Morning Briefing:
Simon the cad: According to the British tabloids, "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell is cheating on his girlfriend, Terri Seymour. Cowell is reportedly in the midst of a six-month-long affair with Jasmine Lennard -- a 21-year-old reality TV star. Lennard, known in the U.K. for her work on "Make Me a Supermodel," was spotted leaving Cowell"s London mansion early Wednesday morning. A friend of Lennard's is reported as saying that "Jasmine is absolutely besotted with [Cowell] and thinks he feels the same." But Cowell's rep insists the rendezvous was of a strictly professional nature, claiming the two had met simply "to discuss TV projects." (Rush & Molloy)
No "Sound" for Scarlett: Scarlett Johansson playing Maria in an Andrew Lloyd Webber stage revival of "The Sound of Music"? Not happening. And Lloyd Webber has placed the blame squarely on Johansson's people, claiming they made "ridiculous" financial demands. In an interview with the Times of London, the producer said that Johansson's management team "couldn't understand why she would want to appear in the West End for 10,000 pounds [$18,500] a week when she could be earning $10 million for a movie" and then pulled the plug when he refused to meet those terms. A statement from Johansson's publicist turned the blame around, saying that the star of the just-released "Scoop" was only "asking for terms that an actress of her stature would ask for" and that a scheduling conflict was the real reason for the withdrawal. (E!)
Bar Watch: The British paper the Sun reports that David Hasselhoff was barred from a flight from London to L.A. for being drunk. Witnesses say that the former "Baywatch" star -- who claims he no longer drinks -- struggled to stand and made comments to the crew about the his just-finalized divorce from actress Pamela Bach. The actor's publicist denies that booze was to blame, though, saying that "strong antibiotics" taken for a recent arm injury were at fault for waylaying the star. (Star)
Also:
George Clooney has left Section Eight, the production company he started with Steven Soderbergh, to start a new production company at Warner Bros. (Fox News) ... Tour de France winner Floyd Landis will skip his scheduled appearance on Friday's "Tonight Show" -- Landis is currently facing doping accusations. (MSNBC) ... Prince's second wife, Manuela Testolini Nelson, has filed for divorce. (MSNBC) ... Justin Timberlake and Joey Fatone have made public statements of support for their ex-'N Sync bandmate Lance Bass -- who earlier this week revealed that he's gay. (People) ... Audioslave frontman Chris Cornell has been pegged to record the theme song for the upcoming James Bond film, "Casino Royale." (Hollywood Reporter)
Money Quote:
Pamela Anderson on how she will soothe her nerves before her upcoming marriage to Kid Rock: "I have two words for you: champagne." (Female First)
-- David Marchese
Turn On:
Friday, Margaret Atwood and Martin Amis visit "Bill Moyers on Faith & Reason" (PBS, check local listings), and Rachael Ray road-trips along California's Highway 1 (Food, 9:30 p.m. EDT). Saturday, "Celebrity Deathmatch" (MTV2, 12 p.m. EDT) and "The Adventures of Chico & Guapo" (MTV2, 1 p.m. EDT) have their season enders. Sunday, E! kicks off a new season of "The Girls Next Door" (9 p.m. EDT), the reality series set in the Playboy mansion, and "Footballers Wives" (BBC America, 10 p.m. EDT) wraps up its season.
On the Talk Shows:
Larry King (CNN, 9 p.m. EDT): Crew of the Shuttle "Discovery," Rusty Yates
Charlie Rose (PBS, check local listings): Lee Daniels
David Letterman (CBS, 11:30 p.m. EDT): Jamie Foxx, Tom Dreesen
Jay Leno (NBC, 11:35 p.m. EDT): Abigail Breslin, Ben Harper
Conan O'Brien (NBC, 12:35 a.m. EDT): Meredith Vieira, Jeff Probst, Jim Gaffigan
Craig Ferguson (CBS, 12:35 a.m. EDT): Kyra Sedgwick, Keith Olbermann
Jon Stewart (Comedy Central, 11 p.m. EDT): Dr. Alon Ben-Meir, professor of international relations and Middle Eastern studies
Stephen Colbert (Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m. EDT): Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada (repeat)
-- Lamar Clarkson
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