Will Sidney Blumenthal return to the fourth estate? Rumors are that he's thinking about editing a new magazine to fill the need for a liberal, influential publication. Maybe writing his bestseller "The Clinton Wars" got his journalism jones going again (he wrote for the New Yorker before he joined the Clinton camp). Whether or not he joins in this project with Britain's Guardian or former Rolling Stoner Jann Wenner is something Sid is mum on for now, saying only, "I've been talking about that [magazine idea] for 25 years with my friends." (N.Y. Daily News)
They love Arnold Schwarzenegger in London. Thousands of his fans showed up in Leicester Square yesterday for the opening of "Terminator 3" and they were so enthusiastic that he vowed he'd do a fourth. Guess they're easier on the guy since there's no chance he'll be their leader in real life one day. But one fan was also very generous about Arnie's acting skills, saying, "He's just a very good actor. You don't have to do Hamlet all the time to be an actor." Now there's an image: Arnie as the prince, without any of the doubts. (BBC)
Speaking of Shakespeare, Liv Schreiber is doing "Henry V" in Central Park with the Public Theater these days and he says the heat and city noises (like helicopters hovering overhead) are a challenge. But he decided to do Henry partly because of the character's resonance: "A guy who is looking to solidify his reign in the shadow of his father and resorts to waging war." (CNN)
Sun Studios, where legend Sam Phillips recorded Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and B.B. King -- among others -- is getting the protection of the government. The location in Memphis will receive historic-landmark status from Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton tomorrow, which will make Sun eligible for some federal grants and tax incentives. That is, unless they find oil under the studio. (Fox News)
No less than the Washington Post is hosting a "Style Invitational" this week with the theme: how can Martha Stewart prettify her jail cell "using only her skills, her impeccable taste and those resources available to her." The winner gets a "vintage Wireless brand cloth ice bag, circa 1949, in its original box" (whatever that is...). The paper warns, however, that "entries may be edited for taste or content" -- so what's the point? (Washington Post)
-- Karen Croft
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Enter the gladiator's baby. Russell Crowe has announced that he and his wife, Danielle Spencer, are expecting their first child in January. Crowe said he expected to spend more time hanging with his new family; making music with his band, Thirty Odd Foot of Grunts; and farming in Australia, away from the Hollywood grind. "I think I've been very blessed. I am Elvis, but in reverse," he observed. "My movies are good, but my music apparently sucks." (Herald Sun)
Oprah Winfrey has been named the No. 1 Greatest Pop Culture Icon by VH1 -- in another of their endless series of lists. Superman is No. 2; Elvis Presley, No. 3. Also on the list were Bill Cosby (No. 30), Eminem (No. 31), JFK (No. 32), JFK Jr. (No. 24), Albert Einstein (No. 108), Monica Lewinsky (No. 161) and Queen Latifah (No. 199). Among the criteria: "Can you dress as them for Halloween? Would you recognize them by a one-word name? And has 'Saturday Night Live' ever parodied them?" (The Associated Press)
Kristin Gore, daughter of Al and Tipper, is writing a novel for Miramax books about a healthcare analyst working for an Ohio senator. Called "Sammy's Hill," the book is due out in 2005. In the past, Kristin wrote for the Fox animated series "Futurama." (The Associated Press)
Best of the Rest
Page Six: George Stephanopoulos rumored to be worried about wife Ali Wentworth's possible success with upcoming morning show, "Living It Up with Ali and Jack"; Brad Pitt's legs faulted by Brit tabs for being "too scrawny" to play Achilles in upcoming "Troy"; Demi Moore forced out of Vegas pool by overly amorous dolphin. Plus: Are Matt Damon and "Stuck on You" costar Eva Mendes going the way of Ben and Jen?
Liz Smith: Sen. Dianne Feinstein gushes over Tony Blair's visit to Congress: "I was moved"; Madonna photographed looking "sweet and approachable" for Harper's Bazaar; Gloria Estefan shoots new video at Machu Picchu.
The Reliable Source: Mel Gibson screens "The Passion" for Matt Drudge, MPAA president Jack Valenti and others, but fails to invite Anti-Defamation League honcho; Jeffrey Katzenberg, Steven Spielberg, Tobey Maguire, Bill Macy and Laura Hillenbrand screen "Seabiscuit" at the White House for the Bushes; David Brock snags "mid-six-figure advance" for book about the "history of conservative media dominance."
Rush and Molloy: Grifter who inspired John Guare's "Six Degrees of Separation" dies, remembered by Guare as "very amoral sociopath"; Bill Maher propositioned by male Vanity Fair writer in search of a "gorgeous sugar daddy"; Renée Zellweger sells Bel-Air home to Debra Messing for $7.5 million -- after buying it for $6.8 million last summer; Ringo Starr calls Britain's royal family no longer relevant, adding, "There goes me knighthood."
-- Amy Reiter
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