Naomi Watts, Liev Schreiber Breathe Easy After Son's Health Scare

Los Angeles (E! Online) – What with all the fuss over Mel Gibson and his red-carpet arm candy, Liev Schreiber's absence at last night's X-Men Origins: Wolverine premiere almost went unnoticed.

Though not by his ailing son.

Schreiber, who plays nemesis Sabretooth in the comic book flick, was in Los Angeles to attend the screening but ended up a no-show after learning his 21-month-old son with Naomi Watts, Alexander, was hospitalized in New York for respiratory problems, according to People.

The 41-year-old actor immediately flew home and pulled bedside duty with Watts and their 4-month-old son, Samuel, though luckily not for long.

Alexander—who goes by the Russian version of his name, Sasha—was monitored by doctors for the night before being released.

"Sasha got home today and is feeling much better," said Schreiber's rep, Ina Treciokas.

Talk about a Hollywood ending.

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Sean Penn files for legal separation

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn has filed for a legal separation from his wife Robin Wright Penn after an attempt to reconcile apparently failed.

According to court papers filed last week in Marin County, near San Francisco, Penn asked for the legal separation from his wife of 13 years on April 23 on grounds of irreconcilable differences.

The couple started divorce proceedings in December 2007 but got back together again a few months later. The couple have two children aged 18 and 15.

Penn, 48, won his second best actor Oscar in February for his role as slain gay activist Harvey Milk in the movie "Milk". Robin Wright Penn starred in the 1999 romantic drama "Message in a Bottle" and is currently appearing in the investigative reporting thriller "State of Play."

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant)

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Rapper Rick Ross leads album chart for third time

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) – Rapper Rick Ross scored his third No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart Wednesday, while veteran synth-rockers Depeche Mode came in at No. 3 with modest sales for their first album in almost four years.

Ross' "Deeper Than Rap" sold 158,000 copies during the week ended April 26, according to Nielsen SoundScan data. His last set, 2008's "Trilla," bowed at No. 1 with 198,000 while 2006's "Port of Miami" also did the same, with 187,000.

Last week's champ, the "Hannah Montana: the Movie" soundtrack, slipped to No. 2 with 104,000 copies.

Depeche Mode sold 80,000 copies of "Sounds of the Universe." The new set gives the British band its second-best rank ever on the chart. Its highest came when "Songs of Faith and Devotion" debuted at No. 1 in 1993.

However, "Sounds of the Universe's" opening frame is actually the group's smallest debut sales week for a studio set since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking data in 1991. Depeche Mode's last four studio offerings have all had opening weeks north of 92,000, including 2005's "Playing the Angel."

Country combo Rascal Flatts' former chart-topper "Unstoppable" fell one to No. 4 with 68,000.

White rapper Asher Roth debuted at No. 5 with "Asleep in the Bread Aisle," which sold 65,000 copies. The set's lead single, "I Love College," peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 a little over a month ago.

Elsewhere, the "Twilight" soundtrack fell two places to No. 6; Lady GaGa's "The Fame" rose one to No. 7; Day26's "Forever in a Day" slid six to No. 8; the "Now 30" compilation dropped four to No. 9; and Jadakiss' "The Last Kiss" also fell four, to No. 10.

Overall album sales slipped three percent from the previous week, and were down 10 percent from the year-ago period. Year-to-date album sales are off 12 percent from the same time in 2008.

(Editing by Dean Gooodman at Reuters)

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Sarah Jessica Parker expecting twins via surrogate

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – "Sex and the City" actress Sarah Jessica Parker and her husband Matthew Broderick are expecting twin girls via a surrogate mother, their representatives said on Tuesday.

Parker, 44, and Broderick, 47, "are happily anticipating the birth of their twin daughters later this summer with the generous help of a surrogate. The entire family is overjoyed," a statement from the couple said.

The couple have a six year old son, James, and have long wanted to add to their family but had no luck, an unidentified friend was quoted as telling Entertainment Weekly magazine.

They turned to a surrogate last year, the magazine said. The surrogate's name and details have not been disclosed.

"They had a lot of unsuccessful tries," the friend was quoted as saying. "They came to the conclusion that this was going to be the best alternative for expanding their family."

Parker is expected to begin shooting a sequel later this year to the hit movie version of "Sex and the City" along with fellow stars Cynthia Nixon, Kim Cattrall and Kristin Davis.

Broderick, star of the Broadway musical and movie "The Producers", and Parker married in 1997.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

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Police to return jewelry worn by Rihanna

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Los Angeles police have agreed to return the $1.4 million worth of jewelry that pop star Rihanna was wearing the night her R&B singer boyfriend Chris Brown is accused of assaulting her, Rihanna's lawyer said on Wednesday.

The earring and three rings that Rihanna was wearing were on loan to the "Umbrella" singer, who had attended a pre-Grammy party with Brown hours before the Feb 8 incident. They were taken by police as evidence in the case.

The designers asked for the bling to be returned and lawyer Donald Etra told a Los Angeles judge at a hearing on the assault case that police will first photograph them before handing them back.

Brown is charged with attacking Rihanna in their rented car on their way home from the party. He was not in court on Wednesday. He is free on bail pending a possible trial next month when he could be given probation or up to five years prison if convicted.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

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Applegate on People's `Most Beautiful' cover

NEW YORK – A smiling Christina Applegate graces the cover of People magazine's "Most Beautiful" issue.

The 37-year-old actress, who recently battled breast cancer, certainly has much to celebrate: She says she's finally found her "perfect type" in her new beau, Dutch musician Martyn Lenoble (Mar-TAN Luh-NOBLE).

