The Hollywood Exclusive

BY MARILYN BECK and STACY JENEL SMITH

Tila Tequila says it’s no more Ms. Nice Girl for her on her “A Shot At Love 2” show that premieres Tuesday (4/22) – and if

you know the controversial star of internet, MTV and men’s magazines, you know that’s a scary thought. “I’m a lot more aware of who the people are who are really there for me this time around and those who are just being there for the sake of being on TV. I’m being more tough on them and letting them know, this time, not to waste my time and @#$! with me.” The 26-year-old, born Thien Thanh Thi Nguyen in Sinagpore, also says she’s much more passionate on this season of the hotly derided, bisexual reality show – in which 15 straight men and 15 lesbians compete for her affections. “My emotions are high. I was hurt last time.”

Meanwhile, having landed at the No. 1 slot on iTunes both with her music and video, she’s rebuffed traditional power centers of show business. She releases her own music independently -- and points out that one of her latest singles, “‘Paralyzed,’ just got picked up by radio, without any help or record company involvement. I have the freedom to record whatever I want and I can release a song whenever I want to.” She’s also “been offered roles in a few movies, but I’m not really into that stuff. I’m a girl looking for love.”

MORE SEX: “Heroes” regular Greg Grunberg says he’s most proud of making lemonade out of the lemons presented by the writers strike. “I got some time off and I wanted to have some fun so I wrote and produced and starred in a movie called ‘Group Sex,’” says Grunberg. “I wrote the script with a friend of mine, Lawrence Trilling, and he directed it.” He says in a short time he managed to pull together “a great cast…James Denton, Catherine Narducci, Henry Winkler, Tom Arnold, Kym Whitley, Gregg Germann and Josh Cook.”

He describes the film as “a romantic comedy set in the world of a sexaholic recovery group and the group is hilarious. I play a pretty sleazy, scummy guy who wants to take advantage of my friend who’s pretending to be a sexaholic to stay close to this girl. It’s a fun role.” Grunberg says there’s no release date yet for “Group Sex,” but “we’ve got a bunch of distributors interested right now, so we’re going to test the waters. I’m happy to say (“Heroes’” music composers) Wendy and Lisa are going to be doing the score and soundtrack. “

MORE REALITY: “Oprah’s Big Give” judge Malaak Compton-Rock believes everyday people have vindicated the show that was met by an onslaught of critical barbs when it debuted. Critics of “Oprah’s Big Give” – which has its season finale this Sunday, April 20 – have claimed it has an “unsavory aura of exploitation,” that it would make viewers “cynical about charity,” and that philanthropy was inconsistent with the whole competition reality genre. But as far as the philanthropist wife of comic Chris Rock is concerned, “This show has inspired people to give in such good ways and I’m not just talking about our contestants. I am stopped on a daily basis by people all over the country who want to tell me how the show has changed their lives and that they realize now how much they can do in their own community. There are really simple things that make a difference in people’s lives. The one thing I’d like to get out there is whether ‘Big Give’ is on the air or not people can still keep on giving locally, globally or on an international level. There will always be information on giving back on Oprah’s website, www.oprah.com , and mine, www.angelrockproject.com.

Compton-Rock -- whose humanitarian endeavors include a nonprofit organization call StyleWorks for women on welfare, and Hope Worldwide to aid the poor in South Africa – says “I told Oprah I believe she’s started a movement. There’s a little nine-year-old girl I know who’s a big fan of my husband’s. She told me after ‘Big Give’ aired, ‘I really love your husband, but now you’re my hero.’ She’s watching the show and she gets it. To me that was so special. I couldn’t be more pleased.”

MORE GOODNESS: Broadway star Sara Gettelfinger (“Nine,” “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels”) reports her new group, the Three Graces, is on such a roll “we’re pinching ourselves” in disbelief. What she and her fellow Graces -- opera star Joy Kabanuck and pop singer Kelly Levesque -- are most excited about right now is that they’ll be singing in command performance tomorrow (4/19) for Pope Benedict at St. Joseph’s Seminary Chapel in Westchester, NY. “In addition to getting to meet him, we’ll be performing at a youth rally in honor of his visit to the city,” says Gettelfinger. The trio, who recently toured with Paul Potts of “Britain’s Got Talent” and YouTube fame, has a self-titled album newly on the market. They wrote two original songs for the uplifting “Three Graces” CD masterminded by such megaproducers as Walter Afanasieff (Mariah Carey, Celine Dion) and Guy Roche (Christina Aguilera). Says Gettelfinger, “We didn’t plan to go in a specific inspirational direction, but that’s the blessing when you have three artists so different in creative background. Even though we have a bit of range where we are in regard to faith, we are all very spiritual, positive people. It was our greatest hope that our music would brighten someone’s day or just contribute something positive to the world.”

Photos by Bryan Bedder and Scott Wintrow, from Getty Images

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