BATEMAN'S LUCKY DEVELOPMENTS.

Byline: GREG HERNANDEZ

There was a time when Jason Bateman could barely get arrested in Hollywood. Then came the Emmy-winning "Arrested Development," which never was a ratings hit but was widely acclaimed as one of the best shows on network television during its three-year run.

Since the show went off the air, Jason has been able to carve out a nice career in feature films with a terrific role in the current hit "Juno," as well as roles in recent releases "The Kingdom" with Jamie Foxx and "Mr. Magorium's Magic Emporium" opposite Dustin Hoffman and Natalie Portman.

"I've been a real lucky guy to be able to do the things that I'm doing because I got real lucky getting cast on 'Arrested Development,'" Jason told me when we chatted recently at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. "A lot of people who are casting films watched that show and that's the lucky part of this business."

These films came on the heels of "Smokin' Aces," "The Ex" and "The Break-Up." Next up for Jason, who turns 39 on Monday, is the summer release "Hancock," which stars Will Smith and Charlize Theron.

"It's been great, it's been a lifeline," he said of the string of films. "It's nice that I've got another medium to try and earn a rent check from."

Jason has a family to support, after all. His wife, Amanda, is the daughter of singer Paul Anka, and the couple have a 1-year-old daughter.

Even though he's a big movie star now, television has been very good to the actor. He won a Golden Globe Award for his performance as Michael Bluth in "Arrested Development," which was the pinnacle of a television career that began when he was 12 with a recurring role on "Little House on the Prairie" and included lengthy runs on the sitcoms "Silver Spoons" and "The Hogan Family."

Tom and Suri bring joy to Katie I attended the premiere of the new comedy "Mad Money" on Wednesday night in Westwood and Katie Holmes, who co-stars in the movie with Diane Keaton and Queen Latifah, was there with her hubby, Tom Cruise.

But Katie worked the press line alone as Tom dashed across the street to take pictures with fans and sign autographs. She was asked for reaction to the pregnancy of Tom's ex-wife, Nicole Kidman, who is expecting a baby with her husband, Keith Urban. Kidman and Cruise have two adopted children -- Connor, 12, and Isabella, 15.

"I'm so happy for her," Katie said to People.com. "It's wonderful."

Katie said Cruise and their daughter, Suri, were on the set with her during the making of "Money."

"You think you love to do something and then you have the people you love there. It makes it a billion times better and you didn't realize you were missing that before. It's like 'Oh, my God, life can be this good."'

Toni Collette becomes a mom Congratulations are in order for the brilliant actress Toni Collette, who gave birth to her first child this week. Toni has been good in everything she's done, from "Muriel's Wedding" to "The Sixth Sense" to "Little Miss Sunshine," but rarely gets the kind of awards attention she so deserves.

She and musician hubby Dave Galafassi are the proud parents of a daughter, Sage Florence, who was born Wednesday in Toni's hometown of Sydney, Australia.

When she announced her pregnancy back in July, Toni said to The Associated Press: "We're completely over the moon. It is strange, the last three films I've done I have been pregnant. I'm just like, what is the universe trying to tell me? But I think everything happens when it's meant to."

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Photo:

(color) Jason Bateman, right, is seen with director Jason Reitman and actor Ellen Page at a premiere of "Juno" in December. Bateman has made an easy jump from TV to film.

Kevin Winter/Getty Images