Dateline Hollywood, 1365 words--4-28-01

BRIDGET WRITES ANOTHER DIARY: Producers are contemplating a sequel to Bridget Jones's Diary when the box office numbers proved huge in both the US and across the pond where it set a record.   Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, author Helen Fielding's follow-up book is negotiating a deal to write the screenplay.

AEROSMITH ROCKS:  Aerosmith embarks on a 48-city North American tour beginning June 6 in

Hartford, Connecticut. Tickets go on sale Saturday, April 21. For details, log-on to www.sfx.com and while you're at it, check out the band's website at aerosmith.com

FONDA v. TURNER:  She says irreconcilable differences and rumors of affairs -- he says because she became a practicing Christian.  Whatever the case may be, Jane Fonda filed for divorce from CNN

founder Ted Turner.. The divorce petition indicates the two have reached an agreement on the division of assets.

Divorce papers, filed in Fulton County Superior Court in Atlanta, noted that Fonda said the couple's marriage is"irretrievably broken" and that "there is no hope of reconciliation." That language is typical under Georgia divorce laws, The Associated Press reported.

ANNIE GET YOUR TV SPECIAL She's a hit on Broadway in Annie Get Your Gun,  next country singer Reba McEntire will star in the CBS version of the Irving Berling 1946 musical.  The TV movie could debut for February sweeps--unless the deadly Hollywood writers (and actors) strike this summer.  The pending strikes obviously would  delay production.

A FREE PRESS: Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison tossed her hat into the ring supporting Alice Randall's novel The Wind Done Gone, a parody of Gone with the Wind from a slave's point of view. Representatives of the late Margaret Mitchell estate are attempting to stop its publication.

STRIKE WHEN THE TALKS ARE HOT: Negotiations for a new Writers Guild of America film and TV contract resumed Tuesday at the WGA's headquarters in Los Angeles, with both sides agreeing to a

media blackout during the remainder of the talks, which are expected to continue for another two weeks. The contract is up May 1.

MORE NEWS ON THE STRIKE: A study released by Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan claims that a  possible strikes by Hollywood writers and actors would cost the local economy nearly $6.9 billion and

plummet Southern California into an economic downturn. The study shows some 82,000 jobs could be lost if strikes occur.

MAN IN BLACK? Rumors are flying around that Ricky Martin is in negotiations to star in London's West End musical version of Zorro.

OK KIDS, QUIT FOOLIN' AROUND Newlyweds ( we guess -- ah we think!) Tom Green and Drew Barrymore are at it again!  Hubby Tom appeared on the Tonight Show and told the audience his wife was "with child."  Later, Drew & Tom said it was just a joke.

MORE NUPUTALS: Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Sarah Michelle Gellar drove a stake right into the heart of her latest squeeze.  The star of the syndicated vampire series and cosmetic ads is engaged to marry her boyfriend and Scooby-Doo co-star, actor Freddie Prinze Jr.

According to syndicated gossip show Access Hollywood, Gellar and Prinze announced their engagement at a party for Gellar's 24^th birthday.

Geller & Prinze met on the set of their 1997 popular teen horror flick, I Know What You Did Last Summer.

MORE, MORE NUPS: Actors Josh Brolin, 33, and Minnie Driver, 30, are engaged but no wedding date has been set, according to People magazine online.

The London-born Driver, whose past romances include two of her co-stars ``Good Will Hunting''  Matt Damon and actor John Cusack, met Brolin when they filmed 1998's ``Slow Burn,'' People reported. Sound familiar? 

Brolin is the son of actor James Brolin --- Barbra Streisand hubby.

MATTHEW PERRY IN TRAFFIC...: accident, but this time it's not his fault. The Friends star suffered some minor cuts when a woman ran a stop sign in West Hollywood and crashed into his Porsche. No charges were filed.

KISS & TELL: Jennifer Anniston (Rachel) shares a smooch with Academy Award nominated actress Winona Ryder.  Ryder plays a former sorority sister -- not exactly what you'd call "kissing cousins."

