Emmy-winning actor Jay Thomas says he has newfound compassion for Lindsay Lohan after working with her on the recently wrapped "Labor Pains." "It was pretty weird to see the paparazzi following her. They're like jackals," says Thomas. " … Like hyenas fighting over a piece of meat! A couple of the photographers got in fistfights with each other. Then a couple of security guards fought with them because they got too close trying to take a picture of her going to the bathroom or whatever."

He reports that Lohan — who plays a publishing firm employee who fakes a pregnancy to keep her job in the film — "was fine and handled it pretty well. She was very professional and worked really hard. But the paparazzi… that's a bad, weird group of people. It's an odd world, and there are thousands of them. They would take pictures of Lindsay walking to lunch, smoking a cigarette. They were trying to figure out when she was leaving, and if a lookalike left, or her car went in one direction, they would all jump on it. With Princess Di and all, you can see how you would be made crazy and try and run away from them and get in a car wreck. They surround the car."

Thomas — who also hosts "The Jay Thomas Show" on Sirius Satellite Radio and is a Celebrity Expert Lifeline on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" — plays a sleazy cohort of Lohan's character in "Labor Pains." He jokes that he tried to give her a break by distracting the paparazzi. "Cheryl Hines from 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' was in it, too, and no one was taking pictures of us," he says, "so I would sometimes drape myself on Cheryl to try and cause some controversy. I was licking Cheryl's leg once, and no one took a picture of it. I did everything I could."

BABY ON BOARD: "American Gladiators" has its two-hour finale tonight (8/4), with the first hour devoted to "determining the final two men and two women who'll be competing in the final hour," says host Laila Ali. And the second hour? "The gladiators are not going to be taking any prisoners!" she declares. "I think it turned out really well. I think people will be satisfied in the end. You never really know what's going to happen. Some competitors come in and you think they're going to be strong, and they're not up to your expectations — and luck has a little bit to do with it."

Ali is in her final six weeks of pregnancy. She and her husband, former NFL star Curtis Conway, know they're having a son and have already named him Curtis Muhammad. "I've been blessed to have a really easy pregnancy, but now that it's getting toward the end I'm feeling antsy," she admits, "knowing life is about to change."

HOLD ON, IT'S GOING TO BE BUMPY: As much as the entertainment industry has been experiencing the pain of sweeping change in recent years, just wait, says Gary Cole. The turmoil has just begun. "What we now think of as the television and movie industry? You're not even going to recognize it in 10 years in terms of what is made, how it's made, how people consume it — that's why there is such an upheaval," says Cole, referring to the stalemate in new contract negotiations between studios and the Screen Actors Guild.

"People are going to consume their entertainment on the Internet. There aren't going to be network programmers. Nobody's going to put a schedule together and decide when you're going to watch something. You're going to decide that," he continues. "Commercials aren't going to get seen either. They're going to have to find another way to get revenue and advertise. It's a revolution, and both sides in town are a little perplexed by it and are trying to look out for what's going to happen, but I don't know if anybody has the answers."

Cole certainly isn't allowing the state of the business to slow him down as he's currently shooting guest spots on "Entourage" and has the movie "Pineapple Express" hitting theaters Friday (8/8). "I've seen parts of it, and it's quite good. They have to maintain their standard, after all," he says of the continued Seth Rogen/Judd Apatow collaboration. "It was the same kind of feel as doing 'Talladega Nights.' Once we do what is scripted, then it opens up quite a bit. 'Cut' is not yelled, so you keep going until you're ad libbing all over yourself. It can be anxiety ridden, but with the right people and the right director it can enhance whatever they've got on paper."

THE VIDEOLAND VIEW: Fonzworth Bentley, who rose to fame as P. Diddy's gentlemanly assistant, has found a new home at MTV with the reality series "From G's to Gents." It took a while, but the former manservant says he feels like he is finally getting the chance to make a difference without the help of his former music mogul boss. "I've been offered at least three reality shows a week for the last three years," claims Bentley, "but if I'm going to do a reality show, then I've got to be able to change things, have people learn from it. I could have made a lot of money, but it's not what I wanted to stand for."

With reports by Stephanie DuBois and Emily Feimster.

To find out more about Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith and read their past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2008 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

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