People

By Benjamin Nugent

LOWE TO BLOW SHOW

Martin Sheen may play the President on The West Wing, but back when the White House drama was just a glimmer in the eyes of NBC's programming execs, ROB LOWE, a.k.a. deputy communications director Sam Seaborn, was expected to be the biggest draw as the resident fox in chief. Now--crisis in the situation room, Sir!--Lowe is making like Jim Jeffords and ditching the party. "As much as it hurts to admit it, it has been increasingly clear for quite a while that there was no longer a place for Sam Seaborn on The West Wing," he said. Reports say one reason Lowe is leaving next spring is NBC's refusal to give him an adequate raise. Sheen's salary has tripled to $300,000 per episode since the show was launched, while Lowe's has remained relatively stagnant. Meanwhile, most other cast members are said to have negotiated raises so that their salaries are now roughly equal to Lowe's. And unlike most politicians, Lowe can't even claim that he's leaving to go back into the private sector.

TOP THIS, MATT DAMON

Rumors are rampant that for her 32nd birthday, JENNIFER LOPEZ got BEN AFFLECK. Representatives of the stars have not confirmed the romance, but Affleck reportedly gave Lopez a diamond bracelet last week. The next day she filed for divorce from dancer Cris Judd (the two separated months ago). An early romantic harbinger was an affectionate ad Affleck took out in The Hollywood Reporter congratulating her on a ShoWest award. He praised her "astonishing talent, real poise and true grace" and concluded, "I only wish I were lucky enough to be in all your movies." And they call P. Diddy a player.

HOLLYWOOD'S KINGMAKERS

Maybe Gladiator got Hollywood jazzed on the ancient world or maybe the inspiration is the surprise success of My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Either way, half the directors in town are set on making movies about the storied hero of the big fat Macedonian empire, ALEXANDER THE GREAT. The man most likely to roll out an Alexander movie first appears to be Moulin Rouge director Baz Luhrmann, who has producer Dino De Laurentiis on his side and a green light from Fox and Universal. But Martin Scorsese wants to direct Leonardo DiCaprio, hero of his upcoming Gangs of New York, in his own Alexander epic. An Oliver Stone-directed version of the tale is also on the table, potentially starring Colin Farrell. Luhrmann's secret weapon: Moroccan King Mohammed VI, who, Variety reports, will lend 1,500 soldiers to the film. If Luhrmann needs a break from filmmaking, he can invade Spain.

DON'T EVEN TELL THESE GUYS ABOUT EMINEM

STEVE EARLE has never been the sort of country singer who gigs at Republican conventions. He has done time for drug possession, and his music is too rough around the edges to slip into mainstream radio. But now some Nashville conservatives have gone from Earle indifference to rage over his song John Walker's Blues, which is on his upcoming album, Jerusalem. Written from the perspective of the so-called American Taliban, the lyrics include "We came to fight the jihad/ And our hearts were pure and strong." Earle said he doesn't "condone what [Walker] did." But a Nashville radio commentator likened Earle to Jane Fonda in her "Hanoi Jane" days. Which means we should look forward to seeing Earle starring in aerobics videos.