Paparazzi too close for comfort

It sounds like a scene from "Fight Club." French police say camouflaged paparazzi who managed to get onto the grounds of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's chateau in southern France on Thursday fought with the Hollywood couple's guards. Both the paparazzi and the Jolie-Pitt head of security confirmed the confrontation but gave widely different versions of events.

Freelance photographer Luc Goursolas said he broke a guard's finger and bit another until he bled, and that they hit him with a walkie-talkie, punched and kicked him, leaving a head wound that required three stitches. "I was pouring blood. I threw myself at them, put blood all over them, and told them that I had HIV so they would stop hitting me," said Goursolas.

Tony Webb, head of security at the Miraval estate, said Goursolas went "berserk" without provocation and denied that his guards punched the photographer. He said Jolie and Pitt feel besieged. He said local police are not taking the problem seriously enough.

"It's just not fair, they are in their own property and you've got him [Goursolas] and there could be another dozen out there that we can't find" on the 1,235-acre property, he said. "They are just a couple trying to bring up their young family."

Goursolas said he wasn't on the property but in woods nearby where the guards, on quad bikes, found him. "The forest belongs to everyone," he said, adding that he walked five hours to get there. He said he didn't take any photos. The colleague who was with him, camerawoman Marianne Saint-Arroman, said she didn't take any video. She confirmed they were wearing khaki and camouflage to avoid being seen in the woods.

Webb, however, said the paparazzi were on the property, about 600 yards from the house, on a wooded hill from where Webb suspects that previous shots were taken of Jolie and Pitt in their garden with their children. He said Goursolas had also camouflaged his equipment. (AP)

In other paparazzi news, Halle Berry says a photographer went too far to get a shot of the actress holding her infant daughter, trespassing onto her property and snapping them hanging out in the backyard. The Oscar-winning actress was upset when pictures of her holding 4-month-old Nahla Ariela Aubry showed up on the Internet and in two celebrity magazines. In a statement, Berry disputes the notion that the photos were taken when she was "out and about in Los Angeles." An attorney representing Berry said a criminal complaint has been filed and an investigation is underway. (AP)

Film director Guy Ritchie (inset) broke his silence yesterday over rumors that his marriage to Madonna is on the rocks. "My marriage is fine as far as I'm aware of," the British director said in an interview with People. Rumors have been circulating for months, despite several denials by the singer that the couple are not planning a divorce. Ritchie said Madonna had allowed him to look at his hometown of London with fresh eyes. "I live vicariously through my wife, so I was once a spy and now I've become a tourist, and it's much more fun to live in London as a tourist." (People)

Rosie O'Donnell is in talks with NBC to make her TV return, according to Entertainment Weekly. The report says O'Donnell is in discussions with the network about her own prime-time variety show. Reps for NBC and for O'Donnell had no comment. Though she was last seen in a regular television gig as the moderator on ABC's "The View," O'Donnell hosted "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" on NBC from 1996-2002. (MSNBC)

Britney Spears and Kevin Federline finalized their child-custody settlement yesterday, including a $5,000-per-month increase in child support - to $20,000 - for the pop singer's ex-husband. An attorney for Federline delivered the terms to Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Scott M. Gordon, who gave his approval.

Ending months of speculation, the Rolling Stones have left EMI, the label that has released the group's music since the early 1990s, and signed a long-term deal with Universal Music Group, the company announced yesterday. EMI will retain the band's lucrative publishing rights. (New York Times News Service)

Ed McMahon is reprising his role as pitchman with comical commercial segments during "Jimmy Kimmel Live." The first of the four spots, which were filmed Thursday and feature McMahon and Jimmy Kimmel together, will air Monday during the late-night ABC talk show. "It felt very good to be out of the brace and working again," said McMahon, who has undergone three neck surgeries. (AP)

