LET'S GOSSIP ABOUT WTO! In all the hippie-dippy madness surrounding WTO, are we gonna see any goldarn celebrities? I mean, that's what it's all about, isn't it? Keep an eye out for the Hollywood activist crowd -- the Baldwin bros., Sarandon/Robbins, Woody Harrelson, et al. With 50,000 protesters in town, someone's gonna hop on the publicity train. ··· Currently working on shoots in nearby Vancouver are Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy, and Parker Posey (Best in Show, a.k.a. Dog Show, with Guest directing); Bridget Fonda, Stanley Tucci, Talia Shire, and Giancarlo Giannini (The Whole Shebang); Billy Zane (mini-series Sole Survivor); and -- oh, baby! -- Mackenzie Phillips (Disney series So Weird). Will anyone take a day off to check out the carnival atmosphere at "The Battle of Seattle"? ··· Meantime, fitness guru/vagina enthusiast Susan Powter was spotted watching a WTO protest in the U-District Sat 11/27. Sue chatted up a protester -- and had to admit she didn't have a clue about WTO! Still, a rebel like Ms. Powter's gotta love a good protest, and she wished them well on "the massacre" as she sashayed away.
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TOYS IS US: Jeff spotted freaky Seattle gal Rose "My boyfriend is Marilyn Manson" McGowan shopping at FAO Schwarz downtown Sat 11/27. He notes, "While she actually looked okay in her pink designer sweater, her posse of poseur pseudo-friends dropped her coolness factor to a chilly negative!!" ··· Tues 11/23, who should drop a chunk of change at snooty furniture boutique zgallerie, but hot Q13 rain god Jim Castillo! Ranger Rick notes, "He arrived with a friend in tow, and left with a big black Asian armoire." How upscale!
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TRICKY RUMOR: So, a li'l rockbird tells me Run-DMC has rooms reserved at a downtown hotel on Thurs 12/9 -- the same night as KNDD's Deck the Hall Ball!! Coincidence?? They seem an odd fit among Beck, Foo Fighters, Bush, et al., but the rap grandpas have a CD, Crown Royal, set for release around New Year's. On that CD -- produced by Rick Rubin -- they consort with vanilla alterna-rockers Sugar Ray, plus Kid Rock, Everlast, Beastie Boy Ad Rock... you get the picture.
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ON A RELATED NOTE, Billboard reports a new Hanson disc is due April 25 -- and it's loaded with special guests like hottie blues guitarist Johnny Lang, DJ Swamp (who works with Beck), and John Popper of Blues Traveler. Little Zac, 14, is now SIX FEET TALL and has the deepest voice in the group! Big brothers Isaac (19) and Taylor (16) have new haircuts: Taylor's is a quizzical mullet-meets-Friends job, while Isaac sports a horrible curly mop.
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WATCHING THE OTTOMAN DETECTIVES: Sun 11/21, Ron was tuned into NBC's Third Watch, when former Ottoman Bigwigs frontman Christopher Evan Welch turned up in a "tense and gripping" restaurant scene -- complete with gunfire and woundings! Ron says, "Welch's character, unfazed by the danger, glibly wisecracked away...." He got to TALK!? Wow! This Bigwig's just baby steps away from the big time!
Throw a pie for ol' Shirl! shirley@thestranger.com.
