McCain set to appear on ‘Saturday Night Live’

Courtney Hazlett The Scoop

The McCain-Palin ticket just booked another trip to 30 Rock, according to sources on the inside.

This Saturday, Sen. John McCain will make an appearance on the show, the last live episode before voters hit the voting booths. Earlier, it was rumored that Sen. Barack Obama, McCain's rival, would be making a Nov. 1 appearance on “SNL.”

A rep for the show issued the standard response, “We aren’t confirming anything,” but sources inside 30 Rock and the McCain camp believe the senator is gearing up for an appearance.

“It’s really his last chance to appeal to younger voters,” says a McCain source. “But until he actually walks on that stage, there’s not going to be an official confirmation. Remember Letterman? No way anyone is going to let that happen just hours before election day.” However, aides to McCain's campaign confirmed Friday to the Associated Press that he will make a detour through 30 Rock on Saturday.

McCain had been scheduled to appear on "The Late Show with David Letterman" in September, and took plenty of heat from the caustic host when he canceled the appearance. McCain did make a later appearance on the show.

As for whether an Obama appearance is entirely out of the picture, it’s hard to say. One source close to the show pointed out that Obama was “never confirmed” but “obviously if both would come on, no one would say no.”

Hosting the show this Saturday is actor Ben Affleck, a supporter of Obama. The musical guest is “American Idol” winner David Cook.

Joe Simpson and Joe the Plumber, not meant to be
Joe Simpson, not one to miss out on the William Hung of Election ’08, was hoping to land a management deal with Samuel Wurzelbacher, better known as Joe the Plumber, according to sources close to Simpson.

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“He thought it was a brilliant idea, and many agreed," says one source close to Simpson’s management company, JT Entertainment.  "He’s turned (daughter) Jessica into a country brand, and Joe (the Plumber) already is. Plus, his client roster isn’t exactly deep now. He could have come out of this looking really good.”

"Could have" is the operative phrase. Wurzelbacher, in the end, signed with Jim Della Croce of The Press Office, and Simpson’s camp is denying there were talks. “(Simpson) never met (Wurzelbacher), never spoke to him, knows him only from television," said a representative. "The story is a lie.”

Della Croce wouldn’t go so far as to say that his client hadn’t talked to Simpson, he only emphasized that now Wurzelbacher was his client.

Another source, this one close to Simpson, says that he did reach out to Wurzelbacher. “He did, certainly,” says the source. “Remember, this is the same man who said Nick and Jessica were very happily married and that Ashlee didn’t lip sync, she had acid reflux.”

Della Croce says that despite rumors that Simpson could swoop in and split duties, all publicity, booking and future projects will be done through The Press Office.

Gwen Stefani debuts Zuma online
It’s rare that an opportunity presents to congratulate a celebrity on a smart decision regarding  publicity for their newborn, so I’m taking advantage now. Gwen Stefani chose to officially introduce her son Zuma to the world via her own Web site.

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The move came just after paparazzi caught Stefani and Zuma, who is just two months old, at the Beverly Hills library. Sources at multiple magazines say that Stefani and her husband Gavin Rossdale were approached about doing a photo shoot similar to the one they did for OK! magazine when their first son Kingston was born, but they decided to pass.

Some counter that the Rossdale-Stefani clan passed because sales for the Kingston cover weren’t great and therefore the offers from the glossies weren’t impressive, but a Stefani source says, “Gwen just wanted quiet time with her family, not the attention that came with the birth of Kingston.”

Regardless of the motives, it’s nice to see a celebrity choosing to keep the baby — I mean, the baby pictures — off the market.

Nicole Kidman on marriage, kids with Tom Cruise
Nicole Kidman recently sat down for another profile, this time with Parade magazine. In this Sunday’s issue, Kidman talks in detail about what it was like to have husband Keith Urban enter rehab just four months after their wedding.

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“We were thrown into his alcohol problem three months into the marriage, and that was big,” Kidman tells the magazine. “We became the closest we could become because we had to bare our souls. We did 10 years of marriage in three months.”

Kidman also confirms that her children with Cruise, Connor and Bella, were raised in Scientology, but that’s as far as she goes with those details.

“I just don’t talk about it. Bella and Connor are 15 and 13, so we’ve taken them, Tom and I, almost into their adult life. To then have a birth child (baby Sunday Rose) that I have to take into adult life, give her wings, it’s a big purpose. I know my place, put it that way.”

The full interview is on stands Nov. 2.

Weekend box office
Last weekend’s gift, “High School Musical 3: Senior Year” might just keep on giving. Although it hasn’t topped the box office the last couple days, I anticipate that “HSM 3” will manage to beat out the competition this weekend.

Here’s what we’re looking at: First off, the new Clint Eastwood/Angelina Jolie flick “Changeling” goes wider this weekend. There’s early Oscar buzz and the missing child storyline is compelling, but it’s only playing in 1,800 theaters — that won’t be good enough.

There’s also the aptly timed horror movie “The Haunting of Molly Hartley,” but it hasn’t been marketed aggressively enough to beat out “Saw V.”

Which brings us to the third big release of the weekend, Kevin Smith's “Zack and Miri Make a Porno.” Early buzz is that the film is much more tame than you’d think, given the title. But it’s going to be a tough sell against the family friendly “HSM 3,” which is likely to see a lot of repeat customers this weekend. Expect “Zack and Miri” to come in second to “HSM 3,” but not by much.

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

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