People: Oprah’s newest is not so pretty
Don’t expect a lot of sunshine in Oprah Winfrey‘s latest book club pick.
Winfrey on Wednesday announced her choice of Cormac McCarthy‘s “The Road,” a bleak, apocalyptic novel by an author who rarely talks to the media.
“(It’s) very unusual for me to select this book, but it’s fascinating,” Winfrey said on her daytime talk show.
“I promise you, you’ll be thinking about it long after you finish the final page.”
“The Road,” a sparely written story of a father and son trying to survive as they wander through a barren landscape, is considered a leading contender for the Pulitzer Prize.
The reclusive McCarthy, 73, known for novels such as “All the Pretty Horses” and “Blood Meridian,” will soon conduct his “first television interview ever,” Winfrey said.
McCarthy’s publicist said the author “thought it would be interesting to participate in the conversation with Oprah,” adding: “He knew who she was when she called.”
Still standing
Artificial leg and all, Heather Mills survived the first cut on “Dancing With the Stars” in fine fashion this week, wowing the judges with a backflip during a mambo routine.
“I’m lucky it paid off,” says Paul McCartney‘s ex. “Your foot has to land exactly flat underneath you. If I had landed on my heel, I would have gone flying backward. That would have been scary.”
Sitting this one out
Not quite so pleased with the “Dancing” result was supermodel Paulina Porizkova, who became the first of this season’s contestants to be eliminated.
“I guess my fan base was my family and they were not extensive enough,” she said.
DUI-list celebrities
The latest on the drinking-and-driving beat:
“Black Eyed Peas singer Taboo (aka Jaime Luis Gomez), 31, was cited for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, possession of a prescribed medication without a prescription and driving under the influence after an accident Tuesday morning near Los Angeles.
“Jessica Smith, 19, formerly of MTV’s “Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County,” was arrested for investigation of felony driving under the influence of alcohol after crashing her Volkswagen Beetle into another car late Monday night on a California freeway.
It just needs a tuna-up
Jessica Simpson was greeted by dozens of cheering children as she donated a new minivan to an orphanage in the border city of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.
The singer-actress won a Chrysler Crossfire sports car at the MTV Video Music Awards last fall but exchanged the $50,000 luxury car for a minivan so she could help the orphanage, which she first visited in 1996.
The birthday bunch
Television host John McLaughlin (“The McLaughlin Group”) is 80. Comedian Eric Idle (Monty Python) is 64. Composer Vangelis (“Chariots of Fire”) is 64. Singer Perry Farrell (Porno for Pyros, Jane’s Addiction) is 48. Comedian Amy Sedaris is 46. Model Elle Macpherson is 44. Singer-harmonica player John Popper (Blues Traveler) is 40. Actress Lucy Lawless (“Xena: Warrior Princess”) is 39. Country singer Brady Seals is 38.