Jackson planning home, new job in Persian Gulf

Jackson planning home, new job in Persian Gulf
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Michael Jackson seems to be settling in to the Persian Gulf. The pop star has shopped for real estate here, been spotted in glitzy malls -- and now appears to be interviewing for a job.
Jackson, who was acquitted on child molestation charges in California last year, is negotiating a position as a consultant with a Bahrain-based company that plans to set up theme parks and music academies in the Middle East, according to a press release.
AAJ Holdings Ltd., owned by Ahmed Abu Bakr Janahi, said it wants to hire Jackson, 47, to give advice on setting up entertainment businesses.
Jackson is reportedly building a home in Bahrain, an island nation in the Persian Gulf linked to Saudi Arabia by a bridge.
Lee talks about King,jokes about Eminem
ROCHESTER, Mich. -- Spike Lee gave a campus audience some serious words about the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. -- and a joke about Eminem's weekend wedding.
Lee, director of "Malcolm X," "Jungle Fever" and "Do the Right Thing," spoke to about 500 people Monday during Martin Luther King Day observances at Oakland University.
"So many people had to fight hard so this could be a national holiday," Lee was quoted as saying in The Detroit News. "Many young Americans, both black and white, have no idea of the blood, sweat and tears that were sacrificed so we could drink from a water fountain, sit down in a bus, have the right to vote."
In one of several lighter moments in a 90-minute talk, Lee brought up Eminem's wedding at nearby Meadow Brook Hall on Saturday. The Grammy-winning rapper, born Marshall Bruce Mathers III, remarried Kim Mathers, his high school sweetheart.
"So I missed the wedding, huh?" said Lee. "I didn't get an invitation. What's up with that?"
Murphy plans to marry
LOS ANGELES -- Brittany Murphy is engaged, according to published reports.
The 28-year-old actress, who met Joe Macaluso while he was working as a production assistant on the 2004 romantic comedy "Little Black Book," became engaged over the holidays. The couple haven't set a wedding date, People and Us Weekly magazines reported Monday.
Burns wearing neck brace
PASADENA, Calif. -- Brooke Burns is sporting a new piece of jewelry that she's eager to get rid of.
The former "Baywatch" actress wore a jewelry-encrusted neck brace Sunday when she met with reporters to talk about her new WB comedy, "Pepper Dennis."
Burns broke her neck in her backyard pool during a diving accident in November.
She's able to take off her brace for short periods to film scenes. But once the WB decides when to put the series on the air -- it has no scheduled air date yet -- viewers may see the brace. By odd coincidence before she was injured, producers had written an episode that calls for her to wear a brace.
DeGarmo joins 'Hairspray'
NEW YORK -- Another "American Idol" contestant is heading for Broadway.
Following in the footsteps of Frenchie Davis, who appears in the rock musical "Rent," Diana DeGarmo will join the cast of "Hairspray" on Feb. 7.
The 18-year-old DeGarmo, one of the Fox television series' most popular runners-up, will portray the heroine's best friend, Penny Pingleton, in the musical, which opened on Broadway in August 2002.
"Hairspray," based on the cult John Waters' film, concerns a chubby Baltimore teen who wants to appear on a TV dance show.
Today's birthdays
Movie director John Boorman is 73. Singer-songwriter Bobby Goldsboro is 65. Comedian-singer-musician Brett Hudson is 53. Actor-director Kevin Costner is 51. Country singer Mark Collie is 50. Actress Jane Horrocks is 42. Comedian Dave Attell is 41. Actor Jesse L. Martin ("Law & amp; Order") is 37. Rapper DJ Quik is 36. Rock singer Jonathan Davis (Korn) is 35. Singer Christian Burns (BBMak) is 33. Actor Jason Segel is 26. Actress Samantha Mumba is 23.