People talk 05/15/03

Spears, Skechers settle competing lawsuits

LOS ANGELES -- Lawyers for Britney Spears and the Skechers footwear company have settled competing federal lawsuits over a deal for the pop star to market a line of roller skates and accessories, court documents state.

Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

Spears filed a $1.5 million breach of agreement lawsuit against Skechers in December, claiming the Manhattan Beach-based company failed to pay her adequately for marketing a line of skates and accessories.

The 21-year-old pop star also claims Skechers failed to find outside businesses to make accessories for her line, and used her presence in ads to increase sales of its own skate products.

Skechers responded with a $10 million lawsuit, accusing Spears of fraud and breach of the three-year, worldwide licensing agreement she signed in January 2002.

The company claimed Spears refused to cooperate with designers and marketers in rolling out her products.

The settlement was disclosed in documents filed May 8 in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.

Schwarzenegger plans video-game futureLOS ANGELES -- "Pumping Iron," the video game?

It could happen, according to bodybuilder-turned-actor-turned-video-game-enthusiast Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The action star is promoting his new movie, "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines," due in theaters July 2. He also stars in an Atari video game based on the movie that will be released this fall.

It's the first time Schwarzenegger has contributed his likeness and voice to a video game.

"I've seen in the past other images of me and some were bogus, I would say," Schwarzenegger said Monday at an Atari party. "This is the first time the movements, the facial expressions don't look like I can't recognize myself."

Now that he's indicated his willingness to appear in video games, the 55-year-old said companies are approaching him with ideas, including a pitch to make a game based on the film that launched his career, the 1977 weightlifting documentary "Pumping Iron."

"That is actually a great idea," Schwarzenegger said. "Two companies came to me with that idea to make it interactive, to have pose-offs."

'Bachelorette' funny guy becomes new 'Bachelor'NEW YORK -- It's no joke: Bob Guiney, the funny man who was rejected on "The Bachelorette," gets to choose from 25 aspiring wives on "The Bachelor" this fall.

The 32-year-old mortgage broker from Ferndale, Mich., made it to the third round of ABC's dating competition before Trista Rehn sent him home. Rehn ultimately picked firefighter and part-time poet Ryan Sutter, whom she plans to marry on television this fall.

But Guiney developed a sort of cult following for his goofy, fearless humor -- or, as ABC phrases it on its online casting application, "Women everywhere fell head over heels for his charm, wit and warmth and now we're giving you the chance to marry him!"

Guiney has appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" several times since "The Bachelorette" ended in January, and has signed a book deal with Penguin.

-- From wire reports