FIRST LOOK: The News in Brief, December 12, 2005

TOP OF THE NEWS: Colin Farrell entering rehab for exhaustion and dependency on prescription medication, his publicist said Monday. Farrell had been prescribed the medicine for a bad back.

MOURNED: Comedy legend Richard Pryor died of a heart attack Saturday at Encino Hospital, near Los Angeles, at age 65. "He enjoyed life right up until the end," said ex-wife Jennifer Lee Pryor. "At the end, there was a smile on his face."

LION'S SHARE: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe roaring into the top spot at the box office, grossing an estimated $65.6 million to become second-biggest December opening ever.

A LITTLE MORE PERSONAL: Lindsay Lohan's parents, Michael and Dina, settling their bitter divorce battle. Terms of the agreement were confidential.

THEY DO! Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood getting hitched Saturday night in Oklahoma. "It's the perfect Christmas gift to each other. We could not be happier," said Brooks.

SO DO THEY: Paramount Pictures forking over nearly $1 billion cash for DreamWorks SKG. The deal gives Paramount control of the studio's library. While DreamWorks' animation division wasn't on the block, Paramount will distribute future DreamWorks 'toons.

BADA BINGED: New York police charging Sopranos bit player Lillo Brancato, 29, Saturday, with murder, after a burglary gone awry in which a police officer was shot and killed.

OUTPLAYER: Danni Boatwright, a 30-year-old sports-talk-radio host from Kansas City, crowned champ of Survivor: Guatemala Sunday, beating Stephenie LaGrossa in the final Tribal Council.

OUTLAST: At the end of Sunday's finale, host Jeff Probst announcing that the next edition will be Survivor: Panama, Exile Island, now filming. It'll premiere in the spring.

ONCE BITTEN: A judge scheduling a May 1 trial date for Daniel Biechele, the former tour manager of Great White, who's charged with involuntary manslaughter for lighting the pyrotechnics that killed 100 people in a 2003 Rhode Island nightclub fire.

NOT BUCKING THE SYSTEM: Rapper Young Buck pleading no contest today to a charge of assault in connection with the stabbing of a man at last year's Vibe Music Awards. He was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to perform 80 hours of community service.

BROKEBACK LEADS THE WAY: Brokeback Mountain leading the nominations for The Broadcast Film Critics Assocation with eight nods, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor. Crash following with six nominations, including nods for Best Film and Best Director.

GAY COWBOYS RULE! The Los Angeles Film Critics Association naming Brokeback Mountain Best Picture and its helmer, Ang Lee, Best Director.

SAY GOOD NIGHT: The National Board of Review tapping Good Night, and Good Luck as its choice for 2005's Best Picture, Philip Seymour Hoffman Best Actor for Capote, and Felicity Huffman Best Actress for TransAmerica.

GOING FOR BROKE: The American Film Institute also naming Brokeback Mountain one of the top 10 films of 2005, along with Capote, Crash, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Good Night, and Good Luck, A History of Violence, King Kong, Munich, The Squid and the Whale and Syriana.

AFI TOP 10 TV SHOWS: AFI's top TV shows of 2005: 24, Battlestar Galactica, Deadwood, Grey�s Anatomy, House, Lost, Rescue Me, Sleeper Cell, Sometimes in April and Veronica Mars.

AHOY: The New York Film Critics Online naming indie comedy The Squid and the Whale the year's Best Picture Sunday, while also tapping Philip Seymour Hoffman as Best Actor for Capote and Keira Knightley Best Actress for Pride & Prejudice.

A GOOD THING: Martha Stewart's daytime chatfest, Martha, getting picked up for a second season.

VERY MUCH INTO IT: Comedian Greg Behrendt, who penned the popular dating guide He's Just Not That Into You: The No-Excuses Truth to Understanding Guys, set to host his own syndicated talk show, tentatively titled The Greg Behrendt Show, starting fall 2006.

OPTING OUT: A rep for Chris Rock confirming he will not be back hosting the Oscars next year, but added the funnyman would be up for doing it again down the road.

BIG HIT: Robert Greenwald's Controversial anti-Wal-Mart film, Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price, selling 100,000 DVDs in its first month in release, per Nielsen VideoScan, despite not being available at the big box chain.