Porn Star Proves He's A 'Survivor'...OF THE SEX TRADE!

CBS executives have defended the decision to cast porn actor Brian Heidik on the upcoming Thailand edition of "Survivor."

Reality series have for the most part avoided casting players who already have professional credits under their belt, lest they appear less than "real."

Heidik's credits include a stint on "Days of Our Lives," as well as guest shots on shows such as "Baywatch Nights." He most recently appeared in a number of soft-core porn movies.

According to a network statement, "CBS was aware of his past film credits, but all of our survivors ultimately have the option to decide what elements of their background they do and don't want written in their bios. Brian Heidik is certainly not the first actor to omit certain credits from his biography.

"While this is a part of his past, he is now a successful used-car salesman raising a family in the suburbs, and we feel he definitely brings something to the show."

Today's New Releases

As I told you yesterday today is the day that you have been saving money for. It is a rainy day that will see the sky open up with great news DVD's to buy. Seriously, check out yesterday's posts to get the skinny on the new PULP FICTION, JACKIE BROWN and RESERVOIR DOGS Special Editions.

Oh, baby! I am going broke today. Then there are other titles that you will love too!

And here we go! Here are the new DVD and Video releases for Tuesday, August 20th, 2002:

FIRST UP, THE BIGGIES! THE HUGE ONES! LA GRADIOSE!

WE WERE SOLDIERS- Battle at The Valley of Death during the Vietnam War. (Mel Gibson, Madeleine Stowe, Sam Elliott)

RETURN TO NEVER LAND- Wendy's kids come to learn the legend of Peter Pan. (Blayne Weaver (Voice), Corey Burton (Voice), Harriet Owen (Voice))

ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS- Two opposites work together to foil diamond heist. (Ice Cube, Mike Epps, Tommy Flanagan)

THE SWEETEST THING- A woman lacking in wooing skills tries to catch her man. (Cameron Diaz, Christina Applegate, Selma Blair)

JOE SOMEBODY- A man loses face in front of his daughter and fights back. (Tim Allen, Julie Bowen, James Belushi)

VAN WILDER- A perpetual college student must find ways to raise money. (Ryan Reynolds, Tara Reid, Kal Penn)

IRIS- The true story of novelist-philosopher Iris Murdoch. (Judi Dench, Kate Winslet, Hugh Bonneville)

AND THE REST... (This is the longest list ever!)

