New low for Lohan

Lindsay Lohan checked herself into rehab following a wild weekend in which she was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving after being involved in an auto accident.

After the accident, Lohan continued to party with friends after she was released by police until she apparently collapsed outside a Hollywood nightclub. The collapse was captured in photos and posted on the X17online.com Web site over the holiday weekend.

"Lindsay admitted herself to an intensive medical rehabilitation facility on Memorial Day," according to a representative for the actress. "Because this is a medical matter, it is our hope that the press will appreciate the seriousness of the situation and respect the privacy of Lindsay as well as the other patients receiving treatment at the facility."

In Touch Weekly said Lohan had reportedly checked into Promises, the Malibu, Calif., rehab center where Britney Spears stayed.

Now family members, fans and detractors alike are wondering: Can Lohan turn her career and her life around?

Not long ago, she was one of a crop of wholesome starlets whose target audience was mainly tweener girls. Now Lohan is joining the ranks of such celebrities as Mel Gibson and the country star Keith Urban, both recently treated for various addictions and behavioral problems. As Lohan, who turns 21 in July, makes her second trip to rehab, she may be facing something much tougher than a quick public-relations pit stop.

TMZ.com reported that Lohan's next role, in the Shirley MacLaine film "Poor Things," will be put on hold.

"A 30-day rehab is not necessarily enough time to make the changes people need to make if there are deeper, underlying issues," said Thomas Demaria, a clinical psychologist and assistant vice president of behavioral health at South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside. "The process of figuring out why the person started using those substances can take some time."

Lohan's father, Michael, has admitted to battling alcoholism and recently served time for attempted assault, aggravated unlicensed driving and other charges. Yesterday he said he plans to ask his parole officer for permission to fly to Los Angeles to visit his estranged daughter. "Enough is enough," he said. "This is ridiculous. If it costs me my relationship with Lindsay to help save her life, then so be it. I don't care about anything else. This is far beyond worrying about what people think."

Lindsay Lohan's mother, Dina, did not return calls placed through her publicist.

Lindsay Lohan's career has been uneven since she made her 1998 debut in a dual role as the troublemaking twins in the remake of "The Parent Trap." She shone in the critically acclaimed "Mean Girls" (2004) and held her own with the likes of Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin in last year's "A Prairie Home Companion," director Robert Altman's final film. But her latest, "Georgia Rule," received lukewarm reviews, and her behavior prompted a stern warning letter from the film's production company.

Jessica Simpson and John Mayer Split

Mayer and Simpson very recently split up, and sources told PerezHilton.com that is was Mayer who broke up with Simpson.

"They officially called it quits this past weekend," a source told the site. "They'd been having problems for a while now and just decided it'd be better to end things."

Just a few days ago, Simpson's father was praising Mayer in the press.

While Jessica is currently at the Cannes Film Festival — smiling for the cameras — John also appears to be delving back into the single life, according to Perez.

Mayer and pals partied at New York City club Stereo on Thursday night, and the rocker was having a really good time.

"He was way tipsy and was spending a lot of time with an ugly brunette that was not Jessica Simpson," a source told PerezHilton.com.

Why did they break up? As reported in Pop Tarts Thursday, Simpson was said to be furious that Mayer lingered and laughed with the pretty Roberta Armani (Giorgio's niece) at last week's Costume Institute Gala, according to Australian magazine Famous.

Close shave for Britney Spears

TROUBLED pop star Britney Spears has shaved her head bald, with her latest erratic behaviour prompting fears that she is out of control.

Spears arrived unannounced at a Los Angeles hair salon demanding staff shave off her long brunette locks.

When staff refused, the singer grabbed electric shears and shaved her head, declaring she was doing it because she was fed up with being touched by other people.

Emily Wynne-Hughes, a worker at Esther's Salon, said Spears was crying and agitated when she entered after closing time, demanding they shave her head.

"She wasn't making sense at all -- she was very scatterbrained," she said.

"Esther has been in the business for 30 years and said, 'I'm not doing that,' but Britney was set on having her head shaved so she started doing it herself."

Ms Wynne-Hughes said when she asked the upset singer why she was shaving her head, Spears gave a bizarre answer.

"She said 'I don't want anyone touching me -- I'm tired of everybody touching me'," she said.

