HOLLYWOOD—“Genius does what it must, and talent does what it can.”—Bulwer-Lytton

With Chrysler and General Motors constantly getting all the headlines for its downward spiral into bankruptcy, you would think that we are in a global economic crisis. Wrong. Except, when it comes to professional soccer players. It’s amazing how much money Manchester United is getting for Cristiano Rinaldo.

Some may think that $131 million that Real Madrid plopped down for the 24-year-old Portuguese winger is insane; however, one thing for sure is that he’s very talented. The Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid, just days earlier paid Italian club AC Milan $92 million for Brazilian star Kaka. Rumors have been swirling for quite some time now, whether he would stay with Manchester United or move on to Real Madrid.

We all know that when rumors start spreading, there is usually a shred of truth to them, even though celebrities, sports figures and their reps usually deny at first. While some struggle with stress, hard times and unemployment, a handful of people will be floating upwards on a cloud of frivolous joy. So how did Ronaldo celebrate his historic record-breaking move to Real Madrid? According to published reports, Cristiano celebrated with Paris Hilton in a nightclub in Los Angeles.

Hollywood is running on empty. It seems that they have run out of creative ideas, all you have to do is pick up a trade paper and you’ll see what I mean. Everything is being resurrected; just a few weeks ago, a remake of “The Taking of Pelham 123” was released starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta. Perhaps a film on Cristiano Ronaldo would be uplifting, easily marketable road to riches, feel good flick that would bring smiles to millions of faces.

Mercy for Madonna. The Supreme Court of Malawi ruled on June 12 that the Material Mom may take home 4-year-old Mercy James. The 18-month residency requirement was waived when Madonna adopted her first child from Malawi, David Banda, in 2006. Madonna, who has two other children Lourdes and Rocco, split from hubby Guy Ritchie last year. She founded a charity, Raising Malawi, to educate, feed and provide medical care for some of the one million orphans in the country.

No mercy for Stephanie Seymour. I should say it doesn’t look like she’s packing her bags for paradise city, since she’s reportedly still living at the couple’s estate in Greenwich, Conn. The nasty divorce between Peter Brant and the ex-girlfriend of Axl Rose has been the talk of Page Six since last month. According to reports, Stephanie was married to rock musician Tommy Andrews in 1989, and began having an affair with Warren Beatty and her marriage to Andrews ended in divorce. While dating Warren Beatty, she met Axl Rose and Beatty was history. The rocky love affair with Rose lasted for two years, after a bitter break-up and in 1994, Stephanie married millionaire business mogul Peter Brant (publisher of Interview magazine) and the couple has two sons together. Seymour also has a son from her previous marriage to Tommy Andrews.

Rose’s Scoop: James Frey has a new book titled “Bright Shiny Morning (P.S.)” that was released last month. You may remember that Oprah Winfrey flayed him into a million little pieces on national TV.

Happy Father’s Day!

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