Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

John Legend reports he and Aretha Franklin have been in the studio of late, recording a tune for her forthcoming J Records album that he wrote especially for the legendary songstress. "It's different for her — a party song called 'Turn It Up.' It's kind of soulful and funky," he says. "I do a little cameo in there, but it's really her song."

And it's just one activity on the jam-packed agenda of the five-time Grammy-winning singer/songwriter/producer.

First up, Legend has the lead-off soundtrack cut on the Terrence Howard-Bernie Mac "Pride" feature being released by Lionsgate tomorrow (3/23). His soaring "Dare to Dream" anthem captures the feeling of the saga of inner-city Philadelphia swim coach Jim Ellis and his against-all-odds fight to build a swim team there in the 1970s.

"I don't think the song directly sounds like a John Legend song," comments the 28-year-old mega-talent. "It was very collaborative, very much for the movie, not so much me as an artist."

Meanwhile, he's also currently penning tunes for Whitney Houston and Jennifer Hudson and recording his own Home School label's first signee, Estelle — all while getting ready for the April 3 launch of his spring tour.

"We've got some cool new things we're doing — new arrangements, unexpected covers. We're bringing in some hip hop, some classic soul and classic rock," reports Legend, speaking of the concert trek that has him sharing the bill with Corinne Bailey Rae until its final two weeks. "We've elevated the production on every level for this tour, musically and visually — but it's still going to be about the music. I never want to turn it into a high-tech show. What people appreciate about me is that there is an organic feel about the music."

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS: Ira Glass is a hit on public radio with his show, "This American Life," which tells the surprisingly true stories of everyday people. In fact, Justin Timberlake's been quoted of late saying that Ira's show is among his faves. But Glass admits his fans weren't too happy when they learned he was taking the show to television as well. "We went on a six-city tour, going in front of public radio crowds, and I asked every crowd if they were worried about us doing a TV show, and there would be an overwhelming response of, 'Yes, we are worried!' I think part of it was that they're public radio people, so they're suspicious of television in general," notes Glass, whose program premieres on Showtime tonight (3/22).

"After we showed them some footage, they seemed won over, thrilled that it was very much the same as the radio show."

The response was certainly a relief to Glass, who says he also had reservations about doing TV. "Since we've been so successful on the radio, there was a thought that we can only screw this up, so there was a lot of fear," he notes, but luckily, it turned out better than they expected. "It's different from anything on TV. There's no news hook. We're not trying to say there's a new national scandal or problem. What we do are little dramatic stories that are funny in some places, emotional in other places, and they just happen to be true."

ANOTHER FRONTIER: Derek Magyar's name may be new to big screen audiences when his film, "Boy Culture," debuts tomorrow (3/23) in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco before widening its release next month. However, he's a familiar face to "Star Trek: Enterprise" fans, having played the hunky young Chief Engineer Cmdr. Kelby.

In "Boy Culture," based on Matthew Rettenmund's popular novel, Magyar plays a high-class hustler known as X who is confronted with emotions he hasn't felt in years. In the months prior to his death, legendary "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry responded to criticism that there were no gay characters on his series with a statement that said, "In the fifth season of 'Star Trek: The Next Generation,' viewers will see more of shipboard life in some episodes which will, among other things, include gay crew members in day-to-day circumstances." Now Magyar notes, "While that role never materialized, I certainly got my on-the-job training as X."

DEAD, DEAD, DEAD: As viewers of "CSI" are aware, the show always seems to be reaching out for new and interesting kinds of murders for its crime scene investigators to investigate — and even by Las Vegas standards, they go waaaay out there. They've had murder set amidst the world of people who dress up as animals for sexual kicks in the past, and a new episode will feature murder involving a UFO cult that believes the earth has been taken over by reptilian aliens who've taken human form. Then there are the deaths themselves. Viewers can look forward to an upcoming episode that has a former boxer victim who was beaten with a bat, shot with a crossbow, poisoned by snake venom, forced into anaphylactic shot and drowned. Just to be sure.

(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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