Entertainment Today: Showbiz news

HARRISON FORD

Harrison Ford has been chosen by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to receive its top honor, the Cecil B. DeMille Award.

The star of three "Indiana Jones" and "Star Wars" movies will pick up the award in January at the 59th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills. He joins a list of honorees that includes Al Pacino (2001), Barbra Streisand (2000), Jack Nicholson (1999), Shirley MacLaine (1998), Dustin Hoffman (1997), Sean Connery (1996) and Sophia Loren (1995).

The HFPA said it is honoring Ford for his "outstanding contribution to the entertainment field."

The 59-year-old actor has been nominated for four Golden Globe awards for best actor -- for "Witness" (1985), "The Mosquito Coast" (1986), "The Fugitive" (1993) and "Sabrina" (1995). He was nominated for a best actor Oscar for "Witness."

In 1994, the National Association of Theater Owners named Ford Star of the Century.

Nominations for the 59th Annual Golden Globe Awards will be announced Dec. 20. The awards will be presented Jan. 20, 2002, in ceremonies airing live on NBC-TV from the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

BRAD PITT

Since the terror attacks of Sept. 11, it's been nearly impossible for anyone to carry on a conversation without some mention of the events and talk of the future. So when ABC's Barbara Walters staged a long-form interview with actor Brad Pitt, the conversation eventually moved to the topic.

According to ABC, in the interview set for airing this week, Pitt says he thinks that after all the rubble is cleared from the site of the collapsed towers, they should be rebuilt to look exactly as they did before the attacks.

"It's important to America to get our symbol back," the actor said. He also advocates leaving some floors at the top unoccupied as a memorial to those who died in the collapses.

Pitt suggests that the only thing in the open, un-rented area would be a monument to the old towers built from some of the rubble.

(Thanks to UPI Feature Reporter Dennis Daily)

GWYNETH PALTROW

Slender Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow insists her new comedy "Shallow Hal" is a valentine to overweight people -- not a joke at their expense.

"I think that the film is incredibly embracing and warm," said the 29-year-old star of "Shakespeare in Love" and "Bounce."

"The message of 'Shallow Hal' is that it doesn't matter if you're extremely overweight or not. Like, that is a ridiculous thing that is sociologically imposed on us. You know, that we feel that it's unacceptable to be fat when it has nothing to do with who the person actually is. I mean, I didn't feel at all that it was offensive. And I know heavy people who love the message of this film and are totally glad that this is a subject that is being explored," she explained.

In the movie, Paltrow dons a fat suit to play Rosemary, a morbidly obese woman. Jack Black ("High Fidelity," "Saving Silverman") plays Hal, the superficial womanizer who falls in love with Rosemary after he is hypnotized to see only someone's inner beauty.

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

HOWARD STERN

Howard Stern, who rose to fame declaring himself to be the King of All Media, is losing his syndicated TV show.

This Saturday's telecast will be the end of the line for the show's three-year run,

King World, which syndicates the show, said the decision to pull the plug was Stern's -- but sources told Daily Variety the reasons for taking the show off the air also include poor ratings and changing tastes.

Variety reports that King World chairman Roger King has made it plain that he favors high-quality, family-friendly content -- which is hardly how you'd describe Stern's show. Also, the show has suffered steadily declining ratings since its debut in 1998.

The show has been airing repeats since August.

E! Entertainment TV plans to continue running "The Howard Stern Show" nightly, featuring video footage from Stern's daily syndicated radio show.

(Thanks to UPI Hollywood Reporter Pat Nason)

DISNEY TRIBUTE

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences will celebrate the life and work of Walt Disney with a special program at the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater on Dec. 5, which would have been Disney's 100th birthday.

Film historian Leonard Maltin will host the event, which will explore Disney's influence and role in the history of film and popular culture.

But Maltin tells UPI that it would take more than one evening -- more like a series -- to cover the entire range of Disney's influence. "This is going to be the 'Reader's Digest' condensed version," he said. "Disney's career and influence are enormous and staggering."

Maltin suggested a Disney series could devote one night to film, another to TV, one to pop culture, another to theme parks, and yet another to corporation building.

"He did it all," said Maltin, "and he did it better than anyone's doing it today."

The celebration will feature a screening of rare cartoons, home movies, innovative and experimental live-action clips and behind-the-scenes footage.

The evening will also feature appearances by Disney's daughter, Diane Disney Miller -- and by Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston and Ward Kimball, the three surviving members of Disney's legendary group of "Nine Old Men." That was the name given to the animators who formed the core of the creative engine at Disney's studio -- turning out such animated classics as "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," "Dumbo," "Cinderella" and "Sleeping Beauty."