Dixie Chicks Lay the Big One

The Dixie Chicks hit over 10 million in sales with their 1998 major label debut, Wide Open Spaces, according to the Recording Industry Association of America’s monthly certifications.

Something to Sing About

The Sopranos: A Family History will be out in bookstores on November 7. The companion to the popular HBO series will sell for $40 a pop.

Kiss and Sell

Kiss main squeeze Gene Simmons is now a producer. Simmons sold his half-hour comedy series idea to VH1 and is swinging into production this fall. Simmons’ series about a well educated, black performer who’s grappling with being a has-been at the age of twenty-eight, will debut next year.

Drew Playing Barbarella?

Drew Barrymore is slated to play (and co-produce) a film inspired by the 1968 cult film, Barbarella, where Jane Fonda (directed by Fonda’s then-husband, the late Roger Vadim) scampered around outer space dressed in earthly leather.

A Grave Concern

Fans of the group, The Doors, can rest easier now that French officials have laid to rest fears that the late Jim Morrison would be ousted from his Paris grave next year.

Officials at the famous Pere Lachaise cemetery confirmed that the charismatic Doors lead singer, who died of heart failure aged 27 in 1971, would not be "removed from the premises" next July when the 30-year lease on the tomb would expire.

A cemetery official confirmed to Reuters that his grave had a perpetual lease and added: "It’s there and it will stay there."

Morrison’s former Doors colleagues, believing the lease was restricted, pleaded with the French government to let him stay at Pere Lachaise, a crowded cemetery, claiming Morrison’s grave is a huge tourist attraction in Paris—right up there with the Eiffel Tower, the Mona Lisa and the Leuve.

Gloria Stuart

Oscar-nominated actress Gloria Stuart recently received a star on the Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. Her Titanic director, James Cameron, presided over the festivities. Stuart made her film debut in Hollywood over sixty-five years ago.

Are You Seeing Double Leo?

Leo DiCaprio is set to play identical twins in Johnny Eck. The story of real life siblings Robert and Johnny Eckhardt, Johnny became famous on the freak show circuit because he was born without legs. He’s best known as the hero of the 1930’s cult, horror classic Freaks.

Despite his birth defect, Johnny became a successful artist and lived to the ripe old age of 79.

Toons Are Cool in Tinsel Town

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced a new category for the Oscars—Feature Animation.

The Feature Animation Oscar will be handed out the first time in March 2002.

The last new category added to the Oscar repertoire was for Makeup in 1981.

Good Grief, CBS!

ABC-TV grabbed the rights to air "Peanuts" holiday specials starting next year. This ends a 25-year run on CBS-TV.

Paula Abdul Kids Stuff

The pop singer, dancer, choreographer is developing a children’s series for Fox TV.

Hawn & Sarandon

Goldie Hawn and Susan Sarandon may join cinema forces in The Banger Sisters, a comedy about two aging rock groupies, according to the Variety.

Harrison Ford -- If You Can’t Beat ‘em, Join ‘em? Harrison Ford battled the Russians in Air Force One, now it looks like he going to the other side.

The 58-year-old actor is toying with the idea of playing a Russian sub captain who saves the world from nuclear disaster in a thriller titled, K-19.

Babs to Babs

Barbara Walters will do an exclusive interview with Barbara Streisand on November 3 airing on ABC’s 20/20.

Celebrity Dirt

Actress, comedian, executive producer/creator and Oscar winner, Whoppi Goldberg, just purchased some digs in Malibu for almost $4 million.

But, Whoppi will not be borrowing sugar Richard Gere. He recently sold his Malibu beachfront house for close to the asking price of $10 million.

Gere and former "Law and Order" star, Carey Lowell, live mainly in New York with their son.

The star of Dr. T and the Women, bought the house in 1995.