"After she left the shop we all just looked around and said to each other, 'We just saw a huge celebrity on the verge of a nervous breakdown'."

The fallen chart star then went to the nearby Body and Soul tattoo parlour where she got two tattoos -- a black, white and pink cross on her lower hip and red and pink lips on her wrist.

About 60 onlookers -- amazed to see the pop star adopting a shocking new look -- and photographers gathered outside, with police having to clear the way for Spears to reach her chauffeur-driven car.

Her bizarre hair appointment on Friday was at a salon in California's San Fernando Valley about 6pm.

Photographers said the 25-year-old wept in her car before going inside, sitting in front of a mirror and shaving her head with a pair of clippers.

Her latest bizarre behaviour came only hours after the mother of two returned to California from a short stay in rehab.

Spears has become a fixture on the nightclub circuit since her split in November from husband Kevin Federline.

She reportedly checked herself out of Eric Clapton's Crossroads Centre rehab clinic in Antigua last week after less than 24 hours.

Her partying could damage her battle with her estranged husband over custody of their two young sons.

Federline has cleaned up his image since parting ways with the former squeaky clean teen queen.

Spears has developed a reputation for a reckless spontaneity after a series of outlandish incidents, beginning a few years ago with her two-day marriage to a childhood friend.

During a spell of heavy partying after her separation from Federline, Spears was repeatedly photographed climbing out of cars without wearing underpants while in the company of celebrity socialite Paris Hilton.

She also collapsed during New Year's Eve celebrations at a Los Vegas club, with her manager saying she fell asleep from exhaustion.

On Tuesday, her close friend Felicia Culotta said the singer was spiralling out of control and loved ones were not having luck trying to get her help.

"There's just so much you can do to help a person," Ms Culotta said.

Last month, her manager, Larry Rudolph, said Spears realised her behaviour had been harming her image.

"She understands what's going on right now, and she calls it her 'rocky moment'," he said.

Stone Cold Steve's Hollywood Toehold

Through the infield swarm at the Texas Motor Speedway, there strides a slab of man with gorilla arms and a shaved head shaped like a battering ram. The crowds of NASCAR fans part and go "aaaaah" and then spring back, begging for autographs, mewling for photos with the honorary grand marshal for the race. Fully grown adults are punching numbers into their cellphones. "Honey, you'll never believe who I'm standing right next to." Giddy. "It's Stone Cold Steve Austin!"

Don't know who Stone Cold Steve Austin is? Then hit yourself over the head with a folding metal chair, because during his long and wild reign, The Texas Rattlesnake (a.k.a. The Bionic Redneck) was King of the Ring, and one of the most popular, most dangerous, most rebellious superstars -- as both hero and heel -- in the world of professional wrestling.

Behold! Three-time winner of the Royal Rumble. (See him drink beer in the ring while fighting!) Four-time topper of the World Tag Team Championship. (See him deliver double whuppings!) Six-time victor of the World Wrestling Entertainment Championship. Three times at Wrestlemania, which is the Oscars for those who specialize in the spine buster, the pile driver and -- watch out!-- the cobra clutch.

And now, prepare yourselves, because Hollywood wants to make Stone Cold Steve a movie star. It just may be his toughest bout yet.

Surprised? The people who run WWE Films (a new division of WWE Inc.) have two words for you: The Rock -- if Dwayne Johnson can carry a movie, so can his former rival Stone Cold. (They also mention a certain monosyllabic Austrian bodybuilder who became a global box office sensation and California governor, so go figure).

"The Condemned" opened nationwide Friday, and the $20 million movie was written, designed and financed by WWE Films as a vehicle for Austin. The premise: A reality TV producer purchases 10 of the worst murderous rapist terrorist scum convicts on Earth, drops them onto a deserted island, where the damned are ordered to fight to the finish, and the lone winner is promised his (or her) freedom and some wonderful prizes, including a passport and cash. Of course, the island is rigged with cameras and the death match will stream live over the Internet for the low, low pay-per-view price of $49.95. So . . . it's a think piece.