Air Jaws 1 & 2
All About The Benjamins (Platinum Collection)
Allman Brothers: Brothers Of The Road
America Remembers 9/11: A CNN Tribute
American Pimp
Angels Over Broadway
Aria
The Awful Dr. Orloff
The Axe (Special Edition)
The Babysitter
The Barefoot Contessa
Basket Case (Special Edition)
Bear/Blue House: V.8
Beetlejuice
The Birth Of A Nation
The Bishop's Wife
Black Eyed Dog
Black Sabbath
Blair Witch 2: Book Of Shadows
The Blair Witch Experience (Set)
Bless The Child
Blood Orgy Of The She-Devils
Bob Marley, Catch A Fire
Bound
Breaking Out:alctrz Concrt
Buffy Saint-Marie: Up Where We
The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari
The Calling
Campfire Stories
Candyman: Day Of The Dead
Carmen: The Hip-Hopera
Carried Away
The Cat's Meow
Catch-22
Cave Of The Living Dead
Cecil B. Demented
Chain Reaction
The Child
Children Of The Living Dead
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Chuck & Buck
Cleopatra
Clueless (Widescreen)
Copacabana
The Corpse Grinders (Special Edition)
Corridors Of Blood
Courage Under Fire
Cujo
Cult Of Fury
The Darren Aronofsky Collection
The Day The World Ended
The Dead Zone
Death Curse Of Tartu (Special Edition)
Death Wish
Dee Snider's Strangeland
Deep In The Woods
The Delta Force
Delta Force 2
Dillinger
Dirt Boy
Doomwatch
Dracula: The Dark Prince
Euroshockers
Eye Of The Needle
Fallen Arches
A Family Thing
Fatal Error
Fire & Ice
The First Step
The Fluffer
The Fluffer (Unrated)
The Fortune Cookie
Frankenstein's Daughter
Friday The 13th
Friday The 13th, Part 2
Friday The 13th, Part 3
Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter
Frogs
The General's Daughter (Widescreen)
A Gentleman's Game
Ginger Snaps
Golden Years
The Goonies
Gorky Park
The Great Train Robbery
Gremlins (Special Edition)
Gremlins 2: The New Batch
Gruesome Twosome (Special Edition)
Harold And Maude (Widescreen)
Haunted
Hit & Runaway
Home For The Holidays
Hometown Legend
Hopscotch
The Hotel New Hampshire
House Of Exorcism
The House Of Seven Corpses
IMAX: Wild Australia, The Edge
In The Time Of The Butterflies
Invasion Of The Body Snatchers
It's A Wonderful Life
The Item
Jackie Brown (Collector's Edition)
James Brown: Live At The House
The Jean Claude Van Damme Collection Vol (Set)
Jeff Foxworthy:totally Committ
Jesus Of Nazareth (2 Disc Collector's Edition)
Jesus: The Miracle Maker
Jim Breuer: Heavy Metal Comedy
Joan Of Arc
Kindred:The Embraced(3pk)
King Solomon's Mines
Kiss Me Deadly
Kiss: Second Coming
The Ladies Man
The Langoliers
The Learning Curve
Lilies Of The Field
The Little Vampire
The Longest Yard
The Lost World
Magic Schoolbus: Creepy Crawly Fun
The Mangler 2
Manhunter
Marathon Man
Margarita Happy Hour
Mass Destruction
The Master
The Minus Man
The Misfits
Moby Dick
Modern Warriors
Moonlight And Valentino
MTV's Real World: Exotic Vacations
MTV's Real World: New York - Complete 1s
Music For Monserrat
My Cousin Vinny
Necessary Roughness
New York Firefighters: Brotherhood Of 9/
The Next Step
Nightmare Room: Camp Nowhere
Nightmare Room: Scareful What You Wish F
The Ninth Gate (Widescreen)
Nobody's Baby
North Dallas Forty
A Nous La Liberte
Office Space (Widescreen)
One Magic Christmas
Open Your Eyes
Operation Enduring Freedom
Ordinary People
The Organization
The Permanent Midnight And Open Your Eye (Set)
Pet Sematary
Pet Shop Boys: Somewhere
Pi
Premonition
Pretty In Pink
Prince: Rave Un2 The Year
Project V.I.P.E.R.
Psychomania
Raising Arizona
The Razor's Edge
The Real Eve
Requiem For A Dream
Requiem For A Dream (Unrated)
Rest In Peace
Ronin
Rosemary's Baby
Roughing It
Rumpelstiltskin
The Running Man
Santa Claus: The Movie (Widescreen)
Santa Claus: The Movie (Full Screen)
Schizo
School Ties
Scooby Doo Meets Batman
Scooby Doo: Creepiest Capers
Scooby Doo: Spookiest Tales
Scrooged (Widescreen)
Shiner
Sleepaway Camp
Sleepaway Camp - Survival Kit (Limited Edition)
Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers
Sleepaway Camp 3: Teenage Wasteland
Slippery When Wet
Some Kind Of Wonderful
Someone Like You
Stalag 17 (Widescreen)
The Stand
Startup.com
Stephen King's Thinner
Stir Of Echoes
Surfin' Shorts
Surfing Hollow Days
Sweet Smell Of Success
Taboo
The Tangerine Bear
Three Days Of The Condor
Throw Momma From The Train
Thunderbolt And Lightfoot
Tom Jones
Tom Sawyer
True Colors
U2: Rattle And Hum (Widescreen)
Universal Soldier
The Untouchables
Urban Jungle
The Warriors
Water Logged
The Way Of The Gun And Killing Zoe Set
Wet, Wet, Wet: Playing Away
What Time Is It There?
Where The Heart Is
White Christmas
The Who - Who's Next
Who'll Stop The Rain
Wishmaster 3: Beyond The Gates Of Hell
The Wishmaster Set
The Wishmaster Set (Set)
Witchboard 3
The Witches
Woman Eater
WWF: Hollywood Hogan
WWF: King Of The Ring
Zoltan:Hound Of Dracula

GAS FROM THE PAST

Does any costly, good ever come out in August? With the $100+ million Eddie Murphy flick "The Adventures Of Pluto Nash" earning less than $3 million at the weekend box office the answer may be: no. Here's a recap of some recent late-summer flops Hollywood has foisted on us:

* "Ghosts of Mars": Aug. 24, 2001. John Carpenter's sci-fi thriller cost $28 million but scared up only $8.4 million.

* "Bubble Boy": Aug. 24, 2001. This anemic comedy - starring now-wunderkind Jake Gyllenhaal - cost $13 million but made a sickly $5 million.

