“Navy NCIS” actor Michael Weatherly says it was a hoot working up in Canada with gorgeous Estella Warren over his hiatus, making the upcoming big-screen “Her Minor Thing.” “Estella is very funny. She doesn’t take herself seriously,” he says.
In the movie, “Estella’s character is an accidental virgin in her mid-twenties. She just never found the right circumstance to lose her virginity. We have a whole comedy of errors about that one little conceit. I play her boyfriend and I kind of freak out. Rachel Dratch and Victoria Jackson of ‘Saturday Night Live’ are in it, Flex Alexander, Christian Kane. Cane was like a young Steve McQueen kind of guy, and I was doing my best James Garner. We’re vying for the babe. I won’t tell you who wins.”

Weatherly, previously paired with his former “Dark Angel” leading lady, Jessica Alba, comes off as the kind of guy who brings the good time with him. In fact, he was chatting with us on the phone while shooting a “Navy NCIS” scene wherein he’s driving a car – with the car actually set atop a moving flatbed truck with a camera positioned on him as he just pretended to drive.

“I’m bringing you into the action with me,” he declared, then set the phone down next to him so that we heard a full take, then he got the director to say “Hi” to us.

Now, there’s some multitasking capability!

”Or you make it all into one task,” he replies.

Well, anyway – Weatherly’s personality works well on the “Navy NCIS” set. And the show, which is much more relaxed and humorous than its parent, “Jag,” is turning into a ratings winner. Weatherly sees it as more of a kindred spirit to another Don Bellisario show of decades past, “Magnum P.I.”

He credits star Mark Harmon for creating a great environment on the set, arriving early, staying late, always being accessible. Says Weatherly, “Papa Mark is not the kind of guy who comes in two hours late surrounded by assistants. That’s me.”

Stars from the realms of film, television and music will shine in a different arena as Rob Lowe, Brooke Burke and George Lopez are among the celebrities taking the field in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ annual Hollywood Stars Game set for Saturday, August 7 at Dodger Stadium.

Rules have changed for the 46th edition of the celebrity contest. For 2004, the stars will compete in a softball game, with an auxiliary outfield fence to offer greater opportunity for home runs. Moreover, fans are invited to sit on Dodger Stadium’s outfield grass and warning track to get a better glimpse of their favorite Hollywood luminaries.

The roster of stars scheduled to appear in the game includes Lowe, star of the upcoming NBC drama “The Lyon’s Den”; former E! Entertainment host Burke; Lopez, star of his ABC sitcom, “The George Lopez Show”; “Saturday Night Live” alums Norm Macdonald and Tim Meadows; as well as Jamie Kennedy (“The Jamie Kennedy Experiment”), Robert Wuhl (“Arli$$”), Amy Davidson (“8 Simple Rules”), Jon Cryer (“Two and a Half Men”), Jonathan Silverman (“The Single Guy”), Neal McDonough (“Boomtown” and NBC’s upcoming “Medical Investigation”), Valente Rodriguez (“The George Lopez Show”); Jeremy Sumpter (the upcoming CBS baseball drama, “Clubhouse”), Adrian Pasdar (“Judging Amy”), Carmine Giovinazzo (“CSI: New York”), Michael Weatherly (“Navy NCIS”), Bob Saget (“Dumb and Dumberer”), Vanessa Lengies and Will Estes of “American Dreams,” Red Hot Chili Peppers lead singer Anthony Kiedis, and Los Angeles Clippers head coach Mike Dunleavy.