Fulfilling a need that probably doesn't exist, "ESPN Hollywood" offers a new fluffy, fast-paced simulated newscast bursting with reports on the ever-widening intersection between the worlds of sports and show business.

What can you expect to see? Monday's premiere led off with an interview with Shaquille O'Neal in which, among other things, the famed basketball center and star of such noted pictures as bombs as "Steel" and "Kazaam," reports that he continues to get loads of offers to do movies, "but I'm waiting for the right role."

Then there was a segment on the celebs at Sunday's Teen Choice Awards, with the focus on tennis' Anna Kournikova. Then there was the feature on New England Patriots QB Tom Brady, keyed to his appearance in and on a new issue of GQ. Brady apparently was not available for an interview so the GQ writer had to suffice.

The show gave the daily list of sports celeb birthdays, including Ben Affleck's 33rd, included because he is a Red Sox fan.

Andrews and co-host Mario Lopez are great at smiling and speaking in tones that suggest what's being said is important. They pack lots of pseudo-news nuggets into the broadcast, and the show looks slick enough to have been cloned from "Entertainment Tonight" or "Access Hollywood." So if you've got a yen for mental cotton candy, there's a new dealer in town.

--It's like the G2 meets MP&S!

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ThereÂ’s Pepsi One and Pepsi Lime, and now thereÂ’s a new line of Pepsi clothes.

Launching this fall by the Joester Loria Group, the line claims it’s “refreshing” the brand with a new series of vintage-inspired apparel and accessories.
The line was inspired by old Pepsi advertisements and logos, including a string of 1960s and 1970s ads with a racecar aesthetic. Accordingly, the new collection includes striped polo shirts in faded colors with Pepsi patches sewn on the sleeves and chest, plus boy-cut underwear with vintage Pepsi logos and pinup advertisements on the back. The line also includes sleepwear and Pepsi-Cola jeans.

Because soda-inspired products make great gifts, the clothing collection is set to debut for the holiday season at Delia*s and JCPenney, which unlike WalMart or Target, doesnÂ’t sell soda alongside its clothing.

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1 I like the vintage look but on my underpants? I don't think so.

Posted by: Nanc' at August 17, 2005 08:41 AM (Ailrt)

2 Pepsi panties? I say thee: Yea!... (I can't believe they're trying so hard to get me back from Coke...)

Posted by: LDH at August 17, 2005 11:19 AM (bqPDz)

3 I like the Pepsi panties. I could always ask my guy if he is thirsty and if he says he is then i will tell him to have a sip or two. LMAO Just being silly.

Posted by: mae at August 17, 2005 10:23 PM (pFvA5)

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Bourbon Congratulations! You're 130 proof, with specific scores in beer (60) , wine (83), and liquor (7 .

Screw all that namby-pamby chick stuff, you're going straight for the bottle and a shot glass! It'll take more than a few shots of Wild Turkey or 99 Bananas before you start seeing pink elephants. You know how to handle your alcohol, and yourself at parties.

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He plays a member of the White House in the hit comedy 'The Wedding Crashers,' but is actor Christopher Walken aiming to take over George W. Bush's job in 2008?

An Internet rumor that Walken plans to run for president has been circulating -- a Web site for his "campaign" has even been set up at www.walken2008.com -- but a rep for the actor says the story is false. "It's one-hundred percent not true," says the rep.

The faux-Web site claims to quote Walken as saying, "It's time to get America back on track." According to the rep, "[It] sounds like someone got a little too excited over his role as Secretary of the Treasury in 'The Wedding Crashers' and now they want to make him president."

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Angelina Jolie and noted economist Dr. Jeffrey Sachs are taking a trip to Kenya to deal with issues of poverty and to inspire young people to take action.

