Morale Endeavor

U.S. troops stationed abroad may get a special visit from the all-star cast of “Ocean’s 11,” director Steven Soderbergh’s remake of the 1960 Las Vegas heist film.

Warner Bros. won’t publicly comment on the tour, but a source tells us the USO may send the cast, which includes George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts, to several sites in a special Hollywood push to boost morale among American troops. It’s unclear which celebrities might make the trip.

The film’s producer, Jerry Weintraub--a well-known Bush administration supporter--said the tour is still just an idea. “There truly is nothing set,” he told us. “If and when this happens, we’re not really going to tell anybody because of security concerns. Am I thinking about doing this? Yes. Is it done? No. Am I talking to the Pentagon? Yes. That’s all I can tell you.”

The film doesn’t premiere until December, but the project has been one of the most talked-about in Hollywood this year.

Clooney plays Danny Ocean--the character originated by Frank Sinatra--who leads a group of Gulf War vets in robbing three Las Vegas casinos. Roberts plays Ocean’s ex-wife, who complicates the heist because of her relationship with a casino owner, played by Andy Garcia. The film also stars Matt Damon as an expert pickpocket, Don Cheadle as the weapons man and Elliott Gould as the heist financier. Boxer Lennox Lewis also makes an appearance in the film as, ahem, a boxer.

Walk of Fame Redux

It’s official. The Oscars will light up Hollywood Boulevard on March 24, 2002, at the new Kodak Theatre, the gem venue of the $615-million Hollywood & Highland project, which literally has stopped traffic in the area for the past year.

Oscar tickets will be tougher to land than in years past. The Kodak has 3,300 seats, about half the number at the Shrine Auditorium, the Oscars’ previous home.

While a grand-opening gala honoring Jeffrey Katzenberg is scheduled Nov. 8, the rest of the project, which features 70 retailers, a six-screen expansion of the historic Chinese Theatre, the 640-room Renaissance Hollywood Hotel and a 40,000 square-foot Grand Ballroom, will open in phases during the next three months.

Meanwhile, RSVPs are due today for the Emmys award show, which, this time around, is set to take place at the Shubert Theatre. Even though a third fewer tickets to the event are available this year, organizers say Hollywood folks have willingly given up their seats to make room for presenters, award nominees and network execs (though a few stubborn souls are no doubt resisting the notion of skipping the show so a nominee can attend).

Though the number of journalists allowed to cover the event has been reduced by half, the celebrity count is expected to be significantly higher than when the event was set for Oct. 7, Academy of Television Arts and Sciences chairman Bryce Zabel said.

Actors who originally planned to stay in New York will make the trip West, he said. “From the Academy’s point of view, we’re just happy to be putting it on,” Zabel said. “We’ve all got awards fatigue at this point.”

Courtroom Cruise

A judge has ordered Tom Cruise to pay $27,900 in attorney fees to filmmaker Kristina Ann Kirstin, the ex-wife of actor Chad Slater.

Cruise filed a $100-million defamation lawsuit against Slater in May over Slater’s claims to a French magazine that the two had had an affair, which, Slater said, broke up the actor’s 10-year marriage to Nicole Kidman.

Kirstin came into the picture when she sold a story to the National Enquirer, detailing her ex-husband’s claims. Cruise sued her for defamation as well, alleging she knew the story was false.

Kirstin’s attorney argued it was a First Amendment issue and that she only talked to the tabloid after Cruise had already brought public attention to himself by suing her former husband.

Last week, L.A. Superior Court Judge Aurelio Munoz ruled in favor of Kirstin.

“Unfortunately for Mr. Cruise, this was a ‘Mission: Impossible,”’ said Kirstin’s attorney, Chuck Kester. “This was a dumb case heard by a smart judge ....We hope this matter is at an end, and we hope Mr. Cruise puts his efforts into litigating against someone else.”

Hope springs eternal ....

Ricardo Cestero, an attorney for Cruise, said he is moving toward an appeal.