Pop quiz: Why has John Cusack jumped into the political arena with a pair of videos saying John McCain is a war-profiteering clone of President George W. Bush?

“I know my opinion doesn’t matter more than anyone else’s and I just make films,” he told The Associated Press in a phone interview Wednesday. “But I do feel you have to speak out, and that’s what I’m doing.”

The 30-second videos, which went out to members of the liberal political activist group MoveOn.org on Wednesday, will begin airing as television ads Thursday. In one, Cusack offers a “pop quiz” to voters, asking them among other things: “Who supports keeping our troops in harm’s way in Iraq but not the bipartisan G.I. bill of rights to support them when they return home?”

McCain and Bush both do, Cusack says, adding, “Bet you can’t tell them apart.”

In the other, he points out that Charlie Black, a key campaign adviser to presumptive Republican presidential nominee McCain, has been a lobbyist for Blackwater Worldwide, the largest private security contractor in Iraq.

In his latest film, the war satire “War Inc.,” Cusack makes no secret that he believes the Iraq war was created to profit private businesses like Blackwater and Bechtel Corp., which hold war-related contracts.

“I’m not going to pretend this thing in Iraq was some kind of free market utopia to spread the gospel of democracy through the Middle East,” he told the AP from London, where he’s at work on another project.

Cusack says he supports Democrat Barack Obama.

Although he has made such films as “War Inc.” and last year’s “Grace is Gone,” in which he plays the husband of a soldier killed in Iraq, Cusack notes this has been his first high-profile foray into partisan politics.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Patrick Swayze is going back to work. The “Dirty Dancing” actor, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer earlier this year, will begin shooting his new A&E series “The Beast” in Chicago this summer, the cable network announced Monday.

A&E ordered 13 episodes of the one-hour drama, which stars Swayze, 55, as an unorthodox FBI agent who trains — and hazes — his new partner (portrayed by Travis Fimmel). It is scheduled to premiere early next year.

“I have searched for quite a long time to find a character that is this multi-layered, unpredictable and downright entertaining, as well as a project this current and cutting-edged,” Swayze said in a statement.

“There are constant twists and turns, because we never know what this ‘Charles Barker’ is going to do next! Not only is the show driven by plot, but as important, it’s character driven,” Swayze said.

The actor shot “The Beast” pilot last December, months before his cancer diagnosis surfaced in news reports.

Swayze’s representative, Annett Wolf, confirmed to The Associated Press in early March that he was undergoing treatment for pancreatic cancer; meanwhile, his physician Dr. George Fisher issued a hopeful statement, saying Swayze had “a very limited amount of disease” and appeared “to be responding well to treatment.”

Wolf declined comment Tuesday. A&E spokesman Dan Silberman said the network wasn’t commenting beyond its news release announcing the greenlit series and statement from executive Bob DeBitetto, who professed to be “thrilled to have Patrick on board.”

The New York Times reported earlier this week that Swayze will likely continue his treatment during four months of filming in Chicago. In an interview, DeBitetto told the Times that Swayze had benefitted by care including chemotherapy and experimental drugs.

“Obviously we’ve had candid conversations with him and his doctors, and we have a fairly high degree of expectation that Patrick will be good to work a full production schedule,” said DeBitetto, adding, “No one is using words like cured or remission or miracle.”

ABERDEEN, Scotland - Donald Trump argued his case Tuesday for the construction of a $2 billion golf resort on a stretch of coast in northeast Scotland after months of acrimony between the billionaire developer and local residents.

The brash American known for his New York developments and for his television show, “The Apprentice,” was in a bullish mood as he batted back environmental concerns from a panel of planners and environmentalists’ lawyers in a public inquiry in Aberdeen.

“The Donald,” as he is sometimes called, told the inquiry that his golf course will be the greatest in the world — better than the Royal & Ancient at St. Andrews, Turnberry, Carnoustie and Troon, all in Scotland; and better than Pine Valley in New Jersey, which he called the best course in the world.

“People won’t play a course if it is environmentally harmful,” Trump said. “They don’t like it, they don’t feel good about it and they won’t play it.”

