Nicole Kidman (reportedly) fails to make friends at her recent Vanity Fair shoot, while Ellen Pompeo charms us crusty goss types at her L.A. Confidential do! Find out why she won't be givin' Eva Longoria a run for her over-the-top nuptials! Plus, our über-needled Blind Vice!
Overly bothered broad biz heard round the nation:
• "She was a pain in the ass," snips a quite high-up Vanity Fair worker bee heard gabbing about my fave femme, Nicole Kidman. Unfortunately, as it is my solemnly sworn duty, I must report this nasty goss about Cruise wife-unit no. 2, who just sat down for a fancy-ass shoot and cover interview—ya know, the one in which Ms. K. let the bomb drop that she was pregnant not once, but twice by T.C. And apparently, Ms. K. ain't the only hon who's makin' loopy look lamentable: "[Nicole] seemed really out of it during her photo shoot," revealed the source. Hmmm. Were you simply imagining what Camp Cruise was going to say about these never-before-spilled beans, Nic? Or is there really trouble in Nashville paradise?
And then, very mother-of-Mischa Barton-like, Nic's rep replied when I inquired about the above: "This is nonsense. All you have to do is look at the quality and tone of the photos (including the ones of Nicole with her sister and kids) to see how relaxed and open and happy the shoot was. An outrageous lie, by someone who could not possibly have been there! She has shot with Vanity Fair and Patrick Demarchelier many times in the past, and this was their best shoot together yet."
Actually, the magazine-trained fly on the wall was present. Is there a two-faced insect in the Condé Nast ointment, ya think?
• Lance Bass will not be discussing anything other than his Broadway aspirations for his new gig as Corny Collins in Hairspray in any press interviews, I'm assured. Folks who are deeply involved in this terribly important endeavor inform me L.B. wants no "gay" (their quotes, not mine) questions and no ‘N Sync inquiries. Is there a difference?
• Lauren Conrad, who, like her boob-tube nemesis Heidi Montag, lives to screw up takes ‘n' such she doesn't want used for air by jostling her mike, is reported by this site's infinitely more crusty cookie, the Answer B!tch, to make between 10,000 and 25,000 bucks per episode. Well, I'm hear to tell you that the small-screen execs I hung with recently told me it's def closer to 25, and that Ms. Cee is, apparently, about the highest-paid reality star in the biz. Heidi, Scott, Danny, Flava Flav? You all burnin' up?
• This is so like a no-brainer, but got it confirmed from the folks who actually cast these things: I'm told Britney Spears did, indeed, send out word prior to the VMAs that she wanted gals who were more normal looking for her backup babes. No stick-thin honeys were gonna make her butt look bigger! Still, didn't seem to work—not according to Britney, who, nonetheless, felt her dancers looked like calves, apparently, and she the "cow." Britney's hideous word, not mine.
L.A. Confidential mag threw a bash Tuesday night to celebrate cover girl Ellen Pompeo, and everyone from Eric Dane and Rebecca Gayheart to Sandra Oh showed up to support E-babe. The woman of the hour hit the carpet in a gray Calvin Klein number without fiancé Chris Ivery, whom she later snuggled up to, deep inside One Sunset. We asked the Grey's gal how the set is doing sans stunner Kate Walsh and insulter Isaiah Washington these days.
"They're missed, of course," Ellen began, so very politically correctly, regarding the set which so notoriously was known to treat Washington like a pariah, post T.R. Knight baiting. "But I'm very happy and very hopeful for [Walsh and Washington's] new beginnings—so to think of how it affects us is rather selfish. I just wish them the best."
Wow. Why not just say, "And I wish them so much damn success, they never come back!'" If the acting thing somehow stops working for Ms. Pee, she totally has a future in public relations. Something else you might not know about this über-svelte babe…She actually eats (or so she says).
"I do eat a lot, because it's a really long day!" she said, when another reporter asked if she has a particular Emmy-ready routine. "I go to Joan's on Third and get my Chicken Milanese and prosciutto. I do love to have a spread for all the hair and makeup people and the stylists.