Glen "Big Baby" Davis started the show off right at the Roxy Thursday night, demonstrating how the 39 Celtics Dancers hopefuls should shake it onstage. By night's end, the contestants had also done a whole lot of kicking, leaping, and whipping of hair in front of judges Davis, "American Idol" competitor Ayla Brown, and comedian Gary Gulman. Seventeen women were named to next season's team. Returning dancers are Meghan Rourke, Stacy Ramos, Alison Preston, Rebecca O'Brien, Alex McElroy, Jennafa Martone, Courtney Kenihan, Alexis Heos, Melissa Driscoll, Rachel Chepkunov, and Caitlin Anderson. The newbies are Katie Shankweiler, Ashley Miller, Jenna Matus, Erica Labrador, Casey Horton, and Ashley Eisenhauer.

Are Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen a little less enamored with NYC these days? The supermodel and Pats QB have both put their Big Apple pads back on the market, after previous sales attempts failed. Bundchen is now asking $5.9 million for her two-bedroom West Village penthouse with river views and a rooftop hot tub, a little more than half the price she wanted last fall, the Wall Street Journal reports. (If it sells, she'll still make a nice profit, since she bought it for $3 million in 2002.) Brady, however, wants $18.29 million for his Time Warner Center three-bedroom condo, roughly 10 percent more than he asked last year. But never fear, New York paparazzi: Bundchen still has a Manhattan townhouse to stake out.

Lindsay Lohan joined pal Samantha Ronson in the DJ booth at Shrine at MGM Grand at Foxwoods Thursday night. The couple reportedly lost at blackjack, then washed away their sorrows with a shared glass of saki and some sushi at the Asian-themed nightclub. Afterward, Ronson spun at her second White party in two days (having rolled south via limo with Lindsay from playing The Estate in Boston Wednesday night). Lohan stayed in the background, hiding from the cameras, no doubt, but Ronson periodically left her turntable to peck the actress on the lips. (And yes, the recently rehabbed star was seen with a drink in hand, before letting down her hair and dancing in her seat.) Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury also supped at Shrine and stuck around to hear Ronson spin, before retiring early to rest up for the Yankees last night. "America's Next Top Model" winner CariDee English and singer Melissa Etheridge were also in the house.

Larry David could not curb his enthusiasm for mocking the Yankees last night at a grand opening for the Bleacher Bar, tucked into the side of Fenway with a full view of the outfield. The comedian stood at the window, waving his arms, in a futile attempt to distract A-Rod, who was warming up, said bar spokesman Jonathan Fine. (Like Madonna hasn't been distraction enough.) On hand to cut the ribbon were owners Patrick Lyons and Ed Sparks; Sox brass John Henry, Tom Werner, Larry Lucchino, and Mike Dee; and Fenway architect Janet Marie Smith.

Jon Gosselin (inset) must think he's Brad Pitt, given his major diva act at the Park Plaza Hotel yesterday. But the only thing these dads have in common is a whole lot of kids. The star of TLC's popular "Jon and Kate Plus 8," a look into the daily life of a young couple who had twins, followed by sextuplets, refused to sit for a photo because of some supposedly very restrictive deal with his cable network. (He did, however, let us snap him in the hall.) That said, he was pretty funny during his keynote speech in front of 500 women at the National Organization of Mothers of Twins Clubs, in which he answered the burning questions he and his wife, Kate, are most often asked. He also called her tummy tuck "cheating" and quipped: "She'll never leave me and I'll never leave her, because I'll be the poorest man you know."

Mark Wahlberg was at Comic-Con in San Diego Thursday, where he and costars Mila Kunis and Ludacris talked about their upcoming action thriller "Max Payne." We hear that female fans came out in force for Marky Mark's chat - a little unusual for the largely male-dominated comic book convention. "This is like playing a show in Japan," Wahlberg told the screaming crowd, according to E! Online. "Now I know why the New Kids went back!"

"While I enjoy any hype for our album . . . we are not recording with Michael Jackson and/or Madonna. We never claimed to be either." ,blogging on nkotb.com Thursday about rumored collaborations.

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