Orlando Bloom is starring in the West End production of “In Celebration,” a 1969 play by David Storey. It is now playing at the Duke of York’s Theatre in London. Bloom stars as one of three brothers who travel to their parents’ home to celebrate their wedding anniversary, at which point a lot of old family issues come up and bad feelings ensue.

It is Bloom’s stage debut, and he said he was really looking forward to it. “I have been kind of desperate to do a play for the longest time and this opportunity came up when I met this director, Anna Mackmin, who I’m now working with on a play called In Celebration - a play by David Storey. I was just hungering for an opportunity to be part of an ensemble cast in a great play. It’s a phenomenal play.” [From The Gossip Girls]

In a recent interview with London’s The Evening Standard, Bloom says that he’s nervous about his performance, and that he hopes this will help him break out of the heartthrob role that Hollywood has created for him:

“Theatre acting is just a different muscle, and I’m sort of shocking it into life. Right now, I’m finding the rehearsal space where we’re working a very intimidating place, much more so than any $300million movie set…”

“Somehow I think the perception is I’m some sort of, I dunno, pin-up movie star, whatever.” He laughs, embarrassed. “For the most part, though, I’ve just been very supported by fans. And anyway, Londoners are a bit cool-for-school, you know what I mean?”

While that new mustache is most likely for the role, it could be real. He was seen with the ’stache in a recent televised interview promoting the play.

It also might be a ploy by Bloom to deliberately step away from his “pin-up” image. My brother grew a mountain man beard back when he was in his 20s and was tutoring students. He’s an attractive guy and was scared because some high school girls were hitting on him, so he grew the ugly facial hair as a defense. It worked for him, and maybe Bloom has a similar strategy.

Thanks to WENN for these pics.

Diddy’s girlfriend of ten years and the mother of three of his children, Kim Porter, has moved out of their apartment and has purchased a home in Beverly Hills. She is said to have left the mogul with the overblown ego, and it seems more than overdue. Diddy was photographed after spending the night with Sienna Miller this January, and was seen out late with her late several times, which was just a few weeks after Porter gave birth to his twin daughters.

Sources inside Combs’ camp told Page Six that Porter moved out of his apartment here and she isn’t going back.

“Kim is in Louisiana filming a movie right now, and when it’s done she’s moving to L.A.,” the insider said.

Porter has already bought a posh pad in Beverly Hills for her and her four children - three of whom, Christian, 10, and twins D’Lila and Jessie, 7 months, are Diddy’s.

“She is focusing on her career as a model and actress and raising her children,” our source said. “They are the best of friends, but they just can’t be together right now.”

[From Page Six]

Diddy is said to be paying off an Atlanta woman who had his secret love child last summer, and he also was rumored to be having an affair with Aubrey from Danity Kane. He is though to have recently rekindled his close friendship with fashion-challenged Sienna Miller, and the two were seen hanging out together last weekend at an after party for the Princess Diana memorial concert.

Porter has a burgeoning film career and now that she’s tasted freedom she probably realizes she doesn’t need to keep hanging around cheating Diddy. It’s not like she’s going to be hurting for money. Diddy already pays her $32,000 a month in child support for his 8 year-old son with her, Christian, and add some cash for their infant twins and she’ll be doing fine.

Hilary and Haylie Duff and friends frolicked on the beach on the Fourth of July holiday in Malibu yesterday in front of the paparazzi, at one point burying one of the photographers in the sand. The guy covered his head with his hat as the famous sisters packed the sand over his body.

It’s really kind of refreshing not to have to talk about LohitneyParis this week, and what’s left are stories that include these benign pictures of the super-nice Duff sisters.

In a new interview with Stella Magazine, Duff says that she’s never met Nicole Richie, who is now dating her ex boyfriend, Joel Madden, and is thought to be pregnant. She’s rather vague about it, saying “How would it be for anyone? That’s all I can say. No one would be happy about it.”

She says she’s fed up with constantly working. A lot of news outlets are spinning this quote to say she wants to quit showbiz, but that’s not really what she seems to mean:

“I do get stressed out and I do get sad sometimes about the constant work… When I travel a lot usually I’m just so tired that I want to go to my hotel room and sleep. After doing that for a couple of months you’re, like, ‘Why do I do this? Where’s the reward?’”

She also says she sort-of made up with Lindsay Lohan:

“We’re not like BFFs, you know?” she says.

“But we were out at [the Hollywood club] Teddy’s one night and she just came up and was like, ‘I think we should just talk because I’m a nice girl and I know you’re a nice girl.’ It’s nice to be friendly acquaintances.”

Duff says she’s not about to be known as a drunken panty flasher, and that she’s careful about her public image:

“Stumbling out of clubs completely wasted, I won’t do. Because I care a lot about my career and if I make such a mockery out of myself people aren’t going to care about my projects. They’ll get enough of me when they get on the internet, you know?”

She also said that she wants to have a movie career, but directors typecast her and don’t give her a chance. It seems like she’s conveniently forgotten all about Material Girls. She does have three film projects in the works according to IMDB. In the upcoming movie War, Inc., she’s cast as a bitchy popstar.

Thanks to Splash News for these pics.

Almost ten years after they earned an Oscar for Good Will Hunting, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are said to be writing another screenplay together! They’ve spent a two vacation in Hawaii with their families, and it wasn’t just for fun. The two were holed up working:

The wonder boys are working together on a new screenplay, an insider tells Us Weekly.

“They’re really excited about it,” says the source.

The childhood pals wrote GWH during the early ’90s.

And what a difference a decade makes!

Then, the struggling actors shared an apartment in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Now the screen idols have spent two weeks getting their creative juices flowing in a $13,000-a-week house in Kauai, Hawaii.

“Ben and Matt keep taking breaks to go surfing and hang out with their families,” adds the source. “But for the most part, they’ve been writing together on this trip.”

[From US Weekly]

The NY Daily News reports that Damon’s rep says they’re planning to write together again, but is not sure if they’re doing it now.

That’s great news and it’s good to see that these two are still friends. It’s even cuter to see their two families together.

I’m sure that whatever they create will be thoughtful and well done, and I can’t wait to see what they come up with.

Header image is of Ben and Matt in September, 2006 at the world premiere of Feast in Las Vegas. Feast was put out by the winner of their third series of “Project Greenlight.” Thanks to Splash News.

Jessica Simpson and Dane Cook were rumored to be dating back when they were filming that terribly boring movie Employee of the Month, although Cook denied it. They were seen out together at a Prince concert on Saturday looking very much like a couple, and whispering in each others ears:

The couple reportedly dated while shooting the movie “Employee Of The Month” together — and guests at Prince’s latest show were left in no doubt the pair are still close.

According to witnesses, Simpson and Cook sat next to each other on a sofa, often talking into each other’s ear over the music.

A source tells Life & Style magazine, “They were laughing, joking and hanging out. They practically spent all night together, dancing and touching each other.”

[From SFGate.com]

Simpson, newly single after splitting from singer John Mayer, recently lost at least twenty pounds that the tabloids were gleefully pointing out. She shed the weight through a combination of dieting and rigorous exercise.

She may be in good spirits thanks to her newfound figure, but she’s not doing so well with her career. Her new film, Blonde Ambition, a remake of Working Girl that co-stars Luke Wilson, is feared to be a flop before it’s even out. Her manager dad pushed back the release date until the end of August because the original release would have faced competition from The Bourne Ultimatum and Rush Hour 3. The film is still not finished and it’s uncertain if it will actually come out at the end of August.