In Brief

Cameron, Justin Take on Photogs' 'Ambush'

By Stephen M. Silverman

11/11/2004 at 08:00 AM EST

DEFENDED: Cameron Diaz, 32, and squeeze Justin Timberlake, 23, who grabbed and kept a paparazzo's camera when the shutterbug surprised them outside Hollywood's Chateau Marmont hotel on Saturday, were "ambushed by two men, who jumped out of a concealed hiding place on a dark, deserted street late at night," their reps say in a statement quoted by the Associated Press. "Any actions by Diaz and Timberlake were merely taken in self-defense." The publicists said Diaz has given the camera to the police, so they can identify the men. LAPD Officer Sarah Faden said the department also received a complaint from one of the photographers, accusing the couple of battery and grand theft. The matter remains under investigation, but no arrests or charges were actively being pursued, Faden said.

AUTHORED: A strange turn for Material Mom Madonna: her next book is about how wealth is overrated. The singer's publisher, Nicholas Callaway, says that children's book author, 46, will release the illustrated book Lotsa de Casha next summer. "All the characters in the book will be animals and Lotsa de Casha is an Italian greyhound who has all the money in the world but no happiness," said Callaway. "He thinks only of himself." The book will be the last in Madonna's five-book children's series for Callaway Editions.

SCORED: Booted Apprentice contestant Raj Bhakta, 28, known for his bow ties and flirtatious ways, finally chalked one up in the romance department. Bhakta convinced Donald Trump's sexy receptionist Robin Himmler to meet for coffee – even though she made it clear she has a serious boyfriend, the New York Post reports. Bhakta told PEOPLE that although Himmler is taken, he's not giving up. "It simply means there'll have to be extra effort on my part," he says. Though, he added, "I'm not ready to launch a major attack – yet."

RETIRED? British heartthrob Hugh Grant says he is "semi-retired." Grant, who plays a cad in the upcoming Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, tells The Evening Standard's Metro magazine that he finds acting a "miserable experience." "It's so long and boring and so difficult to get right." But the 44-year-old actor isn't totally finished with the movie biz. "I keep thinking I'm going to write a brilliant script."

MARRIED: Christian Brando, 46, the son of the late Marlon Brando, wed artist Deborah Presley, 48, Oct. 16 at the Little White Chapel in Las Vegas, PEOPLE reports. Presley says she is an illegitimate daughter of Elvis's, but in 1988 a Memphis judge ruled that her claims have no legal merit. Brando was released in 1996 after serving nearly half of a 10-year prison sentence for the 1990 shooting death of his half sister's lover. Presley says she saw a picture of Brando in 1987 and "loved him from that moment."

CAST: Tony winner Harvey Fierstein, 50, whose last Broadway appearance was as the well-fed mother Edna Turnblad in the musical Hairspray, is about to play a famous father (of four daughters): Tevye the hungry milkman in the revival of Fiddler on the Roof. He is due to replace Alfred Molina on Jan. 4, reports The New York Times. "How could I not take the part?" the gravelly voiced Fierstein tells Broadway.com. "How do you not take the challenge and then look yourself in the mirror in the morning?"

BALKED: Several ABC affiliates have announced they won't take part in the network's Veterans Day (Thursday) airing of Saving Private Ryan, saying the acclaimed film's violence and language could draw sanctions from the Federal Communications Commission, AP reports. Stations replacing the movie with other programming Thursday include Cox TV-owned stations in Atlanta and Charlotte, N.C., and three Midwest stations owned by Citadel Communications.

RE-ENERGIZED: Poised for a comeback after her 1954 movie debut in Disney's Peter Pan is the "spunky, sassy" and attitude-filled Tinker Bell, who is fueling the launch of an entirely new franchise of fairy-related merchandise for its studio, the Wall Street Journal reports. Tinker Bell's first foray into the new marketplace next fall will be a book by fantasy author Gail Carson Levine, who wrote Ella Enchanted, a new take on Cinderella. Toys will follow. Ms. Bell will also be updated with new emotions and – something she didn't have in the original animated feature – a voice.