The R-rated movie is incredibly violent, including the equal opportunity machine-gunning of attractive young women. Austin plays (relative) good guy Jack Conrad, a U.S. Special Forces black-ops type, who has been abandoned by his own government to rot as an innocent man in a dungeon in El Salvador. Jack is a man of few words. "Let's dance, sweetheart" would be a long speech. Austin's thespian method is more rooted in Ooogg! Gurgle! Neck snap!

"I think he's going to be a huge star," says Scott Wiper, the writer and director of "The Condemned," who bases his opinion in part on the film's reception when it screened recently for 5,000 wrestling fans at the Fox Theatre in Detroit. "They went ballistic."

The WWE has high hopes for Austin, whose acting r?sum? outside the ring includes a turn as a prison guard alongside Adam Sandler in "The Longest Yard" and the recurring character of Detective Jake Cage on the old TV show "Nash Bridges."

"Where are the new action heroes?" asks Joel Simon, president of WWE Films. "Where's the new Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis?"

Austin reminds Simon of "the young Steve McQueen, the young Clint Eastwood, the young Lee Marvin and young Charles Bronson," though not all at once, of course. Austin is actually 42 and his body bears the insults and injuries of 14 years of broncobusters and flying clotheslines. (Austin retired from the fight game in 2003, although he continues to make appearances at events tied to wrestling, which remains highly popular with millions of fans and viewers).

Is the film any good? Nope, according to critics. "A real stinker," writes the Chicago Tribune. "Off-putting and ridiculous," says the Hollywood Reporter. "Austin deserves better material than this. So do we," goes the Philadelphia Inquirer.

But can he act? Well, acting here is a relative term because . . . .

"Tom Cruise has 10 weeks with a script and he gets to do 10 takes," Simon explains, as opposed to a professional wrestler in the ring. "Our guys get a story line, and that's it. There is no script. And they do it live, improvised. And they do their own stunts. One take. In front of 20,000 people. And they do 52 fresh new shows a year."

Simon says of Austin: "He's got that magic, that look, that intensity. He's not a bully, but here's a man you don't want to [ahem] with. And he's as recognizable as any movie star in the world to his core audience."

Ah: The professional wrestling demographic. Will they show up at the multiplex, the critics be hanged? At the Texas Motor Speedway, Stone Cold -- all 6-feet-2 and 252 pounds of him -- is recognized wherever he goes, though he is dressed in his civilian clothes of jeans, polo shirt and sneakers (in the ring he favored black bun huggers). When he does his grand marshal duty -- "gentlemen, start your engines!" he booms -- before 200,000 people at the NASCAR Nextel Cup, Samsung 500, he gets a bigger round of applause than driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. (racing royalty who also drives the Budweiser car).

In the garages before the race start, Austin meets with driver Elliott Sadler, who is impressed. "I'm just the biggest wrestling fan," Sadler tells Austin. "I've had beer poured on me a hundred million times." They talk about the movie business. "All the records I've broken. My box office. My pay-per-view. All the championships and titles. They don't mean nothing in Hollywood," Austin says. "It's a tough racket to get into."

But so is pro wrestling. Many of those unfamiliar with the story lines of characters such as Mr. Perfect, the Undertaker and Deuce & Domino are surprised by the popularity of the entertainment. According to WWE, its five hours of prime time television (on USA, the CW and Sci-Fi channels) reach almost 16 million viewers a week. Its shows are among the highest rated on cable TV (only "The Sopranos" on HBO consistently ranks higher) and they are a dominant draw among men 18 to 34, who are coveted by advertisers. The company, which is the undisputed leader in the wresting sector, stages 346 live events a year before 2 million fans.

"Their audience is surprisingly larger and more diverse than you might anticipate," says Alan Gould, senior media analyst at Natexis Bleichroeder investment bank. Teenage boys are WWE's nuclear fuel, and the overall demographic skews blue-collar, but "I've gone to a few recently, and I was surprised to see that it's more family-oriented than I would have anticipated," Gould says. "You see a couple of people in suits, you see mothers, I mean I was shocked by who you see there."

Says Gould: "This company generates a ton of cash. And one of their issues is, we do wrestling really well, but how do we grow the business?"

The film offshoot is the latest in WWE's string of not-especially-successful efforts to expand the wrestling brand. Remember the XFL, the "extreme" version of football? Anyone visit the wrestling-themed restaurant in Times Square? Duds. Both ventures failed, but WWE Films believes movies starring wrestlers have more potential for two reasons: The movies themselves can act as advertising for wrestling events, and the talent is already in the company.

