Tattle: Eve on Beyonce: Sink all that synch talk

THE BEYONCE lip-synching controversy shouldn't be a controversy at all, according to Philly girl Eve.

"Why are people making such a big deal out of it?" she said to our colleague Jenice Armstrong. " At this point, if you need to question this girl's talent, you should just stop. You should really just never listen to music. We all know the girl can sing. We all know she's a perfectionist."

Eve, who recently agreed to be a spokeswoman for the Philly-based Big Brothers, Big Sisters mentoring organization, added that "this was a huge moment in history for America and for her. Why not dot all the i's and cross the t's when you know that at any drop of a dime, if somebody asks you to blow, you can blow.

"Anything could happen. This girl may have a concert coming where she has to sing for three hours. Who knows? But I think we all know she is an amazing singer. Period. Point blank. She can sing at any time. I don't think it's that big of a deal. . . . Do they know there was a school shooting? Can we get back to life? People are spending way too much time on stuff like this."

(For more on Eve, check out philly.com/heyjen.)

DreamWorks says that filming has begun in Iceland on "The Fifth Estate," a movie about WikiLeaks, starring Benedict Cumberbatch (TV's "Sherlock") as the site's founder, Julian Assange.

Director Bill Condon ("The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn") said that the movie would not offer "any final judgment" on WikiLeaks, which is both praised and reviled for publishing classified government material.

He said that it would "explore the complexities and challenges of transparency in the information age."

The screenplay is by former "West Wing" writer Josh Singer.

Assange is living in Ecuador's London embassy in a bid to avoid extradition to Sweden to face sexual-misconduct allegations.

Author Brad Meltzer spoke about his new novel, The Fifth Assassin, Wednesday at the Free Library of Philadelphia and told stories about his presidential sources, such as George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

Assassin - the second installment in what Meltzer describes as the Culper Ring Trilogy - tells the tale of archivist Beecher White's attempts to track down a serial killer who is re-creating the crimes of the only four successful presidential assassins in history: John Wilkes Booth, Charles Guiteau, Leon Czolgosz and Lee Harvey Oswald.

Meltzer's research into the nation's history led him to all sorts of places in Washington D.C., like the relatively little-known National Museum of Health and Medicine, which houses things such as the bullet that killed Lincoln and Booth's bones.

"Officially, there have been over two dozen attempts to murder the president of the United States. Only four have been successful," Meltzer told Tattle correspondent Jerome Maida. "Of the four men that succeeded, here's what they had in common: Three of the four weren't drinkers. None of them did drugs. All of them were surprisingly - and outrageously - neat. And none of them was ever identified as a troublemaker. Until, of course, the moment they pulled the trigger."

* A judge refused Wednesday to

grant actor Laurence Fishburne a three-year restraining order against convicted felon Mark Francisco, who claims that he owns Fishburne's home.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carol Boas Goodson said that she could not consider Francisco's criminal history and that she did not believe that his conduct warranted a lengthy restraining order.

* Justin Timberlake will

appear in his first concert in more than four years the night before the Super Bowl.

Timberlake has signed on to perform during "DIRECTV Super Saturday Night," Feb. 2 in New Orleans.

The singer recently released a new single, "Suit and Tie," featuring Jay-Z, and he will release a new album, "The 20/20 Experience," later this year.

The invitation-only concert also features Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, of The Roots, as DJ, and will benefit the Shriners Hospitals for Children. It is cohosted by Mark Cuban's AXS-TV.

* Adele will perform the James

Bond theme "Skyfall" at the Oscars on Feb. 24, her first U.S. performance since last year's Grammy Awards. She and producer Paul Epworth are nominated for best original song.

The Oscars also will present a tribute to Bond, marking the 50th anniversary of the franchise.

* Stung by the overwhelmingly

negative reaction to removing the name of Gilda Radner from its cancer-support group's title, the Madison, Wis., chapter of Gilda's Club is dropping the dumb idea.

The group's board voted last week to keep the name after an avalanche of criticism in November, when it announced it was switching to the more generic Cancer Support Community Southwest Wisconsin, in part out of concern that young people today were unfamiliar with Radner, who died of ovarian cancer in 1989.

In a related story, the Franklin Institute has decided not to change its name to the Educational Fun Museum of Southeastern Pennsylvania.

* Authorities in California say

that Peter Robbins, the voice actor who portrayed Charlie Brown in many "Peanuts" shows, was arrested on charges that include stalking.

"I just couldn't take it any more, he was creeping me out," said Peppermint Patty.

- Daily News wire services

contributed to this report.