Morning Briefing:
When it Raines, it pours: There was a racy tidbit -- one among many -- in New York magazine's long profile of Maureen Dowd last week about how she and former New York Times executive editor Howell Raines were once an item. Another former Raines flame, Leslie Hendry, has written a novelized version of their affair, with a title that would make Jayson Blair blush: "Touched by Ink-Stained Hands." According to Hendry, "the book is a fictionalized roman à clef about a young woman getting involved with an older man -- and getting in over her head." While it can't hope to compete with Scooter Libby's book for pure trashiness, it has its moments: "Alone in her thoughts, she didn't feel like Lolita or even the bad girl Art loved to spank. With the red lacy lingerie tossed to the foot of the bed, Maisey felt a lot like a hooker who hadn't been paid." (New York Post, New York)
Jennifer Aniston on not talking about Brad: Even when she wants to avoid talking about the men in her life, they just inevitably creep back in. In a Newsweek feature called "Seven Things I'd Rather Talk About ... Than the Men in (or Out) of My Life," she brings up yet another famous name: "How about that indictment?! And why did it take so long to respond to the crisis in New Orleans? Everything is imploding. It all seems to lead back to our dear president." She also takes time to point out she's not the waterworks she has been made out to be since her marriage went sour. "I'm pegged as a crier, aren't I? I was upset about the Vanity Fair article. I had one moment when I got emotional because I hadn't sat down with an interviewer since this whole debacle took place. It happened for a second and then it was over." (Newsweek)
Shar 2 Britney: Shar Jackson wants you to know -- she and Kevin Federline were still dating when he got together with Britney Spears last year. (It has only been that long?) "How do you call yourself a human being knowing that you put somebody else through that pain?" Jackson asks in the December issue of Sister 2 Sister magazine, directing her ire at Spears. "That's a vicious cycle right there, man. We gotta break that." Speaking of vicious cycles, Shar says she's currently at work on her first album, just like her ex. (Yahoo! News)
Also:
Warren Beatty and wife Annette Bening tried to crash Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's rally in San Diego Sunday, only to have the door slammed in their faces. After event coordinators wouldn't let them into the hangar where Schwarzenegger planned to speak, Beatty and Bening stood outside to listen to his address -- which was preceded by insults directed at Beatty's career. "'Dick Tracy' was a terrible movie," said radio talk show host Roger Hedgecock. "Just terrible That was celluloid abuse." Meanwhile the Governator's wife, Maria Shriver, was conspicuously absent ... Drudge is already predicting that Brokeback Mountain -- Ang Lee's upcoming film about two gay cowboys in Wyoming -- is going to be an Oscar contender. "It could very well be the last film standing at this year's Oscars," a top producer not associated with the film explained from Hollywood. "Watch it come out of the gate at the Golden Globes with super controversy" ... Despite what the English tabloids are saying, George Clooney maintains he didn't get into a scuffle with a London bouncer over the weekend. There was some kind of fight as Clooney was leaving a reception for "Good Night, and Good Luck," but details are sketchy. His publicist said, "While it had nothing to do with the paparazzi, it did have everything to do with someone being unkind to a woman." Or, as Clooney put it: "I won't stand by while someone is being insulted and maligned" ... Lindsay Lohan is beginning -- at age 19 -- to give some thought to going to college. But are questions about student-teacher ratios and off-campus housing on her mind? Not exactly: "I think I would go to NYU. I'm a New York girl, and it's easy to get to London and L.A. from here" ... A Chinese file sharer named Chan Nai-ming -- aka "Big Crook" -- was sentenced to three months in prison on Monday, becoming the first person ever to be sent to jail for using BitTorrent to share copyrighted material. The films that landed him in prison? "Daredevil," "Red Planet" and "Miss Congeniality."
Money Quote:
Catherine Zeta-Jones, when told Sharon Stone apparently got upset because Jones snagged the Lana Turner role for the upcoming film "Stompanato": "Guess what? I wanted to be in 'Basic Instinct 2'!" (The Scoop)
Turn On:
The new episode of "Arrested Development" (Fox, 8 p.m. EDT) features a cornucopia of guest stars: Charlize Theron (in her recurring role), Frankie Muniz, Scott Baio, Jeff Garlin and "Super Dave" Osborne. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) appears on "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" (Comedy Central, 11 p.m. EDT).
-- Scott Lamb
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