

The project, which Sizemore and his production partners will shop to the networks and studios in the coming weeks, will incorporate footage shot by Sizemore over the past two years.

Engagement

Rebecca Romijn, whose screen credits include the "X-Men" films and "Rollerball," is engaged to Jerry O'Connell. The couple became engaged over the weekend in New York after dating for a year, Us Weekly magazine reported Tuesday. O'Connell's publicist, Joy Fehily, confirmed those details to The Associated Press.

"We couldn't be happier and are looking forward to the next chapter of our lives," the couple said in a joint statement. No other details were available.

She Gets Around

Amber Frey, Scott Peterson's mistress at the time he murdered his wife Laci and their unborn child, has been accused of deliberately lying about the paternity of her 4-year-old daughter, according to reports.

Despite Frey's earlier assertions that the father was 29-year-old Anthony D. Flores, of Fresno, Calif., a Madera County Court ruled otherwise on Monday, and Flores no longer has to pay child support, the Fresno Bee newspaper reports.

The real dad, according to a July DNA test accepted by Commissioner Nancy Staggs, is Christopher B. Funch – the owner of a Fresno bar named Porky's.

Aguilera Happy For Spears

Christina Aguilera is overjoyed after learning her chart rival Britney Spears has become a mother.

Aguilera admits her former The Mickey Mouse Club co-star's pregnancy hadn't really registered until she gave birth to Sean Preston on Wednesday. She tells MTV News, "My assistant came in the room when it happened and she's like, 'Britney had a boy!' and I was like, 'Oh my gosh!' "I don't know where I was for a while when she was pregnant but it really kicked in at that point. It's like, 'Wow, she had a baby! That's crazy!'

"I'm overjoyed and thrilled for her. It's such an exciting time in her life and I just wish her the best." Aguilera says she has already sent Spears a baby gift and a card.

Boxers or Briefs?

Becca Gardner got a backside view of co-star Morgan Freeman for a scene in "An Unfinished Life."

In the new movie directed by Lasse Hallstrom, Freeman plays a ranch hand who was mauled by a bear, making him dependent on morphine. Becca's character has to give him an injection.

"I was kind of nervous to see, like, his butt, and I pulled down his pants and he was wearing a thong!" the 15-year-old told the Associated Press in an interview. "An Unfinished Life" also stars Robert Redford and Jennifer Lopez.

Broadway King

Matthew Broderick — who was a big hit in "The Producers" on Broadway — is warming to the idea of bringing another Mel Brooks' flick to the Great White Way.

The two MBs talked recently about Broderick playing the lead in Brooks' forthcoming musical version of "Young Frankenstein." First, we'll get to see Broderick opposite Nathan Lane in the movie version of "The Producers" musical, then Broderick will be back on stage as Felix — with Lane as Oscar — in a revival of Neil Simon's "The Odd Couple."

Gigli 2

J.Lo was one-half of Bennifer when she and fiance Ben Affleck starred in 2003 flop Gigli. It was so bad it won six Golden Raspberries.

But would that put her off trying again? Of course not.

Lopez now plans to work with hubby no.3, Latin singer Marc Anthony, in Who Killed Hector Lavoe. "It's the story of a singer and I'll be his wife," Jennifer said. She's changed her mind a bit from last year, when she bought the film rights to the movie and ruled herself out of any on-screen action.

Perhaps she should take a tip from Guy Ritchie, who's gone back to his roots with Revolver after Swept Away, starring wife Madonna, flopped. "I don't think my audience was interested in seeing a movie starring my wife, and my wife's audience wasn't interested in seeing a movie directed by me," he told Glamour.

Stupid

Britney Spears' baby boy Sean Preston is already making waves in the culinary world - a new fruit smoothie has been named in his honor.

The pop beauty and her husband Kevin Federline welcomed their child into the world on Wednesday, and just a day later, a new beverage arrived on the menu of Spears' dad Jamie's Venice, California, eatery JJ Chill.

JJ Chill co-owner, Joseph Nejman, says, "We're introducing a new smoothie in honour of Britney's boy. We're calling it the Preston Smoothie and it consists of only fat-free frozen yogurt, strawberries and mangoes."

--What? No Cheetos?

Another Hollywood Breakup?

Jamie Lynn Discala may soon be changing her name back to Jamie Lynn Sigler.

The "Sopranos" star told pals she left her hubby/manager, A.J. Discala, a month ago — about when she took off her wedding ring. Two separate witnesses link Jamie Lynn to New York club promoter Keith Collins, who threw a joint birthday party Thursday at Quo with former Village Person Randy Jones.

One witness says: "She was heavily making out with Keith in one of the bathrooms. They were all over each other, and then before they walked out of the bathroom, she said make sure not to tell anyone that she and A.J. have split." Another witness says: "She seemed to be quite taken with [Collins] and hung out with him until the wee hours." Collins said: "Jamie Lynn is a good friend of mine, but I am not commenting right now. She is a sweet girl. It was a good time."

Vaughn Heads to Windy City

Actor Vince Vaughn has taken such a shine to Chicago since filming his upcoming romantic comedy The Break Up there, he's ditching Los Angeles to move to the Illinois city.

Vaughn spent much of the summer in the Windy City with Aniston working on the film, and since returning to Los Angeles, he's sold his Los Feliz home for nearly $4 million. The actor, who plans to use Chicago as his base of operations for awhile, influenced the decision to have his movie The Break Up filmed in Chicago, where he was raised. Vaughn, 35, had owned four-bedroom Los Angeles home since 1991.

Tyra Takes Off Bra

Supermodel Tyra Banks is so eager to refute accusations she's had breast implants, she removed her bra on her new talk show to prove to the world her assets are real. The model, whose self-titled chat show debuted last week, is fed up with constant jibes that her boobs are enhanced, insisting their perky look is the result of using push-up bras.

And to prove her point, Banks removed her bra from under her shirt and invited a plastic surgeon to examine her, who confirms her claims that her breasts are totally natural.

She says, "It's very frustrating for me to have to live my career with people thinking that, so I'm doing a test on national television with a top plastic surgeon that is gonna show everybody the truth, whether I have 'em or not. You'll see."

Lil' Kim in the Big House

Rapper Lil' Kim began her prison sentence of one year and one day yesterday, punishment for a perjury conviction. She was convicted of lying to a federal grand jury to protect friends involved in a 2001 gun battle outside a Manhattan radio station.

She issued the following statement yesterday:

"I have unfortunately been assigned to a federal detention center instead of a prison camp as discussed, in the City of Philadelphia. I am not certain that this constitutes fair & equal treatment."

"However, today begins a new saga in my life which I expect to strengthen me and allow me time for reflection. I am blessed to have so many great things in my life - family, friends, and God. All will be in my thoughts daily. I plan to write music while in prison, read and pray regularly and will come out a stronger, more confident woman."

"I will write many of my fans, and expect the "Lil Kim" brand to be even bigger when I come out - I am just getting started in my career. My fourth solo album, "The Naked Truth," comes out next week on September 27th, and I have much more planned. Thanks to all for their thoughts and prayers...and I will see you soon."

Dual Dumpage

Kate Moss has dumped her druggie boyfriend Pete Doherty. (For like the 9 millionth time).

H&M officially has dumped Kate's ads. H&M initially said it would proceed with the campaign, but company spokeswoman Liv Asarnoj said Tuesday that "after evaluating the situation, we have decided that a campaign with Kate Moss is not consistent with H&M's clear disassociation from drugs."

Quit Whining Russell

Russell Crowe says he'll turn his back on the United States for good if he's found guilty of assault, reports IMDB.com.

The Australian Oscar winner (Gladiator), who is accused of throwing a phone at a New York City hotel employee in June, faces immigration problems if convicted. But Crowe says he'd be glad to see the back of Hollywood after the way he has been treated regarding the incident.

"Maybe it's better I don't travel to America," he says. "Maybe it's better I don't work in the area of the business that attracts so many flies. You tell me to p--- off too many times and I probably will."

The Game to Adopt?

Rapper The Game is so horrified by the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, he's considering adopting a child from America's Gulf Coast Region.

And the hip-hop star, who's donating a portion of the proceeds from his upcoming show to those affected by the storm, is eyeing the possibility of taking custody of one of the youngsters now left orphaned.

He says, "It's all I can think about when I wake up in the morning."

Emmy Roundup

Some thoughts on last night's Emmys:

--I was disappointed with Ellen's performance. I didn't think she was very funny.

--The Emmy Idol songs were fantastic. I'm glad the Donald Trump/Megan Mullally duet of the theme song from "Green Acres" won. Seeing the Donald in blue jean overalls was a sight! I also enjoyed hearing famed mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade sing the theme song to "Star Trek." (No, there aren't words to the song...she "Ahhh"'d it.)

--The right Housewife won. I think her acting talent is far superior to her co-stars in general, and specifically on the show. This could be her big year. She has an Emmy under her belt, and early critics think she's destined for an Oscar nom for her role in Transamerica. And, in my opinion, she wins the Best Acceptance Speech award hands down. How cute are she and William H. Macy?

--Glad to see Arrested Development got some wins. It's a highly underrated show.

