Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Glenn Close has wrapped her second season of FX's outstanding "Damages" series and will now return to development of the movie she describes as "a very quirky drama set in late Victorian times. It's a very different kind of story and if I can pull it off I will never have to pull off anything ever again."

The woman who's pulled off memorable roles in such films as the smash "Fatal Attraction" and "Dangerous Liaisons," and who is writer of record on the new project, points out "this is a disastrous time to find financing for films."

That latter fact could hamper her hopes to star in the big-screen version of the Andrew Lloyd Webber "Sunset Boulevard" musical that won her a 1995 Tony Award. Glenn notes that, at the present, the project is in "flat water. I hope it proceeds. It's a great dream of mine." She adds, "I know the movie would be different enough from the Gloria Swanson film not to be ridiculous, and I know I would love to revisit the character. She is one of the great characters of all time and I think I have it in me to do for a couple more years," notes the 61-year-old star.

Whatever movie work might be done would have to be completed by the time production starts on the third season of "Damages," most likely this summer. She notes that the troupe is still working on season two of the series, and that she is only free because "they crammed all my stuff together. I ended up sometimes working 18-hour days. In fact, when we were nearing the end of the first season we worked until four in the morning."

Close does not come even close to complaining. She describes the series as "a mega movie. We have the same high quality of writing and acting you find in a top motion picture — ours just happens to be 13 hours long." And she's grateful the series has not only survived, but generated enough confidence among FX execs that it has been given a two-season pick-up. She notes that the show has not drawn the size of audience it deserves in the U.S., but says, "It apparently is very strong overseas and that helped. I'm a realist and hopefully this season there will be more people over here who tune in."

Hopefully.

BUDDY MOVE: Brody Jenner tells us the best thing about having his own reality show is people are finally getting a chance to see another side of his personality.

You know, the side that likes to have dudes compete for his attention. No side jokes needed.

"It shows more of my personality than 'The Hills,'" he says of his MTV show "Bromance." "I film for 'The Hills' maybe once or twice, if that, a week. They'll get maybe two or three pieces of me a month. I have a whole other life that nobody sees. All they see is me talking about the drama between Lauren and Audrina or whoever. They don't show anything of what I do in my life or the success that I've had," claims Jenner, who considers himself a hardworking guy in the entertainment industry.

"I'm constantly trying to come up with ideas. Even when I was 20 years old, my best friend at the time, Spencer Pratt, and I created a show and sold it to Fox."

Plus, he reminds that being on TV isn't exactly a walk in the park. "A lot of people see our show and think, 'What do they do?' First of all, it is a job. Being on a television show, I don't know when that became not a job just because it's a reality show. That's called ignorance in my book. I work my butt off but nobody wants to see that. They just want to see the drama."

CELEB SEEN: While boxing enthusiasts continue to debate the controversial victory of Nikolai Valuev over Evander Holyfield in Switzerland last month, Evander popped up in L.A. last week, dining and having drinks with associates at the Sheraton Universal Hotel. Maybe the suave champ and former "Dancing With the Stars" competitor is talking another commercial deal. It would come in handy, since he fought Valuev for reportedly the lowest payday he's ever received for a championship bout, ($600,000), on the heels of his widely reported financial difficulties in '08.

STILL GRATEFUL: Comic Paul Rodriguez, who's done USO shows in Afghanistan and aboard the USS Nimitz, is a big believer in entertainers lending such support to U.S. troops "whether you agree or not" with administrative policy. "I was a serviceman myself, and I remember being in Iceland," he notes. "We didn't have e-mail in those days and it was so remote and isolated. And then Flip Wilson and Kool & the Gang came and did a show for us and it was un-be-lievable! I'll never forget it."

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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