July 7th, 2005

   Forget everything you thought you knew about the Brangelina affair. We will bring you the real story of Brad and Angelina. Do you recall our writing some time ago about Angelina’s visit to the U.K. when she went to the West End’s New Ambassador’s Theatre to see Jonny Lee Miller, her ex-husband, in Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me? And do you also remember we told you that the once-wed couple then shared a romantic dinner at the Ivy, one of London’s poshest eateries? Well, it seems that “Mrs. Smith” now has someone on her mind other than “Mr. Smith.”

  The pre-opening buzz about Mr. and Mrs. Smith was not the kind that instills confidence...in the studio, in the stars, in the producers, in the theatre owners. With Angie and Brad’s problematical movie opening big: $51 million, in fact, it appears to have been helped by the stars’ supercharged “affair.” That’s right. Angelina and Brad are not a couple. It’s Jonny Lee Miller who re-captured her heart. She recently flew to Blighty a second time where the two of them, joined by Jude Law, took in a performance of As You Like It, in which Sienna Miller appears as Celia. She has received rave reviews from London’s frosty theatre critics. Sienna and Jude Law, as you must know by now, are a couple. And on this particular night, Sienna received four curtain calls with Jude going on stage to present her with a bower of pink peonies.
  Further, we hear that Jude Law has partnered with Jonny Lee Miller and Ewan McGregor in the formation of a production company, Natural Nylon, and their first project will be a film for the two couples—Jude and Sienna and Angelina and Jonny Lee. (Remember, we’re only reporting what we’ve heard.) Does this mean that Jolie and Miller were stoking the embers of a past passion, hoping to ignite them again? Angelina once said, “Divorcing Jonny was probably the dumbest thing I’ve ever done.” The busy beauty spent only a rushed 72 hours in London, but they were packed full of fun things she did with Jonny Lee, Jude, and Sienna. Like dinner at the Law-Miller home where Angelina and Sienna prepared pasta primavera for their main men. Entertaining at home, which was to assure their avoidance of the paparazzi, who somehow got wind of Jolie’s quickie visit. We weren’t sure of the conjecture of one friend of the two couples, who said that Angelina and Jonny were altar-bound. But we do believe they got back in a serious relationship—again.
  On day two of Angelina’s trip, she and Jonny accompanied her son Maddox to an outing at a park near Jolie’s London home. They were joined there by Jude and Sienna and Jude’s three children, Rafferty, Iris, and Ruby. They enjoyed a picnic lunch that Angelina had prepared and packed ahead of time. Sienna brought chocolate-chip cookies and cupcakes that she’d baked at home.

  Before she headed back to the U.S.A., Angelina and Jonny, caught the West End revival of Guys and Dolls at the Piccadilly Theatre in which Ewan McGregor is appearing as “Sky Masterson.” Jane Krakowski of Ally McBeal appears as “Adelaide.” Despite a few critics carping about the quality of McGregor’s singing voice, the show is an unqualified hit.
  In fact, for theatre lovers, this would be a great time to be in London, what with Billy Elliott (music by Sir Elton John) pulling the people in by droves. Also announced as a limited run (August to December) is a new staging of A Few Good Men with Rob Lowe in the part played by Tom Cruise in the film. It is being presented by playwright Aaron Sorkin at the Theatre Royale and marks a reunion of Sorkin and Lowe, who previously worked together on The West Wing. You’ll recall this is the film in which Jack Nicholson, as a strictly by-the-book, hubristic Marine colonel, bellowed at Cruise, as a Navy lieutenant and defense attorney, “You want the truth? You can’t handle the truth!” The role of the prosecuting attorney essayed in the movie by Kevin Bacon, as a Marine captain, will be limned by John Barrowman, Brit musical comedy star, who is performing in the screen adaptation of The Producers, to be released in December to qualify for Oscar consideration.
  This may seem like a round about way to get to the news that Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes had their eyes on Rob Lowe’s $6-million home in Montecito, the tony Pacific Coast enclave that’s also home to Oprah. Lowe just put the home on the market. Tom and Rob go all the way back to 1983 when they costarred with fellow “Brat Packers” Matt Dillon, Emilio Estevez, C. Thomas Howell, Ralph Macchio, Diane Lane, and Sofia Coppola in The Outsiders, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Because of his long relationship with Lowe, Tom may have a leg up on any other buyers interested in the property. Featured about a year ago in Architectural Digest, the house was also reportedly being sought by Spider Man-rich Tobey Maguire.
