METROPOLISENTERTAINMNET.com

Movie siren SCARLETT JOHANSSON was less than impressed with EWAN McGREGOR'S kissing prowess while filming THE ISLAND, insisting he was no better than an adolescent.

Johansson shared a screen smooch with the Scottish hunk, and although many women would swoon at the thought of locking lips with the clean-cut star, Johansson was left cold.

She snipes, "He kissed me like a 16-year-old schoolboy."

TV personality Brooke Burke and her husband Garth Fisher have called it quits.

The co-host of CBS's "Rock Star: INXS" and Fisher announced their separation in a statement issued to People magazine Wednesday. The couple, who have been married since 2001, have two children.

"We are saddened to announce that we have mutually decided to separate after seven years together," the statement read. "Although our careers have taken us in different directions the past few years, we have a great deal of respect for one another and remain committed to raising our two children together."

Burke, 33, formerly hosted E!'s "Wild On" series. Fisher, a plastic surgeon based in Beverly Hills, has appeared on ABC's "Extreme Makeover."

Funnyman JOHNNY KNOXVILLE is amazed he managed to last the distance on new movie THE DUKES OF HAZZARD, because he was constantly binge drinking throughout the hectic filming schedule.

The former JACKASS star blames the liberal opening hours of bars in Baton Rouge for making him increase his alcohol consumption rather then learn his lines.

He says, "My liver suffered greatly. There were a lot of bars in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where we filmed most of it. And they're not strict on closing the bars so I ended up staying a lot of times."

JENNIFER GARNER's pregnancy is set to be written into her hit TV show ALIAS - and the character of her real-life ex-boyfriend MICHAEL VARTAN is the father.

Garner and her new husband BEN AFFLECK recently ended several weeks of speculation by announcing they're expecting their first child together in December (05).

And series creator JJ ABRAMS has decided that rather than shoot around the actress' growing stomach, he'd make her character SYDNEY BRISTOW pregnant.

He says of Garner, "She'll be in every episode."

Production on the show resumes on Friday (29JUL05).

Garner and Vartan dated briefly in 2004 after the beauty divorced first husband, actor SCOTT FOLEY.

SCARLETT JOHANSSON has vowed to be more careful about her fashion choices, after discovering she'd worn a dress that BRITNEY SPEARS had posed in just two months earlier.

The LOST IN TRANSLATION star was thrilled with the gold frock she donned to London's Brit Awards last year (04), but was horrified when she discovered that TOXIC singer Spears had already been snapped in the same outfit.

Johansson says, "I was at a shoot the day before (the awards show), and that ROBERTO CAVALLI dress was hanging on the rack, so I swiped it.

"I found out a couple months later that Britney Spears had worn the same dress, and a magazine ran these pictures like, 'Who looks better?' I was like, 'Oh, no.'"

By Jenny Halper in New York City

Nashville-born actor DJ Qualls has his most memorable role yet in "Hustle and Flow," a gritty southern indie from talented newcomer Craig Brewer. Qualls stars as Shelby, a white boy who surprises doubting pimp D Jay (Terrence Howard) with his prodigious music skills.

The actor, who is perhaps best known for scene stealing bits in "Road Trip" and "The Core," took time to talk to press about his latest role.

Q: This is the first movie you’ve done set in the South- was that part of the draw?

DJ: I’m a Tennessee boy. We’re all desperate to see the south as it actually is, and not as some mythological “Gone with the Wind” type place. So that’s why I wanted to do this movie. There’s a tremendous amount of misunderstanding about the south, as my very first role as an actor living in the south was telling Cicely Tyson she couldn’t sit at lunch table. And that seems to be sort of the perpetual thing, white people in southern movies or movies set in the south are always the buffoon or the racist.

Lance Armstrong was named the winner of the Tour de France today, as organizers stopped the clock early due to slippery conditions in Paris. The win is Armstrong's seventh in as many years – and, as he announced in April, it will be his last.

The crowd in Paris today included celebrities such as Lindsay Lohan and Michael Keaton, in town to promote Herbie: Fully Loaded. Lohan, who described seeing the race as "a once in a lifetime" experience, told PEOPLE of Armstrong, "He's someone who's gone through so much in his life and then still helps people. I think he's an inspiration. People forget about people like Lance, and they ought to focus more on people like him and less on people like me and where I go out at night."

Also cheering on Armstrong: His girlfriend of more than a year, singer Sheryl Crow, 43, who spent most of the day with Armstrong's twin daughters, Grace and Isabelle, 3, on her lap. Asked whether she was crying while Armstrong took his prize, she smiled and told PEOPLE, "I might have been."

