REMEMBERING JOHNNY: Surviving band member Marky Ramone paying tribute to Johnny in a statement released Thursday. "I always admired his guitar playing," he said. "His legacy will live on in every band that has, is and always will be trying to duplicate the Ramones sound."
COURT THRILLER: Michael Jackson expected to be in court on Friday to face the mother of the teenage boy whom he's accused of molesting. The mother is set to testify as to whether she knew a private investigator was working for the popster's former lawyer, Mark Geragos. Jackson's legal team hopes her testimony could aid them in trying to suppress evidence taken in a police raid.
OFF TO THE BIG HOUSE: Martha Stewart saying Wednesday that she has asked to begin serving her five-month prison sentence as soon as possible. Stewart was convicted of obstructing a federal investigation and lying during a probe into her sale of ImClone stock in 2001.
THIS MEANS WAR: Paramount's big-budget remake of War of the Worlds and 20th Century Fox's Fantastic Four set to face off during next year's typically lucrative Fourth of July weekend. Fox has staked out Fri., July 1, while Paramount scheduled Wed., June 29, for War. Neither studio is backing down.
THEIR PREROGATIVE: Per the Hollywood Reporter, Bravo cable network ordering 10 one-hour episodes of Being Bobby Brown, a new reality series following the R&B star as he tries to get clean and revive his career. Whitney Houston and her children with Bobby Brown children will also appear.
NO STONE LEFT UNTURNED: Also per the Reporter, Abkco Records set to release The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus, a little-seen 1968 concert film, on DVD Oct. 12. To promote the release, over 50 theatrical showings will be held the night before at Regal Entertainment screens across the country.
JAMES AUTOPSY: Los Angeles coroner's office reporting Rick James' Aug. 6 death due to a heart attack brought on by at least nine drugs in his system, including crystal meth and cocaine.
YOU'RE SUED! Velocity Entertainment Group, a small L.A.-based production company, suing Mark Burnett and the other producers of NBC's The Apprentice in federal court, claiming they swiped their idea for the reality series. The peacock had no comment on the suit.
TUBB-THUMPING? Actor Jamie Foxx telling a Houston radio station that director Michael Mann has cast him as Tubbs in a big screen version of Miami Vice. No word on Crockett yet.
ENCORE APPEARANCE: TNT planning to air reruns of CBS' hit missing-persons series, Without a Trace, beginning on Sept. 27.
PREGGERS! Wilson Phillips singer Carnie Wilson and musician hubby Rob Bonfiglio expecting their first child, Entertainment Tonight reports. No word on a due date.
STORK WATCH: TV anchor Joan Lunden announcing she and hubby Jeff Konigsberg are expecting a second set of twins in early March via a surrogate.
IMAGINE THIS: Imagine, a musical about the life of the late John Lennon, will make its Broadway premiere next summer, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of his murder, according to Variety. The show will feature such songs as "Imagine," "Instant Karma," "Give Peace a Chance" and "Whatever Gets You Through the Night."
R0Y IS OK: Illusionist Roy Horn, of Siegfried & Roy fame, remains partially paralyzed following a stroke he suffered immediately following his infamous on-stage mauling last year. In an interview with Maria Shriver Wednesday night, Horn said he fainted on stage during the fateful performance and that the tiger was only trying to help him by dragging him off stage.
ROY'S VIEWS ON CATS NOT OK: Mewanwhile, animal rights group PETA plans to draw attention to NBC's Wednesday night special "Siegfried and Roy: The Miracle" Friday in New York by protesting outside of NBC's headquarters. The group claims the show was biased in favor of animal trainers like Horn.
HONORED: Warren Beatty and Elton John among six entertainers to receive the annual Kennedy Center Honors in a ceremony set to take place Dec. 5.
ON THE BEAT: Actor Traylor Howard tapped to become a series regular, replacing Bitty Schram as Tony Shalhoub's sidekick in USA's Monk. Schram exited the series last month after two-and-a-half years.
REHAB FILES: Eminem's ex, Kim Mathers, set to begin treatment for drug abuse at a Minnesota facility, according to a Michigan Corrections Department spokesman. Mathers was released from prison early in order to enter rehab.
COURT WATCH: An unidentified woman suing Anthony Anderson and Warner Bros. for $900,000 claiming the actor sexually assaulted her on the set of his TV series, All About the Andersons. Anderson, through his reps, denied the charges.
BETTER THAN VIAGRA: Playboy founder Hugh Hefner becoming on Tuesday the first inductee into the Erotic Museum of Hollywood's Hall of Fame. America's favorite bachelor also donated some artifacts to his exhibit, including a pair of pajamas, a pipe and a bunny costume.
CODE RED: Lebanon banning Dan Brown's bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code at the request of Catholic leaders who alleged it was an affront to Christianity.