Cruise, Holmes expecting

New York – Let the couch-jumping begin: Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are expecting a baby. Holmes’ pregnancy was reported Wednesday by People magazine. The couple have been dating since April and became engaged in June.

“Tom and Katie are very excited, and the entire family is very excited,” Lee Anne DeVette, Cruise’s spokeswoman, told People.

It would be Holmes’ first child. Cruise, 43, has two children, Connor, 10, and Isabella, 12, from his marriage to Nicole Kidman.

No further details were available. Devette added that Holmes, 26, “has never felt better.”

Divorce rumors denied

New York – Another day, another divorce story about Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey.

Us Weekly magazine, without naming sources, broke a story Wednesday that said Simpson and Lachey separated over the weekend. Alex Dudley, a spokesman for Us Weekly, said the magazine was standing by its story. The latest issue, on newsstands Friday, proclaims “Split!” on the cover.

The pop star couple issued statements Wednesday denying they have split.

“Nick and Jessica have not separated,” said a statement issued on behalf of Simpson and Lachey. “Rumors to the contrary are simply not true.”

In an e-mail to The AP, Simpson representative Brad Cafarelli reiterated: “They have not separated.”

For the past year, rumors have dogged Lachey and Simpson, who will celebrate their third anniversary Oct. 26. Magazines have run pictures of Simpson with or without her wedding ring.

Ashlee Simpson on ‘SNL’

New York – It’s almost a year now since singer Ashlee Simpson’s most famous musical moment and she’s headed back to the scene of the crime. Simpson will perform on “Saturday Night Live,” the place where, last year, millions of viewers watched her limp off stage red-faced after she was caught with her mouth closed as her song “Pieces of Me” blared from a recorded vocal track.

“I think everything happened for a reason,” Simpson told MTV News. “I feel like I became a stronger person and I definitely grew from that situation. I really learned how to stand up for myself.”

Initially, Simpson blamed the band for messing up but later blamed her stomach. She said that an acid reflux condition led to her losing her voice that night and a decision was made to use the backup tracks to assist her.

On her new album, “I Am Me,” set for an Oct. 18 release, Simpson has two songs she said address the “SNL” incident. One’s called “Beautifully Broken,” the other, “Catch Me When I Fall.”

The episode is scheduled to air at 10:30 Saturday on Sunflower Broadband Channels 8 and 14.

Lohan in another crash

Los Angeles -Investigators said Wednesday they do not believe celebrity photographers caused teenage actress Lindsay Lohan to crash her Mercedes-Benz into a delivery truck.

“It was not a factor. It didn’t cause the accident,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Scott Gage.

The agency’s conclusion contradicts statements made by Lohan’s representative and leaves the official cause of the accident yet to be determined.

Within seconds of the crash, at least two photographers were snapping images of the actress, witnesses said.

Gage said the investigation has shown that the case may be “a civil matter.” He said a citation may be issued for violation of the California Vehicle Code. Witnesses said Lohan was driving at a high rate of speed.

“It was a very violent crash,” said witness Katherine Starr, 50, of New Orleans. “It was such a loud impact. It was explosive.”

Tuesday’s accident occurred shortly after Lohan was trailed and photographed by paparazzi as she ate lunch and shopped along the boulevard. “This is another example of the paparazzi endangering citizens, both Ms. Lohan and the other driver in the collision,” Leslie Sloane, the actress’ spokeswoman, said Tuesday. Sloane could not be reached Wednesday.

New genre for Zellweger

Hong Kong – Renee Zellweger will star in a Hollywood remake of the Hong Kong horror movie “The Eye,” according to a published report.

The South China Morning Post reported Wednesday that Japan’s Hideo Nakata will direct the film, to be produced by Tom Cruise (Zellweger’s “Jerry Maguire” co-star) and Paula Wagner.

Esther Koo, a spokeswoman for Applause Pictures, said the remake rights to “The Eye” have been sold to Paramount Pictures and that Applause founder, director Peter Chan, will be the executive producer of the new movie. Koo had no other details.

“The Eye,” directed by twin brothers Oxide and Danny Pang, tells the story of a young woman who sees the visions of the dead woman whose corneas she inherited in a transplant.

Nakata directed the 1998 horror film “Ringu,” which was remade as “The Ring.” He also directed “The Ring Two.”

Not giving up on TV

Oxford, Miss. – When the CBS comedy “Listen Up” was canceled, star Jason Alexander was the last to know.

“I found out about it in USA Today,” Alexander said recently.

“That show had a sizable audience and a loyal audience and it wasn’t a runaway hit but it wasn’t a runaway miss,” said the 46-year-old actor.

“We did better in our first year than the ‘Raymond’ show did in their first year, but there was a time that a network would allow a show to grow. Those days are gone.”

Alexander, who played Jerry Seinfeld’s friend George Costanza on the long-running ’90s comedy “Seinfeld,” starred in “Bob Patterson” in 2001, which quickly flopped. But he isn’t ready to give up on television just yet.

He recently sold a pilot to the USA network that he describes as a “dramedy” with a detective element. The series, written by the same team that wrote “Moonlighting,” will focus on two guys and a girl.