The 33-year-old Texan said at an April 18 press conference that he would end his professional racing career after this year's competition, explaining that his children had told him "it's time to come home." Armstrong and his ex-wife, Kristin, who split in 2003, are parents to Luke, 5, as well as Grace and Isabelle.

With today's win, Armstrong made good on his hope to go out on top. A testicular-cancer survivor, he is the only person to have won the Tour de France seven times. Three men – Jacques Anquetil (1961-64), Eddy Merckx (1969-72) and Miguel Indurain (1991-95) – won five.

The "Dating Status" icon on Pamela Anderson's official Website says it all: "Single."

The former Baywatch star and ex-husband Tommy Lee are both denying a report that had them engaged and walking down the aisle a second time as soon as this week.
A publicist for heavy-metalist Lee issued a two-word statement to E!: "Not engaged." Anderson, meanwhile, did her talking--or posting, as it were--on PamelaAnderson.com.

"This is a huge misunderstanding," Anderson wrote on her online diary. "I am NOT getting married. Period. I am not engaged to Tommy Lee."

Amanda Peet, whose screen love interests have included Ashton Kutcher (A Lot Like Love) and Jack Nicholson (Something's Gotta Give), has a new leading man in her life: Troy screenwriter David Benioff.

The two are engaged to be married, Peet's agent, Ame Van Iden, confirms to PEOPLE. Van Iden had no further information on the planned nuptials.

New York native Peet, 33, had been previously linked to House of Wax actor Brian Van Holt. Her relationship with 34-year-old Benioff – whose writing credits also include 25th Hour and the upcoming Wolverine – has been off-and-on, and was reported to be over when the actress spoke to PEOPLE in May.

"The thing about dating is, I am not good at it," she told the magazine.

She also admitted to not being happy when single, saying: "I am a relationship person. Some people are comfortable being alone. They don't panic. They see it as a bit of freedom and a time to be explorative. Whatever the opposite of that is, I am. I'm not meant to be on my own."

Filmmaker Roman Polanski on Friday won his libel suit against Vanity Fair magazine over an article that accused him of propositioning a woman while on the way to the funeral of his murdered wife, Sharon Tate.

The Academy Award-winning director was awarded 50,000 pounds, equal to about $87,000, in damages.

Polanski, director of "Rosemary's Baby," "Chinatown" and "The Pianist," sued Vanity Fair's publisher over a 2002 article that accused him of propositioning a woman while on the way to the funeral of Tate, who was killed by followers of Charles Manson.

The article alleged that Polanski put his hand on the woman's thigh and promised her: "I will make another Sharon Tate out of you."

Polanski's lawyer, John Kelsey-Fry, said Polanski had been "monstrously libeled for the sake of a lurid anecdote."

The magazine's publisher, Conde Nast, accepted that the incident did not happen before Tate's funeral, but rather about two weeks later. It maintained that the article was substantially true.

Ex-'Bosom Buddy' to play womanizing congressman in 'Good Time harlie.'

A boozing, womanizing Tom Hanks? He may be Hollywood's modern-day Jimmy Stewart, but the two-time Oscar winner will soon be stepping outside his nice-guy persona to once again remind us why he has those shiny gold bookends sitting on his mantelpiece. Hanks plans to play a controversial real-life congressman in "Charlie Wilson's War," an upcoming drama written by TV's "West Wing" mastermind Aaron Sorkin. Wilson earned the nickname "Good Time Charlie" with a rebellious, hard-partying lifestyle that landed him in hot water when he was caught in a Jacuzzi with two cocaine-snorting showgirls in the early 1980s. The film will portray Wilson's demise, as well as his redemption years later as a CIA supervisor who helped engineer the fall of the Iron Curtain. The man formerly known as Forrest Gump will step into the shoes of the irascible Texas politician this spring, after he's finished work on Ron Howard's production of "The Da Vinci Code." ...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - U.S. soldiers Avery ``Angel'' King and Maurice ``Smoke'' Williams carefully edge toward the door of a primitive hovel on a barren, rock-strewn slope, searching for a hostage.

Someone yells, ``Hug that door, Smoke!'' and the pair successfully kick it in, followed by a commanding ``CUT!'' from director Jesse Bochco.

It's 90 degrees - a cool day in the real Iraq, but a scorcher in suburban Chatsworth, just a hillside away from expensive homes, swimming pools and manicured lawns.

