Morning Briefing:
Pitt says baby is "imminent": Brad Pitt sent in a note -- via e-mail -- to the organizers of the Cannes film festival on Tuesday giving his reasons for not being there in person for the presentation of "Babel," a film by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu in which Pitt co-stars with Cate Blanchett and Gael Garcia Bernal. It's a pretty good excuse: "With the imminent arrival of the newest addition to our family, I am unable to join Alejandro, Cate, Gael and the rest of the cast and crew in introducing" the movie. (ABC News)
TomKat spat? Now that the baby has arrived and "Mission: Impossible III" is out, the lingering question is when, where and if Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes will actually get married. Already some tabloids are pushing for a breakup -- this week's Life & Style Weekly carries a story that all's not well at home between the couple. They allegedly had a "huge argument" over Holmes' wish to take baby Suri to visit her folks back in Ohio, and an insider says, "Katie's very unhappy and beginning to realize she may have made a major mistake being with Tom." (Life & Style via the Scoop)
Page Six employment woes: Page Six editor Richard Johnson is reportedly having a hard time filling the gossip spots left by disgraced reporter Jared Paul Stern and other freelancers who were let go in the wake of the column's recent alleged-extortion scandal. According to a story in this week's New York Observer, Johnson has been searching for a full-time reporter to replace the freelancers, but has yet to find anyone interested -- and a number of candidates have even turned down interviews. As one writer told the Observer: "You don't climb aboard a sinking ship." (New York Observer)
Also:
As it turns out, when Tommy Hilfiger punched Axl Rose last week, it wasn't to defend the honor of his adopted brother. Hilfiger's bro, Michael, says he's just fine with Rose dating his ex-wife, Diane O'Connor: "I gave Axl my blessing -- if he wants to date my ex-wife, that's fine with me." Michael also offers a simple explanation for the fight, saying "I don't think Axl knew it was Tommy and I don't think Tommy knew it was Axl. But by the time they realized it, the fuse was already lit -- and you can't put out the fuse on dynamite." (Page Six) ... The Dixie Chicks' newest album, "Taking the Long Way," is having a hard time getting radio airplay because of its anti-Bush overtones -- a station in Miami pulled the single "Not Ready to Make Nice" from its rotation this week after listeners complained. (UPI) ... The Dixie Chicks are also none too popular over on "The View": Joy Behar ripped up a copy of the group's Time cover story on the show yesterday over Chick Emily Robison's joke about how the group decided not to appear on the show: "Not that we're of that caliber, but would Bruce Springsteen do 'The View'?" (Lowdown) ... Despite Lionel Richie's insistence earlier this week that they were getting married, Nicole Richie and Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein are officially over. In a joint statement the couple said, "We are confirming that we have amicably separated." (People) ... With Keith Richards still nursing his palm-tree-related head injury, the Rolling Stones have had to postpone 15 European concert dates to give him time to recover. (Associated Press) ... The FBI raided the home office of a woman who runs a Los Angeles paparazzi agency on Tuesday, seizing computers allegedly used to hack into Us Weekly. Jill Ishkanian, who founded Sunset Photo and News after leaving Us Weekly last year, was also subpoenaed by Britney Spears in the singer's suit against Us Weekly over a story the magazine ran about her alleged sex tape with Kevin Federline. (TMZ)
-- Scott Lamb
Turn On:
Wednesday night, a winner will be crowned on the season finale of "American Idol" (Fox, 8 p.m. EDT), and "Lost" (ABC, 9 p.m. EDT) and "Top Chef" (Bravo, 10 p.m. EDT) also wrap up their seasons.
On the Talkies:
Larry King (CNN, 9 p.m. EDT): Sen. John McCain
David Letterman (CBS, 11:30 p.m. EDT): Jennifer Aniston, Rob Zombie
Jay Leno (NBC, 11:35 p.m. EDT): Jarod Miller, animal trainer; Fort Minor
Conan O'Brien (NBC, 12:35 a.m. EDT): Hugh Jackman, Tim Russert, Gnarls Barkley
(Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert on vacation till 5/29)
-- Lamar Clarkson
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