Buzz Briefs: 50 Cent, Kevin Spacey

Rapper 50 Cent Settles N.Y. Visitation Issue

Rapper 50 Cent has reached a settlement with his ex-girlfriend over visitation of their 11-year-old son.

The rapper, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, will get one weekend per month with his son Marquise, as well as one month in the summer and half of each his winter and spring breaks.

Both sides say they are satisfied with the deal, which was reached Wednesday in Suffolk County Family Court in Central Islip, N.Y.

The boy and his mother, Shaniqua Tompkins, had been living in the Long Island community of Dix Hills when a fire destroyed the mansion last May. An arson investigation is ongoing.

Kevin Spacey Takes On London's Old Vic Theatre

London's Old Vic Theatre will start its 2009 season with a new American play directed by its artistic director, Kevin Spacey.

Joe Sutton's "Complicit," the story of a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist facing prosecution, opens at the Old Vic in January.

It will be followed by a revival of Brian Friel's Irish drama "Dancing at Lughnasa," starring Niamh Cusack and Andrea Corr from singing group The Corrs, according to the announcement Wednesday.

Productions of Shakespeare's "The Winter's Tale" and Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard" directed by Academy Award winner Sam Mendes will open at the Old Vic in May. The cast includes Ethan Hawke, Simon Russell Beale and Sinead Cusack.

The plays are part of the Bridge Project, a three-year collaboration between the Old Vic, New York's Brooklyn Academy of Music and Neal Street Productions, run by Mendes and Caro Newling. The double bill will run in Brooklyn from January to March, followed by an international tour.

Mendes, married to actress Kate Winslet, has directed both movies and plays. He won an Oscar for "American Beauty."

"Spamalot" & "Hairspray" Set January Closings

January is usually a pretty chilly month on Broadway. But this year, the post-holidays could be a little colder than normal. "Hairspray" and "Monty Python's Spamalot," both long-running, Tony-winning best musicals, are closing up shop.

"Spamalot," based on the film comedy "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," closes for good on Jan. 18, after 1,500 performances at the Shubert Theatre.

"Hairspray" will have had an even longer run - more than 2,600 performances - by the time it folds Jan. 4 at the Neil Simon Theatre. But the show, based on John Waters' cult movie classic, is going out with its original star, Harvey Fierstein.

Country Singer Shooter Jennings Revives Dad's Old Tunes

Nearly seven years after Waylon Jennings' death, the country singer's son Shooter Jennings has retooled some recordings they did together and released them on a new CD.

Jennings says the eight tracks on "Waylon Forever" were recorded in 1996 when he was 16 years old.

His father sings on all the songs and plays guitar on two of them. Shooter Jennings and his band, the .357s, provide the backing music.

The CD features remakes of Jennings classics such as "Waymore's Blues," a cover of Cream's "White Room" and a never-released Waylon Jennings composition called "I Found the Body."

Nicolas Cage Getting Rid Of R.I. Digs

Actor Nicolas Cage is reportedly selling a Rhode Island estate that he purchased just a little over a year ago.

Lila Delman Real Estate is listing the Gray Craig estate in Middletown for $15.9 million, which is about $200,000 more than Cage purchased it for in August 2007.

The president of the real estate firm, Melanie Delman, told the Newport Daily News that the actor enjoyed his brief stay but his schedule did not allow him to spend as much time in the area as he had hoped.

Cage had been spotted at some local eateries but did not appear at any public events.

The 24,000-square-foot home near Sachuset Beach includes 12 bedrooms and 10 full bathrooms. It sits on 26 acres next to a wildlife sanctuary.

Hilary Duff Supports Needy Children

Hilary Duff visited a Fort Wayne elementary school to promote a program to help feed needy students.

Duff, star of the Disney TV show "Lizzie McGuire" and the movie "Cheaper By the Dozen," visited South Wayne Elementary School on Tuesday to publicize Blessings in a Backpack, a program that gives backpacks filled with food to low-income students so they can eat on the weekend.

"I feel lucky enough to have a voice or a name that people might pay attention to," said Duff, 21. "I think that people might not be aware that a couple neighborhoods away, kids aren't having food on the weekends, and we just want people to be informed and to know what's going on in their communities and to help if they can."

Terrence Howard: "Iron Man" Replacement Caught Him Off Guard

Terrence Howard says was surprised to learn that Don Cheadle would replace him in "Iron Man 2."

"It was the surprise of a lifetime," the actor and musician told National Public Radio on Tuesday. "There was no explanation, (the contract) just up and vanished."

Howard said he read news reports that money was the issue, saying the contracts he signs apparently "aren't worth the paper that they're printed on sometimes."

Cheadle assumes the role of James Rhodes, a character that becomes Iron Man's sidekick War Machine in the comics, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Robert Downey Jr. will reprise his role as weapons mogul Tony Stark.

Howard, who also starred in "Hustle & Flow," is promoting his new album "Shine Through It."

Sumner Redstone Files For Divorce

Court documents show that entertainment mogul Sumner Redstone has filed for divorce from his wife of five years.

The 85-year-old executive chairman of CBS and Viacom petitioned for divorce Friday. The documents say Redstone and his wife, 46-year-old Paula Fortunato Redstone, already have a settlement agreement.

According to the papers, the couple married in April 2003 and have no children. Redstone's declaration cited "irreconcilable differences" but provided no further details.

Redstone's theater chain, National Amusements, moved last week to sell some of its nonvoting shares in both CBS and Viacom, saying the stock market put some of its debts at risk.

Forbes magazine calculated Redstone's wealth at $7.6 billion in 2007.

No Language Barrier For Actor/Director John Malkovich

John Malkovich knows the play "The Good Canary" inside and out. In fact, he can direct it in three different languages.

After tackling a French version in Paris, Malkovich takes on a Spanish version of writer Zach Helm's tale of a frustrated writer struggling with his wife's addiction to amphetamines.

Never mind that Malkovich, of "Burn After Reading," isn't fluent in either language.

Mexican actor Diego Luna said Tuesday in a news conference that Malkovich could direct "The Good Canary" in any language because he understands the play so well.

Luna, of "The Terminal" and "Y Tu Mama Tambien," interprets the play's lead character, writer Jack Parker.

The play opens Nov. 26 for 10 weeks in Mexico City's Teatro Insurgentes.

"Die Hard" Director Can Change Plea In Hollywood Wire Tapping Case

"Die Hard" director John McTiernan will have a chance to withdraw his guilty plea in a Hollywood wiretapping case that got him sentenced to four months in federal prison.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ordered a new hearing on McTiernan's motion, which a judge rejected last year.

McTiernan, who's free on bail, pleaded guilty to charges of lying to the FBI about his association with disgraced private eye Anthony Pellicano.

Pellicano was convicted of bugging phones of celebrities and others to get information for his clients.

McTiernan, who's admitted he paid Pellicano to conduct an illegal wiretap, argued that he had inadequate legal representation when he made the plea.

McTiernan has directed such hit movies as "Die Hard" and "The Thomas Crown Affair."