New & Noteworthy: Fame is tough on the family

The teen sensation is outraged over tabloid stories that paint her half-brother, Daniel, as a criminal and a fugitive from justice. In an official statement to the press, Joss insists that his transgressions – which include holding up a post office with a hammer, and later escaping from prison – were just youthful folly.
“They made it sound like he’s on the run,” she fumed. “And he’s not at all. He was a kid when he got into trouble.”
Joss, known for her retro style – sort of Janice Joplin-meets-The Gap – and her refusal to wear shoes while performing (her toes need to, like, breathe), says that while she’s resigned to living in the glare of the spotlight, her nearest and dearest are off-limits.
“I knew when I became a singer that I might lose my private life,” she said. “But my family didn’t.”
After all, aside from the odd stick-up, “They’re just living a normal life,” sighed Joss. “So for someone to attack them kind of disappoints me about the human race.”
What’s also not clear is whether Danny Boy knew that his adventures would find their way into his younger sister’s song lyrics. In “Daniel,” Joss writes, “He is my brother,/ Come straight out of my mother” and laments, “His lies, his cheats, his stealings,/ Make me cry till I stop breathing.”

Foxx worries about ‘endearing’ Farrell
Irish heartthrob Colin Farrell may have a reputation as a Hollywood hell raiser, but his “Miami Vice” co-star says that, when it comes to navigating his way through the movie industry, the dishy Dub is just a lamb amongst the lions.
Oscar-winner Jamie Foxx, who plays Tubbs to Colin’s Crockett in the remake of the popular 1980s TV show, told Ireland Online that his pal’s good looks and charm are like catnip for his female fans. But, underneath it all, the 30-year-old heartthrob is “really this young, sincere kid.”
Foxx confided that he was glad to see that Colin’s mother and sister were usually on the set to keep him grounded – and keep the wolves (and she-wolves) – away.
“You hope someone’s letting him know the ins and outs [of the business],” said Jamie. “He’s such an honest, pure guy.”
Of course, being honest and pure hasn’t affected Colin’s sense of humor. U.K.’s FemaleFirst web site reports that when Foxx showed up on the set with his Oscar statuette, which he won for his performance in last year’s “Ray”, Colin grabbed it – and jokingly refused to return it.
“Colin said, ‘I want one,'” revealed a set insider. “He then went into an acceptance speech about his mother.” Which is not surprising, because – to quote the late, great John Belushi – “The Irish – they just loooove their mothers.”

Clooney’s not beating Bush about
George Clooney, who wrote, directed and starred in the very political, and critically acclaimed film “Good Night and Good Luck,” has girded his loins, so to speak, for adverse reaction to his new movie.
The actor, whose CIA-themed thriller, “Syriana,” opens in theaters this week, knows that conservative politicians and red-state voters will be incensed by the way terrorists are portrayed in the film. Gorgeous George – who shaved his head and packed on 30 lbs. for the film – acknowledged in an interview with the Los Angeles Times that some people “will be very angry at the idea that we took a couple of suicide bombers and showed how they could be formed, instead of just categorizing them as evil.”
But George, who describes himself as “an old-time liberal,” insists that the film should not be construed as an attack on the White House or President Bush.
“”It is not an attack on the Bush administration, but . . . on the system that has been in place for 60 or 70 years,” he said. “Oil always being at the center of it.”

Briefings
Teen diva Lindsay Lohan has joined the gaggle of nubile starlets scrambling to grab the role of the original Bottle Blonde in the big-screen version of “I Dream of Jeannie.” Lindsay will need to use whatever special powers she has to shimmy into Barbara Eden’s harem pants – also in the running are Bennifer . . . um, make that Jennifer Garner (who’s currently awaiting the birth of baby Affleck), and Goldie Hawn’s kid, Kate Hudson.

Speaking of ready-to-pop actresses, Tom Cruise’s fianc