--I know I'll catch flack for this, but GOODBYE RAYMOND! Enough.

--The following are my picks for Best Dressed:

Valentino Says...

That Valentino is a man of extravagant tastes is well documented, but the fashion designer shows his true style in a profile in The New Yorker.

When writer Michael Specter asked the aging couturier if he would like to design Paris Hilton's wedding dress, he "shuddered" and replied, "No, I don't like her. She is marrying the son of a friend of mine. They have billions. She is vulgar, and she is not even pretty." After pausing for a moment to gather breath, Valentino concluded, "The Hiltons, they have nothing."

--Word.

Hollywood Going Chaste?

When Tinseltown it-girl Lindsay Lohan stepped out on a recent weeknight, all eyes were on the new ring that the teen queen sported on her right hand. And while supersized cocktail rings are all the rage among some celebs these days, Lindsay's new ring is about more than just flash, say sources close to the actress.

"Lindsay wants the world to know that she's saving herself for marriage," says a friend of the actress. "Wearing the ring is a way to show her fans and the paparazzi that she's serious about abstinence." Last month, say sources, the actress better known for being chased than chaste even held a chastity commitment ceremony at Hollywood hotspot Koi. A guest of the restaurant that night says that Lindsay and a dozen friends feasted on sushi and handrolls before toasting the actress' pledge to be pure. "It was really sweet," says the source. "After she put the ring on she couldn't stop smiling."

Lindsay's not the only actress who is reclaiming her inner virgin these days. A growing number of Tinseltown hotties are ordering up a side of chastity to complement the season's must-have looks. One trend-setting couple: Nicole Richie and her fiancee DJ AM. Sources close to the couple say that they're saving themselves for their wedding night to make it more special.

It's not just young and soon-to-be married stars who are coming out as chaste. Hollywood's most famous divorcee, Jennifer Aniston, is said to have confided in friends recently that she plans to remain a 'revirgin' until she remarries. "She doesn't believe in sex outside of wedlock and now that she's not married anymore she intends to play by those rules," says a friend.

--From The Swift Report.

• The LLama Butchers linked with Further scenes from the collapse of Amerika
  
  

Is Anyone Too Hot for Beyonce?

Sean Paul is convinced Destiny's Child star Beyonce snubbed performing with him at the MTV Awards last year, because he is too hot.

The singer was due to hit the stage with the 24 year-old beauty for a rendition of their collaboration "Baby Boy," but the duet was banned by MtV bosses and Beyonce's other half, rapper Jay-Z.

He says, "I did feel proper gutted but I guess my dancing was just too x-rated. I don't blame Jay Z. I wouldn't want no other artists near her either."

Like She Could Deny It

Supermodel Kate Moss acknowledged to the Hennes & Mauritz clothing chain that tabloid allegations that she recently used cocaine are true, an H&M spokeswoman said Saturday.

Moss, who is to model one of H&M's upcoming clothing lines, has apologized for her drug use and promised in writing to abide by a company policy that models be "healthy, wholesome and sound," spokeswoman Liv Asarnoj said.

H&M had decided to keep Moss on, Asarnoj told The Associated Press in a phone interview from the company's headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden. "We strongly disapprove of her action," Asarnoj said. "We feel that this is very unfortunate."

--Um, like she could deny it. See below:

9021-Over

Former Beverly Hills, 90210 star Tori Spelling has split from her husband, actor-writer Charlie Shanian.

"Tori Spelling and Charlie Shanian have separated after one year of marriage," Spelling's publicist says in a statement. "The couple have been living apart since the beginning of August. This is the first marriage for both."

The couple married July 3, 2004, in an extravagant wedding hosted by Tori's father, television mogul Aaron Spelling, at his 56,000-sq.-ft. Los Angeles mansion, with an estimated cost of $1 million.

• The LLama Butchers linked with Further scenes from the collapse of Amerika
  
  

Neil Breaks Leg

Motley Crue lead singer Vince Neil is recovering from a leg injury after slipping off stage during a performance.

The band was about five songs into the concert Friday night when Neil leaned over to sing along with the audience and slipped off stage, said police spokeswoman Sylvia Abernathy.

"I just felt something snap in my leg," Neil wrote on the band's Web site. "I just couldn't go on." The band was forced to end the concert early. Neil was treated at Piedmont Hospital and released Saturday, hospital spokeswoman Diana Lewis said.

New Face of Max Factor

Sexy actress Carmen Electra has been chosen as the new face of cosmetics giant Max Factor.

She says of her recently-shot ad, "It looks very innocent. It sort of has a classic kind of appeal and I think that sort of ties in with the history of Max Factor. Marilyn Monroe and Jean Harlow have appeared in ads.

"I mean, Max Factor was the first make-up artist to the stars and he worked on every movie... And now I'm the new face and it's exciting and really cool."

VW Gets Plugged In

With digital music players becoming more ubiquitous, Volkswagen AG is offering a stereo component that lets motorists plug in all manner of portable digital players -- not just iPods -- and manage their tunes and podcasts on a dashboard display.

Although the in-dash CD player has yet to go the way of the eight-track, digital devices with USB connections -- be they fancy iPods or simple keychain drives -- seem now to be portable music's future.

Volkswagen, Europe's biggest automaker, is thus making the USB connection an option on its Golf, Golf Plus and Touran models in December and on remaining models next year.

Just plug your device into a built-in console in the center armrest. The option comes in two varieties, one for the iPod, another for other USB-based players. Up to six of the player's folders will be displayed on the car stereo system, and the radio buttons can be used to scan, search or shuffle your mix.

The setup will cost $240.

Another One Bites the Dust

Four months after their beachside wedding, Renée Zellweger and country singer Kenny Chesney are having their marriage annulled..

Zellweger filed the papers Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, citing "fraud" as the reason for the split. The actress's petition also asks the court not to award spousal support to Chesney. No further details about the couple's split were available, and there was no immediate comment from Zellweger's camp on why she cited "fraud" as the reason. According to top Hollywood divorce attorney Sorrell Trope: "If fraud is checked that means a promise was made before the marriage, but the person who made it had no intention of keeping it. The promise has to pertain to the heart of the marriage."

--This should come as no surprise. Pathetic.

Maybe Renee's Cold Mountain co-star, Nicole Kidman can have better luck with another country singer, Keith Urban. They've been spending lots of QT together these days.

Piven Likes the Models

Jeremy Piven does not discriminate when it comes to hot models.

The "Entourage" actor has been enjoying his single star status so much lately that just one girl won't do. At the Genetic Jeans launch party at Butter Monday night, Piven "grabbed one model the second he walked in and kept picking up more as he walked throught the room — making out with them and then ditching them." Piven, who mingled with new best pals Mary-Kate Olsen, Lindsay Lohan and Kelly Osbourne, left with "several girls on his arm."

Awful

Paul McCartney's wife Heather Mills McCartney lost her prosthetic leg during a violent confrontation with security guards at Jennifer Lopez's New York office.

The incident happened on Tuesday as the former model-turned animal rights activist attempted to deliver a People For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals (PETA) DVD showing creatures being killed for fur to Lopez, following a demonstration at which the 37-year-old pleaded with fans to boycott the superstar's music, movies and clothes because she uses fur in her fashion line Sweetface.

After striding into the building opposite Manhattan's Bryant Park, accompanied by an entourage of journalists and photographers, Mills was confronted by security officers who yelled "you have no authority to be here. Get out! Leave the floor immediately!"

In the tussle that ensued, Mills McCartney's prosthetic leg became detached.

She bent down and clutched her knee in pain, before asking to use a bathroom so she could reattach the leg. Guards refused and she was forced to cling onto a photographer.

Photographer Richard Corkery tells 25hoursonline.com, "I saw her touch her knee and I could see she was in pain. She limped to the ladies room but it was locked. I found another door open - it lead on to the stairwell. At least she could have a private moment - which is what she needed."

--How awful!

• The LLama Butchers linked with Further scenes from the collapse of Amerika
  
  

The New Face of St. John

Angelina Jolie is set to become the highest paid actress-turned-model when she named the new face of Californian fashion label St John.

Jolie has reportedly been offered a $12 million contract which will also see her take on a stake in the fashion house and become a director.

The 30-year-old will replace Leonardo Dicaprio's on-off lover Gisele Bundchen as the face of St John who appears photographed by celebrity snapper Mario Testino in the label's autumn/winter collection. Jolie's anticipated deal could have a huge impact on future advertisement deals struck by actresses - Gwyneth Paltrow and Elizabeth Hurley were paid $5.4 million to represent Estee Lauder, while Nicole Kidman received $5 million to be the face of Chanel.

Pitt To Bare All

Brad Pitt fans rejoice ... it seems the Hollywood hunk will be showing off more flesh than he did in 2004's Troy.

According to IMDB.com, the 41-year-old actor and Angelina Jolie's main squeeze, has reportedly shot a nude scene for his upcoming film, The Assassination Of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.

A source tells Us Weekly, "(In the script) a fully nude Pitt baths himself with a washcloth while standing in a tub. This is a pretty long nude scene for any actor."

Trump's Soap Debut

Donald Trump, soon to premiere the fourth season of "The Apprentice," will make his daytime soap opera debut on NBC's "Days of Our Lives."

