New and Noteworthy: Briefings

So when she had to attend the Los Angeles premiere of the movie, the one-time girlfriend of JFK Jr. decided to channel some of her character?s attitude. To the astonishment of the reporters in the press area, Hannah jumped on top of her car and started throwing shapes. Alarming shapes.
?I went through the press line,? she told Teen Hollywood magazine. ?[and] I started doing kung fu and giving them the finger or whatever.? When Hannah emerged from the theater a couple of hours later, she was met by five cops, who demanded that she undergo a breathalyzer test, which she passed.
?They couldn?t seem to understand that I was acting,? she laughed. ?It was weird.?

The five members of Boyzone found themselves in the same place, at the same time, for the first time in a long time last week. But they insist that the brief reunion will not lead to anything more permanent.
Ronan Keating, Keith Duffy, Stephen Gately and Mikey Graham showed up at London?s Sheffield Arena to show their support for former band mate and current race-car driver Shane Lynch. Shane, the band?s one-time bad boy — as evidenced by his oddly razored eyebrow — was taking part in a program called ?The Games? for Britain?s Channel Four network. Though the guys were happy to see one another and have reportedly buried the hatchet — or rather, all the hatchets — as of now, there will be no musical reunion. Although that doesn?t rule out the oul? sing-along in the back room of a pub before they go their separate ways again.

He?s famous, he?s rich and he?s no longer engaged to whatsername, so it?s no big surprise to see that Ben Affleck has been named Hollywood?s most eligible bachelor by US magazine. The lantern-jawed star of ?Gigli? — oops, I meant to type ?Jersey Girl? — tops the list of prime beef, one step ahead of George Clooney (who should report this robbery to the proper authorities). ?Starsky & Hutch? star Owen Wilson came in third, followed by soon-to-be old ?Friend? David Schwimmer, ?CSI? star Gary Dourdan, ?The O.C.? star Benjamin Mckenzie, and hip hop mogul Sean Coombes. Coming in at No. 8 is ?Cold Mountain? hottie Jude Law, followed by dreamy Dub Colin Farrell at No. 9. ?Lord of the Rings? star Viggo Mortensen rounds out the list at No. 10.

Well, he placed second in that US magazine poll (see story on opposite page) but it?s clear that, to the women of Lake Forest, Ill., consider George Clooney will always be No. 1. Entertainment Web site ananova.com reports that when Clooney and crew arrived to do some location shooting for his upcoming movie, ?Ocean?s Twelve,? the excited screams from female fans rattled windows in the Sears Tower 30 miles away.

Fans of Nicole Kidman owe a debt of gratitude to a quick-thinking New York waiter who saved the Aussie actress from choking last week. London?s Daily Star reports that the star was sitting at a private table at the trendy new Spice Market restaurant in the Big Apple one night, nibbling on appetizers while waiting for friends. Suddenly, she started choking when a piece got lodged in her throat. The waiter spotted her, and rushed over to perform the Heimlich Maneuver on her. The offending bite popped out, and a grateful Nicole offered her rescuer all the money in her purse as a reward. But the Good Samaritan turned her down, saying that he was ?just doing his job.?

The romance between pop tartlet Britney Spears and Irish playboy Colin Farrell is apparently still going strong, although the stars are keeping it on the QT for now. The Sunday World reports that Colin was so disappointed that his broken leg and arm (suffered during some boozy antics in Thailand) prevented him from appearing in Britney?s new video, ?Everytime.? But the Irish hottie has agreed to appear in her next video, which will be filmed as soon as Brit can figure out how to take off even more clothes and still get by the censors . . .

As if losing Bryan McFadden to the siren call of house husbandry AND being forced to wear cheesy white suits in public weren?t hard enough, along comes a book that will bring back some painful memories for the remaining members of Westlife. ?Karaoke No More,? by Padraig Meehan, examines the origins the band, which started as a six-man Sligo outfit called IOYou. In 1996, Louis Walsh took them on, dropping their name — and three of the original members. He kept Kian Egan, Mark Feehily and Shane Filan, and recruited Dubliners Nicky Byrne and Bryan McFadden. Left in the dust were Derek Lacey, Graham Keighron, and Michael Garrett, who founded IOYou with Filan. Westlife went on to fame, fortune and a dozen (inexplicable) number one hits. The others, um, didn?t.

Dublin-born model Amanda Byram has got to be the envy of the catwalk back home. The stunning brunette has made the leap from European mannequin to American TV personality, charming audiences as the host of Fox?s highly addictive reality show, ?The Swan.?
Each week, the show follows the progress of two contestants who undergo loads of plastic surgery to improve their looks. The women are placed on a three-month diet and exercise regimen, and are not allowed to look in the mirror until they are ?presented? to the audience. One is then selected to move forward to the ?Swan? beauty pageant, which will take place at the end of the season.
At once graceful, poised and slightly giddy, Amanda presides over the ?reveals,? offering support to the newly minted Cinderellas. Touchingly, she seems almost as excited as the contestants, who invariably break down into happy tears when they get a load of their new faces, bustlines and bums. ?Well done, you!? is Amanda?s unmistakably Irish compliment as she hugs the shaking contestants.
The show airs on Monday nights at 9 p.m. on Fox-TV, but be warned: you?ll never view your nose the same way again.