FIRST LOOK: The News in Brief, February 1, 2005

JACKSON WATCH: The judge in the Michael Jackson child molestation trial on Tuesday wrapping the first phase of jury selection after selecting 250 people as potential jurors. Twelve jurors and eight alternates will now be chosen from the pool of 250.

WE LOVE YOU, MICHAEL: Meanwhile, the popster arrived in court Tuesday to attend jury selection and was greeted outside by fans who shouted their support. However, the turn-out was lower than compared to Monday.

MORE JACKSON: Fox News Channel to air Geraldo Rivera's exclusive interview with Jackson this Saturday, Feb. 5 at 10 p.m. During the sit-down, the singer talks about how he's holding up with the trial, raising his kids, his professional future, and sister Janet's "wardrobe malfunction" at last year's Super Bowl.

SNL VETS GO PRIME TIME: NBC is ordering a pilot for a prime time comedy starring Saturday Night Live head writer Tina Fey, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The Reporter also places former SNL funnyman Chris Kattan in an upcoming prime time ABC comedy vehicle.

MARY POPULAR WITH INDIE KIDS: Variety is reporting Juliette Binoche, Heather GrahamForest Whitaker, and Matthew Modine have all signed on to star in famed indie director Abel Ferrara's religious-themed film Mary.

AN OFFER THEY COULD NOT REFUSE: Per the Hollywood Reporter, James Caan and Robert Duvall agreeing to reprise their roles as Sonny Corleone and consigliere Tom Hagen by lending their voice and likenesses to Electronic Arts' The Godfather videogame, which hits stores in the fall. The actors, who helped develop the game, will also attend the premiere unveiling the game in New York's Little Italy on Feb. 10.

BADA-BING! A&E topping a bidding war Monday over TNT for the rights to air edited versions of HBO's The Sopranos, ponying up a record $2.5 million per episode, the biggest ever for a syndicated series.

GOT SOUL: R&B superstar Usher leading the pack with five nominations, including Best Male R&B-Soul Album for Confessions and Best Duet for "My Boo" with Alicia Keys, to lead this year's Soul Train Music Awards.

IN THA DOGGHOUSE: Snoop Dogg sued by makeup artist Kylie Bell, who claims that she was raped by the rapper and his posse following a January 2003 taping of Jimmy Kimmel Live. Snoop filed a preemptive suit against Bell last month, claiming she was trying to extort money from him.

BUSTED: Rapper Master P and his brother Silkk the Shocker arrested last Thursday in Los Angeles after police allegedly found two handguns in their car, the Smoking Gun reports.

YOU-KN0W-WHO MADE HER DO IT: Country singer Lynn Anderson pleading not guilty on Friday in Taos, New Mexico, to charges of shoplifting and punching a police officer after her Jan. 24 arrest for allegedly swiping a Harry Potter DVD at a local market.

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST: A publicist for Orlando Bloom and Kate Bosworth confirming that the camera-ready couple have split after two-plus years together. Rep Robin Baum cited the actors' busy schedules as a reason for the breakup.

SPLITSVILLE: The Bachelorette's Meredith Phillips and Ian McKee ending their year-long relationship, the couple said in a joint statement.

SPEEDRACER: Ashton Kutcher will serve as the Honorary Starter for NASCAR's 47th annual Daytona 500, airing Feb. 20 on Fox.

FINAL FAREWELL: Cher set to take the last bow of her three-year Farewell Never Can Say Goodbye tour at the Hollywood Bowl on Apr. 30. The performance will mark the 325th concert of the long-running tour, which sold more than three million tickets.

IDOL NEWS: American Idol judge Paula Abdul announcing plans to revive her singing career after this season.

IDOL ADD: Idol producers meanwhile suing Peru-based Panamericana Television to prevent it from airing Superstar in the U.S., claiming the show's format is a ripoff of Fox's hit contest.

CATCH A WHIFF? Enrique Iglesias agreeing to be the spokesperson for Tommy Hilfiger's True Star Men fragrance.

POSTPONED: People reporting that Destiny's Child singer Kelly Rowland and her fiancé, Dallas Cowboys football star Roy Williams, have pushed back their March wedding. No word when the nuptials will take place.

LOGGING IN: According to the Hollywood Reporter, FX signing up Grounded for Life star Donal Logue to star in El Centro, a one-hour drama in which he'd play a sheriff in Mexicali, the desert region along the California-Mexico border.

EXPANDING EAST: Warner Bros. Entertainment teaming up with a local partner to build multiplex cinemas in cities across China, the government announced Monday.

HOT CAST: Woody Harrelson, Sean Bean, Michelle Monaghan and Richard Jenkins set to costar with Charlize Theron in an untitled Warner Bros. drama about a female coal miner and single mom (Theron) who complains about sexual harassment in a mining company.

THE HEAT IS ON: With Everybody Loves Raymond ending its run, star Patricia Heaton signing a seven-figure deal with ABC to star in series and long-form projects as well as develop and executive produce TV movies and new pilots.

SNEAK PEAK: Fox Sports placing miniature eraser-sized cameras in the end zones of Sunday's big Super Bowl game to provide viewers with a turf view.

COME AS YOU ARE: Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic hitting the road and speaking to groups across the country to lobby for electoral reforms.

CAST THIS! Hollywood studios and network reps meeting Tuesday to resolve a dispute with the industry's 500 Los Angeles-based casting directors who have threatened to strike unless they're given the right to organize a union as part of a collective bargaining agreement with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.