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THE OFFICE star STEVE CARELL has stepped out of his cubicle and taken on a less conventional post - as the owner of an American general store.
The 45-year-old comedic actor has purchased the Marshfield Hills shop near his part-time residence in the town on Massachusetts’ south shore - and he’s hired his sister-in-law, Tish Vivado, to manage the joint.
The outlet’s previous owner, Sherry Bechtold, told local newspaper The Patriot-Ledger of Quincy that she and her husband sold the 155-year-old building and business after Carell convinced the couple he wanted to take it over "for the right reasons" and would maintain its character.
Vivado took on her position on 1 January (09).

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Director-turned-movie mogul STEVEN SPIELBERG is spending $13 million (£8.7 million) of his own money, so his Dreamworks studio can keep the catalogue of movies it has in the works.
Dreamworks ended its partnership with Hollywood giant Paramount in 2008, and has set up business with an Indian conglomerate called Reliance.
The separation left Dreamworks owing Paramount around $30 million (£20 million) for the rights to a number of upcoming projects including The 39 Clues, The Trial of the Chicago 7, Dinner with Schmucks, Motorcade and Atlantis Rising.
And Daily Variety claims Spielberg has agreed to spend $13 million out of his personal fortune. Reliance will pay the remainder.

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Incarcerated rapper DMX realised his "true calling" while behind bars - he plans to become a pastor once he is released.
The hip-hop star - real name Earl Simmons - is currently in jail in Phoenix, Arizona awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to multiple charges of animal cruelty, drug possession and theft in December (08).
But the star believes it was divine intervention that landed him in prison so that he could finally realise his life purpose to spread God’s word.
In a candid interview with Fox, Simmons says, "It’s (prison has) gotten me closer to my true calling in life, closer to realising, to actualising my true calling in life, which is to be a pastor. I read my bible every day - they have me in 23-hour lock-in.
"I came here (to prison) to meet somebody. Don’t know who it was but I’ll know him when I see him and I came here to give him a message and that message is Jesus loves him." And one of the first things Simmons will do once he is free is step behind the pulpit.
He adds: "I’m going to give my first sermon in the Church (once I am free).
That’s going to be incredible for me and I hope it will be incredible for the congregation of that church. I hope I’ll be able to reach somebody or just touch somebody and bring them closer to the Lord." But the star is adamant he won’t give up his music career - but instead dedicate it to praising God: "I actually have completed a gospel album. On every one of my albums there has been a gospel song and a prayer, but with the (tough rapper) image, they never made those songs a single - except my sixth album."

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Teen pop sensations THE JONAS BROTHERS have reportedly increased security after an unidentified group of fans began running off with their underwear.
During the band’s recent tour, the trio reportedly began noticing pairs of boxer shorts disappearing from their dressing rooms and initially passed it off as a gag.
But when notes began to turn up in the guys’ garment bags proclaiming: "Your undies are safe with us… The Undie Snatchers!" the brothers are said to have hired more security staff to keep their possessions safe.
According to the National Enquirer, all guests including crew, press and friends, must now be escorted to the Jonas’ dressing rooms backstage.

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Rapper DMX has defended his decision to include violent lyrics in his songs urging music fans not to take harsh rap tracks literally.
The hip-hop star is currently in jail awaiting sentencing after entering a guilty plea to four charges of animal cruelty, drug possession and theft in three separate cases.
But DMX - real name Earl Simmons - is adamant that just because he raps about guns and murder, doesn’t mean he has a violent nature, because he has to talk about subjects his fans can relate to.
In an interview with Fox TV he says, "It’s just slick talk and it’s not something to be taken literally. If I was doing that I wouldn’t be rapping. I would be walking round with a bullet-proof vest, with a load of guns. It’s not something to be taken literally. It’s word play, poetry. You have to say something to gain credibility, to gain the attention of your listeners." And the rapper insists he always ends his LPs on a positive note, using his fame to spread a Christian message.
He adds, "What it boils down to is a gospel song and a prayer. Every album I ended with a gospel song and a prayer."

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SEAN ‘DIDDY’ COMBS was forced to confront his grief over the death of pal NOTORIOUS B.I.G after watching a new film about the slain rapper’s life.
The late hip-hop star - real name Christopher Wallace - was shot dead in Los Angeles in 1997 and has now been immortalised in new biopic, Notorious.
And Combs, a close friend of the late rap mogul, admits seeing the film has brought back some painful memories for him and forced him to confront his pain.
In a posting on videosharing website YouTube.com, he says, "Anybody that’s experienced a great loss of a friend, a family member… The thing that I realised, because I did it, and you may have realised it, you figure out ways to repress the feelings and not deal with it. You just don’t deal with it.
Until one day, out of nowhere, a song or a picture or something makes you deal with it. Watching the movie, there was no running, there was no hiding from it.
… I changed." Notorious is set for release in the U.S. next month (Feb08).

