Beauty and backbone

Tiffany Kelly can't slow down. Not only is Miss Massachusetts working these days with a trainer, an interview coach, and a style consultant, the Brockton beauty has someone helping her walk. ''When I tell people I have to go to my walking lesson, I feel kind of like a dog," Kelly confesses with a laugh. ''But there's no leash involved." A relative newcomer to the world of pageants -- she's been in just one other -- Kelly, 18, insists she isn't nervous about strutting her stuff on national TV. (The Miss USA pageant will be held April 21 in Baltimore.) ''I'm going to make the most of it," she said. ''I've been acting since I was a kid, so I'm no stranger to the stage." Kelly said she's sworn off a few of her favorite foods to get fit -- chocolate and muffins, among them -- but thinks the judges admire backbone as much as backside. ''I've been studying past Miss Universe videos, and the winners didn't have the best bodies, they had the most confidence." (That said, have you checked out Miss Universe 2005 Natalie Glebova?) With or without a crown, Kelly, who volunteers with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, said she'll be attending Gordon College next fall.

‘OC’ director explores Upper Crust

What do Mischa Barton and Nat Freedberg's alter ego Lord Bendover have in common? Not much, except Rodman Flender has worked with both. That's right, the director of ''The OC" is also the director of ''Let Them Eat Rock," a new documentary about Bendover's Boston-based band the Upper Crust. The film, which has its New England premiere tonight at the Harvard Film Archive, is the improbable story of five fanciful rockers who played power chords in puffy shirts and powdered wigs, and briefly were the next big thing. ''It was a very exciting time," said Flender, a Harvard grad who studied with documakers Ed Pincus and Ross McElwee. Alas, despite some flattering profiles in The New Yorker and Vanity Fair, and an appearance on Conan O'Brien's show, the affected fops never found glory. Flender will attend tonight's premiere, part of the Boston Underground Film Festival, and take questions afterward. . . . Also today, the film fest has batty B-movie mogul Lloyd Kaufman teaching a class called ''Make Your Own Damn Movie" at the Brattle Theater.

Mezrich book may be closer to screen

The movie version of the best-selling book by Boston writer Ben Mezrich finally has a director. Maybe. Reports out of Hollywood are that ''21," based on Mezrich's book, ''Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions," will be directed by ''Legally Blonde" director Robert Luketic. Previously, directors Shawn Levy and Brett Ratner were rumored to be interested. The movie's being produced by Kevin Spacey, who optioned the book in 2002 after reading an excerpt of it in Playboy. (Who knew Spacey read Playboy?)

Don't know if it'll happen, but the early word is that the original members of Extreme, including guitarist Nuno Bettencourt, may do a few New England dates this summer. It's been 16 years since the band scored a huge hit with ''More Than Words," and the boys have since scattered. Singer Gary Cherone now fronts a Who tribute band, Bettencourt plays with the latest incarnation of Perry Farrell's Jane's Addiction, drummer Paul Geary runs a high-powered management company in LA, and bassist Pat Badger, believe it or not, raises alpacas on a farm outside Boston. . . . ''About a Boy" director Paul Weitz (below) was in Boston yesterday flacking for his latest film, ''American Dreamz," a comedy in which the president of the United States, played by Dennis Quaid, is a guest judge on an ''American Idol"-like talent show.

Bob and Myra Kraft were among 350 or so folks who showed up at Gann Academy -- The New Jewish High School of Greater Boston -- the other night to honor Shari Redstone. The daughter of Viacom CEO Sumner Redstone, Shari is chairwoman of Dedham-based National Amusements and is vice chairwoman of Viacom and CBS.

Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253.