Let's Get This Party Started: Top Stories for Monday 06/19/06

If it looked like Britney Spears needed some professional help – at least from a publicist and a stylist – during her interview last week with Matt Lauer on "Dateline," there's a reason for that – she didn't have any.

Plus Nicole Kidman, Lindsay, and other top stories.

Britney All Alone For "Dateline"

If it looked like Britney Spears needed some professional help – at least from a publicist and a stylist – during her interview last week with Matt Lauer on "Dateline," there's a reason for that – she didn't have any.

This morning's Page Six reports that "Dateline" staffers were surprised to find that neither publicists or stylists were present at the Spears-Federline residence in Malibu when they arrived to interview her. "They thought they had the wrong day," says the column's source. "During the interview, no one was there to rein things in," possibly explaining Spears' ill-advised and much-commented-on gum-chewing, overuse of air quotes, and dissing of Julia Roberts.

And as for her even more critically panned wardrobe, hair, and makeup choices, Page Six says that Spears insisted on doing her own styling, and that at one point during the interview when Spears' tears began to flow, a fake eyelash fell off. Showing a heart-warming level of support for her client, Britney's publicist Leslie Sloane Zelnick responded, "Britney is a grown-up and makes her own decisions."

Meanwhile, despite the considerable hype surrounding the "Dateline" piece, a re-run of "CSI" generated better ratings than the interview, as did the NBA Finals. The crime show repeat attracted almost 2 million more viewers than Britney and Matt.

Finally, the Namibian Deputy Environment and Tourism Minister Leon Jooste, who told the world that Britney and Kevin were planning to have their second baby in his country a la Brangelina, now acknowledges that the phone call he received with the "request" might have been a hoax. Spears' rep denied that she had any intention of going to Africa for the birth, but Jooste now says he's going to call the Spears family to see if they're interested.

Nicole Goes To Oz To Get Hitched

Nicole Kidman and her fiancé Keith Urban arrived in Australia this morning to get married, reportedly sometime this coming weekend. "We have come home to celebrate our wedding with our family and friends," said the couple in a statement.

Though Kidman and Urban, both 38, announced their triumphant return to Australia, there is still no word on the actual date or place. Even the Catholic priest who might marry the couple doesn't know if his services will be needed, such is the secrecy that Kidman has imposed upon the nuptials. "I have no details yet," said Father Paul Coleman, who has known Kidman since childhood. "I am not allowed to say much."

According to the local media, wedding guests, said to include Naomi Watts, Russell Crowe, Hugh Jackman, and Rupert Murdoch, will go into a "lockdown" in a Sydney hotel starting this Friday.

Paris' Secrets Being Held Hostage

During a signing last week for her new fragrance, Just Me, Paris Hilton was introduced rather jarringly to the man who has possession of some of her secret diaries, videotapes, and photos.

According to Rush and Molloy this morning, David Hans Schmidt asked Paris to autograph her picture with the inscription "to 'The Guy Who Has My Storage Locker Stuff,'" reminding Paris that he is the broker of the belongings that went up for auction when she failed to pay the bill on a storage space.

Creepily, Schmidt showed her a photo of herself as a young girl holding her sister Nicky to prove his authenticity, and Hilton agreed to meet Schmidt in LA to discuss the matter.

Lindsay's Toilet Moment

Lindsay Lohan elicited a Keanu-esque response from onlookers in the bathroom of New York's Chinatown Brasserie last week, according to the New York Daily News' Ben Widdicombe – but it turns out she was just having her dress zipped by a gay male friend.

A witness tells Widdicombe that the friend "pushed open Lindsay's bathroom stall, where she was bent over. Lindsay jumped up when she realized the door was open and the onlookers just said, 'Whoa.'" Lindsay's flack explained that the friend went in to provide some wardrobe assistance.

Page Six, meanwhile, reports that Lohan establishes the pecking order without mercy when she goes a-clubbing. Lohan's bodyguard apparently removes threateningly good-looking girls from the freckled wonder's table, even if they're with Lindsay's pals.

Hilfiger Gone Wild

Friends of designer Tommy Hilfiger are concerned that his "enthusiastic partying" is beginning to catch up with him.

"He was out of control at Cain in Southampton last weekend," a witness tells Ben Widdicombe, adding that the designer was "well served at the bar" until the very wee hours of the night. Hilfiger recently got into a well-publicized slapfight with rocker Axl Rose at Manhattan's Plumm nightclub, and has been seen whooping it up in recent weeks at Marquee and Pink Elephant.

Apple to Sell Movies on iTunes

Variety reports this morning that Apple is in active negotiations to add movies to its iTunes Music Store by the end of the year, though pricing remains the main issue between Apple and studios.

Though such a deal has been rumored for months, Variety says that most of the major studios are now in talks with Apple, which wants to price all movies at a flat rate of $9.99. The studios are balking because they want to have the ability to sell newer releases at a higher price point.

Julia Takes Her Final Bow On Broadway

Though perhaps not received as warmly by critics as she would've liked, Julia Roberts departed the stage of her Broadway debut with a loving farewell last night.