Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Nick Lachey's relationship with Vanessa Minnillo has certainly been the topic of tabloids at times, but the musician, for the most part, has had a break from media scrutiny since his much-publicized marriage to Jessica Simpson. He admits it's been a welcomed difference.

"It's been a nice change to be a little more private and to have a little more privacy. I realize that the tables can turn very quickly, so I just keep working hard," Lachey tells us in between filming his guest spot on "One Tree Hill." "You learn early on in this business that public intrigue is a big part of it. There are certain aspects of your life that are going to be more looked at and scrutinized than they were before. It comes with the territory. I've just learned to live my life as best I can and not worry too much about it."

Besides promoting his album "Coming Up For Air," which releases in May, Lachey has been hard at work behind the scenes with the new MTV show "Taking the Stage." The show, premiering March 19, documents the lives of students at Lachey's former high school, Cincinnati's School for the Creative and Performing Arts. "I describe it as a reality show version of 'Fame.' It's the antithesis of 'Laguna Beach,'" he adds. "It's a very urban school with an eclectic student body. It's just a very unique school setting, and the only thing that really matters is talent."

Lachey, who serves as executive producer on the show, says the project ended up being very near and dear to his heart. "I had such a positive experience at that school. It's why I'm in this business to begin with," he notes. "I just thought this would be a great way for me to give back and help the school by raising money for them and raising the level of exposure for them."

AFTER THE STORM: George Huff is back with his gospel-flavored "George Huff" album April 7, including the song "Hold On" that he relates to facing hardships before — and after — his becoming popular with the mass audience as a Season 3 finalist on "American Idol." Huff's family lost everything in Hurricane Katrina. "I couldn't focus on my career. Of course I had to deal with family members — starting with finding family members alive," he recalls. "A lot of the money I got on 'American Idol' was used to get family members on their feet and maintain them through this ordeal," adds the singer, whose old neighborhood in New Orleans and the building where he grew up remain abandoned and untouched since the 2006 disaster.

Now, he notes, "As Americans, we are all going through this recession.

People are suffering." He and his producers, he says, "tried to think of something that would inspire everybody in America that even in hard times, in trouble, dreams can come true, and you can acquire success and maintain stability in your life." The devoted Christian says he also gets inspiration from his friendships with fellow one-time "Idol" singers Fantasia Barrino and Jennifer Hudson. "We're like brother and sisters," he says. "We talk to each other and text each other all the time.”

BETTER OFF WATCHED: Jay Harrington, title star of ABC's "Better Off Ted" admits that it's been hard waiting for tonight's (3/18) debut of his comedy that deals with corporate immorality. However, "I'd rather wait as long as I have to for a good timeslot," says the handsome veteran of "Desperate Housewives" and "Summerland." "I see the shows put up against 'American Idol' every Thursday being blown out of the water, and I can't help being kind of glad our show is being put on when it is."

Portia de Rossi plays Jay's boss, who isn't a bad person, he stresses, though the two conspire in such shenanigans as creating an award to give an employee almost killed in a research and development experiment to keep him from suing the company. "I haven't read anything as consistently funny in a long time, for me personally," Jay says. "My character loves his job, so it's not that he's a victim per se. I guess he is, in a way, a victim of the corporate world. He wants to have pride in what he does and how he does it." He also has an 8-year-old daughter (Isabella Acres) serving as his conscience booster.

CROSS-OVER: "This American Life" host and producer Ira Glass reports that there are movies based on stories from his popular radio show currently in development at Warner Bros. and DreamWorks — in addition to his just-announced deal with Endgame Entertainment to develop a film based on the Arthur Phillips story, "Wenceslas Square," that aired on the radio program last summer. (It's about two spies who fall in love while on separate missions.) Says Glass, "I've been told to develop four or five things. Cross your fingers, and hope one of them gets made," he says. "One of the reasons I got into it is that my sister is a movie executive. She used to say, 'Hollywood has got all this money and needs decent stories, and you have just the opposite situation.''" Will the siblings collaborate some time? "We are hoping to do one together," says Ira.

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 2009 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

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