It’s time to honor the red, white and blue now that Independence Day is here. As we enjoy cookouts, parades and fireworks with friends and family, the stars fondly remember their favorite Fourths.

“I spent my summers at the Jersey Shore,” Taylor Swift tells me. “There was a Fourth of July parade, and we lived on the bay. All these boats would pass our house and we would try to hit them with water balloons and a slingshot.” Did she ever hit them? “All the time! It was a yacht club parade, so all the elite were dressed in their best. We would try to hit them with water balloons.”

Ashanti tells me, “I was at a barbecue with some friends. They were doing firecrackers in the yard, and one of the bushes caught on fire on the side of the house. One of the guys came running up the patio, and there were so many people there. There were kids, there were people in the pool, barbecuing, dancing, there was drinks all over. So somebody dumped the cooler on the bush, and the fire got bigger. The fire got huge. All the guys were pouring ice and buckets of water. I forgot how they finally got it out, but they finally got it out. It was hilarious. They had to get the fire trucks to come up to the house. It was very funny.”

Guys get especially rowdy.

Stephen Colbert tells me, “I grew up in South Carolina, so it all has to do with fireworks as a child. All fireworks are legal in South Carolina. I like blowing things up.”

Trace Adkins tells me, “I set the pasture on fire behind the house. I shot the bottle rocket off in the backyard, and it landed way back. We kept shooting bottle rockets and hadn’t noticed the whole pasture was on fire. It was real dry. I’ll never forget that. I was like 14.”

Stephen Baldwin tells me, “Out on Long Island, we used to get a pack of firecrackers. It was called a mat. A mat of firecrackers in America is when you buy fifty firecrackers together and they’re all tied together by a fuse, and you light them off. One of the most fun memories that I have is when we lit off a mat of firecrackers in the house, and my dad whooped all of us. It was quite amusing.”

What’s Matthew Modine’s July 4 tradition? “Go find a park and sit under the fireworks.”

Clay Aiken tells me, “I grew up going to the fireworks.”

Camp Rock’s Alyson Stoner’s favorite Fourths have been in Toledo, Ohio, with her family.

“I love barbecuing. Being comfortable and being with family is the best feeling.”

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl star Madison Davenport says, “We had this giant crocodile across our lawn, but it wasn’t a real crocodile thank goodness, or else I wouldn’t have fingers. It was a Slip-N-Slide, and it was so fun because it was giant. It took up two lawns. It was the funnest thing. And we had snow cones, my mom made her famous cake – the American flag cake – and it was really fun.”

Some stars’ best times have been spent jet-setting on the holiday.

John Leguizamo adds, “I think I was in Ecuador on a ship, running around and drinking, carousing, water-skiing, near the Galapagos. It was pretty cool.”

How will they celebrate this year?

“I don’t really have a tradition, but a lot of my friends have barbecues, so I’ll probably do something like that,” Brittany Snow tells me.

Miranda Lambert adds, “Sparklers are my favorite. I love fireworks.”

A lot of mouths hit the floor Monday night when The Bachelorette's DeAnna Pappas sent hunky real estate attorney Jeremy packing.

But it may be part of a bigger plan to get the Huntsville, Tex., native the screen time he really deserves, as ABC’s next Bachelor.

“Jeremy would make a great bachelor because he has everything to offer a woman,” DeAnna reveals. “I would totally support him. He could call me and ask me any question and I would try to guide him in the best direction.”

Not convinced Jeremy’s a catch? DeAnna adds, “He has a wonderful outlook on life. He comes from an amazing family. He has a great career ahead of him.”

Sounding pretty good to me. “And he’s got a great dog,” DeAnna shares. Darn it. With my allergies, I’m out of the running!

With Jeremy sounding like Mr. Right, why didn’t DeAnna keep him around? “He’s perfect, and I’m scared to death of perfect,” she admits. “I’ve never had that in my life.”

DeAnna will have her own perfect moment when The Bachelorette airs next Monday. One of the remaining bachelors, Jason or Jesse, will propose to the Georgia peach. And if there’s a wedding, it may be televised!

“I know there’s a lot of followers and supporters who would like to see that happy ending,” DeAnna says. “I’m not really opposed to letting those fans into that part of my life.”

Even though she’ll be engaged and possibly wed, DeAnna says if Jeremy does become the Bachelor, she’ll be watching. “Absolutely, I watch it now,” she declares. “Once you’re on the show, you have to watch. I’m addicted to it.”

And I can take allergy meds. Sign me up!

Catch the two-hour season finale of The Bachelorette on Monday, July 7 at 8 p.m. on ABC, followed by The Bachelorette: After the Rose, where we’ll get an update from the happy couple.

Coming-of-age dramedy The Wackness opens today. The eagerly-anticipated flick takes place in 1994 NYC, and I caught up with the film’s stars at The Regency Hotel.

