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FIRST LOOK: The News in Brief, August 28, 2002

WORSHIPPING IDOL: Fox's American Idol pulling in its best numbers yet last Tuesday, winning the adults 18 to 49 category and edging out NBC overall for the week. Ratings for ABC, which does not currently have a reality hit of its own, down by 20 percent or more in key ratings categories.

WHERE'S GRANNY?! CBS giving the greenlight to The Real Beverly Hillbillies, a new half hour reality series based on its classic TV show that will follow the adventures of a rural, lower-middle-class family as they are transplanted from their humble home to a Beverly Hills mansion.

CHEERS! Disney's Buena Vista Productions ordering a pilot for a daytime chat fest starring former Cheers star Kirstie Alley. If picked up, the show would likely debut in syndication in fall 2003.

FACE OFF: A man who said he isn't getting credit for cowriting Nicolas Cage's upcoming directing debut, Sonny, suing the actor and five companies behind the feature film for more than $2 million for copyright infringement.

LAW & POLITICS: Retiring Republican Senator Fred Thompson returning to acting this fall, playing a conservative district attorney on NBC's long-running series Law & Order. He'll become the first member of Congress to appear as a TV show regular while still in office and will replace the interim D.A. played by Dianne Wiest.

GHOSTWRITER? Missouri composer Dan Kolton claiming the legal copyright to music that he says he wrote for some 100 episodes of Xena: Warrior Princess and the two Hercules series, currently credited to Joe LoDuca, reports the Detroit Free Press.

NOT FUNNY: A comedian scheduled to open for Jewish comic Jackie Mason not allowed to perform his act in Chicago, replaced because he is Palestinian, raising the ire of Arab-American groups.

KUDOS! Actor Ed Asner, who played gruff newsman Lou Grant on '70s sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show, set to receive his home state's top honor, the Kansas Arts Commission's Distinguished Arts Award, on September 20.

ADDING SOME SPICE: Latin pop stars Marc Anthony and Carlos Vives slated to perform at this year's Latin Grammy Awards. On September 18, the show will air live on CBS from Hollywood's Kodak Theater and will be hosted by singer Gloria Estefan and actor Jimmy Smits.

FEEL THE FORCE: 20th Century Fox's Star Wars: Episode II--Attack of the Clones surpassing $300 million in domestic box office Tuesday, its 104th day in release, to become the 13th highest-grossing film in domestic history, just behind 1996's Independence Day.

SOUL SISTER: Neo-soul singer India.Arie releasing her sophomore album, Voyage to India, on September 24 and planning to launch a tour in October.

ON WITH THE SHOW: A Los Angeles judge on Tuesday setting November 13 as a "must-go date" for a preliminary hearing into murder charges against actor Robert Blake and saying he planned to ban cameras from the courtroom.

EVENING DUEL: NBC's Brian Williams scoring a historic ratings victory over ABC's Peter Jennings last week, the first time a Williams-anchored Nightly News beat Jenning's broadcast for a week since it was announced Williams would succeed Tom Brokaw.

HOT SUIT: Actress Kate Mulgrew's Star Trek: Voyager uniform snagging $50,000 at a weekend auction to benefit her husband Tim Hagan's Democratic campaign for Ohio governor.

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