AP-AM Prep-Segue

       MORNING PREP - MORNING PREP - MORNING PREP - MORNING PREP         

----------------------

! SEGUE !

----------------------

RICKY GERVAIS - RAT PACK

UNDATED (AP) — Ricky Gervais may have been born too late. Certainly too late to be part of the Rat Pack. But, he says when he emcees the Golden Globes next month, he'll "host it a little bit more like someone from the Rat Pack would host." He means loose and off-the-cuff. There won't be any prepared pieces. No prerecorded comedy bit and there won't be a dance number. But, Gervais does say he'll script some of his remarks. He says "if you're not prepared at all, it can be very flimsy and a bit self-indulgent." And, he says he'll keep his material short and sharp because he says he's "best in small doses." The Golden Globes are January 17.

MISS GOLDEN GLOBE - ALFRE WOODARD'S DAUGHTER

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Alfre Woodard's daughter is the new Miss Golden Globe. Mavis Spencer will be the person to hand winners their Golden Globe statuettes on January 17. She says "to hand someone a token of their accomplishments when they're elated will just be really cool." Spencer says she has memories of her "mom traipsing off to the Globes." But, she says this time, they'll be together. Mavis Spencer is 18, wants to model and act, and is about to enter college. She's about a head taller than her mom.

NICKY HILTON - HOUSE BURGLARIZED

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Oh, Paris Hilton is mad. Her sister Nicky's house was broken-into yesterday. Paris took to her Twitter page and wrote: "I HATE people who steal! It's so wrong! I hope they catch whoever did this!" Police came to the house in the Hollywood Hills where they were told that some unidentified items were missing from the home. There's been a rash of celebrity-home burglaries. Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and Orlando Bloom are among several young celebs whose homes have been broken-into recently. Four people have pleaded not guilty to charges involving the theft of $3 million in jewelry, designer clothes and other items.

JOHN STAMOS - VICTIM OF ALLEGED EXTORTION

MARQUETTE, Mich. (AP) — Two people in Michigan have been charged with threatening to sell photos of John Stamos unless he paid them $680,000. A spokesman for Stamos says the photos are no big deal. They're just him posing with fans. But, Allison Coss and Scott Sippola were arrested last week after an undercover FBI agent had arranged to meet them at an airport.

CLAIRE DANES FOUND ZAC EFRON FANS A LITTLE SCARY

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Wherever they went to film "Me and Orson Welles," Zac Efron fans followed them. Claire Danes admits she found that a little scary. She says the girls would "squeal and scream and their reactions were intense." When the crowds got larger and larger and they started chanting "we want Zac," she says it was "a little scary, actually." ''Me and Orson Welles" opens in more theaters on Friday.

Sound:

<<CUT …001 (12/09/09)>> 00:32 "''

Michael Weinfeld

Claire Danes is kissing another heartthrob on screen. She tells AP Entertainment Editor Michael Weinfeld that it's one of the perks of her career.

<<CUT …002 (12/09/09)>> 00:12 "really meant to (laughs)"

Claire Danes

Claire Danes says she can't believe how many hunks she has gotten to kiss on screen. ((longer version of cut in wrap))

<<CUT …003 (12/09/09)>> 00:05 "reactions are intense"

Claire Danes

Claire Danes says Zac Efron's fans are very loud.

<<CUT …004 (12/09/09)>> 00:07 "little scary actually"

Claire Danes

Claire Danes says Zac Efron fans gathered on location where they shot "Me and Orson Welles." ((longer version of cut in wrap))

<<CUT …005 (12/09/09)>> 00:13 "a certain result"

Claire Danes

Claire Danes says she's not superstitious when she's doing theater like the director in "Me and Orson Welles" was.

''THE PRIVATE LIVES OF PIPPA LEE" - ROBIN WRIGHT

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- If you see "The Private Lives of Pippa Lee" keep an eye on the eyebrows of Blake Lively and Robin Wright. Lively plays a young Pippa and Wright plays the older version. Wright needed to find some mannerism of Lively's to mimic so she'd look like the same person grown up. She picked up on the fact that Lively would "always lift her brow." Wright says "it was so sweet because it embodied the innocence that Blake is and that Pippa needed." ''The Private Lives of Pippa Lee" opens in more theaters on Friday.