Trump will tape his appearance Friday for an episode set to air Oct. 24, the network said Wednesday.

--Sweet! That's always been my soap opera of choice.

No More Sports Talk

Jessica Simpson is thrilled her husband Nick Lachey has landed a job as a TV sports reporter, because she'll no longer have to listen to him at home.

Lachey has previously shared his sports views on TV, radio and print, and he's now signed up to cover his favourite topic on ESPN. And his wife couldn't be any happier, explaining, "There's nothing I'd rather him do than be on Espn and talk about sports then I don't have to hear it at home!"

RIP

During his half-century career, Robert Wise - who died of heart failure Wednesday at 91 - was nominated for seven Academy Awards, had hits in a variety of genres and worked with Orson Welles on "Citizen Kane." But he gained his greatest acclaim - and four Oscars - with the big-budget productions of "West Side Story" and "The Sound of Music," two of the most popular musicals of all time.

In all, Wise directed 39 films, ranging from science fiction ("The Day the Earth Stood Still") to drama ("I Want to Live!") to war stories ("Run Silent Run Deep") to Westerns ("Tribute to a Bad Man"). He also was nominated for an Oscar for editing "Citizen Kane."

Here Comes Harry

Prince Harry has turned 21.

The Prince is currently training to be an Army officer at Sandhurst College. And he'll be marking the big day by appearing on a limited edition gold coin - just as his big brother William did when he celebrated his 21st in 2003.

--Can he seriously be that old?

WB Signs Nick and Brandy

The WB Network has signed separate talent holding deals with actor-singers Nick Lachey and Brandy. The network will seek to place them in upcoming series or will create projects for them.

Lachey, one half of the married team featured in the MTV hit series "Newlyweds," is no stranger to WB, having guest-starred on the series "Charmed." He also put in appearances on the ABC series "Hope and Faith." He has been attached to a few comedy projects in recent pilot seasons that didn't materialize.

Brandy, star of the UPN series "Moesha," last appeared in her own MTV reality series "Brandy: Special Delivery," which chronicled the birth of her first child. In 2004, she had a development deal with Fox Broadcasting Co., Disney-owned studio Touchstone TV and producer Storyline Entertainment for her own half-hour series, which didn't materialize.

The Cheeto Has a Name

Well, I have to give credit where credit is due. BritBrit and KFeddy actually picked a fairly normal name for their new son:

Preston Michael Spears Federline

In a statement to People Magazine, Spears and husband Kevin Federline said: "We are ecstatic to announce the birth of our son! Everyone is happy, healthy and doing wonderful. Thank you all for your love and well wishes!"

Miu, from A Socialite's Life, has the scoop on Preston's first meal.

What Happens When Mom Works For You

Rapper Kanye West was left red-faced recently when his mother Donda discovered how much money he spends on pornography.

The singer loves the close working relationship he has developed with his mom since their college days but admits constantly having her at his side can sometimes be embarrassing.

He says, "I was an English major and she (mother) was head of the department. Now she is my manager, and that can be tricky sometimes. She's like: 'Kanye, did you spend $500 at the porn store?' "Come on, get the f**k out of here! I'm 28 years old and I have to explain to my mother.

Laguna Spinoff?

According to a source, camera crews have just begun shooting a reality show based on Teen Vogue. The premise? One of the characters from MTV's docudrama, "Laguna Beach," is interning for the magazine.

Lauren Conrad, or L.C., the "Laguna Beach" heroine and narrator, whom The New York Times' television critic Virginia Heffernan recently called "a sweet-looking, if studiedly made-up, California supergirl," is said to be toiling under Vogue senior West Coast editor Lisa Love.

Sources within Condé Nast said this is a test run for a "Laguna Beach" spin-off, though others have said it's possible the episodes would just be incorporated into the show's regular season.

How Portia Was Outed

Actress Portia De Rossi decided to go public with her sexuality after Ally McBeal castmate Greg Germann outed her in a New York bar.

The Australian blonde was still struggling to come to terms with the fact she was a lesbian when perceptive Germann, who played her boss on the legal series, guessed that she was hiding her sexuality. She recalls, "I'd been on the show for about two months before we had to go to New York to do press, and Greg Germann and I were talking in the bar one night and he said, 'There's something about you I can't quite put my finger on... Are you gay?' Of course, I stammered and stuttered, and looked at the ground and went, 'Uh... uh... uh... maybe, I don't know. I think so. I'm not sure.' He looked at me and said, 'Have you struggled with it...?' That was so profound."

A couple of years after her heart to heart with Germann, De Rossi went public with her romance with Ringo Starr's stepdaughter Francesca Gregorini after the couple were caught by the paparazzi in 2001. She recalls, "Every single family member, every person I worked with, everybody knew all at once. There was no turning back, and it was a relief."

Kim Inspired By Martha

Convicted hip-hop star Lil' Kim is taking inspiration from domestic goddess Martha Stewart as she prepares to begin her year-and-a-day jail sentence.

The rapper - real name Kimberly Jones - is set to be incarcerated in a Connecticut prison on September 19th after being found guilty of lying to a Grand Jury - but she hopes she will handle the experience as well as Stewart.

The 64-year-old recently completed a prison term and a period of house arrest following her conviction for lying about a stock sale, and Jones is amazed that Stewart "came out (of jail) looking better than when she went in". She tells the New York Daily News, "Her courage and strength is definitely encouraging."

Santana's New Album

When Carlos Santana collaborates, big things tend to happen. That might be why Outkast's Big Boi, Mary J. Blige and Black Eyed Pea Will.I.Am are among the many artists who signed on for the guitar great's latest album.

All That I Am, due November 1, features Big Boi and Blige on a track called "My Man" and Will on "I Am Somebody." Other guests include Bo Bice on "Brown Skin Girl," Sean Paul and Joss Stone on "Cry Baby Cry," Aerosmith's Steven Tyler on "Just Feel Better," Anthony Hamilton on "Twisted," Los Lonely Boys on "I Don't Wanna Lose Your Love" and guitar virtuosos Robert Randolph and Metallica's Kirk Hammett on the aptly titled "Trinity," according to Santana's publicist.

Kelly Says...

Starring in MTV's reality show 'The Osbournes,' wasn't so kind to Kelly Osbourne's mental state reports Ananova.com.

Osbourne told German magazine Brigitte Young Miss: "No one can imagine how it is for a 15-year-old to suddenly become one of the most famous teenagers in the world - without even doing anything to earn it. "The whole world was discussing how I talk, what I eat, who I hang out with. I couldn't understand it and just numbed myself with heroin and pain killers, until I had no passion or dreams left."

Soon-to-be 21, Kelly said that her mother sending her to rehab was, "gruesome" but necessary. "I had cramps and diarrhea, I had to puke all the time and I sweated like a pig. I went to hell and back. My body hated me."

She continued: "But one day the poison was out of my body and I felt like a newborn baby. I went to the studio and just poured it all into my new album."

Arrest Warrant For Rodman

A judge signed an arrest warrant Wednesday for former NBA star Dennis Rodman after he missed a court date for an arraignment on two alleged traffic violations.

Court Administrator Christine Yuhas said no effort would be made to seek out and arrest Rodman. "But if he shows up again in Colorado, we'll pick him up," she told the Rocky Mountain News.

Rodman was charged with speeding and reckless driving after he was stopped July 26 in a $250,000 Lamborghini on a highway near the mountain town of Frisco, about 70 miles west of Denver. Officers allegedly clocked him going 98 mph.

Gerard Pens Cookbook

French actor Gerard Depardieu, who owns vineyards, restaurants and a famously large appetite for the finer things in life, says in a cookbook being released in English this week that he always wanted to be a butcher.

"My eye will roam with equal pleasure over the face of a beautiful woman as it will over the cuts of meat displayed in a butcher's shop window," Depardieu writes in "My Cookbook." Depardieu, who grew up in the provincial town of Chateauroux, south of Paris, says his parents could only afford meat in the first week of each month - and then it was usually horse meat.

Depardieu's love of food is legendary. He owns two Paris restaurants with his French actress-girlfriend, Carole Bouquet. His favorite dish, says the "Green Card" actor, is jellied rabbit with a glass of cold white wine - for breakfast.

Could It Be?

Rumor has it that Brit gave birth to her little Cheeto today...

We'll see if it turns out to be true.

UPDATE: It's confirmed.

The Way They Were

The cast of Darren Star's "Kitchen Confidential" couldn't wait to celebrate the show's premiere on Fox next Monday. They flew in from L.A. and partied Saturday night at Les Halles on John Street — and it brought on a case of nostalgia for some of Star's crew who started "Sex and the City" with him years ago.

"The cast is so nice and sweet. It is kind of nice to see that — because it will all change," said an insider. "This is exactly how the cast of 'Sex' was before the show took off. Then they became nightmares." The stars of the show, Bradley Cooper and Owain Yeoman, were a hit with the ladies — with one woman becoming so enamored with Yeoman she offered to be his consort for the evening — despite Yeoman's girlfriend sitting nearby.

WTF?

Mr. T may soon make it onto classic-TV network TV Land. Mr. T has signed a deal to star in a pilot for the channel called "I Pity the Fool," in which he'll dole out advice and try to help people in difficult situations. Lions Gate TV is producing the project.

