Hollywood Digest

A FATHER'S LOVE?

Oscar-winning actor Jon Voight has gone public about his dysfunctional relationship with his daughter, Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie.

In an interview with "Access Hollywood," Voight said Jolie needed help with "mental problems" and took the blame for causing some of those problems because of his extra-martial affair and divorce from Jolie's mother when Jolie was less than 1-year-old.

Voight -- who won the best actor Oscar for "Coming Home" in 1978 -- told interviewer Pat O'Brien he was "brokenhearted" because he had tried but failed to get help for his daughter.

"Really I haven't come forward and addressed the serious mental problems she has spoken about so candidly to the press over the years, but I've tried behind the scenes in every way," said Voight. "You can be sure that's my agenda, because they're very serious symptoms of real problems ... real illness."

The star of "Midnight Cowboy," "Runaway Train" and "Ali" said the relationship seemed to improve when he and Jolie worked together in 2000 on "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider." But Voight was in tears as he blamed Jolie's entourage for making it difficult for him to help her.

"I have to say nobody stepped up, when the money train is running everybody wants to be on it, and nobody wants to make adjustment, and I'm angry about that," he said, "and I'm especially angry at this manager who has been with her and has seen everything. I begged him to help her many times, and always he turned her against me."

Voight said he never felt as though Jolie's recently ended marriage to Oscar-winner Billy Bob Thornton would last.

Jolie issued a statement saying she did not want to discuss publicly the reasons for her "bad relationship" with Voight.

"I will only say that like every child (Voight's son) Jamie and I would have loved to have had a warm and loving relationship with our dad," she said. "After all these years, I have determined that it is not healthy for me to be around my father, especially now that I am responsible for my own child."

Jolie and Thornton recently adopted a child, before announcing the breakup of the marriage.

HIGH PROFILE DEBUT FOR DENZEL, THE DIRECTOR

Denzel Washington's directorial debut will attract a lot of attention when it has its world premiere in September -- as part of the Gala line-up at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Washington also stars in the movie -- variously called "The "Antwone Fisher Story" or just "Antwone Fisher" -- as a U.S. Navy psychiatrist treating a sailor for uncontrollable anger. Fisher wrote the screenplay based on his personal experience, and Washington chose it for his first feature directing gig.

Derek Luke, a relative unknown, plays Fisher.

THERE HE IS

Wayne Brady -- best known for his Emmy-nominated work on the ABC comedy improv series "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" -- has been named to host the Miss America Pageant on ABC next month.

That makes Brady the first black to handle the job in the 81-year history of the pageant. Five black contestants have won the Miss America title.

Brady called his selection "a defining moment, as I will be able to proudly represent the African-American community for the first time in the telecast's history." But he said he's pretty sure he got the job because he will bring "a youthful energy" to the proceedings.

Brady said he didn't want to dwell on the racial angle.

"I'm the first African-American and that's great," said Brady, "but let's move on."

The multi-talented entertainer returns to primetime this fall in "Whose Line," and will also host an hourlong syndicated talk/variety show beginning in September.

AND KEVIN BACON WAS IN 'WILL & GRACE' WITH ...

Devotees of "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" have a new connection to use -- his upcoming appearance on the NBC comedy series "Will & Grace."

Bacon ("Apollo 13," "A Few Good Men," "Footloose") will guest-star as himself in the season's second episode -- in which he hires Jack (Sean Hayes) as his personal assistant, without realizing that Jack has been stalking him. One of Jack's first assignments is to track down the person who has been making Bacon so uncomfortable.

"Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" is a trivia game played by movie trivia buffs, based on the "Six Degrees of Separation" theory -- which holds that everyone in the world is connected to everyone else by six or fewer personal connections.

'CLONES' TO ATTACK HOME VIDEO MARKET ON NOV. 12

Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox have announced that "Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones" will be released on DVD and videocassette on Nov. 12.

The fifth installment of George Lucas' "Star Wars" movie series has grossed $584 million worldwide since its release in May.

The two-disc DVD set will have six hours of extra material, including eight scenes that Lucas decided not to cut into the theatrical release. A special edition videocassette edition will feature six scenes that didn't make the final cut on the movie.

OZZY ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Ozzy Osbourne -- who left his Ozzfest tour last weekend to be with his wife Sharon as she battles colon cancer -- has packed his bags and hit the road again.

Osbourne had planned to be with his wife for three weeks while she undergoes treatment, but a publicist for the family told the Los Angeles Times that Sharon though better of it.

"After attending his wife Sharon's first chemotherapy treatment, he nearly passed out and had to be taken to a recovery room," said the publicist. "Sharon now realizes that Ozzy is better off on the road, so she's shipped him back out to finish Ozzfest."

Osbourne will miss two dates in Ohio, but plans to perform in Clarkston, Mich., on Wednesday.

CALLING ALL FOREIGN FILMS

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited 85 countries to submit their entries for the foreign language film Oscar at the 75th Academy Awards.

Rules call for the entry forms to be received at the Academy not later than Nov. 1. The actual films must be received by Nov. 15.

The 75th Academy Award nominations will be announced on Feb. 11, 2003. The Oscars will be handed out in Hollywood on March 23, 2003.