Their journey is being documented for a Sept. 14 MTV special, The Diary Of Angelina Jolie & Dr. Jeffrey Sachs in Africa, the music cable network has announced. The 30-minute program will follow the actress and Sachs on their trip to Sauri, a remote group of villages in Western Kenya. There, Sachs's United Nations Millennium Project team is working with mothers, children, teachers, health workers and village elders to end poverty, hunger and disease, MTV says in its statement.

The special's airdate will coincide with the opening of the U.N. Special Summit on the Millennium Development Goals, which in 2000 were adopted by nearly 200 world leaders to reduce extreme poverty, disease, and hunger by 2015.

"We are at a unique threshold in human history, where the crisis we face in Africa is matched only by our degree of hope that we can and will be a force for positive change," Jolie, 30, says in a statement. "I'm certain the stories in this special will inspire viewers the same way these experiences have inspired me, and I'm hopeful that increased awareness of the issues in Africa will bring about a new wave of progress and activism among young people everywhere."

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Though the pregnancy rumors that spread earlier this year were largely denied or ignored by the parties involved, Demi Moore suggests that her relationship with Ashton Kutcher could easily accommodate marriage and kids.

"It's right in there with everything we would like to share with one another and with others," Moore, 42, says in an interview with Harper's Bazaar for its September issue.

"The next phase? The growth of my partnership with Ashton. The growth of our union. The growth of our family ... which is all the things we truly desire ... to expand our family," she says.

Moore says a good night with Kutcher is spent "sharing a bath with one another and watching Court TV. Snuggling up naked."

Asked if the two plan to wed, the Charlie's Angels star says, "I feel that we are and that we don't need something formal, so to do so isn't a big deal one way or the other. It's not like we're holding out." Whether they marry soon or not, Moore says that she and Kutcher are meant to be together. "You talk about meeting your soul mate," Moore tells Harper's Bazaar. "I truly feel I have been given that gift. And believe me, I wasn't some lightweight package. I'm, like, the package that didn't just come with luggage – I had trunks."

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Madonna has rejected an offer to star in her own Las Vegas show.

The singer, who celebrates her 47th birthday today, was reportedly offered $150 million to appear at a leading Vegas casino.

The singer declined the offer from Jack Wishna, one of the biggest deal makers on the Strip, according to the New York Post.

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Anna Nicole Smith is devastated after discovering her 19-year-old son Daniel wants to move out of the family home.

Despite his age, the pair have a close bond and Anna Nicole still kisses him good night every night. So shes struggling to come to terms with the news he wants to go away to college. She writes in her column for the National Enquirer, "Daniel has told me that he might want to move out of the house for college. I am completely devastated - the tears wont stop falling."

"You have to understand, my relationship with my baby is special. I was only 17 when he was born, and it's an understatement to say I've been through a lot since then. "Through all my ups and downs, Daniel is the only person who has been with me the whole time. We've gone through everything together. He's my rock.

"We really have grown up together. Many times in my life Daniel has been my reason for living. "I cant imagine not being able to kiss him goodnight before I go to bed. But he's 19 and Ill support him in whatever he decides - because, when it comes down to it, I only want the best for him."

--God, do you blame the kid? Run, Daniel, run.

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Ashlee Simpson is ready to return to the scene of the crime.
She is in talks with "Saturday Night Live" to host and perform on the show in October, close to the release date of her sophomore album, "I Am Me."

"It's not confirmed yet, but I want to do it," she told Billboard in her first interview about the new album. "I've battled those demons. I'm ready to go back out and do it again."

Lest anyone has forgotten, Simpson, in support of her first CD, "Autobiography" — which bowed at No. 1 last year and has sold 2.9 million copies — appeared on the show last October. As she prepared to sing her second song, a prerecorded vocal track of her first performance erroneously began playing, revealing that she had been lip-syncing.

Simpson, who said she had to use prerecorded vocals because her acid reflux had left her unable to sing, was pilloried for passing off her performance as live. Not surprisingly, that event and the aftermath found their way onto the new album. Two songs make reference to the embarassing gaffe.