"We are very excited to work with Mr. T and Lions Gate on 'I Pity The Fool,'" says Sal Maniaci, head of development for TV Land. "By putting Mr. T in an unfamiliar environment, viewers will have the experience of seeing him back up his famous words and attitude with concrete actions. "I Pity the Fool" will find Mr. T acting as a "motivational guru" helping people improve their personal and professional lives. Mr. T will use his own varied life experience as basis for his strategy to help others.

The pilot is set to go into production in October.

Tony's Angry

Eva Longoria's man, San Antonio Spurs star Tony Parker, stands up for his woman.

At a party in Longoria's honor, held by her pal and stylist Robert Verdi at Da Silvano, Longoria told said: "The French tabloids are regurgitating a bunch of old interviews I gave a long time ago where I said I wouldn't mind dating several guys at once. So now they are printing: 'Eva cheats on Tony!' and Tony is so upset he offered to call the mayor of Paris who knows the tabloid people to try and stop it. He just wants to protect me. He is so great."

Timberlake To Hit West End

Justin Timberlake will move to London next summer so he can star on the West End stage.

The singer is desperate to break into theatre after impressing with his first steps into movie acting - Kevin Spacey has already endorsed his acting credentials after the pair co-starred in upcoming film Edison. According to reports, Spacey - artistic director at the city's Old Vic Theatre - has offered Timberlake a role in his production of Arthur Miller's Resurrection Blues, which he has already hired acclaimed filmmaker Robert Altman to direct.

A source tells British newspaper The Sun, "Justin has been looking for a chance to have a go at a theatre role. It fits in with his bigger plans." According to reports, Timberlake and girlfriend Cameron Diaz will rent a house in London, where the actress has filming commitments next year.

Birthday In the Buff

Shannon Elizabeth added a naked twist to the all-day scavenger hunt the "American Pie" actress holds on her birthday every year.

This time, the 20 contestants — including Mila Kunis, Alfonso Ribeiro and Elizabeth's new love, Aussie race car team manager Andrew Robillard — had to strip periodically in order to gain bonus points to win the grand prize: a bottle of Cristal, a bottle of Água Luca Brazilian rum, an MP3 player and unlimited one-year Napster downloads.

The teams — fueled in part by Agua Luca rum mojitos, martinis and pomegranate juice shots, decamped from Elizabeth's Los Feliz hilltop house and proceeded to pose for nude photos in front of the Improv on Melrose — and turn naked somersaults at the Los Angeles Zoo. The bareness continued at an unnamed friend's property, where the competitors ran a nude obstacle course — while being pelted with water balloons.

The day ended at Elizabeth's house with "a grand finale in the flesh," one spy said — refusing to clarify further. Elizabeth must have bared the most because she and her three teammates, including Ribeiro, claimed the prize.

--Um, why was Carlton there?

I Don't Want to Work...

Folks are still talking about Matthew McConaughey's recent performance at a John Mellencamp show at the Hollywood Bowl.

The Texan, who was famously arrested in 1999 for smoking weed and playing bongos in the buff, jumped onstage looking "completely out of it" and sat in on "Little Pink Houses." A source reports: "He couldn't open his eyes, he didn't know any of the words . . . He just kept hitting his bongos randomly and muttering . . . When he finally left the stage, Mellencamp looked relieved and told the crowd, 'I'm glad he's a good actor at least.' " McConaughey's reps had no comment.

Life is a Cabaret

Renee Zellweger is reportedly in talks to star in a remake of Cabaret.

The actress would reprise the role of Sally Bowles made famous by Liza Minnelli.

According to Sky, Zellweger said: "I do love a challenge as an actress and this would be one of the biggest."

The New Nancy Drew

"Unfabulous" star Emma Roberts has been signed to play Nancy Drew, the teenage detective, in 'Nancy Drew: The Mystery in Hollywood Hills,' according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The film will be an updated version of the long-popular book series, which dates back to 1930. The Nancy Drew mysteries have been a presence on-screen since 1938. Roberts, the niece of Julia Roberts is also daughter of Eric Roberts.

Expanding the Tween Empire

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen want to make Cole and Dylan Sprouse the male versions of their teenage girl merchandising empire, The Wall Street Journal reported.

"My sister and I started the whole 'tween empire," Ashley Olsen was quoted as saying. "I definitely see the potential for the boys to do that sort of thing."

The 13-year-old Sprouse twins shared the role of Julian in Adam Sandler's 1999 film, Big Daddy, just as the entrepreneurial 19-year-old twin actresses played Michelle Tanner on television's Full House, which aired from 1987-1995. With the brand name of D.C. Sprouse, Cole and Dylan will be the face of a boys division that will include DVD movies, CDs and other merchandise for the Olsens' Dualstar Entertainment Group, the newspaper reported Monday. "They love to Rollerblade, they like to surf, skate and are into videogames. ... They love animals," said the Sprouses' manager, Josh Werkman. "They're boy boys in every sense of the term."

Home video sales and product sponsorships ranging from a fashion line to toothpaste have made the Mary-Kate and Ashley brand a billion-dollar enterprise. Each twin is estimated to be worth more than $150 million.

The Godfather Returns

Mark Winegardner, who wrote the 2004 best seller, "The Godfather Returns," which was authorized by the late Mario Puzo's estate, is now working on a novel that works in the assassination of President Kennedy.

G.P. Putnam's Sons, an imprint of Penguin Group USA, expects to publish "The Godfather's Revenge" next year.

"It's staggering to contemplate the legacy of `The Godfather' films and novels," Putnam executive editor Dan Conaway said Tuesday in a statement. "It's fitting, then, that `The Godfather's Revenge' overlays the resonant mythology of the Corleone family onto the most vexing real-life mystery of our age, with a story line that explores the role organized crime may have had in the assassination of a charismatic young President."

Matt Damon Engaged

Matt Damon and his girlfriend, Luciana Barroso, are engaged, Us Weekly reported Monday.

A publicist for the "Bourne Identity" actor told the magazine that after dating for two years, Damon popped the question "shortly before Labor Day." The couple haven't set a wedding date, Us Weekly said. It would be Damon's first marriage. Barroso has a daughter, Alexa, from a previous relationship.

Demi's Men Team Up

The two men in Demi Moore's life are set to team up on TV this autumn For cameo roles in sitcom That '70s Show. Moore's ex-husband Bruce Willis will play a shady security boss who interviews the actress' current beau, Ashton Kutcher, for a bouncer's job. It will mark the first time the two actors have appeared together on screen.

The cameo also represents a quick return to the show for Kutcher, who quit the sitcom at the end of last season. Willis plans to donate his fee from the show, which will air in America in November, to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.

Colin's Hitchin' a Ride

It's not often you see a hitchhiker in tony Palm Beach — especially a famous one. But hard-partying actor Colin Farrell was spotted stumbling backward on the side of the road with his thumb stuck out, reports The Post's Braden Keil.

"We couldn't believe it was him," said a eagle-eyed female spy, who drove by, then picked up the "Alexander" star in the wee hours. "He looked really wasted." The source and her male acquaintance drove Farrell to the Breakers — the plush hotel where the lusty leprechaun was registered as Irish literary icon James Joyce. Farrell invited the two up to his room. They declined.

Stop Talking, Kanye

Like I needed another reason to think that Kanye is a moron:

"I think white people are allowed to say 'bling'. They are allowed to say old-school black slang, like 'hottie' and 'homie'.

"Actually, I do not think that (white people) are allowed to use slang until it is at least a year old. If you say a slang word too early, it's like you're trying to be black. So as long as the slang is a little played out, you're all good."

Britney Baby News

Britney Spears has put on "a massive 51 lbs." by eating for two: "Britney, 23, has become addicted to fried chicken and calorific milkshakes in the last stages of her pregnancy."

A source said, "Brit's into fried chicken from Koo Koo Roo, a fast-food outlet in L.A. And she's been washing it all down with plenty of chilled Frappuccinos from Starbucks." The average weight gain during gestation is 28 to 40 pounds.

And in other BritBaby News:

Britney Spears' baby will have a wardrobe full of designer clothes when it is born. Donatella Versace phoned Britney and offered to create the baby a complete wardrobe for free.

According to The Sun a source said: "Britney was over the moon when Donatella offered to make all the kid's clothes. "They have met a few times and mingle in the same circles, but Britney never expected such a generous offer. "Britney and Donatella have a mutual friend in Madonna and Britney was very impressed by how Madge's daughter was kitted out. "She is hoping that her baby will be the trendiest since Madonna's own daughter, Lourdes!"

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Pierce Says...

Pierce Brosnan has branded James Bond sex scenes "pathetic" - and has urged producers to make them more explicit. The handsome actor, who played 007 in four movies, claims the loves scenes need spicing up to keep fans interested.

Pierce, who has enjoyed on-screen romps with Teri Hatcher, Denise Richards and Halle Berry, moaned: "You're not even allowed to show a bloody nipple. It's pathetic. What Bond needs is a good, palpable killing sequence and a good sex scene - and it doesn't have to be graphic, you can use your imagination."

