Forget beer – this time, Alan is crying in his fries
For an upbeat guy, Alan Jackson sure sings a lot of sad songs. About half of the 12 tracks on his new album, “What I Do,” which hit stores Tuesday, deal with lost love or loneliness.
“It just happened that way,” said Jackson, 45, who speaks in the same lazy drawl that he sings in. “It wasn’t anything planned. Even some of the lighter songs are about that same subject. But that’s always been my favorite kind of song anyway.”
On the album, for which Jackson wrote five of the 12 tracks, he sings about a failing relationship in “You Don’t Have to Paint Me a Picture,” learning to love again in “There You Go” and the pain of losing a loved one in “Strong Enough.”
In the chorus of “If French Fries Were Fat Free,” he sings: “If french fries were fat free and you still loved me/ What a wonderful world this would be.”
“My wife makes fun of me because I have a lot of songs with food,” he says. “But I say write what you know, and I know about food, cars and broken hearts.”
That’s what we call a real plus
Renee Zellweger, who swelled from a size 6 to a size 14 for her role in the “Bridget Jones’ Diary” sequel “The Edge of Reason,” is holding an online auction of her “fat clothes” – from designer dresses to tailor-made jeans – with proceeds benefiting children’s charities.
For Reese, it’s no vanity affair
“Legally Blonde” star Reese Witherspoon, who dyed her hair for her new film, “Vanity Fair,” says life as a brunette has a perk: anonymity.
“Nobody knows who I am,” she said at the Venice Film Festival. “Everybody walks right past me. It’s a nice reprieve from my normal self.”
Here comes Edward Wrinkle-hands
Unlike legions of other Hollywood stars, hipster heartthrob Johnny Depp says he actually enjoys aging.
The boyish-looking Depp – who plays “Peter Pan” author J.M. Barrie in his latest picture, “Finding Neverland” – was asked if the children’s character famed for never growing old made him wish for the same power.
“Nowadays, it’s all a question of surgery, isn’t it?” Depp, 41, joked to reporters in Venice, adding: “But I think it’s great fun growing old. I think it’s great.”
Um, let us translate for you …
“Lost in Translation” star Scarlett Johansson got more than she bargained for in Venice while promoting her new film, “A Love Song for Bobby Long.”
“This is kind of a confession: I can’t sleep at night thinking about you,” a young Chilean journalist told her. “I’m a journalist, but I’m an actor, too. Please, could you choose one of your favorites (movies) to make with me? Come on Scarlett, please.”
” ‘Single White Female,’ maybe,” quipped Johansson, 19, referring to the 1992 film about a woman whose roommate becomes dangerously obsessed with her.
“I’ve never seen it,” the reporter said. “What is it about? It is a love one?”
“Of sorts,” Johansson replied.
Will’s latest role: I, Roam-bot
As long as the crowds keep coming, Will Smith will walk down the red carpet to promote his latest movie, “I, Robot,” which opened two months ago in the U.S.
“When people are enjoying the movie, you don’t ever want to stop doing premieres,” the actor-rapper said in an interview at yet another gala premiere, this time in Tokyo. “You want to be going to different cities and countries and continents all over the globe. We have another one in South Africa.”
The birthday bunch
Comedian Sid Caesar is 82. Actor David Arquette is 33. Actor Larenz Tate is 29. Singer Pink is 25. Actor Jonathan Taylor Thomas (“Home Improvement”) is 23.