The clip above is from the 1973 documentary Manson, which featured interviews with some of the female family members, as well as footage shot by the family, in which they explain Charles' philosophy and the Family's way of life. (Squeaky Fromme, seen in the clip, had no involvement in the Tate/LaBianca murders, but was convicted of attempted assassination of the president, for which she served 34 years. She will be released on August 16. She is still believed to be a follower of Manson's.)

Susan Atkins
THEN: Atkins, aka "Sadie," was a 21-year-old mother of a 10-month-old baby the night she stabbed pregnant Sharon Tate to death, saying, "She asked me to spare her. I told her I didn't have any mercy for her," and that Sharon's whining got on her nerves. (Atkins' son, Zezozose Zadfrack Glutz, has since been adopted and renamed.) Also involved in the LaBianca and Hinman murders, Sadie was sentenced to death in 1971, (which was automatically commuted to life in prison after a 1972 California Supreme Court case that outlawed the use of capital punishment). Her cellmate said of her,"Sadie was so far out, even the bull dykes wouldn't mess with her." In 1974, she removed herself from the Family and became a born-again Christian. In 1977 she published her autobiography, Child of Satan, Child of God.

NOW: Atkins, now 61, has been married twice while in prison. She has been denied parole 17 times. In 2002, she filed a lawsuit with the federal court claiming she was a "political prisoner" due to the parole denials despite her suitability. Atkins is currently dying of cancer—and reportedly can only turn her head from side to side, and move one arm—and her husband has asked that she be released and allowed to die at home, arguing that it would save the state $10,000 a day in health care. Her next parole hearing is scheduled for September 2.

Leslie Van Houten
THEN: The onetime homecoming queen joined up with the Family shortly after graduating high school in 1967. At 19, she was the youngest defendant in the Tate/LaBianca murders. Having only been involved in the LaBianca murders (she stabbed Rosemary LaBianca 16 times), she said she wished she had been there the night of the Tate murders. Van Houten would giggle during testimony, thus lost the sympathy of the jurors. She was convicted of murder and sentenced to death, later commuted to life in prison. Three years after her imprisonment she fell away from Manson and the Family. She won a retrial in 1977 on the grounds of ineffective representation by counsel. While out on bail in 1978 she attended the Oscars with a friend, and wasn't recognized. She was later convicted again and sentenced to life in prison.

NOW: Van Houten, who will turn 60 this month, is in the California Institution for Women, where she's spent the past 39 years. While there, she's become a model prisoner. She's taught other illiterate inmates to read, stitched a portion of the AIDS quilt, made bedding for the homeless, and recorded books on tape for the blind, all while holding down various jobs as a clerk for different members of the prison staff. Of her remorse over the murders she says, "It's not easy. If anything, the older I get, the harder it is. I took away all that life." Filmmaker John Waters began what turned into a close friendship with Van Houten in 1985 when he attempted to interview for her Rolling Stone. Van Houten—whom Waters described "looked then, and still does, very much like actress Hilary Swank"—has been denied parole 18 times. During one parole hearing, a judge told her, "You've dug yourself quite a hole and it's going to take a little time to get out of it." Waters asks, "Can you ever dig your way out of that hole by trying to explain LSD to a parole board whose members have never taken a trip?" She is eligible for parole again this year.

Patricia Krenwinkel
THEN: Krenwinkel was 20 when she joined up with Manson. Two years later, she participated in both the Tate and LaBianca murders (specifically, stabbed Abagail Folger to death) and is the one who notoriously wrote in blood on the walls of the LaBianca home, "DEATH TO PIGS" and "HeaLter SkeLTter." She was sentenced to death, later commuted to life in prison.

NOW: Like Van Houten, Krenwinkel is active with prison programs. She's in AA and NA, and has also taught illiterate prisoners how to read, gives dance lessons, and participates in a service-dog training program. She has been denied parole 11 times.


Mary Brunner
THEN: Charles Manson's third wife, and mother of his child Michael Valentine Manson (aka "Pooh Bear"). She was arrested and jailed for credit card fraud the night of the Tate murders. She was later charged (with two other family members) for the July 1969 murder of Gary Hinman. She received immunity from prosecution in exchange for testifying against Atkins and Beausoleil. (She later repudiated her statements.) In 1971, Brunner—along with several other Family members—was arrested and convicted for taking part in the robbery of a gun store and subsequent shootout with the cops. She served six years in the California Institution for Women, where Leslie Van Houten, Susan Atkins and Patricia Krenwinkel were serving their time.

NOW: After her release from prison, she disassociated herself from the Family, regained custody of her son, changed her name and now lives in anonymity somewhere in the Midwest.

Linda Kasabian
THEN: Kasabian had the only valid driver's license of all the Family members, so she was ordered to drive the group to the Tate residence, and the LaBianca residence. (It's bizarre that they cared about traffic laws.) She later turned state's evidence against the Family, and testified at their trials.

NOW: She has refused an media interviews in the past, aside from one for A Current Affair in 1989, but on September 7, as a way to mark the 40th anniversary of the Tate/LaBianca murders, the History channel will air a special on the Family, featuring a new, and extensive interview with Kasabian.

