Teen idol, ex-NBA star bask in the spotlight

By Carol Beggy & Mark Shanahan, Globe Staff  |  March 11, 2005

SHINY HAPPY PERSON He's pictured shirtless and smoking pot in this week's National Enquirer, and his name's come up in connection with the Michael Jackson trial. But is Aaron Carter worried? No way. The teen idol, whose tour bus pulls into Plymouth tonight for a gig with not-so-New Kid Jordan Knight, is having a good time. ''I'm just letting the fans know I'm still here," said Carter, who's barely 17 but got started in the music business at the age of 7. Nick Carter's younger brother said his new CD, which will be released this summer, reflects a newfound maturity. Of his brother's arrest this week for suspicion of drunken driving, Carter was unconcerned: ''It'll blow over real quick," he said.

AT LEAST IT'S NOT THE RODMAN CENTER The activist animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals bid $8,300to win the right to rename the FleetCenter today as the''InkNotMink.comCenter" to promote PETA's antifur campaign with basketball legend Dennis Rodman. The date of the renaming coincidentally comes on a day that the Celtics host the Detroit Pistons, where Rodman rose to prominence. ''It's heart-wrenching to see what these animals go through. Back in the day, people wore fur, but now it's different," Rodman said yesterday in a statement. ''People are aware of the fact that it's not right . . . to kill animals for our pleasure. I'm a soft-hearted guy. I don't like to see animals in pain." PETA members will be at the center entrances tonight with videos and an ad featuring a nude and tattooed Rodman with the slogan ''Ink, Not Mink!"

OKRENT ON THE CHARLES? The New York Times's public editor, Daniel Okrent, appears to be headed to Harvard for a four-month fellowship at the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics & Public Policy, Editor & Publisher's website reported yesterday. Okrent, the first person to hold the position of public editor at the Times, confirmed to E&P that he had applied for the position at Harvard, which would begin next spring. Okrent's contract with the Times ends May 1. Reached by Editor & Publisher senior editor Joe Strupp yesterday, the Shorenstein's executive director Alex Jones said Okrent could receive approval for his fellowship next week. Jones is one of several being mentioned as a possible successor to Okrent at the Times.

BIG, BIG ROBOTS The animated film ''Robots," which stars Ewan McGregor, Halle Berry, Mel Brooks, and Robin Williams, hits movie theaters today and is also being released in IMAX theaters, including two of the big screens in the Boston area -- the Jordan's Furniture IMAX theaters in Natick and the new Reading store. . . . And yesterday, the Hollywood Reporter noted that the folks behind ''Robots" -- 20th Century Fox Animation and Blue Sky Studios -- have landed the rights to adapt Dr. Seuss's ''Horton Hears a Who" by the late Springfield children's author Theodor Seuss Geisel. The beloved elephant Horton will be computer animated. Christopher Meledandri, president of the Fox animation wing, approached the author's widow, Audrey Geisel, almost two years ago to discuss making a 3-D movie based on one of Dr. Seuss's books. ''I've always wanted to find a way to do a digitally animated Dr. Seuss movie," Meledandrisaid.

IN AND OUT OF TOWN As the recipient of the Ida Ely Rubin Award, film director Michel Gondry will be an artist in residence at MIT for two weeks next month. His visit will include a public forum with professor Fredo Durand of MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. . . . Director Todd Solondz will attend a pre-release screening of ''Palindromes" at the Museum of Fine Arts April 7. After, Solondz will discuss the movie's themes, including issues of identity, choice, and the ability to change. . . . comedian Steven Wright was spotted the other day being interviewed by Us Weekly's Al Weisel while checking out the DeCordova Museum's new exhibit, ''Pretty Sweet: The Sentimental Image in Contemporary Art."

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