Keys, Coldplay top award nominees
Alicia Keys and Coldplay lead the nominations for the American Music Awards with five and four, respectively, including artist of the year. Nominees for the Nov. 23 kudofest also include the Eagles and Lil Wayne.
It gathered no moss
Rock rag Rolling Stone, which debuted in '67 as a tabloid paper, is cutting costs by dropping its distinctive large-format size starting with the Oct. 30 issue. Now it'll look like every other glossy mag.
From Paris with contempt
From Paris With Love, a new flick costarring John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers, temporarily shut down production in Paris when it was discovered that (unknown) assailants had torched 10 cars being used in the flick. The police, they investigate.
Buckley the Younger is out
Christopher Buckley, the son (and purported ideological heir) of conservative William F. Buckley, says he is leaving the National Review, the famed journal founded by his father. C.B. says he decided to quit because of pressure from fellow Republicans furious that he has endorsed Democrat Barack Obama.
Buckley tells NewYorkTimes.com that since his endorsement, he had "been effectively fatwahed by the conservative movement" and that he's been inundated with hate mail. His resignation, he said, was "rather briskly accepted" by the journal's top brass.
Presley names the girls
Lisa Marie Presley, 40, and husband Michael Lockwood say their twin girls, who were born Oct. 7, have been named Finley and Harper. LMP also has daughter Riley, 19, a model, and Benjamin, 15, with ex-hub Danny Keough.
Responsibility? That's so square
In yet another damning condemnation of celebrityhood, a phone survey of 1,001 adults by Liberty Mutual Insurance has found that more than one-third of Americans say they feel celebs are not paragons of responsibility. (Shocked? Surprised? We were.)
Asked which celebs "come to mind as being a good example of personal responsibility," 33 percent said "none." The results are very damning, considering that another 15 percent said "don't know."
Boldfacers who made the list include Oprah and Angelina Jolie, who are tied for the most responsible with (a sad) 8 percent each. Brad Pitt, Will Smith and Paul Newman are tied with 3 percent, while worldsavior Bono has only 2 percent.
His idea of paradise? Paradis!
"He's got me, and he knows he's got me." So says French beauty Vanessa Paradis, who has gone steady with Johnny Depp for a decade and given him two kids, Jack, 6, and Lily Rose, 9. So who needs marriage? she asks British Elle. "Maybe one day, but it's something I can really do without."
Tina is in the dark
When will Tina Fey, who has captured America's imagination with her rendering of Sarah Palin, be back on Saturday Night Live (to do more Palin)?
"I don't know," Fey said, adding that she loves to visit her old show. "It's been really fun . . . and really freeing since I don't actually work there anymore."
Contact "SideShow" at sideshow@phillynews.com.
This column contains information from Web sites and Inquirer wire services.