  The Duke and Duchess of York’s elder daughter, Princess Beatrice, will be celebrating her 17th birthday in August by appearing on the cover of the September issue of Tatler, the snooty British society mag. The photo shoot was styled by the magazine’s fashion director, Isabella Blow, and took place during the princess’s mid-term break. Mother Sarah was on hand to assure that all went well on this, her pretty daughter’s magazine cover debut.
  Alexandra Miller von Furstenberg, the youngest of the three Miller sisters, has called it quits in London and has decided to make Beverly Hills her home. The move is understandable when you know that Alexandra’s reason for the move is her desire that her two children spend more time with their father, Alexander von Furstenberg, who divides his time between L.A. and New York. Alexandra is renting in Hollywood, just up the street from Barry Diller and her former mother-in-law, Diane von Furstenberg.
  It couldn’t be cozier between the two Alexes, who were together recently at a party to celebrate the publication of the book Four Inches, written by their good friend, Tamara Mellon. In it, a number of high-profile beauties pose prettily, wearing only Cartier jewels and Jimmy Choo shoes. Among them are Sarah Ferguson, Elle Macpherson, Victoria Beckham, and Kate Moss. Hosted by Cartier and Cartier CEO Stanislas De Quercize, the party benefited the Elton John AIDS Foundation. We were able to catch author Mellon for a couple of minutes during the crush and she told us that the women were “great sports about wearing nothing but jewels and shoes.”

  Some of the swells we rubbed elbows with were Molly Sims, Troy Garity, Carolyn Murphy, George and Jolene Schlatter with Wolfgang Puck (who celebrates his birthday this weekend), Virginia Madsen, Ben Elliot, Lara Flynn Boyle, Jennifer Nicholson, Julia Delpy (who was jaw-dropping gorgeous in vintage Azzaro), and our dear friend Patti Hansen Richards with her two lovely daughters, Alexandra and Theodora. Also, Rebecca Romijn was there with boyfriend Jerry O’Connell. She told us that she was thrilled to be part of such a worthy cause, mentioning also that there’s “something terribly sexy about wearing absolutely nothing but a pair of Jimmy Choo’s four-inch heels (hence the title of the book!) and a great big diamond from Cartier.”
  Also there was Keira Chaplin, the great-granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin, who will soon be appearing in an as-yet-untitled modern day take on Lady Godiva, the legendary 11th-century beauty who rode on horseback naked as a jaybird through the streets of Coventry, England, a public act to protest high taxes. “Oh, it created quite a scandal in its day,” said an animated Keira. “Lady Godiva had long red hair that covered her nether regions. They’ll be giving me hair extensions to achieve the same thing, since this is a family film. Nothing too racy,” she promised. Fifty years ago, fiery Irish beauty Maureen O’Hara starred for Universal as the bare-all, horse-riding, political activist. Legend has it that despite an official edict that all heads would be bowed as the lady rode the streets of the English village, a sneak by the name of Tom copped a look. Thus, we have the term “peeping Tom.”
  The Morton book party took place just after the jury in the Michael Jackson trial pronounced him not guilty, and the verdict was being discussed by practically everyone there. Keira told us that she met Michael in Switzerland when she was a child. “I remember Michael as being very sweet. He gave me one of his dolls,” she said. “He was very kind and gentle...very shy, quiet, and polite. I really don’t think he had sex with those kids. He doesn’t come across as a sexual person.” She said she was very happy with the outcome of the trial.
  Producer Holly Wiersma’s film Down in the Valley opened the Los Angeles Film Festival. The festival’s first Spirit of Independence Award went to George Clooney. Among the industry types we saw there was Gus Van Sant, who directed the Cannes fest fave, Last Days, starring Lukas Haas, who besides promoting his film at Cannes managed to do a shoot for L’Uomo Vogue. The busy Lukas also did a shoot with Selma Blair and Evan Rachel Wood for Miu Miu’s fall ad campaign for Inez von Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin. Last Days, a meditation on the final days of a Kurt Cobain-like rock star, stars Michael Pitt, the 23-year-old Jersey native whose filmography lists 18 features, including The West Memphis Three, a true-life crime drama in which he is top-billed.
