Chip off the old block

New York Susan Sarandon gushes about her latest co-star, saying Eva Amurri is beautiful and talented.

But what else would you expect from a mother?

Sarandon and 17-year-old Eva Amurri play mother and daughter in “The Banger Sisters,” which is scheduled for release later this year.

“I didn’t give her any acting advice,” Sarandon told The Associated Press.

She did, however, help direct Eva when it came to finding an agent and dealing with the business side of Hollywood. “It’s the only time I knew anything that she didn’t already know,” Sarandon said with a laugh.

Eva is Sarandon’s daughter with Italian director Franco Amurri. Sarandon also has two sons with longtime partner Tim Robbins.

No Doubt: It’s not for the fans

London When No Doubt writes a song, it’s for the band, not the fans.

Writing a song with the fans in mind would “be the biggest sellout hoax thing that we could do,” singer Gwen Stefani told Associated Press Television News. “First of all, we’re not talented enough to do that. We don’t have the skills to write a calculated song.

“But second of all, I think that would just be like backwards. We’re in the band for ourselves, we’re really selfish. We do it for us, then we share it with you.”

Stefani, 32, said No Doubt, which has a new album, “Rock Steady,” is trying to simplify its sound.

“We always like to play like a million beats and have a hundred chords and 10 bridges,” she said.

Memorial to honor ‘Outlaw’

Nashville, Tenn. A memorial service for country star Waylon Jennings has been scheduled for March 23 at the Ryman Auditorium.

Jennings, 64, died Feb. 13 at his home in Arizona. The singer, dubbed one of the “Outlaws” of country music, was buried in a private graveside service last week.

Jennings’ hits included country music standards such as “Good-Hearted Woman” and “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys,” both duets with Willie Nelson.

Doctor gives surgery thumbs up

Chicago Film critic Roger Ebert was in good condition after undergoing surgery to remove a cancerous growth in his thyroid gland, doctors said.

“He is expected to make a complete recovery,” said Dr. Harold Pelzer, who performed the surgery Friday at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Doctors removed Ebert’s entire thyroid gland and selected lymph nodes in his neck, Pelzer said, adding that Ebert’s vocal cord function appears normal.

The 59-year-old Chicago Sun-Times movie reviewer is expected to be discharged from the hospital within the next few days, Pelzer said.