He wants to build the course at the Menie Estate, 12 miles north of the oil town of Aberdeen. The development has divided political opinion in Scotland and embroiled Scotland’s first minister in a dispute about overstepping his jurisdiction in planning law.

The plans to create a course on a legally protected site of scientific interest have been met with opposition from local environmentalists and a landowner who steadfastly refuses to sell his property. Local fisherman Michael Forbes became famous after he refused the Trump Organization’s offer of $690,000 to sell his family’s run-down farm in the center of the estate.

The proposals for two golf courses, 900 timeshare apartments, a 450-bed hotel and 500 luxury homes were narrowly rejected by the Aberdeenshire Council late last year after local residents and conservationists said one course should not be built on the Foveran Links, a stretch of shifting sand dunes that are home to some of the country’s rarest wildlife, including skylarks, kittiwakes, badgers and otters.

But local business leaders, tourism agencies and Scotland’s nationalist First Minister Alex Salmond approve of the development, which could bring much needed jobs and money to the area.

Trump used Tuesday’s hearing to make a last-ditch appeal to push through the golf complex. The panel will meet until early July, and draw up a conclusion at some point after that.

David Tildsley, representing the Scottish Wildlife Trust, told the billionaire that he had ignored his own consultants on environmental issues.

Under cross-examination by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Trump drew snickers from the audience when he said he knew more about the environment than his consultants did. He acknowledged he had not read environmental reports that he commissioned.

“I would consider myself an environmentalist in the true sense of the word,” Trump said.

Trump said that the moveable sand dunes would benefit from having a golf course on them as they will be stabilized and would not be blown away in a storm.

Trump was expected to play on his Scottish roots as he faced the panel of three senior planning officials appointed by Salmond’s government and lawyers representing environmental agencies.

On Monday he visited his mother’s childhood home on the Isle of Lewis in the Hebrides and after touring the humble house in Stornoway he told journalists: “If it weren’t for my mother would I have walked away from this site? I think probably I would have, yes. Possibly, had my mother not been born in Scotland, I probably wouldn’t have started it.”

Trump seemed cheerful despite the grueling session.

“I think it’s going well, what do you think?” he told The Associated Press after the morning hearing. “I think we’re swaying them.”

Pamela Anderson may have a need for speed, but her favorite charity has a need for funds.

That’s why the former “Baywatch” babe is selling her prized Dodge Viper and donating the proceeds to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

“I’ve been working with PETA for 15 years,” Anderson told The Associated Press. “They’re kind of my ethical advisers. With them, I see actual results.”

The 40-year-old actress recently held a private estate sale to benefit the animal organization, and she’s planning to personally oversee the sale of her 2000 Viper, which she customized herself with white racing stripes. The car plays a prominent role in Anderson’s forthcoming E! series, “Pam: Girl on the Loose,” but she admitted it was dangerous for her to own such a high-performance vehicle.

“I’m a terrible driver,” she said. “It’s just not a good idea for me to have a Viper.”

The car will be among the offerings at Julien’s Auctions’ Summer Entertainment Sale of Hollywood memorabilia, to be held June 21 and 22 at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Other items available include Alfred Hitchcock’s driver’s license, personal snapshots of Marilyn Monroe and Sammy Davis Jr. and an original “Ben Hur” script signed by Charlton Heston. The sale will be broadcast live on Auction Network.

Though Anderson regularly attends charity auctions, she said she’s not much of a collector.

“I get sports stuff for my kids,” she said. “But me? I, just on a whim, give everything away. This is another one of those opportunities, but it’s specific. It goes to the cause.”

“Entertainment Tonight” aired a story about the birth of Angelina Jolie’s twins despite being repeatedly told beforehand that the report was based on information from someone impersonating Jolie’s assistant, according to documents and two people with knowledge of the exchange.

The celebrity newsmagazine denied Wednesday that it knew about an impostor before the broadcast. The identity of the impostor remained unknown.

On Friday morning, the show posted a story on its Web site and sent an e-mail alert to media outlets saying it had confirmed the birth of Jolie’s twins. The Associated Press picked up the report.

“Entertainment Tonight” did not name its source at the time. It later revealed that the report was based on e-mails from someone it thought was Jolie assistant Holly Goline.

