FIRST LOOK: The News in Brief, June 4, 2004

HAVING MORE FUN: MGM developing a Legally Blonde TV series that would follow Reese Witherspoon's character Elle Woods as she solves various cases. The Hollywood Reporter says the show's expected to debut in fall 2005, but Witherspoon wouldn't star.

PRENUP, SCHMENUP: Eric Benét asking an L.A. judge to determine the validity of his and Halle Berry's prenuptial agreement. Last month, Berry filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences.

MINI-MARRIAGE: Verne Troyer, best known as Austin Powers' Mini-Me, seeking an annulment from 6-foot-2 model Genevieve Gowman. Troyer's lawyer says the couple didn't have a "valid marriage." A judge will decide June 17.

SPRINGTIME FOR KIDMAN: While promoting The Stepford Wives Thursday, Matthew Broderick telling reporters that his Stepford costar Nicole Kidman is going to wear padding to help her bulk up for her role as the buxom Swedish secretary in the upcoming film version of Mel Brooks' The Producers.

FOUR-ALARM FIRE: The trailer for Michael Moore's Cannes-winning Fahrenheit 9/11 debuting in movie theaters today and on the filmmaker's Website. The documentary will be released on June 25.

ON THE BEAT: Variety reporting that Candice Bergen and John Mahoney are in talks to star in Law & Order: Trial by Jury, bowing early next year on NBC. Law & Order vet Carey Lowell is in talks to reprise her role as Jamie Ross on the spinoff.

CALLING IT QUITS: After eight years and three albums together, rock band Creed announces it's breaking up.

THE RETURN OF MARATHON MAN: Sean "P. Diddy" Combs tapped to carry the Olympic torch when it passes through New York City later this month on its way to Athens.

DIDDY ADD: Combs sued Thursday by a record promoter who accused the rap mogul of trying to coerce him into falsely confessing that he stolen Combs Grammy award, a crime he says he did not commit.

ABSOLUT SUIT: Actor Jason Lewis suing the Absulut Spirits company and Ketchum public relations for allegedly using his stint on Sex and the City where he appeared in a fictious ad as the Absolut Hunk to promote the product on the Internet without his permission.

THE DAY AFTER THE PIRATES: Two moviegoers busted for attempting to record The Day After Tomorrow with handheld video cameras in theaters in Los Angeles and Canada for later resale. A third pirate in Los Angeles got away.

THE JUICE SPEAKS: On the 10-year anniversary of the double murder for which he was acquitted but left an outcast , O.J. Simpson telling Fox News that he is angry with his slain ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and also lashed out at the father of Ron Goldman. The former football great also said he's planning to star in an upcoming reality show that's a takeoff on Punk'd.

TOPS OF THE TUBE: Angels in America, The Apprentice, Arrested Development, The Daily Show and The Sopranos up for Program of the Year at the Television Critics Association Awards. Arrested Development and fellow Fox newbie The O.C. are up for Best New Series against Deadwood, Joan of Arcadia and Wonderfalls.

READY FOR HIS CLOSE-UP: Bill Clinton appearing as the keynote speaker at Chicago's BookExpo America on Thursday to promote his memoir, My Life, which hits book stores on June 22.

ON THE TUBE: Former Democratic presidential candidate Al Sharpton signing on with CNBC to be a political commentator for his coverage of the upcoming Democratic and Republican National Conventions.

WORKING IT OUT: Former NYPD Blue star Nicholas Turturro settling a lawsuit against a man who sold him a home in Tarzana, California, in 2002 that was allegedly infested with toxic mold.

NUMBERS GAME: Nielsen Media Research launching its controversial Local People Meter data this week in New York to go along with its regular meter. The new ratings system has taken heat for allegedly failing to represent minorities.

SICK DAY: Ben Affleck missing the London premiere of Jersey Girl because he's suffering from bronchitis. The Oscar winner was briefly hospitalized and is now recuperating in Boston where "he's getting better," according to a rep.

SOME GOOD NEWS: Michael Jackson cleared of allegations that he molested an unnamed child in Los Angeles in the 1980s, the LAPD said Wednesday. The decision has no bearing on Jackson's child-molestation case in Santa Barbara.

MOTOROCK HEAD: Jessica Simpson filing a $140,000 breach-of-contract suit against a New Jersey promoter. She says the man reneged on a deal to pay her for appearing at a 2003 car race in Puerto Rico and then wear a T-shirt with the racing logo "Motorock" in a video.

BUSTED: Former Family Ties star Brian Bonsall (who played Andy Keaton) was arrested Friday in his home town of Boulder, Colorado, on suspicion of drunken driving. He was convicted of drunken driving in 2001 and his license was suspended.

DETH LIVES! Capitol Records planning to reissue all seven studio albums by thrash metal band Megadeth on July 27.

NOT JUST A BARTENDER: Ted Lange, best known for playing Isaac the bartender on ABC's The Love Boat, starring in his play Lemon Meringue Facade, premiering at the New Perspectives Theatre Company in midtown Manhattan June 12.

PASSING: Nino Manfredi, an Italian film star who appeared in over 100 movies in a career spanning more than five decades and worked with some of Italy's greatest directors, died Friday in Rome after suffering a stroke a few months ago. He was 83.