  At the festival’s after party, we asked Van Sant how he became interested in such a down-beat story as Last Days and this is what he said: “I was living in Portland during the Kurt Cobain-Courtney Love era, and I had a big house with a kind of interesting vibe to it. It was a party house and several generations lived there. I thought I could use my house as a location, and I would take a 16-mm camera and make a film really, really cheap. And that’s exactly what I did. The film turned out just like I wanted it to.”
  The Los Angeles Film Festival’s big social to-do was held and among those we snagged for a chat was Evan Rachel Wood, there with her Down in the Valley costar Edward Norton (what a talent he is!) and the film’s producer, the very busy Holly Wiersma. Evan told us she will also star in an as-yet-untitled musical for Julie Taymor, a love story that will include classic Beatles songs. More immediate, however, is Pretty Persuasion, a satire for August release, in which she stars as a high schooler who accuses her father of sexual harassment. Many of you may remember Evan in her 2003 breakout role in Thirteen in which she proves herself adept at oral sex.

  We spied Macaulay Culkin there with his brother Rory. Mac also appears in Down in the Valley and we asked him about the Michael Jackson “thing.” He told us that he’d been in touch with Michael since the verdict, but wouldn’t say what they talked about. He did, however, tell us about his Miramax book, a roman à clef, which he’s calling Junior and described as “part memoir, part rave, part rant, part comedic tour de force,” and full of well-won wisdom about Culkin’s quest to come to terms with the pressures of childhood mega-stardom and family dysfunction. In other words, more Jackie Coogan than Shirley Temple. Sounds like a great read.
  We were happy to see Jason Ritter, the late John Ritter’s talented progeny, who wanted to help Holly Wiersma celebrate Down in the Valley. Jason stars in Wiersma’s new film Happy Endings, which closed the L.A. film fest. This is a great little film in which Jason shines as a lousy drummer who keeps his sticks by buying the band’s equipment and holding it hostage in order to hold his job. His character is gay, but that doesn’t stop a determined Maggie Gyllenhaal, who manages to seduce him. “Comedy is tough,” said Jason. “I’ve blown auditions because casting directors feel they need to tell me, right before I go on, how damn funny my dad was. Really, I fit into a darker mode.”
  Also at the event were Jake Gyllenhaal and Kirsten Dunst (that duo from Spider-Man), back together after she dumped him last summer for the single life. We guess single-hood wasn’t all it is cracked up to be, because all night long they couldn’t keep their hands off each other. Next up for Jake is Zodiac, the long gestating film to be directed by David Fincher. It is based on former newspaper reporter Robert Graysmith’s chilling nonfiction books about the real-life serial killer—he called himself “Zodiac”—that haunted San Franciso’s citizens and baffled the police for 25 years. Jake will portray Graysmith, whose investigative pieces helped solve the killings. He is joined in the film by Robert Downey, Jr. and Mark Ruffalo. Later this summer, we’ll be seeing Jake alongside Heath Ledger in the eagerly anticipated Brokeback Mountain.
  What in the world were best girlfriends Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz thinking? We got word that they traded their Manolo Blahniks for cowboy boots and spurs at the Alisal Guest Ranch and Resorts for its “Cowgirl Bootcamp.” It is designed as a “confidence-building” experience that focused on equestrian culture, from trail riding through Santa Barbara’s wine country to roping in the old corral. The best friends pronounced it all “more fun than rigorous,” and also included some foot-stomping lessons in the Texas Two-Step.
  Career-wise? Salma has been filming Lonely Hearts on location in Florida. And Penelope has been spending time with Matthew McConaughey. Penelope was spotted by one of our spy-witnesses at Neiman Marcus buying little girls’ clothes, which supports her reported intention to adopt a child. She is quoted as saying she wants “lots of children and everyday I think about adopting.” We heard she and Matthew are of the same mind as far as having kids go: They already had a nursery set up in their Beverly Hills home, and bought a camelback sofa covered in a wild David Hicks magenta fabric.
  It’s been a while since we reported on our old Connecticut friend and one-time employer, Martha Stewart. Well, now, apparently, Martha is ready for her closeup. She has talked to Vanity Fair, telling all, even sharing her prison diaries. This is in the August issue, which will also feature the domestic diva on its cover, a spot that had previously been assigned to Scarlett Johansson.

