Tara Reid attracted to 'Van Wilder' role

Olympian news services

Originally published Tuesday, April 2, 2002

NEW YORK -- Tara Reid, who has gotten a lot of exposure in the media spotlight, says she wanted to see "what it was like on the other side."

That's what attracted the actress to the role of Gwen, a college newspaper journalist, in "National Lampoon's Van Wilder."

Reid explains that the character initially had written a story that she thought would sell, but that was not very fair. She realized it and "went back and wrote something else, which is something you never really see journalists do too much.

"Some of the things people write about me are so not right, or so off, and I think 'God, wouldn't it be nice if someone, one day, went back and opened their eyes,' " she told Newsday in Sunday's editions.

Reid, 26, co-starred in the "American Pie" movies and "Dr. T & The Women." "National Lampoon's Van Wilder" opens nationwide on Friday.

NEW YORK -- You may never have washboard abs like Britney Spears, but soon you can fill your belly at her restaurant.

The pop singer is opening an American bistro in midtown Manhattan called Nyla -- for New York, Spears' new home, and Louisiana, her home state.

Nyla will occupy space in the Dylan Hotel that formerly housed Virot, an upscale French restaurant that closed shortly after Sept. 11. It's scheduled to open in May.

SYDNEY, Australia -- Russell Crowe has been accused by an Australian rugby league coach of trying to lure several players to South Sydney, a team the actor avidly supports.

Chris Anderson, coach of the Sharks team, said the star of "A Beautiful Mind," who has no formal links with South Sydney, is breaking the rugby league's anti-tampering laws by trying to lure Preston Campbell, the National Rugby League player of the year, from the Sharks to South Sydney.

Clubs are forbidden from making offers to players until after June 30. But Anderson said Monday that Crowe also has been talking to St. George-Illawarra player Nathan Blacklock.

"I heard two weeks ago that Russell Crowe was ringing Preston and Blacklock trying to get them to go to Souths," Anderson said. "If that is the case, it's absolutely wrong."

But Anderson admitted that it was hard to do anything because Crowe is essentially a fan, not a club official.

RADNOR, Pa. -- Although her marriage is in trouble and she's coping with a toddler, Melissa Rivers is philosophical about her problems.

"I had the pretty wedding. I made the pretty house," Rivers says in the April 6 issue of TV Guide. "I had the pretty baby, I had the handsome husband. I had the career, he had the career, with me at the gate, waving.

"And the reality is: I'm flawed, he's flawed. I'm still in the honeymoon stages of trying to stay above the fray, and I'm going to be civil, but there have been days when I've just wanted to freak. I just try and curb it."

Rivers, 34, known for her work on the E! network shows "Live from the Red Carpet" and "Fashion Police," is separated from her husband, John Endicott. Her famous mother, Joan Rivers, said the situation is hard to handle.

"Of course you want to see your child happy and secure. You want to see someone cherishing your child," Joan Rivers said. "But I don't know and I don't ask. I just stand by and support. That's all I'm good for now."

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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