Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Lisa Ann Walter Responds to Her New Calling/Playing Muddy Waters Made MLK Role Possible for Englishman Oyelowo

Funny lady Lisa Ann Walter, on the promotional trail for her brand-new "The Best Thing About My A— is That It's Behind Me" comedic book, reports she may be doing a combination "stand-up/pep talk-body image lecture" tour of colleges in coming months. The "Dance Your A— Off" creator has found herself with a new calling thanks to the show, and she is listening.

"I've got all these wonderful young women who have become fans, who've thanked me for spreading this message" explains the advocate of healthy, self-accepting living. "This generation, even more than my own, has responded because of the 'DYAO' website and Facebook page. I've been getting a lot of interest for college dates."

Among the subjects that have drawn interest: "I've looked at some stuff the Kardashians were going through when Kim sort of first became visible, and Paris Hilton and some others were laughing, saying something like her butt looked like two pigs in a bag. She was quite young and that could have really hurt her self-esteem — to be made fun of and shamed that way. And now look — girls want to look like Kardashians, even to buying these fake, add-on heinies! Just a minute ago, it was this shameful thing. How people judge your shape has a lot to do with where and when you're born. What's not acceptable today might be in style tomorrow. And girls judge themselves on images that are airbrushed, that aren't real — these weird Barbie images that don't exist in nature. It's not right."

The "Parent Trap," "Bruce Almighty" and "Shall We Dance" actress is happy with her shapely shape these days, including her curvaceous backside — but she went through her own self-image battle as her marriage was coming unraveled a few years ago, something she touches upon in her book.

"To get 10 pounds off, I have to starve. My body resists it every step of the way — and then, the second I eat something, it's like pulling a ripcord on a raft. I blow up! Is it worth doing crazy stuff, being miserable and starving just to be 10 pounds lighter? Who cares? I'd rather enjoy my life."

Lately, she enjoys it a lot. The ever-energetic Walter does her funny gal-pal shtick at Jon Lovitz's L.A. club once a month between other engagements, revels in her relationship with her (younger) boyfriend and mothers her four children.

"I have identical twin boys, who are 10 years old. My goodness, it's like raising Vikings.

They come in and say, 'We booby-trapped the whole backyard — come look!' My big boy moved back home. That's what they do. And he just signed a deal with Universal to write and produce music. All those years of me dropping down to all those clubs on Sunset have paid off. What I am is relieved. There are a lot of musician-artists staying in their parents' basements for a way long time."

Her daughter, meanwhile, is in her first year of college, a pre-med student.

"She's the smartest one in the family. She may want to do neurobiological research," Walter reports. "I'm sure she's interested because she lives with so many nutcases. She wants to figure out her family."

THE BIG-SCREEN SCENE: Protean actor David Oyelowo says that his being cast as Martin Luther King in Lee Daniels' "Selma" is partly attributable to his having played blues great Muddy Waters in the 2008 "Who Do You Love."

Oyelowo's family is from Nigeria — said to be Nigerian royalty, in fact — but he hails from Oxford, England, speaks with a brilliant British accent and has lots of starring work with the Royal Shakespeare Company under his belt. Learning Waters' Delta dialect and understanding his world in the American South moved the actor many steps closer to being able to play King in the planned feature, one of two or three competing MLK projects, this one with Robert De Niro, Hugh Jackman, Lenny Kravitz and Tim Blake Nelson, in addition to Oyelowo.

Oyelowo was among the "Who Do You Love" film team on hand for a special screening of the feature (aka "Chess") as it wound up the Sixth Annual Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival the other night. Though it won kudos at the Toronto Film Festival, "Who Do You Love" ran aground, distribution-wise, due to conflict with another film about pioneering rock 'n' roll recording impresario Leonard Chess — Sony's "Cadillac Records" starring Adrien Brody and Beyonce.

A much more close-to-reality depiction of the Leonard and Philip Chess story than "Cadillac Records" (which left out brother Philip entirely), "Who Do You Love" certainly warrants much more attention than it's received to date. Getting fresh appreciation at the LAJF, attended by names including Grammy winner Diane Warren, can't hurt.

Oyelowo is also starring in Fox's August release "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" — and notes it's the first U.S. production in which he's been able to use his own accent.

THEM'S THE PERKS: Leah Remini says that one of her favorite parts of doing "The Talk" is that "I'm getting to meet people in the business that I admire. I do see some of them at events but don't really get to talk to them, just give a nod or say, 'Hey, what's up?' or 'Hey, man, I love your show.' Here, I can see them backstage and really have a chance to get to know them. It's a lovely job."

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.

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