  Word had it that Scarlett was “outraged at the magazine and Stewart,” but she denied this when we caught up with the blonde beauty at Premiere magazine’s party to celebrate its issue honoring “the new power in Hollywood under 35.” When we asked Scarlett if she wanted to comment about her “outrage,” she reacted in a wise and knowing manner but with a slight frown of annoyance on her beautiful face: “I love Martha [Stewart]. And I cannot wait to read her story in the magazine. I have done lots of magazine covers and I am sure there’ll be more in the future. This is Martha’s moment.” Also honored in the Premiere piece are Andre Benjamin, Topher Grace, screenwriter Simon Kinberg, and director Matthew Vaughn, whose power plea is, “It would be an honor to work with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. They are true visionaries who made me fall in love with cinema.” Others on Vaughn’s list are Russell Crowe, Eric Bana, Albert Finney, Michael Caine, and Prince.
  The Prince of Wales recently purchased a stretch of rolling countryside near the Welsh border in Herefordshire, some 900 acres on which he will erect a grand manor as a home for his son, Prince William. If and when he marries his favorite girlfriend and classmate Kate Middleton, she will of course join him there. While classmates no longer, having recently graduated from St. Andrews University in Scotland, the couple is in a serious relationship, from what we heard. The home-in-waiting will be a six-bedroom, neo-classical structure, complete with stable block to accommodate William’s polo ponies and his other equine activities such as riding to the hounds. As a graduation gift, Kate presented William with a pair of Asprey cufflinks and an Asprey leather frame fitted with the couple’s photograph.
  Since we have a pug, Beatrice, we often frequent the doggie emporium Doggie Styles. On a recent stop, we ran into Jessica Alba, one of the stars of Fantastic Four, who was snapping up toys, collars, T-shirts and other goodies for her own two pugs, Sid and Nancy, named for the Sex Pistols’ Sid Vicious and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen. “Oh, they go everywhere with me,” said Jessica, referring to her cute little blunt-faced canines. “They were with me in Vancouver for the five-month shoot of Fantastic Four.”
  Never one to suppress a comment, Jessica blasted the talk in the industry about Jennifer Lopez’s ample figure. Her own measurements (34-25-34) are eliciting the same remarks, she is sure. She speaks candidly in Rolling Stone and makes no bones about how protective she is of her relationship with motion picture production assistant, Cash Warren. “If I found someone messing with Cash, I would cut them. That’s the ghetto side of me,” she said with a sense of defiant pride. As to a future wedding, Jessica told us that Cash has been trying for six months to get her to say yes. But nothing was planned at the moment.
  We recently ran into Stealth star Josh Lucas on one of our weekly forays to Saks Fifth Avenue, and found him shopping the Men’s Store, his Paul Newman-like baby blues concealed by sunglasses. The 34-year-old actor’s choice of his role as the heroic Ben Gannon, a military hard-liner, in Stealth is something of a departure from his more savory characters in the past, such as a predatory club owner in The Deep End, a slick scientist in The Hulk and a high-strung cocaine dealer in Wonderland. But most moviegoers remember him best in Sweet Home Alabama as Reese Witherspoon’s honey, a role he says is not too far from his actual personality.
  Next up is Glory Road, about a real person, Texas Western coach Don Haskins, for producer Jerry Bruckheimer. Further down the road for the actor is the Warner Bros. remake of The Poseidon Adventure, in which he’ll portray a cruise-ship–hopping gambler. Others signed for the action-adventure movie are Kurt Russell, Richard Dreyfuss, and Emmy Rossum. We told Josh the news that Shelley Winters, a standout in the original version, will be making a cameo appearance in the remake, something we learned at Skip E. Lowe’s birthday bash.
  Katie Holmes, an avowed Carolina Herrera devotee, will now be head-to-toe in Herrera, what with the jewelry that Tom Cruise has his eyes on for the new lady in his life. The fine jewelry collection designed by Faraone Mennella for Herrera won’t be available until the fall and only at Carolina Herrera Boutiques, but we understand that Cruise already selected a number of one-of-a-kind pieces—bold necklaces, brooches, and rings—made to match Herrera’s gowns and ready-to-wear. We understand that another Carolina Herrera fan, Renee Zellweger, also selected some of the jewelry to go with her extensive Herrera wardrobe.