Pierce, who was recently dropped from the role, has also revealed that Halle Berry was his favourite Bond girl - because she was in touch with her sexuality.

He explained to Britain's GQ magazine: "I think Halle is right up there. She is just a luscious girl with such a beautiful body and she's a good woman, too. She has a great sense of her own sexuality, so she knows it and she plays it."

Meanwhile, Pierce has also blasted Bond bosses for failing to give the suave spy any gritty storylines. He said: "They're too scared to take him out of the bag too much or have a real dramatic moment."

Call Her Kate

Not only is Tom Cruise's fiance Katie Holmes changing her religion for her man, she's changing her name too.

Though Tom's ex-wives, Nicole Kidman and Mimi Rogers, kept their maiden names while married to the mega-star, Holmes plans to take on Cruise's last name both personally and professionally, according to In Touch.

A source said: "Tom calls her Kate, so he suggested she start going by that professionally. The surname change is something old-fashioned Holmes has always been keen on."

A Look at Fashion Week

New York Fashion Week turned its full attention to details as Oscar de la Renta unveiled elaborate embroideries on his designs for spring 2006.

De la Renta is known to be as much of a perfectionist in his garden as he is at his sketch pad. His collection, which he previewed Monday, included a black ballgown covered with white flowers that looked as if each petal were a unique design.

Daytime styles included a delicate ivory chiffon blouse with ruffles at the bust, a confetti tweed suit and a brown knit top with a red linen skirt with brown and orange beads around the hips. A dress made of horizontal rows of navy and white grosgrain ribbon alternating with rows of sheer tulle is for the more daring woman, perhaps a sexy star such as Eva Longoria, who sat in the front row of de la Renta's runway show.

Carolina Herrera previewed a collection that was as crisp as the radishes — yes, radishes — featured in many of her embroideries and prints. Herrera said she used prints, which also included polka dots and oversized dark flowers, to create visual excitement. She got the same result from her palette of coffee brown, flamingo pink, thyme green and sky blue, which is emerging as a hot color for next season. Other spring trends embraced by Herrera during her runway show on Monday were higher waists and thick belts, especially on long dresses — best illustrated by a graphic black-and-white print chiffon gown with a pink floral raffia belt.

Cynthia Steffe used modernist art as her references. The most inventive look in her collection, also presented Monday, was a dress of multiple sheer black layers over a white lining that created a grid at the hemline.

Other noteworthy styles were a white crochet cardigan with tulle around the neck and big white buttons down both sides of the front, a red seersucker baby-doll jacket, and a sleek black lacquered trench coat over a jade green crochet-and-eyelet shift.

Diane von Furstenberg's spring collection of skirt suits, Bermuda shorts and, of course, wrap dresses is sophisticated yet has the designer's signature touches of flamboyance. At her runway show Sunday night, von Furstenberg dubbed this new look "La Dolce Diva," which she said takes inspiration from 1960s-era Rome. Von Furstenberg's signature wrap dresses, including a standout version in navy cotton eyelet, had fuller skirts and were paired with cork platform shoes by Christian Louboutin.

Stork Arrivals

--Former Practice star Dylan McDermott and his wife, actress Shiva Rose, welcomed a baby girl on Thursday.

Charlotte Rose joins the couple's first child, 9-year-old daughter Colette. Mother and daughter are back home and doing fine, a source said. McDermott, 43, and Rose, 36, have been married since 1995.

--Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update anchor Tina Fey has some breaking news of her own: She and her husband, SNL composer Jeff Richmond, welcomed their first child on Saturday.

Their baby girl, Alice, weighed in a 5 lbs., 7 oz. "Everybody is happy and healthy," an NBC spokesman said of the new family.

--Supermodel Heidi Klum gave birth to a baby boy Monday evening in a Los Angeles area hospital. This is the couple's first child. Klum has a daughter, Leni, from a previous relationship. Klum is married to Grammy Award-winning singer Seal.

Thanks

Thanks to everyone for the good wishes, flowers, cards, soup, and overall TLC!

Much thanks to Mom and Dad for taking care of me the first few days. :)

Recovery

Hi gang--

I had a tonsillectomy yesterday, so blogging will probably be low, if it occurs at all, for today and tomorrow. Unless of course, something HOT breaks, and I'll fight through the pain to bring you an update. ;)

In the meantime, check out some of my faves:

A Socialite's Life
Dlisted
The G2
Overheard in New York
Pink is the New Blog
Pop Culture Junkies
Popsugar
VH1's Best Week Ever Blog

Beaner Emerges

Beaner speaks:

You might remember her as the angel-faced tot photographed bouncing on Courtney Love's hip 12 years ago during grunge rock's heyday. Now, Frances Bean is 13 and entering seventh grade, and Teen Vogue magazine is offering the first real glimpse of the mysterious daughter of Courtney and Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain.

"I'm a different person," Nirvana's heir apparent insists in her first public interview. "I don't want to be titled as Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain's daughter. I want to be thought of as Frances Cobain."

Frances appears in a series of girly outfits in Teen Vogue's latest issue, on newsstands September 13. She talks about her mom and being grunge royalty, although the story focuses primarily on the teen's shopping habits.

"I love feminine pieces," she says. "My favorite color is light pink. I also like baby blue because it brings out my eyes."

In one portrait, she wears a ruffled blouse and a ladylike black pencil skirt with white socks and black Mary Jane heels by Kate Spade. Although the parallels to her mom are obvious, Frances makes the distinction between her own Lolita look and her mother's infamously short baby doll dresses and smeared lipstick look of the '90s.

"I prefer when she's more 'classy starlet,'" she tells Teen Vogue of her mom, referring to Love's red-carpet Oscar makeover in 1997. "I don't really like her hardmetal stuff, or when she doesn't brush her hair."

Elton On Vegas

Sir Elton John says since beginning his Las Vegas show he gets chased by "60-year-old women."

Elton, 58, said: "Before Caesars I'd never stayed the night here (Vegas). I don't go out much, but you do get stir crazy. "So I'll go see what's in the shops now. Bob Hailey (Elton's operations manager) and I got chased through the mall. We were laughing so hard. "Bob said, `We're being chased by 60-year-old women!.' And, I said, `Bob, we are 60!.' "We have nothing but good things to say about here."

Elton also reveals that one of the songs for his upcoming musical called Paris, is "a conversational song in three parts" which took three-and-a-half hours to write. "It's the longest song I ever took to write," he adds, "I thought I was going to go nuts. I thought I was going to have a mental breakdown."

--I guess the 60-year old women haven't yet gotten the "Elton John is a homosexual" memo.

Stalkerazzi Attacks Again

Reese Witherspoon has become the latest star caught up in an alleged paparazzi attack after one photographer assaulted two men while attempting to photograph the actress and her kids.

The star was enjoying a day out at Disney's California Adventure theme park in Anaheim on Friday when she was confronted with an "aggressive and frightening" photographer. As park employees attempted to move Witherspoon to a safer area, the snapper allegedly assaulted two park employees, prompting security to call the police.

The photographer, Todd Wallace, was cited for two misdemeanor counts of assault and battery and will appear in court next month.

Monica Goes Back To School

Monica Lewinsky is leaving New York.

"I'm thrilled to be returning to London, a city I love," she said yesterday. "I am delighted I have been accepted as a candidate for a master's degree in Social Psychology at the London School of Economics."

The former White House intern said she was fascinated by psychology 10 years ago when she graduated from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Ore. "The same is true today, and with further education I hope to someday make a meaningful and significant contribution to the field."

Kennedy Center Honors Announced

Robert Redford, singers Tony Bennett and Tina Turner, actress Julie Harris and ballerina-teacher Suzanne Farrell will receive Kennedy Center honors this winter, the performing arts center announced Tuesday.

"We honor five extraordinary American artists whose unique and abundant contributions to our culture have transformed our lives," said Stephen A. Schwarzman, chairman of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Recipients of the 28th annual honors will be recognized at a gala performance at the Kennedy Center on Dec. 4, to be attended by President Bush and first lady Laura Bush. CBS will broadcast the gala later in December. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will host the honorees at a State Department dinner on Dec. 3.

Dillon To Be Honored

Matt Dillon, who starred in the Los Angeles crime drama "Crash" earlier this year, will be honored with a Gotham Award on Nov. 30. Past recipients include Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, John Turturro, Meryl Streep and Don Cheadle.

The 15th annual Gotham Awards, which celebrate independent and New York-set films, also will present six jury-decided awards, including movie of the year.

Dillon, 41, began his film career as a teen star, generally in streetwise, "troubled youth" roles. "We've all watched Matt grow up on camera, but I don't know how many of us have really stopped and taken a long look at the tremendously accomplished body of work that he continues to build," Michelle Byrd, executive director of the Independent Feature Project, which awards the Gothams, said in a recent statement.

--Even now, my all-time favorite Matt Dillon role is Dally from "The Outsiders." "Let's do it for Johnny, man!"

Advice From One Who Knows

Jessica Simpson has offered her sympathy to Chad Michael Murray and Sophia Bush, who are currently fighting off reports that their marriage is in trouble.

