DeGeneres on late-night?
Is Ellen DeGeneres heading to late-night television? The New York Post reports the Emmy-winning daytime talk show host’s reps have met with ABC executives to fill the late-night void when Ted Koppel retires in December after 25 years as host of “Nightline.”
Disney-ABC President Anne Sweeney said in April the news division would be be given first crack to fill the “Nightline” spot. But a network insider told the Post ABC still is considering hiring someone to rival Jay Leno and David Letterman in the late-night ratings war.
DeGeneres recently signed a six-year deal to continue her daytime show. Her spokeswoman denies having any “meetings or conversations with ABC.” If true, Jimmy Kimmel’s days at ABC appear numbered.
Cruz to be the face of Combs’ clothing
Sean Combs and Penelope Cruz are hooking up – only it’s not what you’re thinking. “P. Diddy” has persuaded the Spanish actress to be the face of his women’s fashion collection, the New York Daily News reported. Combs’ Sean Jean women’s line launches this fall, and Cruz took part in a publicity-photo shoot last week.
Windsor Hilton?
Paris Hilton has asked to marry her fiancé Paris Latsis in St. Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey or Windsor Castle, according to contactmusic.com. One problem, only members of the British royal family are allowed to get married at those venues. Nonetheless, Hilton wrote a letter to Prince Charles seeking his help.
Not so groovy
Terry McMillan’s groove is gone. The San Francisco Chronicle reported the novelist has filed for divorce from her husband, Jonathan Plummer, because she found out he was gay.
McMillan, 53, met Plummer, 30, at a Jamaican resort, inspiring her best-selling 1996 novel, “How Stella Got Her Groove Back.” According to the Chronicle, McMillan claims Plummer lied about his sexual orientation, married her to get U.S. citizenship and embezzled her money. The couple married 6 1/2 years ago. Plummer says McMillan is homophobic and has harassed him since discovering he was gay.
Sequel and prequel
Brad Pitt is being eyed to star in the sequel to the 1987 hit “Wall Street,” skynews.com’s Sandro Monetti reported. Pitt would play the son of the king of greed, Gordon Gekko. Michael Douglas played the slimy Gekko in the original and reportedly wants to be involved in the sequel.
Brian De Palma has signed to make a prequel to his blockbuster 1987 mob-battling film, “The Untouchables,” Daily Variety reported. The movie helped launch the career of Kevin Costner, who played FBI agent Eliot Ness. The new film, tentatively titled “The Untouchables: Capone Rising,” details the rise of mobster Al Capone in the 1920s and his early clashes with Chicago cop Johnny Malone. Sean Connery won a best-supporting-actor Oscar for the original role of Malone.
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A pregnant pause
“The Insider” reports “Parkers” star Mo’Nique is four months pregnant with twins. She is engaged to boyfriend Sidney Hicks.
Melissa Joan Hart, former star of “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch,” is expecting her first child with husband Mark Wilkerson, People magazine reports. Her baby is due in January.
Witchcraft
Kaley Cuoco, formerly of the canceled “8 Simple Rules,” will join the cast of witches for the eighth season of the WB’s “Charmed” this fall.
More witchcraft
Shirley MacLaine, who plays Endora in the film “Bewitched,” admitted not being a fan of the sitcom version. “I didn’t like the show itself, but what I loved was that ‘Bewitched’ made witchcraft acceptable to the public,” MacLaine told the Toronto Sun. The actress, who claims several past lives, also said she never met the original Endora, Agnes Moorehead, who died in 1974, “but I talked to her recently and she’s doing fine.”
– Compiled by Greg Henry from wire and Internet reports
