NEWS LITE : NAMES IN THE NEWS ON-SCREEN LOVE NOT IN PICTURE FOR EX-PAIR.

Brad Pitt and Gwyneth Paltrow's movie is breaking up, too.

The Hollywood couple, whose romance recently ended, won't be starring opposite each other as planned in a movie directed by Paltrow's father.

``Everybody loves their children,'' the elder Paltrow said in Wednesday's Hollywood Reporter. ``And I think that whatever each of them is going through, they need to not have this hanging over them. When we talked about doing this together, we were at a different place and a different time.''

The Columbia Pictures project, a movie about karaoke called ``Duets,'' was to pair the ``Emma'' star with her former fiance, whose credits include ``Legends of the Fall'' and ``Seven.'' The movie, TV director Bruce Paltrow's feature debut, was to start filming Sept. 15.

Bruce Paltrow said the decision to stop production was his.

``Brad is one of the most remarkably honorable, decent, thoughtful and fair people, and he would never bail out on me having made a commitment,'' Bruce Paltrow said. ``But I felt it was not fair for him to do this at this time, and it wasn't fair for Gwyneth.''

Young at heart

Mural croons: Frank is L.A.'s kind of guy

A mural of Frank Sinatra has immortalized the singer's face on a Hollywood building across from Capitol Records, the company that immortalized his voice.

The 21-foot-high black-and-white mug was scheduled for completion Saturday, said artist George Sportelli, who has also painted murals of Sinatra's former wife, Nancy, and actor Tony Curtis.

Sinatra's mural is sponsored by the Sinatra Society of America. The fan club wanted to pay tribute to the 81-year-old singer for his receiving the Congressional Gold Medal - the highest honor Congress bestows on civilians.

The painting features a younger Sinatra wearing a felt hat. A black, gold and white border surrounds the painting and will read, ``Sinatra: The voice of the decades.''

Congress voted to honor Sinatra on April 30 with the award that was once reserved for military leaders. This century, recognition has come to those who have shown excellence in a range of fields including entertainment, arts, athletics and science.

Since then, more than 320 medals have been awarded. Recipients include Bob Hope, Walt Disney and Howard Hughes.

Sinatra, who suffered an apparent heart attack in January, launched his solo singing career in 1942. He also has produced, directed or appeared in more than 50 movies and has won many major awards.

Pretty soon, Barbie will be able to talk the talk

Barbie has a car, a house and a pony, all the things someone so plastic could want.

Now she's finally getting a brain.

Equipped with a computer chip, Mattel's Talk With Me Barbie will be able to chat about dozens of subjects and call children by name. Using a CD-ROM that comes with the doll, kids can program different conversations, from dream dates to career choices.

Barbie can even wish a young girl happy birthday, but stops short of blowing out the candles.

The doll, due in stores Nov. 1 and expected to sell for $89, is the biggest Barbie breakthrough since Totally Hair Barbie (the most popular of the line with 100 million sold). Not only does the talking Barbie expound upon subjects of interest to young girls, but her mouth moves in sync with the words.

Previous talking Barbies were programmed with four or five sayings, their lips remaining in frozen plastic smiles.

No, you won't see Philosophy Barbie or Quantum Mechanics Barbie. Despite the advance in technology, Barbie remains a simple, remarkably perky woman.

``We're still aimed at the young-girl market, so we can't make Barbie too sophisticated,'' McKendall said. ``For example, we call Barbie a pet doctor because most kids have no idea what a veterinarian is.''

Once the topic decisions are made, children click a button that sends the information to Barbie's computer station. The toy computer uses an infrared beam to fill Barbie's pretty little head with 12 to 15 phrases based on the information provided.

Barbie talks each time the button on her back is pressed. Once the child tires of the chat, Barbie can be reprogrammed, or ``brainwashed,'' by the same process.

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2 Photos

Photo: (1) Ex-lovers Gwyneth Paltrow and Brad Pitt won't co-star in a movie directed by her father.

(2) Artist George Sportelli of Riverside puts finishing touches on a mural of Frank Sinatra in Hollywood.

Associated Press