Crowe rumor shot down

Los Angeles Nicole Kidman has chilled talk of romance on Cold Mountain, reports the New York Daily News.

Recent reports claimed Russell Crowe had secretly visited the Romanian set of her upcoming movie. But Kidman says: “That’s a fallacy. Russell didn’t come. He called me and said, ‘Oh, I hear I was on the set the other day,’ but he didn’t come.”

Kidman set the record straight at last week’s Women in Hollywood lunch in L.A., where Premiere magazine also honored Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore and Jennifer Garner.

Jailhouse rock upsets TV viewers

Philadelphia A VH1 program that features prison musical groups has drawn complaints from state officials in Pennsylvania and a mother who was stunned to see her daughter’s killer jamming with his bandmates on TV, reports Billboard Online.

The first episode of Music Behind Bars, which aired Friday, focused on Dark Mischief, a heavy metal band formed by inmates at the State Correctional Institution at Graterford near Philadelphia.

One of the members, Christopher Bissey, is serving time for the murder of two teenage girls in 1995 at Lehigh University.

When promotions for the show began playing on VH1 this month, the mother of one of the girls complained to state officials that she had been flipping channels and was alarmed when she saw footage of her daughter’s killer cavorting with fellow band members. Other crime victims said the series glamorized violent criminals.

Step in the right direction

London Actress Angelina Jolie says she’s terrified her adopted Cambodian son will step on a landmine in the Southeast Asian nation, where she is building a home.

Jolie plans to live part-time in Cambodia with 1-year-old Maddox and said she had the land around their home cleared of mines. She adopted Maddox after working on a film in his home country.

“Cambodia, Afghanistan and Angola are among the most heavily mined countries in the world,” Jolie said. “When we were filming we were told ‘You can’t go here, you can’t go there, you have to stick to the footpaths,’ and I didn’t understand why. They explained about the land mines, and I just wanted to help.”

Jolie, a supporter of the Adopt-A-Minefield charity, wore a flak jacket and helmet as she learned how de-miners remove explosives from the soil.

A substantial milestone

Tulsa, Okla. Martin Sheen took a break from playing president on the TV series “The West Wing” to help a substance abuse treatment center celebrate the end of its $5 million fund-raising campaign.

Money for the 12&12 facility will go toward expanding the residential treatment program to about 350 beds. More than 50 percent of the building does not pass code requirements.

12&12, a nonprofit United Way agency, has provided treatment for thousands of Oklahomans since it was founded in 1985. It offers a residential program and has transitional and outpatient living assistance.

Sheen has a connection to the treatment center through his director in the movie “Badlands,” Terrence Malick, a native of Bartlesville whose brother, Chris Malick, is a 12&12 board member.