"I've obviously fallen on my face before in front of a bunch of people but I've learned it's a beautiful thing and it's OK for people to be broken" she says.

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Jimi Hendrix might have stayed in the Army. He might have been sent to Vietnam. Instead, he pretended he was gay.

And with that, he was discharged from the 101st Airborne in 1962, launching a musical career that would redefine the guitar, leave other rock heroes of the day speechless and culminate with his headlining performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Woodstock in 1969.

Hendrix's subterfuge, contained in his military medical records, is revealed for the first time in Charles R. Cross' new biography, "Room Full of Mirrors." Publicly, Hendrix always claimed he was discharged after breaking his ankle on a parachute jump, but his medical records do not mention such an injury.

In regular visits to the base psychiatrist at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, in spring 1962, Hendrix complained that he was in love with one of his squad mates and that he had become addicted to masturbating, Cross writes. Finally, Capt. John Halbert recommended him for discharge, citing his "homosexual tendencies" -- four years before Arlo Guthrie suggested that path for avoiding military service in the protest song "Alice's Restaurant."

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Lions Gate Films is holding a talent search contest to promote the film Undiscovered.

The movie, which follows a group of aspiring entertainers as they cross paths and try to establish careers in L.A., is singer Ashlee Simpson's first foray into feature films.

The top winners of the talent search will win a walk-on role in an upcoming Lions Gate film, a trip to a Lions Gate premiere, the chance to record your song from Undiscovered and a $25k scholarship to music school. To enter, visit the movie web site at http://www.undiscoveredfilm.com.

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Christie Brinkley was a supermodel before there was such a word, and a large part of her popularity came through 20 years of CoverGirl ads. When the company approached her earlier this year to rekindle their relationship, Brinkley didn't blink.

"After all, it's fun work if you can get it," says Brinkley, who spent a day romping on the beach with her horse, dog and her two younger children, daughter Sailor, 7, and son Jack, 10, with the cameras rolling for the TV and print ads that break this week.

"We've been having a ball today. It's like a time warp. It's as if those 10 years between never happened," she says by cell phone from the shoot in the Hamptons on New York's Long Island.

Of course, what is different is that Brinkley is now 51 and she's pitching a line called Advanced Radiance, makeup intended for women 30 and older. "There is such an age phobia in this country and this ad is showing me being comfortable with the age I am. I think it's a good positive image, something you don't see enough of. ... CoverGirl is making an effort to show a wide range of beauty - different ethnicities and age groups," she says.

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The Game will make his acting debut in a new urban action thriller called Waist Deep.

The rapper will star as the lead of a vicious criminal gang in the movie to be directed by Vonde Curtis Hall who made Mariah Carey's 2002 flop movie Glitter.

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Hugh Jackman has reportedly turned down the chance to be the next James Bond.

The Melbourne Age says the Australian refused the chance to play 007 in the next three Bond films. Jackman, who was reportedly the frontrunner for the role, turned it down after talking with wife Deborah-Lee Furness.

He reportedly didn't feel he needed to play Bond in order to boost his already high profile career.

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Jazz crooner Harry Connick Jr. and "The Pajama Game," one of the musical theater's biggest hits of the 1950s, will be back on Broadway next year.

The musical will open March 2 at the American Airlines Theatre as part of the Roundabout Theatre Company's 40th anniversary season, spokesman Matt Polk said Monday. Preview performances begin Jan. 27.

Connick, a pianist, singer and bandleader best known these days for his role as the duplicitous Dr. Leo Markus on television's "Will & Grace," will play the role originated in 1954 by John Raitt. The production is scheduled for a 20-week run, ending June 18.

"The Pajama Game," which has a score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, tells the story of labor unrest in an Iowa pajama factory and the romantic involvement between the plant supervisor (the role Connick will play) and a union activist, portrayed in the original by Janis Paige.

