Names in the News

Jan 06, 08:00 PM

"My meeting with Britney and some family members this morning in her room at Cedars leaves me convinced more than ever that she is in dire need of both medical and psychological intervention," he said in a statement.

"She was released moments before my arrival and was packing when I entered the room," the doctor adds, according to Usmagazine.com. "We visited for about an hour before I walked with her to her car. I am very concerned for her."

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LATE-NIGHT TV? BE MY GUEST

Jay Leno and Jimmy Kimmel will solve the problem of booking guests during the writers' strike by appearing on each other's show.

The swap comes Thursday, with Kimmel traveling to Leno's studio in Burbank, Calif., and Leno returning the favor in Hollywood.

"There are only a few people in the world that know how tough this job is," Leno said Sunday. "Jimmy is one of them."

Joked Kimmel: "If Jay and I can come together and guest on each other's shows, then surely there is hope for peace in the Middle East."

Both men's programs returned to the air last week without writers. The Screen Actors Guild has encouraged its members to appear on David Letterman's "Late Show" and Craig Ferguson's "Late Late Show," where writers have gone back to work.

Besides Kimmel, Leno's only other announced future guest is Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul. "Jimmy Kimmel Live" will feature Kathy Griffin and Scott Baio on Monday night, and the rock band Velvet Revolver.

Without such booking problems, Letterman has lined up actors Tom Hanks, Lucy Liu and Morgan Freeman for shows this week.

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UNITED ARTISTS NEARS ACCORD WITH WRITERS

United Artists, the independent production unit of MGM controlled by actor Tom Cruise and his producer partner, Paula Wagner, is expected to become the first movie company to reach an interim agreement with the Writers Guild of America, according to the Los Angeles Times.

United Artists is a relatively small player in Hollywood, and the deal is not expected to have much effect on the larger dispute that has roiled the film and TV industry since December.

The company's debut film, "Lions for Lambs," a political drama directed by Robert Redford and starring Redford, Cruise and Meryl Streep, bombed at the U.S. box office last year. Another project, "Pinkville," to be directed by Oliver Stone, has been derailed by the writers' strike because it needed a script rewrite.

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`TREASURE' SEQUEL STILL BOX-OFFICE GOLD

Nicolas Cage's "National Treasure" sequel was top draw at North American movie theaters for the third weekend.

According to studio estimates Sunday, "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" earned $20.2 million. The movie is days away from surpassing the $173 million total of 2004's "National Treasure" to become the biggest film of Cage's career.

Three films vied for the No. 2 position, with Will Smith's sci-fi thriller "I Am Legend" ($16.4 million) narrowly beating "Juno" ($16.2 million) and the kiddie smash "Alvin and the Chipmunks" ($16.0 million).

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(This column contains information from Web sites and Philadelphia Inquirer wire services.)

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(c) 2008, The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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