LOS ANGELES – Mischa Barton — remember her? That's right, the hottie who died in the "O.C." car crash. Well, she's been off the radar for most of this year, but get set to see much, much more of Mischa in '08. The young beauty has been busy making three new films — and she still had time for "bumming," but only for a special somebody.
"I did let (director) Richard Attenborough get a brief behind shot in 'Closing the Ring,'" Barton tells Maxim magazine in its January issue.
"I don't mind nudity; I just don't do it often. You do see me topless, but I would never do full nudity. But there are many more reasons to see that movie than whether I'm naked in it. You know, sometimes that's all people talk about…"
But Barton still was happy to talk about flesh-flashing for future flicks.
"It depends on the film and if I trust the director and if the context is emotional or just sexual," she said.
And while most men (and women) associate the 21-year-old with that controversial lesbian lip-lock from her days on "The O.C.," Mischa prefers to dwell on the inner emotion that her character, Marissa, allowed her to explore.
"She was a multitude of people and that opened me up as an actor, even though it was hard for me at the time to handle that character," she said. "But it worked in the end because I got to do so many emotionally gutsy things."
And unlike many of Mischa's troubled Tinseltown pals (even including her younger sis), this stunning star has managed to keep herself together enough to not need a trip to the celeb-popular "Wonderland" rehab.
However, Mischa has been having tea with the mad hatter while making "Malice in Sunderland," a modern remake of "Alice in Wonderland."
"I wasn't sure about Mischa when production first started, but as soon as I met her I was sold," an on-set insider recently told Pop Tarts. "She was very easygoing and worked incredibly hard. She is determined not to be typecast as that girl from 'The O.C.'"
New Year's Eve Party Peek: Where Will the Divas & Divos Be Getting Down?
Want to bring in the New Year by boozin' with a big name? Pop Tarts has been on the prowl figuring out exactly where all your favorite party personalities are going to be on the big night.
Sure to be sinning in Sin City: Paris and Nicky Hilton, who are set to host the high-times at LAX nightclub alongside Criss Angel and Kevin Federline.
Paris will be in relatively close company with her sex tape co-star, Rick Salomon, as his wife, Pamela Anderson, pleases the party people down the strip at PURE.
Jay-Z, meanwhile, will open his dancing digs 40-40 at The Palazzo. Although the doors will open a day early (Dec. 30), the club is expected to keep pumping for one helluva party with peeps like Jay-Z's own "Dreamgirl" Beyonce, Missy Elliot, Josh Hartnett, Eva Mendes, Ryan Phillippe, Pink and Barry Bonds on the guest list. Pop Tarts has even heard word that Kanye West will make an appearance and possibly perform.
But over at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino's club Body English, the Backstreet Boys will party until the early hours while Mariah Carey hits her high notes as the host of Tao.
Over in the heart of Hollywood, we've heard that hotspot Les Deux will be all decked out with Travis Barker.
Other perennial partiers will have the pleasure of counting down with the "Girls Next Door" at Hugh Hefner's party at The Mansion. The dress code is black tie … or lingerie.
But it seems Playboy covergirl Kim Kardashian is after another excuse to strip and is set to strut her stuff at a different mansion: Mansion Miami.
Meanwhile, The Shore Club will welcome lovebirds Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz as co-hosts, and has Samantha Ronson replaced Lindsay Lohan with a new galpal? The spinner supposedly is teaming up with Mandy Moore to share the good times at The Raleigh.
Oh, and you may just want to buy a ticket to wine and dine with Jennifer Hudson at The Setai Dinner Dance … if you have $15,000 to spare.
And can you believe that Lauren Conrad and Audrina Patridge are seriously set to like, leave "The Hills" to toast their New Year's at San Diego's McClellan-Palomar Airport?
Across the coast, Pop Tarts has confirmed that Alicia Keys and Lenny Kravitz will be performing and partying alongside Carson Daly at New York's Times Square, while Slash will be strumming with Velvet Revolver at the Hammerstein Ballroom.
Kevin Federline: Is He Morphing Into Justin?
They already have a couple of key things in common … both are former beaux of Britney Spears and both are singers (one is more successful than the other, but we'll let you guess which is which.) But is Kevin Federline going out of his way to be just like Britney's first love, Justin Timberlake?
"Kevin is still focused on being a rapper," an insider told Tarts. "But he is also trying his hand at a few other styles — a combination of hip-hop and pop is probably what he's looking into recording for future albums."
Hmmm, sounds like someone is somewhat "Lovestoned."
Spotted or Snapped a Star? Got a Good Scoop? E-mail poptartstips@gmail.com.
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