AND YOUR FATHER WEARS....PUMPS?  Liz Smith reports that Kathleen Turner will show up on Friends playing Matthew Perry long lost father.  "Senior" Bing shows up for the May 17 one-hour Monica-Chandler wedding episode. Turner told Smith recently, "I have played a woman  playing a man playing a woman playing — oh, what the hell! I enjoyed it. I like challenges."

Real-life transvestite,  Alexis Arquette, Courteney Cox's brother-in-law, tells Smith, "Kathleen nails

this role, gorgeous in head-to-toe vintage Bob Mackie. Mackie is every cross-dresser's dream           designer."

ELTON CAN YOU SPARE A DIME?: Financially strapped Elton John is auctioning off 20 of his cars--including an Aston Martin, two Rolls and a Bentley--on June 5 at Christie's auction house in London.

OYE, CARLOS,  DOES THIS PUMP COME IN CRANBERRY?: Rock n roll legend Carlos Santana has launched a new line of shoes that "radiate rhythm, passion and energy." The women's collection--called "Carlos"--debuted at Macy's department store in San Francisco.  Carlos made a personal appearance where he also introduced his collection of hats and ties.

THE PHILADELPHIA STORY IN LONDON: A London revival of The Philadelphia Story, starring

Ally McBeal's Calista Flockhart, has been postponed indefinitely. According to Playbill, "everything from casting disagreements to Britain's foot-and-mouth outbreak has been blamed for the demise of the play."

The 1940 MGM movie, The Philadelphia Story, starred Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant and James Stewart in his Academy Award winning role.  The Hollywood classic was directed by George Cukor and is on the AFI top 100 list of  movies.

FARM AID BENEFIT: The Farm Aid benefit concert will perform in Indiana this fall with cofounders Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp all scheduled to perform. The concert will be held on September 29 in Noblesville. 

O BROTHER WE'RE IN NEW YORK CITY! Alison Krauss, , John  Hartford, , Ralph Stanley, Gillian Welch, Union Station and other bluegrass,country and folk artists featured in the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack will perform together at Carnegie Hall on June 13 to recreate the album.

STING ON TOUR:  Sting opened his Middle East leg of his ``Brand New Day'' tour in the emirate of Dubai  He also plans to swing by Jordan, Egypt and  Lebanon.The audience rose to their feet when Algerian Rai singer Cheb Mami joined Sting on stage for their Arabic-English duet``Desert Rose.''

HOW TO TEACH A CAGE BIRD TO SING: Nicholas Cage used a different part of his vocal chords to study for his upcoming role in the film``Captain Corelli's Mandolin.'' He's practicing his singing  ``I dedicated myself to going home every night and practicing the songs for hours,'' Cage told reporters at the film's premiere in London. ``I have had no musical training in my life but I do come from a musical family.''

Cage sings and strums the mandolin in the film in which he plays an Italian officer  who's sweet on the village's doctor's daughter during World War II in Greece.

The film co-stars Penelope Cruz and is based on the book by Louis de Bernieres and directed by John Madden (``Shakespeare in Love''). It's opens here in August.

SIR PAUL, YOU'RE A RICH MAN:  Sir Paul McCartney is Britain's richest musician, according to the Sunday Times' annual list of the country's wealthiest people.

The former Beatle's personal treasure grew by $235 million last year to $1 billion, the newspaper reported Friday. He placed number one among his musical mogul's peers, but found himself 36^th on the entire list. The paper did not release the name of the wealthiest person overall.

McCartney's personal worth increased with the $200 million inherited from his late wife Linda, who died in 1998. McCartney, 58, also gobbled up lots of revenue from The Beatles anthology ''1,'' which has sold more than 12 million copies.

Who else is on the list?  Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber is number two with an estimated fortune of $605 million, and producer Cameron Mackintosh is third with $575 million. In fourth place is Robert Stigwood, producer of musical  films including ``Grease'' and ``Saturday Night Fever,'' worth an estimated $290 million.

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