BLACK BELT—WITH PURSE TO MATCH
Martial arts star Steven Seagal, who has made mucho for himself playing macho roles like the hero in last year's Under Siege, turned a few heads in Hollywood recently when he committed to a starring role that was originally intended for a woman. The upcoming Warner Bros, movie, tentatively titled Dead Reckoning—not to be confused with the 1947 Humphrey Bogart drama of the same name—is a thriller about a a Washington defense attorney who becomes involved in a conspiracy to assassinate a big-name senator. A spokesperson for the film's producer, Arnold Kopelson, confirms that Geena Davis and Jodie Foster "were both considering" the project when a copy of the script fell into Seagal's hands. "In order to gel any movie made in Hollywood," the rep says, "a star has to agree to do it. And Seagal agreed." The part, needless to say, was rewritten to accommodate him, and production is set to begin early next year.

ROMANCE ALERT
His latest film may have been something less than a hit, but 1993 hasn't been a total loss for director John Singleton, 25. He and IMG supermodel Tyra are a new celebrity couple. The man behind 1991's Boyz N the Hood and the 19-year-old Tyra, who this season landed a recurring role on the hit NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, met earlier this year. She has since accompanied him to the New York City premiere of his short-lived second film, Poetic Justice, in July, and the two have been seeing each other romantically for the past few weeks. Their relationship, according to Tyra, is "very private, and very special."

BORN TO WRITE

Bruce Springsteen fans will be excited to learn that a former E Street Band member is planning a tell-all book about the Boss, including the inside scoop on the then married Springsteen's romance with backup singer Patti Scialfa, now his wife. The author is keyboard player Danny Federici, one of the original members of E Street, which Springs teen disbanded in 1989. According to a source close to Federici, the keyboardist claims he isn't bitter about the group's breakup. Our source also says that the onetime E Streeter has no plans "to trash Bruce. But the book will be honest." No publishing deal has been set, our source says.

Springsteen's reponse: His management tells us that he is "unconcerned" about the Federici project.

SHE'S THE BOSS

Alyssa Milano, who grew up playing Tony Danza's daughter on Who's the Boss? seems determined to show she's not a little girl anymore. Last year she starred in CBS's steamy version of the Amy Fisher story. And now she's posed nude for the upcoming issue of Bikini, a new bimonthly magazine aimed at young men. We're told that every month the magazine "will include a photo spread of one nude celebrity."

So, what motivated Milano to be the first? Says her manager: "Alyssa wanted to be photographed in an unexpected way. As an actress, it's important to surprise people."