Simpson seeks Hazzard pay

New York — Jessica Simpson says she’s this close to slipping into a pair of Daisy Dukes.

The singer and reality TV star told The Associated Press she was in the lead to star as Daisy Duke in a movie version of “The Dukes of Hazzard,” which is scheduled to come out sometime next year.

Catherine Bach played the sexy Duke cousin, known for wearing denim micro-shorts, in the TV series that ran from 1979-85. Britney Spears had been among the stars reportedly vying for the movie role, but Simpson, who’s starting a summer tour next month, says she’s the first choice.

Jackson suit goes nowhere

Salt Lake City — Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction during the Super Bowl halftime show may be a lot of things, but it’s apparently not worth $5,000.

A judge didn’t buy a Farmington lawyer’s claim that CBS Television owner Viacom should pay him $5,000 for having to see Jackson’s bare breast during the Feb. 1 show. Eric Stephenson had sued Viacom for false advertising in small-claims court.

Stephenson claimed he was led to believe this year’s Super Bowl halftime show would be a family oriented, patriotic celebration.

Instead, Stephenson claimed he was exposed to explicit song lyrics, Jackson’s bare breast following a “wardrobe malfunction,” Jackson and her dancers simulating sex acts on stage and what he called singer Kid Rock’s desecration of the American flag by wearing it as a poncho.

Cannes can wait for exams

Tokyo — Yuuya Yagira, winner of the best actor prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, missed the awards ceremony because he had more pressing business: exams at his junior high school in Tokyo.

The 14-year-old, who won the award for his role in the Japanese film “Nobody Knows,” received the crystal trophy Wednesday from Hiraokazu Koreeda, the film’s director.

Yagira plays the eldest of four siblings who takes charge of the family when their mother leaves. The film opens in Japan in July.

Asked where he plans to put his trophy, the teen replied: “Can I take it home?”

Parker dressing down for Gap

New York — Sarah Jessica Parker, who wore designer clothes on HBO’s “Sex and the City” for six seasons, has agreed to represent the Gap in a marketing campaign that will debut in August.

“Gap has always been about individual style, and no one represents this philosophy better than Sarah Jessica Parker,” Gary Muto, president of Gap, said Wednesday in a statement. “She looks as amazing in jeans as she does in couture.”

It’s the first time the Gap will be working with a celebrity on a broader scale than a one-time appearance in a print or TV ad campaign, the company said. As part of the new campaign, Parker also will be featured in a series of TV spots and print ads, both alone and in conjunction with other artists.