Morning Briefing:
Baby TomKat to get the silent treatment? Antidepressants for postpartum depression will clearly not be an option for Katie "Kate Cruise" Holmes, but epidurals may be out of the question, too. Scientology lays out clear guidelines for how birth should be performed: no talking, music or screaming during birth, and no prodding the baby (meaning no medical tests) until after seven days have passed. When John Travolta's wife, Kelly Preston, gave birth, she says she tried to follow the Scientology rules for 13 hours of labor before telling him, "Throw me in the car. I want an epidural!" (Access Hollywood)
Nick Lachey, creepy football Lothario: Maybe we've arrived at the root of the recent Simpson/Lachey breakup rumors. Star magazine has a story from Danielle Calo, a 19-year-old college student, who says Lachey picked her up at a high school football game. "He asked what I was doing later, and I told him I wasn't sure," she says. "At one point when we were chatting, a woman behind us started yelling, 'Where's Jessica? Where's Jessica?' Nick ignored her, but I actually found it funny." He eventually got her back to his hotel room -- after stopping off at Hooters -- but she insists nothing more than making out happened: "I knew the opportunity to do more was there, but a part of me kept thinking that he's very married, so I was uncomfortable about doing anything else -- and I told him so. From that point on, Nick never forced anything, and we never went into his bedroom." The magazine, going for credibility, also put Calo through a polygraph test and says she passed. Naturally, a rep for Lachey protests, "This story is completely untrue." (Star)
Jacko to get his own label? That "We Are the World"-type charity single Michael Jackson was working on looks increasingly like a long shot -- weeks of trying to get other stars to sign up, and still no official endorsements -- but Jacko looks poised to make a comeback on another front. Music industry lawyer Joel Katz and Island/DefJam Records chairman Antonio "L.A." Reid have been meeting with Jackson and his entourage of Bahrain royalty in London, apparently to set up a label for the Prince of Pop under Universal's umbrella. (Fox 411)
Brad's family hearts Angelina: It's another step in the inexorable Brangelina coming-out process, this time with the Pitt family gathering around to appraise the new girlfriend. "We've met Angelina, and my family really, really likes her. She's great," Pitt's brother Doug blabbed during a speech to a Rotary group. "Of course, we liked Jen too." (People)
Also:
In what is sure to be just the first of many indignities suffered as the result of being a convicted felon, Martha Stewart was almost denied entry to Canada to film a segment on a pumpkin festival there -- luckily for us all, Canadian officials stepped in at the last moment and granted her permission, meaning she'll get to ride a giant pumpkin across a Canadian lake Michael Lohan, current Collins Correctional Facility inmate and dad to Lindsay, wants the world to know he loves his daughter's new single, "Confessions of a Broken Heart," even if it is essentially about what a bad father he is. "The lyrics not only brought me to tears, but they tell you what kind of a loving and caring daughter Lindsay truly is," the elder Lohan wrote in a fawning letter to the New York Daily News. "While the media and press love to cover Lindsay enjoying her life and successes, I hope now they will cover the kind of heart this beautiful and gifted young lady really has" Following Britney's bra-selling example, Brit tabloid the Mirror is auctioning off Kylie Minogue's bra to raise money for a breast cancer charity. The eBay bidding is up to 7,600 pounds -- nearly $13,500 -- for the black mesh bra with pink straps Harry Connick Jr., in his role as honorary chairman of Habitat for Humanity's Operation Home Delivery, appeared before the Senate Finance Committee yesterday to press the case for rebuilding New Orleans, saying the government should spare no expense. "I don't think money should be an object" Connick's presence as a volunteer, not a crooner, underscores this story about how musicians are avoiding the politics of Katrina -- and politics in general -- in their music. "I don't know if anybody wants to mix their politics with their entertainment," Fiona Apple said recently in an interview. "I can't think about anybody outside of country music that's even attempted to do an anthem-type song that's reflective of what's going on."
Money Quote:
Shirley MacLaine on watching Cameron Diaz splitting her time on the set of "In Her Shoes" between MacLaine and what's-his-name Timberlake: "It was darling to see that young love happening. It was interesting to see her jostling time between me and Jason." (ContactMusic)
Turn On:
It's yet another season premiere: "Degrassi: The Next Generation" kicks off Season 2 on the N at 8 p.m. EDT. Later, Catch George Clooney talking about movies in general and "Good Night, and Good Luck" in particular on "Movies 101 With Richard Brown" (AMC, 10:30 p.m. EDT), and see Salman Rushdie, Ben Affleck and Andrew Sullivan on "Real Time With Bill Maher" (HBO, 11 p.m. EDT). And, for reasons not totally clear, Ashlee Simpson is back on "Saturday Night Live" (NBC, 11:30 p.m. EDT) -- Jon "Napoleon Dynamite" Heder hosts.
-- Scott Lamb
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