FUNK VETERAN JAMES SAYS HE'LL TELL ALL IN NEW BOOK.

Byline: Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Is the world ready for Rick James to air all his dirty laundry?

The onetime bad boy of funk reports he's just wrapping up his autobiography and says, ``I'm telling it all - names, places, everything. ... I'm pulling no punches.''

He certainly has a tale to tell. The singer, who topped the charts for years with such hits as ``Super Freak,'' ``Give It to Me Baby,'' ``Mary Jane'' and ``Bustin' Out,'' turned sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll into an art form during his heyday - often openly flaunting both sex and drugs during his concerts. His hedonistic lifestyle took its toll in the mid- to late '80s, when his popularity began to wane and he slid into a downward spiral of a crack cocaine addiction that ended with his serving two years in prison for assaulting a woman in 1993. He was released on probation in 1996.

James, whose many relationships included a love affair with actress Linda Blair, predicts some significant figures from his past will be running for cover when the book comes out but says, ``Let them run. They didn't run when we were doing what we were doing.''

Since being released from prison, James has been speaking to youngsters around the country about the dangers of drugs and self-indulgence.

When his autobiography comes out, he says, ``I'm going to be doing a lot more of that. I want to do a school tour with the book so I can really get to the kids. Hopefully it'll be out around Thanksgiving or Christmas.''

`Rear Window' heats up

Looks like Christopher Reeve's filmic update of the Jimmy Stewart thriller ``Rear Window'' is moving back to a front burner. ``It will happen some time this year,'' assures producer Robert Halmi.

The project, trumpeted as Reeve's first major acting turn since his near-fatal fall from a horse in 1995, was originally expected to begin production last fall but has taken longer to script than anticipated.

In the movie, Reeve will play a man who witnesses a murder from his apartment window. The actor has told this column he's anxious to do the drama to show how resourceful and independent a disabled person can be.

`Lateline' on `Nightline'

Miguel Ferrer says he's dying to meet former ``Nightline'' executive producer Rick Kaplan to see how he likes Ferrer's thinly veiled portrayal of Kaplan on NBC's ``Lateline.'' The show's creators and executive producers, Al Franken and John Markus, based Ferrer's character on Kaplan after visiting ``Nightline'' to do research for the news-show satire.

``When Al and John were over at `Nightline,' everybody kept saying, `You gotta base a character on Rick Kaplan.' They told them all their favorite stories about him. He was described to Al and John as `the world's largest screaming human.' Apparently, he would go nuts,'' says Ferrer.

``He was a guy involved in a high-stakes game of poker every day of the week.

I was hearing stories about him having to deal with the egos of the anchors, the correspondents and at the same time deal with some world leaders who happened to be newsmakers that week who were prima donnas themselves.

Imagine, you've got a camera on Idi Amin, and he doesn't feel like going on that night because of whatever. ... So Kaplan had to play chicken with some of these guys - otherwise, he's got 22 minutes of dead air.'' Adds Ferrer, ``Kaplan's now running CNN.''

Here 'n' There

Calista Flockhart of ``Ally McBeal'' will spend the summer in Tuscany portraying Helena in Michael Hoffman's film of Shakespeare's ``A Midsummer Night's Dream.'' Meanwhile, ``Ally McBeal'' itself is finally setting sail across the Atlantic. Britons will get to see the first of 23 episodes starting in June.

DreamWorks SKG has several high-profile features coming down the pike, but it looks like one of its smaller entries may be a sleeper. ``Paulie,'' with Gena Rowlands, Cheech Marin and Bruce Davison, tested last week to an impressive 93 percent very good-to-excellent rating from both kids and adults. One publication already termed the movie, which is about a parrot, `` `Babe' with a beak.''

The inside track

Multi-Grammy-winning songstress Deniece Williams is cooking on all burners this year. She's heading out on an international tour in support of her new Harmony Records ``This Is My Song'' gospel CD, she just signed with William Morris, and she's started her own company, KOPS (Kids of Promise).

``It's a children's company,'' reports the singer. ``I'll be doing children's books and videos to accompany albums I'll be writing.''

With reports by Stephanie DuBois.

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos

Photo: (1) Rick James

Naming names

(2) Miguel Ferrer

Inspired by news guy

(3) Gena Rowlands

``Paulie'' tests well