"The Color Purple," a musical version of Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, is coming to Broadway.

Casting isn't complete, but the show will open Dec. 1 at the Broadway Theatre. Preview performances begin Oct. 25. Walker's book has been adapted by Marsha Norman, author of "'night, Mother," while the score is by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray.

"The Color Purple" will be directed by Gary Griffin, a Chicago-based director best known for his spare, small-scale productions of musicals such as "My Fair Lady" and "Pacific Overtures." Griffin also won acclaim in New York for his concert versions of vintage shows such as "The New Moon" and "Pardon My English." The choreographer is Donald Byrd.

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Hotel heiress Paris Hilton - when she wasn't stuck into the free booze and food - was so moved by Live 8 she pledged to do more to help.

The 24-year-old, who wore a bizarre black wig to remain incognito, said: "It's such a great cause, it just makes you realize how fortunate we are. I want to get more involved in this cause, so I'm going to read all the newspapers while I'm in Athens planning my wedding."

--Because you reading will help what, Paris? Will you be as moved as you were during Diddy's "Vote Or Die" campaign, where you forgot to actually vote yourself?

--Check out Rainbow Brite, I mean, Kim Stewart, in the background of the pic.

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TomKat News:

--Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes continue to annoy everyone who crosses their path. Graffiti artist Miguel Paredes rented a room in the Essex House on the same floor as the suite occupied by Tom-Kat last week.

When Paredes stopped by his room before his art show "New York Stories" at the Agora Gallery, hotel security would not allow him inside his room until the couple left for the premiere of "War of the Worlds." Paredes, who rents the room for $16,000 a month, was nearly an hour late to his show due to the holdup.

--Also, Tom Cruise and fiancee Katie Holmes are planning a Scientology wedding which will take place next month.

The War Of The Worlds actor, who has been romancing the 26-year-old actress since April, is set to tie the knot at the Scientology headquarters in Los Angeles before honeymooning on a yacht with his soon-to-be third wife, according to British newspaper the Sunday Express.

A source at the religious centre says, "Tom has encouraged Katie to embrace our faith and they have both agreed to a Scientology wedding service." Another source explains, "It has become a prerequisite of Tom's that the closest people in his life should also be Scientologists.

"He was mortified when Nicole turned her back on his faith but he is overjoyed that Katie has embraced it."

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Charlotte Church Says...

On claims that she is the new Posh Spice: “I can sing!” “I’m sorry to get the claws out — but she knows it.” “She MUST know it.”

On David Beckham: He is “too old” ... at 30.

On the comparison of her and her rugby hunk boyfriend Gavin Jenson to Posh and Becks: “Gavin’s much better looking than David Beckham. The comparison is just b******t." “We’ll never be that flamboyant.”

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Britney Spears is NOT getting naked!

The pop tart has been in talks to do a magazine cover shoot during her pregnancy, but, despite rumors, it will not be in the now infamous "naked Demi Moore Vanity Fair pose."

Spears' rep confirmed that the pregnant singer would "be the October cover girl for Elle" but that she'd be "keeping all of her clothes on."

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Wow: Tag HeuerÂ’s Diamond Fiction Watch:

Coupling the classic appeal of diamonds with cutting-edge design and technology, Tag HeuerÂ’s Diamond Fiction watch is just that. Equal parts elegant and avant-garde, the watch features a luxe red satin band dripping with 879 Top Wesselton diamonds that glow red to display the time at the touch of a fingertip.

Price has yet to be disclosed.

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Pop superstar Madonna was left red-faced after a Live 8 interview on Saturday when she swore about the unflattering lighting without realizing her comments were being broadcast live.

The Material Girl was quizzed by Britain's Radio 1 DJ Jo Whiley following her performance at the London concert.

But she was horrified to discover the cameras were already rolling when she snapped, "Can't you do anything about the f**king lighting? It's really harsh."

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Because inquiring minds wanted to know...

Late movie legend Marlon Brando's personal script from the 1972 movie The Godfather fetched a staggering $312,800 at a New York auction on Thursday - the highest amount ever paid for a film manuscript.

The annotated script - which fetched 20 times its estimated price - was part of a controversial sale of items removed from Brando's Los Angeles home. The high-profile auction at Christie's made more than $2.3 million in total, with surprising bids including $132,000 for author Mario Puzo's letter asking the actor to play gangster Don Corleone in the film.

