New York, May 30, 2007 – Just as Marc Anthony was about to speak to Access Hollywood at the Children’s Health Fund gala on Wednesday, a cell phone began to ring very loudly. Some of the media folks jeered, and the phone kept jingling, and Marc joked, “I’ll get that in a second!” Whoever the phone belonged to didn’t get the hint – it rang again about 30 seconds later, and the the Latin superstar ignored it the second time.

CHF provides health care to uninsured children, and Jennifer Lopez, there to support her man who performed at the gala, said she’s all about the kids. “I’ve always had close to my heart the children’s charities", Lopez said. "It’s very important that they have all they need to grow and prosper into healthy human beings.”

Despite the lack of a belly bump in the fitted Michael Kors gown that J. Lo was wearing, talking about children led the reporter, inevitably, to ask if the couple has a bun in the oven. Jennifer whispered “No”; Marc said “Oh, here we go!” and they swiftly left the press room.

Photo: Joy E. Scheller/LFI

New York, May 29, 2007 – Unlike his costars Demi Moore, Dane Cook and William Hurt, Kevin Costner made the trip to New York for a special screening of the new thriller, Mr. Brooks, in which he plays a serial killer. Costner’s wife, Christine, did not accompany him – she stayed home with their three-plus-week-old son, Cayden, whom dad called “kind of sweet”. But the newborn is the Dances With Wolves star's fifth child, so he wasn't alone at the screening. Daughter Annie Costner and son Joe Costner watched the film at the Tribeca Grand Hotel, and then hung out at the after party in the garden at the Soho Grand.

Kevin chatted with the young folks and their friends for a while, and then scooted over to the next table and spent most of the evening with Kyle MacLachlan and his wife, Desiree Gruber. All of the Costners were still at the party when we left after 11 P.M.

Less Than Perfect actor Zachary Levi made a show of getting rid of chewing gum, first removing it from his mouth and sticking it on the top of a movie poster, from which it fell. He then picked it up off the floor, wrapped it in a napkin and stuffed it in his pocket. This was all in front of the cameras.

May 25-26, 2007 – Open All Night wallowed in vice presidents during the Memorial Day weekend, beginning on Friday at a Barnes & Noble store on Union Square in Manhattan, where Al Gore signed copies of his new book, The Assualt on Reason. The maybe/maybe not 2008 presidential candidate’s book skewers the current Bush administration, and ironically, bright and early the next morning we found ourselves in the company of Vice President Dick Cheney, who was handing out diplomas to the 2007 graduating class at West Point, the United States Military Academy.

The vice president joked that President George W. Bush had been lenient in granting amnesty for small infractions to school rules, a West Point commencement tradition. Bush gave the 2006 West Point commencement address.

New York, May 23, 2007 – While at the premiere of HBO’s Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee on Thursday, it struck us that all four stars - Adam Beach, Aidan Quinn, Anna Paquin and August Schellenberg - have names beginning with the letter “A”. Alliteration or coincidence?

A Native American who lived on a reservation in Canada as a child, Beach said that watching the movie about the displacement of American Indians in the Dakotas was painful, but he’s glad he did it. “This has been one of the best experiences because of the connection with the Lakota nations – a lot of people don’t realize, but that’s the heartbeat of America”, Beach told us. “You know, there’s a story that if you go up and take a picture of the world and you look at the Black Hills, it’s in the shape of a heart. And we as Native people believe that; the Lakota nation. And to this day, they teach other tribes that have lost their culture and traditions, and they teach them how to get it back.”

For Paquin, the story wasn’t the most painful thing about watching the film. “The parts I’m in I find hard to watch because I don’t like watching myself, but the rest of the film is just beautiful”, she said at the premiere at the Museum of Natural History. Paquin was sporting brand new blonde locks, thanks to a role in a new HBO series called True Blood.

New York, May 22, 2007 – Dogs on the red carpet are becoming a hazard. Just last week, a puppy at the Maxim Hot 100 party bit Kate Walsh on the chin, and now Rachel Dratch had a run-in with a dog at a movie premiere. The Saturday Night Live alum was late and rushing to the premiere of Crazy Love, the documentary by public relations executive Dan Klores, and she was trying to find the correct entrance at the Beekman Theater on Manhattan’s East Side. Suddenly, a passing dog let out a yelp, and Dratch realized she was standing on its foot. We got go see some of her hilarious physical comedy in person, as she grimaced and stammered an apology to the dog and its owner while frantically looking around for the entrance.

Crazy Love tells the story of Burt and Linda Pugach, who got married after he’d thrown acid in her face. The Pugach’s attended the screening – she wore sunglasses. Howard Stern and Beth Ostrosky, Matt Dillon, Bebe Neuwirth, music honcho Tommy Mottola, Fisher Stevens and Sopranos stars Steve Schirripa and John Ventimiglia all managed to avoid altercations with animals.