Morning Briefing:
The Trump/Stewart fight, continued: Round 2 in the match between Martha Stewart and "The Apprentice" godfather Donald Trump took place late Tuesday. First, in a statement to People, Stewart responded to Trump's assertion -- in an open letter to her -- that she needs to take responsibility for the failure of her version of "The Apprentice": "The letter is so mean-spirited and reckless that I almost can't believe my long-time friend Donald Trump wrote it." She went on to defend the show, noting that "many families sat their children down weekly to watch it." Trump returned fire late Tuesday night on CNBC's "The Big Idea With Donny Deutsch," saying, "Of course the letter was mean-spirited, but I think what she did was mean-spirited," and that he was so hurt because he was "her No. 1 advocate ... and what does she do? She blames me for her show's failure." (People, Associated Press)
Mischa messes with Paris: Mischa Barton was in London this week for the BAFTA awards show and stirred up a celebrity rivalry between her and Paris Hilton, though at the same time she took pains to insist there is, in fact, no rivalry at all. Sounding eerily like her character from "The OC," Barton told the London Mirror: "Paris isn't my rival. I met her one or two times and she's making out there's this big rivalry between us and there so isn't." The feud, if there was one, stemmed from Barton's dating Cisco Adler, who also happens to be an ex of Hilton's best pal Kimberly Stewart (daughter of Rod). But Barton had a different explanation: "She seems to hate everyone around her age who is more successful. Silly bitch." It didn't take Hilton long to hit back. "I don't even know the girl," she told Rush & Molloy on Wednesday. "I could care less. It seems like she's the one trying to stir up a rivalry. I've never said a word about her in my life. But she seems to be spending a lot of time thinking about me." (The Scoop, Rush & Molloy)
James Bond can't drive a stick: The filming of the new James Bond film, "Casino Royale," hasn't been going at all smoothly. The new Bond, Daniel Craig, had his two front teeth knocked out during the shooting of a fight scene recently, and now it has come to light that he can't drive the Aston Martin to be used in the movie because it has a manual shift -- and Craig can only drive an automatic one. Hardcore 007 fans, who protested loudly when the blond Craig was hired for the role, have now banded together to call for an international boycott of the film with a Web site called CraigNotBond.com: "Join the Casino Royale Boycott now, and you'll be taking the first steps towards bringing back the James Bond we know and love!" Ex-Bond Pierce Brosnan weighed in on behalf of his replacement at the premiere of "The Matador" in London on Tuesday, saying, "I think Daniel is a very fine actor. These are rocky waters, but I think he will have the last laugh." (N.Y. Daily News, Chicago Sun-Times, BBC News)
Also:
Lindsay Lohan has decided she no longer wants to be known as a teenage party girl, please. "I hate it when people call me a teen queen," she says in an interview in March's Allure magazine, adding that she'd like to be considered a serious actress. (Associated Press via Yahoo! News) ... Celebrity youth drinking shocker! TMZ has an investigative report on underage celebrities -- including Lohan, Mary-Kate Olsen, Jesse McCartney and Frankie Muniz -- who frequent the Los Angeles club Mood, including footage of said stars entering the 21-and-up club. (TMZ) ... The very latest in Oscar swag: special Oscar-nominee-only-edition mobile phones for all the acting and directing nominees. (Perez Hilton) ... Lucyna Turyk-Wawrynowicz, the "maid to the stars" who worked for both Robert De Niro and Candice Bergen, was sentenced on Tuesday to one to three years in prison for repeatedly stealing from her employers. (Associated Press) ... The newest rumors on the race to the altar put Nicole Kidman just ahead of ex Tom Cruise: Kidman and Keith Urban are reportedly having an early March wedding in Australia. (Page Six)
Money Quotes:
Director Stephen Gaghan on critics who found his film "Syriana" difficult to follow: "You spend 15 hours a day, seven days a week, for four years, and all that people can think to say about your work is, 'Don't you think it's too confusing?' No, I don't." (ContactMusic)
Elle Macpherson on Elle Macpherson: "For 15 years I've been playing the same character -- which is myself -- and I'm bored with myself." (3 a.m. Girls)
Turn On:
Eric Idle picks his favorite sketches and the living cast members unite to remember Graham Chapman in "Monty Python's Personal Best" (PBS, check local listings), while MTV presents "True Life: I'm a Competitive Eater" (10 p.m. EST), which attempts to explain how the svelte Takeru Kobayashi can possibly eat 53.5 hot dogs in 12 minutes. Also, on the "Winter Olympic Games" (NBC, 8 p.m. EST): The women's freestyle-skiing aerials final, the women's slalom final and the start of the men's parallel giant slalom in snowboarding.
-- Scott Lamb
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