Ving Rhames, Danny Masterson, Bijou Phillips: "The Bridge to Nowhere"

Ving Rhames, Danny Masterson and Bijou Phillips had no problem going the guerrilla filmmaking route for the big-screen drama "The Bridge to Nowhere," reports Blair Underwood, who makes his feature directorial debut with the recently wrapped film. "Each one of those actors brought their A game, and it wasn't for the pay day," says Underwood of the low budget movie. "They all responded to the script and story and just wanted to work with people they like and respect." He adds, "We only had 18 days to shoot a pretty large film with no sets, so that was the challenge. We'd hit it and quit it and keep on steppin'! It has its pros and cons, but sometimes what happens spontaneously is even better."

In the flick, Rhames "plays a sort of Godfather to these four Caucasian friends from the north side of Pittsburgh," he says. "Their lives are at a dead end so they create a high end escort service … become pimps, for lack of a better word. I'm fascinated by the effects of human behavior on the psyche … how it affects the soul. There are consequences to every action, and we track these characters to see how each one is dramatically affected by this decision."

Underwood, who's been playing Julia Louis-Dreyfus' love interest on "The New Adventures of Old Christine," is juggling post-production of "Bridge to Nowhere" with shooting of HBO's upcoming new series "In Treatment." "This is very exciting," he says of the groundbreaking show that chronicles hourly sessions with a psychologist (Gabriel Byrne) and his patients. "It's a nine-week limited nightly serial, something we don't have on American TV. You watch four characters in therapy each week … the Monday night character in his Monday appointment. I play a fighter pilot who bombed an Islamic school of kids. My character is on each Tuesday night. … Another character is on Wednesday and Thursday, then each Friday night Gabriel Byrne's character goes to his own therapist, played by Dianne Weist."

WHEN A LOSS IS A WIN: For those who pigged out so badly yesterday they're guilty and disgusted enough to reform -- or those who simply want to get into better shape -- fitness trainers Steve Pfiester and Lorrie Henry have a way in mind. The two just finished filming ABC's August 7-debuting "Fat March" reality show last week, leading 12 obese contestants on a 570-mile walk from Boston to Washington, D.C., with $1.2 million at stake, as well as assorted other prizes. They're hoping to inspire viewers at home to start their own walking programs in conjunction with the show.

Steve admits, "It's unrealistic to think people across America could commit to the kind of time these people put in, walking eight hours a day for 18 miles, but the show is packed with a lot of good ideas for the general public."

"It couldn't be hitting at a better time, with fitness and obesity so much in the news," adds Lorrie. "We're hoping to be part of helping people to change their lives."

As far as the contestants, well, of course they can't give results, but at least some of them had to have been successful.

"We knew we were dealing with people who had been taking in copious amounts of calories, and almost every one of them had been extremely sedentary," reports Steve, a zaftig boy-turned-kickboxing body builder. "So just by making them active and dieting, I anticipated an extreme amount of weight loss. Even so, I was blown away. I could not believe the amount of weight loss they had. At the end stages, they were walking so fast the crew couldn't keep up with them."

And Lorrie, a gorgeous one-time U.S. Marine who took of some 60 pounds herself in 2001, says, "You'll want to watch this because it is that incredible."

ANOTHER UNANSWERED QUESTION: With the tempest over the "Sopranos" finale you can imagine club-goers straining to hear what Jamie-Lynn Sigler had to say about that last episode when asked about it at New York's The Plumm nightclub the other night. Replied the former Meadow Soprano, "I just couldn't figure out why I had such a hard time parallel parking!" Guess that's another loose end left untied on the episode.

INDIE MUSIC: Although Dave Navarro has had his plate full with his Internet show, "Spread Entertainment: Live Thursdays," on ManiaTV.com, the super guitarist of Jane's Addiction and Red Hot Chili Peppers fame assures that he hasn't forsaken his music. He notes that his Panic Channel band has "parted ways with Capitol, and I feel it's a great mutual parting of ways. We're in the process of writing and recording now, going down that road."

(With reports by Stephanie DuBois and Emily Feimster)