NEWS LITE : MOB-FILM MAKER FINDS ITALIAN ROOTS.

Francis Ford Coppola is getting back to his roots, camera in hand.

Coppola's grandfather, Agostino, emigrated to United States from Bernalda, Italy, in the southern province of Basilicata, and the director still has relatives there.

In an interview reported Sunday in the daily Corriere della Sera, the director said he has been filming Bernalda's streets and houses, his relatives and the festival honoring the town's patron saint.

Coppola said his father, Carmine, often told him about the festival, so the director created one like it in ``Godfather III.'' Coppola also cast a cousin from Bernalda in a small role.

Returning to his roots puts him back in touch with real values, Coppola said.

Ex-man-about-town loves married life

Albert Brooks, the writer, actor and director, finally abandoned his bachelor's life at 50. Now he's reaping the benefits.

``Life, in general, used to be very lonely,'' Brooks told The New York Times in a story published Sunday. Married for two years, he now has a young son.

``I see people who remain single and immerse themselves in their work, and I don't know how they do it. It's very important to be grounded somewhere.''

Brooks latest film, ``The Muse,'' deals with an aging Hollywood writer trying to get the magic back in his career. Its creator credits home and family with doing that for him.

Censure blasts cop in body-armor sale

Rapper Master P saved a bundle on 10 bulletproof vests he bought from two men who resold them after buying the body armor with a police discount.

It wasn't illegal, but the two men are feeling the heat anyway.

``You have a situation where an officer personally profited from his badge,'' said Rafael Goyeneche, head of the Metropolitan Crime Commission of Greater New Orleans, which investigated the sale.

Lloyd Alphonso, who was not in the department at the time of the 1997 sale, has been fired from the police reserves. Full-time officer Wiley Wood IV is under review for possible disciplinary action, the Harahan Police Department said.

The police discount cut the price of each vest from $850 to $460. Some of the savings were passed on to Master P, and Alphonso and Wood split a $2,000 profit, Goyeneche said.

Imelda's obsession grips soul to soles

Imelda Marcos, former first lady of the Philippines, has confirmed something frightening:

Her infamous shoe collection is growing quickly.

The tally could some day exceed 3,000 pairs, she confessed.

``I seem to get more and more shoes,'' she said in Manila, ``and I'm afraid that I will have more shoes than before.''

Gov. Jesse Ventura referees wrestling match

Jesse Ventura defied his critics Sunday and temporarily traded his job as governor for a stint as a guest referee at a professional wrestling match.

Before 19,404 rowdy fans at Target Center in Minneapolis and millions more watching on pay-per-view, Ventura strutted into the same World Wrestling Federation ring where wrestlers with big biceps spent the night hitting each other with fists, kicks, chairs and even a guitar.

``There's a lot of media saying I'm a disgrace for being here. I'll tell you this: I'm proud of wrestling. I'm proud I was a wrestler, and I'm proud to be here tonight,'' Ventura said.

Much of the match transpired out of the ring despite Ventura's instructions that it take place on the mat. Ventura drew a standing ovation and chants of ``Jesse, Jesse'' when he ejected Triple H's female manager, Chyna, from ringside.

One match took wrestlers Big Boss Man and Al Snow from the arena, across the street and into a local bar. There they slapped each other with plastic tables, broomsticks and beer bottles.

OVERHEARD

``They're both stiff, and they're boring. I don't mean to run anyone down, but why not tell the truth?''

- Sen. Orin Hatch

Who came in a less-than-scintillating ninth in the Iowa Republican straw poll - bad-mouthinig Democrats Al Gore and Bill Bradley.

Prosperous consumers seeing gray

The color of money these days comes in shades of gray.

From silver cars to brushed-steel refrigerators to gray clothes, cool colors are in. According to color analysts, consumers are looking for high-tech colors that evoke the coming century.

``We see the whole gray movement continuing into the millennium,'' said Pat Tunsky, creative director at Henry Doneger Associates of New York, color advisers to several industries. ``It's more of a futuristic color - the metals with brushed and satin finishes, not high-shine.''

When predicting color trends, analysts weigh economics, environment, politics, history, sports, psychology and other factors.

Gray and silver show the strong economy and conservatism, while green symbolizes harmony and counteracts emotional stress. Psychologists say a move to red cars would reflect a ``spend-it-now'' mind-set.

White and green, which regained popularity in 1993 and faded in 1998, still are the most popular colors for cars in the United States, but silver has gained popularity in automotive segments from sport-utility vehicles to luxury cars.

DuPont, which tracks automotive color choices, said silver and gray cars posted increases of up to 17 percent in various categories in 1998, the last figures available. In 1997, the increase was less than 7 percent.

News Lite is compiled from Daily News staff and wire reports.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

Photo: (1) Pooped pup

A Chihuahua held by owner Linda Herr proves cats have no monopoly on napping anyplace. The pup pooped out Sunday at the Alamo Cluster of Dog Shows in San Antonio.

Kevin Geil/Associated Press

(2) COPPOLA