Morning Briefing:
Borat "victim" speaks: Dharma Arthur, the TV producer who unknowingly booked comedian Sacha Baron Cohen's character Borat for an interview on a live newscast for WAPT in Jackson, Miss., says the stunt cost her her job. In the about-to-be-released Borat movie, Cohen's character does his usual antics on the newscast, making sex references, kissing the anchor and standing up during the interview, before Arthur cuts off the interview. She writes in Newsweek that the episode was the start of a rough period in her life: "Because of him, my boss lost faith in my abilities and second-guessed everything I did thereafter," she says. "I spiraled into depression, and before I could recover, I was released from my contract early. It took me three months to find another job, and now I'm thousands of dollars in debt and struggling to keep my house out of foreclosure." Meanwhile, Kazakhstan's foreign minister, Kasymzhomart Tokayev, told reporters that the movie won't show anywhere in the country, and a German human rights group has filed a complaint against the movie for violating Germany's anti-discrimination laws. (Fox 411, Washington Post, Associated Press)
Foley's acting turn: Radar has gotten ahold of a copy of "Strike Force," a straight-to-DVD movie apparently only notable for an appearance by Mark Foley, who plays a Republican congressman whose daughter is kidnapped. His only bit of eerie dialogue:
Foley: [Eyes clenched] "Oh, I missed you too, baby."
Daughter: "There were a lot of bad men."
Foley: "I know, baby, but it's all over now [deep sigh]. God, I love you."
Daughter: "I love you too, Daddy."
You can watch the clip here. (Radar)
Buddies despite Tom: Putting the past behind her -- in this case, the past being Tom Cruise's public attack on her use of antidepressants for postpartum depression -- Brooke Shields has found a new friend in Katie Holmes. According to People, the two got together to watch the season premiere of "Grey's Anatomy" a few months ago, and have been seen palling around in public since. Shields recently told Access Hollywood they are "absolutely" friends: "You never know how life is going to bring people together." (People)
Also:
Ivanka Trump is rumored to be dating "That '70s Show" star Topher Grace. (WENN) ... TMZ reports Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe never signed a prenup. (Via Us Online) ... The soundtrack of "Hannah Montana" is this week's No. 1 album, selling 281,000 copies. (E Online) ... Novelist William Styron, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his book "The Confessions of Nat Turner," died on Wednesday of pneumonia. He was 81. (Associated Press)
Money Quote:
Emily Robison on how the backlash against the Dixie Chicks had much to do with gender: "Read the stuff on the Internet: 'Just tell that bitch to shut up.' They don't want to hear mouthy women to begin with. A guy would have been an outlaw, the Johnny Cash or Merle Haggard of his generation." (Playboy via the Scoop)
Turn On:
On Thursday night, "The O.C." (Fox, 9 p.m. EDT) has its season premiere, "The Office" (NBC, 8:30 p.m. EDT) features a marriage proposal of some sort and "Rob and Big" (MTV, 10:30 p.m. EDT), a reality series featuring a white pro skateboarder and his best friend and bodyguard, has its series debut.
On the Talk Shows:
Larry King (CNN, 9 p.m. EDT): A segment on positive thinking
David Letterman (CBS, 11:30 p.m. EDT): Rosie O'Donnell, Lady Sovereign
Jay Leno (NBC, 11:35 p.m. EDT): Penelope Cruz, John Stamos, "Weird Al" Yankovic
Conan O'Brien (NBC, 12:35 a.m. EDT): John Leguizamo, Los Abandoned
Craig Ferguson (CBS, 12:35 a.m. EDT): Tim Robbins, Jamie Lidell
Jimmy Kimmel (ABC, 12:05 a.m. EDT): Roseanne Barr, Joseph Cross
Jon Stewart (Comedy Central, 11 p.m. EDT): Sacha Baron Cohen
Stephen Colbert (Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m. EDT): Ron Reagan Jr.
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