Dowd's take on men

Dowd's take on men
NEW YORK -- Maureen Dowd, who seems to have problems with a lot of people, is getting a little more specific: Her new book, from G.P. Putnam's Sons, is called "Are Men Necessary?" Dowd is a New York Times columnist and best-selling author. Comedian Bill Maher likes to call her "the smartest girl in the class." Dowd doesn't disagree. According to her publicist, Dowd's new book says that women's liberation has been less a steady trajectory than a confusing zigzag.
Judd's luxury bus burns
LITTLE ROCK -- A fire gutted the luxury bus Ashley Judd was using during the shooting of an independent film in Arkansas, officials said Wednesday. Judd and hundreds of extras were shooting a nightclub scene Monday for the movie "Come Early Morning" at the Hollywood Country Club when the blaze broke out, said Joe Glass, of the state Department of Economic Development's film office. The bus was parked outside the club. No one was injured, but damage to the rental bus was estimated at $500,000. A member of the film's production company told sheriff's deputies he left a candle burning inside the bus. The candle touched off the fire, Fire Chief Randy Blakey said. Judd stars in the film about a small town woman who has never committed to a serious relationship. Shooting began in April and is scheduled to wrap Saturday. The film is to debut in January at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah.
Reviewers are mixed onSchwimmer London debut
LONDON -- London theater reviewers blew hot and cold over David Schwimmer's West End debut in Neil LaBute's "Some Girls." Several praised Schwimmer's turn as a soon-to-be-married womanizer visiting four former girlfriends. But others doubted he was the right actor to tackle a writer famed -- in plays such as "In the Company of Men" and "Your Friends and Neighbors" -- for unblinking examinations of male misogyny. The Independent's Paul Taylor found LaBute and Schwimmer "an incongruous pairing." "Throughout, Schwimmer remains bland, competent and boyish ... This love rat would much rather be stroked than bite," he wrote in Wednesday's edition. For the Daily Mail's Quentin Letts, Schwimmer's performance couldn't erase the image of his unlucky-in-love sitcom character, Ross Geller, on NBC's "Friends." "It's all perfectly likable but the role probably has greater possibilities," Letts wrote. "A more sinister edge might have been interesting to see, but I'm not sure Mr. Schwimmer does sinister. He's just Ross." But the Times' Benedict Nightingale was impressed by Schwimmer's "earnest, anxious figure who sometimes seems less like a man than a dog eager to be told he's a good boy." The show, "while never bland, could sometimes be tenser," he wrote. "Yet there's plenty of subtle, telling funny writing in a play which is far more than an excuse for a TV star to parade his skills in London." And Daily Telegraph critic Charles Spencer found Schwimmer "inspired casting." Most critics found something to like in LaBute's play and in David Gridley's world-premiere production at the Gielgud Theatre. Many praised Catherine Tate, Lesley Manville, Sara Powell and Saffron Burrows as the variously wronged women. "Some Girls" is scheduled to run until Aug. 13.
Brown says Houston hascompleted stint in rehab
NEW YORK -- Bobby Brown says he believes that his wife, Whitney Houston, has successfully completed a second stint in rehab. "I'm very confident," Brown told "Access Hollywood" in an interview Tuesday night. "She's my lady and she's doing wonderful. Everything about her spirit right now is just great ... we're enjoying life again." In March, Houston checked herself into a rehabilitation center for the second time in a year. Houston, who had said she was using the power of prayer to get over drugs, married Brown in 1992. Brown, who has a history of drug and alcohol arrests, told "Access Hollywood" that it's been difficult for both of them. "It's a team effort whenever somebody is ill," he said. "It takes two to make things work, so I have to be there for her just like she was there for me when I went through my rehab stint." The 41-year-old Houston has been working on a comeback album. "She's going to start recording," Brown said. "Hopefully, I will get to work with her on this album." Brown, 36, is the subject of a new eight-episode reality TV show, "Being Bobby Brown," set to debut June 30 on Bravo. The show will also feature Houston.
How Swank and Lowe keep their marriage intact
LOS ANGELES -- When their acting schedules keep them apart, Hilary Swank and Chad Lowe rely on the phone to keep their seven-year marriage intact. Lowe recently visited Swank in Bulgaria, where she's filming "The Black Dahlia" with Scarlett Johansson and Josh Hartnett. Then Lowe accompanied the two-time Oscar winner to Japan for the premiere of "Million Dollar Baby." "When one of us travels, we talk on the phone three to four times a day, no matter the time difference," he said. "We never go more than two weeks without seeing each other. My heart can't stand being away from her for too long." They don't have any children yet, but Lowe found himself playing a father in "Fielder's Choice," a Hallmark Channel movie that airs June 18. Lowe's character is a workaholic bachelor who becomes guardian of his 8-year-old nephew after the sudden death of his sister.
Today's birthdays
Novelist Herman Wouk is 90. Actor Christopher Lee is 83. Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger is 82. Actress Lee Meriwether is 70. Musician Ramsey Lewis is 70. Actor Louis Gossett Jr. is 69. Rhythm-and-blues singer Raymond Sanders (The Persuasions) is 66. Country singer Don Williams is 66. Actor Bruce Weitz is 62. Singer Cilla Black is 62. Senator Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) is 61. Singer Bruce Cockburn is 60. Actor Richard Schiff is 50. Singer Siouxsie Sioux (The Creatures, Siouxsie and the Banshees) is 48. Rock musician Eddie Harsch (The Black Crowes) is 48. Rock singer-musician Neil Finn (The Finn Brothers) is 47. Actress Peri Gilpin is 44. Actor Todd Bridges is 40. Rock musician Sean Kinney (Alice In Chains) is 39. Actor Dondre Whitfield is 36. Actor Paul Bettany is 34. Rock singer-musician Brian Desveaux (Nine Days) is 34. Rapper Andre 3000 (Outkast) is 31. Rapper Jadakiss is 30. Actor Ethan Dampf ("American Dreams") is 11.