Dan Gross | He was a Jolie good fellow

IT COULD be considered sad that the first line in this item about

Jonny Lee Miller

, who's quite a good actor, makes mention that his ex-wife is

Angelina Jolie

.

But you know what? The dude used to sleep with Angelina Jolie, so we don't feel sorry for him at all.

Anyway, we caught up with Miller on Friday while he was here to introduce the Philadelphia Film Festival screening of "The Flying Scotsman," which will be released through MGM on May 4.

Miller stars as Scottish cyclist Graeme Obree, who battled mental-health issues and the World Cycling Authority in the early 1990s while pursuing several world cycling records. Since making the film, Miller, an avid runner, has incorporated cycling into his fitness regimen.

The actor didn't really want to discuss Jolie, whom he met when they co-starred in "Hackers," and to whom he was married from 1996-1999. "I usually don't go into personal stuff," he explained.

"It can get a little weird," he said about people approaching him on the street to ask about Jolie and about why the couple divorced.

The actor splits his time between London and Los Angeles, where he's working on a TV pilot called "Eli Stone." It's a comedy in which he plays a lawyer, though he didn't want to say much about that either, for fear of jinxing it.

New job, car, dog for Elmore

"Apprentice" babe Erin Elmore has put her legal career on the shelf for a job as a financial-lending specialist at JP Morgan Chase in Fort Washington. Chase Manhattan Assistant VP Brian McCafferty says she's doing great, which Elmore is also fairly happy to admit, citing a "shiny red BMW" among new purchases. After all, Elmore says, she wants extreme professional and financial success because she now has two dogs to feed, Bubba and Junior, both Yorkie mixes.

Book report

Friday was reporter Michael Currie Schaffer's last day at the Inqwaster. He left the paper to spend time writing his first book, "One Nation Under Dog," an exploration of "consumerism, pet mania and the domestic-animal-industrial complex," he says.

The book, due in early 2009 from Henry Holt & Co., deals with dog spas, doggie yoga, "and other sweet and sometimes slightly creepy emblems of unhinged Americana." As a parent to two pampered pups, we look forward to reading it.

Schaffer and wife Keltie Hawkins are the parents of a St. Bernard named Murphy and a black cat named Amelia. Murphy is on doggie anti-depressants.

* In other Inqwaster book news,

former reporter Ira Porter has just published his first book "A Slow Accident Waiting to Happen." The paperback tale of greed, murder and corruption is set in Philadelphia and available at Robin's Bookstore (108 S. 13th) or at myspace.com/ira_porter.

Out and about

Actor Paul Rudd, of "Clueless" and "40-Year-Old Virgin" fame, and director David Wain stopped by the Philadelphia Film Festival's opening-night party at Penthouse Lounge (461 N. 2nd) Thursday night, after they introduced screenings of "The Ten," which played at the Prince.

Rudd turned 38 on Friday, and the festival's bash was the first stop of his birthday celebration.

* 610 WIP's Howard Eskin,

NBC 10's Lori Wilson, Fox29's Sheinelle Jones, CBS 3's Brandy Bell and Lesley Van Arsdall and Kia Steave Dickerson of "Trading Spaces" were among those at the opening the other night of the sushi/champagne spot Swanky Bubbles (482 Evesham, Cherry Hill).

* Toronto Raptors guard Darrick Martin, another man and two women dined at Davio's (111 S. 17th) Thursday night. The baller picked up the check, tipping well.

'Bad Girls Club' coming to cast

Homegirl Aimee, along with Leslie and Zara from Oxygen's "Bad Girls Club," will be at 32°(16 S. 2nd) from 2-6 p.m. Friday meeting and greeting fans 18 and older.

Producers of the reality show also are seeking women for its next season. Must be 21 and up. *

If you have something you'd like to share with Dan, call 215-854-5963, or e-mail grossd@phillynews.com. To read Dan's recent columns, visit http://go.philly.com/dangross.