Manson's lasting legacy: 'Live freaky, die freaky' [CNN]
Restoring Sharon Tate [LA Times]
Manson Family Women Seek Parole After Decades Behind Bars [ChattahBox]
40 Years Later, Manson Murders Remembered [ABC News]
Leslie Van Houten: A Friendship, Part 5 of 5 [HuffPo]
Manson Family member interviewed for special [Reuters]

Jessica was first featured on a Sky News segment two years ago (which we posted), when she was seven years old. Last night, Animal Planet ran a one-hour special—narrated by John Waters—on her unlikely bond with the couple who have become Jessica's parents. Now that she's nine, Jessica has begun the puberty process, and the many dogs who live on the property, who were once her playmates, have sort of become her children, since her biological clock began ticking.

Earlier: Pretty Bitches? Some Jessicas Are Also Fat, Hungry Hippos

• Miley Cyrus apparently has a half-brother named Christopher Cyrus who is less than a year older than her. But, he has no contact with the rest of the Cyrus clan.

• Apparently Miley's mom Tish doesn't like that Billy Ray fathered another woman's child. [Star]
• Britney had a police motorcycle escort that took her 28 miles on the L.A. freeway because she was late to a concert. The officer honked and made cars clear a path. A highway patrol representative said they give the same service to the President and Rose Bowl teams, and the officer "can use the tools at their disposal, including lights and sirens, to expedite the flow of traffic and ensure safety." [TMZ]
• A dude proposed to his girlfriend onstage at a Britney Spears concert last night. [TMZ]
• A blogger bought a copy of Katy Perry's CD in Saudi Arabia and she had much more clothing on than in the American version. The Saudi government actually pays people to open the CD up and color on clothes with Sharpies! [Perez Hilton]
• Susan Boyle recorded the song Cry Me A River for a local newspaper's charity CD in 1999, which you can listen to here, if you want to hear something awesome: [Perez Hilton]
• OMG OPRAH IS ON TWITTER AND SHE'S TWEETING KANYE STYLE. [Wired]
• Brooke Hogan is defending her father, Hulk Hogan: "I cannot believe how blown out of proportion one small part of a seven-page article has become. It's a classic case of a quote being taken out of context. I look up to my father in every way. He has been through so much and has taken the high road through it all. The idea that he would condone the O.J. situation is just outrageous." [Entertainment Tonight]
• Samantha Ronson's mom, Ann Dexter Jones, says her daughter is doing great post-Lindsay Lohan. "She's really, really well," says Dexter Jones. "She's always working. But I don't pry. I'm giving her her space. She's strong and smart and with a great heart." [People]
• U2 guitarist The Edge wants to build five houses on a hill high above Malibu, but the project would require some feats of engineering and it may anger residents in the neighborhood below, such as Dick Van Dyke, Kelsey Grammer and James Cameron. [The L.A. Times]
• A judge has transferred Redmond O'Neal's two felony drug cases to a court that could send him to rehab again, but says if he sees him again he will be going to prison. [Yahoo]
• The band Fall Out Boy has been banned from appearing in Boca Raton, Florida, because of "known disturbances" associated with the band. Band manager Bob McLynn said, "I'm not sure what these ‘challenges' are that they are speaking of… The town said that if we tried to keep the show on we would have to pay an extraordinary amount of money in extra costs." [Perez Hilton]
• It's looking more and more like the LeAnn Rimes-Eddie Cibrian affair never happened. She and her husband, Dean Sheremet are both wearing their wedding bands again and when asked how the marriage is going he said: "It's all good." [Us]
• Josh Hartnett and ex-girlfriend Helena Christensen were spotted going in and out of several places yesterday, including her apartment, at different times. Are they trying to cover up a relationship? Didn't we just see him earlier today holding hands with a blonde? [TMZ]
• On a recent episode of Family Feud when the topic "What is Ellen DeGeneres best known for?" a man answered seriously, "She's known to not care for our country." Even host John O'Hurley looked freaked out. [Group News Blog]
• Jennifer Aniston is giving her mansion a $15 million renovation to add eco-friendly features like solar panels and drought-resistant plants. [The Daily Mail]
• Drew Barrymore is clearing up what's going on with her and Justin Long. "We're good friends, and we're doing a film this summer," says Drew, "and I think it's very confusing." [People]
• Oh nooes! Kim Kardashian fell asleep with huge sunglasses on and got a sunburn. She has posted a photo of the results on Twitter. [Perez Hilton]
• Rebecca Romijn gave birth to twins three months ago and Lindsay Price, her costar on the upcoming show Eastwick says, "She's the most relaxed mom I've ever seen. With twins and the demanding schedule of one-hour television, she keeps her cool. She never drops a line. She's completely present. I don't know how she does it." [People]
• This morning Billy Bush pulled out of hosting the Miss USA Pageant, and Mark Wahlberg (not he of "tell your mother I said hello" fame) stepped in, but now Bush says he's feeling better and will host Sunday's show. [TMZ]
• Watch Sarah Silverman and Isla Fisher have a fake fight in this scene from the web series Pilot Season. [People]
• You can watch the third trailer for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince here: [New York Magazine]
• NBC's version of the UK show I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! will premiere this summer. Spencer Pratt, Heidi Montag, Rod Blagojevich, and Dog the Bounty Hunter, among others, will compete against each other in the jungles of Costa Rica. [Perez Hilton]
• Michael J. Fox says he used to feel embarrassed about having Parkinson's, but, "now I feel and I say all the time that vanity is, like, long gone. I'm really free of worrying about what I look like, because it's out of my shaky hands. I don't control it. So why would I waste one second of my life worrying about it?" [Time]
• A Chelsea club owner says Jay-Z and his posse stiffed them on a $1,500 bill. [NY Post]
• Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner bought producer Brian Grazer's nine-bedroom, 14-bathroom mansion for a little under $20 million. [E!]
• Jennifer Garner says her daughter Violet has messy hair sometimes because: "Ben will do the school run. He dresses her and does her hair. It's pretty funny. You can always tell when he has been at it, just two random barrettes hanging in there. It's so sweet." [Just Jared]
• Russell Brand went on a second date with an unnamed woman, and for Russel Brand that's big news. [The Daily Mail]
• In a new ad for Aura, David Beckham is shown in a Terminator pose. [People]
• Vin Diesel denies rumors that he is gay and says he just likes to keep his private life private. "I'm not gonna put it out there on a magazine cover like some other actors," he said, "I come from the Harrison Ford, Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino code of silence." [Cotact Music]
• Arnold Schwarzenegger will recognize the charitable contributions of his True Lies costar Jamie Lee Curtis when he presents her with the Courage To Care Award at the third annual Noche De Ninos Gala. [The Daily Express]
• Hud Mellencamp, the 14-year-old son of John Mellencamp has won a division title in the Indiana Golden Gloves boxing tournament. [The Star Tribune]
• "It is kind of addictive, but at the same time pathetic," says Robert Pattinson of the internet, which feeds the worst part of your soul." [The Daily Express]
• Conservatives have taken to using the term "teabagging," when referring to their anti-Obama tea party protests. Boing Boing emailed John Waters to confirm the rumor that the term originated in one of his movies. He wrote back: "'Teabagging' is by my definition the act of dragging your testicles across your partner's forehead. In the UK it is dipping your testicles in your partner's mouth. I didn't invent the term or the act but DID introduce it to film in my movie Pecker. 'Teabagging' was a popular dance step that male go-go boys did to their customers for tips at The Atlantis, a now defunct bar in Baltimore. Hope this helps. — John Waters" [Boing Boing]

