Deadpan Humor
Working in a funeral parlor for an episode of The Simple Life 3 freaked out Nicole Richie. "I'm scared of dead people, so I didn't love that job," says Richie, 23, who along with her costar Paris Hilton had to move caskets, drive a hearse and even bury people. "And we had to...what do you call it when you plan someone's death before they're dead? [That would be preplanning.] I'm thinking, I don't want to talk about someone being dead when they're standing there." Richie used humor to alleviate the weirdness. "We made a joke out of it. I was like, 'Do you want a sound system [at your funeral]? Do you want Beyoncé playing? We'll dance if you want.' "
Brad Versus George
As a preemptive strike against notorious prankster George Clooney, his Ocean's Twelve costar Brad Pitt sent a memo to the crew telling them that Clooney didn't want anyone to make eye contact with him and that he wished to be addressed only as Danny Ocean. Then again, was it really just a prank? "Listen, that's George's story now because it made the papers about his prima donna behavior," says Pitt, 40. "He can paint it however he wants to paint it, but it was a problem on this movie." So how did Clooney get back at Pitt? "I put a bumper sticker on the passenger door of his car that read, 'I'm gay and I vote,' " says Clooney, 43. Adds fellow costar Matt Damon, 34: "As Brad drove through L.A. traffic, people were honking at him and waving. He thinks it's because he's Brad Pitt, so he's waving back."
Natalie Nixes Nudity
"I keep hearing that I'm shedding my goody-two-shoes image, but I disagree," says Natalie Portman, 23, who plays a stripper in the new drama Closer. "I don't feel like an adult. I feel like a kid, and hopefully at 85, I'll feel the same way." Still, the actress did film one topless scene for the film. "[Director] Mike Nichols and I made a pact that we'd shoot everything and look at it later," says Portman. "I thought [the nudity] was distracting to the scene, so Mike kept his part of the deal. It's gone." Is she worried that the footage could turn up on the Internet? Not a bit. And to prove it, jokes Portman, "you can look me up at Nude Celebrities.com."
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