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New York Post

AWAIT STREEP SWEEP

By: Liz Smith
Published: 5/2/2005Source: New York Post

'AN APOLOGY for the devil — it must be remembered we have only heard one side of the case. God has written all the books," wrote Samuel Butler.

TIPTOE a little closer in your Manolo Blanicks, children. Isn't it true that the great actress Meryl Streep has the lead to play the dynamic fashion editor, loosely based on Vogue's Anna Wintour, in the coming movie version of Lauren Weisberger's "The Devil Wears Prada"?

This movie, coming from the Oscar-winning producer Wendy Finerman — it is she who shepherded "Forrest Gump" to the top — is one of the most hotly awaited comedies of the near future.

If you think Miss Streep isn't the "type" to play a demanding, dictatorial fashion icon, think again. Streep can do anything. Like, for instance playing the comically murderous mother in Tina Sinatra's "The Manchurian Candidate." Personally, I can hardly wait.

OH, LET'S not all be cynical, hard, jaded and unwilling to believe in true love. Yes, the sudden announcement that Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are an "item" is going to dominate every tabloid cover for months — certainly until June. Yes, that's when Holmes' "Batman Begins" opens and also Tom's "War of the Worlds." I'm looking forward to seeing both these movies — especially Tom's. The trailer hooked me. I didn't need more incentive.

It is surely coincidence that this romance bloomed just prior to these movies opening. Tom has rarely looked — gee, can a guy look "radiant"? — as he did in the pics I saw of him hand-holding with Holmes. He is 42, but has maintained a charismatic boyishness that is hard to resist.

Katie Cruise? Sounds nice. But "don't dress" for the wedding, as Hollywood maven Sue Mengers used to say.

JENNIFER LOPEZ and her Marc An thony made the wisest move two peo ple in love can make in showbiz: They don't talk about their love! We can breathlessly speculate, but the objects of our probing remain blissfully, mercifully silent.

So, every sighting of this circumspect pair is interesting. There they were the other day, brunching at the Four Seasons on Doheny Drive in Beverly Hills. Everybody looked, but nobody approached. Nothing dramatic happened over their eggs. But two tables down, a cellphone rang loudly, and the cell ring was Marc's sultry rendition of "I Need to Know." The lady with the phone fumbled frantically, trying to muffle Marc's unmistakable voice coming out of her purse. She was mortified. Marc and the wife were amused.

IN MANHATTAN, the last of only three privately owned mansions in the city has gone on the market. It is the fabulous Fifth Avenue Beaux Arts domicile of the late heiress Doris Duke. Asking price? $50 million. You can call the Corcoran Group's sharpie Sharon Baum who toils selling real estate from her Rolls-Royce. A hardworking success story who goes first class!

THE DEFENSE in the Michael Jackson trial hasn't begun yet, and the prose cution has so far presented a see-saw spectacle — oops! Debbie Rowe wasn't their ace in the hole.

Now from Jane magazine, the editor-in-chief, Jane Pratt, offers her opinion. She spent a few days at Neverland seven years ago, and writes: "I am good at spotting child molesters — and with Michael Jackson I just didn't see it." Jane relates watching Michael have a water balloon fight with a bunch of boys, all very innocent. "Granted," she goes on, "I didn't see his personal bedroom, but from all I did see on that visit and on other occasions, it's hard to fathom him morphing into this predator, or even an aggressor . . . my gut feeling is that what people say happened, didn't happen." Jane ends her editorial: "Send hate mail to www.janemag.com."

IN THE CITY: Composer Cy Coleman will be remembered fondly at the 92nd St. Y on May 23. There'll be performances and reminiscences by Elaine Stritch, Robert Goulet, Wendy Wasserstein, Chita Rivera, Lillias White, Tom Wopat, Lucie Arnaz, Stephen Bogardus and others. Call (212) 415-5455 . . . ON May 30, the Wayman Wong-produced show "Leading Men" happens at Joe's Pub. Jai Rodriguez, Cheyenne Jackson and John Tartaglia are just a few who'll entertain. Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS benefits. Wong writes the popular "Leading Men" column on playbill.com. Call (212) 539-8778 . . . GET THIS lineup: Lyle Lovett, Tom Jones, Robert Downey Jr., Wynonna Judd, the Blind Boys of Alabama and the Wynton Marsalis Septet perform at Lincoln Center's fourth annual spring gala, "That's Entertainment," on June 6 at the Apollo Theater. This benefits many performance and educational programs for children and adults produced by Jazz at Lincoln Center. Call (212) 258-9961.

Speaking of Mr. Lyle Lovett, I sure wish he'd do some more acting. I caught "The Opposite of Sex" the other night on cable, and once again fell in love with his character and performance.

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