Buzz Briefs: Gene Simmons, Katie Holmes
Gene Simmons To Judge Reality Show
Rocker Gene Simmons has been tapped to judge "Jingles," a new competition reality series seeking the next great jingle composer. Each week, contestants will be challenged to write and perform jingles about anything from food and health to fight songs and TV themes. The winner will be awarded $100,000 and an advertising contract.
Joining Simmons on the judging panel will be marketing gurus Linda Kaplan Thaler and Julie Roehm.
The show, from executive producer Mark Burnett, is currently in production and will premiere later this year on the CBS Television Network.
Katie Holmes To Appear On ABC's "Eli Stone"
Katie Holmes is coming back to TV - and yes, there's a "Dawson's Creek" connection.
The actress and wife of Tom Cruise will guest star as a nonprofit attorney in one episode of the legal dramedy "Eli Stone," ABC publicist Aime Wolfe told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Entertainment Weekly reported Wednesday on its Web site that Holmes was to appear in the show's second season this fall. That means the 29-year-old star will work again with show creator Greg Berlanti, who was a writer-producer for the teen drama "Dawson's Creek," which starred Holmes as tomboy Joey Potter.
Holmes will make her Broadway debut Sept. 18 in a revival of Arthur Miller's "All My Sons."
The production, which also stars John Lithgow, Dianne Wiest and Patrick Wilson, officially opens Oct. 16 at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre for a limited engagement through Jan. 11.
Rehab For Rolling Stones' Ronnie Wood
Ronnie Wood entered a rehabilitation facility Wednesday for help with alcoholism, said a spokeswoman for the Rolling Stones guitarist.
"Following Ronnie's continued battle with alcohol he has entered a period of rehab," the spokeswoman said on condition of anonymity as required by her agency. "His close family and friends say he is seeking help and look forward to his recovery."
Wood, 61, has fought a long battle with alcoholism during his rock 'n' roll career, which started in the 1960s when he played with the band The Faces.
His spokeswoman didn't release any details about the treatment he will receive or the clinic that he entered.
The craggy guitarist had seemed to be in good health in recent years. He has developed a strong second career as an artist, selling his paintings at some of London's respected art galleries.
But he has been the focus of feverish recent newspaper reports about his resuming drinking.
Andy Dick Pinched On Drug, Sex Charges
Comedian Andy Dick has been arrested in California for investigation of drug use and sexual battery.
The Sheriff's Department says Dick, 42, was arrested shortly before 2 a.m. Wednesday in the parking lot near the Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar in Murrieta. Details were not released.
The former co-star of the TV sitcom "NewsRadio" is being held on $5,000 bail.
In 1999, Dick was arrested for possession of cocaine and marijuana after driving his car into a telephone pole in Hollywood.
Last year, he was cited in Columbus, Ohio, for urinating in public.
Writer Revises "Passion" Lawsuit Against Mel Gibson
A screenwriter's lawsuit seeking higher payments from Mel Gibson and others for "The Passion of the Christ" has just completed its first edit.
The suit was originally filed in February. A judge ordered attorneys for screenwriter Benedict Fitzgerald to rewrite the complaint last month, saying it lacked specificity and seemed to take a "chain letter" approach.
Fitzgerald's lawyers filed their rewrite Monday against Gibson, Icon Productions, Marquis Films and others over payments for the screenplay. The suit seeks at least $10 million, claiming that Gibson and others vastly understated the budget for the 2004 blockbuster.
Fitzgerald claims the result is that he was underpaid for his work on the film, which he says began in 2001. His suit also claims that Gibson told him the actor didn't want to make any money off the film because he considered it "a personal gift to his faith."
Natalie Cole Diagnosed With Hepatitis C
Grammy-winning singer Natalie Cole has been diagnosed with Hepatitis C, her publicist said in a statement Wednesday. The liver disease is spread through contact with infected blood and was likely caused by her drug use years ago.
"I've been so fortunate to have learned so much from my past experiences," said Cole. "I am embraced by the love and support of my family and friends; I am committed to my belief in myself and in my abiding faith to meet this challenge with a heartfelt optimism and determination. This is how I intend to deal with this current challenge in my life."
Dr. Graham Woolf, Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at UCLA/Cedars Sinai Medical Center, said that Cole has had a "terrific response to her medication and is now virus negative."
"This gives her an increased chance of cure," he said. "But, she has also suffered significant side effects from the anti-viral medicine, which is the only FDA authorized treatment for hepatitis C. Her side effects include fatigue, muscle aches and dehydration but she is recovering from these."
Cole, 58, the daughter of jazz legend Nat King Cole, has sold millions of records over her long career. She is due to release her new album, "Still Unforgettable," in September.
End Of The Crime For William Petersen
William Petersen is leaving "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," a move that might have fans of his brainy crimebuster Gil Grissom screaming bloody murder.
Petersen has agreed to return for occasional guest appearances and will remain a "CSI" executive producer but his run as an original cast member will end this coming season, executive producers Carol Mendelsohn and Naren Shankar said Tuesday.
The air date for his final episode, the season's 10th, has yet to be determined but probably will be at the beginning of 2009. The decision to leave was Petersen's, the producers said.
A new male investigator will join "CSI," a role that has yet to be cast.
The producers were mum about specific plot points but said that Grissom will be reappraising his life after years of high-tech forensics investigations with the Las Vegas Police Department and after facing personal turmoil.
"We're talking about a man who has suffered a great deal of loss recently. ... A man thinking about the next phase of his life. Whoever comes in and joins the team after Grissom is going to be a different guy. But the nature of the show and what fans get out of it, that's not going to change," Shankar said.
Susan Sarandon And Tim Robbins Against Hospital Development In The Village
Actors Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins say they oppose a huge hospital development in Manhattan's historic Greenwich Village.
The two actors live a block from the hospital. They took turns yesterday commenting during a six-hour public hearing of the Landmarks Preservation Commission on plans for an extensive upgrade to Saint Vincent's Hospital.
Bo Derek Named To Board Overseeing Bets On Horse Racing In California
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger named actress and animal rights activist Bo Derek to a California state commission overseeing horse racing on Tuesday.
Derek, 51, was appointed to fill one of two vacant posts on the California Horse Racing Board, a position that requires confirmation by the state Senate and pays $100 per diem.
Derek is a horse lover who has lobbied Congress for the past five years to ban the slaughter of the animals. She also owns the pet care products company Bless the Beasts and wrote the book "Riding Lessons: Everything That Matters in Life I Learned from Horses." Her Web site said the autobiography links her life lessons with her understanding of horses.
Her first board meeting will be Thursday at the Del Mar racetrack. She joins Jerry Moss, the co-founder of A&M Records and a prominent horse owner, on the board. Also appointed was writer and TV producer David Israel.
Boy Band Promoter Ordered To Repay Fraud Victims
Former boy band promoter Lou Pearlman was ordered by a federal judge on Wednesday to repay victims of his decades-long investment fraud at least $300 million in restitution.
It's unclear whether the creator of the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync will be able to raise those funds while behind bars. He's serving a 25-year sentence on federal fraud charges.
Prosecutors also wanted U.S District Judge G. Kendall Sharpe to tack on interest, making the repayment $424 million.
Pearlman's defense says that's unfair because the money was never invested. The judge said he'd make a decision after Pearlman returns at least some of the principal.
So far investigators have recovered few assets remaining from Pearlman's former entertainment empire.