Michael Jackson burial postponed until Sept. 3

Los Angeles — Michael Jackson won’t be laid to rest on what would have been his 51st birthday after all.

A spokesman for the Jackson family says the King of Pop’s funeral has been postponed until Sept. 3, five days after the singer’s birthday.

Spokesman Ken Sunshine, in a statement Friday, offered no reason for the delay.

Jackson’s family had planned a private daytime service for Aug. 29. The pop superstar will now be interred in The Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn-Glendale at a private evening ceremony.

The cemetery is spread over several hills on land roughly 8 miles north of downtown Los Angeles. The mausoleum includes a stained-glass replica of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” and replicas of Michelangelo’s statues.

Screenwriter pleads guilty in fatal crash

Ventura, Calif. — An Oscar-winning screenwriter of “Pulp Fiction” has pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter and drunken driving for a crash that killed a passenger in his Mercedes.

Roger Avary of Ojai, Calif., entered the pleas Tuesday in a Ventura court. He’ll be sentenced next month and remains free on bail.

Authorities say the 43-year-old was intoxicated when his car hit a telephone pole in Ojai on Jan. 13, 2008. The crash injured his wife and killed 34-year-old Andreas Zini, who was visiting from Italy.

Avary has apologized for the accident.

Avary and Quentin Tarantino share the 1995 Academy Award for writing “Pulp Fiction.” He also co-wrote the screenplay for the movie “Beowulf.”

Singer hopes to break interview record

Nashville, Tenn. — Jack Ingram better be in a chatty mood come Tuesday.

The country singer will try to break the world record for most radio interviews in 24 hours as part of a promotional blitz for his new album, “Big Dreams & High Hopes.”

Communications gurus TJ Walker and Jess Todtfeld hold the current record after speaking to 96 different radio stations in 24 hours last June, said Guinness World Records spokeswoman Jamie Panas.

The previous record was 72 by Pete Wentz and Patrick Stump of the rock group Fall Out Boy.

Ingram is shooting for 225 interviews in 24 hours starting 8 a.m. Tuesday.

“When I first went to No. 1 with ‘Wherever You Are,’ I spent a week on the phone every morning for four or five hours at a time talking to radio stations,” Ingram said recently. “It’s a fantastic way to travel the country without going anywhere.”

It’s also a good way to spread the word about his ninth studio album, whose first single, “Barefoot and Crazy,” is No. 11 on the Billboard country chart.

Police question Rimes in traffic collision

Los Angeles — Grammy-winning country music star LeAnn Rimes was involved in a traffic collision in West Los Angeles, authorities said Friday. No injuries were reported.

The 26-year-old singer was questioned by officers as part of an investigation into the Thursday evening incident, police Officer Norma Eisenman said.

No one was injured and Rimes was not arrested, she said.

No further details were provided. The investigation was continuing.

Susan Novak, a spokeswoman for Rimes, said a police report had been filed and she was confident Rimes will be cleared.

Jackson birthday bash could draw 10K

New York — New York City officials want to find a larger place for Spike Lee to hold his celebration of Michael Jackson’s birthday.

The filmmaker had planned to mark the late King of Pop’s birthday with a block party-style bash in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene park on Aug. 29, when Jackson would have turned 51.

But a spokeswoman for Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Friday that city officials and Lee are looking at other sites because crowd estimates have grown.

The event’s original permit envisioned 2,000 people attending. But because of nationwide publicity, organizers now expect the crowd to exceed 10,000.

The city says Brooklyn’s Prospect Park is a possible alternative.

‘Runway’ champ wants Kidman to wear dress

New York — Fashion designer Daniel Vosovic has someone very A-list in mind for the winning dress he created for the “Project Runway: All-Star Challenge.”

Vosovic dreams of getting none other than Nicole Kidman to wear the elegant black-and-white ensemble that secured his victory on Thursday’s special edition of the fashion-competition franchise.

Vosovic says he feels the urge to start a Web site for his case. Because, as he puts it, “I WANT that woman in my dress.”

The style-savvy actress helped set up a design contest for Vosovic and seven other top contestants from past “Runway” seasons. In a video message, Kidman asked them to create a red carpet-ready look for the upcoming premiere of her film “Nine,” which also stars Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard and Kate Hudson.

She didn’t say who’d wear the chosen dress.

“As excited as we were, we certainly got it,” he said. “I mean, she has an international image to uphold. … I think that she just wanted to have a little bit of a look, so hopefully she’s watching the show, she loves what I did and she’ll want to wear the dress.”