Charity auction includes day on campaign trail

New York – William Baldwin is auctioning a day on the campaign trail with Elizabeth Edwards, wife of presidential hopeful John Edwards, and a private falconry lesson with Robert Kennedy Jr. to raise funds for his mother’s foundation.

Baldwin personally lined up the VIP packages for an online auction to benefit The Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund, which his mother established in 1996 after surviving breast cancer. Baldwin and his brother Alec Baldwin sit on the board of the foundation, which provides grants to researchers.

“I was very lucky … to get a significant number of people on board and committed,” Baldwin told The Associated Press in a recent telephone interview. “And I think that sort of created somewhat of an aura, where people were like, ‘You know, we wanna be in on this.'”

Baldwin, who stars on ABC’s new show “Dirty Sexy Money,” said he hustled friends and family – in a nice way – to book the packages, which are up for bid on the Charity Folks Web site through the end of October.

Jennifer Garner talks about motherhood

New York – Jennifer Garner, who stars in the upcoming film “The Kingdom,” says she’s grateful that she can balance her career with motherhood.

“My job is great to have as a mom,” she tells Marie Claire magazine in its October issue. “I get to take long breaks and then work hard in a really concentrated way.”

Garner wed Ben Affleck in June 2005. Their daughter, Violet, will be 2 on Dec. 1.

“She’s pretty awesome. We’re in that sweet spot before the ‘terrible twos,'” the 35-year-old actress says. “We definitely wonder what it would be like to have another – hopefully, knock on wood, someday.”

Garner nursed Violet during the filming of “The Kingdom,” co-starring Jamie Foxx, which opens in theaters Friday. Garner says she found herself staggered by the heat on the Arizona set.

“I checked with a pediatrician, I checked with my gynecologist,” she recalls, “and they said, ‘Breast-feeding? You’ll be fine. Just drink plenty of water.’ But the rules when it’s 138 degrees are different. … It sent me to the hospital a couple of times.”

Kate Hudson goes behind the camera

New York – Kate Hudson went behind the camera for “Cutlass,” one of Glamour magazine’s “Reel Moments” short films based on readers’ personal essays.

The goal of the competition, now in its third year, is to empower women by producing female-friendly short films and creating opportunities for actresses to direct. This year, the assignment was to capture the essence of happiness, the magazine said Monday.

The contest began earlier this year with stories submitted to Glamour. The magazine narrowed down readers’ submissions and asked Hudson, Kirsten Dunst and Rita Wilson to choose their favorites.

Hudson, 28, selected “Cutlass,” a generational tale about family and tradition. The short film co-stars Kurt Russell, Dakota Fanning, Virginia Madsen, Chevy Chase and Kristen Stewart.

Dunst, 25, cast Winona Ryder in “Welcome,” a modern-day ghost story, and Wilson, 50, directed “The Trap,” starring Jeanne Tripplehorn as a woman who finds happiness in trying something new.

The films premiere Oct. 9 in Los Angeles.

Charles Durning chosen for achievement award

Los Angeles – Charles Durning will be honored for lifetime achievement by the Screen Actors Guild.

Durning, 84, will receive the award for fostering the “finest ideals of the acting profession” during the 14th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards show Jan. 27, the guild said Monday in a statement.

“Throughout his career, he has epitomized the art and grace of acting and brought something special to every role,” SAG President Alan Rosenberg said in a statement. “He is above all things a great actor with the talent to which we all aspire: the power to create indelible characters.”

Durning received Oscar nominations for his roles in “To Be or Not to Be” and “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.” His movie credits also include “Tootsie” and “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”

Gay characters decline on network TV series

Los Angeles – The number of gay characters depicted on TV is falling on network series but rising on cable, a study by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation found.

In the 2007-08 TV season, broadcast series will feature seven regularly seen characters who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, down from nine characters in 2006 and 10 the season before, GLAAD said. Most are on one network – ABC.

The new figure represents 1.1 percent of all regular characters on ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and CW, compared to 1.3 percent in 2006, according to the study. A total of 87 comedies and dramas with 650 characters were analyzed.

By comparison, cable shows will feature 40 gay characters as series regulars, GLAAD said.

Demi Moore changes name to Kutcher

Demi Moore married Ashton Kutcher in 2005. But she’s just getting around to officially taking his name on her driving license and credit cards.

A source told In Touch magazine, “Demi did this for Ashton. She knew that this was something he wanted, so she finally made the switch.”

That means Demi will be Mrs. Kutcher on her black American Express card, her passport and other documents, but in her working career, she’ll be keeping her name from her first marriage to Freddie Moore.