Hitting it off

Looks like Kevin Spacey and Ben Mezrich are becoming fast friends. No sooner did Spacey finish making "21," based on Mezrich's bestseller "Bringing Down the House," than he turned his attention to another work by the Boston-based writer. This one, a novella about an avian flu outbreak, is called "Q." We're told Ben's been working on the dystopian thriller for some 15 years, and it draws on top-secret documents from the Centers for Disease Control. Spacey produced and starred in "21," which was partially shot in Boston in the spring. His costars included Kate Bosworth and Laurence Fishburne.

Les Blank, the maverick filmmaker best known for his movies about American musicians, was honored at the MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, N.H., over the weekend. Blank joined an impressive list of past recipients of the Edward MacDowell Medal, including Thornton Wilder, Georgia O'Keeffe, I.M. Pei, and Merce Cunningham. Journalist Robert MacNeil, chairman of the 100-year-old artists' colony, presented the medal, and Blank's fellow filmmaker Frederick Wiseman gave a talk.

As part of the Jimmy Fund's annual radio telethon, broadcast from Fenway Park on Friday, actor Tim Daly will throw out the first pitch at the early game of the Sox doubleheader. The former "Wings" star, who'll be seen this fall in the "Grey's Anatomy" spinoff "Private Practice," will stick around Fenway with actress and Watertown native Eliza Dushku as part of the fund-raiser. "According to Jim" star Jim Belushi will be handling first pitch honors for the second game on Friday. Celebs slated to call in during the WEEI/NESN event include Donnie Wahlberg, Lenny Clarke, Tom Arnold, Roger Clemens, and George Steinbrenner.

Did James Taylor spark a romance between Christie Brinkley and Paul McCartney? The pair, both recovering from very public marital meltdowns, were enjoying each other's company at Sweet Baby James's concert in the Hamptons over the weekend. And the chummy interaction immediately ignited rumors. "I definitely did see them talking. Can I say it was romantic? I have no idea," one partygoer told Newsday. "I know at the end of the night, she didn't leave with him." The ex-supermodel has been married four times, most famously to piano man Billy Joel. McCartney is still in the process of splitting with "Dancing With the Stars" contestant Heather Mills. Taylor was joined at the concert by his wife, Kim, and the couple's twin boys Rufus and Henry. Other celebrity guests included Richard Gere, Brooke Shields, and twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.

There's no question David Beckham is a superior soccer player, but don't believe the hype about the blond Brit saving the sport single-handedly. So says Karch Kiraly, who knows a thing or two about being the best of the best. A three-time Olympic champ who's been called the Michael Jordan of beach volleyball, Kiraly says Posh Spice's significant other only can do so much. "Remains to be seen whether this is a one-time blip or something more long-term," said the man dubbed the "Thunderball in Volleyball." Kiraly, who'll be in Boston this weekend when the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour puts up its net at WaterWorks, says soccer, like his own sport, will never be as popular as baseball or football. But volleyball does benefit from those skimpy outfits, right? "When you're on the beach, you wear bathing suits," said Kiraly. "Volleyball's viewed as part of a great lifestyle, and part of that is sexy."

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