Nick & Jessica: In the Studio

Plus: Get the gossip on Nicolas Cage, Pierce Brosnan and Virginia Madsen

Originally posted Monday June 27, 2005 06:00 AM EDT

Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey Photo by: Debbie VanStory / Abaca

Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey are busy making sweet music – in the studio, that is. The Newlyweds are both working on albums and they're ready "to step out and really make an impact on the music scene once again," says Lachey.

Simpson (who'll make her big-screen debut in The Dukes of Hazzard, out Aug. 5) is happy about being in control of her as-yet-untitled follow-up to In This Skin. "I'm kind of at the point now, where I can say, 'I’ll make a record or I won’t,' " she says. "If you want me to, I’m going to do it my way." What to expect from her new album? "A lot of old music turned modern." (Hmm ...)

Meanwhile, Lachey has MTV's cameras following him around to document the making of his new album for an upcoming reality show titled The Nick Lachey Project. "It's my most honest album so far," he says. "It's a chance for me to really say what I want to say. Last time I didn't really get a chance to express myself, and this time I feel like I do."

Going to Las Vegas
Oscar winner Nicolas Cage enjoyed a festive night out with his pregnant wife Alice and about 40 of his closest friends and family, including his uncle, director Francis Ford Coppola, Dennis Hopper, Gina Gershon and rocker Rob Zombie, after receiving the Half-Life Award at the CineVegas Film Festival in Sin City recently. Cage and his posse sat in a private room at Nine Steakhouse at the Palms Casino, where they feasted on steak and truffle gnocchi.

Despite the fact that every five minutes or so fans would arrive at the door of his dining room, Cage (whose movie Leaving Las Vegas was screened at the fest) took pictures and signed autographs. "He was very friendly to everyone, even though he was constantly interrupted," a source tells us. But when the actor wasn't chatting up fans, he was happily hanging with his wife. The couple – who announced they were expecting a baby in February – will celebrate their one-year anniversary July 30.

Caught In the Act
• Pierce Brosnan, attending a gala opening party for the Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The After the Sunset actor attended with wife Keely and his kids. Also on hand: Boston Legal star James Spader and his son.

• Virginia Madsen, having brunch with friends at West Hollywood eatery Hedley's.

• By MARISA LAUDADIO, KIM LANSING, HILLARY ATKIN and CARRIE BORZILLO-VRENNA