• Lindsay Lohan is reportedly pissed that Katie Holmes is on Glamour's April cover; LL was under the impression that her Madonna shot would get the cover. Insiders say that was never gonna happen. [MSNBC Scoop]

• Evidence in the Chris Brown case includes Rihanna's blood-stained Gucci gown, which she wore to Clive Davis's pre-Grammy party the night of the incident. [E!]
• And now the DA has received the case from the LAPD. [TMZ]
• Attorneys for Chris Brown are in talks with the DA's office, hoping to cop a plea deal. They're pushing for probation instead of jail time. [E!]
• Reportedly, the night of the beating, Rihanna told cops that Chris Brown had been violent toward her in the past and things were getting "more violent" as time went on. Also, there are more photos — taken the next day — where the bruising and swelling on Rihanna's face is more severe. [TMZ]
• Did Rihanna recently tell cops she won't testify? [NY Post]
• Chris Brown may be in court today. [NY Post]
• How did the paparazzi know that Chris Brown was jet skiing in Miami? Did he call the photo agency? [Page Six]
• Breaking: Mercury-poisoned Jeremy Piven seen eating tuna tartare and calamari salad. Fishy! [MSNBC]
• Reese Witherspoon is on the cover of Elle magazine, and says of beau Jake Gyllenhaal: "He's fabulous. He really is a fantastic guy. Unfortunately, he's not in the movie, so we can't really talk about him." She also talks about being a young mom: "When I first had Ava, I couldn't afford [help]. And it was so hard. I was out in Los Angeles, living [away from my family]. I really didn't have any friends. And I had a baby. No one else who was 22 had a baby. I couldn't go out." [Just Jared]
• Katherine Heigl is being a diva on the set of her latest movie, Five Killers. An insider says: "She reportedly refused to film any scenes until her pregnant assistant ran around and got her a Coke Zero. She refused to eat lunch next to anyone or have anyone speak to her once the cameras stopped rolling." [NY Daily News]
• James Franco, actor and MFA candidate, who attends NYU and Columbia simultaneously, has sold a collection of short stories to Simon & Schuster. [The Daily Beast]
• Matt Damon is preparing for his role in a film about Nelson Mandela by doing rugby training. But he plays a rugby champ, so it's okay. [Telegraph]
• Hmm, Dakota Fanning is in negotiations to play lead singer Cheri Currie in The Runaways, the biopic of the '70s all-girl band. Can you see Dakota like this? Oh, and you know Kristen Stewart is playing Joan Jett, right? [Variety]
• Benicio Del Toro met with Venezuelan prez Hugo Chavez and said he "had a good time." "He's nice," Del Toro told journalists. [Mirror]
• Chris Martin says he's given Natalie Imbruglia "the best Coldplay song of all time." This should be interesting. [The Sun]
• Russell Brand has been seen "snogging a new girl." [The Sun]
• What's this? Ivana Trump's marriage to 36-year-old "Italian stallion" Rossano Rubicondi was a contract to get publicity for both of them? You don't say. [Gatecrasher]
• An episode of the Osbournes' reality show will air on March 31 after American Idol. The network is running it as a "special" and not a series, but we may see all six episodes, eventually. Yay? [Variety]
• Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino are suing a film distributor and watch company for ads tied to their film Righteous Kill. Endorsements without consent? [Reuters]
• Liz Smith talks to Sharon Stone about her upcoming projects; apparently Stone has two flicks coming out — one with Christopher Walken; the other with Va; Kilmer and 50 Cent. Of Fiddy, Stone says: "He is smoking hot, brilliant!" [Variety]
• Nia Vardalos of My Big Fat Greek Wedding has a new flick set in Greece. Her character, Georgia, "moves on a whim to Greece, and [tour guide] is the only job she could get," she explains. "She is a history professor who is all about facts and figures," which only bores the tourists. "All they want is a T-shirt of the Parthenon." [USA Today]
• Michael Jackson lawsuit of the day: He's suing an auction house which is selling off his personal possessions. [AP]