Applegate had a double mastectomy last July and reconstructive surgery months later. The star of ABC's "Samantha Who?" calls Lenoble an "angel" who loves her "from head to toe."

According to Applegate, Lenoble has been her "rock" and gave her reason to live — and smile.

The annual "Most Beautiful" issue features 100 famous faces, including Michelle Obama, Zac Efron and Cindy Crawford posing without makeup. It hits stands Friday.

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Shanna Moakler Mouths Off for Gay Marriage

Los Angeles (E! Online) – Former Miss USA Shanna Moakler has been pretty vocal about what she thinks of Miss California Carrie Prejean's views on gay marriage.

But now, Moakler, who is executive director of the Miss California USA pageant, is showing how she feels by keeping her mouth shut.

Moakler, along with Miss USA 2006 first runner-up Tamiko Nash and last year's titleholder Raquel Beezley were in a photo studio last night being shot by Adam Bouska for NOH8, a campaign to support efforts to overturn Proposition 8...

The three women were shot together with duct tape over their mouths, a symbol of their voices not being heard, and "NOH8" painted on their cheeks.

The project was started by Bouska, 25, and his partner, Jeff Parshley, 28, in November after the passage of Prop 8 outlawed same-sex unions in the state.

"We never expected to have so many beauty queens participate. The whole campaign, obviously, is not a direct message to Miss California, but now she happened to have put herself in the line of fire," Bouska says about his newest pic of the Moakler et al.

"If Carrie is going to go out there with her message, then we have to go out there and make sure the voices of these girls are heard," he adds. "And that they are what Miss USA should stand for, too."

Another portrait shows 1997's Miss Universe Brook Lee, originally from Hawaii, wearing a white wedding dress and a sash that reads "Miss Equality." With or without duct tape, these beauties are sending the message.

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O.J. Simpson witness and Dr. Phil settle case

LOS ANGELES – There's a settlement in the defamation lawsuit filed against Dr. Phil by a witness in O.J. Simpson's robbery case.

Attorneys for Phil McGraw and memorabilia dealer Thomas Riccio filed a statement Monday, saying an agreement had been reached.

Riccio sued McGraw and Stage 29 Media Productions in October. He claimed an interview with McGraw was edited to remove his denials to certain accusations, including that he set Simpson up and told Simpson to bring guns to a Las Vegas robbery.

A judge gutted the case last month, removing defamation, false light and infliction of emotional distress claims.

The interview aired days after Simpson was convicted of robbing and kidnapping two sports memorabilia dealers at gunpoint.

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Jackman: Size matters for `Wolverine' and Oscars

LOS ANGELES – Hugh Jackman relied on his Wolverine alter ego to pack on muscle for the "X-Men" role, and he turned to the Oscars to slim back down.

The 40-year-old actor trained for a year to achieve his character's look.

"My goal was to make him look like an animal," a much leaner Jackman said recently. "I wanted people to be unnerved when they saw him."

Among the first to be unnerved? "Australia" director Baz Luhrmann.

Jackman was co-starring with Nicole Kidman in the epic love story when he started bulking up for "X-Men Origins: Wolverine."

"Baz said, `Mate, whatever you're eating, can you slow down a bit because I'm going to struggle to edit this together,'" Jackman recalled, adding that there are a few scenes in "Australia" where he's "beefier" than he ought to be.

The director had issues with Jackman's size again when the two collaborated on the opening song-and-dance number for the Academy Awards.

"Baz was like, `You've got to lose weight ... You're too bulky,'" Jackman said.

Luckily, Jackman discovered the ideal weight-loss plan: "Singing and dancing is the greatest diet in the history of the planet," he said. "Well, that and performing in front of a billion people."

Despite the pressures of the Oscar performance, the gregarious actor said he'd take on the hosting task again without hesitation.

"I'd do it again if I was asked," Jackman said. "I loved every second of it."

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Olympic hero Bolt escapes serious injury in crash

KINGSTON (AFP) – Olympic athletics sensation Usain Bolt suffered only minor injuries when his BMW skidded off the road and overturned in a ditch.

"I am good," Bolt told fans as he limped away from hospital with small bandages on his feet.

Bolt's manager Norman Peart said the athlete's feet were pricked by thorns when he exited the vehicle.

"He was taken to the Spanish Town Public Hospital, where he was treated. He has been sent home for recovery," Peart said.

Bolt, 22, won gold medals in the 100m, the 200m and the 4x100m relay at the Beijing Games last August, setting world records in all three events.

His exploits made him a superstar in his homeland, and his accident sent a brief shockwave through the country.

The leader of Jamaica's parliament, Andrew Holness, said Wednesday that the country could breathe a sigh of relief following Bolt's close brush with serious injury.

"The reports that we have received is that he is not seriously injured and therefore Jamaica can collectively breathe a sigh of relief," Holness, who is also the country's education minister, said in Parliament on a motion of adjournment.

The government member's statement was accompanied by thunderous applause. He was supported by the leader of the Opposition, Portia Simpson Miller, who expressed "joy that nothing happened to Usain".

"We hope that they would be able to get over this kind of shock," Simpson Miller said.

Sergeant David Shepherd of Old Harbour police in St. Catherine said the accident occurred on Highway 2000, one of Jamaica's newest highways, at about 1:30 in the afternoon.

Police said the vehicle was extensively damaged, after apparently skidding on the rain-slick road, but neither Bolt nor the unidentified woman traveling with him was seriously hurt.

Bolt had just returned to Jamaica from a promotional event for Puma in Boston last weekend.

The Jamaican star was scheduled to compete in an IAAF Area permit meet in Kingston this weekend, and Peart said Bolt's team would continue to monitor his health.

"He will do further tests in the next 48 hours before we can determine that," Peart said of Bolt's status for Saturday's meeting.

