Magic's new act unveiled

Forget Ben Affleck, Leonardo DiCaprio and Al Gore.
All eyes were on Magic Johnson when he unveiled his new ventriloquist act at the GQ Men of the Year party last night. The feisty little Spike Lee dummy is total genius. And you really can't see Magic's lips moving. It's incredible.

Photo Credits: Steve Granitz/WireImage

Palm Springs may be about to become known as Brangelina Springs.

The Palm Springs International Film Festival just announced that "Babel" director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and his ensemble cast will be honored at the fest's annual Awards Gala on Jan 6 at the Palm Springs Convention Center.

"Babel" stars Brad Pitt, Rinko Kikuchi and Cate Blanchett will attend. And hey, maybe Brad's significant other Angelina Jolie will be there. Wouldn't that put PS on the 2006 celebrity map.

It's possible. After all, the couple probably has fond memories of Palm Springs since that's where they shot the then-scandalous photo spread in which they pretended to play house, doctor and a few other marital malaise games for an editorial that appeared in W Magazine.

The Palm Springs visit and  photo shoot was back when they were just friendly "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" co-stars and definitely weren't in love and planning a future and a family together. Remember?

I know. it's so easy to forget. The past year's blur of another adopted child, having their own biological child and now working together on a movie about the death of journalist Daniel Pearl makes all that 2005 secret affair stuff seem so last millennium.

Anyway, we've all moved on, haven't we? I don't know about you but I have way more important things on my mind. Like why Britney Spears has stopped wearing panties and why she's hanging out with Brandon (Firecrotch) Davis.

Anybody out there have any theories about Britney's astonishing downward spiral?

Photo Credit: Brad and Angelina - back when they were just really good friends -  - no really - at the "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" premiere in 2005.
WireImage

It's official...

How did award-winning actress Felicity Huffman stay warm at last night's Oxfam cocktail party?

Russell Simmons is on a mission in Africa.

Alone.

It was announced weeks ago that Simmons was taking Tsunami survivor/model Petra Nemcova with him on his fact-finding mission to learn how the international diamond industry can help Africa, a trip that is being paid for by - drum roll, please -The World Diamond Council.

What, the rap mogul can't afford to pay his own way to Africa? Wassup with that?

You remember the WDC. They're the folks that asked "Blood Diamond" director Ed Zwick to make sure his film acknowledges all the changes brought about as a result of the industry's diamond tracking program, The Kimberley Process.

Anyway, back to Simmons, who just happens to have a successful line of bling with his wife Kimora Lee.

After the news broke about Simmons taking Nemcova, the web was abuzz with posts about him being secretly in love with Petra (join the large club, Russell) and wishing him lol because Petra is actually madly in love with annoyingly sweet singer James Blunt.

In his statement released yesterday, Simmons rambles on about why he's in Africa (seems Minister Louis Farrakhan and Rabbi Marc Schneir told him to) and mentions Nemcova backing out of the trip, but blames her absence on "political and business" ramifications and on her publicist, Ken Sunshine.

He even gets in a thinly veiled dig about Sunshine also being "Blood Diamond" star Leonardo DiCaprio's publicist. Russell ends his statement by hoping - and here's where it gets really pitiful - that things will change and that her advisers, including Sunshine, will let Petra come outside and play.

C'mon Russell, she's a big girl and doesn't need a publicist to tell her what she should do. Time to face the truth.  She's just not that into you.

Here's what being into a guy looks like...

After Snoop Dogg performed "Smack That" on the American Music Awards, he and his posse left en masse.

To get to their enormous limos, the entourage walked out the back of the Shrine Auditorium and past a series of tents erected for various TV interview rooms, a print press room, a photo tent and a talent lounge gifting area.

There was a lot of activity back there but very little security. Prop men and stage hands were wheeling around musical equipment and various stage sets. 

On his way through all the hub bub, Dogg stopped to sign autographs and politely pose for photos for the few dozen fans buzzing around him. But the whole time, his posse of stone-faced bodyguards - refrigerator-sized men in dark suits - looked very edgy, nervous and itchy.

One woman told her son, "Honey, get your autograph but don't stay too close to those guys. You never know when they might start shooting." She was half serious, half joking.

Turns out she was right to be worried. According to TMZ, Dogg was arrested last night by Burbank police for alleged possession of drugs and a firearm . Where was he?  Outside the NBC studios in Burbank. He'd just appeared and performed on Jay Leno's "Tonight Show."

All I know is Michael Richards should feel lucky that the perpetually packing rapper wasn't in the audience when he had his N-word racist meltdown. Very lucky.

Photo Credit: Snoop Dogg proves he's not packing heat at the American Music Awards last week. Apparently appearing on the "Tonight Show" is way more dangerous. 
Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage

Important calendar update for Leo Lovers!

Just got an email from the crack PR team at Warner Brothers informing that me that Oprah has moved the date of the show featuring "Blood Diamond" stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou and director Ed Zwick from Dec 6 to Dec 4th.

Who knows why. I have no clue. Don't say I didn't warn you!

Photo Credits: Get a dose of "Blood Diamond" earlier than expected. Tune into Leo Decr 4.
                    George Pimentel/WireImage.

Call it a fashion divorce.

Nicole Richie and her longtime faithful fashion stylist Rachel Zoe have parted ways. And not all that amicably, according to TMZ, who printed Zoe's statement yesterday.

Most interesting is the phrase "being a good friend to Nicole." Wonder if that included advising Richie against getting breast implants, as many observers insist Richie has done.

"That's either the world's most amazing strapless push-bra or those are breast implants," said one reporter backstage watching the skinny starlet at the American Music Awards last week.

Perhaps Zoe, sweetly under-endowed herself, expressed disapproval of her fashionably coathanger-thin charge getting tacky Hollywood fake booblets.

"Nicole's not fooling anyone," said a Hollywood fashion insider. "She probably thinks that having bigger breasts will stop all the weight criticism. But it's so obvious that the only weight she's gained is silicone or saline. She's still got a serious problem."

At least Zoe doesn't have to hunt for frocks to show off these new puppies.

Photo Credits: Flat Nicole - before -  at Social Hollywood in June 2006.
Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage
Photo Credits: Full Nicole - after - backstage at the AMAs in Nov 2006. Hmmmm. Quite an increase in just five months.
Steve Granitz/WireImage