ROLL CALL: Angelina’s Comic Ways & Milo’s Mallrat Days

Your Daily Dispatch of Celebrity Shenanigans by Tommy Vergason

June 18, 2007

JOVIAL JOLIE: Angelina Jolie is without a doubt one of the biggest movie stars in the world, and never ceases to thrill audiences with her intense performances in action films, thrillers and dramas (like with her stirring turn in her latest movie, “A Mighty Heart”). One film genre you don’t see Jolie explore very much is comedy — and, as far as she’s concerned, there’s a good reason for it. “I’m really not funny,” she reportedly told CINEMATICAL.COM. “Yeah, I really don’t think I’m that good at comedy. I don’t think I’d be very good at it. I think there are other actresses that do it really great. And they should, ‘cause they’d be better, you know.” And while she wants to leave comedy up to those more suited for it, she did give CINEMATICAL the score on two of her gestating projects. The adaptation of Ayn Rand’s classic novel, “Atlas Shrugged,” is on hold for the time being. Jolie reportedly said: “The thing with ‘Atlas’ is just, we all feel that it’s one of those projects where if you can’t do it right, you really can’t touch it. So we have not had all the pieces come together. There’s not been a director that’s right to come on, or all of those elements. So until it does, you know, I certainly don’t want to be a part of something that’s just put together to hit ‘this date.’” As for the highly-anticipated sequel to the comic book adaptation “Sin City?” She reportedly laughed when asked if she would be starring in it (as has been rumored), and said, “It might be resurfacing.” Jolie’s other comic book movie, “Wanted,” is scheduled to hit theaters in March of 2008.

EVEN HEROES GO TO THE MALL: Milo Ventimiglia stars as super-powered life-saver Peter Petrelli on NBC’s “Heroes,” but he’s also seeing what feats he can accomplish as a director. Ventimiglia is currently directing and producing a 12-episode series for American Eagle called “It’s a Mall World” due to hit MTV this August. “I guess I as an actor registered with their demo,” joked Milo to USMAGAZINE.COM. “It’s a Mall World” reportedly explores the relationships between a group of teens working at a local mall. Since he spent some time in malls growing up, Ventimiglia admitted the concept wasn’t a real stretch. “Yeah, so [I used to go] to the Mall of Orange and that got a little too rundown,” he reportedly remarked. “But as you got older, all the hot little girls that grew up in Newport went to South Coast Plaza, and so you have to go to South Coast Plaza or Fashion Island.” And while he’s enjoyed his stint behind the camera, Milo is quite content with his day job at the moment. “I’m happy showing up to ‘Heroes’ and just being an actor,” he reportedly said. “I enjoy the process [of directing], but I don’t want to force it. I don’t want to start saying ‘put the camera here’ just yet.”

DADDY’S GIRL: “Dancing With the Stars” finalist Laila Ali has a day job too, as a title-winning boxer — and a new documentary on TV One chronicles that aspect of the multi-faceted Ali’s life. Laila spoke with PEOPLE about “Daddy’s Girl,” which chronicle’s Ali’s relationship with her dad (boxing legend Muhammad Ali), her undefeated boxing career, and her formative years growing up in Michigan. “I didn’t grow up wanting to follow my dad,” Ali reportedly confessed. “I was always a bit of a rebel, but it wasn’t directed in a positive way. Then when I saw women’s boxing on TV when I was 18, I thought, ‘This is right up my alley.’” But did her father think that a potentially unsafe career in boxing was the right thing for her to do? “He was going to support me, but he definitely tried to talk me out of it,” she is quoted as saying. “And [he] still is not comfortable with it 100 percent. He will be happy when I retire.” For more on Ali’s life, check out the next airing of “Daddy’s Girl” on TV One, June 24th at midnight.

THE BABY NEXT DOOR?: A report claims that the world’s most famous “Playboy,” Hugh Hefner, may be facing fatherhood again — at least, if one of his girlfriends has her way. Holly Madison, one of the women in Hef’s trio of girlfriends, badly wants to give another child to the 81-year-old Playboy founder, reports THE NY DAILY NEWS’ RUSH & MOLLOY. And while rumors have surfaced that Madison may already be expecting, a Playboy rep reportedly tells RUSH & MOLLOY, “Holly is not pregnant, although she would like to be in the near future.” Hefner already has four children (two with ex-wife Millie Williams; two with ex-girlfriend Kimberly Conrad ). As ACCESS previously reported, Madison and her two “Girls Next Door” co-stars, Kendra Wilkinson and Bridget Marquardt, found themselves in hot water last week when palace guards in Monte Carlo accused them and their E! reality show of trespassing. Contrary to some reports, they were not arrested in the incident, says RUSH & MOLLOY.

KITTENS, COUGARS, & CONSUELOS (OH MY!): In the case of Hefner and his “Girls Next Door,” there is the dynamic of an older gentleman in a relationship with a younger woman (or in Hef’s case, women). Tonight, NBC reverses that dynamic with “Age of Love,” a new reality series in which a 30 year-old bachelor must romantically choose among a host of women – half of whom are in their twenties, and half in their forties (catch a sneak peek HERE). Series host Mark Consuelos spoke with TV GUIDE about the “kittens vs. cougars” dynamic promoted by the show. Consuelos reportedly said that he personally did not find the term “cougar” offensive or demeaning in terms of describing the older women, and said that his motto throughout the whole process was, “Just go into it with an open mind.” He also reportedly took a playful dig at his wife of 11 years, Kelly Ripa. “My wife is six months older than me, so technically…. At some point she’s going to be a cougar!,” he reportedly joked.

PIVEN MAKES A KILLING: And finally, a cute tidbit from Emmy Award-winning “Entourage” actor Jeremy Piven about the first time he realized he was a star. “I had Bill Murray walk up to me at a party and actually talk to me,” he told THE NY DAILY NEWS’ RUSH & MOLLOY at the show’s season premiere. “I literally had to hold on to something to make sure I was awake. He said, ‘You’re killing it!’ And the woman next to me said, ‘Excuse me, what do you do? Are you an assassin?’”