People talk 7/2/03

Dunst takes lessons for 'Wimbledon' role

WIMBLEDON, England -- Kirsten Dunst is looking to John McEnroe for inspiration while filming the tennis movie "Wimbledon."

The "Spider-Man" actress was at Wimbledon Tuesday filming scenes for the romantic comedy in which she stars alongside Paul Bettany ("A Beautiful Mind").

In the film, due out next fall, Bettany plays an aging British player who goes on a winning streak at the world's most famous tennis tournament. Off the court, he tries to win the heart of Dunst's character, an up-and-coming American tennis star.

"She's marketed as the bad girl of tennis," Dunst said during a break in filming.

"She's very dedicated, doesn't have many friends, has a very controlling father. She's very sexually aggressive, very tough. They fall in love, he helps her and she helps him, it's very romantic comedy."

Dunst is reading books about tantrum expert McEnroe for ideas.

"My character is very feisty, very angry. I have a lot of scenes of my yelling at the umpire," she said. "She's like a female McEnroe. That's what I want to be."

The 21-year-old actress has been taking tennis lessons for three months, including from 1987 champion Pat Cash.

"I'm a quick learner so I'm getting there," she said. "I'm really good at backhand, but my forehand isn't very consistent. I'm pretty good at dancing around the court. The serve is something I really haven't got yet."

Former partner sues P. Diddy for $25 million

NEW YORK -- A former business partner is suing Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, claiming the rapper threatened him with a baseball bat in 1996 and cheated him out of $25 million.

Kirk Burrowes claims Combs used the bat threat to force him to sign over a 25 percent stake in Bad Boy Entertainment, Combs' music conglomerate. Burrowes claims he was wrongly fired as president of the company.

"Kirk just wants Sean to realize the value he had in making Sean what he is today and to do the right thing," John Bostany, Burrowes' lawyer, told the Daily News for Tuesday's editions.

In a statement Tuesday, Combs said of the $25 million lawsuit: "The allegations are pure fantasy. Kirk Burrowes hasn't been employed for seven years, and now he makes up a fictional story for financial gain."

The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court, also names Bad Boy Entertainment and Kenneth Meiselas, a lawyer for the conglomerate, as defendants.

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WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- Rebecca Kelly, the mother of two children with Jack Nicholson, was given a conditional release Monday on charges in an air rage incident on a 2002 Virgin Atlantic Airways flight.

Kelly, also known as Rebecca Ann Broussard, pleaded guilty to one count of assault. A charge of mischief endangering an aircraft was dropped.

The 40-year-old actress was ordered to abstain from alcohol and nonmedical drugs for a month, and intends to reimburse Virgin Atlantic Airways more than $26,000.

In ordering the conditional release, Judge John Guy noted Kelly had no prior criminal record.

Kelly allegedly became angry when airline staff stopped serving her alcohol on a flight from Los Angeles to London. She allegedly hit and swore at an attendant, then was handcuffed as the flight was diverted to Winnipeg, where she was arrested and spent a night in detention.

Defense lawyer Richard Wolson said Kelly had been so traumatized by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that she developed a fear of flying and had consumed alcohol and tranquilizers before boarding.

Kelly, whose films include "Die Hard," "Man Trouble" and "Mars Attacks," brushed past reporters after the hearing ended.

She and Nicholson, 66, have a son and a daughter.

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CARACAS, Venezuela -- Salsa singer Oscar D'Leon vowed to continue making music and touring despite suffering several heart attacks while performing in Martinique two weeks ago.

"Oscar D'Leon will be around for a while," the 59-year-old performer said during an emotional news conference Monday in his hometown of Caracas. "If God lets me, I'll be singing until I'm 90."

D'Leon left the stage during a June 13 concert in the French Caribbean territory of Martinique, saying he was feeling faint. By the time he arrived at the hospital, he'd suffered three successive heart attacks.

Doctors gave D'Leon two pacemakers, and he was forced to cancel tour dates in Europe, Asia and the Americas.

"This is a lesson to take care of myself more," said D'Leon, who hopes to resume touring after about a month's rest.

D'Leon, known as the "Devil of Salsa," began his professional career in 1973 with the group Dimension Latina. Four years later, he launched a solo career during which he recorded more than 50 albums and worked with artists including Celia Cruz, Tito Puente and Arturo Sandoval.

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NEW YORK -- Trisha Meili, who became known as the Central Park jogger after the brutal attack that almost killed her there 14 years ago, jogged past the site of her assault during a charity run-walk event.

The former investment banker took second place in the 5-mile Hope and Possibility race Sunday, accompanied by about 1,000 others running to support disabled athletes. The race, sponsored by the Achilles Track Club, went by the spot on the upper end of the park where Meili was attacked on April 19, 1989.

Meili, 42, has said she has no recollection of that night. Her memoir, "I Am the Central Park Jogger: A Story of Hope and Possibility," was recently published.

Five teenagers were convicted in the attack and served prison sentences ranging from 6 years and 8 months to 13 years. Their convictions were thrown out in December after Matias Reyes, 31, an imprisoned murderer, said he alone had attacked the jogger. A DNA test confirmed he was involved.

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LONGMONT, Colo. -- Johnson's Corner, the gas station and eatery described in Jack Kerouac's "On the Road," has been moved from the spot where the Beat poet found it.

The rare precast concrete, 1937 art-deco structure, designed by Denver architect Eugene Groves, was moved Sunday to its new home in Prospect New Town, a development about a mile south of its former location on Longmont's Main Street.

Kerouac describes taking a nap under a tree at a gas station fitting its description and then ordering a creamy milkshake.

"It's on the road," said Mark Sofield, the development's designer. "I think he'd appreciate it if he were here. We're going to have to replace the tree."

Historical preservation activists, among others, battled for 18 months to save the building, which had last been used as an office for a car lot, finally raising the $160,000 needed to move and establish a new home for the structure.

The Colorado Department of Transportation had planned to raze the structure to make room for the extension of a highway.

Although Kerouac didn't mention the curvy filling station trimmed with molded dental details by name, the book includes a description of a place presumed to be Johnson's Corner.

Sofield said they hope to raise money to restore the building and possibly convert it into a restaurant.

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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Boxing promoter Don King said he's selling the one-time jai-alai fronton he planned to convert into a sports entertainment complex.

King spent $6.2 million to buy the land for the complex in 1999 with plans to add a restaurant, shops and a hotel.

But the project fell apart because of difficulty attracting community and corporate support, King said in a statement Friday. He said he's spent more than $1 million renovating the property.

"We presently have interest from commercial and industrial developers to build out retail or industrial developments that would bring in substantial jobs to the community," King said.

King said he hopes a buyer will step forward to buy the 54-acre site and said he'd still be interested in bringing boxing to the site if it's purchased.

King, who lives in the island city of Manalapan, runs Don King Productions out of Deerfield Beach.