Dirt

Dirt in our backyard!

It brings a tear of joy to my eye to be able to dish some dirt on the home front! STA Travel has confirmed that The Real World San Diego’s Randy will be appearing at STA’s Europe Night, April 14 in the SAC.

He’ll speak, answer questions, sign autographs, wear SoCal contempo casual, you know…good stuff.

Cruise and Cruz call it quits

Megastar Tom Cruise and his saucy-starlet-significant other Penelope Cruz split. Reps for both actors claim the separation was amicable and they “remain good friends.”

Rumor has it that lengthy periods apart were to blame for the breakup with Tommy always in the United States while Penelope, who was traipsing around Madrid, is now in Morocco filming Sahara.

The three-year relationship sparked on the set of Cameron Crowe’s 2001 Vanilla Sky. Both actors are said to be single…as of press time.

‘Going Down’ Disappears

The USA Network’s made-for-TV flick, originally titled Going Down: The Rise and Fall of Heidi Fleiss, has changed its prefix to Call Me.

The “indecency” regulations keep on coming. Not only has the title and content been cleaned up but its subject, the infamous Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss has panned the flick as “inaccurate.”

Starring Sopranos mod-brat Jamie Lynn Discala, Fleiss said the actress was “prettier” than she and completely miscast.

A tale that does tote the Madam’s blessing is her major-motion biopic, which is in the works. Nicole Kidman is attached to star.

Platinum Panther

It-Girl Beyonce Knowles will star in MGM’s update of The Pink Panther, the popular old-school detective series that will reinvent with Steve Martin in the lead.

We last saw Jay-Z’s sweetheart in the third installment of the Austin Powers series. In Panther, she’ll play a pop singer (big stretch) alongside Martin and Kevin Klein.

Soccer hottie David Beckham is also in talks to play…a soccer player. Such challenging casting! I’m in talks to play a gossip columnist.

Talk About…

MTV’s new expo show: “I Want a Famous Face.” I’m addicted. In fact, as I write the very column you are reading, I’m watching it.

I’m witnessing Mia, a young marketing rep, go through torturous rounds of plastic surgery to look like Britney Spears.

She’s an official impersonator by night and is desperate to spin a career out of Britney’s all-encompassing brand.

It makes you wonder at the lengths to which people will go to access celebrity. Just last week twin brothers had extensive cosmetic facial reconstruction to look like Brad Pitt and wound up looking better, but nothing like Mr. Jennifer Aniston.

Perhaps we can find messages of self-love and acceptance. Or the names and locations of fantastic surgeons. Beneficial either way!

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Matt Donnelly can be reached at mattdonn@temple.edu