Just weeks after the couple exchanged nuptials in April, rumours began to swirl that the One Tree Hill co-stars' union had already hit turbulence. And pop beauty Simpson, who has been battling similar reports about her and husband Nick Lachey for much of the year, has offered her support to the photogenic pair.

Bush says, "Jessica Simpson came up to us and said, 'It's starting for you guys now.' We were like, 'You know what? Whatever.' "What are you going to do? People get bored. They make stuff up... You have to laugh at it - it's very funny."

So Long, Gilligan

Bob Denver, whose portrayal of goofy castaway Gilligan on the 1960s TV show "Gilligan's Island" made him an iconic figure to generations of TV viewers, has died. He was 70.

He died Friday at Wake Forest University Baptist Hospital in North Carolina of complications from treatment he was receiving for cancer, his agent, Mike Eisenstadt, told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Lance and Sheryl Engaged

Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong is engaged to marry rock star Sheryl Crow, a spokesman for the cyclist confirmed Monday.

No details of the wedding were released, although the spokesman said a spring wedding was likely.

The couple met at a charity event in October 2003 and began dating a short time later. The testicular cancer survivor has three children from his first marriage. It will be the first marriage for Crow, 43, who has previously been linked with rock star Eric Clapton and actor Owen Wilson.

W Snubs J.Lo?

Rumor has it that W Hotels is snubbing J.Lo for her husband's vulgar behavior during Fashion Week in February.

Spies report that the hotel chain has deleted Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony from its swanky Fashion Week kickoff soiree tonight.

As Lowdown exclusively reported, Anthony stunned hotel staffers by scrawling "F- YOU" when they asked him to doodle on a canvas to be auctioned for charity on portero.com during Fashion Week.

Adding insult to injury, of the more than 25 celebs whose drawings from the Illustration Lounge will be on display at the W Times Square bash - including Katie Couric, Carmen Electra and Lauren Bush - Lopez is said to be the only one not invited.

WTF?

Michael Jackson's appearance is undergoing a major revamp as he hides away from the American press in Bahrain and prepares to relaunch his career, according to an American author.

Michael C. Luckman, who wrote Alien Rock: The Rock 'N' Roll Connection, claims the 47-year-old is working on a more macho appearance which has seen him working out, wearing shorter wigs and using less make-up. Luckman tells website PageSix.com that Jackson's parents Joseph and Katherine are coordinating the make-over as the singer holds talks with a Las Vegas, Nevada, hotel over a long-term performing deal.

And Luckman expects Jackson to return to his position as the king of pop: "Michael Jackson is headed to the stratosphere. Nothing can stop him now."

--I'd wager to bet that I can bench more than he can.

Supporting Vince

Former Friends star Jennifer Aniston has fuelled speculation over her relationship with The Break-Up co-star Vince Vaughn by wearing a vest with his name emblazoned across the front.

The actress was spotted taking a walk in Malibu, California sporting the garment which reads, 'Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show' across the front.

Guy Wants More Kids

Guy Ritchie is desperate to have more kids with Madonna.

The film director, who is father to five-year-old Rocco and stepfather to eight-year-old Lourdes, has confessed he wants to extend his family with the pop queen.

He revealed: "I'd like to think that we would have more children. I love it. I love fatherhood. I could bang on about kids for ever." Guy has also admitted he and Madonna argue like every other couple. He confided: "Normal man and wife stuff. Relationships are about eating humble pie. We are not unique. We're quite volatile as individuals, but that doesn't work exponentially when we are together."

However, despite their occasional tiffs, the 'Snatch' director says he loves Madonna because she gets on with things rather than just talking about it. He explained in an interview with Britain's Times magazine: "She's a manifester. She has an idea and can then manifest the idea. Not everyone's like that. The world is divided between those that waffle and those that do."

Lindsay's New Digs

Lindsay Lohan just bought a luxury crash pad overlook ing Hollywood's Sunset Strip.

The star let plunked down about $1.9 million for the three-bedroom pied a terre in the same building where "Friends" star Mat thew Perry lives. The Post's Braden Keil reports that amenities of the 2,300-square-foot abode include a rooftop pool and a balcony with stunning views. But that's not to say that Lohan is abandoning the East Coast.

Dream On, Jesse

Tennis pin-up Anna Kournikova has attracted the eyes of a new man - teen pop heart-throb Jesse Mccartney.

McCartney, 18, met the 24-year-old Russian beauty at the Arthur Ashe Kids' Day at New York's National Tennis Center on Saturday - and he's in absolute awe of the blonde beauty.

He coos, "It was a dream come true for me. She's just so beautiful in every way. And she's got such style and class."

Not As Pokey Outy

Britney Spears is having another wedding ring made.

The singer reportedly wants a ring with a more uncommon diamond. Speaking about the ring she said: "This isn't the real one. Because I don't - I like this one, but I'm getting a newer one that's even better.

"It's totally a real diamond. But it's not the final. I like this, but it catches onto everything. "I want something that's not as pokey-outy. The one I'm getting is a little bit flatter. And it's just more of a rare diamond."

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Telluride Film Festival

The 32nd Annual Telluride Film Festival kicked off Friday in the scenic Colorado mountain village. This year's event will showcase some of Hollywood's biggest talents.

Among the anticipated premieres is the Johnny Cash biopic 'Walk the Line,' starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. Phoenix plays the legendary country-western singer and Witherspoon takes on the role of his long-time love June Carter Cash.

Also debuting at the festival is 'Brokeback Mountain,' starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger as married cowboys who fall in love with each other. Ledger's real-life girlfriend, Michelle Willians, along with Anne Hathaway, star as their wives in the flick.

Among the other stars whose flicks will be unveiled over the weekend are Richard Gere, Andy Garcia, Juliette Binoche and Elijah Wood.

Broadway Update

--Robin Givens is getting her Broadway debut as the new Roxie Hart in "Chicago."

Givens, who appeared in the 1980s television comedy "Head of the Class," will join the long-running musical revival Jan. 16 at the Ambassador Theatre. She will appear in "Chicago" through March 26. The musical will begin its 10th year on Broadway in November.

--Richard Maltby Jr., the director who guided Ain't Misbehavin' and Fosse to Broadway, is staging and co-creating the new Johnny Cash-inspired musical, Ring of Fire, in its test run at Studio Arena Theatre in Buffalo, Sept. 2-Oct. 9.

The world premiere, subtitled The Johnny Cash Musical Show and co-conceived by William Meade, will move to San Francisco's Curran Theatre in January 2006 before heading to Broadway in March 2006. Opening in Buffalo is set for Sept. 9.

Munch Painting Found

Experts in Norway on Monday said they were convinced that a painting discovered in Germany is a previously unknown work by Norwegian master Edvard Munch.

The painting, being called "The girl and the four male heads", was found in the collection of the museum Kunsthalle Bremen museum in Germany and taken to the Munch Museum in Oslo for evaluation. Experts there said it was probably painted by Munch in 1898 or 1899, and differs from his style of the time.

"That is a period of Munch's work that we have little exact knowledge of. There are few pictures from that period," said museum official Gerd Wold.

The painting shows a surrealistic image of a young woman seated on a chair, with the faces of four men, three in front of her and one behind her.

The new painting was found when the Germany gallery removed another known Munch painting from its frame, and found the new painting underneath the work on display. The new painting is currently on display at the Munch Museum in Oslo.

Scene Stealer

While pop singer Justin Jeffre was speaking at a rally in his bid for mayor, 98 Degrees bandmate Nick Lachey was getting most of the attention backstage, where dozens of teenage and 20-something women sought the chance to talk to him.

Lachey, husband of actress Jessica Simpson, made a pitch on stage for Jeffre's candidacy as the group reunited for a rare appearance together. "It's a very important time for Cincinnati," Lachey said. "Don't take it lightly. This is a big deal - and this guy knows what he's talking about."

After the rally on the downtown Fountain Square, the band moved to a nightclub for a $10-a-person Jeffre for Mayor fund-raiser.

Jeffre is one of seven candidates in the nonpartisan Sept. 13 mayoral primary, which will determine the two candidates to be in a November run-off.

Is This a Punishment?

I think I'd gouge out my eyes with a blunt instrument if I won this contest.

A Couple You Don't See Very Often

Harrison Ford applauds Calista Flockhart, his leading lady of more than three years, as she accepts accolades for her starring role in the Spanish thriller Fragile, which was screened at the Venice Film Festival on Friday.

Pitt Parental Advice

Brad Pitt's parents have warned their son off Angelina Jolie - because of her bad marriage history, according to Britain's Daily Mail newspaper. Bill and Jane Pitt - who remain close to Brad's estranged wife Jennifer Aniston - have reportedly told him to cool his relationship with the twice-divorced screen beauty.

Earlier this year, the pair were quoted as saying they had met Angelina and thought she seemed "nice". But the actress is said to be hurt by their latest comments.

A source told the paper: "Angelina thought she had got on well with his parents but then they told him he had moved too fast with a woman who had a bad marriage record.

Ga Ga Goddess

Pregnant pop star Britney Spears is preparing to get hair extensions in the next few days - because she wants to look like a "goddess" by the time she gives birth to her child.

As the singer and her husband Kevin Federline get ready for the autumn arrival of their first offspring together, Spears is also making plans to lengthen her locks.