Sound:

<<CUT …006 (12/09/09)>> 00:14 "in your backpack"

Robin Wright

Robin Wright says being 43, she's the perfect age for this role, which she couldn't have handled around the time of "The Princess Bride."

<<CUT …007 (12/09/09)>> 00:13 "what you mean (laughs)"

Robin Wright

Robin Wright says she didn't take her mean mother role home with her.

<<CUT …008 (12/09/09)>> 00:14 "that Pippa needed"

Robin Wright

Robin Wright says she needed to mimic something Blake Lively did, playing the young Pippa Lee, so it would seem like she was an older version of the character.

LESLIE CARON - STAR ON WALK OF FAME

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Experience and maturity mean a lot to Leslie Caron (kuh-ROHN'). She's a very spry 78. As Caron was getting her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame yesterday, she said if this had happened at the beginning of her career, she thinks she "would have been too shy to really appreciate it." Now she says she's "feeling very bold" and she can "enjoy every second," including "the importance of being on the sidewalk of Hollywood Boulevard." Her star is between those of leading men from her most famous movies: Gene Kelly from "An American in Paris" and Louis Jourdan from "Gigi." Leslie Caron has just written her autobiography called "Thank Heaven," which takes its title from one of the most famous songs in "Gigi," ''Thank Heaven for Little Girls."

Sound:

<<CUT …012 (12/09/09)>> 00:13 "really appreciate it"

Leslie Caron, actress

Leslie Caron says it's good that she's getting her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame now.

<<CUT …013 (12/09/09)>> 00:14 "of Hollywood Boulevard (applause)"

Leslie Caron, actress

Leslie Caron says when she was first starting out as an actress she might have been "too shy" to appreciate it.

<<CUT …014 (12/09/09)>> 00:08 "is too much"

Leslie Caron, actress

Leslie Caron says it's great that her star is next to those of the leading men from her two most famous movies: "An American in Paris" and "Gigi."

<<CUT …015 (12/09/09)>> 00:26 "hair. Yes, Grandmama"

Leslie Caron and Hermione Gingold

Here are Leslie Caron and Hermione Gingold in a scene from the 1958 movie, "Gigi," which won 9 Oscars including best picture.

KEVIN COSTNER - STILL WITH THE BAND

UNDATED (AP) — Kevin Costner is still super-serious about his band. From mid-February through the end of March, Kevin Costner and Modern West will be playing all over Western Europe, starting in Barcelona, Spain and ending in Nuremberg, Germany. Then, when they're back in North America, they'll be playing a few music festivals. Costner hasn't forgotten his film roots. December 16 he'll be at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills for a 20th anniversary reunion for "Field of Dreams." The movie will be shown and Costner and others connected with the film will reminisce on stage. The event is open to the public. Details are in the events section of www.oscars.org

TV RATINGS

NEW YORK (AP) — "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" is more popular on TV than the Grinch, the Rockefeller Center tree lighting and half-naked women selling lingerie. The Rudolph cartoon was seen by 10.6 million people. It beat "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," ''Christmas in Rockefeller Center" and the annual Victoria's Secret fashion show. And, the Grammy nominations concert was a dud. Only 6.3 people were watching. The finale of "Monk" on USA had 9.4 million viewers. That's the biggest audience of any basic cable drama ever. CBS won the week, followed by ABC and a tie between NBC and Fox. Here are last week's top-10 TV shows on broadcast: Sunday Night Football: Minnesota at Arizona, "Desperate Housewives," ''NCIS" (Tuesday, 9 p.m.),"The OT," Sunday Night NFL Pre-Kick, "House" ''Survivor: Samoa," College Football: Texas vs. Nebraska, "Amazing Race" and "60 Minutes."

By Rosalie Fox and Michael Weinfeld