CELEBRITY ROLL CALL: Baby Blues For Britney?

Your Daily Dispatch of Celebrity Shenanigans by Tommy Vergason

March 1, 2007

DOWN COMES THE RAIN? : Since Britney Spears has been staying put at the Promises rehabilitation facility for the past week, there haven’t been any “Britney sightings” for the press to talk about. Naturally, this lack of hard news has led some columnists to speculate on what circumstances led her to this “fall from grace” in the first place. The current rumor? Spears is suffering from postpartum depression. THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS’ JO PIAZZA and E! ONLINE’s TED CASABLANCA both comment on the theory today, with Casablanca claiming that sources close to Britney have actually asked him to present the notion in his column. Piazza claims that sources within Promises have reported that Spears is being treated for postpartum depression, and offers statements from various doctors (not connected with Spears or Promises) who surmise that the diagnosis could be quite possible under the circumstances. Britney’s rep had no comment on the alleged diagnosis.

BUNDCHENS IN THE OVEN? : Supermodel Gisele Bundchen, meanwhile, is reportedly ready, willing and able to have babies. Lots of them. US WEEKLY reports that in a new interview with VANITY FAIR magazine, Bundchen says she wants a “big family,” but feels that she has “plenty of time” for that to happen. US WEEKLY wonders if that news sounds good to Bundchen’s current boyfriend Tom Brady, who is allegedly already expecting a child with his ex-girlfriend, actress Bridget Moynahan, whom he split with in December. Bundchen and Brady have reportedly been dating for two months.

More Celebrity Scoop After the Video!

EBANKS DEBUNKS: In other couples news, a report has surfaced today on the true status of singer/actor Nick Cannon and model Selita Ebanks, who were rumored to have been married in a secret Las Vegas ceremony last week. PEOPLE spoke with Ebanks at a Victoria’s Secret party in NY yesterday, and she was quick to dispel the rumor: “I’m not married,” she reportedly told them. “We’re just two young people and we’re happy. I laugh a lot and he laughs a lot and I think that’s what’s important. I support him and he supports me.”

GOLDBLUM’S ‘INDEPENDENCE DAY’ : Actor Jeff Goldblum is looking to separate from a years-long “relationship” with a woman who is not his wife or his girlfriend, but rather an alleged stalker.THE ASSOCIATED PRESS reports that Goldblum has won a permanent restraining order from the Los Angeles Superior Court against Linda Ransom, a woman who Goldblum claims has been stalking him “for years” and has appeared outside his house numerous times. Ransom stated in a declaration that she had met Goldblum in 1999 at an acting school where he teaches, and had asked for his advice on a screenplay. Ransom said she made repeated visits to Goldblum’s house to “support my efforts to complete my research and screenplay as accurate as possible.” When reached by telephone at her home, Ransom declined to comment to the AP.

REUNITED, AND IT FEELS SO GOOD: Two big casting announcements have been made by THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER today which will reportedly reunite two separate pairs of actors for new films:

Hot off his Best Supporting Actor win at the Oscars, Alan Arkin‘s next project will be the high-profile film “Get Smart,” adapted from the 1960’s spy spoof TV show. Arkin’s “Little Miss Sunshine” castmate Steve Carell was previously announced for the project in the lead role of Maxwell Smart, and Arkin will play his enigmatic boss.

Two other Oscar winners are reportedly in negotiations to reunite for a film project: “Steel Magnolias” stars Shirley MacLaine and Olympia Dukakis may play the leads in the black comedy “Poor Things,” about two con-artist women who befriend and murder homeless men in order to collect their life insurance policies. The film, based on true events, will be directed by Ash Baron Cohen, brother to “Borat” creator Sasha Baron Cohen.