Famke Janssen brings her Boston terrier, Licorice, to The Regency Hotel in NYC when we meet. The model-turned-actress pulls out all the stops for “Licky” as she calls him. She places a brightly-colored food dish on the floor just in case the 7-year-old pup gets hungry.

Such is the life of the precious pet owned by the 42-year-old actress, whose pool drama Turn The River, is in theaters now. These days, Licorice is enjoying her attention. For two months, Famke's life was a pool game as she studied to play a pool pro.

 

Wearing a black dress and headband, Famke is the modern-day dream girl of my childhood crush. (He would give anything to be here!) Her kindness, warmth, intelligence and humanity certainly wouldn’t intimidate, but immediately noticeable is her considerable height – she is nearly six feet tall. Is being tall a blessing or a curse?

“I’ve had every obstacle to deal with,” the Dutch-born actress says, taking a sip of green tea. “Not that I’m complaining, it’s true, I’m taller than most of my co-stars. Has it been a problem over time? Sure. There’s a way to work around it sometimes. They give me big holes to stand in, or whatever.”

Despite roles in X-Men and a slew of other movies, Famke couldn’t resist this role as a pool-playing mom-on-the-run. Why? They offered her the lead.

“I have been acting for fifteen years, and I can count on one hand the times I’ve been the lead of a film. And I can’t even use all of my fingers. Offer me the lead in the film, and I don’t even have to open the script. I already want to say yes.”

She adds, “When people go ‘why did you take that part?’ it’s like ‘because I want to work.’ There’s a misunderstanding about how many choices we have as actors. There are not that many great parts for anybody out there. I would love to do stage work but it’s just about as difficult getting a part in a play as it is getting a part in a movie. And it’s not easy to get any.”

For one thing, the Columbia University alum has to battle her beauty.

“I had that model stigma, and then opened up in a Bond movie. I added another stigma. By the time anybody heard my name, I was model-turned-actress Bond girl. What chance is she going to have? Then I had to go fight and go all the other way in the opposite direction to be taken seriously, meaning I had to take small parts in movies supporting parts so I could show range. Like ‘listen, I’m not some crazy foreigner who doesn’t know how to speak English.’ The only way I could do that was by taking parts that were less predictable.”

Still, Famke isn’t looking for fame.

“Success is never something I‘ve pursued. It would hinder me and my life and how I like to live it. I live in New York, I want to walk down the street and have a normal life. I just want to have an interesting career.”

So, we shouldn’t expect to see Famke in another X-Men installment?

“I’ve done three X-Men movies, and I’ve died in two of them. Enough already.”

For now, Famke is excited about tackling a new role now that she’s a U.N. ambassador to Bali. “I’m getting a U.N. passport to top it off. That just means there’s no lines. All the borders and lines are gone. I can travel everywhere because I have a U.N. passport.”

 

Licorice takes a bite from the food dish at his mom's feet. “He is so spoiled,” she gushes. A reporter tries to tempt him with a French fry but he stays by Famke’s side.

 

Just another day in their fabulous life.

 

Turn The River is in theaters now.

Hilary Duff denies her engagement and tells me she “doesn’t know” why she and boyfriend Mike Comrie are good together at the Tribeca Film Festival premiere of War, Inc.

The Duffster shakes off my question with a pained face and flick of the wrists as she walks away, disappointing the slew of reporters shoving their tape recorders out.

Oh well. She will talk about her date with the scorpion down her pants in the thriller. Hilary, 20, plays an oversexed Eastern European pop star.

“Working with the scorpion was scary,” she says. “It was real. We did it about four times. They were like ‘we have a fake one here, but it looks terrible’ and I was like ‘I’ve done this for the movie, and this and this and this’ – I can’t back out now. I’ve gotta go for it. All the guys on set were telling me that they would never do this.”

Hilary is on her way to join sister Haylie inside the theater as co-star Marisa Tomei is escorted inside by her team without a word for anyone. (What’s up?)

Luckily, Montel Williams and wife are happy to chat.

“I’m just the voice,” he tells me. “I’m excited tonight because I get to see it for the first time.”

Director Joshua Seftel tells me the scorpions got special treatment on set.

“We had two. We had an extra scorpion in case one of them got tired. This is the first movie I’ve worked on that had a scorpion wrangler on the set, and they were in charge of the scorpions.”

He assures me Hilary was safe just in case anything went awry.

He adds, “It was so brave and bold and smart of her to do this role. I loved that she embraced it.”

War, Inc. opens in limited release May 23.

 

Pick up the OK! on newsstands now for more coverage of the Tribeca Film Festival.

Questions about her family and personal life are off-limits at the Tribeca Film Festival premiere of the Rumer Willis thriller From Within. Only questions about fashion and film will be permitted less than 24 hours after the spawn of Demi Moore and Bruce Willis enjoyed a night out with Gossip Girl’s Chace Crawford. (This is always the policy when there’s a scandal brewing.)

Rumer’s white Stella McCartney dress is drooping on the concrete as reporters pepper her with fashion questions. She’s very media-savvy.

How does she choose her roles?

“I don’t discriminate whether it’s a big studio movie or an indie, but what I look for are finding characters that will either push me outside of my comfort zone and challenge me or do things that I want to explore.”

While shooting in Maryland, Rumer, 19, and her co-stars liked to hit the local Applebees. “The scene at Applebees is hoppin’, man,” she says. “We had a great time. In Aberdeen, Maryland, there’s not too many things to do. I like to order chicken fingers and french fries.”

Last question. What does she make of the Chace Crawford romance rumors? “Huh?” she says, as her rep shoos her away.

Here comes dad Bruce with his girlfriend. “I’m very excited for her,” she says. “I’m a big fan.”

No wonder Rumer’s sensitive about her famous family.

“You can’t help but notice her similarities [to her parents],” director Phedon Papamichael tells me. “Sometimes she sounds or looks like Demi, sometimes she’s like Bruce. I try not to think in those boxes. She’ll find her own identity I’m sure.”

From Within is in theaters August 29.

 

Pick up the OK! on newsstands now for more coverage of the Tribeca Film Festival.

Mariah Carey lets her facial expressions do the talking during the Tribeca Film Festival premiere of her drama Tennessee.

As the whirlwind that is Mariah slides through, reporters shout out their questions. What does she look for in a man? “Who says I’m looking?” she responds. Well then, is she taken? She smiles, turns and makes a “wouldn’t you like to know” face. What about Nick Cannon? There’s that look – again.

Days later she married the actor!

 

To take the spotlight off the engagement ring, Mariah is showing off her other hand bandaged with a pink Hello Kitty band-aid to cover up a bite her dog Jack gave her. “People keep shaking my hand really hard, like ‘hi’ and I’m like ‘get off my freaking dog bite!’” she says. “So anyways, if I’m wearing a band-aid, I thought it might as well be a cute one. Everyone’s making it a whole dramatic moment about the band-aid. Golly. Really! It’s a band-aid.”

Executive producer Sarah Siegel Magness tells me, “Jack is very important to her. She’s very loving with him. If you don’t have kids, animals are extra important to you.”

Anything we don’t know about Mariah?

“She is an incredibly intelligent human being,” she tells me. “E=MC2, which is the name of her album, makes sense. She’s such a strong business woman.”

Let’s hope Tennessee puts Glitter to shame.

 

Pick up the OK! on newsstands now for more coverage of the Tribeca Film Festival.