Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Celebrity weddings are often over the top and sometimes very stressful, but actor Ross McCall tells us things couldn't be going more smoothly as he and his fiance, Jennifer Love Hewitt, are planning their big day.

"My love life is going very well," he gushes. "The wedding planning has been terrific. Usually people get feisty planning a wedding, but it's been the easiest thing in the world. We're super stoked," says the Scottish actor.

Though the date still remains a mystery, McCall admits he's not too worried about the press getting involved. "I think we're two of the most normal people in the world. People are pretty good to us because we're low key. The pictures they run of us, we're usually walking the dog. It's not groundbreaking news," he notes. "Of course it can get slightly invasive at times, but you figure it out and make sure it doesn't happen again. I think if you live your life normally, then you can go along with whatever happens."

In the meantime, McCall is focused on his latest project, the TV version of the film "Crash" for the Starz network. The show, which also stars Dennis Hopper, was met with mixed reviews when it first aired in October, but McCall believes it's come a long way since then and should be given another chance. "A lot of the reviews that came in, I thought were still latching onto the film somewhat. With the great reviews, people were treating it as its own separate beast," he says. "A lot of people I know who watch the show are saying it's getting better and better. I would love for the reviewers who didn't like it to come back and visit because I think they would be pleasantly surprised."

A MATTER OF STYLE: The pop music blogosphere has been rife for months with accusations — and photo comparisons — claiming that Christina Aguilera appropriated the platinum-tressed futuregirl look of rising new star on the scene Lady Gaga. Aguilera was quoted last week in the L.A. Times saying she'd just recently learned of the other singer's existence, and wasn't sure whether Lady Gaga was female or male.

But Lady Gaga herself only says, "'I love Christina Aguilera,' and that's it," insists record producer RedOne. "Lady Gaga is such a good-hearted person, and she respects other artists so much.

RedOne, who worked with Lady Gaga (Nee Stefani Germanotta of New York City) on her "The Fame" album, reports, "she's got No. 1's all over the world. It's just getting crazier and crazier. She's made a big impact on the new generation of people. She is a star, and she creates all the time. She's always inventing, reinventing, thinking of the next big thing." In fact, he adds, when the catsuit-sporting songstress learned that RedOne's wife, Laila, had given birth to their son recently, "She said, "Oh, you got your baby! I'm going to make your baby a special Gaga suit.' One can only imagine.

"I don't want to say she's the new Madonna, but the new trendsetter," he adds. "The world is so open to it now."

MEANWHILE: Things are getting crazier for RedOne as well, with another burst of industry recognition for the behind-the-scenes talent who's also currently working on projects with Michael Jackson, Toni Braxton and more. The hot, new duet "Taking Back My Love," with Enrique Iglesias and Ciara, is another RedOne-produced tune. "Everyone is calling," he laughs. With his family currently in Holland, "I've been away a little while with my baby, and then I flew to London to work with Akon, then Sweden to work with Kat DeLuna on her next album, then back here to Los Angeles," and he'll soon be catching up with Jackson.

While he acknowledges that it's hard to be away from family, "It is what it is, and everything is happening now. It's so funny for someone who's been trying for 14 years, dreaming, 'It's going to happen one day,' almost giving up sometimes, but never quite giving up." And now, he has more demand than he can handle. "I have to choose the right things."

THE INDUSTRY EYE: Mark Ruffalo is getting ready to whet his chops as a director with the low-budget "Sympathy for Delicious." Sounds offbeat, to say the least, with actor-writer Chris Thornton's script involving an aspiring DJ who's paralyzed following a motorcycle accident, discovers he has the power to heal others — not himself — but trades it in for rock 'n' roll stardom. James Franco also stars.

The Sci Fi Channel is readying a show called "Soul Evidence," sort of a reality show/"Unsolved Mysteries," with real forensics experts, prosecutors and others working to get the bottom of crimes. Besides the experts, casting forces on the show are talking to actors for reenactment sequences.

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 2008 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

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