Cavallari (left); Simpson as Daisy Duke
First, former Laguna Beach star Kristin Cavallari was linked with Jessica Simpson's ex-husband – and now she's being eyed for Simpson's movie role.
Bill Gerber, the producer of last year's The Dukes of Hazzard, tells PEOPLE in its new issue that he is working on a prequel to the movie that brought Simpson (and her rear view) film fame – and he thinks Cavallari, 19, would fill out those Daisy Duke shorts quite nicely.
"She's at the top of the list," he says. "I like her innocence and her beauty." Why not just stick with Simpson, 25? "It's a prequel, like Batman (Begins)," he says. "We're going for a whole new cast."
Simpson and husband Nick Lachey, 32, announced in November 2005 that they were separating.
In March, Lachey and Cavallari were spotted flirting at various restaurants and parties – although Cavallari told PEOPLE, "There's nothing to talk about, there's nothing going on.
He's a nice guy, but I'd have to say we're just friends." Reps for Cavallari and Simpson did not return calls.
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Critics: Jen, Vince Not So Hot Onscreen
Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn
Stars Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston may have found romance while filming The Break-Up, but early reviews of the movie indicate that audiences may not feel the love.
Variety says the film is not the "boisterous comedy" one would expect from ads, and calls it "relentlessly unpleasant" and "ill-conceived virtually from the opening frame."
The Hollywood Reporter labels The Break-Up "a major disappointment of an anti-romantic comedy" and predicts the audience will give up on it long before its "tacked-on" ending.
At a recent press conference promoting the movie, Aniston talked about filming on the heels of her 2005 breakup from husband Brad Pitt. "It was definitely therapeutic," she said. "It was also all happening at the exact same time with my – you know."
She continued, "At first, I thought it was a joke when I got the phone call from my agent about a movie called The Break-Up. I said, 'You've got to be kidding me.' But after reading the script, I thought there was no better way to heal than through laughter."
At the movie's May 22 Hollywood premiere, Vaughn, who is also a producer and writer of The Break-Up, said of the film, "I feel great. The response has been so good, the movie's very funny, and it also has some real moments in it."
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Britney Talks Back with Web Poem
Britney Spears
On her official Web site, Britney Spears has posted a poem titled
"Remembrance of Who I Am," which contains such cryptic verses as:
No more chains
That you gave me
Enough of pain
Now I'm craving
Something sweet
So delight
How do you stand sleeping at night?
And: You come to me now
Why do you bother?
Remember the Bible
The sins of the Father.
What you do
You pass down.
No wonder why
I lost my crown.
But toward the end, Spears's tone is defiantly optimistic: "My crown is back … You should bow down/ I've only just begun."
Spears first posted the poem on May 20, but took it down almost immediately. Still, its brief appearance prompted speculation about whether the "you" to whom it's addressed was her husband, Kevin Federline. But in the new posting, Spears clarifies that the poem "is for everyone who thinks they know me …" Accompanying the verse is a photograph of Spears and her friends flipping the bird.
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Lindsay Gets Cozy with Paris's Ex
Lindsay Lohan and Stavros Niarchos
How better to get back at a nemesis? If you're Lindsay Lohan, you start by dating her ex-boyfriend. Lindsay Lohan and Stavros Niarchos were first spied together five days before he and Paris Hilton broke up last month. Now it's clear that was just the beginning of a beautiful friendship, PEOPLE reports in its new issue.
Lohan, 19, and Niarchos, 21, were spotted kissing on May 15 at the Manhattan nightclub Butter. The next evening, they partied together at Bungalow 8 until 3 a.m., and on May 17 they caught an Elefant concert at Webster Hall before meeting friends at Bungalow 8 once again.
Although sources confirm the two are hooking up, Lohan was also spotted smooching British singer Jamie Burke on May 7 and hanging out at clubs with X-Men: The Last Stand director Brett Ratner in April.
As for Hilton, she seemed unfazed at the Cannes Film Festival on May 20 as she danced and sang Rod Stewart's "Do You Think I'm Sexy" atop a table at a party hosted by Suite Miami.
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Denise & Heather: Still Feuding?
Sambora and Richards in Italy May 22 (left); Spade and Locklear
in L.A. May 20
It's downright childish. But is it true? Did Heather Locklear and a pal recently park outside Denise Richard's Westlake Village house and blast Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer"?
Locklear stopped speaking to Richards after finding out that she is dating Locklear's estranged husband, Bon Jovi's Richie Sambora.
But as PEOPLE reports in its new issue, a Locklear pal denies she pulled any Hollywood-turned-high-school hijinks: "It 100 percent never, ever happened." Counters a Richards pal: "It is 100 percent true." (Math, Hollywood style.)
This much is certain: On May 20, Locklear, 44, joined pals, including rumored beau David Spade (who sources say is just a friend), for dinner at L.A. hot spot Republic.
That same night, Richards, 35 – who is now seeking a cut of Charlie Sheen's Screen Actors Guild pension in addition to sole custody of their two kids – watched from backstage as Sambora, 46, rocked out with Bon Jovi in Dublin.
The two then hopped a private jet and checked into a five-star hotel south of Naples. Who needs drive-by serenades? They can make their own music.
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Sharon Stone Promotes a Good Cause at Cannes
Sharon Stone
Sharon Stone and Robin Williams kept the jokes coming at an AIDS charity dinner in Cannes – but also made sober comments about the deadly disease. "There are now 14 million people with the illness," Stone said at Thursday night's fundraiser for the Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR).
"We can't stop until we have a vaccine." At the auction at the Cinema Against AIDS dinner benefiting amfAR, Williams – who during cocktail hour walked around pretending to be part of the waitstaff – put in the winning bid of $40,000 for an Armani black-and-white cylindrical diamond necklace. "I just bought a $40,000 coke vial," he quipped.
Trying to spur bidding above $60,000 for a vacation package in the south of France, he joked, "One picture of Angelina Jolie's baby and you can buy this."
Later Williams jumped on stage to sing with Wyclef Jean, and then paid $80,000 for an impromptu performance by the singer-activist. Stone also brought levity to the proceedings, telling guests, "Before the auction we have already made $2 million.
But don't think that means I'm not coming for your cash!" The dinner raised more than $4 million. Other celebrity guests included Rosario Dawson and boyfriend Jason Lewis, Sofia Coppola, Duran Duran's Nick Rhodes, Ziyi Zhang, Michelle Yeoh, Faye Dunaway, Samuel L. Jackson, Willem Dafoe and Petra Nemcova (who danced during Wyclef Jean's performance and took pictures for several guests from her front-row seat).
Lance Armstrong was in the men's room when he was called up to the podium to conduct an auction. To much laughter – and the sound system playing Queen's "Bicycle Race" – Armstrong dashed to the stage.
Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York ("We've got a Duchess of York and some queens from Brooklyn," cracked Williams) told PEOPLE she was "delighted" to do her part at the dinner and spoke of a recent trip to Africa, where a little girl whose parents had died of AIDS asked Ferguson if she liked her dress. "It's heartbreaking," she said.
Though he was there to show his support, Babel star Gael Garcia Bernal told PEOPLE he didn't plan to bid on any of the auction items – because, after four days of interviews and "no more than two hours of sleep per night, I'm just surprised I haven't fallen asleep yet."
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