Taking Names

Just rotten

John Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten, said he would pick Justin Timberlake to play him in a new film based on his autobiography.

Mr. Lydon says Mr. Timberlake agreed to play the former Sex Pistol — as long as the punk rocker stays away from the set.

According to Ananova.com, Mr. Lydon also said he felt sorry for the former ’NSync star for being “Britneyized.”

He added that he has given the green light for the Hollywood version of his book, “No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs.”

Money vice

Don Johnson’s financial troubles are making news — again.

The actor, who was ultimately cleared in a money-laundering investigation last year, has filed for bankruptcy protection for one of his companies, E! Online reports. The move was meant to save his Pitkin County, Colo., ranch from being auctioned.

Nanny dearest

Cranberries singer Dolores O’Riordan is defending herself from claims that she gave her former nanny Joan Crawford-like treatment.

The BBC reports that Joy Fahy is suing the singer and her husband, Don Burton, accusing the pair of false imprisonment and breach of contract.

Miss Fahy says she was once confined to a bedroom with Miss O’Riordan’s baby and no food or drink until 3 a.m. Miss O’Riordan will appear in a Dublin court today for cross-examination.

Road warrior

Since Billy Joel stopped writing rock songs, his frequency of car wrecks has increased dramatically.

The singer-pianist lost control of his car on a rain-slicked road on Long Island and crashed into a house — his third car accident in two years.

There was no evidence of alcohol or drug involvement and Mr. Joel was not suspected of any crime, Nassau County police officer Joan Eames told the Associated Press.

Witnesses said the accident occurred about 4 p.m. Sunday, when Mr. Joel, driving a burgundy and black car, crashed through a row of bushes and banged into a small beige home one block from the beach.

“He seemed embarrassed that he lost control of the car,” one witness said. “He said, ’I can’t believe I got in another accident.’ He was just going out to get a pizza.”

’Submarine’ booking

Now the little ones can live in the “Yellow Submarine,” too.

The Beatles’ psychedelic cartoon is being adapted for a children’s book, the group’s record label said yesterday.

Apple Corps. Ltd. said it had joined with Walker Books to create the book, which is expected to arrive in stores in September — 36 years after the original animated feature film was released.

The book was inspired by the success of the 1999 release of a digitally restored DVD version of the 1968 cult classic, according to the AP.

Mash-ups

David Bowie has invited fans to bootleg his music — and he’s offering prizes for the most creative theft, according to the AP.

The rocker’s Web site urges fans to mix classic Bowie songs with material from his latest album, “Reality,” to create a “mash-up” — a track that uses vocals from one song superimposed over the backing tracks of another.

Record companies hate the practice, but Mr. Bowie was quoted in the Times of London as saying that mash-ups were “a great appropriation idea waiting to happen.”

“Being a hybrid maker off and on over the years, I’m very comfortable with the idea and have been the subject of quite a few pretty good mash-ups myself,” he said.

After the end of the contest, on May 17 — the day after his scheduled performance at the Patriot Center — Mr. Bowie will choose the winning track, which will be released as an MP3 single. The winner will also get a new car.

Compiled by Scott Galupo from wire and Web reports.