Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Carol Burnett is getting a kick out of the fact that her 2-year-old grandson, Dylan, has become a huge fan of "Horton Hears a Who!," this year's animated comedy with Jim Carrey supplying the voice for Dr. Seuss' famous elephant, Steve Carell as his teeny tiny Who friend, and Carol as his kangaroo adversary.

"It's his favorite movie and he's seen it about 11 times, but he doesn't know I'm in it. He just thinks the kangaroo sounds like Grandma. Once in a while I'll say, 'Horton! Stop that!' and he'll give me a look," she reports with a laugh. Of course, with "Horton" being released on DVD today (12/9), Dylan will have lots more opportunity to figure it out.

The comedy icon's other grandson, Zachary, who's 11, has a new appreciation for her talents as well. "He YouTubed me. He showed me the other day. I swear, they've practically got the whole show on YouTube," she says, referring to her classic, 22-Emmy-winning CBS show. She can't imagine trying to stop those vintage clips from appearing up on the Internet. "I think the only thing you can do is hope that if people are seeing it, maybe it whets their appetite for more and they get the real thing."

Some of Burnett's fans will be getting the real thing next year, when she sets out on a tour with her "Carol Burnett: Laughter and Reflection" show, a blend of clips, quips and audience Q&A. She also has another movie in the can, "The Post Grad Survival Guide," in which she plays "a dotty grandmother who has kind of an illness and wears a lot of wigs, and is not about to give up her role as the matriarch of this highly dysfunctional family. It's really about a young girl (Alexis Bledel) who graduates from college, where she's always been tops, and gets out and finds out it's a rough world out there and has to move back in with her family. Michael Keaton is the father, and gosh, is he wonderful — my son. And Jane Lynch plays the mother and she's also great."

THE BIG SCREEN SCENE: Eamonn Walker, who's been collecting critical raves for his portrayal of bluesman Howlin' Wolf in Sony's new "Cadillac Records" feature, paid a lot of dues for those kudos. "I changed my voice and my movement. I had voice lessons because you speak like him for five minutes and you lose your voice," he says of the singer's trademark raspy tones. "So they taught me to be able to do that all day. I put on weight because Howlin' Wolf was over 300 pounds.

I only got up to 250, though. I couldn't go any more," adds Walker, who also learned to play the harmonica. "I still play it. I find it very relaxing."

Walker can next be seen in the romantic war drama "The Messenger." "It's about the boys who are fighting for us and not coming home, and when they don't come home, somebody has to go tell the family. It's not so much about the war as it is about the people at home and how they react to their family members not coming home," he explains. "It's an excellent movie. Ben Foster and Woody Harrelson give performances that will rip your heart out."

AND: Columbus Short, who plays Little Walter Jacobs in "Cadillac Records," also learned to play the harmonica in order to portray the musician who revolutionized the way that the instrument is used in recording. He so dove into his part, he admits, "It took about a month and a half" after the movie shot before he felt the temperamental 1950s music prodigy was out of his system.

"It was kind of like I had to shake him — but I thought, 'Man, I'm going to miss you,'" says the 26-year-old actor of "Stomp the Yard" fame.

There were reports that Short was likely to be playing Danny Glover's character's son in a fifth "Lethal Weapon" movie, with Warner Bros. hoping to re-launch the popular franchise. But now Short tells us, "That's not happening." He's not sure what he'll be doing next. "Whatever kind of speaks to me."

THE VIDEOLAND VIEW: "Bones" is now in its fourth season, but Michaela Conlin, who plays forensics artist Angela Montenegro, tells us she's still not used to people recognizing her in public. "When we first started we could go about our daily lives, but it's been happening more often," she says. "The other morning this guy kept staring at me and I was like, 'Who is this weird guy?' Then he was like, 'I love your show!' I was like, 'Oh, yeah!'"

Luckily, Conlin has been hearing good things. "I think there's a very strong point of view on the show. There are some really serious deaths every episode, but they are handled in a manner that is light and I think the combination of those two things are appealing to people," she notes. Most importantly, Conlin enjoys playing her particular character, a multilayered, bisexual woman who is "known for being this kind of irreverent artist. They all have doctorates and she's not from that scientific world at all. I think she's the point of view of the audience, which is what I really love."

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 2008 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

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