Issue Date: June 8, 2003
My boys want to know when the fifth Harry Potter book will be out. And will J.K. Rowling make a movie out of the third book?
Vangie Rogers, Raynham, Mass.
"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" is due in just two weeks, and some stores will open at midnight so fans who didn't preorder a copy can get their hands on it fast. Barnes & Noble says the book is its highest presold title ever, and it was an Amazon.com best seller before its release date. In May, a few impatient British fans allegedly stole copies from the printing plant; they were quickly arrested. The third film, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban", is expected next spring.
Steven Van Zandt of "The Sopranos" looks remarkably like Little Steven Van Zandt of the E Street Band. Father and son?
Susan Foltz, Glendale, Ariz.
No -- they're the same man. After a long career slump in which solo albums flopped and he became a political activist, Van Zandt, 52, made a comeback in '99. Out of the blue, he received two offers: to reunite with Bruce Springsteen after a 15-year hiatus as guitarist with the E Street Band, and to join the cast of HBO's mob series despite no formal acting experience. "Sopranos" creator David Chase, a longtime Van Zandt fan, asked the Italian American to audition and made him Silvio Dante, Tony Soprano's loyal wingman and the owner of the Bada Bing strip club.
I've been eager to hear more about Kelly Clarkson, the first American Idol. With a CD out and a movie due, what else is she up to?
Linda Carr, Carson, Calif.
A year after her big win, Clarkson's busy being a celebrity, with sexy magazine covers, a hit album ("Thankful" zoomed to No. 1 on the pop chart) and, next weekend, her movie. In "From Justin to Kelly", Clarkson, 21, is a small-town waitress who falls for a party promoter, played by "Idol" runner-up Justin Guarini. "It's very young, very cute," she tells us. "Don't go expecting 'Shawshank Redemption'." And what has been the price of fame? A crazy life, she says: "Up early, work all day, hair and makeup, interviews, TV, performances -- and then you go to sleep, hopefully at night."
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"Hairspray"'s Marissa Jaret Winokur is talking a mile a minute about the excitement of Broadway, "with 'Nine' and 'Gypsy' and 'La Boheme'. There's been a rebirth, and 'Hairspray' started it off." Never in a million years did the 5-foot, size-12 actress think she'd star in a hot Broadway musical by age 30, much less earn a Tony nod. She clearly loves her character, Tracy Turnblad, and tells me she finally figured out why: "Tracy is the underdog, and I'm the best underdog there is." Besides, Tracy, a high school student who wants to integrate a TV dance show circa 1962, represents outsiders of all kinds and couldn't be a better role model for young girls. Whether Winokur wins best actress in a musical Sunday night (CBS, 8 p.m. ET) matters little. She already has a TV deal, plus she has the thrill of being nominated with idols Bernadette Peters and Chita Rivera, women "I listened to in my room every night growing up."
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Seth Green, 29, has found being goofy can take you far. The up-and-coming actor, best known for his comic roles as Dr. Evil's son in the "Austin Powers" trilogy and as werewolf Oz in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", was the class clown at age 6 and had his first role, on "Saturday Night Live", at 9. Now, the Philadelphia native takes to the crime world in the new heist film "The Italian Job". A remake of the 1969 Michael Caine movie, this version puts Green next to A-listers Ed Norton and Charlize Theron in a part that may remind some of his computer geek in "Enemy of the State". Green, who's single and lives in L.A., also has a part in next year's "Scooby-Doo" sequel.
What happened to Mark "Big Mac" McGwire? Does he have a child besides Matt, whom he lifted above his head when he broke Roger Maris' home-run record? Has he acted since his stint on The Simpsons?
Deb Blessing, Denver
Since his November 2001 retirement, the man who blasted his way into America's psyche with 583 homers in a 15-year career is spending his days golfing and changing the diapers of Max, his 6-month-old son with new wife Stephanie Slemer. McGwire and the former St. Louis pharmaceutical saleswoman wed in April 2002 in Las Vegas and now are having a house built in Orange County, Calif., near his ex-wife and son Matt, 15. As for his future in baseball, the 39-year-old is taking time off to decide; he has said he may want to be a hitting consultant.
With Frappa Stout. Contributors: Tameka L. Hicks, Mark Miller, Evelyn Poitevent.
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BIRTHDAYS
June 8: Julianna Margulies, 37; Joan Rivers, 70; Barbara Bush, 78
June 9: Natalie Portman, 22; Johnny Depp, 40; Michael J. Fox, 42
June 10: Leelee Sobieski, 21; Elizabeth Hurley, 38
June 11: Joshua Jackson, 25; Joe Montana, 47
June 12: George H.W. Bush, 79
June 13: Ashley Olsen, 17; Mary-Kate Olsen, 17; Tim Allen, 50
June 14: Yasmine Bleeth, 35; Donald Trump, 57
 Ask Lorrie Lynch a question about a celeb!
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