Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Fans of Aussie star Guy Pearce who are used to seeing him in fare like "Memento," "L.A. Confidential" and "The Time Machine" will get a whole different Guy when they see him playing the smarmy, oily villain of Adam Sandler's Christmas Day-opening "Bedtime Stories." And he's happy about that.

"I got slimed and beaten up," says Pearce of the fates that befall his character, who in one of the titular stories is named Sir Buttkiss, "and I got to have a good laugh, too, so that made up for it. This was so much fun. Most of the time it was about feeling free enough to make stuff up as you went along."

Pearce recalls that when filmmaker Adam Shankman called him about the movie, "He said, 'Look, there's a writers' strike so we don't have a script, I can't send you a script, but I'll just explain the movie to you over the phone.' He did, and I said, 'Yes, that's good.' I'm a fan of Sandler's and I've worked with Adam before, and I thought it would be good as a counter to some things I'd done in the previous year — to lighten things up a bit," he says, referring to such intense fare as the recent "Traitor" with Don Cheadle.

"The most challenging aspect was probably jet lag — I flew home about six times throughout the filming. I'd work for two weeks and then have a week off, then work for two weeks and have a week off." Now he's looking forward to spending a quiet Christmas with wife Kate and family, "eating too much as you always do," and then resuming rehearsals for his next project, the new contemporary musical play, "Poor Boy" in Melbourne. He says, "It will be nice to stay at home for awhile."

THE VIDEOLAND VIEW: "Battlestar Galactica" fans were shocked to hear this season would be the last, but star Jamie Bamber claims the final episode will be an epic experience. "I'm sickeningly pleased. I haven't seen it yet, but based on my experience of reading the final script, it succeeded all of my expectations," says Bamber, who plays Lee "Apollo" Adama. "After five years of anticipating what the ending might be, that's a lot of pressure on a writer to deliver, but not only did he deliver, he blew the horizon open and made it something much more profound than I ever expected." He's of course referring to creator Ronald D. Moore, who decided to end the show despite big ratings.

Bamber tells us Moore's decision did not come as a surprise to the cast. "It's never been the ordinary model for a TV show where success breeds an indefinite life. It's always been a real story with a beginning, middle and end," he notes. "Despite huge numbers of people downloading it and buying the DVDs, it was becoming a bit more precarious and he decided to end it on his terms rather than wait for a forced ending.

We all expected it, to be honest." The series returns for its final episodes Jan. 16, with a March 20 finale.

Though Bamber will miss the show, he admits he was ready for a change. "It is bittersweet but at the same time you know you need to move on. I've lived this character for five years and it really was getting to me," says Bamber, who is now filming the British version of "Law and Order." "You fight for this character week in and week out and wear his clothes all the time, and that isn't all of who I am and what I can do. Whilst I enjoyed every second of it, it's very exciting to finally close that book and look at what's next."

VIDEOLAND TOO: TBS's comedy "10 Items or Less" returns for a second season Jan. 6 and co-creator/star of the show, John Lehr, tells us fans can expect a lot more funny. "This season has been remarkably smooth. It's kind of freaking me out," he says with a laugh. "Without a doubt the episodes are better than last year, which was our goal." Now with Christmas almost here, Lehr admits he's ready for a nice, quiet vacation. "I'm going to sleep as much as possible. I'm tired because Nancy [Hower] and I start writing in like March and work until mid-January so it's a long year for us, but I remember last year being so much more tired than I am this year so something is working."

Lehr says the reason the show runs so smoothly is thanks in part to working with great improvisers since the show is, after all, based on improv. "Improvisers are different from actors. They're a slightly different breed," he notes. "There's sort of a no nonsense blue collar kind of approach to it. There's not a lot of diva behavior with them. It's just very laid back, and that combined with us shooting in a working grocery store, it's hard to complain when you see people who are actually really working."

STICKING TO THE BRIGHT SIDE: Producer and casting legend Matt Casella — the man who discovered Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Keri Russell, Ryan Gosling, Christina Aguilera and Jessica Simpson — is well aware that it would be easy to do a show about the dark side of children trying to break into show business, the excesses of stage parents, etc. However, he says, "That's not a show I have any interest in doing." The show he is doing is "a feel-good show" — tonight's (12/23) "Rediscovered." With audition footage that's never been publicly shown before of Spears and other favorites when they were kids trying to get on the "The All New Mickey Mouse Club," the special goes back to some of the young talents Casella discovered then, and gives them a second chance now.

Those one-time promising juveniles, now grown, then compete in a talent show with a grand prize of $50,000.

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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