The L.A. premiere of biopic Kinsey (about controversial sex researcher Alfred Kinsey) on Monday night was certainly a sexy affair, if you'll pardon the expression. Stars Liam Neeson, Laura Linney, Chris O'Donnell, Peter Sarsgaard, Timothy Hutton and John Lithgow turned out, along with director Bill Condon, for the lovefest (sorry). "I loved working with Bill," Neeson told us, though "it was a very hectic schedule. A limited budget and a short amount of time. I actually like working like that, though, because it's fast and furious and the pace was equal to what Kinsey's pace was like. He worked 18-hour days and some days we did as well." Even decades after Kinsey's death, he was still causing a stir: "We shot in this little town in New Jersey and we were told that it was possible that there might be some protestors, and when we got there maybe half a dozen (were there)," said O'Donnell. "It wasn't a big deal, but we were laughing because we're all walking out of our trailers to a three-story house to film these sex scenes. I was filming this scene with this woman, and she's very vocal, and all I could think of was the people in the street must be thinking, 'What the hell is going on up there?' " Kinsey opens Friday.
Maternal Instinct
Soccer phenom David Beckham may be trying out a new career, starring in his first movie (Goal!, in which he'll play himself), but he's not the only one in the family. Wife Victoria Beckham, the former Posh Spice, has designed a denim collection for Rock & Republic – and she may have already found more fashion inspiration from her own pregnancy. "These are actually my jeans that are in the show tonight. And I've hand-maternity-made them myself," Beckham, who's due to deliver the couple's third son in March, told us of the pair she was wearing at the line's recent L.A. fashion show. "I just took the sides out. I think at some point I'd like to do a maternity line because I think that I've created a different way of making a maternity jean that is still sexy and still very streamlined."
Another Designing Woman
Speaking of singers turned designers, Macy Gray is set to launch her own clothing line, M. Gray, in February. "It's like beautiful clothes for the working girl," says Gray. "It's shaped for a real girl, not a model. A voluptuous girl." Materials will include cashmere and silk.
The Other Side of the Script
Actress Aisha Tyler (CSI, Friends) is yet another celeb looking for a new career direction. She has written her first screenplay, a female buddy cop movie – and has already lined up none other than John Woo to direct it. "He is the best action director around," she told us recently. "Hong Kong movies have a long history of dynamic female cops. I had this idea for a female buddy cop movie, but nobody was able to write it the way I envisioned it. So I wrote it myself."
Not Carats, Square Feet
Diamonds may be a girl's best friend, but as gifts go, real estate sure beats a set of steak knives. To celebrate their impending nuptials, Smith Barney exec John Yarbrough gave his fiancée, former Baywatch babe Traci Bingham, a new Beverly Hills house. The wedding, Bingham's second, is slated for early 2005. We're assuming she got a nice ring too.
Caught in the Act
Spotted Recently:
• The O.C. star Peter Gallagher, shopping with his wife at a Costco in L.A. He paused from checking out electric scooters long enough to cheerfully thank a fan who congratulated him on a great season premiere.
• Rappers TI, Foxxy Brown, Memphis Bleek and the Young Gunz, at the Best of Both Worlds concert party at Jay-Z's New York club 40/40. Also at the fete: Tocarra from America's Next Top Model.
• By MARGI BLASH, MARISA LAUDADIO, NICK WHITE, ALISON SINGH GEE, CLARE KLEINEDLER and TIFFANY MCGEE
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