Take Marques Houston’s word for it: Lil’ Kim isn’t really as raunchy as her songs suggest.
Houston, the R&B star, first met Lil’ Kim on the set of “You Got Served” and was pleasantly surprised, the World Entertainment News Network reports.
“When you listen to her lyrics, [they’re] really explicit. But she’s really sweet,” Houston said. “You would never think that those things would come out of her mouth.”
And yes, she’s really short.
“I would stand by her and say, ‘You make me feel like a basketball player.’ “
HEY JUDE: Jude Law’s going from the farm to the factory. Fresh off the Civil War drama “Cold Mountain,” Law’s set to star in the romance “Dexterity.” Set in upstate New York, Law will play a factory worker whose relationship is strained when he is laid off.
OK, so it’s a bit of a stretch.
At the moment, Law’s concerned with saving London’s Young Vic Theatre. On Tuesday he launched a campaign to raise $4.5 million to save and restore the aging venue.
“I remember coming here 15 years ago to see a production of ‘Othello’ and being so moved at the experience of being in such close proximity to the actors,” he told reporters.
“It was a really important part of the dream that I had to become an actor.”
VOICE OF THE PEOPLE: Andre 3000 and OutKast better save some “stank-yous” for the Village Voice.
The New York-based alternative weekly is the latest to honor the Grammy-winning rappers, naming “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below” the top album of 2003 in its annual critics’ poll.
OutKast was the runaway winner, with The White Stripes’ “Elephant” a distant second and Fountains of Wayne’s “Welcome Interstate Managers” third.
TAKE THIS JOB AND LOVE IT: Ryan Seacrest may be landing yet another job.
Good lord, aren’t three paychecks enough?
The “American Idol” host, talk show host and radio personality is the favorite to take over for legendary Los Angeles DJ Rick Dees, who announced he was leaving his drive-time morning show on KIIS-FM, E! Online reports.
Seacrest recently took over for Casey Kasem on his “American Top 40” radio show and launched his TV talkfest, “On-Air with Ryan Seacrest.”
“SEX” SELLS: “Sex and the City” stud Jason Lewis is getting a double-whammy: The show’s ending, and he’s being sued.
Ex-girlfriend Maxine Bahns slapped Lewis with a $130,000 lawsuit, claiming he hasn’t paid her back the money she loaned him to buy a piece of investment real estate, according to the New York Post.
The Post also is buzzing about a potential “Sex and the City” movie. The paper quotes an “insider” as saying the movie is a go, but Sarah Jessica Parker shot the movie rumor down in a recent interview, saying, “No, we’re not going to go ‘The Lord of the Rings’ route.”
Meanwhile, RedEye’s Stylephile Amy Tara Koch spotted Sarah Jessica and co-star Kristin Davis sitting in the front row at New York’s Fashion Week. The fashionable duo took in Narciso Rodriguez’s show Tuesday, sending the crowd and the attending media into a frenzy. Also spotted were Diane Sawyer and Joan Rivers, but they didn’t get quite the same reaction.
Catty corner
Gwynnie’s cameraman shy
Gwyneth Paltrow has nothing against cameras. Just the people who use them.
Asked about hubby Chris Martin taunting paparazzi outside model Kate Moss’ birthday party a while back, Paltrow said that the paparazzi are doing the real taunting, Teen Hollywood reports.
“What people don’t know is the ugly aggressiveness that goes into getting a picture for a weekly celebrity magazine,” she is quoted as saying. “You appeal to their sense of humanity, but they don’t care. They’ll shout stuff at you, try to run you off the road, anything to get a picture. They’re bad.”
WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING
The best late night one-liners
“Not only is this Fashion Week [in New York], it’s the annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. I hate this time of year. The town is full of nothing but temperamental bitches.”
–David Letterman on Tuesday’s “Late Show”
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Compiled from RedEye news services by Leo Ebersole (lebersole@tribune.com) and Curt Wagner (cwwagner@tribune.com).
