Paris Hilton suffering claustrophobia behind bars

Jailed heiress Paris Hilton says she suffers from claustrophobia – a fear of confinement in small places – but that her time behind bars has renewed her appreciation for life's simple pleasures.

"I'm so much more grateful for everything that I have, even just to have a pillow at night or food," she told TV host Ryan Seacrest in a telephone interview for E! Entertainment Television.

Excerpts from his 10-minute interview with the millionaire socialite, who was sentenced to 45 days in jail for violating her probation in a drunken-driving case, were published by the cable channel's internet affiliate, E! Online.

E! is the network that carries Hilton's reality TV show, The Simple Life.

"I just can't wait to see my family and have a nice meal and be in my own bed and appreciate all the things I took for granted," she was quoted as saying by Seacrest, best known as host of the hit talent show American Idol.

The 26-year-old celebrity confirmed earlier reports she suffered extreme anxiety when confined to cramped quarters.

"I'm claustrophobic, and my cell is really small," she said. "I was going a little bit crazy in the beginning. I'm getting used to it now."

Hilton began her incarceration on the night of June 2 housed alone in a standard twin-bunk cell inside a sprawling county detention centre for women near Los Angeles.

After she served just three full days behind bars, county Sheriff Lee Baca released her to house arrest under electronic monitoring, citing unspecified medical problems he later described as psychological.

The following day a judge ordered her back to jail.

Baca has said he expects Hilton to be freed for good after 23 days in custody – roughly half her original sentence – under a standard credit applied for time served on good behaviour.

Depending how the sheriff's department calculates her exact time served, Hilton is likely to be released on Sunday or Monday.

Britney Told: Get Sober or Die!

I told Britney as bluntly as I could; ‘If you fall off the wagon, I don’t think you’ll live. In an exclusive interview with The ENQUIRER, the man who’s been trying to help Britney Spears through her nightmare of booze and drugs talked frankly about the tough tactics he’s used in dealing with the troubled pop princess.

“I told her: ‘If you don’t want to get sober for yourself, do it for your kids,’” said John Sundahl, who’s a recovering alcoholic and chairman of Britney’s AA chapter in Los Angeles.

He concluded that Britney has slipped off the wagon several times, but he added: “She truly wants to stop what she’s doing- she’s changed her life in another direction, where she doesn’t get drunk every night and pass out.’

Bud sadly, sources say Britney has been pulling the wool over her eyes- and over those of her terrified mother.

“Britney is telling her mom she’s trying to get her drinking under control- but clearly she is not,” a source told The ENQUIRER.

Counselor Sundahl admits he last saw his celebrity client on June 1.

And since then, Britney has been on a booze-fueled tear, sources told The ENQUIRER.

In early June she took sons Sean Preston, 21 months, and 9-month-old Jayden James to Hawaii.

“She was drinking there to the point where she threw up all over her hotel bathroom,” said a source.

Added an insider: “She later passed out, leaving Alli to handle the boys by herself.”

On June 11, Britney was back in Los Angeles, spending a girls’ night out at Joseph’s club.”

“She was downing rum and coke, vodka, and shots of booze,” says the source.

It was at Joseph’s three years ago that Britney met Kevin Federline- and the memory was her downfall.

“She was feeling sad and reminiscing- and Britney drinks when she gets sad,” said the insider.

“The real problem for her is that she wants Kevin and the boys back with her- in a life like the one she had before.”

Kevin is just as worried about Britney as her mother and the rest of the family, says sources.

“He insists she has a nanny at all times.”

LINDSAY LOHAN CANCELS BASH

After Lindsay Lohan's recent spate of bad luck which included crashing her Mercedes in a very public way just in front of LA hot eatery The Ivy and an equally public breakup with Calum Best, Lohan has now been forced to call off her 21st birthday party at Pure nightclub in Las Vegas, The Sun reports. The folks at Promises rehab center in Malibu, where the young party hardy starlet currently makes her home, may want to start thinking about transferring Lindsay to a suicide watch facility.

Her spokesperson released a statement saying, "The party was cancelled officially over two weeks ago. We were confused why Pure was even still promoting it.

"But Lindsay will not be having the birthday party at Pure and is focusing on her recovery 100 per cent."
A Pure representative responded with, "We wish her the best as she is taking care of personal matters at this time."

Lindsay has previously talked up plans for her big bash on the Ellen DeGeneres. She said, " It's a big birthday and I'm going to milk it."

Well Lindsay, that was very clairvoyant of you? Since you're not allowed within 50 feet of an alcoholic beverage these days, shot glasses of milk may be the only thing you're allowed to toss back on your big day.

Duhamel is hot, but he calls Fergie bigger star

NEW YORK - “Las Vegas” hunk Josh Duhamel and his girlfriend, Fergie, are a match made in Hollywood heaven with hot looks to match their hot careers. But Fergie, who’s been heating up the pop charts, is the flashier one.

“She’s a real total star,” Duhamel says in the July issue of Best Life magazine, on newsstands June 26. “I’m more subdued than that. I’d rather sneak up on people. But that’s what makes us work. We have similar fundamental values. We both grew up in similar families. She’s just got a great soul.”

Duhamel, 35, and 32-year-old Fergie (real name: Stacy Ann Ferguson), who performs with the Black Eyed Peas and as a solo act, have been dating for nearly three years. The couple have no immediate plans to marry, according to Best Life, and recently bought a house together. A big house.

“A girl like Fergie comes with stuff — a lot of stuff,” Duhamel says. “And there just wasn’t enough room for the stuff.”

Duhamel got his start on ABC’s “All My Children” before graduating to prime time (NBC’s “Las Vegas”) and film (“Turistas,” “Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!”). He co-stars with Shia LaBeouf and Jon Voight in “Transformers,” directed by Michael Bay, which opens July 3.

“There’s still so much more I want to do,” he says. “Before it was about gaining confidence. Now it’s about gaining some respect for what I do. Get that, and everything you want will come along with it because people will want to work with you.”

A few acts to follow: actors-turned-power players Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Leonardo DiCaprio.

“There are actors my age who are just incredible,” says Duhamel, who studies the work of Matt Damon and Ryan Gosling. “They set the bar, and that’s where I want to be.”

The A-list competition helps sharpen his drive for success.

“It always feels like I have to prove myself to be more than what people think they see. That’s part of what I’m fighting right now. People don’t know what you’re capable of until you actually do it.”

Al Pacino Talks About Turning Down 'Pretty Woman' Role

Al Pacino passed on Pretty Woman even though he knew the film would be a big hit and Julia Roberts a massive star. The actor reveals he was director Gary Marshall's first choice to play opposite Roberts in the film - and he even read with the movie's star before passing on the project and allowing Richard Gere to take his place.

Speaking exclusively on CNN show Larry King Live, Pacino recalls, "I could tell Julia Roberts was a great actress... You could just see it. It was just so obvious. She had never done anything. I even said to Gary Marshall, 'This girl, where did you find her?'"

But Pacino felt sure the film wasn't for him after listening back to his reading with Roberts and realizing he was the wrong guy to woo her hooker character.

The adds, "There's a lot of reasons you don't do a movie... Sometimes it's geography, sometimes it's family, sometimes it's just not the right role for you and you don't feel you belong in that part."