Ellen also dished (kidding) she didn't have her dress picked out just yet but would make the final decision on Friday. Another thing she's not set on? A big, fancy-ass wedding anytime soon.
"They're not," she answered, when asked how nuptial plans were coming. "To me, a wedding is a piece of paper. It's just something for the press to take advantage of at this point. I don't think it's going to change how we feel about each other." How very Angelina and Brad of Ellen and Chris, no?
"Every day is like a wedding day when I wake up with him," the unusually chatty chica continued. "We just have something so special. I don't need a big dress or 400 people there to declare my love. I think we declare it every day to each other."
I, not Cristina, could puke, but let's move on:
Ellen's un-Eva Longoria-Esque attitude is actually touching, I suppose, once I hold down the bile. Also, we've heard before that Ellen's not the nicest gal, but tell you what…She totally charmed. We give her even more snaps for her answer to our final query: What's must-see TV for the gal who stars on the show that everyone and their mother TiVos?
"The James Gandolfini special that aired Saturday night about the wounded veterans coming back from Iraq," E.P. answered.
Okay, its official…she's our new favorite Grey's girl!
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, being crowd pleasers. The power couple hit a party at Morton's in Toronto to celebrate Brad's new flick on Saturday and were spotted "going table to table to greet guests." They also insisted on leaving through the front door to greet the thousand or so fans hoping for a Brangelina sighting. While inside the posh eatery, the oversnapped duo sat with Casey Affleck and Don Cheadle. On the menu was salad, filet mignon, lobster tail and delectable desserts. Question is, did Angie actually eat any of the yummy offerings? (Do not count on it.) Picking up food in more pedestrian places was…
Kerry Washington, tryin' to go incognito while getting groceries. Wild Oats Market in Santa Monica. Our shop spy was less than impressed with Kerry up close and personal. "She was in dark blue sweats, hair up and messy, no makeup," she semihissed. "Sallow skin color!" Thank heaven for makeup artists who make everyone gorgeous, right? Gals going au naturel in another city included…
Anna Kournikova, havin' a girl's night out. Redroom at Skybar Miami Beach Saturday night. The blond babe, clad in a short black dress, mixed it up with locals while flirting with the bar manager. "Stunning with little makeup," salivated our Sky source. Enrique Iglesias nowhere in sight, by the by. Maybe the breakup rumors are actually true? Strollin' solo up north was…
Famke Janssen, walking west on Spring Street through New York City with her grubbers full. She had a few bags from Papyrus in one hand and her dog's leash in the other. The X-Men vixen was in a black dress, gray sweater and black flats. "Her makeup-free skin looked dewy and glowy," according to nearby pore witnesses. Maybe Fam should tell Kerry W. what her skin-care routine is, already?
Oh! Almost forgot to fill you all in on another dubious duo makin' the red carpet rounds at the VMAs last weekend. It was none other than the poor man's Tommy Lee and Pam Anderson: Travis Barker and Shanna Moakler, hand in hand. The tumultuous twosome are now back together…for now.
"We love passionately and we fight passionately," Shanna told us of the re-re-reconciliation. "We could be fighting tomorrow," Travis added. "But right now, we're cool."
One reporter jokingly asked if they write love letters to each other on MySpace, since both of them have cyber-smack-talked each other on the site numerous times. "No, we don't talk to each other on MySpace!" Shanna insisted. "She gets really mad about my MySpace," Travis told us. "I don't even do it myself, someone does it for me."
"I'm not in his top 10, and I should be! That's a problem, right?" Shanna shot back. It sounds like a very mature relationship, doesn't it? The couple continued to give cringe-worthy answers when we asked about the craziest thing they've done in Sin City. "We had our bachelor and bachelorette parties together here, so we had some fun!" Shanna fessed. "I think we got so wasted that night we didn't even have sex," Travis added. TMI, you two!