Don’t expect to see Mel Gibson at the pope’s funeral.
The devout Catholic won’t be attending the pontiff’s funeral, his office tells The Scoop, but had no information on buzz that he nixed plans to visit the pope’s body when it was lying in state.
“He had hoped to visit to view the body, but the logistics of it all were complicated,” says a source. “You can’t have a star like Mel Gibson waiting in line like that — it would have created a scene — but I guess it wouldn’t have been appropriate to have him moved ahead of the crowd like a foreign dignitary.”
The pope reportedly praised Gibson’s 2003 film “The Passion of the Christ” when he uttered: “It is as it was.” It was later denied that the pope had made that comment.
Trump doles out advice to Diaz
Donald Trump is not shy about giving career advice, and now he has some words for Cameron Diaz: get back into the public eye.
“Until recently she was Hollywood’s hottest actress, making $20 million per movie. But she’s dropped off the radar screen,” the reality show mogul recently opined. “She hasn’t done any big movies lately and the only thing that she seems to be doing is fighting the paparazzi when she’s with her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Justin Timberlake. But I don’t think it’s so smart for her to keep a low profile in this business. C’mon Cameron. Get back to work. You’re a terrific actress. We want to see your movies. And don’t worry about the paparazzi. They’ll only make you hotter.”
Trump may get his wish; Diaz has two films coming out in 2005.
Notes from all over
Looks like the “Million Dollar Baby” wants a baby of her own. Hilary Swank and Chad Lowe are planning to have a baby, according to Life & Style Weekly, which reports that the star told a friend, “I’m planning to put motherhood at the center of my life.” . . . The head of the Securities and Exchange Commission got miffed when he had trouble getting through the security of a government building. William H. Donaldson kept setting off the metal detector at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C., according to a source, who says Donaldson was asked to produce his ID. “He was not happy about it,” says the witness. . . . “I keep trying to retire from everything, and I discover I’ve retired from absolutely nothing,” 80-year-old Paul Newman told the May/June issue of AARP Magazine. “My health is good, my knees are good, and I’ve got a good lady. So I have nothing to complain about … At my age, I ought to be able to complain about something.”
Mondays through Thursdays on MSNBC.com