The score for "The Pajama Game" includes hits such as "Hey There," "Small Talk," "Steam Heat" and "Hernando's Hideaway." The original book by George Abbott and Richard Bissell will be revised by Peter Ackerman.

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Target has “purchased” the entire August 15-22 issue of The New Yorker, meaning that only the mass retailer’s advertisements will run in the magazine’s pages.

This is the first time a single advertiser has commanded an entire single issue since the publication was founded 80 years ago in 1925. Companies like Gap, Tiffany & Co., Louis Vuitton, and Gucci under Tom Ford have wholly sponsored previous editions of Visionaire while covers of its sister publication, V, in the past have been dedicated to heavy advertisers like Dior, Burberry, and Adidas.

But what connection does Target have with the readership of The New Yorker, which boasts a median age of 48 and median household income of $81,000? To visualize the collaboration and maintain the magazineÂ’s mix of humor and investigative reporting, Target recruited artists and illustrators such as Milton Glaser, Gary Baseman, Ruben Toledo, Robert Risko, Yuko Shimizu, Andre Dubois, and Melinda Beck to create one-of-a-kind advertising/art images that will be exclusive to this issue.

To launch and celebrate the issue, Target and David Carey, the magazine’s vice president and publisher, are hosting a barbecue at the home of Katharina Otto and Nathan Bernstein on Sunday to honor the chairmen of the Watermill Center summer benefit. The dress code? Trés chic red and white, but of course.

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Flowers and an apology? It almost sounds like a boyfriend trying to get out of the doghouse. But, in this case it's Rod Stewart's daughter, Kimberly, trying to make amends to Jennifer Aniston.

Stewart tells "Access Hollywood" that she regrets calling Aniston "homely" during an interview with Blender magazine. In that interview, Stewart is quoted as saying about Aniston, "I like her 'cause she's, you know, homely."

Stewart goes on to say that Aniston has to have something else going for her because "it's not like she's gorgeous or anything."

Stewart says she learned of Aniston's hurt feelings by reading Aniston's revealing interview with Vanity Fair. Aniston says reading Stewart's opinion of her literally ruined her night. She says "I got my feelings very hurt."

Stewart says she feels "awful." She says "it was just one of those things you say and then you bite your tongue."

--Oh, and she thinks she's cute? Gross!

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Paris Hilton has split with her teacup Chihuahua, Tinkerbell.

The miniature mutt has been callously replaced with a smaller version called Bambi.

"[Paris] only likes them when they're very small, and Tinkerbell got too big," a pal told New York Magazine.

The former A-list animal companion has been sent to live with Hilton's mother, Kathy. While comparable canines usually cost between $2,000 and $3,000, Tinkerbell's bloodline commands upwards of $10,000.

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Madonna has persuaded Britney Spears to donate $32,000 to leaders of Kabbalah - so the star's unborn baby will be accepted into the controversial religion.

The 23-year-old singer is due to give birth next month and donated money to Spirituality for Kids- a Kabbalah club for children - at her mentor's request.

A source tells British newspaper The Daily Mirror, "Britney made the charity donation last month. "Madonna suggested Spirituality For Kids because she thinks it's amazing. "She has told her that introducing her baby to Kabbalah as soon as possible will be greatly beneficial to everyone involved in the child's upbringing. "She thinks Madonna's a great role model and would never question her advice."

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She penned her own life story Learning To Fly while still in her twenties, but Victoria Beckham claims she hates reading books.

In a leaked interview from Spanish magazine Chic, Posh admitted she has never read a book.

And presumably that must mean she hasn't bothered to plough through hubby David's two autobiographies, or indeed her own book, committed to print by writer Michael Joseph. "I haven't read a book in my life," she told the magazine. "I haven't got enough time. I prefer to listen to music, although I do love fashion magazines."

She also did spoke out about her desire for a baby girl. "I can imagine myself painting her nails, helping her with her make-up, choosing clothes with her," she daydreamed.

--Oh, like this is surprising.

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