Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

If Kenny Loggins' tour performances this summer seem especially heartfelt, there's good reason. He tells us that performing his new album," How About Now," has been a cathartic experience.

The multi-Grammy-winning singer/songwriter, who was divorced from his wife three years ago, says the tunes on the album "covered a chapter in everybody's life that I had not written in my own, but sooner or later we all deal with loss and moving on. "Basically, the last three years have been a rebuilding time. It seems like a pretty strange way to rebuild your life. But I think what I tried to do was be as honest as possible with all the emotions that create space in one's life including the song 'How About Now.' It says someday I'm going to be doing a whole lot better, then poses the question 'If then, why not now?'"

Loggins says he's learned his happiness and well-being is "a daily choice. Some days are easier than others, and the process is not linear. We keep forgetting that. We keep thinking that every day you get a little better, but it's not necessarily the case. Some days it's good, and some days you're back in the fire."

Looking back on his development as a songwriter who taps into the creative wellspring of his personal life, he notes, "I started dropping into that style of writing on (his 1977 first solo album) 'Celebrate Me Home' as a leap of faith. And I discovered that the music takes on a different meaning for me if I can write every song from the heart."

As far as he is concerned, the new CD harkens back to the earlier rock country sound he and Jim Messina created as the duo Loggins and Messina, responsible for such '70s hits as "Danny's Song" and "Your Mama Don't Dance."

JUSTIN TIME: Justin Long is looking forward to reuniting with his cast mates from the 2005 restaurant comedy "Waiting … " when he starts work on "Still Waiting" this summer. But "Still Waiting" will have to wait until the boyish-looking actor of "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story" and "Accepted" fame finishes an international promotional trek on behalf of "Live Free Or Die Hard," the Wednesday (6/27)-opening flick in which he costars with Bruce Willis.

"I watched all three of the 'Die Hard' movies to get ready for this one, and it didn't do anything to allay my fears. I kept seeing myself having to fill Samuel Jackson's shoes. I play a completely different kind of character than he played in 'Die Hard With a Vengeance,' thank God," he says slyly, "though he and I often do get offered the same parts."

The tres tacky "Waiting … " you may recall, was pretty much universally derided by critics, yet still managed to serve up more than $16 million domestically on a puny budget estimated at $3 million - and go on to gain some cult status as a DVD offering.

Of "Still Waiting," reports Justin, "I'm the manager, apparently, now … The girls go to work in a Hooters-type restaurant in this one … I'm only in for a couple of weeks, but my girlfriend is in for several weeks. She has a bigger part than I do," he says, referring to Kaitlin Doubleday, who's also in ABC's fall-debuting "Caveman" comedy.

MTV recently reported that everyone from the original movie except Ryan Reynolds is expected back, at least for a cameo, in "Still Waiting." Besides Long, the original cast included Anna Faris, Dane Cook, Alanna Ubach, Chi McBride and Andy Milonakis.

ROAD RAGE: Aussie imports Cameron Daddo and Jackie McKenzie — currently seen as host of CBS's "Pirate Master" and regular on USA's "The 4400," respectively — will literally be climbing into a new movie vehicle in October. "We're in preproduction on a fabulous script called 'Passengers,'" reports Daddo, who's producing. "It's the story of an expatriate Australian couple in Los Angeles, who get into a car on Friday night in Santa Monica at 6 o'clock to go to a party with friends in Los Feliz. It's an hour-and-a-half drive in peak traffic, and by the time they arrive, their marriage is over. It's a story we all know — one of those conversations that starts, and suddenly you're down the wormhole," he says.

Daddo, meanwhile, believes his "Pirate" reality show is picking up steam after getting launched amid rough critical seas. The show moves to from its Thursday night berth to Tuesday (7/10) nights at 10 p.m. July 10.

BLAST FROM THE PAST: With two DVD collections of the vintage "Playboy After Dark" series already garnering fans, you can expect "a third and fourth set," possibly before year's end. That's the word from Marshall Blonstein, whose Morada Vision firm is releasing those groovy shows of yesteryear. He tells us, "We'd like to put out maybe two or three [DVDs] a year. … I love my job. It's not a job — it's a lifestyle," he enthuses.

Blonstein notes that when the first collection was about to hit the market, "I'd ask people, 'Do you remember "Playboy After Dark"? And they'd say, 'Is that the show where Hugh Hefner came out in pajamas … ?' 'No, he wore a tuxedo, and it was a magnet for all the top stars of the '60s — Sammy Davis Jr. to Jerry Garcia to Pete Seeger — who's on wearing a suit. We have Hugh introducing 'the country and western singer Linda Ronstadt, and her backup band, The Eagles.'" Hefner remains the godfather of the enterprise, although from a distance. According to Blonstein, "He wants to always make sure the balance and chronology are correct."

(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 2007 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

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