People talk 01/08/03

Film star Moore making wedding plans

LOS ANGELES -- Julianne Moore plans to marry the father of her two children, filmmaker Bart Freundlich.

The star of such movies as "Boogie Nights" and "Hannibal" got engaged over the holidays, said her spokesman, Steven Huvane. He released no other details Monday.

Moore and Freundlich met while working on 1997's "The Myth of Fingerprints," which he wrote and directed.

The redheaded actress has been married twice before. She and Freundlich have a 5-year-old son and a daughter born last April.

Moore, 42, has a Golden Globe nomination for her work in the 1950s-era melodrama "Far From Heaven." She also co-stars in "The Hours" with Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman.

Green Day lead singer arrested on DUIcharges

BERKELEY, Calif. -- The lead singer of the punk band Green Day was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving.

Billie Joe Armstrong, 30, was arrested early Sunday morning near Telegraph Avenue for allegedly driving under the influence, Berkeley police spokeswoman Mary Kusmiss said.

He was stopped for speeding in a black BMW convertible, Kusmiss said. He failed a field sobriety test and was booked into Berkeley county jail, where he later was released on $1,053 bail.

Armstrong fronts the punk trio with several platinum-selling albums to its credit, including "Dookie" and "Nimrod."

'Superman' will give advice on 'Smallville'RADNOR, Pa. -- Christopher Reeve will give Clark Kent some advice in a February episode of the WB series "Smallville."

Reeve, who rose to fame as the star of the "Superman" movies of the 1970s and '80s, will play Dr. Swan, a brilliant scientist who gives the show's teenage Clark Kent (Tom Welling) insight into his superhero future, TV Guide reports in its Jan. 18 issue.

"Smallville," which chronicles Kent's tumultuous teenage years in a rural town, usually is shot in Vancouver. Reeve's scenes will be shot in New York City.

The WB offered the 50-year-old actor, paralyzed from the neck down since a 1995 horse-riding accident, a unique incentive to take the part. The network will run a public-service announcement at the end of the show for the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation.

Leno displays his love for luxury cars at show

DETROIT -- Jay Leno cracked a few jokes as he talked up the Maybach -- a car to outdo fellow luxury cars that's described as a corporate jet on wheels.

But "The Tonight Show" host and auto enthusiast was serious when it came to the car itself.

"This is a car built by engineers to honor an engineer," Leno told reporters Monday at the North American International Auto Show. "It is a pretty amazing car when you drive it."

While hosting the Maybach Morning Show at the car's display, Leno introduced the granddaughter of engineer Wilhelm Maybach, who helped design the first Mercedes car in 1901. He had his picture taken with her -- saying he'll hang it on his garage wall.

The car, from DaimlerChrysler AG's Mercedes-Benz unit, is a comeback of the old Maybach luxury vehicles of the 1920s and 1930s. U.S. pricing is expected to be announced later this year, but the Maybach 62 that Leno showed off is expected to cost about $350,000.

The interior is akin to first-class seating in an airline, only more sumptuous, with about 5 feet of back-seat legroom in the Maybach 62. It has features such as a roof that can be translucent or darkened, depending on how much natural light is wanted in the car.

-- From wire reports