Morning Briefing:
He said, she said with the Jolie-Pitts: While the rest of us are wondering when Angelina Jolie will make Brad Pitt an honest man, it's some comfort to know that marriage is still an open question with the pair at home, too. Jolie, overheard talking to director Robert Rodriguez at the Bel-Air Hotel: "We will never marry. If the kids get older and demand that we have a ceremony, we might. But that's a touchy subject with us." That same day, Brad Pitt was at the Chateau Marmont talking to "Constant Gardener" director Fernando Meirelles and supposedly said the wedding would happen "very soon." (Rush & Molloy)
Preempting the Frey effect: Augusten Burroughs bears a resemblance to fabulist James Frey -- they've both famously written about wrestling with the demons of addiction, both mined their complex lives for memoir gold -- and with a new book coming out in May, it's perhaps not surprising that Burroughs' publishers "hastily slapped a half-page warning sticker" (as Page Six puts it) on the prepublication galley copies just sent out:
Author's note: Some of the events described happened as related, others were expanded and changed. Some of the individuals portrayed are composites of more than one person and many names and identifying characteristics have been changed as well.
And they may have good reason. The Smoking Gun's Bill Bastone, part of the team behind the Frey revelations, says, "Since our Frey investigation, we've had dozens and dozens of people writing in to suggest other authors for us to look at, and Burroughs has, far and away, been at the top of everyone's list." Also, for those who can't get enough, James Frey will be returning to "Oprah" today (ABC, 4 p.m. EST), along with his publisher and "leading journalists." (Page Six)
Driving Ms. Aniston: Jennifer Aniston and Joan Cusack, both on hand for the premiere of their new film "Friends with Money," shared a chauffeur during Sundance last week, and now the driver is coming forward, all "Taxicab Confessions" style. The driver reports that Aniston, anxious about the paparazzi, told him several times to take her "where nobody is," and after 25 minutes they ended up in an abandoned church parking lot, where she got out and chain-smoked. Cusack, apparently "sick" of the media hubbub surrounding Aniston at all times, told the driver she herself lives a "nice normal life" and that "it's a choice an actor makes." (TMZ)
Also:
Sorry Kevin Federline, but you know your musical career is effectively over when even the Associated Press savages you with a headline: "Britney's husband's rap is 'incredibly horrible.'" (Associated Press via MSNBC) ... An autopsy by the Los Angeles coroner's office has provided no clues into the cause of Chris Penn's death, although foul play has been entirely ruled out. (BBC) ... "Survivor" winner Richard Hatch has been found guilty of tax evasion for not paying the income tax on the $1 million he won on national television. (People) ... Michael Jackson has been spotted in public again at a shopping mall in Bahrain, this time sporting dress usually worn only by women: a veil, a black robe called an abaya and gloves. (E! Online) ... Rosie O'Donnell is planning a return to prime time with a sitcom about a Long Island working mother. "She'll be a columnist for Newsday, and have a blended family at home," says O'Donnell of her character. "Her ex-husband will have to move in with her, with his 10-year-old son from his most recent marriage." (Fox 411) ... Fayard Nicholas, one-half of the legendary Nicholas brothers tap-dance duo, died in Los Angeles at age 91. (Associated Press)
Money Quote:
Kanye West on his own controversial ego: "In America, they want you to accomplish these great feats, to pull off these David Copperfield-type stunts. But let someone ask you about what you're doing, and if you turn around and say, 'It's great,' then people are like, 'What's wrong with you?' You want me to be great, but you don't ever want me to say I'm great?" (Rolling Stone)
Turn on:
It's guest star madness: Bobby Cannavale returns to "Will & Grace" (NBC, 8 p.m. EST); Mary Tyler Moore, Dick Van Patten and Gavin McLeod show up on "That '70s Show" (Fox, 8 p.m. EST); and Faye Dunaway and Bijou Phillips pop in for "CSI" (CBS, 9 p.m. EST).
-- Scott Lamb
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