People

By Rebecca Winters Keegan

MARGARITAS 101?

It took a lot to entice JIMMY BUFFETT to produce his first film. "I got to wear shorts," says the beach balladeer, who plays a casually attired marine-science teacher in Hoot, an adaptation of a book by Buffett's old friend and fellow Floridian Carl Hiaasen. "That's important." On the advice of his daughter, 13, Buffett bought the film rights to the mystery about scrappy 8th-graders trying to save endangered owls. Another daughter, 26, supervised the sound track. But don't expect cinema to surpass song as the Buffett family biz. "Too much sitting-around time," says Mr. Margaritaville. And not enough roles for guys in flip-flops.

NEWSFLASH: ACTORS HAVE TEMPERS

There's creative conflict and there's just ... conflict. Theater actress JAN MAXWELL quit the off-Broadway play Entertaining Mr. Sloane weeks before its May 21 close because, she told the New York Post, her co-star ALEC BALDWIN "created an unhealthy and oppressive situation." She cited Baldwin's punching a wall when the air conditioning wasn't high enough. "Jan was miserable from the start," Baldwin, who acknowledged the wall punching, told TIME. "If you only work with people who are warm and sunny, you're not gonna work much."

LOOK WHO PIRATED KATE MOSS'S GIG

The tough thing about modeling is that there's always some pretty young thing--without a rehab stint--waiting in the wings. Enter KEIRA KNIGHTLEY, the well-behaved, improbably gorgeous seafarer from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies who will take over Kate Moss's job hawking Chanel's Coco Mademoiselle perfume next year. Moss, 32, the face of the fragrance since 2002, lost modeling contracts with Burberry and H&M last year after a London tabloid ran photos of her allegedly snorting cocaine. But Moss's career is rebounding, and she will appear in an upcoming Calvin Klein campaign with, coincidentally, Knightley's ex, male model Jamie Dornan. Knightley, 21, says she's "thrilled to follow the extraordinary women who have been associated with [Chanel]," like Nicole Kidman and Catherine Deneuve. And, really, who can sniff at that?

BUGGING THE STARS Hollywood P.I. Anthony Pellicano's racketeering and conspiracy trial is five months away, but the list of famous folks embroiled in the noirish case keeps growing. A cheat sheet:

NICOLE KIDMAN The ex-Mrs. Tom Cruise's calls may have been tapped during their 2001 divorce. "Tom, are you listening?" Vanity Fair says she joked on calls with pals. "Am I saying what you want me to say?"

CHRIS ROCK After a model filed a paternity suit against the comic in 1999, Pellicano allegedly had cop friends run an illegal background check on her. DNA tests later showed that Rock wasn't the dad.

SYLVESTER STALLONE When Sly sued his manager Kenneth Starr (no, not that one) after an investment in the Planet Hollywood restaurants went south, Pellicano allegedly tapped the action star's phones.

GARY SHANDLING Prosecutors say Pellicano ran illegal background checks on Shandling when the comedian sued his manager, Brad Grey, now Paramount chief. And we thought the paranoia was just for laughs.