* "American Outlaws": Aug. 17, 2001. Now-hot Colin Farrell wasn't when this $35 million western shot blanked, stealing only $13 million.

* "The Cell": Aug. 18, 2000. Jennifer Lopez pouted unconvincingly in this $33 million overblown music video, which captured only $18 million.

* "Dudley Do-Right": Aug. 27, 1999. Brendan Fraser 's $22 million cartoon Canadian Mountie did wrong, making only $9 million.

GOING AT IT ALONE

Backstreet Boy Nick Carter planning to release his debut album as a solo artist, Now or Never, on October 29.

LAST LAUGH?

Ana Gasteyer is exiting Saturday Night Live after six seasons, her publicist announced Monday. Gasteyer made history as the show's first pregnant performer.

ON THE MEND

A hospital spokesperson saying that Jason Priestley's condition remains unchanged, but "he is continuing to make progress in his recovery and his family remains very optimistic." The former Beverly Hills, 90210 star, injured in a race-car crash a week ago, may be released and put into physical rehab in a few days.

ULTIMATUM

Russia's space agency giving Lance Bass until Friday to come up with $20 million to pay for his planned fall trip to the international space station. The 'N Syncer is vying to become the youngest person--and first pop star--into space.

This Day's New Tunes

This list of CD's that will be in stores today is so uninteresting that I can't even bother writing anything about it.

Simply put, here are the new music releases for Tuesday, August 20, 2002:

