Patridge to wear a bikini, (really) act

GOSSIP. Audrina Patridge, 22, is set to star in “Into the Blue 2,” the sequel to the 2005 flick in which Jessica Alba made movie magic by walking around in a small bikini while wet.

“It’s giving me the chance to show people [what I can do]. This is why I moved to L.A.,” Patridge told Ryan Seacrest about her big-screen opportunity.

We’re perfectly OK with giving Patridge the benefit of the doubt here. Maybe her limited role on “The Hills” hasn’t given her the chance to shine and show the world that she’s actually an Elizabeth Taylor in a tart’s clothing. Only time will tell. In the meantime, it will just give us plenty of ammunition in the coming months.

Gossip from long ago
We could use this space to tell you things going on with current couples (Kate Hudson and Owen Wilson are totally not engaged! Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are in Monaco! Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt are still the spawns of Satan!) but let The Word take it back a bit to share some old school gossip, shall we?

We’re talking about Carly Simon and James Taylor, who were married from 1972 to ’83, and were the Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey of their time (except with more talent and illegal substances). During their marriage, Taylor “had a really tough time with drugs and I had a tough time with his drugs,” Simon tells The Associated Press. Adding to the drama, Taylor made no mention of his ex-wife in his autobiographical “One Man Band” show released as a CD-DVD last year. This tells Simon that she’s “so erased” from Taylor’s life. “I don’t think James has forgotten in any way. If he had forgotten, he wouldn’t be behaving in the way he is,” says Simon, who has no contact with Taylor. 

Although it’s somewhat interesting to keep up with their troubles, it also makes us sad to know that we’ll probably be reading about Britney Spears and Kevin Federline until we’re our moms’ ages.