Was it tough for Josh Peck, who got his start on Nickelodeon’s Drake And Josh, to do nude scenes?

“It was awful,” the 21-year-old actor tells me. “It was petrifying. I was completely scared. Everybody’s got body issues, but especially when you transform onscreen, it’s very difficult. Olivia [Thirlby] and I didn’t talk to each other the first part of the day. We shot around 5:00 – that magic hour of when the sun was going down. We were right on the beach. I didn’t eat any lunch ‘cause I didn’t want to be bloated. [laughs] I did 100 pushups in my trailer beforehand, and I dropped the robe and went with God.” He adds, “Ghandi was there. That’s as close to God as you can get.”

The actor pretends not to hear when asked three times how he shed the weight he carried as a teen star. Noted!

Where was he in 1994?

“I was eight, so I was watching Power Rangers and rocking Bugle Boy jeans and shoes with lights in them. Listening to Spice Girls, and my first Joey Lawrence album. I remember the things I was saying in ’94. Things like we say now like ‘what’s good’ and ‘that’s tight’ – back then we said ridiculous things like ‘yo, that’s mad crazy b.’”

He was talking like that at 8? “Yeah.”

Here comes director Jonathan Levine, who talks about Sir Ben Kingsley and Mary-Kate Olsen’s fabled love scene.

“It was cool because he’s playing someone who’s so immature and she seems really wise when you meet her … and it was also 3 o’clock in the morning,” he says. “They were having fun with it. They were having a good time.”

Meanwhile, Olivia Thirlby, 21, won’t tolerate Mary-Kate questions, but tells me she would “love to” work with Seth Rogen even though she was replaced by Amber Heard in his forthcoming comedy Pineapple Express. “I was really disappointed because I love Judd Apatow and I love Seth Rogen and I’m a huge fan of their comedy. I was super-pumped to be a part of one. It was disappointing, but I guess I learned a part of the business. Sometimes with casting it’s completely out of your control. You’ve gotta not take things too personally. I still have no idea why, and I’m not sure anybody knew why. It’s just a decision that came down from on high. I actually don’t know Amber. I’ve never met her before. It kind of happens. All my friends are always auditioning for the same projects, if not the very same roles. It’s sort of fun when I go to L.A., and I stay with friends and we work on the same sides together. It’s a fun experience.”

Method Man cracks a joke when asked about his watch.

“My mom hates when I leave the house with her jewelry, but I had to this morning,” the rapper/actor, 37, says. “I’ve gotta give this back to her.”

What’s his favorite thing about NYC in the summer?

“Fashion,” Method says. “Not for me to wear, but I like booty shorts. Sorry. If you have the legs, flaunt them. And those Spartan-type sandals. I love them. Y’all killing them. The women are murdering those sandals that look like Spartan shoes.”

The Wackness is in theaters now.

Among this week’s breaking news-packed edition of OK! -um, La Lohan has a secret sister and Madge may be making out with A-Rod – we’ve also included “15 Tips for Getting (and keeping) a Guy.” Doing some further investigation, when I was on a recent Virgin America SuperFly Wednesday singles flight (basically Virgin America’s attempt to make the skies an alternative meet, mingle and dating destination), I caught up with former The Bachelor and The Bachelorette star Bob Guiney. I’ve gotta be honest, prior to meeting the two-time star of reality dating shows my expectations for finding him company of choice weren’t so high, except for the points he earned for being a member of the Band from TV (with Hugh Lorie, Greg Grunberg, Bonnie Somerville and James Denton). Thankfully, I was most pleasantly surprised to find over the course of our 15 hours en route to and hanging out in Las Vegas, that Bob is a blast to be around and a really fun, humble and dare I say witty and intelligent guy. Being on dating shows, twice, and now happily married to Rebecca Budig from All My Children, I asked him to help me out with some guys advice on dating. Here’s his Top Ten:

10 Don't be early. Seems desperate.

9. Don't be late. Seems desperate.

8. Try not to talk about your ex too much. Especially if it’s really nice. Be brief.

7. Don't ask the age old question, "boxers/briefs?" It’s just not funny!

6. Wear a scent - but don't BATHE in it! There can be too much of a good thing!

5. Just relax & enjoy! Don't put too much on it! In the end you may never see each other again/or you might - so just enjoy the moment.
4. Leave the blackberry in the purse. At least PRETEND like we're interesting!

3. Dress it down a little. And I guess by this, I mean don't wear your prom dress if we're heading out for Mexican!

2. Have some drinks (if you do) but not so many you forget our name... Or puke. Again, there can be too much of a good thing!

1. EAT. Come on!!! Have a meal! Nothing is sexier than a woman who loves food, And doesn't forget our name... And doesn't puke.