Sideshow | Universal plans Harry Potter park

A rough beast slouches toward Bethlehem - to build a theme park.

The sloucher is not one beast but a menagerie of witches, apprentice witches, trolls, ghouls, dragons and one notable creature: Harry Potter.

Universal Orlando Resort figures that since every biped has read the books and seen the movies, we'd give our right arms for a chance to touch and smell, sniff and taste The Potter Experience.

J.K. Rowling is stoked: "The plans I've seen look incredibly exciting, and I don't think fans of the books or films will be disappointed."

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, re-creating key places in the Potter books (Hogwarts, the Forbidden Forest, etc.) is due to open at Universal's Islands of Adventure theme park in late '09.

E!Online says this year's series of the "Unplugged" mini-concerts will feature

The Police

,

Bon Jovi

,

Kenny Chesney

,

Mary J. Blige

and

John Mayer

. What's new beside

Sting

& Co.? Three mildly different versions of each show will air, tailor-made for viewers of MTV, VH1 and CMT. Fans can also see the shows online and via cell phone.

In a chat with

Ryan Seacrest

on his L.A. radio show,

Nicole Richie

said she's "nervous" she may end up in jail like her friend and reality-show cohort

Paris Hilton

. The 25-year-old professional adolescent last ran afoul of the law in February when she was busted for DUI. Nicole's, like, she knows she must "take responsibility." (But, like, it's such a drag.)

. . . was in full force Wednesday when the pink cocktail dress that the cinema angel-turned-princess wore in

Breakfast at Tiffany

's sold at Christie's in New York for $192,000 -

six times

its presale estimate of $30,000.

Audrey

's character, Holly Golightly, wears the sleeveless dress when she discovers her brother has died.

Also sold: Marilyn Monroe's script for Something's Got to Give with her handwritten notes ($19,200) and a program from one of Marilyn's most infamous performances, at John F. Kennedy's birthday party at Madison Square Garden ($66,000).

The sex lives of two American

Idol

-ators merit headlines:

People mag says salt 'n' peppa singer Taylor Hicks, anointed by the mag as the Most Eligible Bachelor of '06, has been exotic beaching it in Hawaii with . . . "a bikini-clad blonde." Said blonde is a micro-celeb in her own right. She's Caroline Lyders, a morning anchor at Milwaukee's ABC affiliate, WISN.

Both parties have been coy, private-like. His rep won't comment.

Meanwhile, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo "is calling for a time-out" (sports metaphor!) from his thing with Carrie Underwood, even though the two "have been tight for several months," according to MSNBC.com, which cites the National Enquirer as its source. She wants a commitment. He, space. No comments all around.

As of yesterday morning,

Lindsay Lohan

was still in rehab. What's more, she ain't going to be kicked out of her next flick,

Poor Things

. Producer and costar

Shirley MacLaine

says the production will work around LiLo's (likely month-long) rehab stay.

Till then, Shirley and coproducer Rob Hickman bestowed a blessing upon LiLo: "We wish her love and the blending of mind, body and spirit."

Estranged

Pa Lohan

tells E!Online his 20-year-old girl is currently detoxing not just from alcohol, but also from the opiate Oxycontin.

No stranger to alcohol abuse, DUI busts and jail, Michael says he turned his life around by becoming a dedicated Christian. He's studying to become a counselor with the faith-based addiction-recovery organization Teen Challenge. He said he's happy his daughter will be rehabbed via a 12-step program, because "it includes a lot of lessons based on God's teachings."

This week marked film critic

Leonard Maltin

's 25th year as filmguy for entertainment and celebrity show

Entertainment Tonight

. Tinseltown heavies have been sending tributes all week, including

Dustin Hoffman

, who said Maltin is "the greatest human being that's ever lived." Verily, it must be so.

"At this point, you're not afraid of dying," says

Tammy Faye Messner

, less than a month after the former televangelist announced that doctors have stopped trying to treat her cancer. "Yes, I'm in pain almost 100 percent of the time. . . . But I fight it," Messner says in an interview with

Entertainment Tonight

, which reports her weight has dropped to 62 pounds.