Morning Briefing:
No nom for Julia: The nominees for the 2006 Tony Awards were announced from New York early Tuesday morning, but Julia Roberts' name wasn't among the actors who made the list. Her play, "Three Days of Rain," was nominated only in the scenic design and lighting categories. "History Boys" and "The Lieutenant of Inishmore" were the heavily nominated standouts for plays, while "The Drowsy Chaperone" was nominated in every possible musical category. You can read the full nominee list here. (Tony Awards)
Britney's parenting questioned, again: A paparazzo shot of Britney Spears driving her convertible Mini Cooper through Malibu, Calif., with a lolling, forward-facing Sean Preston strapped into the back seat might just earn the starlet another visit from family services. California law says infants up to one year should ride facing backward because their necks are too weak to withstand the force of a crash facing forward. "There are no exceptions to the law," Sgt. Valdez of the California Highway Patrol tells Star. "Britney should be fined." (Star)
Foster quotes the wisdom of Eminem: Jodie Foster's commencement speech at the University of Pennsylvania on Monday included the standard bits of advice, plus warnings about how the U.S. "squandered" its store of international goodwill following 9/11 and criticism of the government's "disastrous and shameful" response to Hurricane Katrina. As a rousing final carpe-diem call to arms, courtesy of Eminem, Foster rapped the chorus of "Lose Yourself" from "8 Mile." You can listen to her here. (Associated Press)
Bono as editor in chief: It's Bono's day as a newspaper man -- the U2 frontman has taken over today's issue of London's Independent, which carries a big red cover and the headline "No News Today." Much of the issue is given over to Africa and the AIDS crisis, but there are some lighter pieces, too, including Condoleezza Rice's top 10 favorite musical works of all time -- which naturally has "anything" by U2 in the No. 7 spot, just below Brahms' "Piano Quintet in F Minor." (The Independent)
Also:
More marriage trouble rumors for Madonna: She has recently been photographed sans wedding band, and her big-mouth brother has been blabbing to the press that she and hubby Guy Ritchie are just staying together for the kids: "It's the children that will keep them together. The children are everything to them." (The Scoop) ... Last week's finale of "7th Heaven" may not have been its last after all: The series has been granted another season of life on the new CW network in the fall, pending the agreement of the ensemble cast. (Post Chronicle) ... Heathrow police must be getting tired of American rappers -- DMX was arrested and then released with a warning at the airport after angrily refusing to put on his seat belt during a flight from New York to London. (Us Online) ... Producer Brian Grazer ("The Da Vinci Code," among many others) has a reputation as a kind of weird practical joker. "Grazer's signature gag is to arrive at your house, sneak off to the bookcase or piano where you keep your cherished family portraits and then place a framed picture of himself," write Rush & Molloy, adding that Grazer has also been rumored to hide vials of his own urine in people's homes for yuks. (Rush & Molloy)
Turn On:
The season finales continue Tuesday night with big closers for "Scrubs" (NBC, 9 p.m. EDT), "Boston Legal" (ABC, 9 p.m. EDT) and "The Unit" (CBS, 9 p.m. EDT). Also, the PBS series "Frontline" (check local listings) looks into the financial side of aging with "Can You Afford to Retire?" and former White House press secretary Scott McClellan is on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" (NBC, 11:35 p.m. EDT).
-- Scott Lamb
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