"We are keeping a close watch on Usain and will update the public as necessary," Peart said. "We also want to use the opportunity to thank the public for all the calls of concern and the show of affection for Usain."

Bolt was slated to compete in a street race over 150m at the Great CityGames in Manchester, England, on May 17 and in a meeting in New York on May 20.

Earlier Wednesday, organizers of a June 17 meeting in Ostrava, Czech Republic, said Bolt would race the 100m there as he builds up for the World Athletics Championships in Berlin in August.

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New Crash Details: Casey Aldridge "Fortunate That It Wasn't Worse"

Los Angeles (E! Online) – Casey Aldridge did not appear to have been drinking before he rolled his pickup truck on a rural Louisiana road early Sunday morning. But authorities can't say whether his buddies were.

Dustin Havard, 23, and Cody Jenkins, 21, neither of whom were wearing seatbelts, have been identified as the guys who were thrown out of the truck along with Aldridge when his Ford F-250 flipped over.

According to the crash report released today, Aldridge drove about 250 feet in a ditch alongside the road before he "overcorrected and lost control of the truck," which rolled over at least once and went another 160 feet before coming to a stop.

The reason why Jamie Lynn Spears' fiancé was going off-road in the first place remains unknown, Louisana State Police spokesman Mark Dennis told E! News Wednesday. There were no witnesses to the crash.

"These guys were very fortunate that it wasn't worse than it was," he said.

The other two passengers in the truck have been identified as Charles Knapp, 22, and Eric Estes, 19.

Dennis said it is still unknown where the group was coming from at 1:20 a.m.

Some reports have pegged the guys as returning home from a fishing trip, while others have said that they were coming back from a bachelor party.

Cody Jenkins' sister, Carly, told E! News that neither she nor her brother had any comment on the matter.

When asked what sort of punishment Aldridge was facing for a charge of careless operation of a motor vehicle, Dennis said it would most likely be nothing more than a monetary fine.

Aldridge was transferred out of the intensive care unit at University of Mississippi Medical Center, where he was being treated for a head injury, on Tuesday. He was the only one who required hospitalization after the accident.

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Britney Spears extends "Circus" tour to Europe

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Singer Britney Spears has extended her "Circus" concert tour to include a dozen European shows taking her from London to Russia, the pop star's representatives said on her Web site on Wednesday.

Spears kicks off the European leg of her tour with a June 19 show in Dublin, Ireland, with later stops in France, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Poland and a final European stop July 26 in Berlin.

She began her "Circus" tour March 3 in her home state of Louisiana, and the tour features 39 North American dates.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

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Closing arguments in Tyra Banks' NYC stalker trial

NEW YORK – Closing arguments will begin Thursday in the trial of a Georgia man accused of stalking supermodel-turned-TV host Tyra Banks.

Brady Green, 39, has been accused of repeatedly calling Banks' studio, showing up there and sending her flowers and letters. He faces as many as 90 days in jail if convicted by Judge James Burke, who is hearing the case without a jury in Manhattan Criminal Court.

Green was arrested March 18, 2008, at a McDonald's near Banks' studio in Chelsea. He told officers he and Banks "had a thing together," police said.

Banks said she was about to leave the studio that day when her staff warned her about Green. She said they had previously shown her Green's photograph, told her he had threatened one of her employees and was "somebody I should watch out for."

The former Sports Illustrated cover girl said she told officers that arrived on the scene that she was scared.

"I didn't know what to do. How do I live my life when I leave this building? I had never experienced anything like this before," she said.

The Dublin, Ga., man has been charged with stalking, harassment and criminal trespass, all misdemeanors.

Calm and smiling frequently as she testified, Banks said security "has changed significantly" around her and her workplaces because of Green.

She said that her company has hired more security staff and that her studio audiences are vetted more thoroughly.

Banks said she is now followed everywhere by security guards, even when she runs and exercises outdoors. Even though she is a public person, "I don't live that kind of sheltered, protected life," she said. "I like to walk around."

Assistant District Attorney Sean McMahon asked Banks whether Green's behavior made her fearful.

"I don't fear for my life," Banks said. "I fear for my safety. I fear for the safety of my staff and for my family. And I fear for the safety of people in my vicinity, who I'm with."

Green testified that Banks' shows on racism and homelessness had moved him and he wanted to contact her. He said his attempts to get tickets for her show had been misunderstood.

Questioned by his lawyer, Jeffrey Berman, Green testified that he never threatened Banks, never intended to scare her and never tried to date her.

On cross-examination, McMahon got Green to admit he rode a bus for four days from Los Angeles and to New York where he had no friends, relatives and no job, and the first he thing he did was go to the building that houses Banks' studio.

Banks is executive producer and host of two popular TV shows, "America's Next Top Model" and "The Tyra Banks Show."

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Matt Giraud thrown off of 'American Idol'

LOS ANGELES – There was no saving Matt Giraud this time on "American Idol."

The 23-year-old dueling piano player from Kalamazoo, Mich., was rescued by the show's judges two weeks ago. But on Wednesday it was revealed that he received the fewest viewer votes on the Fox singing competition — just beneath this season's most formidable front-runner.

"I'll definitely remember being the cat with nine lives up here," Giraud said after his dismissal.

At the start of the show, host Ryan Seacrest split the finalists: Giraud and Kris Allen on one side, Danny Gokey and Allison Iraheta on the other. Seacrest then allowed seemingly unstoppable Adam Lambert to choose which group he belonged in. Lambert picked Gokey and Iraheta, but Seacrest dropped a bomb: Lambert was in the bottom three with Giraud and Allen.

"My mouth went open again," said judge Kara DioGuardi. "That's what happens with Adam."

