People

Cruise ‘enamored’ with Katie

New York — Hollywood’s newest couple — Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes — may strike some as unlikely, but the match was foretold in Seventeen magazine.

“I think every little girl dreams about (her wedding),” Holmes told Seventeen in October. “I used to think I was going to marry Tom Cruise.”

Earlier this week, publicists for both actors confirmed the two had been dating for a few weeks. They have been photographed in Rome, where Cruise received a lifetime achievement award Friday at the David di Donatello Awards, the Italian equivalent of the Oscars.

When asked by a reporter for syndicated entertainment show “Extra” about Holmes’ suddenly realized dream, Cruise replied, “I don’t want to disappoint her.”

Cruise, 42, wouldn’t divulge how he met the 26-year-old Holmes, but said it was “like a dream” to have her with him for the awards ceremony.

“She’s such an extraordinary woman,” Cruise said. “It’s beautiful. I feel really happy. I’m more than enamored.”

Seinfeld generates buzz about ‘Bee’ animated movie

Los Angeles — Jerry Seinfeld is going the Bee-movie route.

Seinfeld has written the cartoon comedy “Bee Movie,” for which he will provide the key voice, and will produce the tale for DreamWorks Animation.

The all-star voice cast also includes Renee Zellweger, Robert Duvall, Uma Thurman, Kathy Bates, Eric Idle, Oprah Winfrey, William H. Macy, Alan Arkin and Larry King.

“Bee Movie” follows a bee just out of college who sues humanity for mass theft of his winged species’ honey. DreamWorks plans to release “Bee Movie” on Nov. 2, 2007.

Every little step he takes, New Edition will be there …

New York — Bobby Brown’s old group, New Edition, says it would welcome back the troubled singer.

“No matter what, we love that brother,” Ricky Bell told AP Radio recently. “I mean, this is for real; this is no politically correct answer or anything like that. The door is open for him.”

After forming as a Jackson Five-style R&B group in the early ’80s, New Edition’s hits included “Candy Girl” and “Cool It Now.” Brown left for a solo career in 1986, though New Edition reunited for a short-lived comeback in 1996.

Brown, who married Whitney Houston in 1992, took off with singles such as “Don’t Be Cruel.” But he progressively became known more for his drug and alcohol arrests.

Bell says that even in his New Edition days, Brown’s troubles were evident.

But Bell adds that when Brown wasn’t drinking, “We (would) see that he’s a sharp individual, a talented individual, a family man.”

Jackson jury sees books about boys from 1993 probe

Santa Maria, Calif. — Prosecutors in Michael Jackson’s child molestation trial Friday showed jurors two books seized from his bedroom in 1993 that include pictures of nude boys.

The books were seized by Los Angeles police during a molestation investigation involving a boy who received a multimillion-dollar settlement from Jackson in 1994. That probe never led to criminal charges against Jackson.

Judge Rodney S. Melville allowed the prosecution to use the books despite defense objections that they were found too long ago to be relevant to the current case and would be prejudicial.

Jackson is accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy in 2003, giving him alcohol and conspiring to hold the accuser’s family captive to get them to rebut a documentary in which Jackson appeared with the boy and said he allowed children to sleep in his bed but that it was non-sexual.

Jurors were shown the covers of the two books during questioning of Los Angeles police Detective Rosibel Smith, who found the books in a locked filing cabinet in Jackson’s master bedroom.

Barker to miss Daytime Emmys due to skin cancer

New York — Veteran game show host Bob Barker will miss his chance to attend next month’s Daytime Emmy Awards ceremony because he’s getting a cancerous lesion removed from his back.

Barker, 81, said he’d had bouts with skin cancer because of a lifetime of sunbathing, particularly his summer months spent shirtless growing up in South Dakota.

“I can attribute it to a misspent youth,” he said Friday.

Barker is scheduling his surgery around a week off from taping “The Price is Right,” when he was supposed to come to New York to see whether he’ll win his 14th Emmy as best game show host.

He’s in his 32nd year as the popular show’s host, three years removed from breaking Johnny Carson’s record for continuous performances on the same network show.

Barker has already committed to a 33rd season on CBS’s “The Price is Right,” and will decide in December whether he can handle more of the tough taping schedule.

“I have been thinking about retirement for at least 10 years and every year I have so much fun that I think I’ll do it for one more year,” he said.

Birthdays

Actress Kirsten Dunst is 23. Actress Cloris Leachman is 79. Singer Willie Nelson is 72. Actor Gary Collins is 67. Actress Jill Clayburgh is 61. Actor Paul Gross is 46. Basketball executive Isiah Thomas is 44.