Alda enjoys ‘ruthless’ role

Beverly Hills, Calif. — Alan Alda, who plays a scheming senator in Martin Scorsese’s new film, “The Aviator,” says there’s something appealing about being the villain.

“I don’t just want power, I want absolute power. That’s nice,” he said of his role in the Howard Hughes biopic.

“The other thing is as a person, it’s fun to be able to go in and spend the whole day just being ruthless,” he said. “I mean, we’d all like to be ruthless once in awhile.”

Alda also plays a senator on NBC’s “The West Wing.” But the roles couldn’t be more different.

“The guy in ‘The Aviator’ is a total scuzzball,” the 68-year-old actor said. “And the guy on ‘West Wing,’ he has principles, he’s an idealist, he wants to do good for the country, and he’s running for president.

“And his first name is Arnold. I think he has a good chance.”

Owner hopes Presley cup gets paid appearance

Belmont, N.C. — Miss your chance to buy some water from a cup once used by Elvis Presley? Don’t be disappointed — now you can bid on a chance to see, but not own, the cup that held the water.

Wade Jones of Belmont, who sold three tablespoons of Elvis water last week on eBay, is auctioning a one-time appearance of the plastic foam cup that held the water.

Jones retrieved the cup and water after a 1977 Presley concert.

He saw Presley drink from the cup while introducing his band, Jones said.

He wanted a minimum bid of $300, plus travel expenses, for an appearance by the cup, preferably on Jan. 8, which is Presley’s birthday.

Japanese princess to wed

Tokyo — The Japanese Imperial Household Agency officially announced the engagement of Princess Nori to Yoshiki Kuroda on Thursday.

The princess, 35, the only daughter of the emperor and empress, and Kuroda, a 39-year-old Tokyo metropolitan government employee, were schoolmates from primary school until university. The princess said they met again in January 2003 for the first time in years.

Birthdays

Actor Ben Kingsley is 61. Actor Sir Anthony Hopkins is 67. Fashion designer Diane Von Furstenberg is 58. Singer Donna Summer is 56. Actress Bebe Neuwirth is 46. Actor Val Kilmer is 45.