Turn On:
Monday night at 9 p.m. EST, HBO brings you "Dirty War," a British TV movie about a dirty bomb attack in London that's supposed to be chockablock with coping tips that could help you should such a thing happen in a town near you. Cheery. And if you'd rather remain blissfully uninformed about such a grim scenario, you have two other worthy choices in the same time slot: The Sundance Channel airs the documentary "Control Room," a behind-the-scenes look at Al-Jazeera; and Lifetime offers "Widow on the Hill," a psychological drama starring James Brolin and Natasha Henstridge.
Morning Briefing:
Boon for Jon Stewart? Those of you rooting for Katie Couric to take over Dan Rather's soon-to-be-empty anchor chair on the CBS Evening News will be dismayed to learn that NBC suits are expected to pull out all the stops to keep her on the network after her contract expires in 2006. Couric currently pulls in $16 million a year to host the "Today" show -- and will likely earn way more than that after a renegotiation. NBC president Jeff Zucker sent a warning to CBS chief Les Moonves, joking, "All that we've decided is that if CBS goes after Katie Couric, we're going after [Moonves' wife] Julie Chen." Yuk-yuk-yuk. (TV Guide Online)
The morning after: After enjoying a wedding that Vogue editor Anna Wintour (whose issue featuring the bride on its cover is still on newsstands) called "one of the best parties I've ever been to" and what boxing promoter Don King called "a great American occasion," newlyweds Donald Trump and Melania Knauss mingled with guests -- including Bill Clinton and Sen. Hillary Clinton (who did not make it to the wedding), Star Jones, Barbara Walters, Katie Couric (who smuggled a small video camera into the reception), Matt Lauer, Shaquille O'Neal, a tipsy Billy Joel and numerous other A-listers -- at a post-wedding brunch. Then, as guests struggled to find flights back to the snowed-in East Coast, Trump played a round of golf. But he's likely to be spending a little more time with his bride soon enough. "Melania would like to have children," Trump recently commented. "I'm up for it." Oddsmakers at one offshore gaming company, BetWWTS.com, are placing 8 to 1 odds that Knauss gets knocked up in 2005, and 1 to 10 odds that she doesn't. (N.Y. Post, N.Y. Daily News, Lloyd Grove's Lowdown, N.Y. Times)
Poor, poor, pitiful Paris: Though Paris Hilton has assiduously tried to whoop it up in her usual devil-may-care fashion at Sundance this week, she's apparently been dogged at every turn by her "One Night in Paris" co-star, ex-boyfriend Rick Salomon and his ex-wife Shannen Doherty, with whom he has apparently reunited. People apparently keep trying to seat Hilton next to the snuggly couple at various parties, and at one, Tobey Maguire's birthday bash, the "Simple Life" star "tried to alleviate tension by 'dancing on tables,'" reports Page Six, "but it didn't work and she eventually left." Heartbreaking, really. (Page Six)
Also: Sen. John Kerry's stepson Chris Heinz is reportedly seriously dating Diane Kruger, who played Helen in "Troy" and recently separated from her husband, French actor Guillaume Canet. (Rush and Molloy) ... Faye Dunaway has her own reality TV show, "Starlet," in which she grooms aspiring actresses in search of their big break. (Associated Press) ... John Goodman's comedy "Center of the Universe" has been cast mercilessly aside by CBS and will be replaced for the next few weeks by reruns of "The King of Queens." (The Hollywood Reporter via N.Y. Daily News) ... John Stamos is reportedly workshopping a stage version of "Get Shorty," in which he's playing the John Travolta role, Chilli Palmer, in hopes of bringing it to Broadway. (Page Six) ... Paige Davis has been booted as host of TLC's "Trading Spaces," as it transitions to "a 'host-less' format this spring." (Page Six) ... Steve McPherson, ABC prime-time entertainment chief, told reporters yesterday that the much-clucked-over "Monday Night Football" teaser in which Nicollette Sheridan dropped her towel and hopped into Terrell Owens' arms was originally supposed to star John Madden (presumably in the Owens slot) and "was originally intended ... as a joke." (N.Y. Post)
-- Amy Reiter
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