• By the by, Michael Jackson's first show at London's O2 arena is July 9. [Fox 411]
• Sofia Coppola and John Waters were both spotted at the Armory Art Show in New York. Why they were there on a "press preview" day is questionable. [Mediabistro]
• Chris Isaak's has a show on the BIO channel, and his cohost is a dog named Rodney. "Rodney is not 'my' dog, because you can't own a living thing, OK," he says. "We're friends" — then Isaak breaks into song. [CNN]
• Jerry Hall, 52, plays an older lady toying with a younger man in her new Chanel ads, but says she wouldn't date a dude in his twenties: "They listen to such horrible music. They haven't the same references… And I find it a bit creepy if you're having sex with people the same age as your children." The ads are hot, though. [Daily Mail]
• People paid money to see a Toni Braxton show, and got a "Toni Braxton" show — the lady on stage was an impersonator. [TMZ]
• Kirk Douglas, 92, stars in a one man show. [AP]
• Johnny Depp's half-brother, Daniel Depp, a screenwriter, has just released his first book, a thriller/detective novel set in L.A. [USA Today]
• Great piece on the legendary Blake Edwards — responsible for flicks like Breakfast At Tiffany's and the original Pink Panther movie. He says: "I enjoy laughter. And I really, truly feel that if there were some way to distill it, that you could go to your local pharmacy and ask for 16 ounces of Pure Pratfall, I'd probably make it to 110. I think it's the best medicine in the world." [WSJ]
• Contrary to reports, Ed McMahon is not dead. [Perez]
• RIP Horton Foote, screenwriter of Tender Mercies and To Kill A Mockingbird. [USA Today]
• Blind item: "Which closeted jack-of-all-trades just became secretly engaged to her girlfriend? Word is, the two will wed soon in N.J." [Gatecrasher]
• "I've since found out Rihanna's got the same thing, so it's not really – I mean she's very cool – but I thought I was being original." — Lily Allen, sort of regretting her "shh" tattoo. [News.com.au]
• "I did not enter into motherhood with any sense of equanimity or grace," she adds with a laugh. "I'm surrounded by women who are much better mothers than I am, and they come to it much more naturally." — Felicity Huffman. [LA Times]
• "Meryl is really amazing and she has done some interesting stuff, but it's just she doesn't leave a lot of roles for the rest of us. It's an ongoing problem getting parts for older women." — the amazing Miranda Richardson, who is in The Young Victoria and whom you may have seen in The Phantom Of The Opera, The Hours, Harry Potter and the Goblet Of Fire or Sleepy Hollow. [Telegraph]
• "I don't think I'm a control freak. I think I'm just fearful. I operate from a lot of fear, like, of things being lost or forgotten or neglected. Losing the spiritual rather than the physical. It's so funny to me that somehow I've been portrayed as a very, like, closed-off or uptight person. I'm very open." — Reese Witherspoon, in Elle. [Just Jared]
• "It was very cool. He called and said, 'Would you mind getting on the phone with my son?' I felt like Yoda to young Skywalker." — Ralph Macchio, on speaking to Will Smith and son Jaden about their Karate Kid remake. [E!]
• "When I started Home [collection] they thought, 'who is this "Charlie's Angel" telling us about furniture and antiques?' But once you really know what you are talking about, it does not take long for people to recognize that. It is all about backing it up with knowledge. But in the business world, as a woman, you really do have to represent yourself in the proper way otherwise you won't be taken seriously." — Jaclyn Smith, on her KMart line, which is doing extremely well.
  [Reuters]
• "I'll be totally honest: That was his idea. He just sort of said, 'Hey, I'm gonna do this - I hope you're cool with it.' And I thought, 'OK, well, I mean, he's good and he's a talented guy and it wouldn't hurt having him in the movie. I suppose yeah, OK, sure.'" — Colin Hanks, on his father, Tom, playing his dad in new flick The Great Buck Howard. [WWD]

