Sounds like Hilary Duff had to do a little guerilla-style recording for John Cusack's indie film, "War Inc" opening today (05/23) in New York and L.A.

"Hilary was due to leave on a particular weekend," recalls actor/singer/songwriter Paul Hipp, who wrote three tunes for Duff to sing in the film in which she plays an Eastern European pop star. "I finished the songs, got her in the studio on a Wednesday night and knocked out all the vocals."

Unfortunately, he says, they didn't have time to get to a crucial song called "Your Phone Cut Out" Hilary performs in the movie. "She doesn't play guitar, so I was going to give her a couple of lessons but never found the time. They called me in the middle of the night from there in a panic. They were on their way to the soundstage to shoot the scene where she sings that song and didn't have the music. I said 'Okay, relax.' I put up a mike, played the backing track on acoustic guitar and emailed it to them. A couple hours later Hilary sang the vocal live and pretended she was playing the guitar.

"It was very brave of her I thought," says Hipp, adding "I think she's cool for taking this role. It's a completely different role for her playing this Eastern European pop diva. Her whole identity is wrapped up in what men around her created. She's this sexual beast who finds there's more to her than that. It's going to be surprising to see her with black hair and an accent. It's not the little sister Hilary Duff any more. She's all grown up."

SHE'LL BE SEEING HIM: Tony-winning ("Wicked") songstress Idina Menzel has a breakneck schedule  --  flying from her anniversary performance of "Chess" with Josh Groban at London's Royal Albert Hall this week to Washington, D.C., where she'll perform this Sunday (5/25) on the National Memorial Day Concert on PBS. She expects to reunite with husband of five years, Taye Diggs, for some togetherness time before the concert.

"We make it a point not to spend too many weeks apart," she says. "We love Washington, D.C. -- going out to the memorials when it's quiet, absorbing that powerful energy."

Menzel will be singing "Where Do I Begin" from her "I Stand" album, as well as a World War II-era medley including "Saturday Night is the Loneliest Night of the Week" and "I'll Be Seeing You." After that, the beautiful vocal powerhouse takes to the road for her cross-country "I Stand" summer concert tour.

The National Memorial Day Concert, hosted by Gary Sinise and Joe Mantegna, has a lineup also including Charles Durning, Denis Leary, Sarah Brightman and Gladys Knight, who is "a huge idol of mine. I hope I get to meet her," says Menzel. "It's going to be a very potent, very moving event. When I think about the people, the young people, who've sacrificed so much on our behalf, it's humbling. We get so caught up in our lives, I think it's important to reconnect with our history, especially now with what we're going through in this country and in the world."     AFTERMATH: "High School Musical" cutie Vanessa Hudgens, 19, feels she's made it through the fire storm of controversy over those topless photos of her on the Internet last year. "I learned from everything," she tells Entertainment Weekly in its Summer Music Preview that goes out nationally next week. "And I'm still here with my head on my shoulders. For that, I'm proud."

Of course, Vanessa is there to plug her new album, "Identified," which includes a song called "Gone With the Wind" that has lyrics that could be construed as an answer to her PR nightmare. She tells EW, "I just kind of went for it … The song basically means: I know a lot more, and that timidness and naiveté is gone with the wind." Well, we kind of got that from the pictures.

REALITY CHECK: Singer Taylor Dayne, who came out with a new album earlier this year after a long hiatus, says having kids has certainly changed her focus when it comes to the music business. "You're a different person because you have different risks involved. You just feel so much more that you have to work smarter, not necessarily harder. I have to keep reminding myself that," notes Dayne, who has 6 year-old twins Levi and Astaria. "You can't lose your identity in the business. The kids remind you, 'Here you are. This is life. This is real life.'"

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 DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.