ABDUL GEARS UP FOR SITCOM WHILE MAKING NEW ALBUM.

Byline: Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Talk about having a full plate! Paula Abdul is finalizing a deal that'll have her starring in her own sitcom come fall. And that's hardly all ...

The pop star, who makes her dramatic TV debut playing a woman who gets raped in ABC's ``Touched by Evil'' telepic Sunday, is right in the thick of recording a new album. It's ``wall-to-wall dance music, something I think my fans have been wanting.'' She's working with superproducer Nile Rogers on the disc, for which she anticipates an early summer release - and a summer tour. And ...

``I can't wait to have a family. My husband wants a baby now!'' Paula cheerfully reports, referring to designer/clothing manufacturer Brad Beckerman, whom she wed in October. ``I say probably next year. I'll have to think about when I might start to show, and when the series hiatus comes and all that.''

Paula tells us her new mate was a weekly visitor to the set of ``Touched by Evil,'' which lensed in Toronto, and that ``I was so glad! It was extremely draining to shoot. The rape scene alone took a day and a half, and it was hard on everyone. Brad really helped me keep a balance.''

Abdul adds that she took on the highly dramatic role because ``I thought it was a good stretch for me, something people wouldn't expect.'' And because a former roommate of hers lived through the ordeal of a rape.

She says of the latter, ``It was terribly frustrating being a friend trying to reach out to her and being shut out.'' The friend has since patched things up with Paula and in fact wound up serving as unofficial adviser for her part.

The industry eye

Kevin Costner is starting the search for a leading lady for ``The Postman,'' which goes into production March 3 in the Pacific Northwest, with the actor directing and playing a letter carrier in a post-apocalyptic world. ``There's a wonderful love story,'' says Costner's partner, Jim Wilson. ``The actress won't necessarily be a major name. We're happy Warner Bros. feels Kevin's enough of a star to handle the responsibility of carrying the film.''

``The Postman,'' which marks Costner's second directorial stint and comes eight years after he helmed ``Dances With Wolves,'' will mean he'll have to push back ``The Kentucky Cycle'' for HBO. Again. This is the highly publicized six-hour adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Kevin has planned to direct for several years. Says Wilson, ``He still intends to do it. But when studios come along and offer Kevin a great amount of money to make great projects like `The Postman,' well, there's no telling when he'll be able to make `Kentucky Cycle.' ''

The fact of the matter is...

Goldie Hawn's reps insist there's absolutely no truth to reports that the actress and Kurt Russell have tied the knot. Finally.

Sounds good

They can't be very happy over at the Private Music label, home of Yanni since he started to become probably the biggest name in new-age music, though he'd rather not have his music categorized as such. Private Music is home to the 13-million-album-selling composer-performer no longer. We get word Virgin Records has wooed him away with a bigger money deal than Private Music would (or could?) match.

Deja true

Staff members at Mike Medavoy's Phoenix Pictures were looking at each other in disbelief last week when news broke of the Kansas City, Kan., arrest of Michael Kolnhofer. The 79-year-old was described by neighbors as a friendly parrot owner who liked to talk to children and had a Santa Claus statue in his yard - and ended up shooting at officers ready to take him into custody for allegedly hiding the fact that he'd been a Nazi concentration camp guard. Phoenix has ``Apt Pupil'' ready to go into production next month, with a number of eerie parallels to the real-life story. The Stephen King tale deals with an aged Nazi hiding out in a quaint American town. Ian McKellen and Brad Renfro will star.

CAPTION(S):

Photo

Photo: Paula Abdul

Plays rape victim in ABC movie