FIRST LOOK: The News in Brief, June 21, 2006

BRIDESMAID DUTY? Naomi Watts flying into Australia Wednesday for her close friend Nicole Kidman's wedding to Keith Urban. "I'm very excited for my friend," Watts told reporters. According to the local media, Watts will also attend Kidman's bachelorette party Wednesday night. Those are some lucky male strippers.

SAY WHAT?! "Z's a little jealous, because she's still a little girl."
--Angelina Jolie on Anderson Cooper 360, revealing that 16-month-old Zahara is having trouble coping with the arrival of Shiloh Nouvel--get used to it, sister

A MUST READ: Pete Doherty's memoirs, chronicling his music career, battle with drugs and relationship with Kate Moss, will be published in March 2007, a British publishing house announced Wednesday. We're guessing this is one Oprah Winfrey's going to pass on.

NO BABY BUMP: Reese Witherspoon suing Star magazine for publishing a false story insinuating she was pregnant, claiming that her privacy was invaded and she was portrayed in a false light. Apparently, she doesn't like playing the "pregnant or fat?" game.

MAKING THE SOUL PATROL PROUD: Taylor Hicks' first single, "Do I Make You Proud," climbing to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. "Having a number one single is only the beginning," Hicks threatened, er, stated.

SOMEWHAT PREDICTABLE: A man by the name of Michael A. Johnson suing Jamie Foxx, his record labels and production company for a total of $75 million, claiming that Foxx's song "Heaven" off his album, Unpredictable is a rearranged version of Johnson's song, "One of God's Angels is AWOL," TMZ.com reports. Johnson's handwritten lawsuit, filed in March 2006, points to eight instances where he thinks Foxx borrowed lyrics from his song. It also points to the likelihood that Johnson spends a good amount of time clad in a tinfoil hat.

CHART ATTACK: Busta Rhymes topping the charts with his first album in four years, The Big Bang, on the strength of 209,000 copies sold. The Dixie Chicks holding strong at number two and AFI falling to number three.

TRIAL FILE: Janet Arvizo, the mother of the boy who accused Michael Jackson of child molestation, pleading not guilty to charges of welfare fraud and perjury. Her attorney telling reporters they hope to resolve the matter without a trial. (Guess she feels she spent enough time in court last summer.)

WIZARD OF IMAX: In a exciting announcement of pants-wetting magnitude, Warner Bros. Pictures revealing that Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix will be released simultaneously to IMAX and conventional theaters on July 13, 2007. Only 387 more days, kiddies!

DREAM A LITTLE COMEBACK DREAM: Corey Feldman and Corey Haim teaming up for a satirical reality-based comedy called The Coreys, in which they will portray fictional versions of themselves. We're thinking this is their most ambitious joint project since The Lost Boys.

AILING: Aaron Spelling recovering after suffering a stroke over the weekend, his publicist, Kevin Sasaki, said. The 83-year-old producer was never taken to the hospital and remains under his doctor's care at home, Sasaki said.

SHRINK WRAPPED: A judge appointing a psychologist to evaluate Alec Baldwin to determine whether he should have more frequent visits with Ireland, his 10-year-old daughter with Kim Basinger. Baldwin busily rehearsing his "I'm a great father" lines in preparation. Or so we'd imagine.

R-E-H-A-B: Original Village People cop Victor Willis claiming that in-custody drug rehab is helping to lift the "nightmare of drug abuse" from his life. The Macho Man, who has been behind bars since he was arrested in March, has pleaded not guilty to drug possession and false identification charges, and says his attorney will ask for his release to a residential rehab program at a hearing next month. Guess it's no fun to stay at the J-A-I-L.

BIG TICKET: The fifth annual Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival grossing $15 million, according to Billboard, making it the top-grossing music festival in the world. This year's event featured headliners Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Radiohead in a departure from the hippie-heavy fare the festival has been associated with in the past.

REMEMBERED: Billy Preston, sometimes known as the fifth Beatle, remembered at a funeral attended by hundreds Tuesday, including Little Richard, who spoke, and Joe Cocker, who performed the Preston-penned classic "You Are So Beautiful." Letters written by the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton and Paul McCartney were also read at the service. "I am deeply saddened to lose such a wonderful friend," McCartney wrote.

MAN DOWN: The Rock rupturing an Achilles tendon Monday during a football practice in preparation for his role as a professional quarterback in the upcoming movie, The Game Plan, forcing Walt Disney Pictures to put production on hold indefinitely. We can safely say this delay will not affect our plans not to see this movie.

MONKEY BUSINESS: The Artic Monkeys announcing that bass player Andy Nicholson has left the band after pulling out of a North American tour last month. It's always sad when one so young commits career suicide.

SO LONG: Dan Rather departing CBS, it was announced Tuesday by CBS News and Sports president Sean McManus. The longtime newsman's exit marks the end of a career that was besmirched by a discredited report on President George W. Bush's National Guard service, leading to his retirement from anchoring CBS Evening News, a slot soon to be filled by Katie Couric.

SMALL-SCREEN INFAMY: William Shatner, Tom Brokaw and Regis Philbin among those joining the Academy of Television Art & Sciences Hall of Fame, Academy Chairman Dick Askin announced Monday.

UNLUCKY SEVEN: Robert Evans getting divorced for the seventh time after marrying Victoria White O'Gara last August. We so didn't see this coming.

DON'T GO BREAKING MY BANK: Elton John suing the Fulton County, Georgia, tax assessors office, claiming the county overvalued his 12,000 square-foot condo by assessing it at $4.6 million. John claiming the assessment is $900,000 too high. Guess that's why they call it the dues.