People talk 9/14/04

Rap group on ballot for rock Hall of Fame

NEW YORK -- Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five are among the nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame -- the first rap artists to get that distinction -- joining U2, Randy Newman and the O'Jays on the ballot. Getting his start as a DJ at Bronx parties in the late 1970s, Grandmaster Flash later joined with the Furious Five for the social commentary of "The Message" and "White Lines (Don't Don't Do It"). Other nominees include blues guitarist Buddy Guy, rockabilly pioneer Wanda Jackson, rock band the Pretenders, soul singer Percy Sledge, "Centerfold" singers the J. Geils Band and the late country singer Conway Twitty.

Kimmel slated to host American Music Awards

LOS ANGELES -- Jimmy Kimmel's doing it again. The late-night funnyman will host the American Music Awards for the second consecutive year when the three-hour special airs live on ABC Nov. 14. "It is an honor to be nominated and I promise that my duet with Christina Aguilera will be a performance that will not be soon forgotten," joked Kimmel, host of the network's "Jimmy Kimmel Live." Dick Clark, who produces the annual American Music Awards, said Monday he was excited to have Kimmel back as host.

Newscaster Olbermann sexiest on the air

NEW YORK -- The countdown to the No. 1 sexiest male newscaster ends with ... Keith Olbermann -- at least according to a Playgirl magazine online poll. The host of MSNBC's nightly "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" had linked his Web site to the Playgirl Web site and urged viewers to vote for him. The strategy worked: he came away the winner with 24 percent of the 50,000 votes cast. Fox News Channel's Sean Hannity came in second and Anderson Cooper of CNN was third. Andy Rooney of CBS' "60 Minutes" -- who's 85 -- tied for fifth place with the Bill Hemmer from CNN.

Kutcher takes on Poitier role in update of 1967 film

MADISON, N.J. -- Shooting for a remake of a great movie classic brought some Hollywood stars to the area and to the borough's restored, 88-year-old train station. The movie, tentatively titled "The Dinner Party," is based on the 1967 film "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner," starring Spencer Tracy, Katherine Hepburn and Sidney Poitier, about a white couple whose daughter brings a black boyfriend home to dinner. Columbia Picture's remake reverses the racial roles and stars Ashton Kutcher, Bernie Mac and Zoe Saldana. Kutcher plays Saldana's white boyfriend, and Mac has taken on Spencer Tracy's old role -- the father.

-- From wire reports