• Did Ellen DeGeneres try to trick Mariah Carey into admitting she's pregnant? Mariah was a guest on Ellen's show, and after Ellen asked and got a vague response, she busted out the champagne, saying, "You don't have to answer that. Let's just toast with champagne." Mariah got flustered and said, "I can't believe you did this to me, Ellen," and pretended to sip the bubbly. Knocked up? [Yahoo News via E!]
• Someone's not pregnant: Sarah Jessica Parker in the Sex And The City sequel. Carrie won't be having a kid. "It doesn't seem as if that's going to be a choice she'll make… Michael (Patrick King, director) and I never talk about it. That doesn't mean that won't be part of the story. We just haven't figured it out. It feels a little bit manipulative to toss that into the mix, because she seems so pointed in a different direction." [Daily Express]
• Kanye West and hot hot model Sessilee Lopez: Is it on? [The Sun]
• Madonna has hired a specialist to help her "exorcise the memories" of her ex-husband, Guy Ritchie, from her home. The technique seems to involve throwing shit away. [Mirror]
• Madonna and A-Rod are in Miami together right now, having just landed in a private jet. [TMZ]

• What's this? Even though his ex, Cynthia, claimed Rodriguez would be spending Thanksgiving with Madonna, a source says A-Rod "has been in Florida for days" and "always had every intention of spending the holiday" there with his ex-wife and daughters? [People]
• In other news, Madonna's brother is going to direct a "teen thriller" called Twist. [Hollywood Reporter]
• Britney Spears wants to go back on the road again. She and her conservators have asked the court to allow her to go on a U.S. tour next year: She'd need to make deals with backup singers, roadies, venues, ticket brokers, etc., but legally can't make any of the deals herself. [TMZ]
• Britney will be in New York next week — her album drops Tuesday, so she's hitting Good Morning America, but it's also her 27th birthday. So she'll also have a "very private circus-themed" birthday party that night. Waiting for our invitation! [Page Six]
• The chick from The Rules is offering dating advice to Jennifer Aniston. Says Sherrie Schneider, who co-wrote the infamous dating manual with Ellen Fein: "Never mention Brad's or John Mayer's name in public. Also, don't say anything bad about John, like when you said he was missing a sensitivity chip. Never talk about Angelina or call her 'uncool', even if she was uncool. She does not exist in your world. You are going to be 40 soon. You have no time to waste if you want kids." What's that eyeroll emoticon again? [Sydney Morning Herald]
• Lily Allen and Agyness Deyn got strip searched when they went to Dubai. Lily says: "I knew I didn’t have anything on me so I wasn’t worried. I wasn’t paranoid, just terrified." Agyness agrees: "It was really traumatic. It wasn’t the best experience in the world, but it is their culture and you just have to respect it." [The Sun]
• Ivanka Trump sure is fueling those rumors she might get engaged to boyfriend Jared Kushner — she's guest blogging for Brides.com the first week of December, writing about her style and her jewelry line. [WWD]
• Model Jessica Stam is dating Austin Cregg, the son of '80s pop music icon Huey Lewis. He's facing jail time for marijuana possession and scrawling graffiti. [Page Six]
• An upcoming Law & Order episode will have a young male "supermodel" die in a way that is eerily similar to the way Heath Ledger did. [Page Six]
• Ricki Lake is on Match.com. Go Ricki! [Janet Charlton's Hollywood]
• Oh no, Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem might be on the rocks: They'd agreed to take a break from movies for a year, then he took a part in a film. She wanted to adopt a baby from India because she "admires Angelina Jolie." [ONTD]
• Pete Wentz freaked out when his wife, Ashlee was about to give birth: "Right before she went into labor, I was like, 'Oh, my god, I think I'm having a heart attack,'" he says. "My heart started beating real fast. You see your wife is in all this pain. And I don't know what's happening right now. She took care of me and made sure I was okay and then went into labor. That's why she's a saint." [People]
• For the second day in a row, a story about how Reese Witherspoon totally got along with Vince Vaughn while shooting Four Christmases. "Vince is the funniest person I've ever worked with. It was a challenge for me to stay there and keep up with him." The lady doth protest too much? [Yahoo News]
• Natalie Portman doesn't understand celibacy. [Page Six]
• Roger Friedman on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: "Innovative, creative, technologically advanced… [Brad Pitt] is Gollum from Lord of the Rings meeting Robert Redford, with a better wardrobe." [Fox 411]
• Rachael Ray's Christmas will be a silent night: "I'm having voice surgery on Dec. 16, so we're going to celebrate very quietly," she says. [People]
• Are Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal's parents broke? [Page Six]
• Audrina Patridge on Heidi and Spencer's elopement: "I am surprised and not surprised at the same time." Haha, because you know that they're contractually obligated to make headlines for Us magazine? She also says: "I do think it's very romantic that they eloped." [People]
• Uh-oh, director John Waters is being sued for adding "Santa Claus is a Black Man" to his Christmas album without permission. [Daily Express]
• Tragic: You know how Kanye West's mom died after plastic surgery? Her nephew, a registered nurse, was supervising her post-surgery care and may have left her bedside to attend a baby shower — he's being investigated. [People]
• Village Voice reporter Michael Musto hit the Milk premiere party, where Marc Jacobs told him he cried and shook his leg emotionally through the whole movie. "I'm for anything gay," the designer said. "The world would be a better place if everyone was gay." "Look, around," Musto urged. "They are!" Meanwhile, Carson Kressley said: "I'm lactose-intolerant, but I loved Milk." [Village Voice]
• TMZ the TV show: Renewed. [Yahoo News]
• File under news you can't use: Katie "Jordan" Price and Peter Andre sunbathe naked; Peter has a "brown willy." [Perez Hilton]
• Carson Daly has a girlfriend? And she's pregnant? [ONTD]
• U2, Jay-Z, Coldplay and R.E.M. are among the bands contributing music to (RED)WIRE, a new download service aligned with Bono’s (PRODUCT)RED campaign. [Rolling Stone]
• Don't know much about country singer Chuck Wicks, but he is "very much in love" with Dancing With The Stars' Julianne Hough, so that's nice. [People]
• Mel Gibson, what hast thou done? A Superior Court Judge wants you to explain why a screenwriter claims he was screwed out of $10 million from the 2004 megahit The Passion Of The Christ [Yahoo News via E!]
• TV chef Gordon Ramsay has made a "groveling apology" to his wife after admitting to meeting his mistress four times. [Daily Mail]
• "There's always someone telling you not to make a movie. When I did Born on the Fourth of July, they said, 'This is going to ruin your career. What are you doing?' Suicide? I’ve committed it. There were people who didn’t want me to make Top Gun. [My character], Stauffenberg, went from saying, 'Someone should shoot that bastard' to realizing, I’m the only one who can do it. You can’t really know until you're under that kind of pressure. I'm not saying this in some chest-pounding way, but I do feel I'd have that kind of courage." — Tom Cruise, defending his Nazi movie, Valkyrie, in Details. [MSNBC Scoop]
• "We came up with the idea Bronx. We've been throwing [ideas] back and forth a while. It's kind of cool to just leave the narrative what it is. People are stoked or pissed or whatever. And you're like, you know what: I don't think anyone really has the real story." — Pete Wentz on why he named his kid Bronx Mowgli. [People]

