Hilary Duff's November itinerary has taken her from a press tour in Europe to a stop in New York, to three days in Brazil, to flying to Australia soon for "a quick tour -- only 10 days," she says. That's on top of the American Music Awards Nov. 22, "Cheaper by the Dozen 2" coming out next month, her new fragrance line, her soon-due "Beat of My Heart" video. And on and on. Small wonder the 18-year-old is looking forward to some down time.

Hilary Enters the Internet World

"I'm a little tired right now," she admits. "I'm taking most of December off. I'll do family stuff, hang out with friends and be normal. It's my month to kind of do nothing. You have to be passionate about your work to be good at it, and you can't be good if you're slammed all the time."

Still, she's finding time to write a new blog for AOL's RED, and to provide input for Hilary Duff World -- a new area on KOL (Kids AOL) that's planned to include exclusive interviews, behind-the-scenes photos, Hilary's entertainment and fashion picks, advice column and more. Reps for the Internet giant say all together, Hilary's new content will cover kids, tweens and teens. At least.

Communicating directly with fans is a plus for Hilary. "I don't always want kids to believe what they read in other sources. I don't want to get too serious into that because I don't believe in talking about all that tabloidy stuff." she says.

How will she find the time? "I don't think it'll be a drawn-out process," she says. "I have people around who are very good at getting me to do the stuff I need to do."

MEANWHILE:

Hilary says she was touched by the praise she got from Tia Mowry in this column the other day -- for managing to transform into an adult without cheapening her image. "It's definitely hard to try and make good decisions when other people are doing other things," she says of industry pressures to exploit the titillation factor. "It was nice of Tia to say that. You get around other people in the profession and some are cool and some hate on you."

THE VIDEOLAND VIEW:

"I hadn't had so much fun with my clothes on in years," says Melvin Van Peebles of tonight's (11/7) episode of "Girlfriends." "Wait a minute," he adds, "that's a statement that doesn't quite fit." Indeed, clothes are definitely coming off in the segment. The legendary filmmaker, who spawned blaxploitation films in the '70s with the cult fave "Sweet Sweetback's Baadaaass Song," has been recurring as a successful older man dating Joan (Tracee Ellis Ross) in the UPN sitcom. In the episode, sex between them is so great she thinks he must be taking Viagra and fears he may have a heart attack.

What did the 73-year-old Van Peebles think when he first read the script? "Typecasting," he quips. "I could be a poster child for AARP." Actually, he says, "For me, (guesting on the show) has worked wonders. I walk down the street and get a lot of smiles I didn't get before." Also, a few phone numbers, he admits when queried. "What can I tell you? It's great. The stuff my mama used to slap me for and say 'Melvin, get in here …' I now get paid for. You can't beat it."

NO "S" ON HER CHEST:

Annette O'Toole just can't get away from the occupational hazards of playing Superman's mom in "Smallville." In the Nov. 17 episode, Superman's latest nemesis, Brainiac (James Marsters) goes after Martha Kent (O'Toole), leaving her with only hours to live. "I get hit by a lightning bolt out of the sky and get this kind of flesh-eating disease," reports O'Toole. "The worst part of it was sitting in the makeup chair while they put this stuff called pus on me. It's this flesh-colored Elmer's glue, then they put this stuff that's kind of like green and gray flocking that makes your skin look like it's decaying."

Fortunately, says O'Toole, the makeup only had to be applied to "one arm and my hand, my neck and a little bit up into my face. Thank God they arrested the disease before it got all over my face!" Things do get pretty dire before show's end, however. "I have a really nice kind of death bed scene with Clark (Tom Welling)." Not to worry, though, she says. "It's Smallville, eventually, I'll be recovered. We always get saved."

BAD GIRL:

Ooooh, look out, "O.C." fans. Kaitlin Cooper, little sister of Mischa Barton's character on the show, is all set to come back from boarding school in the episode that's shooting this week. She's just 14, but described as "a precocious Lolita" and a "bitchy bombshell." The character will recur this season.

(With reports by Stephanie DuBois and Emily Feimster)

The Beck/Smith syndicated newspaper column includes exclusive in-depth, behind-the-scenes reports on the stars, on the business of television and movie-making, and on the recording, publishing and media beats.

©2005 Creators Syndicate, Inc.