Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Aussie film star Guy Pearce is looking forward to a breather. His dance card has been full of diverse projects on several continents — from playing Harry Houdini in the recent "Death Defying Acts" to filming Adam Sandler's Christmas release comedy, "Bedtime Stories," to taking on the role of an FBI agent in the Wednesday (8/27) release "Traitor."

"It's been a nice variety. I'm looking forward to being at home. I'm building a studio," says the actor, who rose to fame with films including Memento," "L.A. Confidential" and "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert." "It's a music studio, so I can go think I'm a rock star," he adds with a laugh. "With all the construction going on, it would be nice to give my wife a break."

On the other hand, "I'll probably spend the next 12 months doing promotion around the world."

Not that he objects. Pearce is proud of the "Traitor" feature that has Don Cheadle as a Sudanese-American Muslim and former U.S. Army Special Forces man who becomes part of an Islamist terror cell. The story was hatched by Steve Martin, who also produces.

"Don Cheadle's character is struggling to find his identity based on his religion, and on his tail is someone who is more prepared to understand him than other people," Pearce says, referring to his G-man character, who is tough but empathetic, a religious studies degree holder and astute when it comes to the ways of Islam.

"I didn't just want to be the FBI guy in the corner with a gun, and they weren't interested in that either, which was evident in the script," he notes. "An action movie can become a good powerful psychological thriller if people are invested in the characters."

FROM TH E GROUND UP: Funnyman Kevin Nealon believes with the changes made in the new season of "Weeds," the show could have an even longer life than the troupe expected. "I think it could keep going for a while. Eventually we'll see the smoke at the end of the tunnel, but I think it's a very long tunnel," claims Nealon of the Showtime series in its fourth season. "I think the show has upped the ante in its risk factor. It's in a new location. It's in the fictitious town of Ren Mar, which is north of the Mexican border. We kind of extend our illegal activities by smuggling in illegal immigrants into the United States.

So far he tells us the response has been positive. "People seem to like it. It's amazing the demographics of the show, too. It's so varied. I'll have an 18-year-old say he is a fan of it, and then I'll go around the corner and some 78-year-old woman will tell me how much she enjoys it."

Nealon has also teamed up with TBS once again to host a one-hour special dedicated to the world's funniest commercials, airing Tuesday (8/26). He's joined by wife Susan Yeagley and former Olympic skater Scott Hamilton to announce which commercial earns the gold medal. "This one is kind of based on the Olympic theme, and I think it is probably the best one we've done to date. I think the crop of commercials are much more creative and funny," says Nealon. "I think our world has such a short attention span that you've got to grab them right away. One of the good things about this show is we've kind of weeded out all of the bad commercials and presented the good ones."

A NEW SONG: Maureen McCormick, whom we all know and love from "The Brady Bunch," tried her hand at country music in 1995 with the album "When You Get a Little Lonely," and now she tells us she's ready to give it another shot. "I would love to make another country album," says McCormick, who got some great tips when filming the CMT reality show "Gone Country." "There are so many country artists who I really, really love. I would love to work with Rascal Flatts, Trisha Yearwood, Martina McBride, Keith Urban. I was in Brad Paisley's video called 'Online' and had a great time doing that. It would be so nice to work with him again. I've even approached Rascal Flatts, and they said, 'Sure, you can sing on one of our albums!'"

BEHIND THE SCENES: "Flashpoint" actor Hugh Dillon tells us he's grateful to have "Veronica Mars" and "Just Shoot Me" veteran Enrico Colantoni for a castmate on the hit CBS/CTV series about an elite police crisis-handling team. "I'm so lucky to have Enrico for support. He's been through the whole juggernaut of a network TV schedule before. I've never been on a show this big," says Dillon, who's been finding the grinding shooting schedule "all encompassing." Colantoni, he says, "got me to pace myself. The challenge was to get through the day-to-day, month-to-month. He's very wise and knowledgeable about how not to burn out, how to constantly be prepping for the next step — technical stuff. He's a great mentor."

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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