Writer Michael Crichton and wife splitting up

LOS ANGELES -- Citing irreconcilable differences, the wife of "Jurassic Park" author Michael Crichton is seeking a divorce to end their 13-year marriage.

Anne Marie Martin Crichton and her husband have lived apart since August 2001, when they moved from Bedford, N.Y., to Santa Monica, according to documents filed Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Anne Crichton asked the court to ratify a previous agreement dividing the couple's property.

A call Saturday to Michael Crichton's publicist was not immediately returned.

Since his 1971 novel "The Andromeda Strain" was made into a movie, Crichton has enjoyed a string of literary and film successes.

More than a dozen of his novels and original screenplays have been turned into feature films, including "Twister," "Disclosure" and "West World." The 1969 graduate of Harvard Medical School is also the creator of TV's long-running series "ER."

Knievel shows proof he's paid in full

HELENA, Mont. -- Evel Knievel says it's no stunt; he's produced proof that he paid his debt to the Internal Revenue Service.

Knievel, who made millions as a motorcycle stuntman in the 1970s, disputed published reports, based on court records, that he owed the government as much as $5.3 million in back taxes.

At the time, Knievel and his attorney, Wade Dahood, said they reached a settlement with the IRS under which Knievel was obligated to pay only a fraction of that amount.

In early August, Knievel said he owed the IRS just $15,000.

Now a letter from the IRS, addressed to Robert C. Knievel, backs his claim.

"You have completed the payment requirements of your Offer in Compromise," it states. "This settles any previous owed Federal income taxes, according to the terms of the agreement made between you and the Government."

A spokeswoman for the IRS said last month that the agency does not comment on such matters.

Barn accident sends Patty Duke to hospital

COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho -- Actress Patty Duke was hospitalized after suffering a concussion and skull fracture early in the week when she tried to apply fly spray to a horse in her barn.

Duke, 55, who lives in northern Idaho with her husband, Michael Pearce, was listed in fair condition at the Kootenai Medical Center's Intensive Care Unit.

"The prognosis is excellent," Pearce said.

Sheriff's deputies quoted Pearce as saying that he left the barn while Duke was about to apply the spray to a 2-year-old filly in one of the stalls, heard a thump and his wife cry out.

When he got back inside the barn, Pearce told deputies he saw Duke on the floor of the stall. The horse was "excited and nervous and startled but not attacking," Pearce was quoted as saying.

Duke won a best-supporting actress Oscar in 1963 for "The Miracle Worker."-- From wire reports

Reward offered in case of burned Madison County bridge

WINTERSET, Iowa -- Robert Waller, author of the best-selling novel "The Bridges of Madison County," has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the person responsible for burning down one of them.

State fire investigators say arson was the probable cause of Tuesday night's fire that destroyed Cedar Bridge. Investigators have removed several charred samples that will be tested for accelerants, said Sgt. Robert Hansen, spokesman for the state fire marshal's office.

"I have lost an old and dear friend with whom I have spent many quiet hours," Waller said in a statement issued by the Madison County sheriff's department.

The 119-year-old Cedar Bridge was perhaps the best known of the six covered bridges that have drawn thousands of visitors since Waller's novel was published in 1992. It's where the lead characters, farm wife Francesca Johnson and photographer Robert Kincaid, plan a romantic rendezvous.

The 76-foot-long wooden bridge, located over Cedar Creek a few miles northeast of Winterset, was renovated in 1998 at a cost of $128,000.

Waller has pledged financial help to replace the structure.

Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep starred in the 1995 film, directed by Eastwood, that was based on Waller's book.

Nelson cancels concerts for medical treatment

AUSTIN, Texas -- Willie Nelson canceled four concerts after being treated for a broken blood vessel in his nose.

Nelson was treated Thursday in Lincoln, Neb. He is expected to rejoin the tour within the next week, his record company said Friday.

He called off performances in Lincoln, Neb.; Neosho, Mo.; Bonner Springs, Kan.; and Geneva, Minn.

Nelson has been on a U.S. tour since July 12 to promote his recent release, "The Great Divide." The tour will continue into the fall and will include Farm Aid 2002.

Last month, Nelson got two Country Music Association Awards nominations: "The Great Divide" is up for best album, and "Mendocino County Line" with Lee Ann Womack for best vocal event.

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VENICE, Italy (AP) -- Despite continuing conflict in the Mideast, organizers announced plans for what they describe as the first international film festival in Palestinian territory.

