Katie Holmes gets 1-episode gig on TV's 'Eli Stone'

7/17/2008

Katie Holmes is coming back to TV.

The Toledo native and wife of Tom Cruise will guest star as a nonprofit attorney in an episode of the legal dramedy Eli Stone, ABC publicist Aime Wolfe said yesterday.

Entertainment Weekly reported yesterday on its Web site that Holmes was to appear in the show's second season this fall. That means the 29-year-old star will work again with show creator Greg Berlanti, who was a writer-producer for the teen drama Dawson's Creek, which starred Holmes as tomboy Joey Potter.

Holmes - who will likely decamp to New York with daughter Suri in tow - will make her Broadway debut Sept. 18 in a revival of Arthur Miller's All My Sons. The production, which also stars John Lithgow, Dianne Wiest, and Patrick Wilson, officially opens Oct. 16 at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre for a limited engagement through Jan. 11.

Former boy band promoter Lou Pearlman will have to repay victims of his decades-long investment fraud at least $300 million in restitution.

A federal judge in Orlando, Fla., yesterday asked lawyers to draw up the order for his approval.

It's unclear whether the creator of the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync will be able to raise those funds while behind bars. He's serving a 25-year sentence on federal fraud charges.

Prosecutors also wanted U.S District Judge G. Kendall Sharpe to tack on interest, making the repayment $424 million. Pearlman's defense says that's unfair because the money was never invested. The judge said he'd make a decision after Pearlman returns at least some of the principal.

So far investigators have recovered few assets remaining from Pearlman's former entertainment empire.

Britney Spears is working on a new album, her manager, Larry Rudolph, and label, Jive Records, said yesterday.

Spears, 26, has spent much of the past 18 months in the headlines for an ugly divorce, losing custody of her two sons, rehab treatment, and erratic behaviorsuch as attacking a photographer's car with an umbrella.

But in the past six months Spears' father, Jamie, has taken over management of her personal and business affairs and she has also been mentioned as a possible Emmy award nominee for two guest appearances on the television series How I Met Your Mother.

Rudolph said in a statement that Spears is "working with a team of top-notch producers and songwriters and we're very excited about what she's accomplished so far."

Ronnie Wood entered a rehabilitation facility yesterday for help with alcoholism, a spokesman for the Rolling Stones' guitarist said in London.

"Following Ronnie's continued battle with alcohol he has entered a period of rehab," the spokesman said on condition of anonymity. "His close family and friends say he is seeking help and looking forward to his recovery."

Wood, 61, has fought a long battle with alcoholism during his rock and roll career, which started in the 1960s when he played with the band the Faces.

The singer and guitarist for the band Barenaked Ladies has been arrested on drug charges.

Police say Steven Page was charged with fourth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance on Friday in the Syracuse, N.Y., area.

Authorities say the arrest occurred about 2 a.m. after police noticed a suspicious car with its driver's side door left open. They say they found Page and two women in a nearby apartment, along with cocaine and marijuana.

Barenaked Ladies' manager Terry McBride confirmed the charge to the Post-Standard of Syracuse. The singer, released after paying $10,000 bail, is due in court today.

Page helped form the band in 1988. It recently released its debut kids CD, "Snacktime."

Lindsay Lohan's attorney says the star is on track after pleading guilty last year to drunken driving.

Lohan's attorney, Blair Berk, gave an update Tuesday on how the actress is complying with her sentence for misdemeanor drunken driving and cocaine charges.

Berk told the judge that Lohan is "completely on track with everything." The judge seemed satisfied but scheduled another progress report for January.

The hearing came less than a year after Lohan's plea. It required the Mean Girls star to complete various programs or else face stiffer penalties.

Lohan has so far spent 84 minutes in jail, completed community service, and visited a morgue and an emergency room.

Lohan did not attend Tuesday's hearing.

/AP-CS-07-15-08 2128EDT