Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Martin Landau won't be on hand at L.A.'s Shrine Auditorium Sept. 16 to learn firsthand if he's finally ended his Emmy jinx.

The noted actor, on his sixth Emmy nomination for his guest appearance as Bob Ryan on HBO's "Entourage," is leaving for Northern Ireland to start work with Tim Robbins and Bill Murray in the big-screen adaptation of Jeanne DuPrau's futuristic novel "City of Ember."

He says of his Emmy track record, "It's the prize that's eluded me. I've won everything else, three Golden Globes, an Oscar, the SAG Award, critics awards. … "

Indeed, Landau has an enviable track record, and at age 76 continues to be in demand for movie after movie.

"I've had an amazingly successful time," says the man who shot to fame in the '60s with "Mission: Impossible" and went on to earn an Oscar for "Ed Wood." "And I realize I'm much more fortunate than most."

The unfortunates he's referring to are journeymen actors "who aren't earning nearly as much as they used to, or deserve. The problem is that today so much goes to the star or stars, that others in the cast don't receive decent salaries — and a lot I know have actually lost their homes. They are given the ultimatum 'Take it or leave it.' A lot are suffering because of the enormous salaries and perks being lavished on a few — those 'above the line' — on a film project."

Landau makes the point, "Acting is a business you've really got to love. There are a lot of easier ways to make a living, but it's like a virus — if the bug bites, it's something you've just got to do. But it's much harder than it used to be. There used to be many less people. Today it's a huge bureaucracy with assistants who have assistants who have assistants. I swear, 70 percent of the people involved (in a project) are unnecessary. We used to make movies without all the second assistants and production assistants. Today it's hard to tell where the buck stops."

THE INSIDE TRACK: Grammy-winning disco icon Thelma Houston says her new "A Woman's Touch" CD was a natural extension of the show she performs some 200 times a year. "I do a lot of concerts and corporate things where people want to be able to dance and have a good time," says the songstress responsible for the classic '70s hit, "Don't Leave Me This Way." "I go back and get songs people know, and they're always coming up to me at the end of the show saying, 'Have you recorded that song? Can I get that anywhere on CD?'" "A Woman's Touch" features tunes made popular by male singers including Sting's "Brand New Day," Luther Vandross' "Never Too Much" and Marvin Gaye's "Distant Lover" reworked from a woman's viewpoint.

Houston is set to do a red carpet appearance/CD signing at L.A.'s Amoeba music store Sept.

8, then will be out promoting the new the album till October, when she heads to Seattle to do the popular play "Teatro ZinZanni." "It's a combination of Cirque, dinner theater and cabaret," says Houston.

BOYS OF SUMMER: It'll be another extreme teenylicious career landmark for rising pop stars The Jonas Brothers when they guest on buddy Miley Cyrus' "Hannah Montana" tonight (8/17) — a.k.a. premiere night of the Disney Channel's "High School Musical 2," a.k.a. the most highly hyped made-for-television musical in the history of the world.

The brothers are working every angle this summer with their current tour, their own series in the works and their newly released self-titled album. According to eldest brother Kevin, although it's literally their second album — they got lots of mileage out of their debut, "It's About Time" CD — "We feel like this one is our first … Actually, we had concerns and were nervous about the sophomore slump or whatever you want to call it, but for us, we feel like it's our intro and really our album explaining ourselves. That's why we titled it 'The Jonas Brothers.' We felt we just wanted to say, 'This is a very clear indication of who we are.'" He adds, "All the songs we wrote for the second album were all personal songs, all personal events that happened to us, that made us feel. We went through something and wrote about it. It's really about us and what we went through in the past year."

UGH! READ IF YOU DARE: Rosario Dawson's gig as interviewer/presenter for Gallery HD TV's Aug. 21-debuting photography series, "Aperture," took her into the creepy world of Catherine Chalmers. Chalmers is famed for her artsy shots of reptiles, houseflies and cockroaches. When the talk turns to the mating rituals of those uber-reproductive critters, Chalmers reminisces about trying to get a roach orgy going with 30 males and females in a tiny bedroom set she built. However, she notes regretfully, the roaches weren't in the mood. Lou Reed, David Byrne and Drea De Matteo will be featured in less buggy segments of the series that looks into the works of such acclaimed artists as Vik Muniz, Laurie Simmons, Donna Ferrato and Marla Rutherford.

(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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