BROSNAN, SMITH HEAD TO EMERALD ISLE FOR CHRISTENING.

Byline: Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Pierce Brosnan and Keely Shaye Smith have set off for Dublin and the christening of their baby, Dylan, this weekend. ``It'll be the first time he will see his grandmother, Pierce's mother,'' Smith notes.

It'll be a christening in church, on the Emerald Isle, with family present. ... In light of all that, are Brosnan and Smith going to fit in a wedding as well?

She doesn't say yes, she doesn't say no. ``We're taking it one day at a time,'' she says. ``I'm in love and I'm happy. ... It's such a wonderful partnership, we don't need a piece of paper to feel like a family.''

It certainly will be a Brosnan family affair for a while. Keely says Dylan will soon be seeing his half-brother and sister, Christopher and Charlotte, in London. Pierce's 13-year-old son, Sean, is making the Dublin-London trek with his father, Keely and the baby, and will enroll in a London school for the six months Pierce will be there making the 18th 007 flick, ``Tomorrow Never Dies.''

Keely plans to go back and forth between London and the seaside home she and Pierce have bought in L.A. She has ``Unsolved Mysteries'' tapings here through May.

The videoland view

Barbara Walters, who will be interviewing Academy Award nominees Lauren Bacall and Woody Harrelson on her Oscar night special, doesn't expect either of them to be winners. But that's not the point, she says. ``My show has the recognizable people.'' Barbara, who'll also be interviewing Harrison Ford on the special, points out that in this year, when art-house films are dominating the Awards, ``Maybe the public will recognize a lot of the Oscar nominees after the Academy Awards. But not now.''

This was Walters' first interview with Harrelson, who's considered a dark horse in the Best Actor race for ``The People vs. Larry Flynt.'' She says she found him to be ``an odd combination - slightly flaky, very down to earth and very amusing.'' She feels he was very serious when he said that his father, in prison for his second conviction of murder, was actually working as a CIA operative when the second crime occurred. She also believes the actor's trying to have the case reopened - and his father set free. Though when she asks him if such is the case, he sidesteps with a ``Well ... let's put it this way, I haven't given up hope.''

Watch out, El Paso 

We knew it was going to happen, and come April 21 production will indeed begin on the first ``Murder, She Wrote'' TV movie with Angela Lansbury back as super sleuth Jessica Fletcher.

We've learned the story does not take place in Jessica's hometown of Cabot Cove, Maine. (Please, no jokes about everyone there having been murdered by now.) Jessica will be doing her thing aboard a train bound for El Paso in the telepic dubbed ``South by Southwest.'' Her train trek will involve her in a murder case that puts Jessica into the techno-world. It has to do with computers, satellite encoding and the National Security Agency.

For `Rent'

A parade of stars continues to see Broadway's smash ``Rent'' - the only current New York show, we're told, that continues to be a consistent sellout. Among the recent celebs in the audience: Bruce Springsteen, John Ritter, Sandra Bullock and Matthew McConaughey.

The star who's drawn the most fuss from the audience - and the one who handled the fans best? Tom Cruise, they say, who was there, of course, with wife Nicole Kidman.

Another favorite was first daughter Chelsea Clinton, who, when she recently celebrated her 17th birthday there, wanted to stand in line with the other teen ``Rent'' fans who wait all day to get seats in the first two rows. We get word that idea received a presidential veto.

Hello again

Janet Hubert, who played the original Aunt Vivian on ``Fresh Prince of Bel Air,'' returns to the tube Saturday as the femme lead in Fox's new ``Lawless'' series with Brian Bosworth and Glenn Plummer. The actress, who believes she was blackballed in the industry after leaving ``Fresh Prince'' in 1993 amid dissension between herself and ``Bel Air'' star Will Smith, says she's just grateful to the folks at Fox ``for believing in my talent and taking a chance on me.''

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos

Photo: (1) Pierce Brosnan

Ready for marriage bond?

(2) Barbara Walters

Talking with Woody

(3) Angela Lansbury

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