Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

The homoerotic relationship between Viggo Mortensen and Vincent Cassel is not the focus of David Cronenberg's new film ''Eastern Promises,'' as some reviews would make it seem — at least as far as Cassel is concerned.

''I think those people were just interested in that subject matter. My character has this kind of relationship with Viggo's, but it's honestly just one aspect of the whole thing,'' says the French superstar best known to American audiences from ''Oceans'' 12 and 13.

He plays a sleazy Russian mobster barely able to hold it together, and Mortensen is his menacing henchman in the Focus Features film opening today (9/14). ''There's also the love story with Naomi (Watts) and Viggo. It has lots of different layers,'' he adds.

Cassel wrapped ''Eastern Promises'' promos and hopped on a flight to Montreal this week to start working on his second back-to-back film about France's notorious criminal Jacques Mesrine. The films — ''The Death Instinct'' with Gerard Depardieu and ''Public Enemy No. 1'' with Ludivine Sagnier — explore why Mesrine was ''an iconic gangster,'' says Cassell, adding there is as much a fascination with gangsters in his country as in America.

''He didn't give back to the poor, but the people liked him, even kids who were young when he died,'' shot down by police in '79. Adds the handsome actor, ''Even if it was in a negative way, he was a symbol of freedom. The guy could do just about anything without fear of anybody.''

HE SHOOTS TO CONQUER: ''Dancing With the Stars'' semifinalist Ian Ziering says he's virtually unrecognizable in the recently wrapped action-adventure film currently going under the title of ''Azteca.'' ''I was playing Hernando Cortes,'' says the former ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' regular. ''It's a complete departure from anything I've done.'' And it took some doing to turn the pale, blond actor into a Spanish conquistador. ''I had this dark wig. They tinted my scruff, my eyelashes and eyebrows and put this makeup on my skin to make it look as though I'd been on my ship for years. And I'm running around talking like Antonio Banderas. It was great.''

Ziering — who's currently shooting a three-episode arc on the Lifetime series ''Side Order of Life'' — says his action quotient went up exponentially while he was in character as Cortes. ''I was getting some great responses from the females on the set. It makes you wonder when the makeup artist and hair artist are telling you, 'Wow, you should grow your hair long and go dark.'" So is he considering the new look? ''I am such a low-maintenance kind of guy and the upkeep on that would be too much.

I'll do the best I can with what God gave me. Though it sure was nice to be tall, dark and handsome for a while.''

Ziering pops up on the Sept. 23 episode of ''Side Order of Life'' that marks a reunion of sorts with his former ''BH90210'' co-star, Jason Priestley, a regular on the show. He plays ''an international businessman named Brian Fowler'' who might — or might not — be the Cell Phone Man with whom Jenny (Marisa Coughlan) has been having a phone fling. ''There's a lot of chemistry between Jenny and me, but I have no idea if I am (the CPM). They're still writing it.''

HER BIGGEST FAN: Madison Pettis — Dwayne ''The Rock'' Johnson's delightfully ingenuous 9-year-old co-star in the Disney comedy, ''The Game Plan,'' opening Sept. 28 — says she was more excited about landing her first movie audition than the chance to work with the champion wrestler-cum-film star. ''They had me audition with Dwayne twice,'' recalls Pettis, ''and when I first saw him I thought, 'He's kind of big and tall.' I've never seen his movies because they're all PG-13 and R, so he wasn't like a big celebrity to me. He's just like a normal guy to me.'' In ''Game Plan'' The Rock plays an NFL football star/swinging bachelor who discovers he has a 7-year-old daughter from a previous relationship. ''All of my scenes are with Dwayne,'' says Pettis, who's also a regular on The Disney Channel's ''Cory in the House.'' ''He always called me 'honey,' ever since I first met him. He'd say, 'You're doing such a great job, honey.' He was sweet even back then.''

Pettis believes ''The Game Plan'' was just the beginning of a beautiful friendship. In fact, she says, ''Dwayne's going to be on a 'Cory in the House' episode on Sept. 21. He's a special guest star playing himself on our show and 'Hannah Montana' on the same night.'' The young actress, who plays the president's daughter, Sophie Martinez, in ''Cory in the House,'' says the troupe has only shot about 10 episodes of the scheduled 30 for the second season premiering in November, so she'll be working straight through April.

SARTORIAL ADVERTISING: William Shatner insists that although he is an Emmy nominee and past winner for ''Boston Legal,'' he hasn't been besieged with designer offers as he gets ready to dress up Sunday (9/16). In fact, ''Nobody's called,'' he says — chances for worldwide exposure of one's wares being worn on the red carpet notwithstanding. Actually, he muses, celebrities could take that walking billboard concept to the next level: ''I could carry a little advertising in my breast pocket or wear a sign saying Gillette on my back.''  Maybe next year.

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

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