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Rockers METALLICA have paid tribute to their late bandmate CLIFFORD BURTON - 22 years after his tragic death.
Burton died aged 24 during the European leg of the band’s tour in 1986 in a horrific accident - when their bus driver lost control of the vehicle, crushing the musician under tons of metal.
And the Enter Sandman hitmakers, who will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April (09), are certain the bassist would be proud of the rockers for the decades of work leading up to the prestigious musical tribute because they never saw such an honour coming.
Drummer Lars Ulrich says, "I’m proud to say that after 27 years together we’re still doing this… We formed this band for different reasons. I called James (Hetfield) because I wanted to play the songs of my favourite British bands. I never considered this. That’s all an added bonus." Frontman James Hetfield adds, "Clifford I would like to think would have loved this. The fact that we’re being inducted - we’re in a good space… He was a part of that. This is a big reunion for us."

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Former SPICE GIRLS star EMMA BUNTON is determined to carve out a career in Hollywood - and is having acting lessons to perfect her craft.
The singer, who has dabbled in TV presenting since the British girlband split up, has decided she will quit music for good and concentrate on becoming a full-time thespian.
She says, "I really, really want to do more acting. It obviously takes more time because of having coaching and having acting lessons, but that’s the next thing I want to do. It feels really comfortable and yet it’s a real challenge as it’s something different."

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PARIS HILTON has once again been targeted by hackers - her official website has reportedly been infected with a vicious computer virus.
The socialite’s webpage, ParisHilton.com, is said to have been hit by a malicious program which attaches itself to the computers of anyone visiting the site.
Any fans using the page are at risk of falling victim to the virus, which can steal their online bank details, according to America’s OK! magazine.
Hilton was previously the victim of online crime in 2006, when hackers unlocked her cellphone and posted her contact list on the internet.

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The cameras have turned on JUNO screenwriter DIABLO CODY - TV bosses have tapped her for a guest-starring role the BEVERLY HILLS, 90210 spin-off show.
The 30-year-old Oscar-winning writer admits she’s "completely obsessed" with 90210, and is especially eager to get on set - because she’ll be working with stars of the original series, Tori Spelling and Jason Priestley, who will direct the episode.
Cody tells the New York Post, "They (network executives) actually called and said, ‘Would you like to be on ‘90210′ and I said, ‘I don’t care if you want me to wear a bear suit.’ "I love Jason Priestley. I love Tori Spelling. I am so psyched.
"I have been talking about it so much that I am convinced they are going to call me at any moment and say, ‘You’re out!’" The spin-off also featured the 1990s series’ original castmates Shannen Doherty and Jennie Garth.
Cody is scheduled to begin filming later this month (Jan09).

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Documentary filmmaker MICHAEL MOORE is under threat of legal action in a row over a controversial photograph.
Moore used a picture of an American soldier carrying the bloodied body of an Iraqi girl wounded by a car bomb on his website MichaelMoore.com during a rant slamming U.S. President George W. Bush.
The image, titled Little Girl and taken by Michael Yon, was selected by TIME magazine as the top photo of 2005.
And now Yon has threatened to sue the Fahrenheit 9/11 director for copyright infringement, alleging he did not have permission to use the shot.
He also accuses Moore of misrepresenting the image, and claims the filmmaker has failed to respond to Yon’s repeated attempts to contact him.
Yon tells the New York Post, "The implication on Moore’s website was that our soldiers were somehow responsible for that kid being wounded. That is absolutely not true. She was the victim of an insurgent’s car bomb. I’ve never sued anyone in my life. It looks like Mr. Moore might be the first." Moore had not responded to requests for comment as WENN went to press.

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Plans are underway for a new Hollywood movie about the life of late screen legend STEVE McQUEEN.
Producers Michael Cerenzie and Christine Peters have purchased the rights to 2008 biography Steve McQueen: Portrait Of An American Rebel by Marshall Terrill and plan to transform the book into a major motion picture, according to Variety.com.
The film will focus on McQueen’s glittering movie career, beginning with his uncredited role in 1956’s Somebody Up There Likes Me.
McQueen went on to become the highest paid movie star in the world with films including The Magnificent Seven in 1960, 1963’s The Great Escape, and The Thomas Crown Affair in 1968.
He died in 1980 aged 50 following cancer surgery.

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Pulitzer-Prize winning poet WILLIAM DeWITT ‘W.D.’ SNODGRASS has lost his battle with lung cancer, aged 83.
Snodgrass, who won the 1960 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his debut book Heart’s Needle, died on Tuesday (13Jan09) at his home in Erieville, New York.
The American writer published the collection at age 33, and went on to release more than 30 books of poetry, criticisms and translations, notably his 1967 tome, After Experience.
In 2006 he published a second volume of new and selected poems, Not for Specialists.
But it was his 1977 work, The Fuehrer Bunker that garnered the most attention. The piece, a series of monologues in the voices of Nazi figures following their last days in a Berlin bomb shelter, was adapted for the stage at Manhattan’s American Place Theater in 1981.
Snodgrass also enjoyed a teaching career spanning over 40 years at American universities including Cornell, Rochester, Wayne State, Old Dominion, Syracuse and Delaware, from which he retired in 1994.
He is survived by his wife, Kathleen, daughter Cynthia, son Russell, his sister, Shirley Schiemer and brother, Richard.

