Spears briefly deposed in child custody case

Los Angeles – Britney Spears finally appeared Thursday for a deposition in her child-custody battle with Kevin Federline, her ex-husband’s attorney said.

Spears was deposed for just 14 minutes, attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan told reporters after the 26-year-old singer left.

Paparazzi sprinted after Spears, who was wearing a hot pink dress and sunglasses, as she drove away from the Century City office tower in a white Mercedes-Benz. Security guards dashed across the driveway to keep photographers on the sidewalk.

Spears called in sick for a Dec. 12 court-ordered deposition, but was photographed that day driving with a friend. She also didn’t show up for a session Wednesday, Kaplan said.

Spears’ attorneys from the firm Trope and Trope filed a court motion Wednesday asking to be relieved due to a “breakdown” in communication with their client.

Kaplan said Spears’ attorneys were present for what became a very abbreviated session.

“The deposition proceeding did go forward today. It was scheduled for 9:45 to 11:45,” Kaplan said. “However, it wasn’t able to commence until 11:32.”

“You can imagine in 14 minutes there’s not a lot of time to develop questions,” he said.

Kaplan said another deposition will be scheduled.

Dane Cook breaks club’s endurance record

Los Angeles – Dane Cook broke a Laugh Factory endurance record set less than a month ago by Dave Chappelle.

In what is becoming a heated battle between the two comedians, Cook told jokes at the Sunset Strip comedy club for 7 hours, beating the record Chappelle, 34, set at 6 hours and 12 minutes in December.

Cook went on stage Tuesday and continued until nearly 7 a.m. Wednesday, and at one point even sent out for food to keep the audience fed and happy.

“If this rivalry keeps up I’m going to turn the Laugh Factory into a bed and breakfast,” club owner Jamie Masada said.

Last April, Cook set a record with an act lasting 3 hours and 50 minutes, breaking a mark set by Richard Pryor in 1980 of 2 hours and 41 minutes. Chappelle broke the record later that month, then broke his own record in December.

Cook, 35, most recently appeared with Steve Carell in the film “Dan in Real Life.”

Johnny Depp made most money at movies in ’07

New York – Johnny Depp pillaged the most money for theaters in 2007, in a survey of movie exhibitors.

Depp – star of “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” and “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” – has nabbed the No. 1 spot for the second year in a row in an annual survey by Quigley Publishing Co.

The survey, conducted every year since 1932, asks movie exhibitors to vote for the 10 stars who generated the most box-office revenue for their theaters.

Will Smith, now starring in “I Am Legend,” placed second on the list, followed by George Clooney, Matt Damon, Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Tom Cruise, Nicolas Cage, Will Ferrell and Tom Hanks.

This was the first time in 24 years that exhibitors haven’t included a woman in the top tier of moneymakers, despite the success of Katherine Heigl (“Knocked Up”) and Keira Knightley (“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”).

Lohan ‘back on track’ after sobriety setback

Los Angeles – Lindsay Lohan rang in the New Year drinking champagne in Italy, her attorney says, but is “back on track” in terms of sobriety.

A video obtained by The Associated Press shows Lohan, who spent much of 2007 in and out of rehab, taking a swig from a champagne bottle while in Capri, Italy.

“After being handed a champagne bottle while on a dance floor in Italy on New Year’s Eve and drinking from it, the good news is that Lindsay immediately stopped, called her sponsor, and got herself back on track,” her attorney, Blair Berk, said Thursday in a statement. “There is no magic cure here.”

“Unfortunately, Lindsay has to share her ‘one day at a time’ with the entire world,” Berk said.

Lohan, 21, was in Italy to receive an award at the Capri Hollywood International Film Festival.

Judge: DiCaprio’s neighbors need proof

Los Angeles – Leonardo DiCaprio’s neighbors will have to show more proof if they want to sue him for building a basketball court they claim destabilized their property, a judge ruled Thursday.

For the second time in three months, Superior Court Judge Tricia Ann Bigelow said the complaint, which seeks at least $250,000 in damages, isn’t complete enough to proceed.

“It seems to me that that the complaint is still uncertain,” Bigelow said. She gave Ronald and Joan Linclau 15 days to amend the complaint. If it is accepted, it would go to trial July 21.

The Linclaus sued DiCaprio in May, claiming their Hollywood Hills property was illegally excavated so the star of “Titanic” and “The Basketball Diaries” could have a basketball court built at his rented home in 2004.

The lawsuit claims the work undermined a slope behind the couple’s home and left their deck and pool in danger of collapse.

The judge said Thursday that the suit failed to show DiCaprio caused the destabilization.

TV watchers embrace late night’s return

New York – Television viewers welcomed late-night hosts with open arms for their first night back at work in two months because of a writers strike.

Jay Leno’s “Tonight” show on NBC was seen by 7.2 million viewers, or 43 percent more than what he had been averaging this season before the strike took him off the air Nov. 5, according to national ratings supplied by Nielsen Media Research.

David Letterman’s “Late Show” on CBS had 5.5 million viewers, 45 percent more than his pre-strike average, Nielsen said.

Leno’s writers are still on strike, while Letterman’s production company (Worldwide Pants) struck a deal last week to bring his writers back to work.

Later that evening, viewers were more interested in seeing how Conan O’Brien could cope without writers on NBC than how Craig Ferguson could do with them on CBS. Ferguson’s show is owned by Worldwide Pants and governed by the same agreement as Letterman.

O’Brien’s “Late Night” had 2.8 million viewers, up 37 percent from his pre-strike average, Nielsen said. Ferguson’s “Late Late Show” was seen by 2.2 million people, up 28 percent.