* 4TH AVENUE No Plan B (Interscope)
* AMERIE All I Have (Columbia)
* ANCHOR Vs. Breakdance Vietnam (Razor & Tie)
* ANDY DICK Andy Dick & The Bitches Of The Century (Milan)
* ANDY STOCHANSKY Five Star Hotel (Windham Hill)
* ANGIE MARTINEZ Animal House (Elektra)
* ANTHONY B So Many Things (VP)
* ARKANGEL Dead Man Walking (Razor & Tie)
* BEENIE MAN Tropical Storm (Virgin)
* BLACK CROWES Live (V2)
* BLACK SABBATH Past Lives (Sanctuary Records)
* BLINDSIDE Silence (Elektra)
* BOOMTANG Wet (Virgin)
* BOWLING FOR SOUP Drunk Enough To Dance (Zomba)
* BOY GEORGE U Can Never B 2 Straight (Virgin)
* BRAD Welcome To Discovery Park (Redline)
* BUDDY DEFRANCO Mr. Clarinet (Remaster) (Verve)
* CAL TJADER Soul Bird: Whiffenpoof (Verve)
* CHARLY GARCIA Influencia (EMI Latin)
* CHICAGO Chicago Transit Authority (Deluxe Edition) (Rhino)
* CHICAGO Chicago II (Deluxe Edition) (Rhino)
* CHICAGO Chicago III (Deluxe Edition) (Rhino)
* CLARK FAMILY Clark Family Experience (Curb)
* CLIFFORD BROWN At Basin Street (Verve)
* CULTURE Humble African (VP)
* DEANA CARTER The Deana Carter Collection (Capitol)
* DIAMOND RIO Completely (Arista)
* ERIC ALEXANDER Summit Meeting (Milestone)
* ERNESTINE ANDERSON My Kinda Swing (Remaster) (Verve)
* FIONA Wanna Make Love (VP)
* FLIPMODE SQUAD The Rulership Movement
* FOREIGNER Double Vision (Remaster) (Rhino)
* FOREIGNER Head Games (Remaster) (Rhino)
* FRANK BLACK & THE CATHOLICS Black Letter Days (Sonic Unyon)
* FRANK BLACK & THE CATHOLICS Devil's Workshop (Sonic Unyon)
* GIORGIA Greatest Hits (Ariola)
* GLEN WASHINGTON Number One Girl (VP)
* GORDON LIGHTFOOT Shadows (Rhino)
* GORDON LIGHTFOOT Salute (Rhino)
* HEZEKIAH WALKER Family Affair II: Live At Radio City Music Hall (Zomba)
* JAMES TAYLOR October Road (Columbia)
* JIMI HENDRIX Smash Hits (Remaster) (MCA)
* JIMMY SCOTT But Beautiful (Milestone)
* KATHY MATTEA Roses (Narada)
* KAY HANLEY Cherry Marmalade (Rounder)
* KEITH SWEAT Rebirth (Elektra)
* KELLY WILLIS Easy (Ryko)
* KENNY RANKIN A Song For You (Verve)
* L.A. GUNS Waking Up Dead (Spitfire/EMI)
* LAURA BRANIGAN The Essentials (Rhino)
* LEE ANN WOMACK Something Worth Leaving Behind (MCA Nashville)
* LOUIS PRIMA The Wildest! (Blue Note)
* LOVHER To Know Her Is To Loveher (Def Jam)
* LUCIANO Sweep Over My Soul (VP)
* MICHEL PETRUCCIANI 100 Hearts (Blue Note)
* MICHEL PETRUCCIANI Live At The Village Vanguard (Blue Note)
* MONTY ALEXANDER My America (Telarc)
* MORGAN HERITAGE Protect Us Jah (VP)
* MURDERDOLLS Beyond The Valley Of Murderdolls (Roadrunner)
* NAAM BRIGADE Early In The Game (BMG)
* NAT KING COLE Live At The Sands (Blue Note)
* NATHAN WILEY Bottom Dollar (Sonic Records)
* NEKO CASE Blacklisted (Mint Records)
* NO SECRETS No Secrets (Zomba)
* OTTMAR LIEBERT In The Arms Of Love (Higher Octave Music/EMI)
* RATT The Essentials (Rhino)
* SCOTT MERRITT Detour Home (Universal)
* SEPULTURA Under A Pale Grey Sky (Roadrunner)
* SHADE SHEIST Informal Introduction (MCA)
* SISTER ROSETTA THARPE Gospel Train (Remaster) (Verve)
* SIZZLA Words Of Truth (VP)
* SIZZLA/LUCIANO/ANTHONY B/YAMI BOLO 4 Rebels (VP)
* SPINNERS The Essentials (Rhino)
* STEELIE & CLEEVIE Old To The New: Tribute To Joe Gibbs Classics (VP)
* SURFACE Breaking The Surface (VP)
* SWING OST Swing OST (Warner International)
* TEGAN AND SARA If It Was You (Universal)
* THE CLIPSE Lord Willin' (Arista)
* THE DRIFTERS The Essentials (Rhino)
* THE LAST MINUTE OST The Last Minute OST (Palm)
* THE METERS The Essentials (Rhino)
* THE RASCALS The Essentials (Rhino)
* THE SHINING TBA (The Shining) (Sony)
* TREBLE CHARGER Detox (BMG/Vik)
* VARIOUS ARTISTS Frosh 5 (MCA)
* VARIOUS ARTISTS The Angels Are Singing (Rounder)
* VARIOUS ARTISTS Now!7 (EMI)
* VARIOUS ARTISTS Underground Hip-Hop Volume 1 (Page)
* VARIOUS ARTISTS Smoke The Herb (VP)
* VARIOUS ARTISTS Smoke The Herb: The Second Pound (VP)
* VARIOUS ARTISTS Dancehall 101 - Volume 1 (VP)
* VARIOUS ARTISTS Dancehall 101 - Volume 2 (VP)
* VARIOUS ARTISTS Soca Gold 2000 (VP)
* VARIOUS ARTISTS Reggae Lasting Love (VP)
* VARIOUS ARTISTS Reggae Lasting Love - Volume 2 (VP)
* VARIOUS ARTISTS Soca 101 - Volume 1 (VP)
* VARIOUS ARTISTS Latin Grooves On Bluenote (Blue Note)
* VARIOUS ARTISTS When The Sun Goes Down: That's All Right (Bluebird/BMG)
* VARIOUS ARTISTS When The Sun Goes Down: That's Chicago's South Side (Bluebird/BMG)
* VARIOUS ARTISTS When The Sun Goes Down: The First Time I Met The Blues (Bluebird/BMG)
* VARIOUS ARTISTS When The Sun Goes Down: Walk Right In (Bluebird/BMG)
* WILSON PICKETT The Essentials (Rhino)

Hurley Had Fun Filming 'Serving Sara'

Sometimes when people star together in a movie the relationship carries over into their real lives. That isn't going to happen with Elizabeth Hurley and her "Serving Sara" co-star Matthew Perry.

Hurley says Perry was having some personal problems while "Serving Sara" was being shot, so she never really got to know him.

But that doesn't mean that the 37-year-old actress didn't get a good vibe from Perry.

"Even when he was going through some painful times of his own, he was always incredibly funny and cheerful and always making me laugh," Hurley tells AP Radio.

"Serving Sara" casts Hurley as a woman who is served with divorce papers and bribes the process server with $1 million to tear them up and help her sue her husband. But in real life, Hurley says she doesn't think revenge pays.