As Simon sees it, the company produces not only hours of TV but has 250,000 subscribers to its monthly magazines, plus 16 million unique hits a month on its Web sites, plus the live shows, including 61 overseas. In every medium, there's a plug for Steve Austin starring in "The Condemned." "That's saturation," Simon says. "If a studio wanted to buy that kind of advertising we estimate it would cost them $18 million."

So there's a lot riding on the former high school linebacker from Edna, Tex., who attended North Texas State on a football scholarship, but left school a semester short of a degree. His real name is Steve Williams and he was working on a loading dock when he heard about a wrestling school run by "Gentleman" Chris Adams at the fabled Sportatorium in Dallas back in 1988. He spent $1,500 to learn some of the tricks of the trade. In his first professional match against the Frog Man a promoter told Austin, "Okay, you two boys are going to wrestle and you're going to win," pointing at him. "So I was glad someone told me how it works," Austin says. He was paid $40.

In person, sitting over a couple of draft beers at his motel, Austin is friendly, eager, and seems as gentle as a bowl of pudding (he lives with his girlfriend in Venice, Calif.). The hard case stuff -- the taunts, the threats -- it's all an act in the ring. He describes the wrestling circuit as a brutal but beautiful life. The constant travel. "Getting dropped on my head night after night." Though wrestlers know the outcome of a bout, the story line, they do not rehearse or choreograph their fights. Instead, they lead and follow, like a pair of dancers. Working the crowds, they learn to play the psychology of the mob. The boos. Austin loved the boos. "I knew my career was taking off because I was really getting hated," he says. In professional wrestling, which adopted a secret language of the carnival hustle, there are baby faces (good guys) and heels (the bad guys). And in his long career, Austin managed to pull off one of the greatest tricks of all: being a heel who somehow won the fans over.

He says he is approaching the movie business the same way he did the wrestling. "You learn. They pound you down. Then you learn some more," he says. "I know I'm not the best actor. . . . I have a three- picture deal. I'll get better. But you know something? I have a lot of new respect for actors. It's not as easy as it looks."

Lopez sues over drug allegations

They are seeking "substantial damages" for a story which alleged they were linked to a drug scandal.

Their lawyer, Paul Tweed, said the story was "totally unfounded", and confirmed he had filed a legal case with the Belfast High Court on Monday.

US stars increasingly pursue libel cases in Europe, as laws are considered more advantageous to the plaintiff.

Ms Lopez and her husband are seeking damages over an article published last month with the headline: "Jennifer and Marc Caught Up In Heroin Scandal".

Mr Tweed said the couple took grave exception to the totally false and unfounded inferences that they had been involved in, associated with or had knowledge of a serious drug scandal as alleged.

He confirmed that the case would also be pursued in Dublin, London and other European cities.

Libel laws

Mr Tweed has a record with celebrity libel claims, including actions for Liam Neeson, Whitney Houston, the Corrs and George Best's family.

Last year, he won an apology from the National Enquirer on behalf of Britney Spears, who sued over claims she was to divorce her then-husband Kevin Federline.

"It's virtually impossible to sue for libel in the United States because of First Amendment protections," Tweed told the Reuters news agency.

"But these publications are now appearing in Ireland, the UK and France, and on the internet, and they're now subject to the libel laws of these jurisdictions."

The legal papers filed on behalf of Ms Lopez in Belfast name the National Enquirer's New York-based publishers American Media Inc, along with distributors Eason and Son Ltd in Dublin and John Menzies Plc in Edinburgh.

National Enquirer spokesman Richard Valvo said the company had no comment to make.