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The makers of a fragrance released to promote hit vampire movie TWILIGHT are facing legal action from a rival cosmetics company for allegedly copying the design of their bottle.
Executives at fashion house Nina Ricci are suing the makers of Twilight perfume Forbidden Fruit, which features the movie’s stars Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart on the box.
The bottle itself is in the shape of a red apple and comes decorated with silver leaves and lid - a design said to be almost identical in style to the packaging of Nina Ricci scent Nina.
No further information was available as WENN went to press.

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A controversial advert for WILL FERRELL’s new Broadway show has been pulled from U.S. TV - after millions of outraged Americans complained the promo was too outrageous for its daytime slot.
The foul-mouthed funnyman will appear in You’re Welcome America: A Final Night With George W. Bush, which opens in New York next month (Feb09).
Promoting the show, Ferrell appears onscreen in the advertisement and says, "If you don’t watch this, you’re a giant D-bag. D stands for ‘douche.’" But after airing the stunt during two popular morning programmes, network executives at ABC and CBS caved in to pressure from viewers and pulled the ad, reports the New York Post.
Both networks will reportedly run a set of more tame commercials shot to promote Ferrell’s one-man-show.

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ANNE HATHAWAY’s incarcerated ex-boyfriend RAFFAELLO FOLLIERI is facing another legal battle - after his ex-employees accused him of failing to pay $1 million (£689,655) in wages.
Five former staff members confronted their ex-boss, Follieri via video conference on Wednesday (14Jan09), claiming he cheated them out of the sum before he was arrested in June (08).
The Italian businessman pleaded guilty to 14 counts of wire fraud, conspiracy and money laundering earlier this year (Oct08) and has admitted to owing more than $3.6 million (£2.5 million) in his scheme - allegedly posing as a representative of the Vatican to con investors during a property deal.
The workers’ lawyer Adrienne Baranoff told the Manhattan Federal Court: "My clients worked every single day, and that’s worth X amount of dollars." Follieri’s lawyer Flora Edwards hit back at the allegations, insisting his ex-employees were victims of his failed business rather than intentional fraud - insisting there was "no precedent" to demand pay, reports the New York Post.
Follieri is currently serving a four-and-a-half year prison sentence in Loretto, Pennsylvania.

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Actor JEREMY PIVEN has urged American TV viewers to eat fish with caution - and have their mercury levels checked before they become crippled by its effects.
Piven was ordered by doctors to pull out of Broadway play of Speed-The-Plow last month (Dec08) because his mercury levels were "shockingly high".
Speculation began to surge when the Entourage star blamed his rare illness on eating too much sushi, with the play’s sharp-tongued author, David Mamet, remarking, "My understanding is that he is leaving showbusiness to pursue a career as a thermometer." But Piven has continued his defence, appearing on U.S. news programme Good Morning America on Thursday (15Jan09) where he urged viewers to reel in their love of fish.
He says, "The last thing I ever thought about doing was not completing this run. I’ve never not completed anything in my life. I’m very proud to say that I’ve been a work horse my entire life… they pulled me out of this thing and that’s the truth.
"I come from a theatre family - you talk about the show must go on - this is in my DNA. This was my finest moment - that I had Been working for my whole life." Pleading with viewers, he signs off: "Get your heavy metals tested, please, I beg you. Guys, go to bluevoice.org. You’ll learn more information about all of this. It’s much bigger than me. We’re polluting our food source and it’s not a great thing that’s going on. Thank you."

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Actor KEVIN BACON was badly hit by the $50 billion (£35 billion) Wall Street fraud - he lost almost everything he owns in the scandal.
The Footloose star and his actress wife Kyra Sedgwick were named as the latest celebrity victims of the Bernard Madoff securities scam last month (Dec08).
Former NASDAQ chairman Madoff was arrested on 8 December (08) on charges of securities fraud after allegedly ciphering billions of dollars from his clients in a scam which collapsed when people began asking for their money back, due to the global financial crisis.
And although the star’s spokesperson refused to release details of how much Bacon and Sedgwick lost in the fraud, the actor has now confessed it cost him everything except his home and the money in the couple’s bank account.
But he insists he will not let it wreck his life - and is already on the lookout for his next blockbuster movie role.
Bacon says, "We’ll march on. We have to. There’s nothing you can do about it.
You can’t change what happened. Things could be worse. You remember that, and you go on with your life. I didn’t see it coming. I don’t have anything lined up right now, but I need to work, for obvious reasons."

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