FIRST LOOK: The News in Brief, December 12, 2003

YO-HO! After captaining one of the year's biggest flicks, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Johnny Depp has been named E!'s Entertainer of the Year. Depp will be crowned Monday as E! counts down the year's top celebs beginning at 9 p.m.

GAB FEST: Oprah Winfrey inviting David Letterman to appear on her show in an apparent effort to resolve the public feud between the two talk show hosts. Letterman has repeatedly begged Winfrey to appear on Late Night but she's declined, saying she felt uncomfortable during her previous two appearances.

FARE-WHALE: Keiko, the killer whale of Free Willy fame, died Friday afternoon of pneumonia in Norwegian coastal waters. The whale was 27--old for an orca in captivity.

OZZY SHOCKER: Sharon Osbourne telling London's Daily Mirror that husband Ozzy stopped breathing and his heart stopped beating for more than a minute after he crashed his an all-terrain vehicle earlier this week. Luckily, a security guard who was with the rocker resuscitated him.

HER SATANIC MAJESTY: Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger officially becoming "Sir Mick" after being knighted by Prince Charles in a ceremony Friday at Buckingham Palace.

IS HE JOKING? Ashton Kutcher announcing on Friday that he's pulling out of MTV's prank show Punk'd after two seasons so he can leave fans "wanting more." His reps swear it's no trick, however MTV's Website says a new season starts in March.

WANNABE STARTIN' SOMETHIN'? Jermaine Jackson saying his brother Michael Jackson was physically mistreated when he turned himself in to the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department to face child molestation charges. A police spokesperson said the popster was treated "with courtesy and professionalism."

TWO TIMES A LOSER: Marketing executive Burton Roberts becoming the first person to be booted off Survivor twice. The final four is now set: Jon Dalton, Darrah Johnson, Lillian Morris and Sandra Diaz-Twine. The finale to Sruvivor: Pearl Islands airs Sunday on CBS.

MUSIC TO HIS HEART: Opera star Luciano Pavarotti set to tie the knot with longtime galpal Nicoletta Mantovani in the tenor's hometown of Modena, Italy, on Saturday. Celebrity guests expected include Bono and fashion designer Donatella Versace.

WHEN THE CIRCUS COMES TO TOWN: HBO giving the go-ahead for a second season of Carnivale. The Depression-era drama will return sometime in late 2004.

BRANCHING OUT: Hip-hopster Pharrell Williams signing a shoe and clothing deal with Reebok to create a footwear line called Ice Cream. He'll also launch a fashion line called Billionaire's Boys Club in department stores.

TWO IN ONE: German media giant Bertelsmann and Japan's entertainment conglomerate Sony have officially merged their music businesses, BMG and Sony Music, the companies announced Friday. The new entity is the now the world's second-largest music company.

POPPING IN FOR A VISIT: Sundance Film Festival founder Robert Redford turning up on the big screen at the 2004 festival with the premiere of Pietter Jan Brugge's The Clearing, which was one of 16 films added to the lineup.

ONE DIRECTOR TO RULE THEM ALL: The Lord of the Rings helmer Peter Jackson set to receive this year's Modern Master Award at the Santa Barbara Film Festival on January 31.

FLY BOY: John Travolta one of 2,000 people turning up at the dedication Thursday of the aviation marvels at the National Air and Space Museum's new second home in Chantilly, Virginia.

FUNKY PLEA: Funk legend George Clinton pleading innocent to possession of cocaine and drug paraphernalia on Thursday after his arrest over the weekend in Tallahassee. No word on a trial date.

WILL & GRACE & LAWYERS: The creators of Will & Grace sued NBC Thursday for breach of contract, alleging NBC kept the price of the Emmy-winning sitcom below market value when the Peacock extended the show's licensing deal.

HE'S THE CRITICS CHOICE: Emmy-winning Will & Grace star Eric McCormack tapped to host the 9th annual Critics Choice Awards January 10. The kudocast, voted on by the Broadcast Film Critics Association, will be telecast for the first time live on E! at 8 p.m. ET. Nominations will be annouced next Tuesday.

DELAYED: A judge postponing a hearing Thursday until January 27 for singer-actress Courtney Love, who faces two felony counts of possession of a controlled substance.

KEEP US HANGIN' ON: Lawyers for Diana Ross arguing Thursday that a superior court judge should review a lower court's ruling that okays the Supremes diva's breath test results to be used in her upcoming drunken driving trial scheduled for January 14.

SMALL WONDER: NBC developing Life Is Too Short, a half-hour reality comedy starring Verne "Mini-Me" Troyer of Austin Powers fame and his surrogate family.

DIVERSITY ON THE RISE: The number of minority writers in television on the upswing last year, accounting for 13 percent of all primetime scribes, with jobs that went beyond just writing for ethnic sitcoms, according to a report issued Thursday.

WEDDING GUESTS: Some 17 million viewers tuning in for Trista and Ryan's televised nuptials on ABC Wednesday, making it the number one show in total viewers for the night.