Jolie happy to focus on new son, growing family

Superstar mom Angelina Jolie is happy to have a chance to focus on her growing family and its newest member, Pax Thien Jolie, according to an interview published in a Vietnamese newspaper Friday."I will stay at home to help Pax adjust to his new life," Jolie told the Ho Chi Minh City Law newspaper. "I have four children and caring for them is the most important thing for me at the moment. I'm very proud and happy to be their mother."Jolie adopted the 3-year-old Vietnamese boy on Thursday, during a ceremony at the Ho Chi Minh City Justice Department, which publishes the newspaper.Since she arrived in Vietnam on Wednesday night, Jolie has been hounded by a jostling horde of photographers and reporters, who followed her from the orphanage to the Ministry of Justice for Thursday's ceremony.Jolie said she was sorry that her new son had to be exposed to such a media frenzy and expressed concern about how it would affect him."Photographs and press coverage will make him upset," Jolie said in the interview, which was published in Vietnamese. "I'm very worried about that. I would like to say I'm sorry for bringing this into Pax's life."Jolie's oldest son, five-year-old Maddox, came with her to Vietnam, where she is expected to stay until next week. Her other children are 2-year-old Zahara, adopted from Ethiopia, and another sister, Shiloh, born to Jolie and her superstar partner Brad Pitt in May.Ever since she was young, Jolie said, she has wanted to adopt children."Everyone would agree that children need to have a family," the paper quoted her as saying. "I have the ability to help children fulfill that desire. Why should I say no?"A nurse at the orphanage where Jolie adopted the boy said staff there didn't realize she and Pitt were superstars when they first visited last year."They looked very much like ordinary people," said Bui Thi Bich Tuyen. "We thought that they were just an ordinary couple that wanted to play with the kids and give them presents. They brought lots of toys."Jolie shared crayons and drew pictures with the kids. "We could already see that she had a heart for children," said Tuyen, the nurse who had been in charge of raising Pax ever since he was brought to the orphanage as an infant.

Naomi Campbell's Cleanup Act

In order to clean up her legal troubles, Naomi Campbell will be cleaning up a whole lot of other stuff this week.

The supermodel traded her stilettos for work boots Monday, as she reported for duty at the sanitation garage where she'll spend the next five days mopping floors as part of her sentence for throwing a cell phone at her maid over a missing pair of jeans.

Campbell made a punctual entrance to the Manhattan District 3 Garage at Pier 36, pulling up in a black SUV, from which she emerged nattily dressed in beige pants, a short coat with a flared bottom, high-heeled boots, a newsboy cap and sunglasses.

She did not acknowledge the media awaiting her arrival as she made her way to the building's doors, escorted by a garage official.

In addition to requisite cleaning supplies, she was issued a uniform consisting of protective gloves, an orange safety vest and a dust mask.

"Miss Campbell arrived on time to work. She came ready to work," Albert Durrell, deputy chief of the Department of Sanitation, told reporters assembled outside the facility.

"We have plenty of work for her to do over the next five days," he added.

As for what that work might entail, according to one of Campbell's new coworkers at the sanitation facility, it won't be pretty.

"She'll be on her feet most of the day, with a big broom, sweeping inside the garage—dust, dirt, dirty liquids and things that fall off the trucks in there," the unnamed worker told the New York Post.

"She'll do that for hours—and if there's nothing to sweep, she'll have to look busy, walk around with the broom."

Earlier this month, Campbell's rep told the New York Daily News that the model was fully prepared to get her hands dirty.

"Naomi is ready to report and complete her community service, no matter where or what she will be assigned," the rep said.

Campbell, 36, will be spared the indignities suffered by Boy George, who was sentenced to serve community service at the same facility last summer, but was forced to work outside in front of crowds of paparazzi.

Because of the catwalker's high-profile status, sanitation police will guard the garage's entrances as she toils, Durrell said.

Campbell pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault in January, acknowledging that a cell phone had left her hand and connected with maid Ana Scolavino's noggin, but stopping short of admitting that had been her intent.

"I threw a cell phone in the apartment. The cell phone hit Ana," Campbell said at the time. "This was an accident, because I did not intend to hit her."

In addition to the five days of community service, she was ordered to pay Scolavino's medical expenses of $363 and to attend anger management counseling.

At the first of her court-ordered anger management classes earlier this month, the notoriously fiery-tempered Campbell reportedly expressed remorse for her phone-tossing outburst.

"I do honestly feel very sorry. I don't know if people will believe that. I mean I cannot believe I am sitting here," she said, according to the New York Post.

"And, I have said it before, but this time I truly mean it. I feel sorry and I am really going to learn from my mistakes."

At the very least, she's sure to pick up some new cleaning techniques.