Afternoon Briefing:
The end of Ozzy? Reality-show rocker Ozzy Osbourne tells Diane Sawyer tonight that he may never perform again, since his injuries from an all-terrain vehicle accident were so serious. Osbourne, who was in a coma for eight days, broke ribs and vertebrae and has a big piece of metal in one arm. Don't count him out, though. Heavy metal never stopped him before. (CNN)
What fresh hell is this? Rumors are that Liza Minnelli's ex, David Gest, is turning his attention to recently arrested diva Diana Ross as his next missus. Now there's a wise idea. (Ananova)
The "It Girl" joins Calvin: Scarlett Johansson is winning awards right and left, but her latest coup is becoming a model for Calvin Klein, following such fine faces as Kate Moss, Christy Turlington and Andie McDowell. (This Is London)
Smile: Genius Beach Boy Brian Wilson will perform from his lost album "Smile" for the first time tomorrow at London's Royal Festival Hall. The work, which he composed in 1967, was never released, but we could be hearing it soon, since Wilson dug up the original tapes recently and did some polishing with his original lyricist-partner, Van Dyke Parks. (BBC)
Hackademy Awards: The American Lung Association gives out pink and black lung awards to the movie stars they deem deserving. This year Johnny Depp won a pinkie for not smoking in "Pirates of the Caribbean" and Diane Keaton got a black one for lighting up in "Something's Gotta Give." (TV Guide)
Money Quote:
The Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins was awash with British music awards Tuesday night but when he went to charge the celebratory Cristal champagne his plastic was denied. Said a party mate, "He's obviously still waiting for his royalties." (Teen Music)
-- Karen Croft
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Morning Briefing:
Eminemland? Us Weekly says Eminem is considering buying Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch, which has been on the market for months now. (Jackson is asking almost $50 million, but the property has been assessed at only $12.2 million.) However, the rapper's spokesman denies it ... sort of. "We don't see him leaving Detroit anytime soon," he said, adding, "but you never know." (MTV News)
Who's afraid of the big bad Wolf?: Feminist author and one-time Al Gore image advisor Naomi Wolf will claim in an upcoming New York magazine feature that influential literary scholar Harold Bloom "sexually harassed her while she was an undergraduate 20 years ago." Bloom has not commented on the charges, but Camille Paglia, who worked closely with Bloom at Yale and grappled with Wolf in the '90s over the role of feminism, says, "I just feel it's indecent that if Naomi Wolf did not have the courage to pursue the matter at the time, or in the 1990's, and put her own reputation on the line, then to bring all of this down on a man who is in his 70's and has health problems -- who has become a culture hero to readers in the humanities around the world -- to drag him into a 'he said/she said' scenario so late in the game, to me demonstrates a lack of proportion and a basic sense of fair play." (New York Observer)
How much did P.Diddy know and when did he know it? Sean "Puffy/P.Diddy" Combs testified that he remembers very little about the 1999 interview with Detroit TV talk show host Roger Mills in which Mills asked him to comment on allegations that he had some involvement in the murder of the Notorious B.I.G. Mills contends that Puffy's bodyguards roughed him up after the interview and demanded that he turn over the tape and is suing Combs for assault, false imprisonment, destruction of property, intentional infliction of emotional distress and a civil conspiracy. (Associated Press)
Case dismissed: Marilyn Manson and the Detroit security guard accusing him of sexual assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress after the goth rocker gyrated against his head during a 2001 concert have settled the suit out of court. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed. (Rolling Stone)
Money Quote:
An ex-employee of Donald Trump on how Trump himself never utters his trademark "Apprentice" phrase "You're fired" in real life: "He always has somebody else do his dirty work. He wants to be loved." (Page Six)
-- Amy Reiter
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