Brown's sure Murphy is the father

Eddie Murphy has said that he's not sure he's the father of ex-Spice Girl Melanie Brown's unborn child. Brown says she's quite certain he is. "I am obviously upset and distressed at some of the comments made by Eddie Murphy to the media," Brown, 31, said in a statement released yesterday. "My main concern is for the well-being of my daughter, Phoenix, and of course the baby. I was astonished what Eddie said. There is absolutely no question that Eddie is the father."

After igniting a media firestorm by flashing her apparent lack of underwear to the paparazzi, Britney Spears is finally talking -- or writing, anyway. "It's been so long since I've been out on the town with friends," the singer wrote in a posting yesterday on her website. "It's also been 2 years since I've even celebrated my birthday. Every move I make at this point has been magnified more than I expected, and I probably did take my new found freedom a little too far. Anyway, thank God for Victoria's Secrets' new underwear line! I look forward to a new year, new music and a new me." Spears celebrated her 25th birthday on Dec. 2. She has been unleashing her inner wild child since filing for divorce last month from Kevin Federline, her husband of two years. Spears and Federline, 28, have two sons, Sean Preston, 1, and Jayden James, who was born Sept. 12.

George Clooney will produce a movie based on John Grisham's "The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town." Clooney's publicist, Stan Rosenfield, said no decision had been made on whether Clooney, 45, might direct or appear in the film. Smoke House -- Clooney's company with producing partner Grant Heslov -- bought the movie rights along with Warner Independent Pictures, said a Warner spokeswoman. "The Innocent Man" is a nonfiction work about Ron Williamson, who spent nine years on Oklahoma's death row after he was wrongfully convicted of the rape and murder of a cocktail waitress.

"Dancing With the Stars" competitor John O'Hurley and his wife, Lisa, have welcomed their first child, a boy. William Dylan was born Wednesday in Los Angeles and weighed 7 pounds, spokeswoman Liza Anderson said. The 52-year-old actor is known for his role as catalog king J. Peterman on "Seinfeld." Hurley and his professional dance partner finished second to "General Hospital" star Kelly Monaco and her partner in ABC's "Dancing With the Stars," but later triumphed in a viewer-judged rematch.

FROM WIRE REPORTS