• "She's certainly telling friends she's planning to write a book," says a source close to Sam Ronson. "It's supposed to be about her, allegedly. But come on, you know Lindsay will be all over that book. She's the only one people want to read about." But! Michael Lohan says: "She's using my daughter. People never even knew who Samantha Ronson was until she met Lindsay. She was just some L.A. DJ. And now she's writing a book? I am at wit's end with this stuff. This is not in Lindsay's best interest." Oh dear! (And for the record, the Ronsons were on the New York scene before Lindsay ever shot Parent Trap. So.) [Yahoo News, The Sun]
• Michael Lohan thinks LL is drinking again. "Samantha drinks and passes the drinks under the table to Lindsay, and behind the scenes it gets worse and worse." [MSNBC]
• Nicolette Sheridan and Michael Bolton: Splitsville! The couple has been engaged since 2006 and started dating in 1992. They broke up after five years but got back together in 2005. Tell me how am I supposed to live without you? [Yahoo News, People]
• Related: Headline of the day: "Desperately Airbrushed Housewives: Latest Publicity Pictures Contrast With Recent Real Life Shots Of Stars" [Daily Mail]
• Matthew McConaughey's mom reveals her husband, Matt's dad, died while she was having sex with him: "On Monday mornings, he and I often said goodbye by making love. One day, all of a sudden, it just happened. I knew that something was wrong, because I didn't hear anything from him. Just nothing. But it was just the best way to go!" [Page Six]

