People talk 9/9/03

Dixie Chicks enjoy calm return to Europe

STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- The last time the Dixie Chicks were in Europe, their politics got them in trouble with radio stations back in the United States.

But at the start of their European concert tour in Stockholm, the Texas trio said their focus would be on the music.

"This is our first time back in Europe since the 'incident,"' lead singer Natalie Maines told the sold-out crowd of 2,200 Saturday at the Globe Arena Annex.

"But you never know what we might say," she added, laughing.

The country stars endured criticism after Maines said she and her bandmates were ashamed that President Bush was from Texas. She made the remark in London shortly before the Iraq war.

Some radio stations in the United States stopped playing the band's music, but album sales and concert attendance remained strong. So far, the Dixie Chicks have made more than $1.2 million on their current tour.

Oscar-winning director finally receives award

DEAUVILLE, France -- Roman Polanski finally took home his Academy Award statue for best director this weekend, nearly six months after winning for "The Pianist."

Harrison Ford, a friend of Polanski and the star of his 1988 movie "Frantic," handed the director the prize Sunday at the Deauville film festival. Ford also had announced Polanski's win at the March 23 ceremony in Los Angeles, which the director didn't attend.

Polanski faces arrest in the United States since pleading guilty to having sex with a 13-year-old girl. He was charged with rape and five other felonies in 1977.

As part of a deal with prosecutors, Polanski pleaded guilty to having unlawful sex with a minor, then fled Los Angeles for Paris in 1978 to evade sentencing.

Talk show host to lend hand at benefit dinner

HADDONFIELD, N.J. -- Talk show host Kelly Ripa will head to her home state this week for a seafood dinner expected to raise more than $700,000 for Camden County Democrats.

The fund-raiser also is expected to benefit someone she holds particularly dear: her father, Joe Ripa, who's running for county freeholder.

The dinner Wednesday at the Tavistock Country Club will include lobster, crab cakes, shrimp, clams and oysters. Democratic supporters at the 16th annual Seafood Gala will pay $850 a plate.

Last month on "Live With Regis & Kelly," the younger Ripa said she did not know what a freeholder does. Republican candidate Christopher Carlson questioned her father's familiarity with the office as well.

Tom Sizemore faces more legal troubles

LOS ANGELES -- Tom Sizemore's former personal assistant has filed a lawsuit accusing the actor of harassment and sexual battery.

Paulina Briones says in her lawsuit, filed Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court, that the co-star of films including "Black Hawk Down" and "Saving Private Ryan" repeatedly propositioned her for sex.

The lawsuit also names Sizemore's holding company, Bare Knuckles Productions; Forward Pass, which produced Sizemore's defunct television show "Robbery Homicide Division"; Universal Television Network, the series' production company; and CBS Television, which licensed the show.

Briones says in the lawsuit that she was hired in July 2002 for $1,500 a week to handle such personal tasks as ensuring Sizemore was awake in time to arrive at the set of his show, fielding phone calls and getting him soft drinks.

However, Sizemore soon "made his needs and true intentions apparent," the lawsuit claims.

Bill Cosby offers tips to incoming freshmen

WILBERFORCE, Ohio -- One of TV's most famous dads had some fatherly advice for incoming freshmen at Central State University.

Bill Cosby told students they won't last long in college if they waste their time and don't study.

Cosby said there's no feeling of dread quite like knowing you're unprepared for an exam or a job interview.

"Jesus can give you strength. But he can't give you a new brain the night before the exam," he said Sunday night.

The historically black university near Dayton had asked Cosby to be the commencement speaker, but he said he thought he would have more impact on incoming freshmen.

Cosby, who played Cliff Huxtable on his 1980s sitcom "The Cosby Show," also told the students to respect the sacrifices their parents made to get them to college by striving to achieve and earning A's rather than settling for C's.

"I'll tell you one thing: You won't ever want a C student operating on your brain," he said.

Singer Mya reveals her background in dancing

SAN FRANCISCO -- She may have a voice that gets people dancing, but singing is really a second career for Mya.

The 22-year-old, who released her third album, "Moodring," this summer, originally was a teen tap-dancer. She once performed with the late tap great Gregory Hines on a Smithsonian Institution stage.

She spent her childhood in a succession of ballet, tap, gymnastic, majorette and cheerleading classes. She also studied tap with Savion Glover.

"I didn't really get sidetracked into being a singer," Mya told the San Francisco Chronicle for Sunday's editions. "It was just something I started to do for fun in school, like singing the national anthem."

David Spade surprised with demise of TV series

DALLAS -- When "Just Shoot Me!" died with a whimper, David Spade wasn't even aware of it.

Spade, whose latest movie is "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star," watched unhappily as his NBC sitcom got caught up in scheduling limbo as the network held it back and moved it around before deciding its fate.

The show's concluding episode aired at the end of August.

"It was kind of a bummer," he told The Dallas Morning News for Sunday's editions of the sitcom's seven year-run. The series also starred George Segal and Laura San Giacomo.

"You know, just give us a little help and we'll be fine. We don't have to be after 'Friends,' but at least let people know we're on. And then a couple weeks ago I read in the paper that our finale was on Saturday. And I thought, 'I'm on the show and I don't even know when it's on.' So that was that."