John Travolta: Fighting Fire?

10/01/2004 at 06:00 AM EDT

Of course actors make money from their movies – but John Travolta is hoping that his latest, Ladder 49 (opening Friday), will also make some dough for other people: namely firefighters. "This movie is an absolute confirmation of them," Travolta told us at a premiere event in Baltimore that raised $175,000 for the city's Fire Foundation. "For what little money they get – and trust me, it's not enough – maybe if this movie does one thing it could get them a raise." The actor, who grew up in Englewood, N.J., home to many firefighters, said the heroic deeds of the first responders on Sept. 11 were part of his motivation to take on the role. "I wanted to give something back to them," he said. "How does an actor give back? We give money, we give time, we visit the (fire) stations – but, it's like, we've got to do more. So when this script came on my plate, I thought, 'Wow, now I have an opportunity to give more.' All the other actors felt this, too."

Costar Kevin Chapman, who also attended the event (as did Joaquin Phoenix), said the pre-film training changed his life. "There were so many fears we all had that we were able to overcome," he said. "I have an extreme fear of heights. I was at the (Baltimore Fire Academy) for four days and they had me repelling backward off of a seven-story tower."

Art Imitates Life
Does Kevin Dillon's character on HBO's Entourage seem real to you? There may be a reason for that. "I'm playing a guy whose name is Johnny Drama and there's an actual Johnny Drama out there by that name who is good friends with (executive producer) Mark (Wahlberg)," Dillon tells us. "I have met him. He's a great guy, really great guy. The writers don't know the guy so they're not writing for him, but I'm picking up a lot from him. He's very, very funny. He's a trainer – it's the guy who trained Mark (in) boxing."

Star Struck
Girls everywhere look up to Olympic soccer gold medalist Brandi Chastain – but what about her? Any celebs she would like to meet? Jennifer Aniston, the 5' 7" forward told us at a recent Capitol Hill reception where she and teammate Julie Foudy were honored by the Congressional Caucus on Women's Issues. "She looks like the kind of girl I could just hang out with," said Chastain of Aniston. "She looks down to earth, and I think she's got a great sense of style."

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Not Politics As Usual
Former Vice President Al Gore was among the crowd of mostly Democrats at daughter Kristin Gore's recent book signing event in Bel Air. The former veep and wife Tipper shook hands with the gathered group, who picked up a copy of Kristin's first novel, Sammy's Hill (currently No. 16 on the New York Times best-seller list). "She's always been funny and she's always been a writer," said the elder Gore about his daughter, a Harvard grad who once wrote for Saturday Night Live. "She gets it from her mother." But Kristin disagreed. "I think he's very funny, too," she said of her father. "I think I got a combination of my mother and father's humor. Or at least, I hope I did."

• By MELODY SIMMONS, ANNE DRISCOLL, KEN BROWN and MAUREEN HARRINGTON