Morning Briefing:
Eddie daddy? Ex-Spice Girl Melanie Brown is bristling at former flame Eddie Murphy's very public effort to distance himself from her pregnancy -- he recently questioned the unborn baby's paternity. "I am obviously upset and distressed at some of the comments made by Eddie Murphy to the media," Brown, once better known as Scary Spice, says in a statement released via her publicist. "I was astonished what Eddie said. There is absolutely no question that Eddie is the father." (Associated Press)
"Borat's" Oscar push: He's been feted at the box office, blamed for the Pam Anderson/Kid Rock breakup and sued, but will Borat get nominated? The Los Angeles Times' awards-watch Web site, the Envelope, reports on the small but hopeful campaign pushing for an Oscar nom for Sacha Baron Cohen's multiculti comedy. There's a good chance "Borat" will earn Cohen a Golden Globe nomination for best actor in a comedy, and from there an Oscar is at least a possibility. "I didn't exactly think we would be talking about Oscar consideration, but I did always hope that it would be acknowledged as a landmark performance," says "Borat" producer Jay Roach, who's also hoping the studio will push for a best-screenplay nomination. "In his transformation to Borat, he makes it look all too easy. People will be saying, 'We can't award Borat an Oscar for being himself.' If they meet Sacha as himself, it will really underscore how difficult the performance was." Director Larry Charles is somewhat less restrained: "It's a monumental performance along the lines of Marlon Brando in 'On the Waterfront.' Brando rendered all previous dramatic acting antiquated and Sacha has done the same with comedic acting in 'Borat.' Those scenes are single takes [that] last 10 hours." (The Envelope)
And the nominees are ...: Mary J. Blige's name just kept coming up at the Grammy Awards nominations on Thursday -- the singer got a total of eight nominations for her album, "The Breakthrough," including song of the year and record of the year. Other big multiple nominations were the Red Hot Chili Peppers with six, including album of the year, and James Blunt, the Dixie Chicks, John Mayer, Danger Mouse, Prince, Rick Rubin, Will.i.am and composer John Williams, all of whom got five nominations. The awards will be handed out Feb. 11 -- you can view the full list of nominees here. (Associated Press, Grammy.com)
Also:
It's not exactly an open offer of aid -- Al Gore's rep, in a curt response to Lindsay Lohan's e-mail published yesterday that boldly claimed "Al Gore will help me," told media outlets, "I can confirm for you that Mr. Gore has only met Ms. Lohan once, very briefly, at the GQ Men of the Year dinner last week. There were hundreds of other guests." (TMZ) ... Rumors of a surprise wedding in St. Bart's for Beyoncé and Jay-Z this weekend have proved unfounded. The couple have already returned from a four-day partying spree in honor of the rapper's birthday -- a fest one source estimates "must have cost $1 million a day." (Rush & Molloy) ... Despite the recent chatter that she'd be leaving, Rosie O'Donnell said Thursday she's not vacating her spot on "The View" for a semipermanent role she has been offered on "Nip/Tuck." Noting that the plastic-surgery show films during "The View's" summer hiatus, she reassured viewers, "Don't anybody worry where Rosie's going. She's right here." (Associated Press) ... Preparing for an upcoming move, Tori Spelling and her husband, Dean McDermott, are trying to unload furniture and old "Beverly Hills, 90210" memorabilia at a garage sale at their Studio City, Calif., home, starting Friday morning at 9 a.m. (People) ... After pleading no contest to charges of domestic battery of a former girlfriend, "La Bamba" star Lou Diamond Phillips has been given three years' probation in Los Angeles. (BBC News)
Money Quote:
Camille Paglia on the unexpected effect of the infamous Britney/Madonna/Christina smooch at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards: "A great promise was contained in the moment when Madonna kissed Britney at the MTV Awards. She in a sense was saying, 'I'm passing the torch to you.' It was a fabulous moment. Britney looked toned, in control of her career and it was up to her to take the next step. Literally from that kiss, from that moment onward, Britney has spiraled out of control. It's like Madonna gave her the kiss of death! Britney is throwing it away!" (Us Online)
Turn On:
On Friday night, catch a new "Battlestar Galactica" (Sci-Fi, 9 p.m. EST), watch Diane Sawyer deliver a special report from North Korea on "Primetime" (ABC, 9 p.m. EST) or see Jason Priestley, Elliott Gould and director Joe Dante ("Gremlins") team up for "Masters of Horror: The Screwfly Solution" (Showtime, 10 p.m. EST).
On the Talk Shows:
Larry King (CNN, 9 p.m. EST): Winston Blackmore
Charlie Rose (PBS, check local listings): John F. Burns (from Iraq), Stephen Colbert, Anthony O'Reilly
David Letterman (CBS, 11:30 p.m. EST): Dustin Hoffman, Jamie Oliver, a performance by the Metropolitan Opera (repeat)
Jay Leno (NBC, 11:35 p.m. EST): Sylvester Stallone, Parminder Nagra, Seal
Conan O'Brien (NBC, 12:35 a.m. EST): Chazz Palminteri, Seth Meyers, TV on the Radio
Craig Ferguson (CBS, 12:35 a.m. EST): Tyrese, John Novasad
Jimmy Kimmel (ABC, 12:05 a.m. EST): Jarod Miller, Busta Rhymes (repeat)
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