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Rob Lowe to star in Lifetime movie about crazy Florida killings

Former Daily News reporter Julie Brown penned the story. Also: Justin Bieber, Amanda Seyfried, Jim Parsons and more.

WITHOUT FORMER People Paper scribe Julie K. Brown, 24/7 columnist Molly Eichel writes, the world would not have Rob Lowe's newest Lifetime campfest, "Beautiful & Twisted."

Based on Brown's reporting, Lowe plays hotel heir Ben Novack Jr., whose rocky marriage with a stripper (Paz Vega) leads to his murder. Brown reported on the story for the Miami Herald, where she worked after leaving the Daily News in 2005. The story started out with a little news brief about Novack's death. But Brown's tabloid roots allowed her to see the potential, and the more she uncovered about the scandalous murder, the stranger the story became.

"It was amputee porn, it was money, it was Spain, it had all the ingredients," Brown told Eichel.

Brown, who's writing a book about the story called The Fontainebleau Murders, also will appear in a documentary about the killing airing directly after "Beautiful & Twisted" (8 p.m., Saturday) at 10 p.m.

As for Lowe's performance? Brown hasn't seen the movie yet, but referenced the heartthrob actor's recent "oddball" DirecTV ads, saying that Novack was an oddball as well. "Although, I'm sure [Lowe] had to make himself less handsome for the role," she said.

Ya gotta Belieb!

Justin Bieber has apologized for his bad behavior in a new video posted to Facebook.

Still, however, no apology for his music.

The Biebs said in a 2-minute video posted early yesterday that his "arrogant and conceited" attitude over the last two years was just to cover up his true feelings. He said that growing up in the industry is tough.

Bieber visited "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" yesterday and said he was "nervous" about the appearance. He said he didn't know how people would react to him.

Bieber, 20, was heavily booed at the Fashion Rocks event last year, and his recent Calvin Klein ad was ridiculed. His tumultuous behavior has ranged from a DUI arrest to egg-tossing vandalism to clashing with a paparazzo.

Bieber said that he wants people to know he has a caring side.

He's just not sure it's for Selena Gomez.

Jersey state of mind

Stars who play at least four nights in Atlantic City would be freed from having to pay state income taxes on all shows in the state that year under the latest dopey proposal to revive the struggling seaside resort.

New Jersey state Sens. Tom Kean Jr. and James Whelan introduced bipartisan legislation yesterday designed to spur in Atlantic City the kind of artist-in-residency that big stars typically do in Las Vegas, where stints of two weeks or a month have become common by A-list stars.

Really? The reason Elton, Celine, Cher, Shania and Britney aren't playing extended stays in A.C. is because of the taxes?

Talk about denial.

The bill would exempt artists from state taxes not only on their Atlantic City performances, but on shows at arenas in Camden, Trenton, Holmdel and Newark.

So, the next time politicians mention that they're concerned about wealth inequality, remind them that poor people who live in Atlantic City have to pay state income tax but the wealthy entertainers who perform there for a week don't.

TATTBITS

* Second Stage Theatre, in Manhattan, said yesterday that Amanda Seyfried will replace "Orphan Black" star Tatiana Maslany in the world premiere of Neil LaBute's "The Way We Get By." Maslany withdrew due to schedule conflicts - and her inability to handle only one role.

Previews begin April 28 under the direction of Leigh Silverman. Seyfried and Thomas Sadoski will star as lovers who hook up during a drunken wedding reception.

* In a move of a man giving up science for faith, Jim Parsons is going from a TV role in "The Big Bang Theory" to a Broadway role as God.

Producers yesterday said that Parsons will star in a stage adaptation of the humor book "The Last Testament: A Memoir by God." The play, called "An Act of God," is adapted by its author, David Javerbaum.

Two-time Tony Award winner Joe Mantello, who also helmed "Wicked" and "Other Desert Cities," will direct the show, which begins performances May 5 at the Studio 54 theater.

Parsons' Broadway credits include "Harvey" and "The Normal Heart."

* The Washington Post reports that the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee has sent letters to "American Sniper" director Clint Eastwood and star (and former Daily News intern) Bradley Cooper to speak out against anti-Arab and anti-Muslim threats in the wake of the film's blockbuster status.

"We don't think people should be threatening other Americans with putting a bullet through their heads," ADC President Samer Khalaf told the Post. "I think that's something we can all agree on."

Uh, if we could all agree on that, you probably wouldn't need to send letters.

- Daily News wire services

contributed to this report.

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