CLEARWATER BEACH, Fla. - Hard to believe it’s been almost 75 years since ditzy flapper Blondie Boopadoop fell for bumbling Dagwood Bumstead in a love match made in the funny papers.

In those days, Dagwood was a rich playboy whose snooty parents greatly disapproved of the union. When he and Blondie married in 1933, the J. Boling Bumsteads disinherited their son, relegating him to a modest suburban life of raising kids, carpooling, battling blowhard boss Mr. Dithers and making really big sandwiches.

Now one of the most famous married couples in the world in one of the most widely read strips in comics history, Blondie and Dagwood are celebrating the milestone anniversary this summer in a running story line featuring cameos by their comics-page cohorts, whose creators also will pay tribute to “Blondie” by inviting the happy couple into their own panels.

Poker has always been kind of sexy, slightly roguish, and unquestionably cool. But never has poker been so hot.

With tours and tournaments, celebrities and TV, poker is not just a game these days ? it's the game! Correspondent Bill Whitaker reports.

"Everybody knows that poker is the new, hot, hip happening thing. I believe that poker is to games what jazz is to music. It's the great American card game," says Steve Lipscomb.

Lipscomb helped ignite the boom with the World Poker Tour -- televised, roving, high-stakes games, like one tournament in Commerce, California last year, where 382 players anted up $10,000 each in hopes of winning $1.4-million jackpot.

His show became a hit as soon as it hit cable's "Travel Channel" two years ago. So is this the new reality TV?

"We have created a new genre of reality TV, undoubtedly," says Lipscomb.

A little camera allows viewers at home to see what the players can't -- each opponent's cards.

Fangmeier's fantasy flick firms up

Way back in March, we reported here that Christopher Paolini's bestselling fantasy novel Eragon was set to be turned into a film, directed by special effects guru and ILM veteran Stefen Fangmeier. Well, with shooting due to begin at the start of August, we finally have some more news about the cast - and a toothsome selection it is too.

The big news is that Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich and Djimon Hounsou have signed on to the cast. They join newcomer Ed Speelers as the title character, a farmboy who discovers a strange stone in the forest that hatches into a baby dragon. Since the ruler of the land, King Galbatorix, declared war on the order of Dragon Riders years before, this discovery puts Eragon – and his new friend – in a considerable amount of danger.

DETROIT (AP) - A federal judge Thursday threw out a libel and defamation lawsuit filed against filmmaker Michael Moore by the brother of Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols.

U.S. District Court Judge Paul D. Borman ruled that statements Moore made about James Nichols in the 2002 ``Bowling for Columbine'' documentary were ``factual and substantially true.''

James Nichols claimed in the suit that the statements could be misinterpreted by viewers to inaccurately link him to the bombing. He also claimed the film invaded his privacy and inflicted emotional distress.

Borman rejected the claims in 25-page page ruling granting Moore's request for summary judgment - a ruling without going to trial. Moore's attorney Herschel P. Fink called the decision a ``home run.''

``The thing that is most pleasing to Mr. Moore is that the judge agreed with our argument that ... the statements were not false and that they were accurately reported,'' Fink said.

Gwyneth Paltrow, Cameron Diaz and Keira Knightley will all have movies showing at the 30th Toronto Film Festival.

Proof, starring Paltrow and Sir Anthony Hopkins, will receive its North American premiere - as will Knightley's new version of Pride and Prejudice.

Diaz, meanwhile, will appear alongside Toni Collette and Shirley MacLaine in estranged sister comedy In My Shoes.

The festival, which runs from 8 to 17 September, will open with the Indian drama Water as previously announced.

In Proof, Paltrow plays the daughter of a maths genius, played by Hopkins, who fears she may have inherited his madness.

The film, which reunites her with Shakespeare in Love director John Madden, sees the actress reprise a role she played on stage in 2002.

CHICAGO Jul 12, 2005 — Twenty years after Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and Neil Young organized a daylong music festival in central Illinois to benefit cash-strapped farmers, Farm Aid is coming back to the state where it started to celebrate its anniversary.

The three icons will take the stage Sept. 18 at the Tweeter Center in the Chicago suburb of Tinley Park, organizers announced Monday.

A growing demand for organic products is giving a boost to their efforts to raise millions of dollars to help the people who work the land. "A lot more people are interested in finding out where their food comes from now than they were 20 years ago. And as they find out more and more about it, they agree with us that it is important to keep the family farmer on the land growing organic food," said Nelson.