The drama was extended after Seacrest sent Allen to safety, leaving Lambert and Giraud as the bottom two vote-getters. While the judges were split on Tuesday's "Rat Pack"-themed show over Giraud's "My Funny Valentine" rendition, they all agreed that 27-year-old theater actor Lambert's "Feeling Good" performance left them feeling, well, really good.

The Lambert alarm was all for naught, though. Giraud was sent packing.

Gokey and Iraheta, who both recently celebrated birthdays, were safe from elimination, but the 29-year-old church music director from Milwaukee and the 17-year-old high school student from Los Angeles weren't totally out of harm's way. Video was shown of them tangling in a cake-making brawl that left their kitchen a mess.

Gokey was served with the cleaning bill.

"You mean `American Idol' doesn't pay for this?" Gokey asked.

"Maybe we'll take care of it if you win," Seacrest responded.

The four remaining finalists — Allen, Gokey, Iraheta and Lambert — will perform rock 'n' roll songs next week, two weeks before the two-part finale.

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Obama, Madoff, Twitter founders in Time's 'most influential'

NEW YORK (AFP) – What do Barack Obama, Bernard Madoff, Zac Efron and the founders of Twitter have in common? A lot of influence, Time magazine says.

The annual list of the top 100 influential figures has the expected names like the US president, his wife Michelle Obama, and his Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

Plaudits also extend to the communications and entertainment leaders who might not run the economy, but change billions of people's lives in other ways.

That includes High School Musical star Efron; the creators of the increasingly ubiquitous Twitter social network, Jack Dorsey and Biz Stone; and Arianna Huffington, founder of the Huffington Post -- a leading example of the increasingly vibrant Internet-based news media.

"The Time 100 is not a list of the most powerful people in the world, it?s not a list of the smartest people in the world," said Time managing editor Rick Stengel.

It's "people who are using their ideas, their visions, their actions to transform the world and have an effect on a multitude of people."

Others on the list have been influential for the wrong reasons.

That includes Wall Street mega-swindler Madoff and Mexican drug baron Joaquin Guzman.

As the eclectic list demonstrates, influence might be a tricky thing to define.

An online poll for Time readers threw up a surprise winner -- the 21-year-old college student who founded the online community 4chan.org and who goes by the name of moot.

The shadowy web guru, identified by Time to be called Christopher Poole, received 16,794,368 votes, easily beating the likes of Obama and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Moot started 4chan.org, a bulletin board, in 2003. The site gets 13 million page views a day.

And in the best tradition of Internet communities, his victory over the world's mightiest personalities might not be all that it seems.

"I would remind anyone who doubts the results that this is an Internet poll," time.com managing editor Josh Tyrangiel said. "Doubting the results is kind of the point."

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Funny stuff! Amy Sedaris writing new book

NEW YORK – Amy Sedaris is preparing more literary laughter.

The actress and comedian is working on a follow-up to her best seller, "I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence." The new book, currently untitled, will come out in 2010 and will again feature "her unique approach to home life through the use of fun, long-forgotten crafts," according to Grand Central Publishing, which announced the book Thursday.

Sedaris, 48, is the sister of humorist David Sedaris and plays Jerri Blank on Comedy Central's "Strangers With Candy."

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Ga. man convicted in NYC of stalking Tyra Banks

NEW YORK – A Georgia man who told police he and Tyra Banks "had a thing together" was convicted Thursday of stalking the supermodel-turned-TV host.

Brady Green, 39, of Dublin, Ga., was convicted by Manhattan Criminal Court Judge James Burke, who heard the case without a jury, of stalking, harassment, criminal trespass and attempted aggravated harassment.

Green faces as many as 90 days in jail when he is sentenced on June 18. His lawyer said an appeal is planned.

Banks testified that she feared for her safety, and for that of her staff and family.

Authorities said Green, 39, repeatedly called Banks' studio, showed up there, and sent her flowers and letters.

Green was arrested March 18, 2008, at a McDonald's restaurant near Banks' studio in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. He told officers he and Banks "had a thing together," police said.

Banks said she was about to leave the studio that day when her staff warned her about Green. She said they had previously shown her Green's photograph, told her he had threatened one of her employees and was "somebody I should watch out for."

The former Sports Illustrated cover girl said she told officers at the scene that she was scared.

"I didn't know what to do. How do I live my life when I leave this building? I had never experienced anything like this before," she said.

Calm and smiling frequently as she testified, Banks said security "has changed significantly" around her and her workplaces because of Green.

She said that her company has hired more security staff and that her studio audiences are vetted more thoroughly.

Banks said she is now followed everywhere by security guards, even when she runs and exercises outdoors. Even though she is a public person, "I don't live that kind of sheltered, protected life," she said. "I like to walk around."

Green testified that Banks' shows on racism and homelessness had moved him and he wanted to contact her. He said his attempts to get tickets for her show had been misunderstood.

He also said he never threatened Banks, never intended to scare her and never tried to date her.

Assistant District Attorney Sean McMahon got Green to admit that he rode a bus for four days from Los Angeles to New York, where he had no friends, relatives and no job, and that the first he thing he did was go to the building that houses Banks' studio.

Banks is executive producer and host of two popular TV shows, "America's Next Top Model" and "The Tyra Banks Show."

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Sean Penn files for legal separation from his wife

NEW YORK – Sean Penn and Robin Wright are separating, citing irreconcilable differences.

The double Oscar winner filed the petition on April 23 in Marin County Superior Court in San Rafael, Calif., according to court papers.

Penn and his actress wife have been married 13 years. Penn has requested joint legal and physical custody of their 18-year-old daughter, Dylan Francis, and 15-year-old son, Hopper Jack.

