An Anonymous attempt to ‘save Katie’

Courtney Hazlett The Scoop

ST. PAUL, Minn. - When Katie Holmes’ Broadway show “All My Sons” opens Oct. 16, ticket holders won’t be the only ones in attendance. The anti-Scientology group Anonymous will be on hand for Holmes’ Broadway debut as well.

The group confirms that a protest will take place opening night. “We aren’t looking to shut it (“All My Sons”) down, we don’t have the power to do that, we just want to prove a point,” one spokesperson (who remains anonymous, natch) confirmed via phone.

Anonymous’ protests, when they take place in person (the group often launches Web-based protests) are easy to spot, thanks to the tell-tale masks Anonymous members wear. The group, which calls itself a “leaderless worldwide group of concerned citizens” recently picketed the Scientology Center on West 46th Street in New York.

Of the group’s plans to picket the “Sons” opening, the spokesperson said their main aim was to “save Katie.” “We want to draw attention to Scientology, and hopefully get Katie out of it before its too late.”

Diddy takes on McCain Veep choice
Up until this point, Diddy’s participation in election proceedings seemed woefully subpar, especially compared to his Vote or Die campaign of ’04. Over the weekend, Mr. Sean Combs changed that. He posted a video blog that lambasted McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin as his Vice Presidential running mate.

Thanks to some choice language, however, the Obama camp might not be so thrilled with the post. Whether this hurts Diddy’s possible involvement in the Obama campaign (there are rumors he’ll be taking on a more active role) remains to be seen, but Diddy’s spokesperson says, “if he put it up, it probably speaks for itself.”

Celebs at the GOP convention

INTERACTIVE Celebs at the convention A look at the stars, and the events they will be attending, at the Republican convention in St. Paul, Minn.

As if it wasn’t painfully obvious already, I can confirm that there is a dearth of A-list attendees at the GOP convention here in St. Paul. That said, there are a few boldface names lurking around in the early days of conventioning.

Jon Voight performed some street theater while in the security line. When a fan approached Voight and said that he “loved him in ‘Runaway Train’,” Voight immediately went into character and recited some of the film’s memorable lines. Also, Stewart Townsend, a.k.a. Charlize Theron’s boyfriend, was spotted at the SAG/Impact Film Festival/MySpace party on Aug. 31. No, there’s not a closet Republican in our midst. We’re told Townsend was in Minneapolis for a wedding.

There’s plenty coming up, despite the tempered mood of the convention. Among the events on my to-do list: Rock the Vote’s kick-off party, the Grammy’s Rock the Convention party, and Google and Vanity Fair’s parties, among others. Check back during the week for updates.

Why ‘Thunder’ keeps winning

Slideshow   Celebrity sightings Chrissie Hynde is a long way from Ohio, friends and family remember Ed McMahon, Kiefer Sutherland takes a New York stroll and more. more photos

“Tropic Thunder” continued its run atop the box office for a third straight week. So I ask, why? It’s a good movie, but not great. Funny, but not hilarious. Tom Cruise’s cameo, which is definitely one of the high points, is now accessible on the Internet, which strips the film of some of its novelty, especially if the Cruise cameo was the primary reason buying a ticket.

“It was a slow movie weekend,” says one film industry insider. “The marketing on the newer releases wasn’t all that strong, and people went with what they knew instead. That happened to be ‘Tropic Thunder’.”

Celebrity sightings
New York: Long Island native Kevin Connolly was celebrating the new season of “Entourage” with friends at Dune in Southampton on Aug. 20. Maria Sharapova toted the Cole Haan Silver Minaudier clutch to the Canon PowerShot Diamond Collection unveiling at the South Street Seaport on Aug. 20. Selita Ebanks grabbed a bite to eat at Kobe Club New York on Aug. 18.

L.A.: Fergie and Natasha Bedingfield were spotting telling jokes and laughing with each other backstage at the Pepsi Smash Concert at the Wiltern theater on Aug. 30. On Aug. 26, Ron Howard had dinner at Robata Bar in Santa Monica. That same day, Don Rickles and Jimmy Kimmel stopped by BOA West Hollywood, and Clint Eastwood was spotted at Sushi Roku. The Aug. 27 launch party for the new Pink Blackberry Curve from Verizon at Intermix attracted a number of A-listers. “Scrubs” star Sarah Chalke stopped by, Marcia Cross and her husband made the event part of their date night, and Rebecca Gayheart was spotted there with girlfriends. Tony Parker was running errands in an Armani Exchange tee on Aug. 16.

Courtney Hazlett delivers the Scoop Monday through Friday on msnbc.com.

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