Entertainment Today: Showbiz News

RABBIS: MADONNA VIDEO OFFENSIVE

Some scholars of Judaism are upset by the use of sacred texts and religious objects in Madonna's new video for the theme song to the latest James Bond movie, "Die Another Day," reports the New York Daily News.

The violent video features Madonna with Hebrew letters tattooed on her arm and tefillin -- small leather cubes containing biblical verses and worn with straps during morning worship -- while Nazi-like goons electrocute her.

The mock execution leaves three Hebrew letters on the electric chair -- "lamed," "aleph" and "vav" -- part of the "72 names of God" taught in the kabbalah, mystical Jewish teachings studied by Madonna and her husband, director Guy Ritchie.

Ken Jacobson, associate director of the Anti-Defamation League, tells the News he doesn't find the video "anti-Semitic," but argued: "There are some people who can be -- and are -- offended by using Jewish religious articles for these purposes. Many Jews, especially Orthodox, believe it is not a tradition for women (to use tefillin). There are certain sensitivities that are offended by what she did. Then there is the question about the Hebrew lettering, and what they mean."

Rabbi Sue Fendrick, managing editor of MyJewishLearning.com, added: "To a very traditional Orthodox Jew, even the mere image of a woman putting on tefillin might be offensive. This really seems to be about a non-Jewish person putting on a symbol for purposes of entertainment. Some people won't find it interesting one way or another. Others will find it deeply offensive to Judaism and Jews."

Said Rabbi Michael Berg, who teaches at the Kabbalah Center in Los Angeles, where Madonna has studied: "Jewish law prohibits tattoos. But, for one thing, this tattoo is not permanent. For another, we teach in kabbalah that every person is free to make their own choices."

LIZA, 'GIRLS' CANCELED

It looks like Liza Minnelli won't be filling Anna Nicole Smith's pumps any time soon.

VH1 has pulled the plug on the "Liza & David" reality show.

The New York Post says VH1 decided to give the diva the ax because her husband was behaving like a prima donna.

"We discovered what a lot of people already knew: David Gest is impossible to work with," a source close to the aborted reality show told the Post. "David Gest redefines the term 'control freak.' He was almost insane."

The heavily hyped cable show originally was supposed to bow on Dec. 8, then was pushed back to January. On Tuesday, VH1 lawyers wrote to Gest's attorneys, informing them the deal was off because Gest repeatedly breached his contract.

"In light of your ... inability to cure these breaches, it is with great regret and sorrow that we must notify you that we have no choice but to terminate the agreement," the letter stated.

Rob Weiss, VH1's head of East Coast programming and development, and one of the show's executive producers, told the Post: "We've made the decision not to move forward with the 'Liza & David' show on VH1. Although we continue to believe that Liza is an amazing talent, we were not given the cooperation that we were promised."

Among the complaints VH1 insiders voiced were that Gest halted production numerous times, refused to allow the show's crew and producers access to his wife, ordered Minnelli not to watch dailies of the show and insisted the crew wear surgical booties in the couple's apartment so as not to track dirt through their swanky digs.

Keeping Minnelli and Gest company on the unemployment line may be the gals from David E. Kelley's ("The Practice," "Ally McBeal") new legal drama, "girls club."

That show was canceled Tuesday after just two airings. It was the first new series Fox dropped the ax on this season.

The word from E! Online is Fox programmers will fill the Monday 9 p.m. hour with reality specials, which they've turned to in the past when a series faltered in the ratings.

The specials could buy time until "American Idol II" is ready to go in January, E! pointed out. A new edition of the musical talent search is already in production.

MUSEUM PLANS EINSTEIN EXHIBIT

The American Museum of Natural History says it is planning the most comprehensive presentation ever mounted on the life and theories of Albert Einstein -- one of the most brilliant scientific minds of all time.

"Einstein" will debut at the Manhattan museum, then embark on a three-year international tour. The tour marks the 100th anniversary of Einstein's "miracle year" of 1905, when, at the age of 26, he proved the existence and sizes of molecules, explained light as both particles and waves, and created the Special Theory of Relativity, part of which links matter and energy in the most famous equation of all time, E=mc2.

Visitors to the exhibition can explore the connection between space and time, examine Einstein's report card, inspect his FBI file, and enjoy his family photographs, love letters and diary entries. Highlights include scientific manuscripts, original letters, and other documents from the Albert Einstein Archives at The Hebrew University, many never before exhibited in public, alongside photographs, political cartoons and eye-opening explanations of Einstein's theories.

The exhibition will be at the museum Nov. 15 through Aug. 10, 2003.

CATE, TOMMY LEE EYE WESTERN DRAMA

Cate Blanchett ("Elizabeth," "Bandits") and Tommy Lee Jones ("Men in Black," "The Fugitive") are in negotiations to star in an untitled psychological suspense drama set in the Old West, says The Hollywood Reporter.

Formerly known as "The Last Ride," the project would be director Ron Howard's follow-up feature to last year's Oscar-winning drama, "A Beautiful Mind."

Based on Tom Eidson's novel "The Last Ride," the film is set in 1886 New Mexico and tells the story of a father (Jones) who returns home to make peace with his now-grown daughter Maggie (Blanchett), whom he has not seen since she was a little girl. When Maggie's daughter is kidnapped by a band of outcasts, she and her estranged dad re-unite to rescue her.

Production on the film is scheduled to begin in early March.