Taking Names

Ross too busy for film

Diana Ross says she’s a busy woman these days. So busy, in fact, that she hasn’t had time to see the hit film “Dreamgirls,” which is based loosely on her life as a Motown starlet in the 1960s.

Appearing Tuesday on CBS’ “Late Show,” Miss Ross told host David Letterman that she’s going to be a mentor on Fox’s “American Idol” and is planning a world tour in March to promote her new album, “I Love You,” Associated Press reports. The star, 62, also said she didn’t see the Broadway version of “Dreamgirls” when it originally opened in 1981.

When Mr. Letterman asked her whether she was curious about the film, Miss Ross joked: “Yes, I’ve heard a lot about it. I’m going to see it with my lawyers.”

The film, which won a Golden Globe on Monday for best musical or comedy, tells the story of a Motown trio similar to the Supremes and its rise to fame. Eddie Murphy also won for best supporting actor, and newcomer Jennifer Hudson, a former “American Idol” contestant, won for best supporting actress.

Pistol packin’ papa

“Goodfellas” actor Paul Sorvino pulled a gun on his daughter’s ex-boyfriend after the man pounded on her hotel door and made threats, his daughter testified Tuesday.

“He got in my father’s face and said, ‘Go ahead, Paul, shoot, I ain’t done nothing wrong,’ ” Amanda Sorvino, 36, told the court. The judge granted her request for a protection-from-abuse order against Daniel Snee, 21.

According to Associated Press, Miss Sorvino testified that Mr. Snee threatened to kill her Jan. 3 at a hotel in Stowe, Vt. She said she locked herself in the bathroom and called both police and her father. Her 67-year-old father showed up before police, she testified. When police arrived, the young man was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, she said.

Miss Sorvino said that she met Mr. Snee when he was hired to care for her horses and that they began dating but that the relationship soured. She said he then began threatening her — and her father if her father “ever got in the way.”

Mr. Sorvino, the star of 1982’s “That Championship Season,” did not accompany his daughter to court. His screen credits also include roles in “Goodfellas” and “The Cooler.” He is also the father of Mira Sorvino, an Oscar winner for her role in Woody Allen’s 1995 comedy “Mighty Aphrodite.”

Mr. Sorvino, a deputy sheriff in Pennsylvania, is entitled to carry a weapon from state to state, police Chief Ken Kaplan said.

Whitney steps out

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