Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Andrew Dice Clay declares now that his currently running VH-1 reality show, "Dice Undisputed," has brought him back in the spotlight. "I want to do something bigger than I've ever done!

"I've always called myself the undisputed heavyweight king of comedy because I used to do 20,000 seats a night," says Clay, who is ranked No. 95 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time. "Now I want to do something so incredible it'll shake up the comedy world again. I want to go to Giants Stadium in New York and play to anywhere from 50,000 to 80,000 people. No one has come close to anything like that … not Dane Cook, not the Kings of Comedy (D.L. Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer, Steve Harvey and Bernie Mac). … '"

Clay's outrageous, profane act not only sold out arenas back in the '80s, it earned him a ban from MTV in 1989 (for offensive language and jokes on the MTV Video Music Awards). He says he hasn't mellowed with age. "My standup is probably more brutal and honest than it's ever been in my entire career," he says. "I've kept up with the times as far as what I'm talking about on stage. I do feel that people are angry, and living in a time of war and uncertainty, people get afraid … I mean, I'm not a political guy, but I'm allowed to say what I want and do what I want, and that's real America."

Clay says if all goes as planned he'll do Giants Stadium "this summer. I'm calling it an American Event, and I told management when we do Giants Stadium we gotta give away tickets to thousands of the military who have come home."

ON THE FAST TRACK: "Nashville Star" winner Angela Hacker says she was thrown into the fire immediately after beating out her competitors in the USA Network talent show.

"The last show was March 1, and we went in the studio to record March 2," says the singer/songwriter, who was competing against her own brother Zac Hacker on "Nashville Star." She says her debut CD, "The Winner Is … Angela Hacker; Season Five: Nashville Star" was "done in less than a week, and honestly, I didn't have the greatest of expectations with it being done that fast. I was afraid I wouldn't have anything on there that would be really me, but I've got four original songs on the album, and they sound great." She adds brother Zac "came in and sang, and the guys from the Nashville Star band played on the record."

The CD is being rushed to record stores by Tuesday (4/3), and Hacker says she's gearing up to head out on the Nashville Star Tour in June.

"We have an outline of what's already been booked through September, and we're looking at anywhere from 30 to 40 dates in different parts of the country."

THE BIG SCREEN SCENE: "I always liked playing romantic leads, because they're more interesting characters, in a way," says Richard Gere. "I found them interesting because they related to my own life, and my own searches for a way to make this man-woman thing look right and feel good. But now, certainly young-romantic-man roles are not appropriate for me." In a wide-ranging interview in the next issue of Entertainment Weekly, the actor, now 57, explains, "I need to pick parts that I can bring my thing to, and it's a different thing available to me than I had when I was 26 or 27." Gere plays Clifford Irving in the April 6 release "The Hoax," based on the real-life media frenzy over Irving's fake "authorized" Howard Hughes biography.

THAT'S SHOW BUSINESS: The Coyote Ugly saloons gained national attention in 2000, when Piper Perabo starred in the movie "Coyote Ugly" as an aspiring songwriter who made a living as a Coyote bartender. However, according to the bar owner, Liliana "Lil" Lovell, it has taken the CMT reality show, "Ultimate Coyote Ugly Search," to finally give her girls the respect they deserve. "What it's done is taken away this feeling like it was raunchy. Now it's become sexy. It's empowered women," she claims, speaking of her female bartenders, who are known for their wild antics like dancing on the bar and breathing fire. "I think the show tells the real story about how hard these people work."

In the new season, which premieres tomorrow (3/30), the quest for the most deserving Coyote bartender has paired five newcomers with five veterans, who must compete in a series of singing, dancing, and bartending challenges. "A lot of it is about personality because the reality is, you could be the most gorgeous person in the world, but if you don't have the personality to pull it off, it's not going to work. It's about being a strong woman. It's about feeling comfortable in your own skin," says Lil.

(With reports by Stephanie DuBois and Emily Feimster)

To find out more about Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith and read their past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2007 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.