Scoop: Fawcett's battle may be nearing end

— According to friends close to Farrah Fawcett, the 62-year-old actress might be nearing the end of her battle with cancer.

“She’s a fighter, but we get the sense she knows the end is coming,” says one friend of Fawcett’s. “But we’re all still praying for a miracle.”

The friend said the intention was to keep this hospitalization, which was first reported by Radaronline.com, quiet.

“She doesn’t want this becoming a circus, so we (her friends and family) wanted to keep her hospitalization quiet. We were as surprised as anyone when it turned up in the press,” says the friend.

Talk shows yawn at Levi
Gov. Sarah Palin has already blasted Levi Johnston’s April 6 appearance on the "Tyra Banks Show," where he discusses his and Bristol Palin’s safe sex practices (or lack thereof).

In a statement issued by the Palin family rep, the governor says it is “unfortunate that Levi finds it more appealing to exploit his previous relationship with Bristol than to contribute to the well-being of the child."

Johnston wasn’t even in great demand when he agreed to the appearance.

“Oprah was definitely not beating down his door when this was put together,” says a source familiar with Johnston’s arrangement with Banks’ show. “Other shows weren’t really interested either. He is the least interesting part of this story, after all. He just wants to find a way to profit from his side of the story.”

Terrence Howard speaks out on recasting
When news broke last November that Terrence Howard would not be coming back for “Iron Man 2” and Don Cheadle would be taking over the role of Rhodey, Howard took the news in stride.

A pretty calm reaction, considering the actor found out about the change along with the rest of America, by reading entertainment trade publications.

But what a difference a few months makes. Howard isn’t mincing words any longer, as The Playlist reports.

“Marvel ... made a choice. They made a very, very bad choice. They didn't keep their word. They didn't honor our contract,” Howard said. “They sent everyone out into a field and told them to work and produce a great bounty. You produce a great bounty, and then when it's all in the storehouse, you are not allowed into the storehouse."

‘Furious’ weekend box office
We can officially put the “March was a slow month at the box office” story to rest because the “Fast & Furious” more than offset sluggish sales.

The sequel to “Tokyo Drift” made $72.5 million domestically, more than $100 million worldwide, and exceeded the studio’s own estimates by about a third.

“Monsters vs. Aliens” took in another $33.5 million, which works out to a 43.5 percent drop in ticket sales over last weekend. Not good, friends, as next weekend it’s up against the new Hannah Montana movie. After all the chest thumping, the 3-D flick could end up being considered a disappointment.

And finally, my sentimental favorite and the only other new release of the weekend, “Adventureland,” came in 6th with a $6 million opening.