Jet-setting supermodel Petra Nemcova survived the terrifying Asian tsunami by clinging to the top of a palm tree for eight hours – wincing through the pain of a broken pelvis and haunted by the sight of her boyfriend being swept out to sea.

“This huge wave just pulled us out of the house,” Nemcova, 25, told The New York Daily News from her hospital bed in Thailand.

“It was so powerful I couldn’t get up. I couldn’t get out of it. People were screaming and kids were screaming all over the place, screaming, “Help, help!’ And after a few minutes, you didn’t hear the kids anymore.”

Nemcova and her fashion photographer boyfriend, Simon Atlee, 33, were spending the holidays in a beachfront bungalow at the Thai resort of Khao Lak when Sunday’s catastrophe struck.

“I heard people screaming and I looked out the window and people were jumping out of the way, jumping into the pool,” said Nemcova, who lives in New York and London and was on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s 2003 swimsuit issue. “I was screaming, “On the roof! On the roof!’ I tried to go on the roof but I got sucked away.”

Before she and Atlee could react, a wall of water shredded their wooden bungalow and sent them sprawling into a churning sea of debris that swallowed Atlee without a trace.

She kept her head above the floodwaters and was able to grasp a palm tree before she could be swept out to sea – but had to clutch it for eight hours, watching bodies float past in a scene of unimaginable devastation.

“I just tried to survive and tried to think positive,” Nemcova said.

She gripped the tree in excruciating pain under the burning tropical sun until rescuers found her at sunset and carried her on a makeshift stretcher to an overwhelmed hospital.

“I was so broken, I couldn’t walk,” Nemcova said. “There were so many people with horrible injuries, with blood everywhere. It was like a war movie.”

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LETTERMAN SPENDS CHRISTMAS IN IRAQ

David Letterman spent Christmas in Iraq on a top-secret mission to entertain U.S. troops stationed there, reports IMDB.com.

“The Late Show” presenter thrilled thousands of Marines Christmas Eve by staging a live version of his popular late-night program at Camp Taqaddum.

Letterman opened the show by joking, “Anybody here from out of town?”

“Late Show” regulars Paul Shaffer and Biff Henderson and comedian Tom Dreesen joined Letterman for the trip.

Letterman concluded his show by telling his audience, “Paul and I were in Afghanistan three years ago, and last year we were in Baghdad. We wouldn’t want it any other way. We’re sorry we keep having to come back.”

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THE RIGHT CHOICE

Golden Globe nominee Emmy Rossum picked the opera house over the classroom and hasn’t looked back.

At 12, she had to choose between spending less time at New York’s Metropolitan Opera, where she had been singing in the children’s chorus, and severing ties at the upscale, all-girl Spence School. Her decision appears to have paid off.

Rossum, 18, has been receiving rave reviews for her work in the film version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom of the Opera.”

Rossum portrays Christine, a young soprano at the Paris Opera who becomes caught up in the teaching and music of the mysterious phantom. The National Board of Review called her portrayal the best breakthrough performance by an actress this year.

The Broadcast Film Critics Association also gave her a critics’ choice award and she will be in the running next month for a Golden Globe for best actress in a musical or comedy.

“I’m heavy on preparation,” Rossum recently told The Los Angeles Times. “Some actors come to the set and don’t know what scene they’re playing, but that would make me crazy. It’s not about control but perfectionism – my biggest vice and one of my biggest assets.”

Rossum previously starred in the critically acclaimed “Mystic River” and the global-warming disaster film “The Day After Tomorrow.”

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HEY! HEY! HEY! TYPECASTING’S NOT OK

Kenan Thompson, who plays the title role in the new “Fat Albert” movie, hopes he doesn’t get typecast.

“You always gotta watch yourself when you’re playing, like, such an iconic character because you don’t want to be trying to audition for something else and all anybody wants to do is “Hey! Hey! Hey!’ … and kick you out of the audition,” Thompson said recently, according to AP Radio.

The live-action film, directed by Joel Zwick, is based on the animated TV series that comedian Bill Cosby created in the 1970s about adolescents growing up in Philadelphia.

Thompson said he wore a form-fitting fat suit to play the role.

“I had all this belly to get around and a little more booty, but you know it was cool,” said the 26-year-old actor-comedian, who is in the cast of “Saturday Night Live.”

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TREADING THE BOARDS

Actress Rebecca Gayheart, who gained popularity as the “Noxzema girl” in the skin care company’s ads, has joined the cast of “Steel Magnolias,” opening on Broadway in April, reports The Associated Press.

Gayheart, 32, appeared on the TV show “Beverly Hills 90210” in the 1990s, and has more recently been seen on the FX series “Nip/Tuck” and Showtime’s “Dead Like Me.” Her movie credits include “Scream 2” and “Urban Legend.”

She will play bride-to-be Shelby, the role portrayed by Julia Roberts in the 1989 movie version of Robert Harling’s play.

Also in the Broadway cast are Delta Burke as Truvy, the owner of a Louisiana beauty parlor, which is where “Steel Magnolias” is set. Christine Ebersole will play M’Lynn, Shelby’s mother.

The production, directed by Jason Moore, begins preview performances March 15 at the Lyceum Theatre and opens April 4.

“Steel Magnolias” was one of off-Broadway’s biggest hits, opening in 1987 and running for more than 1,000 performances.

Besides Roberts, the film also starred Sally Field, Dolly Parton and Shirley MacLaine.

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BACK PAIN SHELVES NATHAN LANE

Back problems have forced Nathan Lane to quit the London West End run of “The Producers” almost two weeks earlier than planned, reports The Associated Press.

Lane has pulled out of five performances of the Mel Brooks musical since Dec. 16 after suffering two slipped discs. The 48-year-old actor has been advised to cancel his remaining performances, the musical’s producers said Tuesday. He was told he should recover in about six weeks.

Lane, star of the Tony-winning Broadway production, had replaced Richard Dreyfuss, who quit three weeks before opening night amid reports that he wasn’t up to the job. Producers said Dreyfuss was sidelined by complications from back surgery and a recurring shoulder injury.

Critics adored Lane’s exuberant and physically demanding performance as Max Bialystock, an unscrupulous impresario trying to stage a surefire flop.

Understudy Cory English will play the role until Jan. 8, when Lane had been due to leave. Brad Oscar, Lane’s former Broadway understudy, will take over Jan. 10 as scheduled.

Lane is due to begin filming a movie version of the musical, alongside Matthew Broderick and Will Ferrell, in February.

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WEDNESDAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Actress Mary Tyler Moore is 67. Actor Jon Voight is 66. Singer Marianne Faithfull is 58. Actor Ted Danson is 57. Comedian Paula Poundstone is 45. Actor Jude Law is 32. Actor Mekhi Phifer is 30.

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(Compiled by Michael Hamersly from staff and wire reports.)

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(c) 2004, The Miami Herald.

Visit The Miami Herald Web edition on the World Wide Web at http://www.herald.com/

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.

AP-NY-12-28-04 1821EST