Madonna’s kids see Jesus as ‘Mommy’s friend’

Courtney Hazlett The Scoop

The age difference between Madonna and her 23-year-old boyfriend Jesus Luz was underscored Aug. 16, when Madonna turned 51.

Festivities took place in Portofino, Italy, during a break in Madonna’s European tour.

“She flew in on a private plane and rented out an entire floor of the luxury Hotel Splendido for her staff and dancers,” an source told In Touch magazine. Designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana were there, as was Luz. And Luz and Madonna, mostly PDA-free until now, “were seen kissing during breakfast on their terrace,” according to the source.

How are Madonna’s kids coping? Photos showed Luz with his arm around the singer as the couple took kids Lourdes, David and Mercy on a boat trip along the Italian Riviera coastline on Aug. 17.

Sources say that Madonna is happy to have Luz around her kids “see Jesus as ‘Mommy’s friend.’”

Octuplets out-rate ‘Jon & Kate Plus 8’
Who says 14 kids aren’t better than eight? More people tuned in to watch two horrifying hours of mothering play out in “Octomom: The Incredible Unseen Footage” Aug. 20, than watched the Aug. 17 episode of “Jon & Kate Plus 8” on TLC.

The former had 4.2 million viewers, according to Fox, and “Jon & Kate” had 3 million. “Octomom” special notwithstanding, the “Jon & Kate” ratings are not good news, as they represent a half-a-million drop over the previous week (the show set a series record with 10.6 million viewers for the episode that announced their split).

Initially Fox said if that if ratings for the “Octomom” special were encouraging, they’d consider running more footage as a series in the fall. Brace yourselves.

Joe Jonas and Bon Jovi: Garden State bedfellows
If you’ve been wanting to have a conversation with Bon Jovi about “music, fame, longevity,” your odds increase if you’re from New Jersey. Or at least, if you’re Joe Jonas of the Jonas Brothers.

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The two had a chat, chronicled in a special issue of Rolling Stone, where they discuss what it’s like to be a teen in New Jersey.

Jonas said, “We were the three brothers who would always show late for school, or leave early.”

Bon Jovi had a much different experience. “The good news about New Jersey in the late ’70s was that you only had to be 18 to drink. You’d scratch out a fake ID, you’d be 16 pretending to be 18.”

Weekend box office

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Post-grads, 3-D and Nazis: those are your primary options at the box office this weekend. By the looks of things, “Post-Grad” will fare as well in the market place as recent grads have in the job market — not so great.

It comes down to “Inglourious Basterds,” Quentin Tarantino’s R-rated film about Jewish Nazi-killers during WWII, starring Brad Pitt, and “”X-Games 3D: The Movie.”

“Basterds” has Pitt and buzz, but the number of Tarantino fans out there could be overblown, and word-of-mouth could reveal that Pitt doesn’t have a ton of screen time, thereby turning away some who’d only see the movie just for him.

Anything that’s 3-D has been doing well, and the ticket premium helps bolster the bottom line, which is good news for the niche-y “X-Games” movie.

Come Monday, however, look for “Inglourious Basterds” to beat it — and “District 9,” which could have another solid weekend — and take the number-one spot.

Courtney Hazlett delivers the Scoop Monday through Friday on msnbc.com. Follow Scoop on Twitter: @ courtneyatmsnbc.

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