Morning Briefing:
Britney flies solo? When the "Dateline" crew arrived at Britney Spears' Malibu estate to film last week's interview with Matt Lauer, they apparently found her all alone -- no P.R. handlers or stylists to be seen (which could explain her choice of outfit -- who wears denim miniskirts anymore?). "When [the NBC crew] got there, they thought they had the wrong day," a source tells Page Six. "During the interview, no one was there to rein things in." (Page Six)
Cruise's star beginning to fade? So, sure Tom Cruise was named the most powerful celebrity by Forbes last week, but that doesn't mean everything's going his way in Hollywood. With "Mission Impossible III" not exactly the huge hit he needed it to be, Fox 411 is reporting that Cruise just lost out on an action film he was hoping to be a part of -- the role is being offered to George Clooney instead. "There isn't a major studio that will offer Tom Cruise a $200 million movie now," a source tells Fox 411. "There's going to be a big reconsideration now of what he should do now." The same column notes how only a few years ago, Cruise wasn't making such a big public deal out of his belief in Scientology, and posits a theory as to what has changed since: "Obviously they [Scientology] told him it was time to pay up one way or another," says another source. "They definitely forced him to go public." (Fox 411)
Jolie to go back to adoption for No. 4: In her interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper -- it's set to air Tuesday, but you can see an exclusive clip on Video Dog -- Angelina Jolie says she definitely wants another baby. "Next, we'll adopt," she tells Cooper. The only lingering question is where from -- Maddox is from Cambodia and Zahara is from Ethiopia, and Jolie says she'll pick a new country -- and whether it will be a boy or a girl. "It's going to be the balance of what would be the best for Mad and for Z right now," she says. (People)
Also:
Despite the Friday announcement by Namibia's tourism minister that Britney Spears "has shown interest to come over to Namibia" for the birth of her second baby, the singer's publicist says there's "no truth" to the idea. (People) ... The final curtain came down for Julia Roberts' Broadway turn on Sunday -- "Three Days of Rain" ended its 12-week run of shows with a packed house at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre. (N.Y. Daily News) ... "Cars" remained the No. 1 movie in America over the weekend, bringing in an estimated $31.2 million, with the debut of Jack Black's "Nacho Libre" coming in second with $27.5 million, according to studio estimates. (Associated Press) ... Paul McCartney can finally answer the question "Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm 64?" -- the recently separated rock star celebrated his 64th birthday at his Sussex estate on Sunday. (Monsters and Critics) ... British rocker Pete Doherty left rehab to play a show in Sweden over the weekend, and was promptly arrested by Swedish authorities on suspicion of drug use. (The Local via Perez Hilton)
Money Quote:
Kevin Spacey on where he found inspiration for his role as Lex Luthor in the upcoming "Superman Returns": "There's a lot of Ken Lay in him this time. He is more smartly dressed than I think we have seen him looking before. I like to call the look, 'General Rommel goes to dinner.'" (London Evening Standard via Page Six)
-- Scott Lamb
Turn On:
"History Detectives" (PBS, check local listings) returns for a fourth season, and Lifetime premieres a telefilm based on the life of a man who lived as a woman, "A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story" (9 p.m. EDT). Also, "Hell's Kitchen" (Fox, 9 p.m. EDT) and "Treasure Hunters" (NBC, 9 p.m. EDT) air in new time slots.
On the Talk Shows:
Larry King (CNN, 9 p.m. EDT): Charlie Rose discusses his open-heart surgery
Charlie Rose (PBS, check local listings): Al Gore
David Letterman (CBS, 11:30 p.m. EDT): Adam Sandler, Julie Chen
Jay Leno (NBC, 11:35 p.m. EDT): Mariah Carey, Daniel Tosh, Keane
Conan O'Brien (NBC, 12:35 a.m. EDT): Luke Wilson, Jack Klugman, Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson (repeat)
Craig Ferguson (CBS, 12:35 a.m. EDT): Pepe the King Prawn, Sarah Wynter, the Charlatans
Jon Stewart (Comedy Central, 11 p.m. EDT): Calvin Trillin
Stephen Colbert (Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m. EDT): Gustavo Arellano
-- Lamar Clarkson
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