A Rock Star’s Bliss

“Hey, baby, it’s your long lost-lover calling.” Yeah, if only.

Steven Tyler was quite excited when he called the other day, but then the rock star had good reason. Aerosmith just got four Grammy nominations (including best rock song, best rock album, best duo or group rock performance) for its album “Just Push Play” as well as one music video nomination. The band is finishing a successful tour--they play at the Forum Sunday--and his daughter, Liv Tyler, stars in the hit “Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring.”

“Am I surprised that things turned out like this? I have to pinch myself every day,” said Tyler. “Life is really beautiful.” (Well, it certainly beats the time he spent in jail as a teenager, sitting next to a toothless guy named Zeek.)

Another reason for Tyler’s high spirits: Aerosmith had total control over an album’s production for the first time in its three-decade history. “We’ve always wanted to see if it was true that we were hard to work with,” he said. But things went without a hitch.

“It was like going to Disney World for vacation, and then, after 10 years of doing that, going to Maui,” said Tyler. “I’m never going to have it any other way. Those days are gone.” He said by producing its own album, the band was “defending our precious little souls.”

Tyler also keeps a journal which he plans to turn into a book. Some people in the music industry should be afraid. Very afraid.

“I’m going to tell the truth,” Tyler warned. Among other things, “I’m going to name the people who passed on Alanis Morissette.”

Speaking of the music business. His predictions for the Grammys?

“Where is the talent? Alicia Keys--bingo! It’s about authenticity.” And in the category of best rock album. “It’s going to be a hard one. I think ... [drumroll] ... Linkin Park.”

Even if Aerosmith doesn’t win, Tyler is still grateful. He got the life he dreamed of as a teenager. “I told my dad, ‘When I grow up I want to be a [rock star],’ and he said, ‘I don’t think you can do both.’”

Smart guy.

Teen Antics

“Orange County,” the new comedy by director Jake Kasdan and writer Mike White (alums of the TV show “Freaks and Geeks”), premiered at Paramount Studios in Hollywood on Monday night. The film tracks the antics of high school senior Shaun Brumder (Colin Hanks) and his older brother (Jack Black) during the 24 hours they have to land Shaun a spot at Stanford.

It was a low-key affair. Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson didn’t show, apparently to avoid overshadowing the film’s star, son Colin. Sissy Spacek followed her daughter, another of the film’s co-stars, Schuyler Fisk, down the red carpet, but Spacek stood outside the velvet rope to give her daughter the limelight. Even Black seemed to lack his usual ferocity. He admitted fretting over the red carpet routine during his limo ride. “It’s a little stressful--the red carpet,” he told us.

Black, as the burned-out older brother, said he recalled characters from his early life in Hermosa Beach when “I was surrounded by stoners.”

But Black said he was careful not to repeat Sean Penn’s famous performance of marijuana-obsessed Spicoli in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.” “If I ever caught myself in a ‘Spicoli moment,’ I would stop and try to draw from fresh material,” Black said.

Colin Hanks said Black tested his ability to keep a straight face during their scenes together. “It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” Hanks told us. To avoid laughing, Hanks pinched the inside of his leg and bit the insides of his mouth until the makeup folks had to be called.

Bountiful Baskets

While gift-giving season has passed for most of us, for those who inhabit the world of awards shows, it’s still in full swing.

Presenters and performers at tonight’s American Music Awards will get elaborate baskets of goodies valued at $5,000. A palm-size digital camcorder, light-up ice cubes, an electric scooter, a two-way pager and a custom-made hat by Madonna’s favorite hat designer Nick Smith are included in every basket.

But some celebrities got a few extras. Cher’s basket features a certificate for a custom-made bikini. Britney Spears gets a pack of Starbucks goodies. Jennifer Love Hewitt gets her favorite bath salts. Ludacris, Redman and Nelly were given custom-made jewelry. The members of Sugar Ray got leather jackets and a stay in the $2,500-per-night Elvis Suite at the Hard Rock Hotel in Orlando, Fla.

Quote/Unquote:

“Katie who?”--TV producer Tom Werner on Katie Couric (whom he dates), when asked if her recent deal on the “Today” show would add to the network’s economic troubles.