Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Bijou Phillips, who plays a drug-addicted singer in "Dark Streets," opening tomorrow (12/12), certainly didn't have to do any research to understand the perils of musicians when it comes to drug abuse.

"A lot of people in these performers' lives, they can't do it so they [have a] want to kill it kind of thing," says the beautiful 28-year-old.

Her late father, John Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas fame, you'll recall, was notoriously addicted to heroin and cocaine through much of his life. Her half-sister Mackenzie, drug free for years after her fall from stardom in the '80s, was arrested for possession of cocaine and heroin last summer and wound up being sentenced to rehab.

"Of course, ultimately, everyone has to be responsible for themselves," Bijou goes on. "But there are shady people out there who want to harm [others]. I've seen a lot of that with my family — the vultures, the users trying to look cool who are destructive. People write songs about it," she notes with a shrug.

As an actress and singer, Bijou says she found "so many dreams came true" in the making of "Dark Streets" — a noir tale centered in a jazz and blues nightclub of the 1930s. Besides playing the troubled chanteuse, she contributed a song she wrote to the feature.

"Being able to creatively help out the movie was awesome," notes Bijou, who tells us that her second studio album "is sort of the reason I've gotten into this kind of music." She says that album is "going well. It's definitely a long process" — especially since her acting dance card has been full. She also has "Made for Each Other," a "dark, romantic sex comedy" on the way, and "It's Alive," a "killer baby movie."

Next up: heading to snow country, Sun Valley, Idaho, for Christmas with her family, including Mackenzie, then on to Park City, Utah, for a New Year's ski trip with half-sister Chynna.

RAPIDLY RISING: Chelsea Staub, the Disney Channel lovely who costars with the Jonas Bros. in their May-debuting "Jonas" series, reports, "We're shooting our 10th episode already. It's just flying by. I can't believe we're this far along."

She admits, "It's been a roller coaster — at least for me.

When I first found out I was going to do the show, it was before the guys were on the cover of Rolling Stone, before the Burnin' Up tour. The next year, these down-to-earth guys had become huge. They were everywhere, on the cover of every magazine. Between that and being delayed by the writers' strike, and the fact the show went through a major storyline change with the idea of them as spies being dropped, well, now we're here, and it's finally happening, it's really nice." She groans at mention of the possible actors' strike. "We're just continuing to work and hope for the best."

MEANWHILE: Chelsea just returned from her first trip abroad, visiting pals in Buenos Aires. "I met the kids I was going to visit at the Disney Channel Games," reports the pretty blond, also known from the channel's "Minutemen" movie. "They all film a TV show that's seen in Argentina and lots of other countries — Mexico, Brazil … "

Chelsea visited the studio where her Argentinian pals shoot their show, and found it "a very different experience" from the quiet of the set where "Jonas" shoots. "It was loud. Cell phones go off. Cameramen are part of the show. And they get everything in one or two takes. That, to me, was incredible. I did a little guest star cameo on their show. I walked in, and they said, 'Oh, you should be in this shot.' It could never happen like that here. It was like a theater company with one big hair and makeup table — no 'I'll be in my trailer.'"

Staub's trip also resulted in whetting her appetite for more foreign journeys. She tells us that she and a couple of her girlfriends have just booked a New Year's trip to Paris, "and we're thrilled. We were jumping up and down."

THE VIDEOLAND VIEW: "So You Think You Can Dance" may be on hiatus at the moment, but one of the show's judges, Mary Murphy, certainly isn't slowing down. The former ballroom champion has been getting the opportunity to travel and see firsthand the effects of the popular dance show. "I'm seeing as I travel across the country that dance studios are offering all of the different dance styles now. It didn't used to be that way. All of the dances used to be completely separate," notes Murphy. "People are wanting to get cross training now. They're seeing the benefits from it and are also appreciating all of the different styles."

With reports by 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 2008 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

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