'Lies': Most of D.C. Was Left on the Cutting Room Floor

Russell Crowe in the new thriller, which was supposedly filmed here last fall. (Francois Duhamel - )

· Colombian superstar Shakira is backing Obam a-- "the person that can bring the world the true American message," said the "Hips Don't Lie" singer/UNICEF ambassador.

· Sixties sex kitten-turned-animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot has issued an open letter slamming Sarah Palin for not supporting protections for polar bears. She's also offended by the "pit bull" joke.

· The Foo Fig hters have asked McCain to stop using their song "My Hero" at campaign rallies, saying it "perverts the original sentiment of the lyric." Sounds like they're not endorsing him.

SURREAL ESTATE

Buyer: Franklin Raines

Price:$4.9 million

Details: Meltdown? What meltdown? The former Fannie Mae chairman -- who separated from wife Wendy this spring -- has settled into a luxury bachelor pad (three-bedroom, seven-bath condo with private terrace and hot tub) at the downtown Ritz-Carlton Residences, the Washingtonian first reported. His soon-to-be-ex bought a four-bedroom, four-bath Colonial in Cleveland Park for $4.2 million. They put their seven-bedroom Forest Hills home (movie theater, pool, tennis court) on the market in March; it's now under contract after a price drop from $8.2 million to $7.6 million.

THIS JUST IN . . .

· Jeff Buben got a frantic call at Bistro Bis at 11 p.m. Tuesday telling him that a customer had cracked the massive glass wall at his other restaurant, Vidalia. The chef-owner rushed over with a huge roll of tape to find . . . his surprise 50th-birthday bash. Many of Washington's top chefs ( Roberto Donna, Eric Ziebold, José Andrés, Jeff Tunks, Robert Wiedmaier, Ris Lacoste, Todd Gray) gathered for the potluck party, which lasted until dawn.

THE SOURCE QUOTE

"My hope is that the world will see that I'm not the scumbag pervert that I've been painted to be."

by Ed Betz -- Associated Press

-- Peter Cook telling Barbara Walters why he's blabbing -- in violation of a confidentiality agreement -- about his divorce from Christie Brinkley ("I wanted a little acknowledgment . . . a little thank-you every now and then for my efforts"), his affair with a teenage employee and that $3,000-a-month Internet porn addiction.