Buzz Briefs: Whoopi Goldberg, Ja Rule
Whoopi Gets Oscar Apology
Whoopi Goldberg has accepted an apology from producer Gil Cates for not including her in a montage featuring Oscar hosts during Sunday's Academy Awards telecast.
Cates called her Tuesday and "talked about the fact that he had made an oversight, pure and simple. He said, 'You know I love you,'" Goldberg said Wednesday on ABC daytime talk show "The View."
Goldberg, who called Cates a "great gentleman," accepted his apology.
She said she has "moved on" since choking up on Monday's show when her fellow co-hosts discussed how she was left out of the clip.
The 52-year-old actress-comedian hosted the Oscars in 1994, 1996, 1999 and 2002.
Ja Rule Can't Share His Wealth When It Comes To Bail
State Supreme Court Justice Micki Scherer said Wednesday the rapper "put himself in the position of perhaps controlling the outcome of the case" by posting thousands of dollars in bail for the co-defendants.
"I think the potential for it is a big problem," Scherer said.
Ja Rule's lawyer said the defense will come up with separate bail packages for co-defendants Dennis Cherry and Mohamed Gamal.
Tommy Hilfiger May Head For The Hills
Southeby's International Realty said Hilfiger's gated Stone Hill estate is listed at $28 million. The 20,000-square-foot home has eight bedrooms, eight bathrooms and fieldstone walls.
There is also a swimming pool, tennis court, basketball court, lush gardens and a 2,000-bottle wine cellar.
Hilfiger has lived in Greenwich for more than 10 years.
Story: Tommy Hilfiger Goes "Transcontinental"
Bobby Brown Won't Face Cocaine Possession Charges, But Must Mentor Kids
Brown's attorney said Tuesday a Brockton District Court clerk magistrate found no probable cause to issue a criminal complaint, but recommended that Brown volunteer to mentor young people, which Brown wanted to do anyway.
Brown agreed to a year's community service and his attorney said if no other issues arise over the next year, the matter will be struck from the docket.
The case began when police responding to a disturbance at a Brockton hotel on Dec. 1. They said they found the 39-year-old Brown sitting in an SUV in the parking lot, with cocaine in his possession.
The Boston native is the former husband of singer Whitney Houston and stars in the CMT Network show "Gone Country."
Author Stephen King, John Mellencamp: An Unexpected Musical Collaboration
King, who has written numerous best-selling novels, has written the script for "Ghost Brothers of Darkland County," with music by John Mellencamp.
The play will open at Atlanta's Alliance Theatre in April 2009, with the object of getting it ready for a Broadway run.
The Alliance, which announced the project on Tuesday, described it as "a sultry Southern gothic mystery with a blues-tinged, guitar-driven score."
The story is set in the fictional town of Lake Belle Reve, Miss., and centers on the deaths in 1957 of two brothers and a young girl and the legend that grows out of the tragedy.
Peter Askin, whose New York credits include "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," will direct.
The idea for the story was Mellencamp's, and came from a story he heard years ago in his hometown of Seymour, Ind., said Alliance artistic director Susan Booth.
Co-star Testifies In John Ritter Wrongful-Death Trial
The jury in the John Ritter wrongful-death trial heard testimonials Tuesday from his TV co-star, agent, personal assistant and son, who praised the actor as a kind, loving and funny man facing a bright future at the time of his death.
"I loved John," actress Katey Sagal said, fighting back tears as she briefly testified in Superior Court.
Ritter's 28-year-old son, Jason, spoke of how much he would miss his father's advice and support as he moves forward with his own acting career.
The agent, Jessica Pilch-Samuel, said she envisioned a long career ahead for Ritter.
"He was America's darling," she said. "He would have done movie after movie. He was back and he was back in a big way."
When he died on Sept. 11, 2003, Ritter was starring in "8 Simple Rules ... for Dating My Teenage Daughter." Sagal played his wife.
Pilch-Samuel said that had the show continued she would have sought a salary of $200,000 to $250,000 per episode for Ritter.
Ritter's personal assistant, Susan Wilcox, said he was beloved by fans and "a delight to be with a kind and decent and loving man."
The testimony of the four witnesses was offered to support an enormous damage claim by Ritter's family $67 million from a cardiologist who treated him the night he died and a radiologist who administered a body scan two years earlier.
Plaintiffs' attorneys claim both doctors were negligent in failing to diagnose an enlarged aorta. Ritter ultimately died of a dissected, or torn, aorta that was misidentified as a heart attack.
The defense contends that the doctors were not at fault and gave Ritter excellent care.
The trial is in its fourth week.
Before testimony began Tuesday, jurors were introduced to Ritter's daughter, Stella, who came into court briefly. Ritter died on her fifth birthday.
The jurors were also shown notes of encouragement that Ritter sent to son Jason, who was a co-star of "Joan of Arcadia," while he was in college and for his graduations from high school and college.
"It was a great and intense relationship," the son said. "He was so much fun. I learned a lot from him. He was a great father and a great teacher."
"Guiding Light" Actors Make Some Noise At The New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange welcomed actors, Robert Bogue (A.C. Mallet), John Driscoll (Henry Cooper Bradshaw), Nicole Forester (Cassie Layne Lewis) and Gina Tognoni (Dinah Marler) to ring the opening bell in celebration of the launch of its new daytime television production model.
"Guiding Light" is breaking away from the production model that has been used in the soap opera industry for 50 years, to give the show a modern and more realistic look. This "new visual style," which premieres Friday, Feb. 29, on the CBS Television Network, will be shot more like a primetime drama or movie.
The show got rid of eight sets and will expand to 40 permanent sets. With the change in structure of the sets, there will be more of a "cinematic 360-degree filming perspective."
In addition, hand held cameras will move around with the actors, shooting them from all angles and editing will now be almost as quick as filming.
The show has adopted the town of Peapack, N.J. to shoot all of its exterior scenes, some of which have already aired. These scenes will make up 20 percent of the production.