Johansson tops FHM poll

New York – Scarlett Johansson tops a lovely list of the “100 Sexiest Women in the World,” in a poll of readers by FHM magazine.

“One of the best things for a woman to hear is that she is sexy,” the 21-year-old actress, star of “Match Point” and “Lost in Translation,” said in a statement. “I’d like to thank FHM’s readers for the huge compliment.”

Angelina Jolie is No. 2 on the list, followed by Jessica Alba, Jessica Simpson, Keira Knightley, Halle Berry, Jenny McCarthy, Maria Sharapova, Carmen Electra and Teri Hatcher.

Johansson ranked ninth on last year’s list. Jolie was No. 1.

“It’s remarkable how Scarlett Johansson has caught the attention of our readers,” said Scott Gramling, the magazine’s U.S. editor in chief, in a statement. “Her sultry voice and striking beauty certainly have a lot to do with that, but so does the confidence she exudes.”

The magazine’s May issue goes on sale April 4.

Manilow extends Vegas show

Las Vegas – Barry Manilow’s loyal fans, known as “Fanilows,” have something to cheer about.

The 59-year-old singer will keep crooning at the Las Vegas Hilton through 2008, the hotel announced Sunday.

“The shows at the Hilton are the most exciting shows I’ve ever done,” Manilow said in a statement. “The stage is huge, but the theater is intimate, so we can have a magnificent production and still connect with the audience.”

Manilow opened his “Music and Passion” show at the Hilton in February 2005 after his “One Night Live! One Last Time!” tour in 2004 was thought to signal the end of his concert career.

But he got a boost when his new album, “The Greatest Songs of the Fifties,” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart on Jan. 31 and then went platinum, selling over a million copies.

Manilow’s four-nights-a-week show changes nightly and features a cast of 14 in a 1,700-seat theater. Tickets cost from $95 to $225.

Revolutionary role

Veracruz, Mexico – Filming of “Guerrilla,” a U.S. production on the life of Ernesto “Che” Guevara, is set to begin next month in six locations around Mexico’s Veracruz state.

Benicio Del Toro, who won an Oscar for his role in 2000’s “Traffic,” stars in the movie, directed by Steven Soderbergh.

Officials plan to construct six sets in the central Veracruz area, Ricardo Rodriguez, film and audio visual coordinator for the High Mountains Regional Tourism Concession, said Sunday.

Guevara helped Fidel Castro lead the Cuban revolution in 1956 and tried to spark leftist uprisings throughout the region until he was killed while battling army forces with a band of guerrillas in rural Bolivia in 1967.

Rodriguez said Mexican territory will be made to look like the countryside of Cuba and Bolivia.

Graceland designated national historic landmark

Memphis, Tenn. – The home of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll joined the homes of past and present U.S. presidents in becoming a National Historic Landmark on Monday.

Graceland, where Elvis Presley died in 1977, joins the White House, Mount Vernon, Monticello and the Alamo in receiving the country’s highest designation for historic properties.

“It would be difficult to tell the story of the 20th century without discussing the many contributions made by this legendary, iconic artist,” Interior Secretary Gale Norton said during a ceremony at Presley’s famous Memphis mansion.

Presley’s former wife, Priscilla Presley, said Graceland, which has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1991, meant as much to Elvis as it does to the millions of fans who have visited the home and his grave there.

“To him, having Graceland also was a tangible symbol of how far he had come from his very humble beginnings,” Presley said.

Elvis Presley bought the home in 1957 for $103,000 after the release of his first hit record, “Heartbreak Hotel.”

More than 600,000 tourists visit the home each year, one of the five most visited home museums in the U.S.