Issue Date: December 5, 2004
I hear that Clay Aiken has a book, Christmas album and winter tour in the works. Any chance he'll perform with Ruben Studdard again?
Maryann Sadlon, Plainfield, Ill.
No. "As long as people are asking [that], we remain 'American Idol,' not Ruben or Clay," Aiken, 26, tells us. "I don't want to be a runner-up for the rest of my whole life." His Christmas CD and the book, "Learning to Sing: Hearing the Music in Your Life," are out, and he's touring through Dec. 23. On Christmas Eve, he'll head home to Raleigh, N.C. First, however, there's his NBC special, "A Clay Aiken Christmas," at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday. His favorite seasonal song? "Mary, Did You Know?"
What are Noah Wyle's plans for post-"ER" work?
Catherine Kelly, Chicago
"I want to stock my DVD shelf with movies I'd want my son to watch," Wyle tells us. To that end, you'll find the father of Owen, 2, starring in this Sunday's TNT adventure "The Librarian." After "ER," Wyle, 33, expects to get back to "the natural rhythm of life," including family expansion: "My son is a very big soul. He needs a partner in crime."
I want to know all about teen actress Brittany Snow, who plays Meg on "American Dreams."
Julie Moderson, Appleton, Wis.
Snow, 15 when she went after the role of Meg Pryor, tells us that her life has paralleled Meg's and for a while both were trying to figure out who they are. Now 18, Snow's more grown up than Meg. She lives on her own and likes having girlfriends in: "I love renting old movies, watching shows like "Sex and the City," laughing and having slumber parties and being stupid."
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Parents can't always predict what their offspring will become, and it's no different for celebrity parents. Just ask Blythe Danner, proud mother of Gwyneth Paltrow and grandma to baby Apple. Danner, 61, now in Showtime's "Huff" (see our story on star Hank Azaria, page 20) and about to be seen again with Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller in "Meet the Fockers," says that when Gwyneth was in school, "we were always told she had tremendous potential as a writer, or she might be a lawyer. I always said I wanted her to be an environmentalist."
John Travolta danced divinely in "Grease," "Saturday Night Fever" and, of course, "Pulp Fiction." Did he have formal dance training, or did he learn for each role?
Karen Walker, Albuquerque
Some of both. Travolta, 50, who has a deal with Hyperion to write his life story, began lessons at age 6 with Fred Kelly, brother of the legendary Gene Kelly, and got experience in local theater while growing up in Englewood, N.J. But he also has rehearsed for some dancing parts, including disco training for "Fever."
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Molly Shannon stars Tuesday in "Twelve Days of Christmas Eve" on USA Network, but most often these days she plays doting mom and takes Stella, 1, to every set. Now Shannon, 39, tells us she and her husband, painter Fritz Chesnut, expect a second child in March. "It helps playing mother parts if you are a mother," says Shannon, who lost her own mom in a car accident at age 4. "I used to be like, 'How do you touch kids? What do I do?' Now I feel very comfortable."
I consider myself somewhat up to date on pop culture, but I've seen you use the term "indie" about films and can't figure out what you mean.
L. Leney, Troy, Mich.
It's short for "independent," which used to mean that the movie was made by a filmmaker or company without ties to a major studio. Now it also refers to movies made by smaller companies owned by, but independent of, bigger studios.
Is Diane Neal -- assistant D.A. Casey Novak on "Law & Order: SVU" -- single? How tall is she?
Tom Ewing, Gallatin, Tenn.
Neal, 28, a former model, is 5-foot-9; she's engaged to Irishman Marcus Fitzgerald, 31. When we talked, she fretted a little about where, and when, they'd get a wedding together, but they're happy in their new Jersey City home. "SVU" is Neal's first high-profile job, and this season "Casey is coming into her own," Neal says. "She's getting more into the "Special Victims Unit" and really begins to have appreciation for what [the detectives] do."
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BIRTHDAYS
December 5: Frankie Muniz, 19
December 6: Janine Turner, 42
December 7: Aaron Carter, 17; Larry Bird, 48
December 8: Ian Somerhalder, 26; Dominic Monaghan, 28; Sinead O'Connor, 38; Teri Hatcher, 40; Kim Basinger, 51
December 9: Jesse Metcalfe, 26; Felicity Huffman, 42; John Malkovich, 51; Beau Bridges, 63
December 10: Raven, 19; Kenneth Branagh, 44
December 11: Mos Def, 31
Contributing: Bridget Byrne, Gayle Jo Carter, Bart Mills, Evelyn Poitevent
 Ask Lorrie Lynch a question about a celeb!
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