Dear diary: cigarettes 22, caffeine units 4,587 …
“BRIDGET JONES’S DIARY” star Renee Zellweger says she is taking a year out from movies to spend more time “drinking coffee with my friends.” The 35-year-old actress says she needs a complete break after finishing filming of the Bridget Jones sequel “The Edge of Reason.”
“The work is all-encompassing, and there are so many things that you are not allowed in your life, because of it,” said Zellweger, who had to pile on the pounds again for the film.
“I’d like to have coffee every day with my friends. I envy my friends who have that. So I’m stopping; I’m not really considering anything until this time next year.”
Meanwhile, Zellweger’s on-again, off-again relationship with White Stripes rocker Jack White appears to be off again.
But she does cop to one crush: “I really like Paul McCartney,” she says of the very married ex-Beatle, tongue firmly in cheek. “I haven’t told him yet but I think some friends of mine have.”
Has Dreyfuss finally jumped the shark?
Veteran actor Richard Dreyfuss, who helped make “Jaws” a modern classic, tells BBC’s Radio Times magazine he’s done with the movies, period.
“I want to do something else,” said Dreyfuss, who’s preparing to star in a London production of “The Producers,” adding: “I’m not seeking to do any more movies, and they’re not seeking me. I’m quite happy with that situation.”
Chan wants to show off his acting chops
Martial arts star Jackie Chan claims Hollywood limits roles for Asians and says it’s time he became a “real actor” by taking on other roles.
“It’s all the same: cop from Hong Kong, cop from China. Jet Li, Chow-Yun Fat and I all face the same problem, our roles are limited,” said Chan, 50. “I’ve always wanted to change, to become a real actor, like Robert De Niro. I don’t want to be seen as an action hero anymore.”
Chow’s had his fill of the U.S.
Chow Yun-Fat, meanwhile, says he can’t stand the American way of life.
“I can’t stand talking English every day or the lifestyle there … not to mention the food,” the Hong Kong-born film star (“The Replacement Killers”) told the Chinese newspaper The Sun. “I only go to America for work. When I finish work, I leave immediately. I won’t stay one day longer.”
Close shave? Not really
A judge dismissed rape charges against “Barbershop” actor Anthony Anderson on Wednesday, calling it “absolutely the most suspicious case I’ve ever heard.”
A 25-year-old woman who was seeking a job as an extra in the film “Hustle & Flow” accused Anderson and an assistant director of attacking her in a trailer on the movie set.
Quoteworthy
John Corbett (“Sex and the City,” “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”), on his career plans: “I’m singing and playing guitar. I’m definitely branching into music. I’ve got one more movie to promote after this one and then it’s, ‘Thank you, Jesus, I don’t have to do this anymore.’ “
The birthday bunch
Actor Paul Hogan is 65. Actor-comedian Chevy Chase is 61. Actress Sigourney Weaver is 55. Singer Robert “Kool” Bell (Kool and the Gang) is 54. Comedian Darrell Hammond (“Saturday Night Live”) is 49. Actress Stephanie Zimbalist is 48. Actress Emily Procter (“CSI: Miami”) is 36. Actor Matt Damon is 34. Actor Nick Cannon (“Drumline”) is 24. Actor Angus T. Jones (“Two and a Half Men”) is 11.