Mendes: A Tan Plan
Eva Mendes is planning a summer to-do list that Martha Stewart would definitely approve of. "I want to be Betty Homemaker this summer—wear a cute little apron, buy a barbecue, make drinks, do it all," says Mendes, 31, who stars in the comedy The Wendell Baker Story with Luke and Owen Wilson. One problem with that scenario? "I can't cook," the actress admits. "But I want to learn how to throw stuff on the grill and get in touch with my domestic side." Mendes will be baking poolside too. "There's nothing like the natural sun. I have gotten the fake tan but I don't like it. You feel sticky for a while and you can look orangey," Mendes says. "I see that on people and I'm like, 'Somebody did them wrong.'"

Dakota: Wedding Gift for Tom and Katie?
Now that her War of the Worlds costar Tom Cruise is engaged to Katie Holmes, 11-year-old Dakota Fanning is busy mulling over what to get the happy couple. "Tom loves chocolate, so I could get that. And Katie loves shoes," says Fanning. Unfortunately, Fanning's favorite idea has already been taken. Says the actress: "The other day on a TV show, somebody gave them a toaster as an engagement present, so now I can't get that. I am so bummed."

Cusack: Dinner with a Side of Awkward
John Cusack may be one of Hollywood's perpetual bachelors, but it's not for lack of trying—his family's, that is. "All [three] of my sisters have tried to fix me up with the wrong women pretty much around the clock," says Cusack, 39, whose siblings include actress Joan Cusack. The actor, who stars with Diane Lane in the romantic comedy Must Love Dogs, says first dates over dinner can be painful. "Everybody comes at it [thinking], 'Is this going to be something great?' That kind of pressure is insanely comic," says Cusack. "Sometimes, you realize you've been talking a long time, and the person is looking at you with utter incomprehension and not laughing at your jokes. And you still haven't ordered yet."

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