Celebrity Scoop

Denzel Washington says his role in the medical-system drama "John Q" made him aware of how many people don't have adequate health insurance. Washington plays John Q. Archibald, a factory worker who takes hostages in a hospital emergency room when his insurance won't pay for his son's heart transplant. "I was amazed at how many people fall into that slot," the 47-year-old actor told reporters. The actor said he had no trouble playing a blue-collar worker. "I worked in a factory before. And I was a garbage man. And worked in the post office before, so I remember, it's not so long ago. I've still got my unemployment book. So you kind of tap into that. And I like to think I'm closer to that kind of a character. I'm just a regular guy as far as I'm concerned."

Britney Spears says Anson Mount, her "Crossroads" love interest, made her first movie kiss comfortable. "Having all the cameras around me at first was ... kind of nerve-racking but ... he made me feel comfortable and it was totally fine," the 20-year-old pop star told reporters. "He was a
sweetheart." Spears said she and her real-life sweetheart, Justin Timberlake of 'N Sync, realize they can't be jealous when the other kisses someone else in a music video or film. "That's a part of what we do. And I accept that. ... It's just acting," she said.

Susan Sarandon gushes about her latest co-star, saying Eva Amurri is beautiful and talented. But what else would you expect from a mother? Sarandon and 17-year-old Eva Amurri play mother and daughter in "The Banger Sisters," also starring Goldie Hawn, which is scheduled for release later this year. "I didn't give her any acting advice," Sarandon told The Associated Press. She did, however, help direct Eva when it came to finding an agent and dealing with the business side of Hollywood. "It's the only time I knew anything that she didn't already know," Sarandon said with a laugh. Eva is Sarandon's daughter with Italian director Franco Amurri. Sarandon also has two sons with longtime partner Tim Robbins.

Scottish actor Ewan McGregor has written to the U.S. government to plead for the release of seven Arctic polar bears he claims are being treated poorly at a circus in Puerto Rico. In an open letter to Interior Secretary Gale Norton recently and written on behalf of the British-based charity People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, McGregor asked for the animals to be removed from a traveling circus in Puerto Rico. He became interested in polar bears last year when he was asked to host a British Broadcasting Corp. documentary on polar bears in Canada. The 30-year-old co-star of "Black Hawk Down" and "Moulin Rouge" wants the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to place the bears in an accredited zoo in the United States.

Brandy's latest production will be her most important yet - she's going to be a mother. A spokeswoman for Brandy confirmed recently that the singer-actress is pregnant. The baby is due sometime in July. Earlier this month, the 23-year-old admitted that she secretly wed producer Robert Smith last summer. Her latest album, "Full Moon," will be released next month. Her new single "What About Us?" is already a top 10 hit.

She may live in Manhattan and belt out "New York, New York," but Liza Minnelli is basically a hometown girl. Minnelli, who grew up on the movie sets of her parents, Judy Garland and Vincente Minnelli, returned to Hollywood on recently for a star-filled dinner at the Mondrian Hotel, saluting her engagement to concert producer David Gest. Stars who attended included Eva Marie Saint, Rhonda Fleming, Barbara Rush, Robert Goulet, and comics Red Buttons and Rodney Dangerfield. Elizabeth Taylor, co-maid of honor with Marisa Berenson in the March 16 wedding, and Michael Jackson, who will give away the bride with his brother Tito, were no shows.