A night out ends in arrest for Vince Vaughn and stitches for Steve Buscemi
Focus
"We get a lot of film people in here," says Shawn Matthews, co-owner of the Firebelly bar and grill in Wilmington, N.C., home of the largest, movie studio east of the Mississippi. So when Vince Vaughn, in town shooting Domestic Disturbances with John Travolta, stopped by on April 10, he had a great time, Matthews says. The next night, however, the reception wasn't so friendly. According to police, fists started flying around 2 a.m. after Vaughn and a couple of University of North Carolina students exchanged words. The fracas spilled onto the street and resulted in four arrests (including Vaughn, who was released after posting bond). Disturbances costar Steve Buscemi, who was trying to break things up, suffered stab wounds to the head, throat and arm and received 35 stitches. Buscemi, 43, is "going to be okay," says his rep, and will return to the set next week. Vaughn, too, is back at work.
The locals still embrace Hollywood. According to Mayor David Jones, "John Travolta goes to the Y where I work out. They're wonderful people."
View at the Finish Line
Proving she's not all talk, The View cohost Lisa Ling ran the 105th Boston Marathon on April 16 in a respectable 4 hours and 34 minutes, despite sustaining an injury a few weeks earlier. "I pulled my hamstring while watching Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," said Ling, who helped raise $30,000 for a pediatric-cancer charity by running the "grueling" race. "I was trying to do the split. I was thinking, 'I'm Asian. I can do that stuff.' "
Something to Crow About?
Apparently not satisfied with her karaoke turn in Duets, Gwyneth Paltrow teamed with Sheryl Crow for a sing-along April 14 at New York City's Cutting Room. Rumors swirled that the two will duet on Crow's next CD, but Paltrow, says her rep, "doesn't have recording aspirations."
Dawson's Peak
Everyone knows the camera adds 10 lbs., but did you know it can knock years from a "teen" actor's age? Unlike the late-twentysomething casts of Happy Days and Beverly Hills, 90210 (actor Henry Winkler was 32 when he got his TV diploma)—the gang on Dawson's Creek will actually graduate from Cape-side High School within striking distance of their teens. The commencement episode, which airs May 16, will be the first for Joshua Jackson, 22, and Michelle Williams, 20, who bypassed their cap-and-gown ceremonies for equivalency diplomas. But it's old cap to Creekers James Van Der Beek, 24, a 1995 grad of Cheshire Academy in Connecticut, and Katie Holmes, 22, who graduated from Toledo, Ohio's Notre Dame Academy in '97.
Elton Wheels and Deals
His rep insists it's not because he needs the cash, but after losing a court battle April 11 to recoup $20 million in touring expenses from his former manager and accountants, Elton John is steering 19 of his 33 vintage cars to the auction block this June. Among those up for sale: a Ferrari, a Bentley and an Aston Martin. At the very least the money should come in handy: John, who's worth an estimated $228 million, owes about $11.5 million in legal fees.
Navigating by the Stars
Unfazed by the prospect of folks burning rubber on her good name, Monticello, Ga.-born country star Trisha Yearwood says she's "deeply honored" that the state will dedicate a parkway to her on April 27. Meanwhile, a campaign to rename a Peoria, Ill., street for comedian Richard Pryor has met with opposition from some who believe the former drug addict is a poor role model. Says Pryor's manager: "Small towns, small minds."
This Eagle Has Flown
Issuing a reluctant demerit badge of his own, two-time Best Director Oscar winner and Eagle Scout Steven Spielberg has quit his post as a Boy Scouts of America advisory board member because of the BSA's ban on gay members and scoutmasters. Spielberg, 54, who wrote the guidelines for the cinematography merit badge (below), said that he was "deeply saddened" to see the Boy Scouts "actively and publicly participating in discrimination. It's a real shame." Said a spokesperson for the Texas-based group: "He has been great to scouting, and we respect his wish."
POP QUIZ
with Eric McCormack
He plays a gay man on TV, and now he's about to play a con man onstage. Starting May 8, Will & Grace star Eric McCormack picks up the baton as Harold Hill in the Broadway revival of the 1957 musical The Music Man. McCormack, 38, is no stranger to the theater, having spent five years performing Shakespeare in his native Canada. Scoop spoke to McCormaek about the trouble—and fun—he expects in River City.
You called at 9:59 a.m. for a 10 a.m. interview.
I'm afraid I'm being frightfully Canadian. We're very prompt.
What's the toughest part about the new gig?
Learning to play the trombone. [Harold Hill] teaches the trombone. And learning the dance numbers. It's been 14 or 15 years since I've had to do that.
Worried?
I will pray desperately that I don't fall off the lip of the stage.
You carry the show.
In the first act I have five major numbers. I never shut up. It's three solid hours. It's not like Will & Grace, where I can say, 'Stop, let's try that again.'
How's living in New York?
It's an adjustment for my whole family: my wife [Jane Holden], our three dogs and our cat. We found a great place on the Upper West Side, and we're going to live like real New Yorkers. It's my Woody Allen fantasy come true.
Do theater pros look down on you television types?
We're not some show with a talking dog. Even hardcore theater people seem to tape it.
Musical influences?
Mary Poppins. I later became crazy about '70s musicals—Sweeney Todd, Evita.
Has playing Will, a gay character, changed the way people perceive you?
The comments I get from gay men are all positive. They say thanks for doing it, but also for the way I play it. Despite the fact that The Music Man is a splashy musical, I still haven't been typecast. After all, Harold Hill is a straight leading man who gets the girl.
In Ratings Game, a Natural Selection
Paying homage to its Darwinian roots, NBC's merciless new game show Weakest Link I—its April 16 premiere won its time slot with t almost 15 million viewers—has tapped six members from the I original Survivor cast (Richard Hatch, Susan Hawk, Sean Kenniff, Ramona Gray, Gretchen Cordy and Joel Klug) to appear as contestants. Instead of getting booted off Pulau Tiga, the poorest player will be voted out after each rapid-fire round of trivia. And instead of winning, Hatch, reports say, is the first to go, on the May 10 episode.
ON THE BLOCK
HOME OFF THE RANGE
Robert Redford may be a natural when it comes to making a killing in Manhattan real estate. Four years ago the actor-director, 64, purchased a three-bedroom Fifth Avenue penthouse apartment for just less than $4 million. Now it's on the market for $15 million, a price that also includes neighbors like director Mike Nichols and his wife, Diane Sawyer. Redford's primary dwelling is on a 5,500-acre complex in the Wasatch mountains near Salt Lake City that includes a ranch and a ski resort—but no skyscraper views.
- Contributors:
- Ting Yu,
- Liza Hamm,
- Michaele Ballard,
- Lorenzo Benet,
- Lauren Comander,
- Mark Dagostino,
- Joseph Harmes,
- Eve Heyn,
- Nadine Mendoza,
- Gail Nussbaum,
- Abby Roedel,
- Lori Rozsa,
- Aaron T. Smith,
- Bob Stewart,
- Bruce Stockier,
- Jill Westfall.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