She says, "Next week, I'm putting in these new extensions. They look really pretty and natural. I feel better with long hair. And for my baby, I want to be a goddess."

Posh Is a Good Mom

It could have been a step-up in the fashion career she's always dreamed of, but Posh Spice has decided to turn down the chance to host a new TV show - because she doesn't want to miss taking her kids to school.

Elizabeth Hurley is to present the new Sky One series, Project Catwalk, and she was desperate for her good pal Victoria Beckham to be a part of it. But in a move that has left Posh "gutted", she's decided she can't leave her family.

The show will give 12 wannabe designers the chance to break into the fashion industry. And at the same time, 12 budding models will battle it out to become the winning designer's first-choice catwalk queen. Liz, 40, wanted Victoria as a guest judge.

An insider explains: "She would have loved to have done the show. It would have been terrific for her. And she was really happy to help Liz out. "But she'll be back in Madrid on the dates she was given for filming and as Brooklyn and Romeo will be back at school, she didn't want to miss out on taking them.

"She was pretty gutted but her kids and David come first."

Snoop Sues

Snoop Dogg is seeking $2 million from a car dealership that he accuses of having misappropriated his image and speech pattern in its advertisements.

In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court, the 33-year-old rapper, born Calvin Broadus, alleges that the Gary Barbera Enterprises ads constitute trademark infringement since they use verbiage that is “confusingly similar to the Snoop Dogg trademark.”

The ads show Snoop next to the words “Is Bar-BIZZLE The SH-izzle?” One ad is similar to his line in a recent Chrysler TV commercial with Lee Iacocca: “If the ride is more fly, then you must buy.”

Rapper 50 Cent — Curtis Jackson III — has filed a similar lawsuit against Barbera seeking $1 million in damages.

The Philadelphia Daily News quoted Barbera marketing director Eric Gerstein as terming the latest lawsuit “the same lyrics, different beat. We’ve already been in contact with Snoop’s people, and we’re working it out.”

Tilly Wins Again

Jennifer Tilly has won her second major poker tournament, and confidence in her playing ability.

"I felt like I was suffering from the 'impostor syndrome,'" said Tilly, who jumped from the table after her win. "I had these niggling self doubts. But now I know I can really play. These women were extremely tough pros with blood lust at the poker table."

Tilly's victory at the World Poker Tour Ladies Night III at the Bicycle Casino on Thursday makes her the first woman to win that title and the World Series' Ladies World Poker Championship held in June.

The win guaranteed her a spot in the $25,000 buy-in WPT Championship in April at Bellagio.

--Thanks for the tip, Brian.

A Hollywood Plot?

President Robert Mugabe's government has attacked the suspense thriller "The Interpreter," starring Nicole Kidman, claiming it is part of a propaganda campaign by the CIA that shows "Zimbabwe's enemies did not rest."

The Herald, the government-controlled daily newspaper, also linked the film to efforts by Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer last week to have Mugabe indicted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.

In the film, Kidman plays a United Nations interpreter who overhears two people discussing an apparent assassination plot against the president of a fictional Republic of Matobo. The president, Edmond Zuwanie, is accused of ethnic cleansing and plans to address the U.N. General Assembly in an attempt to forestall indictment by the International Criminal Court.

Two months after Zimbabwe's official censorship board approved the film's screening here, acting Minister of Information and Publicity Chen Chimutengwende told The Herald in Saturday's editions: "The CIA-backed film showed that Zimbabwe's enemies did not rest."

Italian Wedding Bells

Former Saturday Night Live comic Kevin Nealon, 51, married actress Susan Yeagley, 33, in the Italian lakeside town of Bellagio on Saturday.

The couple, who were engaged last December, exchanged vows at the town hall at midday in front of four witnesses. The ceremony lasted 45 minutes and ended with a round of applause.

As the happy pair emerged from the hall and posed for photographers, Nealon was asked if they were going to follow the Italian tradition of having children soon. "We’re going to follow the Italian tradition of having a huge bottle of wine," he said.

Katrina

I haven't posted on the hurricane because frankly, my blog isn't exactly known for being the source of poignant news. Plus, I'm sure you've all been keeping up on it through news, other blogs, etc.

However, there were a couple stories I wanted to alert you to:

--I'm so thinking Lord of the Flies after reading this story. Poor Piggy.

--This shows the spirit of the French Quarter. I'm sure no one noticed that the beer was warm.

--I know there are THOUSANDS helping out with the relief efforts. I wish everyone I know, namely Bryan S. and Kelly, a safe return to Indiana. You guys are my heros!

Viva Vegas Federline

Last week: Preston. Yesterday: London. Now: Vegas?

A friend of the Britney and Kevin tells Star Magazine: "Britney wants to call him Jamie, after her father and younger sister," but Kevin thinks the name is too feminine for his son-to-be. "Instead, he's voting for the name Vegas [after his favorite party town], or the name Preston."

Brit is considering Preston, but has nixed Vegas. The friend explains, "She has too many bad memories of Kevin's party days there." Not to mention that it was the site of her 55-hour first marriage to Jason Alexander. Kevin and Britney — who's so on edge that a source says last week she stormed out of a dinner with her mom at Santa Monica's Houston's Restaurant — are also arguing about Britney's devotion to Kabbalah (which her rep also denies).

"Kevin was never really into Kabbalah. I think he tolerated it because it means a lot to Britney," another source tells Star. "But now that she's talking about raising their baby in the faith, he's put his foot down." What pushed him over the edge? The source says it's Brit's recent whopping $35,000 donation to Kabbalah's Spirituality for Kids program. "Money has been somewhat of an issue lately, and Kevin didn't think that was a wise investment." Especially since, the source says, Kevin would rather give his boy "a traditional Christian upbringing."

Not So Sure About This One

This season's "College GameDay" on ESPN will feature entertainer Nick Lachey providing features as a regular contributor, including onsite appearances.

"Nick is a huge sports fan and will add a unique perspective to the show," said Norby Williamson, senior vice president and managing editor for ESPN. "He will provide wide-ranging, off-the-field features spotlighting the tradition of the game, its fans, athletes and personalities."

Host Chris Fowler and analysts Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit will return for their 10th season together when the program airs Sept. 3. In addition to Lachey, Desmond Howard, a 1991 Heisman Trophy winner with Michigan and 1997 Super Bowl MVP with Green Bay, will join as a weekly contributor, providing analysis and features.

--I'm a huge sports fan, too. Doesn't mean anyone wants to hear me babble about it on national TV.

Bad Timing

Sometimes a musician, through no fault of his or her own, is left with a foot in the mouth.

More than just a one-hit wonder, Katrina and the Waves was the band that gave us 1985's "Walking on Sunshine." Twenty years later, frontwoman Katrina Leskanich, now living in the United Kingdom, is planning to launch her first commercial solo album on Oct. 17.

• Downtown Chick Chat linked with The Blame Game
  
  

Babs Is Back

Barbara Streisand fans must be in heaven. Not only is she re-teaming with Barry Gibb to release "Guilty Pleasures" this fall, but now comes word that Rhino is releasing on DVD all of Streisand's classic TV specials: "My Name Is Barbra" (1965), "Color Me Barbra" (1966), "The Belle of 14th Street" (1967), "Barbra Streisand: A Happening in Central Park" (1968) and "Barbra Streisand . . . and Other Musical Instruments."

Said one fan who sings along to "Funny Girl," "The Barbra fanatics will go insane." Highlights include a duet with Ray Charles and a scene she acted with Jason Robards.

In The Ring With Another Hogan

Lindsay Lohan has angered yet another young female star - wrestler Hulk Hogan's teen daughter Brooke.

Lohan, who recently patched up a reported feud with Ashlee Simpson, has long been locked in a very public war of words with fellow teen star Hilary Duff. And now aspiring singer Brooke has a few choice words for the star.

She tells Star magazine, "(I) don't like Lindsay Lohan. But I don't want to go into that. I don't want to kick anybody's a*s, but I could if I wanted to."

Venice Film Festival

The sure sign of a film festival getting under way is when the A-listers hit the red carpet. And, with the arrival of George Clooney, the party's really getting started in Venice.

George made his grand entrance on a water taxi. He is at the festival to promote his new film, Good Night, And Good Luck. Clooney directed and wrote the screenplay for the drama, based on the true story of broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow.

Fats Found

Legendary R&B singer Fats Domino, feared dead among the thousands of people presumed lost to the floods that hit New Orleans in the wake of Monday's Hurricane Katrina, has been identified as a survivor, CNN reports.

His daughter, Karen Domino White, a New Jersey resident, spotted her father in a photo taken Monday night by the New Orleans Times-Picayune newspaper as the 77-year-old singer was being lifted into a boat from his house, says the news channel.

His location since the photo was taken has not been determined. Also, friends say there is no information about his wife, Rosemary.

Juliette Sets the Record Straight

Juliette Lewis exploded at a fan during a webchat when he asked about her past drug use.

Lewis battled an addiction to drugs during her youth - but the actress insists reports about her use of illegal substances have been exaggerated, claiming she had a cheap habit and was never hooked on cocaine.