The letter read, "Dear Mr. Brando, I wrote a book called The Godfather which has had some success and I think you're the only actor who can play the part. I know this was presumptuous of me but the best I can do by the book is try. I really think you'd be tremendous." A 44-year-old telegram from Brando to screen siren Marilyn Monroe sold for $36,000 while a photograph of the film icon and actress Rita Moreno in the 1968 movie The Night Of The Following Day fetched $48,000.

Brando's eldest son, Christian Brando, was furious about the auction, and made an unsuccessful bid to be given the items before the sale to decide which belongings his father would have wanted to keep. But Brando's other son, Miko Brando, is moved by the amount of money his late father's fans were willing to pay to own a piece of movie history: "I feel humbled by collectors and fans who have spent so freely to own a piece of my father's heritage and history." Brando died last year aged 80 leaving 11 children.

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Victoria Beckham's bad start with Snoop Dogg:

Victoria Beckham not only called him "Mr Snoopy" but also refused him the company of her husband for a night out on the town.

David and Snoop met for the first time backstage at the Live 8 gig in London and Snoop invited Becks out for a night on the lash. However, Posh was having none of it. "Look Mr Snoopy," she told the rapper. "You're not taking my husband out. I know all about your reputation."

She went on to tell The Sun: "As if I'd let David go out with him! I don't think he liked me calling him Mr Snoopy, he didn't find it very funny."

Posh is clearly keen to keep her eye on her hubby - who was overjoyed to have met the American singer. "I've wanted to meet him for ages. We got on well. I was impressed with his knowledge of football."

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Happy Anniversary, Improv:

Fifty years ago in a bar that is no longer open, a group of University of Chicago students and their friends debuted a unique style of improvised theater that challenged mainstream thinking, connected actors with their audience and raised a few laughs. Drawing from current events and audience suggestions, The Compass theater group laid the groundwork for cabaret-styled improv, spawning similar troupes across the country and at home like Chicago's trailblazing Second City.

The Compass "made it possible for people to go to a place where conventional values were challenged and the audience was not passive, they interacted," said The Compass co-founder David Shepherd, now 80. "It was groundbreaking."

On Tuesday, current University of Chicago students will honor The Compass' 50th anniversary by performing the theater's debut show in its former rehearsal space. They will act out newspaper stories, perform a scene between an unhappily married couple and their daughter, and improvise skits based on audience suggestions.

--The next time you're in Chicago, check out Second City if you haven't. It's always a great show.

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Click here for Sports Illustrated's America's 25 Most Revolutionary Athletes.

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Starting last year, Godiva branched out of typical chocolate advertising with a series of ads featuring models like Sophie Dahl, Frankie Rayder, and Anouck Lepere, all posing lovingly with chocolate morsels. The ads ran in Vogue, HarperÂ’s Bazaar, and Elle, and preceded a ValentineÂ’s Day promotion offering chocolate buyers a lotto ticket worth a potential 52 pairs of Manolo Blahniks, including one custom-designed by the man himself.

This fall, the luxury cocoa company has even bigger plans, including another stab at fashion-forward ads and a relaunch of its G Collection, officially designated as “a couture line of chocolates.” Designed by Ritz Carlton refugee Normal Love, the collection is made by hand and inspired by the style world. Offerings include a “Mexican Hot Chocolate” piece designed to mirror a Frieda Kahlo painting, a “Passion Orange” chocolate heart that compliments the eerie romanticism of Marc Jacobs’ most recent collection, and the “Palet d’Or” chocolate stamped with little Gs.

Godiva must want to mirror the high fashion world in more ways then one; its stylish “couture” pieces change every season, and retail for over $300.

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Pink popped the question to her boyfriend Carey Hart.

Pink reportedly proposed to the motocross star during the Pro 250 class finals in Mammoth, California. She held up a sign that read: "Will you marry me?" as he rode past her position in the grand stands. The Mammoth Times reports that Hart continued another lap before Pink turned the sign over and wrote: "I'm serious!"

Assured that it was no joke, Hart then pulled off the track, letting his competitors pass him, and gave his future wife a kiss. We'll take that as a "Yes.

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Grammy-winning R&B crooner Luther Vandross has died in Edison, New Jersey, at the age of 54, according to a spokesman for the John F. Kennedy Medical Center.

No cause of death was released, but spokesman Rob Cavanaugh said in a statement that Vandross "never really recovered" from a stroke two years ago.