Shortly after the story was posted but several hours before the broadcast aired, Goline told “Entertainment Tonight” that she was not the person with whom they had been corresponding, a person with direct knowledge of the conversation told The Associated Press. That account was confirmed by another person close to Jolie.

“‘Entertainment Tonight‘ was told before the broadcast that their information came from an impostor,” said the second person. Both people spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.

The people said there were several conversations Friday, by e-mail, text message and telephone, between Goline and “Entertainment Tonight.” Meanwhile, the story was quickly challenged by several other celebrity news outlets.

The TV show stood by its story Friday night, with host Mary Hart saying on the air, “Just this morning, a source who says she was inside the delivery room tells us yes, the babies were born and yes, mother and babies are fine.”

Later that night, the manager of Jolie’s partner, Brad Pitt, told AP that the babies had not been born.

The show said in a statement Wednesday that it first learned of an impostor from a letter from Jolie’s attorney Monday — three days after the broadcast.

“‘Entertainment Tonight’ takes this very seriously and is, of course, concerned that the show may have been victimized by someone allegedly posing as a member of Ms. Jolie’s team,” the statement said. “We are actively investigating the matter and are reaching out to law enforcement agencies.”

The show has not mentioned the story on the air since the initial report, and the story has been deleted from its Web site.

The 27-year-old program is the top-rated entertainment newsmagazine on television, with an average nightly audience of 6.6 million viewers, more than double any competitors. The twins, who Jolie says are due in August, are one of the biggest stories of the year in celebrity journalism, with their first photographs expected to fetch at least $10 million. (The first pictures of Shiloh Jolie-Pitt reportedly fetched a $4 million donation to charity from People magazine.)

The mystery of who was sending the e-mail fit perfectly into the world of celebrity gossip, in which rumor and thirdhand sources coalesce into “facts” at the speed of the Internet. Even before the “Entertainment Tonight” report, there were international rumors of the twins’ birth, possibly started by an OK! magazine story that did not report the babies were born, but speculated on possible names.

According to an “ET” executive, the report of the twins’ birth began with Sharlette Hambrick, an “ET” producer. Hambrick told the show that she had obtained a BlackBerry e-mail address for Goline from a contact at CNN, according to the executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.

According to e-mails provided to AP by the show, Hambrick sent a message to the BlackBerry address asking for confirmation of “reports swirling” that Jolie had given birth.

The reply came back: “Yes she did. I was actually in the room with her. They are doing fine and so is mom.”

Goline has never had a BlackBerry e-mail account, one of the people with knowledge of the exchange said. Hambrick referred a call from The Associated Press to the show’s public relations representative.

Shortly after “Entertainment Tonight” posted the story, Hambrick called the real Goline seeking more details, and Goline told her verbally and through text messages that Hambrick had been dealing with an impostor, the people with knowledge of the exchange said.

E-mails obtained by AP show that Hambrick sent a message to Goline’s real e-mail address showing the exchange with the impostor, asking “Are you saying this is now not your e-mail address? That you did not send me these e-mails?”

Goline responded: “This is not my e-mail.”

“Entertainment Tonight” aired a story about the birth of Angelina Jolie’s twins despite being repeatedly told beforehand that the report was based on information from someone impersonating Jolie’s assistant, according to documents and two people with knowledge of the exchange.

The celebrity newsmagazine denied Wednesday that it knew about an impostor before the broadcast. The identity of the impostor remained unknown.

On Friday morning, the show posted a story on its Web site and sent an e-mail alert to media outlets saying it had confirmed the birth of Jolie’s twins. The Associated Press picked up the report.

“Entertainment Tonight” did not name its source at the time. It later revealed that the report was based on e-mails from someone it thought was Jolie assistant Holly Goline.

Shortly after the story was posted but several hours before the broadcast aired, Goline told “Entertainment Tonight” that she was not the person with whom they had been corresponding, a person with direct knowledge of the conversation told The Associated Press. That account was confirmed by another person close to Jolie.

“‘Entertainment Tonight’ was told before the broadcast that their information came from an impostor,” said the second person. Both people spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.

