Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

"Spiritual" and "inspiration" are words many people would not attach to Kelly Osbourne. But that's bound to change once Season Nine of "Dancing With the Stars" gets underway Monday (9/21) — according to her partner on the show, Louis Van Amstel.

"I've seen that girl change in front of my eyes in every single way," reports the three-time world champion ballroom dancer, who's been working with the 24-year-old member of the Osbourne clan for just two-and-a-half weeks.

"Physically, apparently she's already lost 14 pounds. Emotionally, well, she came in afraid of doing it and wanting to overcome her fears. The girl came out of rehab only a year and a half ago," he reminds, referring to Osbourne's addiction to prescription pain medication.

He believes that audiences will see "the real Kelly Osbourne" once they view her in action. He describes "a spiritual side, and also a little bit of therapy" coming to the fore as rehearsals continue. "It's inspiring, being part of that every single day, seeing her change. I don't want to see that change stop — it's going to be not only therapy for her, but also a tool to inspire a lot of people."

Does she believe that? "She's starting to believe, slowly but surely.

"Dancing is so close to the soul, whatever baggage there is, dancing will bring it out," adds the Amsterdam native, "and I'm the one — I don't call myself a teacher. Sometimes you're a therapist, sometimes you're the bad guy, sometimes you're like brother and sister, and sometimes, depending on the dance, you pretend to be in love. It's so much more than dancing. It's mind, body and soul."

Make no mistake: The well-known Kelly Osbourne personality is also in evidence. He reports there's been a lot of cursing going on during rehearsals, too.

"I'm European. I love that feistiness. She says whatever is on her mind. We do a lot of fun bickering. She calls me 'Mein Fuehrer' and I say, 'Bring it, b——.' Our package is PG-13 because of the language."

LASTING LEGACIES: Lisa Niemi must be feeling some consolation from the love pouring out in memory of her husband, Patrick Swayze. This office alone has had calls and e-mails from industryites and fans, as well as other members of the press — people seem to want to share their stories of the man. Along with his performances and his gutsy fight against cancer, Swayze should also be remembered as a thoughtful star who seemed to try his best to be good and do good.

Before he became ill with pancreatic cancer, we recall his behind-the-scenes push to put together an eco summit in Africa to, well, quite literally save the world. He wanted, he said, "to see if it's possible to put together a think tank of the greatest brains in the world and get a 1-2-3 sequence of things we need to do — now." He once said that whenever someone raised the issue of racism, he made it a point not to get defensive, but to use it as an opportunity to search within himself for any shred of prejudice and then to root it out. What a legacy.

It's a sad week in Hollywood, as we also say goodbye to Variety's columnist of so many years, Army Archerd, and to Larry Gelbart. The great wordsmith, whose credits included "M.A.S.H" and "Tootsie," was one of the most brilliant and witty talents ever in these parts, and was nevertheless gracious and down to earth.

REVVED UP: Professional motocross rider Travis Pastrana is back for a second season of his MTV stunt show, "Nitro Circus," and his pal and fellow rider Jolene Van Vugt says get ready for some of their most outrageous antics to date.

"We tried to do our best to be at least as good as Season One, but obviously we want to be better so we've tried to top it. We've got dirt bikes, cars, anything with motors and wheels coming back. We've also added some airplane and helicopter stunts. I think everybody's going to be pretty happy with Season Two," claims Van Vugt, who tells us she's gotten a ton of feedback from women since doing the show. "I get a lot of really nice, inspirational e-mails from young girls who say that I've inspired them to start riding, or mothers that say their children have been inspired by me in some way. If you can just be yourself and be an example that someone can look up to, that's the ultimate compliment."

BE AFRAID: "Bachelor" creator Mike Fleiss has certainly made a name for himself in the world of reality television, but he tells us he's been putting a lot of his attention into making horror films as well. "I've always loved horror films. As a kid, there wasn't any reality TV. I didn't grow up on reality TV, but I certainly grew up on horror movies," says Fleiss, who is working on a new horror movie franchise and has already produced such flicks as "Hostel" and the remake of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre." "I always dreamed of making horror movies and to be able to do it now and have it be successful is a wonderful thing."

With reports by Emily-Fortune 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 2009 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

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