One of O.J.'s Las Vegas henchmen took a plea bargain, and made the following statement: "O.J. said 'Hey, just bring some firearms. He said ... 'we won't have to use 'em, but ... just to look tough, you know, so that these people know that, you know, we're here for business."' That constitutes conspiracy under Nevada law, making it look less and less likely that Simpson will walk away from this a free man—but when have we heard that one before? [USA Today]

· Music round-up: Matt Pond PA at the Troubadour; Bob Mould at the Roxy; Mobius Band at Spaceland.
· Drama coach Ron Marasco signs Notes to an Actor (says Neve Campbell: "Ron's advice and tolls on acting are incredibly astute, thought provoking, refreshing, and inspiring.") at Dutton's Brentwood Books. Approving pullquote from Kirk Douglas deleted for space (and because it seemed a little too name-droppy).
· The Nobody Reads in L.A. Book Club convenes at Casey's Irish Bar & Grille to discuss Barry Gifford's Wild at Heart.

Not since Britney Spears picked up a little London turd with a couture dress that wasn't her own has one Hollywood rat-dog caused such a firestorm. An Iggy round-up:
· Look, everyone! It's the adorable fleabag at the center of this mess! (Click it for a bigger Iggy.) [AccessHollywood]
· A terrorized Marina Baktis from Mutts & Moms explained that it was Portia de Rossi who signed the contract, and that there's no chance Iggy is going back to Ellen's hairdresser, where he might "be subjected to an unspeakably awful lesbian-shag hairdo." (OK—she might not have said that last part.) [AccessHollywood]
· Ruby, the tearful 12-year-old from whose arms Iggy was torn away after a "three-hour standoff in the family's backyard" speaks out: "I love Iggy and I just want him back." We all want a lot of things, kid, doesn't mean we get them: Now stick that in your empty doggie sweater and walk it around the block. [Inside Edition]

As part of our ongoing mission to connect our readers with exciting opportunities to wear kicky headsets, hold a clipboard, and stand at the entrance of Les Deux, ready to stun-gun the first uninvited star of Sunset Tan who tries to breach the last line of defense at a Sidekick launch party, we are happy to pass along this Craigslist ad seeking an amazing mulititasker willing to sacrifice her life for a chance to learn the dark Hollywood-publicity arts. A warning before you begin reading: don't even THINK about applying if you don't have the energy level a coked-up TGI Friday's hostess and the steely nerves of a fifteen-year bomb squad veteran:

Bored junket journalists in need of quotes, pay attention: Once you start looking over Steve Guttenberg's shoulder for a more glamorous interview subject, that's when he starts in with the good stuff about Jew Fever, statutory-rape-themed Three Men and a Little Lady sequels, and his tough commute from Czechoslovakia. [Starpulse]

The AP pays a visit to the birthplace of indie's newest it-girl, Bianca—star of Lars and the Real Girl—for a we-really-didn't-need-to-see-that peek inside the factory to see how the Realdoll sausage is made. Staring at the stacks of silicone molds and wall of interchangeable heads, we can't help but wonder if we're glimpsing Hollywood's synthespian-dependent future, where any poorly testing lead is easily replaced with the back of a hammer.

Celebrities: They Owe Millions Of Dollars In Taxes, Just Like Us! [CBS13.com]

When we sent Defamer videographer Molly McAleer to Friday's kickoff party at the Knitting Factory for Lebowski Fest L.A., a two-night celebration of perhaps the greatest achievement in the history of cinema, we feared that we'd be receiving an e-mail from her on Saturday morning informing us that she'd run off with a guy dressed as Arthur Digby Sellers' iron lung following a judgment-clouding White Russian binge. Instead, she's filed this video dispatch showing us with whom she'd actually fallen in love at the event: Mextasy, the Morrissey-obsessed line-dancing troupe that kept all the Little Lebowski Urban Achievers in attendance thoroughly entertained. Enjoy.

We know what you're thinking right now: "Gee whiz, Defamer, it would be so great if there was a way that I could answer some survey questions that might help your parent company painlessly collect some demographic information in exchange for the chance to win a $100 Amazon gift certificate." Amazingly, Gawker Media's Survey Administration Department has—just this morning!—asked us to provide you with such an opportunity. Answer these questions, then type your e-mail address into the box following those questions, and you'll be entered in a drawing for the aforementioned Amazon prize. In a word: Fun!

