Susan Sarandon, whose "Bernard and Doris" HBO telefilm with Ralph Fiennes is considered an Emmy frontrunner, admits, "I didn't anticipate such a strong response or the range of people who would find something identifiable in it."

That's not a surprise, considering the admittedly "odd setup" of what she views as the love story of the Bob Balaban-directed movie — between the 1970s' richest woman in the world, Doris Duke, and her penniless, alcoholic, gay, Irish butler.

Susan, who has talked previously about having had a couple of romantic involvements with gay men herself in the past, feels that in terms of defining one's sexuality, "In those days, you didn't have to declare yourself as clearly as now. There was more generosity of possibility with people. All kinds of coupling was going on. Everyone was surfing the grey lines, anything was much more possible, and you didn't dissect and label people as you do now."

MEANWHILE: Sarandon is taking a quick family trip to Maine with Tim Robbins and their sons Jack, 19, and Miles, 15, before beginning work with Pierce Brosnan July 9 on the big-screen drama "The Greatest." She can use a breather.

"My life has ADD. I can't quite get from one thing to the next without an overlap," she admits. Susan has finished a string of upcoming films, including the just-wrapped psychological thriller "Peacock" with Cillian Murphy and Ellen Page. She's in Peter Jackson's highly anticipated "The Lovely Bones" adaptation, and has a role in daughter Eva Amurri's forthcoming "Middle of Nowhere."

"It's a tiny part," she stresses of the latter. "It's her movie … I'm so proud. She's really good, so I can relax. It was a tough shoot, and she did a great job."

Now, Jack, "who is studying film in school," will be working on "The Greatest" on the camera crew. "I'm really excited about that," Susan says. "When you're working with people you care about and respect and have a project you care about in common, the gift of that kind of experience is fabulous. There's nothing better than being able to work with people you love."

But vacationing comes close. "To have kids who are now old enough to take off by themselves together — it creates a whole new kind of family time, which is wonderful," she notes. "I can't believe it every time they show up for Christmas. I think, boy, are we lucky."

THE VIDEOLAND VIEW: If there's one thing Jo De La Rosa of Bravo's "The Real Housewives of Orange County" wants to make known, it's that former fiance Slade Smiley is not her manager, as has been reported.

"He's not anything to do with business. I don't know why people thought he was my manager, but he's not," she tells us. "If anything, Slade's been my guide for the last couple of years," she adds. "If I had any question on contracts or decisions I've had to make, I would go to him. He's also been there if I ever needed a little push or whenever I had some self-doubt."

The status of the two will certainly become clear when her "Date My Ex" reality show premieres on Bravo July 21. Besides serving as her supportive friend as she works on recording an album, he'll be seen acting as her guide in a much more personal sense as he sizes up her prospective boyfriends.

De La Rosa acknowledges that their relationship continues to be a big topic for most fans. "I went through a lot of hard stuff with Slade on the 'Housewives' show. We broke off our engagement on that show, which was hard to do in front of America. Every day I feel like I have someone coming up to me telling me what I should have done or not to be so hard on Slade. They're either Team Jo or Team Slade."

THE NAKED TRUTH: Burlesque icon Dita Von Teese, who is most known for her "martini glass striptease," tells us she has no intention of keeping her skills to herself. In fact, she hopes to open up her world to whole new crop of women. "I'd like to be on the producing end of burlesque, where I can make my own shows and bring other exciting characters to the stage and create the same kind of thing that I did for myself for other performers," says Von Teese. "I have a knack for looking at someone and seeing what's beautiful for them." However, don't expect these ladies to be in their very own martini glass. "I don't want a bunch of clones of me. I feel like there can be so many kinds of facets to burlesque that people really haven't tapped into."

TUNED IN: Former "Saturday Night Live" star Tim Meadows says that although he's glad not to be on the late night comedy show anymore, he's still a fan. "I still watch it. I like it," claims Meadows, who is now a series regular on "The Bill Engvall Show." "I think they're all seasoned enough now that the audience is used to seeing them and trusts them. I think they're more comfortable in their own skin and performing as a group. It's a really funny cast."

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 2008 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

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