Turn On:
If you're in a grim mood, Discovery Times offers "Massacre in Madrid" (8 p.m. ET), about the train bombings last March in which 191 people were killed, and National Geographic offers an Explorer Special Edition on "Female Suicide Bombers" (9 p.m. ET). Or you could get whimsical with the Sci Fi channel's "Legend of Earthsea," a four-hour miniseries based on two Ursula K. Le Guin novels; Part 2 airs tomorrow night at 9 p.m. ET.
Morning Briefing:
Portia and Ellen, sittin' in a tree? Are Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, currently of "Arrested Development" fame, Hollywood's latest hottest couple? Crediting a "source close to the new couple," Page Six reports that DeGeneres and de Rossi met at a photo shoot about nine months ago and fell "instantly in love," but felt compelled to remain true to their respective mates, photographer-director Alexandra Hedison and singer-songwriter Francesca Gregorini. But when the two met again at the VH1 "Big in '04" award party earlier this month, they couldn't resist each other, retired to a limo to make out -- and subsequently dumped their girlfriends to begin a life together. The source says the two celebs are currently cohabiting in DeGeneres' Hollywood Hills home and contends that "People who know Ellen well feel she is going through a midlife crisis, dumping Alexandra for a hot, younger woman. They predict Ellen will come to her senses and dump Portia to go back to Alexandra in the near future." (Page Six)
Just call him Officer Friendly: Um ... it looks like former NYPD commissioner and Homeland Security secretary nominee-no-more Bernard Kerik had more than just a nanny problem. The New York Daily News reports that Kerik, who is married with two children, had affairs with two women at the same time -- and one of them was publishing bigwig Judith Regan. Kerik's relationship with Regan, whose imprint published his autobiography, lasted but a year, and included nearly daily assignations at Regan's apartment and at another apartment Kerik rented in Battery Park City for what the Daily News is calling "passionate liaisons." Kerik's second, longer-term affair was with city correction officer Jeanette Pinero, with whom he carried on for almost 10 years. The two women learned of each other after Pinero found a note Regan left Kerik at the secret love apartment, which Kerik apparently used to meet both women. Regan is believed to have been unaware that the apartment was not Kerik's full-time residence. Several lawsuits have been brought against the city by corrections workers who claim that they were mistreated on the job by Kerik after they tangled with Pinero. (N.Y. Daily News)
The Vegas madam? Is former Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss back in business? A spokesman for Fleiss is only partially refuting rumors that the woman who infamously masterminded a celeb-serving prostitution ring in Los Angeles in the '90s is planning to open brothels in Nevada and Europe. "She's only opening one brothel, and it's in Nevada," where prostitution is legal, said her rep. "It's still in the very early planning stages. She doesn't want to talk about that right now -- it's not confirmed yet. She's having meetings next week. Once those meetings are done, we'll know more." Vegas johns are standing by ... (Lloyd Grove's Lowdown)
Double shot of bad news for Jacko? The bad news is coming fast and furious for Michael Jackson, whose trial on charges of child molestation is set to finally kick off next month. CNN reports that among the items seized by investigators during their raid of Jackson's Neverland ranch back in November 2003 were "pornographic magazines" that featured the fingerprints of both Jackson and his underage accuser. What's more, according to the New York Daily News, private videos of Jackson made during his HIStory Tour in 1996 are now being offered for sale to the highest bidder. One source says the tapes contain footage of Jackson dissing his fans: "You see him bitching and moaning about the crowds -- how he doesn't like it when the fans try to touch him. He also gets really upset when they storm his limo." (CNN, Rush and Molloy)
And the nominees are ... The Golden Globe nominations were announced this morning. And? The nominees for best performance by an actress in a drama are ... Scarlett Johansson ("A Love Song for Bobby Long"), Nicole Kidman ("Birth"), Imelda Staunton ("Vera Drake"), Hilary Swank ("Million Dollar Baby") and Uma Thurman ("Kill Bill, Vol 2"). The nominees for best performance by an actor in a drama are Javier Bardem ("The Sea Inside"), Don Cheadle ("Hotel Rwanda"), Johnny Depp ("Finding Neverland"), Leonardo DiCaprio ("The Aviator") and Liam Neeson ("Kinsey"). The nominees for best film in the drama category are "The Aviator," "Closer," "Finding Neverland," "Hotel Rwanda," "Kinsey" and "Million Dollar Baby." Winners will be announced on Jan. 16. For a complete list of nominees, including best actor and actress in a musical or comedy and best film in the musical/comedy category, click here. (Hollywood Foreign Press Association Web site) ... Imelda Staunton has also just been named best actress in both the European Film Awards and the Los Angeles Film Critics' Association awards. The L.A. critics named Liam Neeson best actor, Alexander Payne's "Sideways" best film and Payne as best director. Click here for more L.A. award winners -- and here for more European Film Awards winners. (E! Online, Belfast Telegraph)
Also: The first Miss Artificial Beauty, honoring women who have had plastic surgery of one sort or another, will be held in China next Saturday (Reuters) ... Scarlett Johansson insists that she and Derek Jeter are not dating, despite their close proximity to each other at the Microsoft Christmas party in L.A. last week. According to Johansson's rep, the actress and the baseball player met for the first time that night. (Page Six) ... "The O.C." creator Josh Schwartz says Mischa Barton's character, Marissa, and Olivia Wilde's Alex will embark on a lesbian relationship in upcoming episodes. "We'll build it up to a kiss [between Marissa and Alex] and then a relationship develops," says Schwartz (N.Y. Post) ... Giselle Bundchen has been accused of reneging on her promise to give anyone who returned her lost Yorkshire terrier, Vida, a $5,000 reward "no questions asked" -- and the wronged pooch finders have apparently gone out and gotten themselves a P.R. rep to make a fuss on their behalf (PR Web)
-- Amy Reiter
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