At The Movies

Rebecca De Mornay, John Corbett, Lauren Mayhew, Jason Ritter and Ashlee Simpson have been signed to join Hilary Duff's Heart of Summer for director Sean McNamara. New Line Cinema will distribute the film.

Bob Hoskins will play God in Son of the Mask: The Mask 2 for New Line Cinema, currently filming right now. The film stars Jamie Kennedy and Traylor Howard in this sequel to the 1994 dark comedy starring Jim Carrey.

At the horror convention to promote her forthcoming movie, Hellboy, Selma Blair revealed that she was "this close" to landing a role in Superman.

CBS is looking to expand its reign of ratings domination by adding a third edition of CSI to its roster. The original CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, set in Las Vegas, is the nation's most-watched show, averaging 26 million viewers per week. Spinoff CSI: Miami is no slouch either, holding down the number six slot in the weekly Nielsen ratings. CSI: New York is scheduled to bow this fall.

Casey Affleck may beat Ben to the altar. The 28-year-old actor and his sweetheart of four years, Summer Phoenix, the younger sister of actors Joaquin and the late River, are headed for holy matrimony.

Ready to swap vows for a third time, Piano Man Billy Joel popped the question recently to 22-year-old girlfriend Katie Lee while vacationing in the Caribbean.

In a startling accusation, one of Halle Berry's former beaus has pinpointed her one-time boyfriend Wesley Snipes as the man who busted her eardrum. R&B singer Christopher Williams, who hooked up with the actress in the early '90s, says he's setting the record straight because many have assumed that he was the one to hit Berry so hard that she lost most of the hearing in her right ear. Berry has never divulged the identity her attacker.

Grammy-nominated rapper Mystikal (real name: Michael Taylor) was sentenced to six years behind bars for forcing his hairstylist to perform sexual acts on him.

KISS singer-bassist Gene Simmons is turning to fans to design artwork for his upcoming solo album, Firestarter.

The hit American sitcom Friends may prove too risque for Chinese television. All television in China is government-controlled, and China Central Television had planned to begin airing Friends this year. Staff are trying to edit out the sex talk, but "we will face many problems in translation and abridgment."

The Producers Guild of America gave the makers of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King the top award at the 15th Annual Producers Guild of America Awards.

The American Idol franchise continues, with an upcoming co-headlining tour by 2002 winner Kelly Clarkson and 2003 runner-up Clay Aiken.

Everybody loves the hit sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond but perhaps no one more than CBS Chairman and CEO Leslie Moonves who assured television critics on Saturday he was doing his best to lure a reluctant Ray Romano back for a ninth year.

Fresh off a hot-ticket co-headlining tour with Kiss, Aerosmith has confirmed a 2004 tour with support from fellow classic rock titans Cheap Trick.

The Offspring will close out the 2004 edition of the ESPN Winter X Games with a free outdoor concert Jan. 27 in Aspen, Colo. Aspen City Council approved the gig Monday despite some logistical challenges and scheduling conflicts.

Evanescence frontwoman Amy Lee has revealed that Cold guitarist Terry Balsamo will stay on in her group as permanent replacement for departed axe-man Ben Moody. Lee adds that Cold likely will call it quits. "They could hire another guitar player and continue, but I'm pretty sure that their lead singer [Scooter Ward] is . . . having real [substance-abuse] problems," she says.

Legendary country crooner Jimmy Dean says the Sara Lee Corp. has dropped him as spokesman for the sausage company he founded more than three decades ago.

A draft copy of the first Harry Potter adventure, which incorrectly identified author J.K. Rowling sold at auction for $2,642.