Houston's Slim Thug Aims Nationwide With 'Already Platinum' Album

CYPRESS, Texas Jul 11, 2005 — Slim Thug is a Goliath on the Houston rap scene, and it has nothing to do with his 6-foot-6, 265-pound frame.

The skyscraping rapper, who's sold enough records independently to earn regional renown, a huge suburban home and a fleet of luxury cars, now has his eye on conquering the rest of the country with his major-label debut, "Already Platinum," which comes out Tuesday.

The album combines his boastful rhymes and smooth baritone with slick production from The Neptunes and a cadre of big-name guest stars, including Lil Jon and Ludacris.

Omarion might or might not have asked for prayers after the deadly terror bombings in London, but he might need them now that he's got a major publicity headache.

The B2K alum and You Got Served star is distancing himself from a press release that said the singer, scheduled to play a gig Sunday in the besieged British capital, "would like his fans to pray that he has a safe trip and a safe return home."
The widely circulated statement, published on PR Newswire within hours of Thursday's bombings, was turned into a full-blown story by the news agency Reuters, which raised the question: With at least 49 rail and bus commuters dead, and hundreds more injured in the worst attack on London since World War II, why should Omarion be singled out for prayers?

"He wasn't hurt or anything, but just the fact that he was there and all that," Shana Gilmore, identified in the Reuters story as the entertainer's publicist, was quoted as saying.

By Ray Hanania

Like many Arab Americans, Neal AbuNab is not satisfied with the quality of the films and documentaries that have been produced claiming to convey the Arab American perspective.

And he’s not talking about the technical quality. He is rightly critical of the quality of the content.
“They don’t tell a story. They are done very well, but they tend to focus on the message more than on just telling a story which is the essence of good writing, good scripting and good messaging,” says AbuNab, a filmmaker based in Detroit who just completed his new film, “The Arabian Dream: A Tale of Arab Americans.”

The fact is most documentaries that are produced focus too heavily on a political message. They are filled with irrefutable facts, but are weighed down by one-sided, poorly written scripts that push the political rhetoric more than the compelling tale.
That may work for Arabs actively engaged in the political dissertation and in debates and confrontations, but it doesn’t work for Americans. As a consequence, most efforts to tell the Arab American perspective fail the most important test of success: will Americans listen and hear what is being said.

Yakeen nahin hota, but first-time director Girish Dhamija has managed to pull the unthinkable. In the story and screenplay attributed to Vikram Bhatt, he has put together two hot young stars, a ‘different’ plot and a currently-in-form music director and whipped a concoction that’s more warped than bhel puri tossed with pasta.

But while the latter may annoy your taste buds only momentarily, Yakeen leaves behind a nausea that’s guaranteed to wobble your senses for a long time.

Nikhil Oberoi (Arjun Rampal), a successful architect, is married to Simar (Priyanka Chopra). On a fateful evening, their car crashes into a valley and Nikhil loses his memory.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Tom Cruise's alien-invasion thriller "War of the Worlds" was the top movie around the world last weekend, erasing speculation that the star's antics in recent months could hurt its prospects at the box office.

In North America, the Steven Spielberg-directed film has earned $113.3 million for the six days since its Wednesday release, distributor Paramount Pictures said on Monday.

Its four-day sum of $77.6 million, from Friday to Monday, ranks as the second-best for a July 4 holiday weekend, behind "Spider-Man 2," which grossed $116 million in the same period last year. After six days, "Spider-Man 2" was at $180 million.

Not surprisingly, overall sales for the weekend were lower than those for the year-ago period, which set a record for the July 4 holiday. Ticket sales in North America have now fallen for 19 consecutive weekends, the longest losing streak in two decades, thanks to such factors as a dearth of stimulating fare, higher ticket prices, and competition from DVDs.

The $135 million film has already earned more than the totals of Cruise's last two films, "Collateral" and "The Last Samurai," and of Spielberg's most recent effort "The Terminal." They previously worked together on 2002's "Minority Report," which ended up with $132 million.

The foreign total stands at $102.5 million for the five days through Sunday, highlighted by $15.7 million in Britain -- records for both Cruise and Spielberg; $15.1 million in Japan; and $7.8 million in Spain. In both Russia ($5.2 million) and Taiwan ($4.2 million), it ranked as the best opening for a foreign film.

Rumors are going around that pop star Justin Timberlake is being considered for the role of Two-Face in the follow up to BATMAN BEGINS.

An anonymous source stated, "Justin would be a perfect choice. He is getting more and more into a film career alongside his music one."