Bethenny drifts for 20 hours with no land in sight. Lea Michele is single. Lindsay Lohan's "shady" hotel rendezvous photographed. Entourage guy says he didn't turn Jane Lynch gay. Tuesday gossip is afraid of water.
• Despite several tabloid reports yesterday that Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel had broken up, they were photographed holding hands on Monday in Santa Barbara. So what's going on? "Things have been rocky the last few months, but they're working it out," one source tells the Post. ("They've been spending more time apart... and they've been reevaluating their relationship," another tells People.) Oh, and what about those Rihanna rumors? JT and Ri Ri are apparently just working on a track together. [People, P6, NYDN]
• Another dubious rumors making the rounds: that Kate Hudson and Alex Rodriguez are expecting a baby. Hudson's rep is denying it. [NYDN]
• Madonna told David Letterman that she'd "rather get run over by a train" than remarry again. Poor Jesus doesn't have a prayer, it seems. [HP]
• Lauren Conrad has snagged a movie deal for L.A. Candy, her debut novel about a totally unfamiliar topic, "a 19-year-old who moves to Hollywood, quickly finds fame as a reality series star and then has to deal with the ramifications of living a fishbowl life." [Variety]
William Jefferson Clinton—the man, the myth, the legend—celebrates his 63rd birthday today. The former First Lady of the United States, Tipper Gore, is turning 61. Actress Kyra Sedgwick is 44. New York City councilmember Melinda Katz is turning 44, too. Friends star Matthew Perry is 40. Former presidential candidate Fred Thompson is 67. GOP political operative Mary Matalin is 56. Literary agent Lynn Nesbit is turning 71. Actor Peter Gallagher turns 54. Entourage's Kevin Dillon turns 44. Oscar-winning composer Gustavo Santaolalla is 57. Rapper Fat Joe is turning 39. Country singer Lee Ann Womack is 43. And one of the greatest actors of his generation, John Stamos, will be blowing out 46 candles on his cake today.
Entourage star Kevin Dillon ran into some of New Jersey's finest at an appearance at The Pool in Atlantic City over the weekend. Not being a neophyte in the often perilous club-going-for-pay circuit, Dillon made sure that his rider contained a section which stipulated that he must be secluded from a majority of the club either behind a velvet rope or sequestered in the V.I.P. area. However, these precautions did not prove to be ironclad enough to prevent him from interacting with a few overzealous fans of the HBO series, who knocked down the red velvet rope and demanded to have their pictures taken with Dillon. One fan said, "How often is Johnny motherfucking Drama in the A.C.? Not that fucking often. No stupid rope is going to stop me and Frankie and Kari and Mary and Frankie #2 from getting our picture with him! We would've done the same thing if it was Derek Jeter or one of those Gossip Girls."
PrivacyWatch celebrity sightings are submitted by our readers, and are posted several times a week, so send them in often. Submit yours to tips[AT]defamer.com (please put "sighting" or "PrivacyWatch" in the subject line so we don't lose them) and tell everyone about the time you saw the cast of The Kite Runner enjoying a leisurely Italian meal, far from the threat of rape-incited religious rioting.
· Oh, Johnny Drama, you're so much better than this: Kevin Dillon will star in the 300 spoof National Lampoon's 301: The Legend of Awesomest Maximus Wallace Leonidas. Will someone please book him for some personal appearances and save him from this kind of strike-insurance slumming? [Variety]
· Cavemen's overhauled series premiere "performed OK" in the Tuesday night Nielsens, while House lead Fox to victory in primetime. [THR]
· Natalie Portman joins the cast of the remake of the Danish love-triangle drama Brothers, in which she'll play the sister-in-law boinked by dreamy-eyed homewrecker Jake Gyllenhaal while sleepy-eyed soldier Tobey Maguire is off fighting in Afghanistan. [Variety]
The new e-mail newsletter from Esterman Entertainment—the go-to personal appearance agency for when you absolutely, positively have to a former Real World cast member pouring tequila shots at your nightclub's next Wild Wednesday promotion—features the impressive "get" of current Best Supporting Actor Emmy nominee Kevin Dillon, a striking upgrade from the Sunset Tan-quality celebrities usually on offer.
The Emmy announcements are no exception to the time-worn awards show tradition of news outlets eliciting statements from the newly shortlisted artists—asking them, still dizzy from their gold-star high, to try as best as they can to put into words what it feels like to be recognized as more talented than their peers. (Until the night of the ceremony, that is, when four of the five are again reminded of their mediocrity.) We present a round-up of some of the most memorable, "it's just an honor to be mentioned in the same breath as Two and a Half Men" reactions:
· "This is an outrage." - Tina Fey [Variety]
· Nomination presenter Kyra Sedgwick deconstructs the existential dilemma of having to read one's own name off the TelePrompter: "It was pretty nauseating. I couldn't believe they wouldn't tell us before!I just thought, if I won't be nominated, I'll take a deep breath and be grateful I'm there to announce. It was a surprise." [USA Today]
The date: July 10th
The place: 81st at Columbus
Sighted: "Saw Matt Dillon about an hour ago at Starbucks wearing large sunglasses and a black t-shirt, holding his cell phone three inches in front of his face and whining into it while waiting for his coffee order. Looks like he recently had a chin-tuck."
The Tristar Autograph Pavillion, at the annual National Sports Collectors Convention in Anaheim last week, was a temple to stars so over, they wouldn't even score a bunk on The Surreal Life. (But who were happy to exchange a personalized headshot in exchange for a couple bucks towards that month's rent.) According to FishbowlLA, however, tucked in among the usual suspects—your Catherine Bachs and Erin Morans, your Jeff Conaways and Ruth Buzzis—were two actors getting a head start cashing in on their has-been status:
