People

By Rebecca Winters Keegan

MINDING HIS BUSINESS

"I really want us to be friends and conquer the business world together," MICHAEL JACKSON once told former porn producer F. Marc Schaffel's answering machine. But Schaffel is suing the pop star for $1.6 million in debts allegedly accrued while he managed Jackson's finances. The singer's lawyer says Schaffel is just another associate who took advantage of Jackson's "almost childlike" nature. As the trial unfolds, details of the star's unusual fiscal choices are emerging:

o Jackson allegedly paid Marlon Brando $1 million to attend one of his concerts and do a cameo in his video You Rock My World.

o A pal said Jackson borrowed--and repaid--$1 million to give Elizabeth Taylor jewelry so she would appear in a TV special about him.

o When funds are low, the singer said, he lets local ranchers graze their cattle at Neverland to raise money. At least song royalties aren't his only cash cow.

HILARY GIVES THE LOWE-DOWN ON HER BREAKUP

No, they aren't divorcing because she can bench-press more than he can. CHAD LOWE and HILARY SWANK'S eight-year marriage ended, in part, because of a substance-abuse problem that Lowe has since kicked, Swank tells Vanity Fair in its August issue. "It was such a shock because I never thought he'd keep something from me," the Million Dollar Baby star said. And yet "it was a confirmation of something I was feeling that was keeping us from being completely solid." Lowe, a TV actor who is directing a film called Beautiful Ohio, had no comment. But at least--unlike in her 2000 Oscar speech--Swank thought to mention him this time.

Q&A OWEN WILSON

Owen Wilson plays Dupree, a houseguest who doesn't know when to leave, in You, Me and Dupree.

Who do you relate to in this film--the guest or the hosts? I've been a Dupree, but I've also experienced a Dupree. My older brother Andrew blames Luke [Wilson] and me for the rapid disintegration of his first marriage. We were always at his house. Then I had this great girl I was living with, and he moved in, and the Ping-Pong table replaced the dining-room table, and the motorcycle got parked inside, and before you know it, she was gone.

But in the movie, Dupree ends up helping the marriage. Yeah, we didn't have that third act.

What makes a good buddy film? Bickering. Vince Vaughn and I did a lot of bickering in Wedding Crashers.

Will you and Vaughn team up again? I bet we do end up working together again. I think it would be less likely that it would be some sort of a direct sequel, though.

Your image is of a guy who, despite being successful, doesn't try all that hard. Is that who you are? Maybe next to Ben [Stiller], I don't. I've done a lot of movies with him, and that became the shtick--Ben's the workaholic, Owen likes to keep things fresh by not reading the script until he shows up on set. But when I work on something, it's not like I phone it in or don't take it seriously.

Are you doing any of your own writing these days? Woody Harrelson and I are gonna start writing something in August. We had an idea of maybe playing brothers, maybe writing it in Europe or Vancouver. The way Wes [Anderson] and I would write was a lot of hanging out, going out to eat. With Woody--ahhh, well, we'll have to work on making sure we stay focused on the task.

CHEERING UP GRUMPY OLD MEN EVERYWHERE

A wish countless men started making half a century ago has finally come true. SOPHIA LOREN, 71, posed for the 2007 Pirelli calender in a racy black number. The voluptuous septuagenarian actress who once declared, "Everything you see, I owe to spaghetti," is the oldest woman to model for the tire company's iconic calendar, which next year will also include younger stars Naomi Watts, 37, and Penelope Cruz, 32. Because, really, what's an Academy Award compared to hanging in garages worldwide in your skivvies?