Hub designer does show for charity

Boston designer Denise Hajjar showed her spring and summer line last night at a fashion show benefiting the Massachusetts chapter of the ALS Association. Before the event kicked off, Hajjar said she planned to show 56 different looks in lots of cheerful colors: oranges, yellows, blues, and pinks. "The dress is back in a big, big way," she promised. "Women are embracing it again." And in recognition of the current economic, uh, constraints many shoppers are under, she kept her frocks in the $200 range and created bags for less than $100. "We really worked hard at that," she said. We'll be watching for the zebra- and giraffe-print bags.

Pretty is as pretty does

Miss Connecticut USA Monica Pietrzak, who's actually a Westborough native, is throwing a big charity fashion show at The Estate on Saturday. The bash, Catwalk for a Cause, will also feature Miss Massachusetts USA Alison Cronin and Miss Vermont USA Brooke Werner and their teen counterparts. (Yep, that's the Donald Trump pageant.) The ladies are all headed off to compete in Vegas and meet the Donald next week, but will showcase gowns and cocktail dresses to benefit Children's Hospital Boston before they go. "It's an excuse to wear your best," said Pietrzak, who organized the event with her 23-year-old sister Natalie, a UMass-Amherst MBA student. "Pick the most extravagant thing in your closet. It's a 'Sex and the City' kind of evening."

From Oscars to 'Stooges'

The filmmaking Farrelly brothers are closing in on their cast for "The Three Stooges." Variety reported yesterday that two-time Oscar winner Sean Penn (inset) will play Larry, while negotiations are underway with Jim Carrey to play Curly and Benicio Del Toro to play Moe. (Carrey's reportedly ready to pack on 40 pounds to portray the puffy Jerome "Curly" Howard.) The film, which Peter and Bobby Farrelly have told us they hope to shoot in Rhode Island, is not a biopic but a comedy. Production will begin in early fall for a release sometime in 2010. The Farrellys, who wrote the script, are producing with their Conundrum partner Bradley Thomas and Charlie Wessler. Penn hasn't done a comedy since 1989's "We're No Angels." Del Toro showed comic ability in Guy Ritchie's "Snatch."

Bummed but not bitter describes Brian Goodman. The director of the shot-in-Southie "What Doesn't Kill You" didn't figure his film would set the world on fire, but he did hope it'd get a proper theatrical release. "We ran into a little bad luck," Goodman told us this week. Starring Mark Ruffalo, Ethan Hawke, and Amanda Peet, "What Doesn't Kill You" was enthusiastically received at the Toronto International Film Festival, and opened in New York and LA. But the film's distributor then went bankrupt and the drama - a grim but hopeful tale about two friends who turn to a life of crime on the mean streets of South Boston - was shelved. "I know I didn't make the best movie ever, but everyone who's seen it liked it," said Goodman. "But there's still a chance it could be released in other cities, so I'm seeing if we can hold off on the DVD release." (The DVD is due out April 28.) In the meantime, "What Doesn't Kill You" will open next month's Boston International Film Festival, and Goodman will introduce it. He's got other projects, including "Saint Charlie," a retelling of the Dustin Hoffman crime drama "Straight Time," and an abduction thriller based on a James Ellroy book. He also may work with Donnie Wahlberg on "Bunker Hill" if TNT picks up the pilot. "I don't use the word friend a lot," said Goodman, "and Donnie's a friend."

This just in: Methuen-bred former Miss USA Susie Castillo will be giving the commencement address at Northern Essex Community College May 16. The 28-year-old Castillo, who calls LA home these days, is a graduate of Endicott College. She recently published "Confidence Is Queen: The Four Keys to Ultimate Beauty Through Positive Thinking," and has a role in the upcoming indie film "The Heartbreaker." "Susie is a wonderful role model for all of our students," said Northern Essex president David Hartleb, pointing out that 23 percent of the school's students are Latino.

Warm welcome
Mayor Tom Menino's wife Angela hosted a well-attended welcome breakfast for new Boston Public Library president Amy Ryan yesterday at the Fairmont Copley. Guests included John Hancock's Carol Fulp, school superintendent Carol Johnson, Channel 7's Janet Wu, ReadBoston executive director Theresa Lynn, city CFO Lisa Signori, the Fairmont's Peggy Dray, and marlo marketing's Marlo Fogelman.

Sounding fish-y
Matt Damon, Noah Cyrus (Miley's little sis), Frankie Jonas (yep, of the Jonas Brothers), Cate Blanchett, Tina Fey, Cloris Leachman, Liam Neeson, Lily Tomlin, and Betty White will do voices for the Disney release of the Japanese anime film "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea," Entertainment Weekly reports. The Hayao Miyazaki film, which tells the story of a baby goldfish who wants to be human, was released in Japan last year; the English-language version - simply called "Ponyo" - will hit US theaters on Aug. 14. We're guessing Matt wants to do a movie he can take the kids to. ("Bourne"? Not so much.)

English's tasty tour
When Todd English (inset) isn't hanging with the likes of Eva Longoria (they have a restaurant together in California) or cooking for the stars, the celeb chef is circling the globe, filming episodes for his PBS show "Food Trip." A second season of the WGBH foodie-travel program will debut on May 2, with English going all medieval in Tuscany, exploring a castle and tasting a traditional lampredotto sandwich. (That's cow stomach, in case you're wondering.) Twelve more half-hour episodes will follow, shot with renowned chefs in other exotic locales, such as Peru, Thailand, and South Africa. After each jaunt, viewers get to follow English back to his personal kitchen, where he demos internationally-inspired dishes.

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