When asked during the chat, "Now you have kicked your drug addiction, what do you spend your cash on?" she snapped, "What a stupid question! I did have a drug addiction 10 years ago, but it was never a cocaine addiction so it doesn't follow that I necessarily spent loads of money on it. I did do drugs, but cocaine was just not the drug of choice. And anyway, I'm only really little so I actually didn't consume that many drugs. I never needed much so it was quite a cheap habit! Drug addiction costs much more in how it corrupts the soul than in how it corrupted my bank account."

Jen Wins Cover Sales Battle

Jennifer Aniston’s Vanity Fair front cover proved the magazine’s best selling issue of all time.

The much-publicised September issue, featuring the Friends actress posing provocatively in a white shirt, sold more than 650,000 copies in the US. Aniston poured her heart out in the article, tearfully speaking about her break-up with Brad Pitt and his relationship with Angelina Jolie.

The sales beat Carolyn Bessette Kennedy’s posthumous September 1999 cover which sold 640,816. She died alongside her husband, John F Kennedy Jr., in a plane crash in the Atlantic in July 1999.

• Drunken Wisdom linked with What Else Would You Expect?
  
  

New Toy From Apple

Apple is poised to unveil a mobile phone that plays music just like its best-selling iPod.

Made by Motorola, the handset will have Apple iTunes onboard and will be available via the US Cingular phone service, the BBC reports. The news was broken by analyst Roger Entner, who said he had been briefed about the device and the partners producing it. None of the companies involved were prepared to comment on the revelations.

Speculation that the music phone was about to be unveiled began when Apple issued teasing invites for a press conference on September 7. The company famously never talks about unreleased products but it did let slip that the press conference was "music related."

• Allen Tsai - Technology in Motion linked with Apple and Motorola to Announce Mythical iTunes Phone Next Week
  
  

Pfeiffer's Car Stolen

Michelle Pfeiffer's car was stolen during a shopping trip in London on Tuesday afternoon.

The actress was enjoying a visit to Camden market when the thieves struck. The Press Association reports that she and her driver were distracted by one of the culprits as they loaded shopping into the boot.

Another man then apparently dashed into the car and sped off in, the keys left in the ignition. The other thief escaped on foot.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "A man aged in his 60s reported the theft in Hawley Crescent, Camden, on Tuesday at 2.30pm."

Warhol Jeans

Sellin' jeans from the beyond:

To persuade hipsters to spend $200 on a pair of jeans, Levi's has enlisted the help of Andy Warhol, the granddaddy of all things hip. Called "Warhol Factory X Levi's," the jeans are priced between $150 and $250 and will be available next Spring.

WTF?

Britney Spears has a capital idea for the name for her new baby.

The singer - who is expected to give birth to a boy next month - was previously thought to be calling the baby Preston... but another UK city is now the preferred choice. Brit is keen to call the tot London because it was where she started her romance with dancer hubby Kevin Federline.

She said: "Ever since I was a little girl I thought, for a boy I love Sean Preston - or London Preston. Isn't London pretty? And for a girl I love Addison Shye. I think that's pretty."

--Addison Shye? Good God.

Brad Comes Clean?

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are reportedly set to go public with their romance in a TV interview.

The Hollywood couple have so far remained tight-lipped about their relationship, which started shortly after Brad's split from ex-wife Jennifer Aniston.

However, sources claim the 'Mr and Mrs Smith' co-stars will finally confess they are dating to famed TV interviewer Barbara Walters. An insider is quoted by Britain's The People newspaper as saying: "Brad and Angelina had not gone public as he wanted to get his divorce out of the way and not hurt ex-wife Jennifer's feelings.

"But most people realise what's going on and they want the public to know they're serious."

Is She or Isn't She?

It's looking more and more likely that Sienna Miller is pregnant with Jude Law's spawn.

The actress was supposed to hit the Roland Mouret fashion show at the tents on Sept. 13, but she pulled out early this week. An insider said she's expecting.

The Feud Continues

Lindsay Lohan claims that she tried to end the infamous feud between her and Hilary Duff, but, she says, she got hung up on when she called.

“I called her last week, and I was like, ‘Do you wanna hang out?’ And her sister hung up the phone on me!” Lohan told the magazine Australian. “I don’t like having enemies ... and there’s the saying, keep your friends close but your enemies closer.”

The feud supposedly started when Lohan learns that Duff is dating her ex-sweetie, singer Aaron Carter. “It was like, literally, four years ago when that happened, we were 14, 15, we liked a boy, it was like a crush," Lohan says. "Eurgh, it was so stupid! And I was like, ‘We have a lot of similar friends in LA, let’s just be cool, so if we see each other everything’s fine.’ I don’t wanna have fights with people.”

Stars Gather to Lend a Hand

While NBC and MTV have already announced their own telethons to raise money for victims of Monday's Hurricane Katrina, ABC, CBS, FOX, UPN and the WB Network are said to be working with those two other broadcasters to produce a simulcast benefit show similar to the America: A Tribute to Heroes telethon held in 2001 a week after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. That event nearly four years ago drew nearly 90 million viewers and raised more than $100 million for victims.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday NBC, MSNBC and CNBC announced they would simulcast A Concert For Hurricane Relief in high-definition live from Rockefeller Center this Friday night, with viewers encouraged to donate to the American Red Cross disaster Relief Fund.

To be hosted by Today show anchor Matt Lauer, the special (which will be tape-delayed for West Coast viewers) will feature performances from Tim McGraw, Wynton Marsalis and New Orleans favorite son Harry Connick, Jr., and appearances from celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio. "I am heartbroken by the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in my home state," McGraw, who was born in Delhi, La., said in a statement.

MTV and its sister music cable channels VH1 and CMT also announced that their live benefit program will air Saturday with hook-ups to performers in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Nashville. They are, so far, set to include Green Day, Usher, Rob Thomas and Alicia Keys.

Maintaining the momentum, BET has announced a Sept. 9 telethon to feature Russell Simmons, Master P and jazz artist Marsalis, and veteran comic Jerry Lewis said he would devote a portion of his annual Labor Day telethon for the Muscular Dystrophy Association charity, which starts on Sunday, to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort, reports Reuters.

Another Actor-Designer

Jessica Alba has decided to launch a line of baby clothing to help style-conscious parents make their kids look as hip as they do.

Naturally, as with all things celebrity, a portion of the proceeds will go to charity - in this case, orphanages and women's shelters. The brand is set to launch next April.

Diana Remembered

The death of Princess Diana – exactly eight years ago on Wednesday – was remembered by loyal fans who gathered outside her former home, London's Kensington Palace.

Not far across town, Britain's royal family planned no special observances, with sons Prince William and Prince Harry "going about their business as normal," according to a spokesman at Clarence House, Prince Charles's official residence, the Associated Press reports.

Diana, who was 36, died in a Paris traffic-tunnel crash on Aug. 31, 1997, along with boyfriend Dodi Fayed and chauffeur Henri Paul. The only survivor was Diana's bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones, who was badly injured.

Outside Diana's home, where she lived following her 1996 divorce from Charles, bouquets of roses, carnations and lilies were placed on the fence by dozens of people paying tribute to mark the sad anniversary. Attached were also messages from Australia, Argentina and the U.S.

One mourner, delivery driver Raymond Nurse, 44, told AP that Diana "is our queen of hearts. You never forget your queen of hearts. Camilla – they will forget her, she's rubbish – but not our Diana."

Get Out, MTV

The powerful and wealthy neighbors of the "Real World" house in Key West, Fla., are suing MTV to prevent the series from filming next door to their home.

Producers say they still plan to tape the reality series in the Florida Keys, despite a lawsuit filed by Key West tour mogul Ed Swift. The show began leasing the home on June 28, and crews already have begun installing large outdoor lighting systems.

There's Only One Manero

Robbie Williams is set to star in the re-make of Saturday Night Fever.

The Bee Gees are said to be making a modern version of the hit 70's film and have ear-marked Robbie for the part of Tony Manero, originally played by John Travolta.

A friend of the Gibb brothers said: " Robbie is the ideal candidate to play Tony - he can sing, dance, is a good-looking lad and has loads of charisma."

--Um, are they insane?

Rummy and Dave

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld will make his first visit to the "Late Show With David Letterman" next week, CBS announced Wednesday.

Rumsfeld, who has been secretary of defense to President Bush since January 2001, will appear Tuesday night.

O.C. Shirts

2 LOVE announced a new line of tops endorsed by the cast of The O.C. The shirts were inspired by The O.C.’s seven main characters, including Marisa Cooper (Mischa Barton, whose shirt has an Orange Slice logo) and Seth Cohen (Adam Brody, whose shirt reads "Born in the O.C.").

Proceeds from the shirts go to Hollywood Habitat For Humanity, an organization that mobilizes the entertainment community to build homes for those in need. They debut on September 30th at the Lisa Klein boutique in Los Angeles; those not born in the O.C. can buy them online. They retail for $48 - $92.

The shirts come on the heels of 2 Love’s other charity design projects with celebrities like Molly Sims, Jessica Alba, and an additional shirt created by Mischa Barton, as well as 2 LOVE’s secondary line Mblem, created by Mandy Moore.

Wasted Away Again...

I had a blast last night at this concert.