The velvet-voiced singer of such hits as "Here and Now" had been in ill health since suffering a massive stroke on April 16, 2003, at his Manhattan home. Just months after Vandross's stroke, his 15th album, Dance with My Father, debuted at the top of the Billboard chart, making it his first No. 1 record. Vandross won four Grammys for the album, including song of the year and best male R&B vocal performance.

At the time, longtime friend Aretha Franklin told People of Vandross's easy charm: "Luther can double you over with his humor."

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No, that's not Mary-Kate or Ashley. No, that's not someone that will benefit from the money raised at Live 8 this weekend. That's Nicole "My Collarbones Could Cut Meat" Richie.

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Click here for Brit and K.Feddy's baby resgistry on Amazon.

You KNOW you want to get the little kiddie something. I think I'm going to spring for the $8.99 Deluxe Grooming Set. While I realize it's for grooming the baby, here's to hoping that mom and dad follow suit.

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Roberto CavalliÂ’s new gig: redesigning the Playboy bunny costume.

Playboy approached Cavalli to design the updated costume for the future Playboy venues at the new tower of the Palms Casino Resort & Spa in Las Vegas. Scheduled to open in early 2006, the tower will include a boutique casino and lounge, a nightclub, a retail store, and a two-story Hugh Hefner sky villa.

CavalliÂ’s will be the first reinterpretation of the costume in more than a quarter century. The bunny costume was first introduced at the original Playboy Club in Chicago in 1960, and began as a modified one-piece swimsuit with the addition of collar, cuffs, and the legendary rabbit ears and cottontail. Over time, the leg-cut became higher, a rosette with the Bunny's name was added, and the fabrics and colors enhanced. Cavalli is expected to reveal his concept later this year, which will likely be worn by select Playboy bunnies alongside the traditional bunny costume.

"The Bunny Costume has undergone only modest changes over the years, so as to maintain its identity and special character,” says Playboy Chairman and CEO Christie Hefner. “Roberto Cavalli is the perfect designer to reinterpret the magic of the original design, as he, too, embraces the good life, inspires an aspirational lifestyle for a jet-set crowd, and of course celebrates beautiful women."

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Paris Hilton wants to marry her fiance Paris Latisis in England, and has asked Prince Charles for permission to wed in St Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey or Windsor Castle.

Only members of the British royal family are allowed to tie the knot in the churches, but Hilton has her heart set on a fairy tale ceremony and has sent a begging letter to Buckingham Palace.

She says, "I've always wanted to be a princess on my big day and only a wedding in England could make that happen. "I've got my heart set on a ceremony at St Paul's or Westminster but I've had to write to the Prince to ask for a dispensation because I don't qualify. I really want to get married at Christmas though as I'd love to have snow and log snow and log fires, so Windsor is a cool back-up.

"Prince Charles got married there so it's good enough for me. I'm going to arrive in a horse and carriage. "There'll be roasted chestnuts and carol singers. Really traditional stuff.

"I'll be having parties in Miami and Los Angeles to celebrate the big event. There'll be a month of partying. "But the actual event is going to have a royal theme and London is the only place to do that. I'm the closest thing to American royalty anyway.

"It's fitting really as the Queen is married to a Greek (Prince Philip was born in Greece) and so will I be."

--Chestnuts aren't the only nuts in this scenario. And what the hell is he wearing? That ensemble is grotesque.

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Saddam Hussein is set to sue The Sun over our pictures of him in his undies.

The fallen Iraqi tyrant feels that the magazine's world-famous snaps of him in captivity infringed his human rights. He hopes to pocket £1million from the magazine

He is trying to recruit top British media lawyer David Price to help. But The Sun is ready to bite back. The magazine believes that if Saddam accuses them of violating his human rights, Saddam will be libelling them.

Sun lawyer Alex Wade said last night: “His claim is preposterous and we will defend our reputation. “We are preparing a strong case against Saddam and plan to sue for libel.”

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Recognizing that Lindsay Lohan seems to have shed plenty of weight, the concerned people at www.feedlindsay.com have called for her to munch a pie or two.

Over 3,000 fans have gone to the site to sign a petition which reads: "We urge you Lindsay to please pick up a sandwich and eat it, or ice cream, or any food that might put those oh-so-cute pounds back on."

Messages of support include: "For pizzalicous (sic) sakes, will you eat?"

"She needs a pie. with peas. & sauce."

Missey, signee #2886 says: "Sweetie, that was not "baby fat" that you lost! Wherever you lost it, you need to go back and find it."

The site also sells merchandise emblazoned with the words "Feed Lindsay" and "Eat Me".

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