The people said there were several conversations Friday, by e-mail, text message and telephone, between Goline and “Entertainment Tonight.” Meanwhile, the story was quickly challenged by several other celebrity news outlets.

The TV show stood by its story Friday night, with host Mary Hart saying on the air, “Just this morning, a source who says she was inside the delivery room tells us yes, the babies were born and yes, mother and babies are fine.”

Later that night, the manager of Jolie’s partner, Brad Pitt, told AP that the babies had not been born.

The show said in a statement Wednesday that it first learned of an impostor from a letter from Jolie’s attorney Monday - three days after the broadcast.

“‘Entertainment Tonight’ takes this very seriously and is, of course, concerned that the show may have been victimized by someone allegedly posing as a member of Ms. Jolie’s team,” the statement said. “We are actively investigating the matter and are reaching out to law enforcement agencies.”

The show has not mentioned the story on the air since the initial report, and the story has been deleted from its Web site.

The 27-year-old program is the top-rated entertainment newsmagazine on television, with an average nightly audience of 6.6 million viewers, more than double any competitors. The twins, who Jolie says are due in August, are one of the biggest stories of the year in celebrity journalism, with their first photographs expected to fetch at least $10 million. (The first pictures of Shiloh Jolie-Pitt reportedly fetched a $4 million donation to charity from People magazine.)

The mystery of who was sending the e-mail fit perfectly into the world of celebrity gossip, in which rumor and thirdhand sources coalesce into “facts” at the speed of the Internet. Even before the “Entertainment Tonight” report, there were international rumors of the twins’ birth, possibly started by an OK! magazine story that did not report the babies were born, but speculated on possible names.

According to an “ET” executive, the report of the twins’ birth began with Sharlette Hambrick, an “ET” producer. Hambrick told the show that she had obtained a BlackBerry e-mail address for Goline from a contact at CNN, according to the executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.

According to e-mails provided to AP by the show, Hambrick sent a message to the BlackBerry address asking for confirmation of “reports swirling” that Jolie had given birth.

The reply came back: “Yes she did. I was actually in the room with her. They are doing fine and so is mom.”

Goline has never had a BlackBerry e-mail account, one of the people with knowledge of the exchange said. Hambrick referred a call from The Associated Press to the show’s public relations representative.

Shortly after “Entertainment Tonight” posted the story, Hambrick called the real Goline seeking more details, and Goline told her verbally and through text messages that Hambrick had been dealing with an impostor, the people with knowledge of the exchange said.

Rocker, David Cook, triumphed over his competitor David Archuleta last night and rightfully claimed the “American Idol” title.

While the judges Tuesday crowned Archuleta the winner of the three singing rounds, the voters decided otherwise and in a huge unexpected way. Ryan Seacrest announced that Cook won by 12 million votes.

Right before the winner was announced, Simon Cowell said that he wanted to apologize to Cook because looking back at the tape, the competition “wasn’t quite so clear cut as we called it.” He felt he was on the verge of being disrespectful when he commented on how stupid it was for David Cook to pick the final song he sang. He also said that both guys deserved to be there and for the first time in American Idol history, he really didn’t care who won.

When Ryan announced Cook’s name, he became overwhelmed with emotion. Bending down and coming back up with tear filled eyes, the second time in many nights that the scruffy-faced rocker broke down.

“This is amazing,” he said. “This is all your fault,” he added, addressing his brother, Andrew. The story goes that Cook was only tagging along with his sibling to the “Idol” auditions to lend support, and wound up getting on the show.

To close out the show, Cook took the mic one last time on the American Idol stage and sang his new single “Time of My Life,” a song written by Nashville singer/songwriter Reggie Hamm, winner of the annual “Idol” songwriting competition.

“If I had to choose between playing a song that not a whole lot of people know that I could get behind, or the opposite, I’ll choose the lesser-known every time,” Cook told The Associated Press backstage Tuesday.

While “Idol” ratings were down all season, the final contest turned that tide. The viewership of Tuesday’s show went up 3 percent over last year’s performance finale. The David competition provoked a frenzy with a record 97.5 million audience votes cast by phone and text. Last year’s total vote count was 74 million.

*For those David Cook fans, here is David Cook in a Guitar Hero commercial, Risky Business style.