Q: Is Jessica Simpson going to make any more albums? — A.D.

A: Undoubtedly, yes, but not at the moment. Simpson is concentrating on her movie career these days, with one film, Blonde Ambition, finished and another, Major Movie Sta>, set to go into production this month.

Q: Whatever happened to actor Kelsey Grammar? I liked him so much oI>Frasier. — K.P.

A: He recreates his voice role as Sideshow Bob in the upcomiThe Simpsons Movie and is set to return to TV in the new Fox series Back to You, in which he plays a national news anchor who’s bumped back to local.

Q: I just read that actor Paul Newman is retiring. Why? Is he ill? — L.N.

A:<$> No, fortunately, he’s not ill; but he’s 82 and decided that he couldn’t act any longer at the level to which he’s accustomed. He’s still busy, though, devoting his time to the organic restaurant Dressing Room that he opened in Westport, Connecticut, to support local farmers, his Newman’s Own food business and his Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, which provides fee-free holidays for children with terminal illnesses.

Q: What is that handsome actor Jimmy Smits doing now? — N.R.

A: He stars with Maria Bello and Emily Blunt in the upcoming film based on the nl The Jane Austen Book Club <$>and is due to return to TV in a new drama called <ane<$>, about a Latino family operating a rum business.

Q: Is it true that George Clooney is going to on Dancing With the Stars? — .

A:<$> Oh, only in the producers’ dreams. But his Ocean’s Thirteen co-stars Brad Pitt and Don Cheadle have admitted that Clooney is a fan of the show and watched it regularly while the movie was in production. Clooney has a well-developed sense of humour, so nothing is impossible, but it’s highly unlly.

Q: Whatever happened to 24 movie. Is it coming out soon? — K.F.

A:<$> Plans were announced a while back, and it looked like it would be shot during the series’ hiatus. But that has now been rethought, and producers say the movie will be filmed following the conclusion of the series’ run, which is expected to be another two seasons.

Q: I think actress Rosario Dawson is beautiful. Is she dating anyone? ̵E.S.

A:<$> This might change by the time you read this, but she seemed romantically involved with director Eli Roth at the recent Cannes Film Festival . . . and she might still be.

Q: Is actress Meg Ryan still making movies? R G.L.

A:<$> Yes, she has a couple due for release: the thriller Homeland Security, with Antonio Banderas and frequent co-star Tom Hanks’ son Colin, anhe comedy The Deal<$>, with William H. Macy. She’s also set to co-star with the now-signed cast in the long-in-development remake of the classic The Women. Her co-stars are Eva Mendes, Jada Pinkett Smith, Annette Bening, Debra Messing and Candice Bergen, with a scheduled start date for product in August.

Q: What is actress Reese Witherspoon doing next? — N.T.

A: She co-stars with Jake Gyllenhaal and Meryl Streep in the thriller Rendition, due for release in October, is currently filming the rntic comedy Sammy and plans to go next into the coy Midnight<$>, a remake of the original 1939 comedy starring Claudette Colbert.

Q: I keep wondering, when I read all the news about actress Lindsay Lohan . . . where is her mother? — K.B.

A: Too often, partying along with her, onlookers have long said. Dina Lohan, young looking, attractive and as drawn to the club scene as her daughter, has often been criticised as enabling and even encouraging her daughter’s hard partying instead of reining her in and exhibiting parental control. Given Lohan’s recent spate of well-publicised alcohol- and drug-fuelled social incidents and auto accidents, and her re-entry into rehab, perhaps her family will finally start looking out for her best interests instead of riding her coat-tails.