• Ow, ow, Keith Urban has a slipped disc. Now who's gonna help Nicole with the baby? [People]
• Speaking of injuries, Kelly Osbourne's black eye was the result of a kitchen cabinet that fell on her face. Stupid Swedish box store. (Kidding!) [The Sun]
• Tom Brady spent $11 million on a plot of dirt in Brentwood, CA so he can build Gisele Bundchen a house. [TMZ]
• The ratings for the fourth-season premiere of The Hills were down. But! Lauren Conrad still gets $75,000 an episode! [Yahoo News]
• Madonna had a "meltdown" over technical problems that forced the screens to go out during several songs during her concert in Nice, France. I've got the moves baby, you got the motion. If we got together, we'd be causing a commotion. [Perez Hilton]
• Oooh, some love letters from the '90s Madonna sent to then-boyfriend James Albright might get released. Some are signed "Spanky" because she liked getting smacked on the ass during sex. [Mirror]
• Liz Hurley's in St. Tropez with husband Arun Nayar and best friend/ex boyfriend Hugh Grant. Amazing that Hugh and Liz dated for 13 years and stayed friends after breaking up in 2000. [Daily Mail]
• Please click and tell me wtf is up with Hayden Panettiere's birthday suit. [The.Life Files]
• DMX cursed at his judge while in court, which the judge didn't really like. And yeah, there is video. [The.Life Files]
• Jennifer Aniston won't be having plastic surgery, except for that deviated septum operation she had so she could breathe better. But everything else is yoga, cosmic energies and karma. [ONTD]
• Shannen Doherty and Jennie Garth went to a 90210 party and mingled on opposite sides of the room, which is supposed to mean there's tension and underlying drama happening. [E!]
• A South African lady who claimed to be raising funds for an R. Kelly concert in 2005 swindled $130,000 from investors. But! She deposited the money into a bank account, and the account belongs to R. Kelly. Kelly's camp says there is no truth to these reports. [E!]
• Rosario Dawson, Jessica Alba , Eva Longoria, Fat Joe, Wilmer Valderrama and Sofia Vergara will party at Voto Latino's DNC event in Denver tonight. [Page Six]
• Rihanna is looking for a condo in L.A. for she and Chris Brown to move into, but it needs to be soundproof because they like to play their music loud. [Star]
• Pete Doherty's new autobiographical film is playing in an Austrian porn theater? [The Sun]
• This story is sooooo ridiculous. It claims that since there were rumors that Paris and Benji broke up, she decked him out "in a T-shirt with 'Obey' emblazoned on the front and parade[d] him around in front of the paparazzi, of course!" [Mirror]
• Extras from that sure to be sucktastic Tom Cruise movie Valkyrie are claiming £6million in damages after suffering broken bones, cuts and bruises while filming. The studio had better pay up! [Mirror]
• Snoop Dogg has still not been granted a visa to enter Australia for a tour. Waiting. [News.com.au]
• Kelsey Grammer is back playing Dr, Frasier Crane… In a Dr. Pepper commercial. Maybe you drink it with tossed salads and scrambled eggs? [Perez Hilton]
• Haley Joel Osment will make his Broadway debut in David Mamet's American Buffalo. I see theater people! [USA Today]
• Barbra Streisand's goddaughter threatened to kill a woman? [TMZ]
• Vanessa Minnillo says that Nick Lachey was the one who said "I love you" first in their relationship, not that you care. [People]
• There's an opera based on the movie The Fly opening in L.A. "I didn't want to remake the movie. I didn't want to rewrite the screenplay again," David Cronenberg says. "This production has a power and charisma all its own." [Reuters]
• Ben Stiller is being honored by the Museum of the Moving Image. [Reuters]
• Kenny Rogers' new CD: Available at Cracker Barrel. [Perez Hilton]
• "The doctor said the tumour was so small, he wouldn't have even noticed it except for the fact that it wasn't there on previous X-rays. I've learned that if you catch breast cancer early, the chances are overwhelmingly good that you'll be cured. So my attitude, which very much mirrored my mother's, was this wasn't a big deal." — Cynthia Nixon, speaking about the moment she learned she had breast cancer. [Daily Mail]
• "It was a pile of shit, wasn't it? I wanted to get a job in the can before my daughter was born. It was actually very pleasant for me. I didn't have much to do with Sharon Stone. And thank God because I heard she was a fucking nightmare." — David Thewlis, on making Basic Instinct 2. [ONTD]
• "My job is to not pay attention to what Tom Cruise did with the role in a similar way that Adam's is not to pay attention to what Dustin did. Is it going to be better? I'm not even thinking about that. The film came out in '88, right? I was 10. I've seen it twice in the last 20 years." — Josh Hartnett, on his stage production of Rain Man. [Telegraph]
• "I stay at 165 pounds and cook everything out of Cooking Light magazine. I only eat irresponsibly on Saturdays, which means bacon and candy. I am against [nips and tucks]. If you have bad plastic surgery, it looks like you were brought up poor, moved to LA and didn't make it. If it's good, you just look like somebody else." — John Waters. [Page Six]

The Good:
I can't really explain my love for Adam Duritz. Or for his insane suit.


Chris March gets points in my book anytime he's not wearing an outfit trimmed in human hair.


1) OMG it's David Byrne! 2) OMG it's Cindy Sherman...in Prada.


In the spirit of John Waters, I love Kathleen Turner's tacky suit.


The Bad:
I so badly want to get my hands on Debbie Harry and give her a head-to-toe makeover. Girlfriend needs to learn about Rodarte. Or Chris Benz, even! Why is she wearing such weirdly dated looks and not seeking out the best of intellectual fashion? End rant.


I want to grow up to be a crazy cat lady just Estelle Parsons.


This is not the right dress for Hairspray star Nikki Blonsky.


Dear Ricki Lake: It's not nice to steal clothes off of drag queen's backs.


Rocco DiSpirito: Looking more and more like Siegfried and Roy's lost brother every day.


The Ugly:
OK, I think John Waters looks awesome. But we all know he would be insulted if he weren't placed in this category.

[Images via Getty.]

