Well, it was a whirlwind weekend, sitting at the pool of a luxury hotel with Hugh Grant, then playing cards with Ben Affleck. Yes, Celebrity Chatter does make the rounds. Did I mention that I also had a chat with Colin Firth?

Grant was nursing a cold and drinking his English tea poolside of a very exclusive Beverly Hills hotel. He eyed the large trough of sushi I was eating, and then turned back to his magazine. I considered offering him a shrimp roll or perhaps some of the sashimi, but I hesitated and thought better of it.

If he were sick, would he really want sushi? If only I had been eating chicken soup.

Later, during our interview about the upcoming film "Bridget Jones 2," Grant didn't feel much better.

I blamed his runny nose and red eyes on the fact that his character, English cad Daniel Cleaver and Mark D'Arcy (played by Colin Firth) have a rousing fight scene, which ends up in a pond of water. Could it be that although shooting wrapped months ago that Grant is still harboring the chill from that day?

I didn't even get a chuckle out of him, nor did I when I tell him that the reason we (he and I as one) get even whinier than others when we are sick is that we're both Virgos.

His birthday is Sept. 9 and mine is just two days before. He took this very seriously and reflected on it a minute.

Maybe I had tapped into the psyche of Hugh Grant.

We also talked about his reputation as a worrier. I asked him about the legendary story of when he was shooting "Mickey Blue Eyes" with James Caan. The story goes that Caan took to calling him Whippy after tiny whippet dogs that get nervous and shake.

"Hmmm," he says.

Our conversation then moved to his career. Since I couldn't find any information anywhere about what Grant's upcoming projects were, I figured I would ask him myself.

"I'm in semi-retirement," he told me.

What? No more boyish British prime minister a la "Love Actually" to give Tom Cruise's underwear dance a run for its money?

No more characters like Will Freeman ("About A Boy") who got up in front of a school assembly and sang a bad rendition of "Killing Me Softly" to help his newfound 12-year-old friend be cool at school?

And after "Bridget Jones 2," no more Daniel Cleaver who gave new hope to women everywhere that large undergarments are actually sexy?

Meanwhile, fans of Bridget Jones books are asking me how they solved the Colin Firth dilemma. If you don't know what dilemma I'm talking about, I'll fill you in.

Firth, who stars with Renee Zellweger and Grant in the "Bridget Jones's Diary" movies, is actually a character in novelist Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones sequel, "The Edge of Reason," prompting the question: Who plays Firth in the movie? Jones becomes a journalist in "The Edge of Reason" and interviews Firth.

To answer that question, we went to Firth directly.

He said there was much discussion and that there was even talk of having George Clooney play the part, so that it would be changed to Bridget interviewing Clooney or some other big name celebrity.

In the end, there is no celebrity interview.

So there it was, a weekend of hot Hollywood movie hunks. How could it get much better?

Ben Affleck and I are becoming good pals. I must admit I'm still swooning over the fact that he took notice of what I was wearing when I walked into our interview. He commented on how nice I looked.

Aw, shucks.

We talked about his new movie "Surviving Christmas," for which he surely had to conjure a memory jog, since he had two films released since "Christmas" was made. "Paycheck" and "Jersey Girl" followed "Christmas." It's finally getting to theaters after awhile on the shelf. Call it a pre-Halloween Christmas movie, director Mike Mitchell said. Huh?

Anyway, it was another excuse to talk to Ben and give him a hard time for not keeping his promise that he'd teach me how to play poker.

"Are our lives over?" he said.

Then I pulled out the deck of cards that I confiscated from the hotel mini bar.

We played a quick hand since I didn't want to use up all of my interview time.

Of course, the lucky devil got a pair of fives. I got a five and a two. I know nothing about the game.

While he shuffled the cards for our next round, we talked about the February shoot of "Surviving Christmas" and how Chicago had one of the coldest winters ever.

"I'm from Boston and I'm used to cold, but this was ski-mask cold. This was cold, cold, cold," he said.

We didn't bring up his love life, so I can't tell you if there is, in fact, another Bennifer in the making. You've heard the rumors that Jennifer Garner took Affleck home to meet her parents in Charleston, W.Va.

But we did talk about politics. So, Ben Affleck for president eventually?

"Politics is a tough business. You have to give up all your privacy," said Affleck.

"But you've already done that," I said.

"Yeah, but I've seen what it's like in politics and it's worse. I want to go in the other direction. Spend more quiet time. Write some things, direct some things," he said.

Ready For Club Paris?

Club Paris, a new nightclub named after the Hilton heiress, should be ready by New Year's Eve in Orlando, according to businessman Fereidoun "Fred" Kahlilian.

The Associated Press is reporting that there will be clubs in Las Vegas, New York, Miami Beach, London and Paris.

Paris Hilton is reportedly receiving a "seven-figure" bonus for allowing her name to be used. She's also promised to make appearances at the clubs and will help with the interior design.

Michelle Solomon's gossip column, Celebrity Chatter, appears each Monday. You can email Michelle at Michelle Solomon@Celebrity Chatter.