Entertainment Today: Showbiz news

BRAD PITT

Brad Pitt fans might want to mark Nov. 22 on their calendar.

Besides being Thanksgiving, it's also the scheduled date for Pitt's guest appearance on "Friends" -- the NBC comedy program where his wife, Jennifer Aniston, plays Rachel Green.

According to People magazine, Pitt's role will be that of a guy whom Rachel used to mock in high school. When he shows up in her life -- he looks like, well, he looks like Brad Pitt. On top of that, he still holds a grudge over the way Rachel used to treat him.

(Thanks to UPI Hollywood Reporter Pat Nason)

HARRY POTTER

When Daniel Radcliffe prepared to do the final scenes for the soon-to-be-released first Harry Potter movie, it seems the 12-year-old actor's voice suddenly seemed too "dark and adult" for producers.

What to do? Well, according to the London Sun, the production crew went ahead with filming but had another boy actor dub in the part. It seems the young Mr. Radcliffe was beginning his "journey into adulthood" a little earlier than producers had hoped. The publication says that another actor -- who had originally tried out for the part -- was tapped to do the overdubbing.

There are also reports that the Harry Potter stand-in is the voice used on several video tie-in games that are Potter-themed.

"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" premieres this weekend in London. Radcliffe, hormones not withstanding, is under contract for a sequel.

(Thanks to UPI Feature Reporter Dennis Daily)

BILLY CRYSTAL

Comedian Billy Crystal says he hopes his new computer-animated adventure, "Monsters Inc.," will offer news-obsessed Americans a chance to relax and laugh in wake of the war on terrorism.

"We need everything we can do to divert us and make us feel better in whatever form that is," Crystal told reporters. "People really want to let loose. ... You look at what Mr. (Bob) Hope did for 50 years entertaining the troops ... and you look at people walking around just looking like we're all dazed, and if you tell just one joke and people laugh, just for a split second, you don't think about potentially what's happening here. I think it's important ..."

In the G-rated Disney/Pixar film, "Monsters, Inc." is the largest scream-processing factory in the monster world, where the collected cries of human children is the main power source.

The story is about how Sulley, the top "kid scarer" (voiced by John Goodman of TV's "Roseanne,") finds his career in jeopardy and his life in chaos when a little girl follows him into the monster world.

Crystal provides the voice for Mike, a feisty, one-eyed, green "scare assistant" to big, fuzzy blue Sulley. Steve Buscemi ("Domestic Disturbance," "Fargo") plays a cunning competitor who will stop at nothing to oust Sulley from his top-dog position at MI, and James Coburn ("The Magnificent Seven") plays the crab-like CEO of MI.

"Monsters Inc." opens nationwide Friday.

(Thanks to UPI's Karen Butler in New York)

WORLD TRAID911 BENEFIT

Chevy Chase will host a benefit show next Monday night at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom.

The First Annual World TrAID911 Benefit will raise money for educational assistance to the children and spouses of those killed or permanently disabled as a result of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The scheduled all-star line-up for the event includes Richard Belzer, Tom Cavannaugh, Lenny Clarke, Charlotte Church, Felicia Collins, Paul Shaffer and the CBS Orchestra, Catherine Crier, Peter Criss of KISS, Hallie Eisenberg, Adam Ferrara, Rod Gilbert of the NY Rangers, Gilbert Gottfried, Carol Kane, Cyndi Lauper, Denis Leary, Carlos Leone, Jackie "the Jokeman" Martling, PM Dawn, Joan Osborne, Mary Louise Parker, Seal, Tony Roberts, Colin Quinn and Treat Williams as well as cast members from "The Job," "Law and Order," "100 Center Street," "Oz," "The Sopranos" and "Third Watch."

GQ MEN OF THE YEAR

Ben Affleck, George Clooney and Benicio del Toro are among GQ magazine's 2001 Men of the Year.

Each year, GQ readers vote on their favorite men in the categories of film, television, theater, fashion, music, sports, literature and food. The November issue marks the sixth annual GQ Men of the Year" list:

-- Ben Affleck, Film Actor, Drama

-- Lance Armstrong, Individual Athlete

-- Michael Bay, Film Director

-- Benjamin Bratt, Most Stylish

-- Larry Brown, Coach

-- Kobe Bryant, Team Athlete

-- George Clooney, Film Actor, Comedy

-- Benicio del Toro, Supporting Actor, Film

-- James Ellroy, Literature

-- Sen. Jim Jeffords, Courage

-- Nathan Lane, Theater

-- Rob Lowe, Actor, Television Drama