HEADLINES 7/27

Angelina Jolie, in Tokyo for the weekend opening of action thriller "Salt," brushed off rumors about her shaky relations with Brad Pitt.  "He was just a wonderful father," she said of Pitt, during work on the film. He often brought the children to the set, she recalled. "They played with fake blood, and they found mommy very strange in her different hair," she said.

Chelsea Clinton is set to marry her investment–banker boyfriend Marc Mezvinsky on Saturday at a posh private estate 90 miles north of Manhattan. Experts estimate that the nuptials will cost anywhere from $3 million to $5 million.   The Daily News provides a detailed rundown of exactly how much everything will cost.

In a 2-minute, 27-second tape posted yesterday on Radar Online, Mel Gibson goes off on another jealous rant against Oksana Grigorieva and states that he regrets having a baby with her.  Gibson also unleashes a jealous rant against Timothy Dalton. / NYP15, DN4

Lindsay Lohan is hoping to get out of jail even earlier than expected, however a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff says that Lohan will remain in jail until at least Aug.1. / DN4

Justin Timberlake has reportedly been added to the list of possible replacements for Simon Cowell on "American Idol." In other news, former "Idol" producer Nigel Lythgoe is rumored to be retuning to the show and bringing a set of new judges with him. Lythgoe is interested in bringing Paul Abdul back to the show, along with Elton John and Usher. / NYP64

It has been confirmed that Steve Carell's seven-year run on "The Office" will end when his contract expires in 2011. Executives at NBC promise that the show will go on. / AP

The husband of Diane Schuler plans to have her body exhumed for an HBO documentary in order to prove that his wife was not impaired by booze and weed when she plowed into another car on the Taconic Parkway claiming eight victims including herself.  News of the movie deal came to a shock to the family of victims Guy and Michael Bastardi, who learned of the deal on the one-year anniversary of the crash. / DN16

Condoleezza Rice and Aretha Franklin will perform on stage together this evening at Philadelphia's Mann Music Center in a rare duet. Their aim is to raise money for urban children and awareness for music and the arts. / AP

Another woman has accused director Roman Polanski of rape.  Edith Michelle Vogelhut told the Los Angeles district attorney in May that Polanski sexually assaulted her in 1974, when she was 21. / DN10

President Obama will be in New York tomorrow to tape the first appearance ever of a sitting president on a daytime talk show, "The View." / NYP65, DN4, USAT1D

Singer Wyclef Jean is considering a run for president of Haiti but has not decided whether to seek a five-year term as leader of the quake-ravaged nation, the musician's family said Monday. / AP

Actor Rainn Wilson of "The Office" had countersued a Portland company in a website development dispute.  He's seeking at least $400,000 in damages from Think Brilliant, accusing the company in a recent federal court filing of fraud and breach of trust.  Think Brilliant sued Wilson earlier this month, seeking $11.3 million and alleging the actor failed to properly compensate the company for website development work. / AP

Rihanna has been cast as the female lead in the upcoming film "Battleship."  The film is scheduled to arrive in theaters May 2012. / USAT1D

Mark David Chapman, the man who killed John Lennon, is schedule to be interviewed by a three-member parole board panel during the week of Aug.9. Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, who has again sent a letter to the parole board, has consistently opposed Chapman's release. / DN19

The White House announced yesterday that Michelle Obama and her younger daughter, Sasha, are set to vacation in Spain over the Presidents birthday. / DN16

Oliver Stone caused a stir after he said that Hitler did far more damage to the Russians than to the Jews – but that no one in America talks about it because of "Jewish domination of the media."  Stone later issued an apology. / NYP16, DN5

Julia Roberts, Forest Whitaker, Goldie Hawn, Gabriel Byrne and Mariel Hemingway will produce documentaries for OWN, Oprah Winfrey's upcoming cable network. / DN64

Oprah is now asking Sarah Ferguson to star in a reality show for her new cable channel, officials said yesterday. / NYP65

Al Pacino will be performing on Broadway this fall in "The Merchant of Venice." The play is set to open Oct. 19. / NYP34, AP, DN23

Mary-Kate Olsen kept her distance from ex-boyfriend Nate Lowman at the Arizona Ice Tea after-party for Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes at the Jane Hotel. After realizing that Lowman was there Olsen "dodged in the other direction" without making eye contact or saying a word. / NYP12

Scott Disick was spotted walking five steps behind Kourntey Kardashian on their way into Southampton eatery Sant Ambroeus on Sunday.  Once inside the two sat in complete silence. / NYP12

Lance Bass is rumored to be dating Marc Jacob's ex-boyfriend Lorenzo Martone.  A source says that the two met shortly after Lorenzo started seeing Jacobs in 2008, but the relationship has only heated up in the weeks since the couple split. / DN7

Bethenny Frankel says that she is not sure if her "Real Housewives of New York City" castmates are jealous of her new baby, husband and reality show. "I don't know," Frankel says. "I have so little connection with them."  / NYP13

The wedding of "Real Housewives of Atlanta" newcomer Cynthia Bailey started and ended in drama thanks to castmates Nene Leaks and Kim Zolciak.  Leaks reportedly barged into the bridal suite and demanded her and makeup be done.  Zolciak then got into an argument with her new boyfriend who "was checking out a hot redhead." In other news, Atlanta Housewife Lisa Wu Hartwell was not at the wedding, fueling rumors that she has been cut from the show. / NYP12

Ice-Tea used a live stream Sunday night to go on an Internet rant about being busted near the Lincoln Tunnel last week for driving with a suspended license. / NYP4, DN37

The "Mad Men" fourth-season premiere averaged $2.9 million viewers on AMC making it the biggest season opener in the show's history. / NYP64, DN64

Zac Efron sits down with USA Today to talk about his new movie "Charlie St. Cloud." / USAT1D

Madonna, Drew Barrymore and Gwen Stefani are the first to own items from the new UES footwear collection following Seth Campbell's collaboration with Steve Madden. / NYP12

Kellan Lutz was spotted chatting with actress Amber Heard at the Wires Café at Comic-Con.  In other news, Lutz said that he was having a hard time hearing fans at the Maxim and SKYY Vodka's Comic-Con bash because his ears hadn't popped in over a week. / NYP13. DN9

Katy Perry was spotted in the lobby of the Andaz Fifth Avenue Hotel in a skintight mini latex tank dress and 5-inch black platform heels. / NYP13