BRUCE WILLIS: WITH A VENGEANCE Hard to believe it’s been 12 years since he last tore up the screen in DH3, officially known as Die Hard: With a Vengeance. (The original Die Hard—one of the best actioners ever--came out in 1988.) And now Det. John McClane is back, and almost better than ever. Yes, even packing on more extra pounds than you might expect and with his stubbly visage sporting deep lines—accentuated by dried blood for much of Live Free or Die Hard--Willis still has it goin’ on. The tense plotline of a former DoD consultant gone bad and taking down America’s technology infrastructure with a team of eager hackers in a scheme called a “fire sale” boasts some incredible action/explosion sequences, like McClane’s squad car taking out a chopper--along with a load of laughs from his one-liners, even with the PG-13 rating. Yippee-ki-yay! Willis kicks shoot ‘em up, explosive ass in Live Free or Die Hard.

PARIS, PIMPING SOME PLATES
Have you heard and seen enough already? Thought so. But will you tune into Larry King tonight anyway? The sooner this story recedes cannot be soon enough, because, well, it’s just not that interesting anymore. Poor Paris, her media gamesmanship nixing a reported $1 million payday from NBC to tell her tale of woe. 
And pity the poor LA start-up company who had a special gift ready to send to Ms. Hilton: a limited-edition license plate frame hand-set with 500 pink and white Swarovski crystals. Thinking that once she was out of the slammer and back behind the wheel of her $400,000+ Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, she’d have something so…her…to put on her DUI-mobile. The car’s reportedly in the repo man’s possession—something about a paucity of payments—but there are other, lesser vehicles in her fleet to flaunt around town. 
Expect to see a lot more of these frames on the streets soon.

License2Bling’s (www.license2bling.com) Swarovski crystal license plate frames go for about $120 
 
 

BETTER THAN RED BULL + VODKA
Like a starlet making the rounds, the new spirit VeeV is hitting LA hotspots including Parc, Les Deux, Winston’s, Geisha House and even the Beverly Hills Hotel. Ask for it with soda and a twist of lime, or just rocks, and you just may feel better than you did before. The primary ingredient is Acai, a nutrient-packed berry from the Brazilian rainforest billed as the world’s healthiest food. Grown atop Amazonian palm trees, locals attribute mystical powers of vitality to the fruit. Two former Goldman Sachs investment bankers, brothers Courtney and Carter Reum, drank the Kool-Aid and are behind the venture, and taking a page from Esquire and Soho House, next month plan to launch a “VeeV House” in BH.
 So drink up. $1 for each bottle sold at $34.99 goes to the Rainforest Action Network and Sambazon’s Sustainable Acai Project. 
 

HINDMARCH, SEEING GREEN

 I’m Not A Plastic Bag retails for $15—if you can get one

Kudos to designer Anya Hindmarch for doing her part to save the planet and creating a sensation with her limited edition cotton “I’m Not A Plastic Bag,” which blew up in the UK before heading to these shores.  Last Wednesday, 10,000 of the $15 bags sold out in three hours at four AH stores, Ron Herman, Fred Segal Flair in LA and Holt Renfrew in Canada, with hundreds of customers waiting in line at each location. The bags are not available through mail order or online, although someone is making a pretty profit selling them on eBay.  Says Hindmarch: “At first we were upset when the bags appeared on eBay but then we realized that this is to be expected when there is so little stock and so much demand--and this has led to creating more awareness which was the purpose of this project.”
Next chance to nab one comes on July 18 at select Whole Foods Markets in the NY metro area, including these:
95 Houston Street, New York, NY 10002
250 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001
The Shops at Columbus Circle, 10 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019
4 Union Square South, New York, NY 10003
More scoop: www.anyahindmarch.com

PARTY AT THE PINK  Mojitos, margaritas and tacos will be flying everywhere tomorrow nightas Harry Morton, son of the Hard Rock’s Peter Morton, opens Pink Taco in Century City, with a boisterous crowd expected to the christen the place. Pink Taco, 10250 Santa Monica Blvd., 310.789-1000, www.pinktaco.com

CAN’T PUT IT DOWN
Tina Brown’s The Diana Chronicles 

TIVO IT
The Concert for Diana, 8 pm Sunday, NBC
ENOUGH ALREADY
The iPhone

SCENE AND HEARD
As Brian Grazer made his entrance, he asked a hostess at Katsuya, “Where’s Jerry Bruckheimer? Take me to him!” 

© 2007 Atkin Communications.  Reproduction of material from the Atkin Report without permission is prohibited.  The Atkin Report™ is a trademark of Atkin Communications, Los Angeles, CA.