LOS ANGELES CONFIDENTIAL MAGAZINE

There is molten-hot buzz around Anna David's roman a clef, Party Girl, being published this June.

It's all about a hard-drinking, coke-sniffing, sex-hungry celeb reporter who's hired to write about her debauched adventures just as she attempts to clean up her act. The book is supposedly a mouthwatering read, especially for those out there (I assume we are legion?) who salivate over Page Six-style blind items. Well, partially sighted items. Don't we always know who they are?

Studios are sniffing around even before the book hits the selves, and guess which young actress people consider perfect to play the hung-over heroine? If you didn't guess Reese Witherspoon, you don't know the show biz benefits of casting against type. The perky Witherspoon is rumored in real life to have a harder edge than her characters usually allow—although Witherspoon's onscreen women are still very determined. It's a great idea but we'll see how much the soon-to-be-single Oscar-winner can do.