In Brief

Lohan, Crowe Weigh Next Movie Roles

By Stephen M. Silverman

07/19/2004 at 08:00 AM EDT

CAST: Mean Girls star Lindsay Lohan and Drumline actor Nick Cannon will team for an untitled romantic comedy about a young woman trying to make it big in New York's fashion world. Cannon will play the love interest, says the Hollywood Reporter. … Meanwhile, Down Under, Russell Crowe is in negotiations to star in the big-screen adaptation of the Australian novel Eucalyptus. The fairy tale-like story tells of a man, his daughter and the stranger (Crowe) who whisks her off her feet.

INJURED: NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr. is recovering after being hospitalized with burns on his face and legs when a wreck turned his car into a fireball Sunday, reports the Associated Press. The incident occurred during a warm-up for an American Le Mans Series race in Sonoma, Calif. Earnhardt reportedly lost control of his Chevrolet Corvette C5-R, which spun and hit a concrete barrier in turn eight of the racetrack. His father, Dale Earnhardt, died in a last lap wreck at the 2001 Daytona 500.

RILED: Expressing his frustration over not being able to muscle a budget through the California State Legislature, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Saturday called his Democratic opponents "girlie men," sparking criticism of his remarks as being homophobic. A spokesman for the Governator says that Schwarzenegger refuses to apologize for the remark (which was inspired by the old "Hans and Franz" skit on Saturday Night Live, mocking Schwarzenegger), NBC News reports.

HIRED: Former Good Morning America correspondent Lara Spencer is making the leap to The Insider, a new gossip show spun off from Entertainment Tonight, says the Hollywood Reporter. Spencer will become the syndicated show's New York anchor, joining Pat O'Brien, who is set as host. "I've been with ABC network news for 10 years, and I wasn't necessarily anxious to leave," Spencer said. "But this is a big step for me. I also look at it as the ideal evolution of my career."

DIED: Bella Lewitzky, 88, a renowned choreographer, master teacher and arts advocate who sued over a national anti-obscenity pledge and won, died Friday at an assisted care home after suffering a stroke four days earlier, AP reports. Lewitzky's belief in freedom of expression led to more than one conflict with the federal government. When the National Endowment for the Arts implemented a mandatory anti-obscenity pledge, Lewitzky's dance company filed a lawsuit and in 1991, the pledge was declared unconstitutional. "For me, this is a very personal day of rejoicing," Lewitzky said after the ruling.