People

Arnold extends political arm

Los Angeles — Arnold Schwarzenegger, long mentioned as a potential Republican candidate for governor, told Esquire magazine for its July issue: “Yes, I would love to be governor of California. … If the state needs me, and if there’s no one I think is better, then I will run.”

With Democratic Gov. Gray Davis facing a recall campaign that could result in a special gubernatorial election as early as fall, Schwarzenegger’s political ambitions could be expedited.

Schwarzenegger is on the cover of the magazine that hits newsstands June 13. A cover line reads: “The Next Governor of California. Really.”

Actress pleads no contest

Los Angeles — “Will & Grace” actress Shelley Morrison, who plays sassy maid Rosario Salazar on the NBC sitcom, pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of shoplifting nearly $450 worth of jewelry.

Morrison, 66, was sentenced to a year of probation and fined $300 in Los Angeles Superior Court.

“Clearly, a mistake was made,” her attorney, Donald Etra, told reporters after the Wednesday hearing. “Ms. Morrison fessed up to that mistake and now she wishes to move forward.”

Morrison was arrested April 23 after security guards found her with jewelry from a Robinsons-May department store in west Los Angeles.

The district attorney declined to file felony charges because of the value of the items and Morrison’s lack of a prior record.

Neeson studying sex pioneer

Bloomington, Ind. — In preparation for his next role, actor Liam Neeson is studying sex research pioneer Alfred Kinsey.

Neeson and members of a film team visited Indiana University’s Kinsey Institute this week to view its sex research collections and get acquainted with the Bloomington area, including the Elm Heights house where Kinsey and his family lived.

The trip is part of the team’s preparations for a film on Kinsey expected to be released next year. It will be directed by Bill Condon, who wrote the screenplay. Laura Linney will play Kinsey’s wife, Clara.

Kinsey collected histories of people’s sex lives and published his findings in 1953. He died from a heart attack in 1956 at 62.

Maguire trims down, bulks up

New York — Tobey Maguire has been yo-yo dieting lately, but it’s work-related.

He bulked up to star as the webslinging crimefighter in last year’s “Spider-Man,” then trimmed down to play a jockey in the upcoming “Seabiscuit,” then had to get buff again for next summer’s “Spider-Man 2.”

“Coming off of ‘Seabiscuit’ and going into ‘Spider-Man,’ it’s different physically,” the 27-year-old actor told MTV News. “I had to put on some weight, and I didn’t have a lot of time to train. I just changed my diet and my workout routine.”

Maguire said it hadn’t been hard to build the muscle back up with a combination of cardio, weights and yoga.

“I’m a vegetarian,” he said. “It can be a little tedious sometimes.”