A not-at-all hysteria-inducing AP item informs us that a "staph superbug" resistant to all known treatments is infecting 90,000 Americans a year and counting. Hopefully that's not the strain that afflicted Project Runway 4's Jack Mackenroth, leading Tim Gunn to give the contestant the once over and declare, "I don't know, Jack, I'm getting Patient Zero from you, and I must say, I'm concerned." [AP/Yahoo]

Vanessa Hudgens, the Disney Channel star who saw her wholesome image go up in a puff of cackling-Britney-shaped smoke after nude photos of the actress proliferated across the internet, will not be returning for a third slurp at the High School Musical trough, OK! reports:

· The trades discuss yesterday's big strike news that's allowing Hollywood its first glimmer of hope that a walkout might be avoided. (Please, no one say anything about the internet and digital downloads and ruin the town's brief buzz.) Also, THR unveils its stunning, strike-related news logo (at left). [THR, Variety]
· You know who hasn't had an unfunny family sitcom for far too long? Damon Wayans! Don't worry, ABC is busy filling this gaping hole in its primetime lineup. [THR]

"Which legendary, aging Hollywood producer has his office fitted with leading-man lighting to bolster his fading mystique? "It looks like he has a key and a fill light," laughs one recent visitor." [Gatecrasher]

Even though yesterday's Hollywood Radio and TV Society luncheon and panel discussion has to be declared an overall disappointment because NBC perfect storm Ben Silverman and combative ABC president Steve McPherson, appearing together for the first time since McPherson challenged the network rival who took his best buddy's job to "be a man," failed to come to the blows the assembled journalists not-so-secretly hoped for, director/producer Barry Sonnenfeld did earn positive notices ("One of the HRTS' more lively moderators in recent memory!" raves Variety) for his hosting work at the event. THR compiles a greatest hits package of Sonnenfeld's attempts at comic relief:

In GQ, Francis Ford Coppola speaks truth to scene-chewing-actor power by lamenting how the careers of once-hungry artists Al "Two for the Money" Pacino, Meet the Fockers star Robert DeNiro, and Jack Nicholson (still kind of awesome) have turned out: "I met both Pacino and De Niro when they were really on the come," Coppola tells GQ's Nate Penn. "They were young and insecure. Now Pacino is very rich, maybe because he never spends any money; he just puts it in his mattress. De Niro was deeply inspired by (Coppola's studio American) Zoetrope and created an empire and is wealthy and powerful.Nicholson was — when I met him and worked with him — he was always kind of a joker. He's got a little bit of a mean streak. He's intelligent, always wired in with the big guys and the big bosses of the studios. I don't know what any of them want anymore. I don't know that they want the same things. Pacino always wanted to do theater ... (He) will say, 'Oh, I was raised next to a furnace in New York, and I'm never going to go to L.A.,' but they all live off the fat of the land." [Rush & Molloy]

Rather than do the sensible thing by dynamiting its long-abandoned California Adventure theme park to make room for more Disneyland parking facilities, Disney instead plans to spend $1.1 billion to roust the homeless squatters that have taken up residence in the Twilight Zone Tower and add some new Pixar-inspired areas, hoping that new attractions like the Ratatouille Rodent-Infested Food Court will revive interest in the site. [WSJ.com]

While most of us don't claim the luxury of a hit talk show with which to air out our grievances, Ellen DeGeneres does, and yesterday she used the pulpit of her celebrity-safe funzone to turn America against Mutts & Moms, an organization that seeks to place found dogs in good homes. Her blubbery, beyond awkward appeal begging for the return of Iggy (taken back to the shelter after the comedian pawned the dog off on a friend) has overloaded their website and resulted in multiple phoned-in death threats. And all this comes after the shelter refused to back down after DeGeneres unleashed her Michael Vick Academy-trained flack on them. From Page Six:

In a sneak preview of tonight's installment of Kid Nation just leaked online, we learn that the citizens of CBS Bonanza City will finally abandon the preternatural maturity that has previously allowed them to choose sensible waste-elimination facilities over a television and soul-nurturing Bibles over a productivity-diminishing mini-golf course, opting for a communal reward too irresistible to pass up in favor of a more practical prize.

In a refreshing change from the depressing procession of portraits of early-childhood neglect and despair recently adorning the magazine's covers, Us Weekly switches gears to spotlight the development of Suri Cruise, Hollywood's Happiest-Seeming Toddler™. But while raising an 18-month-old genetically engineered by Scientology's top baby-fabricating technicians to unquestioningly obey its parental custodians might seems like an easy task, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes still find themselves needing the guidance contained in Dianetics Chapter XVII Sec (c), "On the Emotional Maintenance and Discipline of Your New Child-Unit." Says Us: