FIRST LOOK: The News in Brief, September 20, 2000

SUPER TEAM UP: In their first-ever on-screen partnership, Martin Scorsese will direct and Steven Spielberg will produce Into the Setting Sun, a movie about the first transcontinental railroad. The script will be penned by Bill Wittliff (The Perfect Storm).

MADONNA NEWS: "I never liked big rocks on my finger--well, I do now," Madonna tells US Weekly. The Material Mom says she delivered her son Rocco by C-section and received a diamond ring the next day from boyfriend Guy Ritchie. "We talk about marriage but we can't decide whether it's something that's necessary."

CANDY FOR WINONA: Winona Ryder guest starring in the season finale of Comedy Central's Strangers with Candy along with Saturday Night Live alum Cheri Oteri. The episode airs October 2.

EXPECTING! Singer Amy Grant is pregnant, a spokesperson for country singer Vince Gill, Grant's husband, confirmed Wednesday. "She's due at the end of March," the rep said.

ET TU, OLIVER? Oliver Stone in negotiations to develop and direct Universal Pictures' thriller American Caesar. The film updates the classic story, focusing on a populist general who becomes president and the aide forced to act when he discovers his boss is power mad.

SCRAPPED: The Beastie Boys-Rage Against the Machine tour is officially canceled. In a statement, the Beasties blame "insurmountable logistical, scheduling, and health problems" related to Beastie Mike D's shoulder surgery.

DON'T THEY ALL? Mariah Carey is being sued by a pair of songwriters who claim the hit "Thank God I Found You" sounds too much like "One of Those Love Songs," recorded by Xscape on their 1998 album, Traces of My Lipstick.

PEOPLE'S CHOICE: Viacom's VH1 channel will use the Internet as a kind of giant focus group to test five series pilots. The new series will preview September 29 and invite viewers comment on www.VH1.com.

BOGUS CLAIMS? Clint Eastwood insists he's on the right side of the law in a federal case accusing him of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act. The case goes to trial today.

PINNED: In a star-studded ceremony this Saturday, Julia Roberts will present the American Cinematheque Award to Bruce Willis for his work in such films as The Sixth Sense, Armageddon and Die Hard, and television's Moonlighting.

THIS WAY IN: Fans with video cameras will get to shoot the new Stone Temple Pilots video in conjunction with L.A radio station KROQ. "We had been agonizing over which way to go with the video in terms of direction and were so nauseous over the state of music videos today that we decided we should leave it up to our fans," says frontman Scott Weiland. More info available at KROQ.com.

THE GEEK LIVES: Emmy-nominated Freaks and Geeks creator Paul Feig is getting a pilot commitment from Fox for Ludlow Residence, a show about a lower middle-class Midwestern family with seven kids.

I DON'T LIKE BUSH! Tom Petty telling George W. Bush to stop using the rocker's "I Won't Back Down" during campaign stops.

LOTS OF POPCORN: Gladiator will be released November 21 on DVD as a two-disc package, including more than four hours of bonus material. The $29.99 set includes 11 deleted scenes, two making-of specials, DTS surround sound and other goodies.

FOR THE KIDDIES: The WB giving a 13-episode commitment to a new live-action incarnation of Superman. The still-untitled series will center on Clark Kent at age 15, when he's beginning to discover his superhero powers.