The Fix

First Word

The stewardess speaks? London's Daily Mail says it has the inside story of what transpired between the amorous, newly single Ralph Fiennes and Qantas flight attendant Lisa Robertson on that flight to Mumbai, India. After flirting and exchanging phone numbers, "I just stood up, reached down for his hand and told him to follow me," the paper says she told friends. "We went into the toilet and locked the door and off came much of our clothes." The affair didn't end once they'd reached the gate, either, according to the tab -- she reportedly also spent a night with the star in a hotel after they landed. (Daily Mail)

Chesney doth protest: In case the photos of him cavorting with semidressed models in the new Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue weren't clear enough, Kenny Chesney sat down with "60 Minutes" this week to attempt to clear up any rumors about his sexuality stemming from the sudden breakup of his 2005 marriage to Renée Zellweger (the interview airs on Sunday). When Zellweger cited fraud as the reason for the annulment, the gossip pages began to speculate that Chesney must be gay. "It's not true," he now says. "Period. Maybe I should have come out and said, 'No, I'm not [gay],' but I didn't want to draw any more attention to it." As for the annulment? "The only fraud that was committed was me thinking ... that I really understood what it was like to be married, and I really didn't." (People, Sports Illustrated)

Aide wants to aid Britney: Britney Spears' former aide, Felicia Culotta, says she fears for her former boss. Posting to That Other Blog on Hollywood.com, Culotta writes, "WE (as in her Family and nearest and dearest -- ALL of whom are NOT on the payroll anymore!!) are doing EVERYTHING in our power to get help for Britney ... so when she does indeed hit rock bottom, she'll stand up and walk away from this whole fiasco a new, confident, changed, career driven Britney like we all knew and loved." She says she takes Spears' recent nosedive personally, too: "To see what's transpiring now, makes me feel a failure, defeated." (That Other Blog, N.Y. Post)

White noise ... Donald Trump is either sleeping or really into the music in these photos from the recent Justin Timberlake concert in New York. (Perez Hilton) ... Al Gore announced Thursday that he's planning a massive, 24-hour concert series to take place on all seven continents this summer to raise awareness about global warming, saying, "In order to solve the climate crisis, we have to reach billions of people." (MSNBC) ... Former "Felicity" star Keri Russell and longtime boyfriend Shane Dreary -- with whom she's having a baby -- got married on Valentine's Day in New York. (Us Online) ... Talking head Keith Olbermann has re-signed with MSNBC to host four more years of his show, "Countdown With Keith Olbermann." (TV Week)

Talker

TiVoing ads: The rising use of TiVo and DVRs to record television shows (and skip commercials) has sent shivers down the spine of many a TV advertiser -- but it turns out those fears may have been a little premature. According to a new study released by Nielsen Thursday, people who use digital recorders to tape TV still watch an average of two-thirds of the commercials. (Part of the reason: Many people will watch the shows they record live, meaning they still have to sit through ads.) The new info may change how ads appear down the road, writes the New York Times: "Now the networks could use the new information to try to charge more. And advertisers may begin pressing networks to rethink commercial breaks -- maybe making them shorter." As one ad buyer tells the paper, "People's DVR behavior is going to drive the marketplace." ("Viewers Fast-Forwarding Past Ads? Not Always," New York Times)

Buzz Index

• Most viewed story from the Los Angeles Times: "Burning Death Stuns Bay Area"
• Top search term on Technorati: Barack Obama
• Most viewed story on Yahoo News: "More Evidence Found for Water on Mars," Associated Press
• Top entertainment story on Digg: "Top 12 Movies That Were Ahead of Their Time," First Showing

Judgment

Double-agent man: "Breach," which opens today, is based on the real story of Robert Hanssen, the FBI double agent who was arrested and found guilty of treason in 2001 for selling state secrets to Moscow. Hanssen's story is complex -- he was devoutly religious, but also enjoyed sharing his homemade sex tapes with friends -- and Salon critic Stephanie Zacharek writes, "The picture is suspenseful where it counts, and at times, it's truly terrifying." Chris Cooper, who plays the spy, "pulls off the near-impossible, making us feel dashes of sympathy for this twisted and unscrupulous man." David Denby, in the New Yorker, finds it to be a "sombre," "grayed out" thriller, while in the New York Times, Manohla Dargis calls the film a "thriller that manages to excite and unnerve despite our knowing the ending."

Numbers

Top 5 Web sites in Iran:
1. Yahoo
2. Google
3. Blogfa.com, a blog service
4. Mihanblog.com, also a blog service
5. Microsoft Network (MSN)
(Alexa)

Turn On

On Friday night, celebs try to score in the annual "NBA All-Star Celebrity Game" (ESPN, 7 p.m. EST), and it's the season premiere of "Real Time With Bill Maher" (HBO, 11 p.m. EST). On Saturday, HBO airs its original movie "Longford" (9 p.m. EST), about a British politician and his quest to free a serial killer. On Sunday night, catch the premiere of "The Amazing Race: All-Stars" (CBS, 8 p.m. EST).

Talk

Fix contributors: Heather Havrilesky, Scott Lamb, Kerry Lauerman, David Marchese, Laura Miller, Andrew O'Hehir, Amy Reiter, Stephanie Zacharek

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