Sean Penn Lobbies For Harvey Milk Day; Chris Brown & Rihanna Leave Miami

By Margaret Hartmann | March 2, 2009 | 11:30pm

Sean Penn is pushing for Harvey Milk’s birthday to be recognized as a “day of significance” in California. Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill last year, but Penn hopes his Oscar may change his mind.
Schwarzenegger says Milk’s birthday should only be recognized in San Francisco, but State Senator Mark Leno plans to reintroduce a bill tomorrow with Penn and argue that Penn’s Oscar win proves Milk has a larger significance. [USA Today]
Chris Brown and Rihanna have left Miami Beach. They were spotted together at the airport on Sunday night. Brown went to L.A. and is scheduled to be arraigned in Los Angeles on Thursday. Rihanna’s whereabouts are unknown. [E!]
Mekhi Phifer, who has worked with Chris Brown said he wishes Chris and Rihanna “both the best,” and added: “People make mistakes-and while I don’t condone what happened that night, you know, what Chris did to her-I remember being young, 19, and at that age it seemed like everything was so over-the-top, and everyone’s so passionate about things at the age.” [Yahoo]
Nadya Suleman was interviewed today on Dr. Phil’s show. In this video she says she needs to find a house to rent because she can’t bring her octuplets home to her mom’s house, which is being foreclosed on. [Entertainment Tonight]
And this video features more snippets of Suleman’s Dr. Phil interview and the Radar interview. Nadya says she’s confident that none of her children will be taken away by the authorities. [Entertainment Tonight]
In case you missed it, Mel Gibson appeared on the Jimmy Kimmel show after the Academy Awards. He’s trying to rehabilitate his image and seem normal, but his Civil War era goatee and handlebar mustache aren’t helping. Neither is joking with Kimmel about calling a female police officer “sugar tits,” (which he denies) saying, “I wish I could copyright it… I wish I had said it.” [FOX News]
Ed McMahon is still in the hospital for pneumonia and bone cancer. His publicist had this to say: “I’ve seen many people come up to Ed over the years and say, ‘You were a Marine.’ Ed would look them in the eye and say, ‘I AM a Marine.’ What that means for his current medical challenges is the same thing it’s meant for every challenge he’s ever faced in life. It means he’s a fighter — not a quitter. It means he’s confronting it head-on with strength, courage and dignity. I would ask that those who care about Ed say a prayer, remain hopeful and send their good wishes, because Colonel McMahon is still fighting the good fight. Ed, his family, and friends are looking forward to celebrating his 86th birthday Friday.” [TMZ]
Jennifer Aniston told Elle she would love to play a Bond girl opposite Daniel Craig. When she was inevitably asked about Brangelina, she said: “No matter what I say, things will always be taken out of context and misinterpreted, will always be turned around to make it seem as though I won’t let something go, or that I just keep talking about it over and over…I don’t owe anybody anything. I don’t owe anybody my side of the story. There are no sides! There is no bad guy and there is no good guy. There are no villains and there is no heroine in this story. It’s just not the case.” [The Star]
Emma Watson has revealed via Twitter that she’s been accepted to Yale. If she attends, she’ll join a long list of actor alumni, including Jodie Foster, Sigourney Weaver, Meryl Streep, and Edward Norton. [E!]
Billy Burke, who plays Bella’s dad in Twilight said he hopes Dakota Fanning will join the cast. Burke has a seven-month-old daughter in real life and said, “I had to turn down a movie last month because I didn’t want to be away from the baby. I’ve never had to make decisions like that before. I used to be a pretty selfish bastard. Now I’m thinking like I’d rather spend time with my kid.” [People]
R. Kelly is being sued again in relation to his child pornography case. A private investigator claims R. Kelly hired him to “obtain and/or recover certain tapes that were said to incriminate” R. Kelly. The man says he completed the job, but R. Kelly refused to pay him the $300,000 he was owed. [TMZ]
The Chinese government cancelled two concerts Oasis had scheduled in the country after learning that the band appeared at at “Free Tibet” concert in 1997. [Reuters]
Many criticized Javier Bardem for not attending the Oscars with girlfriend and Best Supporting Actress winner Penelope Cruz. But, it turns out he has a good excuse. He suffered a herniated disk two weeks ago while shooting a movie and has been on bed rest. A source says: “Javier has returned to shooting and is in perfect health.” [Terra]
Sarah Jessica Parker is still talking about wearing a black gown at her wedding to Matthew Broderick. She says: “James Wilkie’s teacher is getting married, and he said, ‘Do you think she will be wearing black?’ I said, ‘No! I can almost assure you.’ Then he said, ‘Do you still regret it?’ and I said, ‘Yes, I still regret it.'” [The Daily Express]
Rachael Ray says of her racy photos that ran years ago in FHM, “I think I was 35 at the time … And I thought about it for a while, and I said, ‘You know what? This magazine has as young as 17-, 18-year-olds in hottie bikinis, and these are all actresses, models, pin-up girls. I don’t belong to any even remote club of theirs … And I thought, ‘If I’m gutsy enough to do this, this is a good thing for everybody. This is the everywoman, here she is.’ And I did it, and it was the most scared I’ve ever been, and I wouldn’t change a thing. I’d do it again tomorrow.” [People]
Prince is releasing a new CD set at the end of the month exclusively at Target. The three-disk CD will include two new albums, “LOtUSFLOW3R”, “MPLSoUND”, and a third by his new artist, Bria Valente, for $11.98. [AP]
Heroes fans freaked out when Greg Grun wrote a Tweet saying, “Winding down shooting Season 3 Heroes. Tough to say goodbye to crew not knowing if any or all of us will return next year. Hope all.” The show’s rating have hit an all time low, but he posted a follow up Tweet later, saying, “Don’t get me wrong, ‘Heroes’ IS coming back next year, but some crew take other jobs, so it’s tough.” [Perez Hilton]
Ashton Kutcher‘s Twitter addiction is now officially dangerous. He posted a video of himself riding his motorcycle with one hand while filming with the other. [Perez Hilton]
“I’m the crazy lady sitting in the crowd screaming my head off,” says Hilary Duff, who has become a hockey fan since dating Ottawa Senators player Mike Comrie. [People]
“Films have changed a lot. I think women are finally able to get older and be sexy just like men. So I’m really enjoying that part – that’s my evolution… I think sometimes we seem to obsess on negativity. I think role models exist but they usually don’t get the light because people like scandal.” – Andie MacDowell. [The Daily Express]