This isn't the first indication of marital strife. The Penns filed for divorce in December 2007 but dismissed their petition several months later.

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Two men ordered to stay away from Britney Spears

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A judge on Tuesday ordered Britney Spears' former self-styled manager Sam Lutfi to stay away from the pop star for three years, after the singer's father accused Lutfi of trying to undermine the conservatorship Spears lives under.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Aviva Bobb also issued the same order to attorney Jon Eardley, who has presented himself as Spears' lawyer.

Lutfi and Eardley, whose attorneys argued that the order was unwarranted, were told to stay at least 100 yards (meters) away from Spears, her family and her homes.

The three-year order extends an existing mandate against Lutfi and Eardley that Bobb issued earlier this year.

A court placed Spears under a conservatorship last year, after she was hospitalized for psychiatric evaluation. Her father, Jamie Spears, says his control over her affairs enabled Spears to launch her ongoing "Circus" tour.

An attorney for Jamie Spears had argued that Lutfi and Eardley continually bothered the 27-year-old singer, and that Eardley filed legal motions on her behalf even though he did not officially represent her.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

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Twin joy for Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Sarah Jessica Parker and husband Matthew Broderick are expecting twin girls born to a surrogate, according to People magazine.

"Sex and the City" star Parker, 44, and actor husband Broderick, 47, already have a six-year-old son together, James Wilkie.

People quoted a representative as saying the couple were "happily anticipating the birth of their twin daughters later this summer with the generous help of a surrogate. The entire family is overjoyed."

Broderick and Parker married in 1997.

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Mr. T called for jury duty

CHICAGO – Pity the prospective juror named Mr. T.

He showed up for jury duty, then was dismissed after hours of down time — which he used to sign autographs and pose for pictures.

Mr. T was called for jury duty at Cook County Circuit Court on Monday. The Chicago native said he enjoyed fulfilling his civic responsibilities, even though he found — like countless others — that hours can pass before a judge decides to dismiss you.

He showed up for jury duty in camouflage pants, a T-shirt and a longer version of his usual Mohawk haircut.

Mr. T is best remembered for the 1980s TV series "The A-Team" and as Clubber Lang in "Rocky III," which his catch phrase come from: "I pity the fool."

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Britney's ex-manager forced to stay away from star

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – The ex-manager of pop star Britney Spears must stay away from the singer and her family for three years a Los Angeles judge ruled Tuesday.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Aviva Bobb's order bars former Spears guru Sam Lutfi and the attorney Jon Eardley from coming within 100 yards of the singer and her sons until April 2012.

The court had already issued a temporary order against Lutfi and Eardly in January. Lawyers for Spears father Jamie, who controls his daughter's estate, alleged the two men had caused the singer emotional distress.

Jamie Spears and lawyer Andrew Wallet were appointed conservators of the star's estate last year in the wake of the singer's much publicized mental health scare when she was admitted to hospital in Los Angeles.

Jamie Spears alleged Lutfi and Eardley had tried to undermine the court ordered conservatorship established last year.

Britney Spears endured a torrid period following her 2006 divorce from ex-husband Kevin Federline, attracting a string of lurid headlines in the tabloid media which culminated in her admission to hospital.

Since then however the singer has gradually got her career back on track, releasing a chart-topping album and beginning her first concert tour in five years last month.

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Eric Bana documents his first love: his muscle car

NEW YORK – Eric Bana has shared the screen with various leading ladies. The only one who really got his motor running? A Ford GT Falcon coupe.

"She's definitely the most tempting," laughed Bana in an interview Tuesday at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Bana has brought his directorial debut "Love the Beast" to Tribeca. A documentary about his abiding connection to his first car, it's a 25-year-old love story for the 40-year-old Australian actor dating back to his teenager years in Melbourne.

Bana is a serious racer and often competes professionally in Australia — including in the grueling five-day Targa Tasmania Rally. The film follows Bana racing his beloved car — nicknamed "the Beast" — in the 2007 Targa Tasmania, in which he crashed on the fourth day. (Bana emerged uninjured along with his co-driver.)

The film may sound like a vanity project, but it unfolds as an examination of how people develop deep emotional bonds with inanimate objects. In the film, Bana refers to his muscle car as a constant in his life and a "campfire" around which he and his friends gather.

"I hate the term `passion project,'" Bana says. "To me, it's like, what, directors don't normally make projects that they're passionate about? A passion project for me is going motor racing. Going motor racing with cameras is not a passion project."

Bana ("Munich," "Hulk") decided to make "Love the Beast" — which took three years to finish — in part because he was frustrated by car films that never spoke to him emotionally.

"I feel like it's a film I made on behalf of car people, not for car people," says Bana. "As personal as it is and as much of me as it is, the audience seem to make it about themselves."

The film doesn't yet have distribution in North America; he's hoping to find a deal at Tribeca. "Love the Beast" includes appearances from fellow automobile enthusiast Jay Leno and TV guru Dr. Phil, who analyzes Bana's emotional attachment to his car.

Bana, who lives in Australia with his wife and two children, says he's enjoying the dichotomy of looking for an audience for the modest "Love the Beast" while starring in some of the year's biggest films.

After Tribeca, he flies to Los Angeles for the premiere of "Star Trek," in which he plays villain Nero. He later will star in Judd Apatow's "Funny People" and the romance "The Time Traveler's Wife."

He hopes that once the films are out, he'll turn to repairing his cherished car, which is still badly damaged from the accident. It lies in his garage, Bana says, "just a big, piled wreck waiting for my time and attention."

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Another celebrity leaves `Dancing' country

LOS ANGELES – Chuck Wicks is leaving the "Dancing With the Stars" ballroom.

The country singer and his professional dance partner (and real-life girlfriend) Julianne Hough were eliminated from the ABC dance-off Tuesday.

Wicks had improved steadily throughout the season, earning praise from the judges for his "hip action" and fun-loving attitude. Judges loved their cha-cha Monday, with Carrie Ann Inaba insisting, "You are definitely in the game." Wicks also appeared in a group dance, which ended with him and his fellow male dancers in black leotards and white tights.

The 29-year-old musician came into Tuesday's results show with a solid 51 points out of 60, but fans failed to keep him afloat.

Viewer votes are combined with judges' scores to determine which couple is eliminated each week.

"To all the critics that thought we weren't going to last: We did it," Wicks said after learning his fate. "Now I'm going to go out on tour and enjoy doing what I love, and that's country music."

The week's low scorer, Melissa Rycroft, escaped elimination. She missed Monday's show because of a rib injury and earned just 21 out of 30 points from judges for a taped rehearsal performance.

"It shows you how many fans Melissa has," Wicks said, adding, "I think the team dance did us in."

Tuesday's results show also included a performance by Robin Thicke and the continuation of the new professional dance competition: Four pro dancers are vying for viewer votes and a spot on the next season of "Dancing With the Stars."

Besides Rycroft, four celebrity contestants remain: Rapper Lil Kim, rodeo champ Ty Murray, Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson and actor Gilles Marini.

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Beyonce skives off Vienna art museum tour

VIENNA (AFP) – US pop star Beyonce has angered a high-brow art museum in Vienna by sending a look-a-like to her own special personal tour of the museum, while she went shopping, according to newspaper reports here Wednesday.

Tabloid dailies Oesterreich and Heute said the R&B diva had been due to visit the Albertina, one of the Austrian capital's most famous museums which attracts around one million visitors each year.

Recent visitors include Hollywood stars such as Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Nicolas Cage.

But Beyonce, who gave a concert in Vienna on Tuesday, decided to skive off and do some shopping instead, sending a look-a-like to the museum and be photographed with Albertina director, Klaus Albrecht Schroeder, according to the reports.

The museum was understandably put out and said it would protest to the star's management.

"What a cheek," Albertina spokeswoman Verena Dahlitz told the Austrian news agency APA.

"We were a little doubtful yesterday, but weren't really sure. It could have been her," Dahlitz said, adding that fans were apparently duped, too.

Beyonce's concert in Vienna met with very mixed reviews and was only half-full, according to Oesterreich.

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Berlusconi's wife goes public over his eye for ladies

ROME (AFP) – Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's penchant for pretty women is a source of "suffering" for his wife, she wrote in an open letter published Wednesday.

"I want it to be clear that I and my children are the victims and not accomplices in this situation. We must put up with it and that makes us suffer," Veronica Lario wrote.

The letter, the second such public outburst from Lario, dealt mainly with Berlusconi's choices of candidates from his People of Freedom party to stand in European Union elections set for June.

Some are reportedly pretty young women with no political experience.

"The presence of pretty women in politics is neither a plus or a minus," said Lario, a 52-year-old former stage actress who is 20 years Berlusconi's junior.

"But behind the facade of curvy feminine beauty, what is even more serious is (Berlusconi's) impudence and lack of reserve ... that offend the credibility of all women," said Lario, adding: "especially those who have always been in the front lines defending their rights."

"Someone wrote that all this is no more than some extra fun for the emperor," Lario wrote. "I agree, what is in the papers is shameless rubbish, all in the name of power."

Lario is rarely seen in public with Berlusconi, a flamboyant self-made billionaire with whom she has had three children.

Berlusconi, a cruise ship crooner in his younger days, is renowned for verbal gaffes of all kinds, including sexist remarks.

Two Italian lawmakers last month filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights "because of his repeated statements that offend female dignity," according to Anna Paola Concia of the left-wing Democratic Party.

In January 2007, Berlusconi issued a public apology to Lario after she learned through the press of his verbal dalliance with a pretty young lawmaker.

"Please forgive me, and take this public testimony ... as an act of love, one among many," he said after Lario wrote a letter to the daily La Repubblica demanding his contrition, which she said he had failed to show in private.

Lario also had a comment Wednesday about Berlusconi's presence at a birthday party in Naples for a pretty 18-year-old.

"I was very surprised to learn that, because he didn't come to any of his children's 18th birthday parties, even though he was invited."

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Hong Kong man guilty over celebrity sex pics

HONG KONG (AFP) – A Hong Kong computer technician was found guilty Wednesday of illegally distributing more than 1,000 photos of singer Edison Chen performing sex acts with a string of starlets, a report said.

The images were plastered across the Internet last year, causing a huge scandal, forcing Chen to flee to his childhood home of Canada and damaging the careers of several of the stars involved.

Sze Ho-chun, an employee of computer shop Elite Multimedia, was found guilty after a five-day trail on three counts of obtaining access to a computer with a view to dishonest gain for himself or another, broadcaster RTHK said.

Sze had copied 1,300 sex photos from Chen's laptop when the Canadian-born singer-actor brought it in for repairs in 2006.

The prosecution said that the 24-year-old saved 1,300 sex photos of Chen and other local celebrities on a compact disc which he then passed to another of his customers.

The images began spreading online in February last year and sparked one of the city's biggest sex scandals.

The photos, which Chen has admitted taking himself, showed him in compromising positions with celebrities including Canto-pop star Gillian Chung, actress Cecilia Cheung and former actress Bobo Chan.

The incident caused a storm in the celebrity-obsessed city and prompted Chen to leave for Canada and announce he was withdrawing from the entertainment business in Hong Kong.

The 28-year-old Chen had been one of Asia's biggest entertainment stars. He recorded 16 albums under the EEG (Emperor Entertainment Group) label, of which the latest is 2007's "Allow Me To Reintroduce Myself."

Before his retirement Chen had a cameo role in the 2008 Batman movie "The Dark Knight," and a voice-over in the Cantonese version of the animated children's movie "Shrek."

Both Cheung and Chung have gone public in recent months criticising him.

Chung, whose career as half of Canto-pop duo Twins has collapsed since the scandal, said she had contemplated suicide when the photos appeared.

Hong Kong triads, apparently angered by the scandal's damage to the city's entertainment industry, have allegedly offered a 110,000 US dollar reward for the star's right hand, according to local media reports.

Chen refused to return to Hong Kong to testify. Instead, in an unusual move, the court in Sze's trial convened in Canada to take Chen's evidence.

Magistrate Tong Man called Sze's crime "serious" and said a jail sentence was inevitable, according to RTHK.

Sze was remanded in custody and is expected to be sentenced on May 13.

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Ashanti set to make her stage debut in 'The Wiz'

NEW YORK – Ashanti (AH'-shaun-tee) is going down the Yellow Brick Road to Oz.

The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter will make her stage debut this summer as Dorothy in a revival of "The Wiz," the soul-tinged version of the classic L. Frank Baum story. The musical will play June 12 through July 5 at New York City Center as part of its "Encores! Summer Stars" series. Opening night is June 18.

"The Wiz" has a book by William F. Brown and a score by Charlie Smalls.

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Donald Trump, Barbara Walters together again on TV

NEW YORK – Celebrity feuds can't last forever when there is publicity to be had. Just ask Donald Trump and Barbara Walters.

Trump is booked to appear next Tuesday on Walters' daytime show "The View." He will promote a book and the season finale of "The Apprentice."

Trump gets publicity, while Walters lands an attention-getting guest during a ratings sweeps month.

He hasn't been on the show since he got in the middle of Rosie O'Donnell's ugly exit from "The View" two years ago. He told reporters that Walters had said that she was happy O'Donnell had been fired, which Walters denied publicly.

The two broke the ice when Trump appeared on Walters' satellite radio show a few weeks ago.

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Michelle Obama on People's annual beauty list

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – US First Lady Michelle Obama scored a rare accolade for a political spouse by being named on celebrity magazine People's annual list of the world's 100 most beautiful people on Wednesday.

Obama, who has been hailed as a style icon by fashionistas around the world since her husband was elected President, was named in the list alongside A-listers such as Angelina Jolie, Halle Berry and Christina Aguilera.

"I had a father and a brother who thought I was beautiful, and they made me feel that way every single day," Michelle Obama told People.

"I grew up with very strong male role models who thought I was smart and fast and funny, so I heard that a lot. I know that there are many young girls who don?t hear it. But I was fortunate."

People Magazine does not rank its annual list, but actress Christina Applegate graces the cover of this week's issue.

Previous cover girls of the most beautiful issue have included Drew Barrymore, Kate Hudson and Michelle Pfeiffer.

Among other new faces on the list this year was Indian actress, Freida Pinto, star of Oscar-winning movie "Slumdog Millionaire."

"The beauty of life is that it takes turns that are sometimes bigger than your wildest dreams," Pinto was quoted as saying by the magazine.

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Michelle Obama joins People "most beautiful" list

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Breast cancer survivor Christina Applegate made the cover of People magazine's 100 most beautiful people issue on Wednesday in a list that welcomed newcomers U.S. first lady Michelle Obama and "Twilight" heart-throb Robert Pattinson.

Pattinson's vampire-loving co-star Kristen Stewart, teen music idols Nick and Joe Jonas and "Slumdog Millionaire" star Dev Patel also made the coveted list for the first time, in the celebrity magazine's annual issue that hits newsstands on Friday.

Applegate, 37, the star of the U.S. TV show "Samantha Who?," won admiration for going public last year about her breast diagnosis and later underwent a double mastectomy.

The actress, who has since undergone reconstructive breast surgery, told People in an interview it was hard to look at herself naked.

"You don't look the same anymore and you never will. A part of you is gone. ... It's a decision that you made to save your life," she said. It was Applegate's third appearance on the People list.

Michelle Obama, who has achieved celebrity status and has wowed the world as a fashion icon, made the list for the first time.

"I had a father and a brother who thought I was beautiful, and they made me feel that way every single day," Obama told the magazine.

"I grew up with very strong male role models who thought I was smart and fast and funny, so I heard that a lot. I know that there are many young girls who don't hear it. But I was fortunate," she added.

Also included in a "Barack's Beauties" section were White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and others.

Pattinson, 22, who has a huge teen girl following after appearing in the "Twilight" movie blockbuster, said he didn't quite understand his heartthrob status.

"I don't get it. It's funny, you look the same for years and no one ever mentions it. Then suddenly it's a big deal," he told People.

The 100 list also included old favorites George Clooney, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and Halle Berry. Some of the celebrities, including actress Eva Mendes and supermodel Cindy Crawford appeared in a "Stars Without Makeup" section in which they were photographed wearing no make-up for their close-ups.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Cynthia Osterman)

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Book Talk: Geeks are the new chic, says author Garth Sundem

CANBERRA (Reuters) – Move aside, good looking. Geeks are the new chic, according to self-proclaimed geek Garth Sundem who has just released his second book about geekiness.

Sundem, a math whiz and English professor, had written over 20 educational books before turning to a subject he knew well -- geekiness -- with a growing number of geeks proudly going public as their idols, who include Microsoft's Bill Gates and Apple's Steve Jobs, rose to the top.

