WHILE GRAMMER MENDS, LEEVES EYES `FRASIER'S' FUTURE.

Byline: Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

``He looks great. A little pale, a little hunched over, but coming along well.'' That's Jane Leeves' assessment of ``Frasier'' castmate Kelsey Grammer, who is recuperating from an emergency appendectomy performed late last month.

The hitcom is on a two-week hiatus while Kelsey returns to form, giving Jane some extra time to focus on her non-``Frasier'' activities - continuing to beat the drum for the inspiring ``Music of the Heart,'' in which she plays a socialite who comes to the aid of the Meryl Streep character and her inner-city music students. She's also reading scripts for other screen projects.

Jane makes it clear she still loves ``Frasier.'' She does, however, admit that, ``After seven years, you can get a little frustrated. It's probably partly my own fault, but I don't think they've served (her character) Daphne well over the last three years - partly through trying to hold onto the sexual tension between Niles (David Hyde Pierce) and Daphne. I understand. We've seen it so many times on television when characters get together and it's a big letdown.''

Things are changing. ``Frasier's'' writer-producers, she says, ``want to get us together in a unique way, and I trust them that they'll find the right way.''

And soon. ``This is going to be the crucial year for Niles and Daphne,'' says Jane. ``There's a strong possibility they'll be together by the end of the year.

``I'm guessing May sweeps.''

Thinking young

Producer Neal Moritz feels lucky indeed to have signed filmland's It Boy of the moment, Wes Bentley, to his ``Soul Survivors'' movie - after Bentley completed his role as the disturbed boy next door in ``American Beauty,'' but before that career-launching performance came to screens. Actually, Moritz has been uncannily lucky about signing young talent in general - having produced ``I Know What You Did Last Summer'' with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Jennifer Love Hewitt, before they became bona fide teen idols, plus the ``Summer'' sequel, ``Cruel Intentions,'' ``Blue Streak'' and ``Urban Legends.''

Moritz recently wrapped a movie with ``Dawson's Creek's'' Josh Jackson - ``Skulls,'' which he describes as `` `The Firm' set in college.'' He has ``Urban Legends 2'' in production in Toronto - and ``Soul Survivors'' rolling in Chicago. The latter is a chiller about teens who suffer otherworldly afflictions of various sorts after surviving an automobile crash in which four are killed. Casey Affleck is a ghostly presence, Eliza Dushku of ``Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is a girl who becomes preternaturally promiscuous - and newcomer Melissa Sagemiller has the femme lead opposite Bentley.

Tacky turkey time

It's that time of year again when we invite readers of our daily syndicated newspaper column, our columns on E! online and viewers of the E! Channel's ``The Gossip Show'' to cast votes for those personalities and productions they feel have been guilty of the tackiest taste of the year. We'll announce the winners on Thanksgiving, so get those cards and e-mails coming to P.O. Box 11079, Beverly Hills, Calif. 90210, or becksmitheonline.com.

Oh, God

The role of God in Kevin Smith's controversial ``Dogma'' went through quite a few casting shuffles.

First, Emma Thompson was to handle the part but had to bow out because of pregnancy. It ended up going to Smith's longtime friend/pop superstar Alanis Morissette, who had originally been considered for the role Linda Fiorentino wound up playing in the Nov. 12 release - the last descendant of God.

Smith now says Alanis has given him the sort of ``ethereal, whimsical'' quality he was hoping for in God.

And as an added bonus, of course, Morissette contributed to the soundtrack. Her just-released ``Still'' song, which will be played over the closing credits, caused such a stir when she played it live on VH1 that a video was rushed into production. And there's talk of a best-song Oscar campaign.

The candy Terminator

There were quite a few people parading around town Halloween night as Arnold Schwarzenegger - including Arnold Schwarzenegger.

He and wife Maria Shriver took their three young children trick-or-treating in Santa Monica, where the youngsters reportedly made quite a haul, though Arnold was heard to say, ``Ve'll be back ... for our treats.''

Nah, he didn't. He did look embarrassed, though, when a lady at one house recognized him. Of course, he could have disguised himself as someone else.

With reports by Stephanie DuBois.

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4 Photos

Photo: (1) GRAMMER

(2) LEEVES

(3) BENTLEY

(4) MORISSETTE