Tattle: Source: Conan wants staff severance

THE STICKING point in

Conan O'Brien

's exit negotiations with NBC may involve his TV staff, not his Masturbating Bear.

A person sworn to secrecy but close to the talks said yesterday that Conan is intent on guaranteeing severance deals for his "Tonight Show" staff and crew, and he is dug in on that point.

Severance? Is it NBC's fault that many Conan staffers relocated from NYC to Los Angeles, expecting that their "Tonight Show" jobs would last at least as long as a school year?

Uh, yeah, it is NBC's fault.

Stupid lawyer tricks

A jury should get to decide whether TV producer Robert "Joe" Halderman's dealings with David Letterman were attempted blackmail or just hard-nosed business, Manhattan state Supreme Court Justice Charles Solomon ruled yesterday.

The ruling puts the case on a path toward trial, which could bring testimony from Dave about some sordid events in his private life.

The case spurred Letterman to tell viewers in October that he had slept with women on his staff.

He was also with women on his staff when he was not asleep.

Prosecutors say that Halderman demanded $2 million to keep quiet about Dave's affairs. Halderman says that he was just offering Letterman a chance to buy - and keep private - a thinly veiled screenplay about his life.

Halderman says the transaction was not a shakedown.

Helping Haiti

* Billboard.com reports that U2, Jay-Z and Swizz Beatz are among the latest celebrities to come together in an effort to raise money for Haiti. The three are joining forces for a still untitled Beatz-produced charity song that is expected to be sold on iTunes.

* James Taylor is planning a benefit concert in Massachusetts to aid earthquake relief efforts.

Proceeds from the concert, scheduled for Friday at The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington, will go to Partners in Health. The Boston-based group brings modern medical care to poor nations, and has been working in Haiti for more than 20 years.

Taylor says in a statement that he and his wife, Kim, will match proceeds from sales of tickets, which range from $100 to $1,000.

Taylor will be joined onstage by Kim, singers Kate Markowitz and Arnold McCuller, and Boston Symphony Orchestra cellist Owen Young.

* In other Taylor news, tickets for his "Troubadour Reunion" show with Carole King at the Wachovia Center June 10, go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. at all the usual places.

Tattbits

* The 3D and IMAX versions of "Avatar" will continue to play in China, but Chinese censors have ordered the 2D version of "Avatar" pulled from screens.

Is the 2D version more racy? Nope, the Chinese are merely trying to reduce competition for their own films - led by the state-backed biopic of Confucius - ahead of Lunar New Year, the nation's biggest holiday season.

* Zac Efron wants to star in "The Hangover" sequel.

Yeah, well Zach Galifianakis wants to date Vanessa Hudgens.

* A few days ago, girlstalkinsmack.com said that Jessica Simpson was in the studio with boyfriend Billy Corgan under the headline, "Smashing Bumpkin making music with Smashing Pumpkin."

It didn't take long, but the odd couple is no longer a couple.

According to the New York Daily News, Corgan is said to have grown weary of the attention their brief romance attracted, but said that he will still help Jessica with her new album.

* Canadian actress Emmanuelle Chriqui (aka Sloane, on "Entourage") has been named the Most Desirable Woman of 2010 in a poll at AskMen.com.

The survey asked men to name the woman they would most like to have as a girlfriend or wife.

Emmanuelle - No. 12 last year - said: "Hearing what the vote is made of is the biggest compliment of all because it's about being a well-rounded woman. That's really empowering and is just a massive compliment to me."

Admittedly these women are well-rounded but based on the looks of the list it doesn't seem like too many of them have been chosen for their kitchen, conversation or business skills.

This year's Top 20:

1. Emmanuelle Chriqui (actress); 2. Marisa Miller (model); 3. Kate Beckinsale (actress); 4. Alessandra Ambrosio (model); 5. Jessica Alba (actress); 6. Beyonce (singer/dancer); 7. Penelope Cruz (actress); 8. Cheryl Cole (singer/dancer/future Mrs. Tattle); 9. Eva Mendes (actress); 10. Miranda Kerr (model); 11. Megan Fox (actress); 12. Gisele Bundchen (model); 13. Bar Refaeli (model); 14. Erin Andrews (ESPN sideline reporter); 15. Padma Lakshmi (model/actress); 16. Kelly Brook (model/actress); 17. Natalie Portman (actress); 18. January Jones (actress); 19. Monica Bellucci (actress); 20. Paz Vega (actress)

Surely there have to be some hot women who aren't in the entertainment business.

PS: We hope voters realize that a lot of these women are already married.

* Heidi Montag got herself into the public consciousness on "The Hills," and now she hopes her own hills will keep her there.

Heidi, 23, told "Extra" about her recent plastic surgery: "I had a little bit of botox, an eyebrow lift, my ears tucked, I had my nose re-aligned, fat injections put into my cheeks, my lips done and I had my chin shaved down."

She also had her breasts expanded for a second time augmenting her chest to a "triple D, F."

"I like the F," she said. "I actually want H for Heidi."

How about I for Idiot?

BANG Showbiz and Daily News wire services contributed to this report.

E-mail gensleh@phillynews.com