A Lopex ex-hubby sues

A Lopex ex-hubby sues
LOS ANGELES -- An ex-husband of Jennifer Lopez has sued her on allegations that she breached a contract, claiming he was wrongly fired as the manager of her restaurant in Pasadena, reports The Associated Press. Ojani Noa, a waiter who married Lopez in 1997, filed a lawsuit this week in Los Angeles Superior Court. They met at a restaurant in Miami where he worked and were married for about a year. Noa quit his job managing the Conga Room in Los Angeles in 2002 to take a job running Lopez's new restaurant, Madres, and was told by her that she would not fire him "without good cause or reason," the lawsuit said. Noa, who was paid $1,000 a week, was fired six months after he started the job at Madres, which opened in April 2002, the lawsuit said. It wasn't known why Noa was fired. "Mr. Noa tried to call Ms. Lopez to find out what prompted this sudden change of events. His calls went unreturned," the lawsuit said. A phone call to Lopez's publicist was not immediately returned. Noa is seeking unspecified damages.
Union says Ross receivedspecial treatment in jail
GREENWICH, Conn. -- Police Chief James Walters gave Diana Ross special treatment while the singer served her sentence for an Arizona drunken-driving conviction, the town's police union said. Ross pleaded no contest in February and was sentenced to two days in jail. She arranged to serve her jail sentence in Greenwich, where she lives. The former lead singer for the Supremes was arrested Dec. 30, 2002, after a driver called to report a car traveling south in the northbound lanes outside Tucson. Tests showed Ross had a blood-alcohol level of 0.20 percent, police said. Arizona's legal limit for drivers is 0.08. Walters allowed Ross to have a cell phone in her jail cell, have food delivered and let her go home in the middle of her sentence, the police union said in a 44-page report to public officials that was given to the Greenwich Times. "In the situation involving the incarceration of Ms. Ross, I made some poor decisions and accept responsibility for them," Walters said at a news conference Wednesday. He didn't say which decisions he regretted. Walters said Ross and her lawyers told him that her two-day sentence could be broken into two 24-hour blocks. Without a female guard to supervise Ross, Walters said he thought it appropriate to send her home.
Elvis Presley, Irishman?
LOS ANGELES -- CBS had to go abroad -- Ireland, to be precise -- to tap actor Jonathan Rhys-Meyers for the miniseries role of Elvis Presley, Zap2it.com reports. Not exactly a household name, the man who would be The King played the soccer coach in 2002's "Bend It Like Beckham." The fact-based, four-hour drama will also star Camryn Manheim "The Practice") as Presley's mother, Gladys, and Randy Quaid ("LBJ: The Early Years") as his manager, Col. Tom Parker, the network said. Rose McGowan ("Charmed") will play Ann-Margret, the actress who co-starred with Presley in the 1964 film "Viva Las Vegas."
Uma in 'Producers' role?
NEW YORK -- Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom have their Ulla. But Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick might soon have their Uma, reports E!Online. Uma Thurman, that is. The actress, last seen as a sword-wielding assassin in Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill" movies, is in talks to replace Nicole Kidman as Ulla, the bombshell Swedish secretary in Mel Brooks' big-screen adaptation of his hit Broadway musical, "The Producers." Kidman dropped out of the $45 million production just days ago, citing an overbooked calendar. She said she wouldn't have enough time to rehearse the film's song and dance routines before segueing into her starring role opposite Russell Crowe and Geoffrey Rush in the fantasy romance "Eucalyptus," which is scheduled to begin filming in January. Looking to replace one leggy blonde with another, the producers of "The Producers" approached Thurman, whose slate is wide open after recently wrapping work on "Be Cool," MGM's "Get Shorty" sequel also starring her old "Pulp Fiction" dance partner John Travolta.
Today's birthdays
Singer Tony Martin is 91. Actor Dick Miller is 76. Actress Hanna Schygulla is 61. R & amp;B singer John Edwards (The Spinners) is 60. Actor Gary Sandy is 59. Singer Jimmy Buffett is 58. Football Hall-of-Famer Larry Csonka is 58. Singer Barbara Mandrell is 56. Actress Sissy Spacek is 55. Actress CCH Pounder is 52. Singer Annie Lennox is 50. Reggae singer-musician Robin Campbell (UB40) is 50. Country singer Steve Wariner is 50. Singer Shane McGowan (The Popes) is 47. Actress Klea Scott is 36. Rock musician Noel Hogan (The Cranberries) is 33. Singer Dido is 33. Rock singer Mac Powell (Third Day) is 32. Country singer Alecia Elliott is 22.
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