"I am extremely geeky and I am painfully self-aware of it," Sundem told Reuters. "I was always in the math club and the chess club and the jazz band."

Sundem's latest book, "The Geek's Guide to World Domination: Be Afraid, Beautiful People," compiles 314.15 facts -- which is a decimal computation for pi -- in a compendium of usable and totally useless bits of information that geeks would relish.

These nuggets range from five useful phrases in Klingon and how to make chain-mail armor, to strategies for sudoku and how to program a Universal Remote Control.

This followed on from Sundem's first geek book, "Geek Logik: 50 Foolproof Equations for Everyday Life," that used algebra to take the guesswork out of life.

Sundem, who lives with his wife and two children in California, spoke to Reuters about life as a geek author:

Q: Were you always a geek?

A: "Yes. I think it was in my genes. My father was president of the American Accountancy Association and my mother had a PhD in psychotherapy. What chance did I have?"

Q: But geeks are now cool, you argue?

A: "Yes. Geeks used to be defined by what they couldn't do but they are now defined by what they can do. A geek is someone who is so passionate about something that it pushes to the side their ability to function socially. Sure, techies and science geeks are the classics but I know beer-making geeks, fantasy football geeks, all sorts of geeks."

Q: Is it easier being a geek now?

A: "I think it is because geeks now can connect, they are online and have support groups and they find they are not alone. Culturally we've gotten geekier. It's an information age. Even the cool kids are on Facebook which should be geeky but it's not! Look at Hollywood: in movies back in the 1980s like National Lampoon we would laugh at the geeks. Now we laugh with them."

Q: When did the change happen?

A: "I felt like I woke up and geeks were cool. I think that geek empowerment was brought by the Internet where geeks could unite and rise up as one. What really has happened is that the world has come to depend on information and geeks control the information."

Q: What was your favorite factoid for the book?

A: "That's hard. I had the chance to brainstorm whatever I thought rocked like the WWE stars of the 1980s and cool parasitic adventure and really cool scientific factoids like the mathematics of church bell ringing. What I hoped to do was expand the breadth of geekery. We happen to be passionate about all this information."

Q: Any more geek books in the pipeline?

A: "I have one called "Brain Candy" and it will be everything cool about the mind. I am in my writing cave now and when I am not, I'm hanging out with my two children and my Labrador."

(Editing by Miral Fahmy)

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Police to return 1.4M dlr jewelry in Rihanna case

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Los Angeles police will return 1.4 million dollars worth of jewelry being worn by pop star Rihanna when she was allegedly attacked by boyfriend Chris Brown, a lawyer said Wednesday.

An attorney for Rihanna said the Los Angeles Police Department had agreed to photograph the gems and return them to the designers who had lent them to the singer ahead of the Grammy Awards in February.

The jewelry had been held by police since the attack and logged as evidence, Rihanna's attorney Donald Etra told a court hearing.

Brown, 19, earlier this month pleaded not guilty to felony charges of attacking Barbados-born "Umbrella" singer Rihanna on February 8.

The incident shocked the music world and left Rihanna nursing cuts and bruises to her face, forcing her to cancel a scheduled performance at the Grammys in Los Angeles later that day.

Brown is charged with felony counts of assault and making criminal threats. If convicted on all counts, Brown could face a sentence ranging from probation to four years and eight months in state prison, officials have said.

A preliminary hearing has been set for May 28.

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Banks at NYC stalking trial: Fear changed my life

NEW YORK – Supermodel-turned-TV host Tyra Banks, facing the man accused of stalking her, testified Wednesday that she feared for her safety when she learned he had entered the New York City building where she tapes her show.

Banks, 35, said her staff would not let her leave the building on March 18, 2008, because defendant Brady Green, a stranger to her, had shown up.

"I was about to leave and a bunch of people from my staff were saying, like, 'No, you can't leave.' They said he was in the building," Banks testified.

Banks said that her staff had previously shown her Green's photograph, told her he had threatened one of her employees and was "somebody I should watch out for."

When police arrived, the former Sports Illustrated cover girl said, "I told them I was scared. I didn't know what to do. How do I live my life when I leave this building? I had never experienced anything like this before."

Police arrested Green, of Dublin, Ga., in a McDonald's near Banks' studio in Manhattan's Chelsea section.

Police said he told them that he had come from Los Angeles on a bus to see Banks and that "we had a thing together."

Green, 38, is on trial in Manhattan Criminal Court on misdemeanor charges of stalking, harassment and criminal trespass.

He is accused of repeatedly calling Banks' studio, in addition to showing up there, and sending her flowers and letters.

Green faces as many as 90 days in jail if convicted by Judge James Burke, who is hearing the case without a jury.

Calm and smiling frequently as she testified, Banks said security "has changed significantly" around her and her workplaces because of Green.

She said that her company has hired more security staff and that her studio audiences are vetted more thoroughly.

Banks said she is now followed everywhere by security guards, even when she runs and exercises outdoors. She said that even though she is a public person, "I don't live that kind of sheltered, protected life. I like to walk around."

Assistant District Attorney Sean McMahon asked Banks whether Green's behavior made her fearful.

"I don't fear for my life," the statuesque TV host said. "I fear for my safety. I fear for the safety of my staff and for my family. And I fear for the safety of people in my vicinity, who I'm with."

On cross-examination, Green's lawyer, Jeffrey Berman, portrayed his client as an overly zealous fan of talk shows in general and Banks in particular. He noted that Banks' Web site encouraged fans to write to her.

Berman's questions also stressed that Green never tried to contact Banks at her homes, never contacted her family and never asked her to marry him.

Green was expected to testify in his own defense later in the day.

Banks is executive producer and host of two popular TV shows, "America's Next Top Model" and "The Tyra Banks Show."

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