• Victoria Beckham has been approached by Fox to host her own fashion reality TV show. Posh would travel around America — some small, "backwater" towns — finding style-challenged people, and giving them fashion make-overs. Geek to chic! [Marie Claire]
  
• Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon went to a play in New York on Sunday, but spent the whole time texting. Rude! [Page Six]
  
• Though he's been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Patrick Swayze's doctor says he "has a very limited amount of disease and he appears to be responding well to treatment thus far." [People]
  
• Demi Moore is on the cover of Bazaar and talks about her relationship with Ashton Kutcher inside: "People made such a fuss about it. You would have thought the world had never seen it before. Age wasn't what I was thinking about, but to the rest of the world it was a very big deal." [Perez Hilton]
  
• Demi's family portrait is hot. [People]

• Cosby Show alum Raven Symoné, 22: "I want to have a record label and a licensing company. I want to have a publishing company and a management company where I can launch all kinds of artists. I want to do everything. I want to be Disney." Get it girl! [LA Times]
• Terri Irwin faces a court battle over a million dollar debt at her late husband's Australia Zoo. A debt collector is suing the zoo and Terri in a case that involves an offshore bank with ties to a corrupt tax official. Messy stuff. [Times]
• Bai Ling pleaded guilty to disturbing the peace in her case regarding the theft of Star magazines and batteries. She was ordered to pay a fine of $700, and you can now go back to not thinking about her, if you want. [People ]
• Jamie Lynn Spears will be a guest star on an ABC comedy called Miss Guided, premiering March 20. Judy Greer stars in the sit com and JLS (who wasn't knocked up when she shot the show) plays a troubled student; Ashton Kutcher also guest stars. They really really really want people to watch. [People]
• Scott Weiland pleaded innocent to his DUI charge. He's free on bail and goes to court April 4. [Reuters]
• Jack Osbourne: Sings like his dad. At least when doing karaoke. [Page Six]
• Josh Kelly on those pix of he and Katherine Heigl and the moving truck: "Katherine and I are moving boxes and furniture into our new house in LA and this gang of photographers were there snapping away at us. So I say to them, 'You guys are just going to sit there taking pictures, making money while we bust our asses?'" That's when the paparazzi started lifting boxes. [Page Six]
• Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick would not have a kid if it weren't for herbal supplement Airborne, cough cough. [Page Six]
• Jeremy Piven continues to hit on women everywhere, yawn. [Page Six]
• Blind item! "Which hit show that has everyone guessing about its closeted male star also has a female co-star who plays for the home team?" [Gatecrasher]
• Blind item! "Which floundering pop star is hoping a unisex clothing line will rehab her nonexistent singing career?" [Rush & Molloy]
• The court has extended Jamie Spears' conservatorship of Britney to July 31; though it could end earlier if Brit's mental state keeps improving and stabilizes. It seems like she's in a good place, here's to hoping she keeps it up! [TMZ]
• Meanwhile, Sam Lutfi allegedly says, "I am going to call Britney to the stand so she can tell the world how I was helping her. I am innocent. I am Britney's friend and would never hurt her." Sure, sure. [MSNBC]
• Showgirls star Elizabeth Berkley will host Bravo's new show, Step It Up & Dance. But will she keep her clothes on? [TMZ]
• That boy from American Idol with the pretty pretty lips went to a school for "at-risk" kids and had "issues" or something. Wow, his lips are so pretty. [TMZ]
• Valerie Bertinelli on Eddie Van Halen's undisclosed health crisis: "I really don't think it's anybody's business." [People]
• Producer Linda Perry is suing over royalties she's owed from James Blunt's album. [Reuters]
• The True Colors Tour is coming! Cyndi Lauper, the B-52s and, um, Carson Kressley. [USA Today]
• Lily Allen won't play the Isle of Wight Festival in the UK because her new album is behind schedule. But leave her alone, she's been through a lot. [Perez Hilton]
• Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt attended the memorial service of Heidi's stepbrother yesterday; he died after slipping off of a roof and was a veteran of combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. [People]
• Dancing With The Stars' Julianne Hough, 19, will be a virgin until she gets married. She also does not drink, smoke or do drugs. Goody two-shoes. What do you do? [People]
• Sarah Ferguson, The Duchess of York, is a "fat-fighting guru" for a new TV show in the UK. She will help mere, common people with their weight issues. [BBC News]
• Jerry O'Connell will take part in a race across the Scottish Highlands. Kayaking, rappelling and that kind of stuff is involved, yet the race is sponsored by a liquor. Interesting. [UPI]
• Bruce Willis is a stoner. [Perez Hilton]
• Producers from The View are not wooing Cindy Crawford, which is too bad. [MSNBC]
• MTV won't air the new Gnarls Barkley video featuring Justin Timberlake because it could trigger an epileptic seizure. View at your own risk! [MSNBC]
• Danny Bonaduce will host a child star reality show, on VH1, which sounds healthy. Not. [UPI]
• Death threats against Daniel Radcliffe? How could anyone hate Harry Potter? [Sydney Morning Herald]
• You know John Waters' Cry-Baby is coming to Broadway, right? (I am so there.) [Page Six]

[New York, February 18. Image via INFDaily.com.]