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From staff and wire reports

Actors Whitford, Kaczmarek: Cheeseheads united

MADISON, Wisconsin -- Meaty roles in hot TV shows are one thing married actors Bradley Whitford and Jane Kaczmarek have in common. But their Wisconsin roots may be the couple's strongest bond.

"There's something about this place, about Madison and Wisconsin and the Midwest, that's really comforting," says Kaczmarek, a Milwaukee native who plays the unflappable mom on Fox's "Malcolm in the Middle."

"We kind of had the same code about what we wanted our lives to be like. That includes putting family before career, and not being to busy to donate an evening to old friends."

Kaczmarek joined former Madison resident Whitford, who plays presidential aide Josh Lyman on NBC's "The West Wing," to raise money Sunday for Madison Repertory Theatre's Vicki Stewart Artists' Fund, the Associated Press reports.

Whitford milks a little more out of the Wisconsin connection.

"She knew what a cheese curd was, so I married her," he says.

Original Beach Boy feels left out, files lawsuit

LOS ANGELES, California -- If you go to a Beach Boys concert, don't expect to see original band member Al Jardine on stage.

He says he has been excluded from recent Beach Boys concerts by the band, so he's suing former bandmates Mike Love and Brian Wilson for $4 million, the Associated Press reports. Other defendants include the Carl Wilson Trust and Brother Records Inc.

"Jardine claims he has been frozen out of The Beach Boys," his attorney, Jeffrey Benice, said Tuesday.

Jardine also says Love promoted the current Beach Boys as "real" and "genuine," even though Love is the sole original member.

Moriarty: Rapping Reno led to 'Law' exit

RADNOR, Pennsylvania -- Michael Moriarty took on Janet Reno, he says, and lost his job as a result.

The former "Law & Order" cast member criticized then-Attorney General Reno in 1993 when she cited the series as an example of TV shows that needed to tone down their violence.

That led to a rift with the show's executive producer, Dick Wolf, and Moriarty's eventual departure from the show, he tells TV Guide in its July 7 issue.

"Day by day, there was increasing distance between me and Wolf," he says.

Wolf denies the allegation.

'Scary Movie' actors take stab at spontaneity

LOS ANGELES, California -- If "Scary Movie 2" has a certain improvisational quality about it, it's no surprise.

Director Keene Ivory Wayans decided to give his actors a little creative breathing room for the sequel to last summer's hit horror movie spoof, Variety reports.

"This group is so talented, they needed to be creative and act on their instincts," Wayans says.

Credit Tori Spelling, for example, with ad-libbing a scene in which she gets frisky with a ghost. And Anna Faris takes responsibility for a scene in which she tells a character to "grab the chest." He does, but not the trunk in the room.

"I cannot believe that made it into the film," she tells Variety. "I was just kidding around because I was wearing a water bra that day."