Sideswipe

Felicity Huffman is girlied-up on the DVD cover (left) for her Oscar-winning performance in Transamerica and (right) how she actually appears in the film from the theatrical release poster.

An actor playing one of the hijackers in the new 9/11 film looks likely to miss the premiere because the US won't give him a visa. London-based Iraqi actor Lewis Alsamari plays Saeed Al Ghamdi in United 93 premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival this week. According to Variety magazine, he has been denied entry because of a stint in the Iraqi Army more than a decade ago. "I think this was because I am still an Iraqi citizen and fought in the Army - but that was only because I was forced to," Alsamari told the Evening Standard newspaper. He was previously given a one-off visa to film United 93 in New York.

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Former 90210 bad girl Shannen Doherty will star in a reality show where she will, according to Variety, "rescue people trapped in toxic relationships. In each episode, she'll go undercover to assess the situation of her client and, if a relationship seems doomed, she'll instigate a breakup." It's called Breaking Up With Shannen Doherty.

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Wendy Schick, owner of Tumbleweed garden centre in Matakana, clarifies her "Feijoas 10 for $40" sign. "As Danielle and her husband are so good at reading signs they would have noticed that they were at Tumbleweed Coastal Plants, a garden centre, not a fruit and vegetable shop. These are grown plants and I doubt they would be available in Auckland as low as this. The plants are selling like 'hot cakes' ... oops, perhaps Danielle may think we are a bakery as well."

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Remember John Davy, the former CEO of Maori Television, who according to his CV was a champion fencer, chair of the World Wildlife Fund and had written a hit song? The Washington state Senate has approved a bill that could send those who pad their resumes to jail. Senators unanimously approved the bill, which would make using a fake or unaccredited degree a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The bill would also make it a criminal offence to lie to get a job or other kind of benefit.