FIRST LOOK: The News in Brief, December 11 2005

Sun., Dec. 11, 2005 10:10 PM PST by Kerry Shaw

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 his ex-wife, Jennifer Lee Pryor. "At the end there was a smile on his face."

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," says 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.

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

LION?S SHARE: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe roaring into the top spot at the box office, grossing an estimated $67.1 million in its opening weekend.

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.

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.

BADA-BINGED: New York police arresting Sopranos bit player Lillo Brancato, 29, Saturday, on suspicion of carrying out a burglary in which a police officer was shot and killed.

OFF THE WALL: Michael Jackson's spokeswoman denying published reports that the singer suffered an overdose in Bahrain on Friday.

OPTING OUT: Chris Rock not returning to host the 2006 Academy Awards, his rep confirmed Friday.

BED BUGGED: Gary Glitter admitting to Vietnamese police that he allowed an 11-year-old girl to sleep in his bed, but denying sexually abusing her, his attorney said Thursday.

DANCE MOVES: Tia Carrere, Giselle Fernandez, George Hamilton, Stacy Keibler, Drew Lachey, Kenny Mayne, Tatum O'Neal, Jerry Rice, Lisa Rinna and Romeo signing on for the second season of Dancing with the Stars.