People talk 06/06/03

Maguire blames movie roles for yo-yo dieting

NEW YORK -- Tobey Maguire has been yo-yo dieting lately, but it's work-related.

He bulked up to star as the webslinging crimefighter in last year's "Spider-Man," then trimmed down to play a jockey in the upcoming "Seabiscuit," then had to get buff again for next summer's "Spider-Man 2."

"Coming off of 'Seabiscuit' and going into 'Spider-Man,' it's different physically," the 27-year-old actor told MTV News. "I had to put on some weight and I didn't have a lot of time to train, I just changed my diet and my workout routine."

Maguire said it hasn't been hard to build the muscle back up with a combination of cardio, weights and yoga.

"I'm a vegetarian," he said. "It can be a little tedious sometimes. You're eating more than you'd like to eat or you're not working out as much as you'd like. But it's fine."

The behind-the-scenes interview with Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, his on-screen love in the "Spider-Man" movies, was scheduled to air at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, a half-hour before the MTV Movie Awards.

'Will and Grace' star pleads no contest

LOS ANGELES -- "Will & Grace" actress Shelley Morrison, who plays the sassy maid Rosario Salazar on the NBC sitcom, pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of shoplifting nearly $450 worth of jewelry.

Morrison, 66, was sentenced to a year of probation and fined $300 in Los Angeles Superior Court.

"Clearly, a mistake was made," her attorney, Donald Etra, told reporters after the Wednesday hearing. "Ms. Morrison fessed up to that mistake and now she wishes to move forward."

"I think Ms. Morrison has certainly learned from this experience," he added. "She will never find herself in this situation again."

Morrison was arrested April 23 after security guards found her with jewelry from a Robinsons-May department store in West Los Angeles.

The district attorney declined to file felony charges because of the value of the items and Morrison's lack of a prior record.

Morrison, whose given name is Rachel Mitrani, is married to author Walter Dominguez.

The actress also played Sister Sixto in the 1960s show "The Flying Nun" and has appeared in numerous movies.

Studdard plans to record first video in Alabama

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- "American Idol" winner Ruben Studdard will record a video for his upcoming single, "Flying Without Wings," in Birmingham this weekend.

It will be Studdard's first trip back to his hometown since winning Fox Network's singing crown and snaring a $1 million recording contract with J Records.

Roger Ubina, video producer with A Few Miles North production company in New York, picked Linn Park for Sunday's video shoot. His application to use the park is being processed by the city, according to City Council spokeswoman Debra Vance.

Studdard is expected to perform his single -- scheduled for release Tuesday -- near the fountain area, Ubina said. The video's theme is "Alabama welcoming Ruben home," and Studdard's fans are invited to be a part of the video, he said.

Neeson continues research for next role

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- In preparation for his next role, actor Liam Neeson is researching sex research pioneer Alfred Kinsey.

Neeson and members of a film team visited Indiana University's Kinsey Institute this week to view its sex research collections and get acquainted with the Bloomington area, including the Elm Heights house where Kinsey and his family lived.

The trip is part of the team's preparations for a film on Kinsey expected to be released next year. It will be directed by Oscar-winner Bill Condon, who wrote the screenplay. Laura Linney will play Kinsey's wife, Clara.

Kinsey collected histories of people's sex lives and published his findings in two groundbreaking and controversial books, "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male" in 1947 and "Sexual Behavior in the Human Female" in 1953. He died from a heart attack in August 1956 at the age of 62.

-- From wire reports