Brad Pitt Diagnosed with Viral Meningitis, Cameron Diaz Fights Photographer, Cooter Bashes Dukes of Hazzard Flick

Brad Pitt Diagnosed with Mild Viral Meningitis
Okay, we definitely take back what we said about Brad Pitt being wimpy if he went to the hospital with the flu, which mere mortals suffer through without medical attention. It turns out that he has viral meningitis. He was released from the hospital on Wednesday and is said to be "doing well." The case of viral meningitis was mild evidently, but hey, it still sounds scary to us. The illness causes inflamed tissues covering the brain and spinal cord. Get well soon, Brad, and if Angelina doesn't bring you chicken soup in bed, we will.

Cameron Diaz Says Photographer Tried to Blackmail Her
The trial of a photographer who tried to blackmail Cameron Diaz has kicked off, and Diaz herself may take the stand. A prosecutor said yesterday that photographer John Rutter tried to make Diaz pay $3.5 million for topless photos that she posed for before she was a star. The blackmail allegedly came a few days before the release of Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle in June 2003. Rutter is charged with attempted grand theft, forgery and perjury. The photos don't sound particularly flattering -- the 1992 shots show Diaz, in leather and fishnets, pushing around a male model in a dog collar and chains. Justin's one lucky guy…

TV's Cooter Bashes Dukes of Hazzard Flick
If you need your cultural barometer set by a guy named Cooter, then here you go. Ben Jones, who played Cooter on the Dukes of Hazzard TV series says that the new movie version of Dukes is a "sleazy insult" to the original. Jones, who is also a former Georgia congressman, said he was shocked by the profanity and sexual content in the script, which "trashed" the original family-friendly series. "It's one thing to do whatever movie they want to do, but to take a classic family show and do that is like taking I Love Lucy and making her a crackhead or something," Jones said. Well, we all know Jessica Simpson can't really act, so they probably had no choice but to make the film all about sex. Cooter's telling all his fans to skip the movie, which hits theaters August 5.

Blabber Bits

Michael J. Fox is trying to persuade congress to lift President Bush's restrictions on stem cell research. Fox, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, said, "More federal funding and more lines are needed or progress will stall."

Our friends in Blighty turned us on to guilty-pleasure soap Footballers Wives, and we highly recommend it (especially during the summer TV slump). It's the campiest, cheesiest nighttime soap around, and we know you'll love it. It airs Sundays on BBC America.

Simon Cowell, Mr. Nasty on American Idol, is working on a new reality show for ABC, The Million Dollar Idea. The show hopes to discover an entrepreneur with a fabulous business idea.

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