The Ramallah Film Festival is set to take place April 4-9 in the West Bank city, its director, Adam Zuabi, said in a statement Friday at the Venice Film Festival.

"It will be an international film festival, whose main idea is to bring a little fantasy to this place, in order to make it easier for the people to cope with their reality and see beyond it," he said.

The festival is backed by several international film figures, he said, including actress Vanessa Redgrave, Bosnian director Danis Tanovic (Oscar-winning "No Man's Land") and Italian director Ettore Scola.

The festival will be financed by international organizations and through private support.

"However, the festival will not be a competitive one and will not profess any particular theme," Zuabi said. "The aim is to encourage a colorful and open forum."

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On the Net:

Venice Film Festival: http://www.labiennaledivenezia.net/gb/cinema/

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VENICE, Italy (AP) -- Director Stephen Frears' new movie, "Dirty Pretty Things," about the underbelly of immigrant life in England, drew strong reviews at the Venice Film Festival.

Frears, director of "Dangerous Liaisons" and "High Fidelity," said his latest movie is a story he couldn't turn down.

"I read the script and it was clearly an account of my country that I hadn't read before," he told a news conference Friday. "I knew it was absolutely original, no one had done anything like this."

He added, "We were in completely new territory. And everyone in the group could see how fresh it was."

The film tells the tale of an illegal immigrant from Nigeria who shares an apartment with an asylum-seeking Turkish woman played by Audrey Tautou, an actress who made her name in the French hit "Amelie."

"Dirty Pretty Things" is in competition in the main Venice 59 section. The Golden Lion and other awards will be handed out Sunday.

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On the Net:

Madison County: http://www.madisoncounty.com/

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TOKYO (AP) -- Japanese pop star Hikaru Utada, whose debut CD, "First Love," set a domestic sales record, has married the director of her music videos.

Utada, 19, and Kazuaki Kiriya, 34, filed their marriage papers at a government office, said Nozomu Kaji, spokesman for EMI-Toshiba Ltd.

In a letter posted Friday on her Web site, Utada said she met Kiriya while working on the videos and cover photographs for her second album, "Distance."

"There are probably many people who are wondering why I am getting married at this young age," she wrote. "My decision came from a natural feeling of wanting to live my life with the one I love."

Utada's music is strictly American pop, but her lyrics are an eclectic mix of English and Japanese.

"First Love," released in 1999, sold more than 9.5 million copies, making it the best-selling album in Japan ever. "Distance" has sold 4.8 million copies in Japan, and "Deep River," which hit stores in June, has sold 3.85 million.

Utada was born in New York and attended Columbia University.

She signed a contract with EMI earlier this year.

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ROME -- Film director Nanni Moretti's car was vandalized days before he was to lead a major anti-government protest.

The car, parked outside Moretti's apartment building, had its windshield wipers damaged and its side mirrors smashed early Thursday, police said.

Police said they didn't know what motivated the attack.

Moretti has organized a mass gathering in central Rome on Sept. 14 against proposed legislation by Italy's conservative government that the center-left opposition says will help Premier Silvio Berlusconi in a corruption case.

However, Moretti said Friday he didn't think the vandalism was political. "These things happen every day to many cars. This time it happened to me," he told the ANSA news agency.

Moretti, whose movie "The Son's Room" won top honors at last year's Cannes film festival, is a vocal supporter of leftist parties in Italy.

Earlier this year, thousands turned up at demonstrations he organized, complaining about Berlusconi's control of the Italian media.

The premier owns Italy's largest private broadcaster, Mediaset, and his government has indirect influence on the state broadcaster, RAI.

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LONDON -- Bruce Dickinson, singer for heavy metal veterans Iron Maiden, is hitting new heights in his second career as a commercial airline pilot.

"It's a great job," Dickinson told The Daily Telegraph. "Nothing else compares."

Charter airline Astraeus confirmed that Dickinson, 44, serves as first officer on Boeing 737s flying between Britain and holiday destinations in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

The band -- famous for long hair and high-pitched hits like "Run to the Hills" -- formed in the late 1970s and still has a loyal following.

"We have had Iron Maiden fans on board who, when they heard my name being announced as first officer, asked the hostesses if it was the rock star," Dickinson said.

"When told it was they spent the flight with their jaws on the floor then ask if they can have a chat with me."

Dickinson, who got his commercial pilot's license in the 1990s, performs with Iron Maiden during holidays from his airline job. In June, a rereleased "Run to the Hills" reached No. 9 on the British singles chart.