"Tempting as it may be to seek revenge immediately when you're furious, you never really need to because life tends to take care of that sort of things anyway," Hurley says. "I truly believe that nice things happen to nice people and bad people always seem to come to a sticky end."

Calif. Passes on Album Contract Limit

Benefit concerts and star-filled promenades to Capitol hearing rooms have proved a failing cause for California's recording artists, who have lost their yearlong bid to cap their record contracts at seven years.

On the verge of an Assembly committee hearing last week where their idea lacked the votes to pass, Sen. Kevin Murray, a former music agent, withdrew the bill, promising to try again next year.

"After months of negotiations on the seven-year-issue, the RIAA and the recording artists were at an impasse on several major points," singer and Eagles drummer Don Henley said in a statement.

Henley and others who testified for the artists' campaign, including Courtney Love, Sheryl Crow and the Dixie Chicks, said standard multi-album contracts bind singers for much of their careers to the same label, greatly limiting their musical and financial options.

Record industry officials maintain they must hold their successful acts to long-term recording contracts that help cover losses from the majority of acts that fail.

The Recording Industry Association of America, which led the fight against the bill, declined comment.

Dixie Chick Takes Dig at Messina

Hey Jo Dee Messina, Emily Robison of the Dixie Chicks has you on her mind.

At the recent taping of their upcoming NBC special, Natalie Maines and Martie Maguire surprised their band mate with a birthday cake topped with a sparkler.

After the sold-out crowd sang "Happy Birthday," Robison told the crowd she was turning "the big three-oh" and figured she'd stay 30 for the next several years. Then she added, "Just like Jo Dee Messina." When the audience responded with hoots and rumbles, Robison said she'd just pulled the name out of the air, that she could have mentioned anybody to make her joke.

The Chicks' NBC concert special will air in early December, and feature songs from their third album, "Home," and several of their past hits as well. The new disc will be released on Aug. 27.

Meanwhile, Robison is playing chicken with her due date. The dobro/banjo and guitar-playing Chick is pregnant, with a due date of Nov. 14. She tells Country Weekly she's having a boy, whom they'll most likely name Charles, after her husband Charlie Robison. But she says they'll likely call him by his middle name, which they haven't decided yet.

The trick is the due date: The Chicks have a show on Oct. 19 at the Texas State Fair, three weeks from her due date. Robison laughs that she's praying she can still play her instruments as her belly expands. She says she can probably play the banjo sidesaddle, but not her dobro — so she might have to get a special stand made for it.

Comics Conway, Korman to Be Honored

Tim Conway and Harvey Korman, who frequently broke character while cracking up on "The Carol Burnett Show," will be among those inducted this fall into the Television Hall of Fame.

The list of honorees announced Monday by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences also includes late director John Frankenheimer, designer Bob Mackie, "All in the Family" actress Jean Stapleton and Bud Yorkin, the director-producer of "Maude" and "Good Times."

The ceremony is to take place Nov. 6 in Beverly Hills.

The academy, which also presents the Emmy Awards, selects honorees through nomination by a board of governors and votes from the Hall of Fame selection committee, headed by "All in the Family" producer Norman Lear.

Paul Simon to Get Kennedy Center Honor in December

Singer-songwriter Paul Simon will get a Kennedy Center Honor award in December, taking the place of former Beatle Paul McCartney, who opted out of this year's ceremony, a spokeswoman for the center said on Monday.

McCartney was to be feted Dec. 8, along with actor James Earl Jones, conductor James Levine, dancer-actress Chita Rivera and actress Elizabeth Taylor.

However, Kennedy Center spokeswoman Tiki Davies said McCartney will receive the award next year. She said she did not know the reason for the switch.

Simon, who had been listed for a future award, will instead get the prize in 2002, Davies said by telephone.

Davies passed along a statement from Simon's spokesman Dan Klores: "Paul Simon is honored and looks forward to a wonderful weekend. He feels as if he is blessed."

The Kennedy Center Honors Gala is a staple of Washington's winter social season. This year honorees will start the evening with dinner at the White House before the gala performance at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Afterward, there will be a supper dance in the center's Grand Foyer.

Simon and the other honorees will get their awards the evening before the gala, at a State Department dinner hosted by Secretary of State Colin Powell, a Kennedy Center statement said.

Simon first came to prominence in the 1960s as part of the duo Simon and Garfunkel with such songs as "The Sound of Silence," "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" (known popularly as "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme") and "Bridge Over Troubled Water." In 1986 Simon released his biggest-selling solo album, "Graceland" with Africa's Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

In March 2001 Simon was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.