The booger man and friends

Nose picking in the news. Plus: a "Free Pee Wee" movement gains steam.

Published November 26, 2002 5:52PM (EST)

Next time you come across James Van Der Beek, don't ask him if he picked a good one.

He won't think it's funny.

The "Dawson's Creek" star is having a hard time grasping why everyone is so obsessed with his booger-snagging moment in the flick "The Rules of Attraction."

"You know, I was interviewed on CNN for this movie and I was ready with this dissertation on the state of American youth," Van Der Beek gripes to the Associated Press, "and they asked me about the nose-picking."

Which is not to say he's mum on the topic. He does take a certain pride in his big-screen nasal-mining moment.

"Nose-picking was not in the script," he tells New York Newsday. "That was me. It was a tight shot, and I thought, this would make it more interesting ... I remember at the time thinking, this is how honest we can be."

Please pass the Kleenex.

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Do ya think he's flinchy?

"Kindly find new hotel. Cannot risk Rod being struck on head by falling baby."

-- An e-mail from Rod Stewart's management requesting that his record company not put him up at the same hotel as notorious infant-dangler Michael Jackson during a promotional tour in Germany, in the London Express.

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Pals of Pee Wee

Courteney Cox apparently takes all that "I'll be there for you" stuff very seriously.

The "Friends" actress and her husband, David Arquette, are speaking out in defense of their buddy Paul "Pee Wee" Reubens, who was recently arrested for allegedly possessing child pornography.

The whole thing, Cox tells the New York Daily News, is "ridiculous and dumb," explaining that she and Arquette are old friends of the comedian.

"He doesn't deserve it," Arquette adds. "Paul is an incredible person ... He's a great guy."

And will David be there for Pee Wee if he trades the Play House for the Big House?

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Ka-ching!

"It amazes me. We're trying to find out more about the bidder."

-- Roland Fraschetti, who recently put a childhood home of Eminem -- appraised at $91,000 -- up for sale on eBay, on reports that bidding has topped $11 million, to the Detroit News.

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Juicy bits

Forget Beverly Hills and New York, Angelina Jolie is building a new home in ... Cambodia. She's hoping to spend enough time there that her adopted Cambodian son, Maddox, can understand the culture he comes from. But building in that part of the world has its challenges. "I've had to de-mine the area that I'm going to live in," Jolie recently told the press, "and de-mine certain schools." And then she can hire the landscaper and the pool guy ...

Ralphie lives! Joe Pantoliano has signed on to take over the male lead from Stanley Tucci in "Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune" on Broadway on the first of the year. He'll be starring opposite Rosie Perez, who is taking over Edie Falco's role in the play. Don't tell Tony.

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Miss something? Read yesterday's Nothing Personal.


By Amy Reiter

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