Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

It's been four months now since Joaquin Phoenix announced that he was through with acting and would henceforth focus only on his music career — and announced it, and announced it, and announced it again. He even reportedly has pal and brother-in-law Casey Affleck following him around with a camera team recording his transition from film star to, he hopes, recording artist. His retirement is getting more publicity than most of his films.

Still, fans should not get too caught up in his pronouncements that he's absolutely — positively! — finished with acting. He would hardly be the first performer to have made dramatic announcements about quitting the business, only to return again — and again and again. Frank Sinatra and Cher come to mind — her Farewell Tour lasted so long (from 2002 to 2005) that it became known as The Never Say Goodbye Tour, and she's still at the grind, headlining since last May at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Other "retirements" that didn't quite stick are too numerous to mention, but range from short (Jay-Z) to long (Jane Fonda).

Joaquin seems to have never been in love with the limelight, and it's understandable if he feels like a change, but why not do what others do in other fields, and back away from the grind for a while? The fact that his never-again! announcement is getting played up just as his "Two Lovers" movie is hitting theaters might make the cynics among us wonder how much of the drama is a publicity ploy for the picture. The 34-year-old actor — whoops, former actor — insists not, but time will tell.

DIAL-A-CUTIE: Nickelodeon is premiering its own teen musical, "Spectacular!," tonight (2/16), but can it follow in the popular footsteps of Disney's "High School Musical" franchise? "Spectacular!" leads Nolan Gerard Funk and Tammin Sursok weigh in on the question. "There are always going to be comparisons. You could also compare it to 'Footloose' or 'Grease,'" she says. However, she wants to stress, "Our movie is nothing like any of those, outside of having high school kids and being musical."

But how about all those comparisons between Nolan and Zac Efron? "I think we're really, really different performers, but it's cool. Zac has a fantastic career," Nolan notes.

One thing Funk does already have a good head start on is reaching out to all of his fans. He has a separate phone line dedicated just for them. "It's where fans can call and leave me messages," he says of the 818-748-9076 phone number. "On a Sunday when I'm not doing anything or not traveling, I like to call a few of them back. There have been a few loud eruptions of screams," he admits of talking to some of his young female fans. Just wait till they see him sing! Of course it doesn't hurt that the former gymnast throws in a back flip or two! "It's weird that eight years after taking gymnastics, I'm doing a movie where I'm doing crazy back flips off the stage. I'm still shocked they let me do it," he says.

For Australian actress Sursok, making the movie was a demanding task made more challenging by the fact that during part of the production, she was flying back and forth between Vancouver shooting and her job on daytime's "The Young and the Restless." She tells us that the dance numbers entailed "18-hour days. I've never been so sore in my life. But I loved it."

THIS IS HOW TO DO IT: "One Tree Hill" hottie Chad Michael Murray is proud and happy to have quit smoking last year, which he says he did with the help of a nicotine patch. And he encourages anyone else who wants to drop the lethal habit to go for it. "After three days, I was over the hump. They say getting off goes in threes — three days to get off nicotine, three weeks to break the habit and three months to know you've done well and quit," says Chad. He adds, "And you've got to quit drinking, because the second you have a drink, you lose your inhibitions, as they say, and then you go, 'Oh, I can have just one cigarette,' and when you do that, then you're done."

A TROUPER: CNN Anchor Lou Dobbs has to be proud of his daughter Hillary, a force to be reckoned with on the equestrian circuit — and someone with obvious grit. Despite battling the flu and having to postpone a few Harvard exams, she managed to fly to Wellington, Fla., and mount up ride to win the recent Gamblers Choice Grand Prix. She'll be gaining a higher profile when she, along with Olympic Silver Medalist Peter Leone and top amateur rider Sarah Ward, is seen on an upcoming horse-related program titled "Wellie-World," planned for airing on TV and online.

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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