Sideshow: Brit gets role of Condi Rice

The lovely, the beautiful, the petite Brit thesp Thandie Newton, who made her film debut in '91 with an impossibly young, fresh Nicole Kidman in Flirting, has been given a heavy assignment by the king of cinematic density, Oliver Stone.

Stone has signed Thandie to assay the role of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in the coming tragic farce, W, the Nixon helmer's chronicle of George W. Bush's presidency.

According to the L.A. Times' Web site, the cast will include Josh Brolin as President Bush, James Cromwell as his father, George H.W. Bush, Elizabeth Banks as first lady Laura Bush and Ellen Burstyn as matriarch Barbara Bush.

So who'll play Veep Dick Cheney? How about Sir Anthony Hopkins, suggests the Times' Elizabeth Snead.

"Hey, he's already played ultimate villain Hannibal Lecter," says Snead, "and he was a devious and delusional Richard Nixon in Stone's film Nixon."

Ouch.

Hayek's helping hand

Salma Hayek will be one of the celebs who will take part in V to the Tenth, an event set for Friday and Saturday in New Orleans in support of the V-Day movement that aims to stop violence against women and girls.

Hayek tells USA Today her commitment to the V-Day movement, which was started by The Vagina Monologues playwright Eve Ensler, was renewed with the birth of her daughter, Paloma Valentina, in September.

"My little baby is the best thing that has happened to me in my life. I've got to think about her future. . . . I want all the babies of all the other women to have some of the opportunities and love and peace that my baby is being able to enjoy," Hayek said.

The two-day do will also feature Oprah Winfrey, Faith Hill, Jane Fonda, Jennifer Hudson, Marisa Tomei and Jessica Alba.

Clooney's outrage

George Clooney tells the New Yorker (the New York Post reports) that his people are investigating the source of a voicemail message an anon man left on his home phone warning him to dump gf Sarah Larson.

"Dude," the caller said, "your friends asked me to give you a message: Dump before you're sorry!"

Clooney tells the mag the call is no joke. "It's not a prank - none of my friends would do that." For her part, Larson is incensed. She said the tabloids have called her character into question since day one.

"They say that I'm a stripper. There's a ton of stuff about that. I've never been a stripper," said the Vegas waitress, who is angry at the contorted logic of the gossipers: "Because I'm a cocktail server, that means I'm an escort."

J.Lo's ecumenical invite

Gossip news outlet Showbiz Spy claims that Jennifer Lopez has asked Tom Cruise to be godfather to her twins, Max and Emme, who entered the cosmos on Feb. 22.

An anon source tells the online gossip site that J.Lo had some trouble persuading her Catholic hubby, Marc Anthony, to OK her choice of Cruise, a Scientologist. But accept he has.

A good thing, since word is that Cruise and wife Katie Holmes are throwing a celeb-studded $200,000 party for the twins.

'Idol' to give back

Democratic presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama both appeared - via taped messages - Sunday night at Fox's second American Idol Gives Back charity show, which drew 3,000 fans to the Kodak Theatre in Lalaland. The show will be broadcast tomorrow night.

Sen. John McCain's people also submitted a tape, but the video quality was so poor that it was never shown, says USAToday.com.

"We didn't make these films," said producer Nigel Lythgoe, who said McCain was given the chance to re-shoot his message for tomorrow's broadcast

The event, which last year raised $76 mil for poverty-stricken children worldwide, features Brad Pitt, Reese Witherspoon, Billy Crystal, Miley Cyrus, Jimmy Kimmel, Sarah Silverman and Mariah Carey.

Geri flips for a dancer

The Idol charity show also featured an appearance by Geri Halliwell, 35, who showed off her new beau, backup dancer Ivan "Flipz" Velez.

Yep, Ginger Spice has gone the way of Britney Spears and J.Lo and fallen for one of the boys who prettified the stage during the last Spice Girls tour.

London's Daily Mail says Flipz is particularly noted in backup dancing circles for his proficiency at breakdancing.

Naomi's punishment

Supermodel Naomi Campbell, who last week was hauled off a British Airways flight and arrested on suspicion of assaulting a cop after she threw a temper tantrum over some misplaced luggage, may be gifted with a life-time ban from British Airways. The airline says it continues to review her case.

Meanwhile, Brit tabloid News of the World says Naomi may escape formal charges and just receive a formal caution. If she were charged and found guilty of assault, she would face six months in jail.

Apology to Tony and Eva

Paparazzi agency and online gossip outlet X17Online has apologized for a series of stories it ran in December claiming that Eva Longoria's husband, French-born basketball star Tony Parker, had had an affair with a French model named Alexandra Paressant.

"Since the publication of these articles, X17online.com and X17, Inc. have discovered that Mr. Parker has never met with, or spoken to Ms. Paressant nor has he ever had sexual relations with her," X17Online says in a posting on its Web site. The site says it was seriously misled by Paressant.

Parker, who wed Eva in July 2007, filed a $40 mil lawsuit in Superior Court in L.A. in December, charging the reports were "false and defamatory."

"I love my wife," Parker said at the time. "She's the best thing in my life, and I have never been happier."

No word yet on whether the lawsuit is being withdrawn.

Festival film canceled

The Philadelphia Film Festival entry Irina Palm, which was to screen today at 5 p.m. at the Bridge and Friday at 9:30 p.m. at the Ritz 5, has been replaced by another film because of problems with the film print. Far North, starring Michelle Yeoh as a survivalist in the Arctic, will be screened instead.

The festival will refund the price of the ticket, honor the Irina Palm ticket for the replacement screening, or offer a ticket switch for another film.

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Contact "SideShow" at sideshow@phillynews.com. This article contains information from Inquirer news services and Web sites.