He’s still giving her some lip

George Clooney can make just about any woman blush – even Renee Zellweger, his co-star in the new “Leatherheads” movie.

“Tell them your favorite scene in the film, Renee. The kissing scene,” Clooney joked during a promotional stop in Greenville, S.C., where scenes for the movie were shot. “Talk about how much you liked the kissing scenes.”

He and Zellweger greeted several hundred screaming fans who snapped photos and fought the large crowd just to catch a glimpse of the stars, who signed autographs, posed for pictures and accepted keys to the city.

“We were fairly aware of Greenville long before we showed up here,” said Clooney. “We had a great time here and wanted to bring the film back before we go to open it in Los Angeles … or anyplace else.”

Zellweger said many extras in “Leatherheads,” which was inspired by a 1920s football team, were among the fans.

“I think I recognized half of this crowd from the game sequence,”she said.

In “Leatherheads,” opening next Friday, Clooney plays an aging player on the Duluth Bulldogs and Zellweger is a feisty reporter.

Making a ‘Hobbit’ of it?

Ian McKellen, who played Gandalf the Wizard in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, is hoping to reprise the role in its upcoming two-part prequel, “The Hobbit.”

“Encouragingly, (producers) Peter (Jackson) and Fran Walsh have told me they couldn’t imagine ‘The Hobbit’ without their original Gandalf,” McKellen told a fan on his Web site.

“Their confidence hasn’t yet been confirmed by the director Guillermo del Toro, but I am keeping my diary free for 2009!” he added.

Not-so-ramblin’ man

In the singer sick bay report, the Allman Brothers Band’s Gregg Allman reportedly is unable to play several upcoming concerts because of his treatments for hepatitis C.

Drummer Butch Trucks says Allman began undergoing treatment last year.

And Frenchie Davis, the big-voiced “American Idol” contestant who found success on Broadway in “Rent,” will undergo surgery to remove a vocal cord polyp.

A losing gambol

Magician Teller has no regrets about losing a $5,000 bet on partner Penn Jillette to win “Dancing With the Stars.”

Jillette was eliminated on Tuesday’s results show. The odds against him were 30-to-1, so Teller stood to win $150,000.

“I have paid that kind of money for ringside seats for famous events, you know, and I think paying five grand to have a prime ringside seat to the dance of the century was a good deal,” Teller said.

He added that Jillette “danced amazingly. He was perfectly in time, his footwork was amazing. I think the judges just have a blind spot for grace in men with size 14 shoes.”

The birthday bunch

TV host John McLaughlin (“The McLaughlin Group”) is 81. Comedian Eric Idle is 65. Composer Vangelis (“Chariots of Fire”) is 65. Actor Christopher Lambert (“Highlander”) is 51. Singer Perry Farrell (Porno for Pyros, Jane’s Addiction) is 49. Comedian Amy Sedaris is 47. Model Elle Macpherson is 45. Actress Lucy Lawless (“Xena: Warrior Princess”) is 40. Singer Kelly Sweet is 20.