SENATOR AND ROCKER MEET FOR A COMMON CAUSE

Senator and rockermeet for a common cause
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Bono and Jesse Helms?
Not only are they friends, but the Irish rocker and the archconservative former North Carolina senator also share a common cause: fighting AIDS in Africa.
Before U2 opened to a raucous crowd of 17,000 at the city's new downtown arena, Bono had dinner with Helms.
"He [Bono] called us a couple of weeks ago and said he wanted to see his old friend the senator," said John Dodd, president of the Jesse Helms Center, who accompanied Helms and other family members to Monday's meeting.
Since they were introduced several years ago, the Republican Helms and Bono have become close allies in the fight against the AIDS epidemic in Africa.
Helms, who is 84 and suffers from a number of serious health problems, arrived backstage before the show and was joined by Bono for a casual meal. On the menu: grilled chicken, roast beef and salmon.
The two men talked for a few minutes about their work and what they have been able to accomplish and what still needs to be done, Dodd said.
Bono briefed the senator on DATA -- or Debt, AIDS, Trade in Africa -- a nonprofit organization he helped found in 2002 with other activists to increase awareness of the crises in Africa.
hWatts found making'King Kong' was a scream
NEW YORK -- Naomi Watts knew the role of Ann Darrow in "King Kong" was one that demanded a strong set of pipes.
Watts, who stars as Darrow in Peter Jackson's big-budget remake of the 1933 classic, says her character's screams are part of movie lore just as much as the big plane-swatting ape.
"It's funny, the whole scream thing, because you don't really scream in real life," Watts told The Associated Press in a recent interview. "If there's truly anything scary, then you would almost swallow it. And if there's a mouse nearby, you'd squeal: 'Aaiiee!'
"Where does a scream come from? It's really movies, I think."
The 37-year-old actress said she didn't practice her screams for "King Kong," but did get some prior work in "The Ring" and its sequel. Her screen credits also include roles in "Mulholland Dr." and "21 Grams."
Though Watts certainly lets out a few choice cries, Jackson's "King Kong" isn't quite as filled with the head-flung-backward, throat-rattling shrieks that packed the original or the 1976 "King Kong" that starred Jessica Lange.
"In the other two versions, I think there's a lot more screaming," Watts said. "There are screams [in this version], but it's not all the way through. I don't know, maybe that's reflective of the modern woman. Yeah, she's a damsel in distress, but she's tougher and that's why she negotiates herself out of being killed."
James Dean museumwill close at year's end
GAS CITY, Ind. -- A museum chronicling the short life of "Rebel Without a Cause" star James Dean will close Dec. 31.
Owner David Loehr moved the James Dean Gallery to Gas City from Fairmount, where Dean attended high school, less than two years ago.
Although attendance had increased, it wasn't enough to match the cost of maintaining the temperature-controlled building, Loehr said Monday.
Dean, who was born in Marion in 1931, was killed in a car crash in Cholame, Calif., in 1955 at age 24. He also had roles in "East of Eden" and "Giant."
Today's Birthdays
Jazz musician Clark Terry is 85. Former "60 Minutes" executive producer Don Hewitt is 83. Actor-playwright George Furth is 73. Actor Hal Williams is 67. Actress Patty Duke is 59. Pop singer Joyce Vincent-Wilson (Tony Orlando and Dawn) is 59. Entertainment executive Michael Ovitz is 59. Actress Dee Wallace is 57. Rhythm-and-blues singer Lewis McNeir (The Four Tops) is 56. Rock musician Cliff Williams (AC/DC) is 56. Rock singer-musician Mike Scott (The Waterboys) is 47. Singer-musician Peter "Spider" Stacy (The Pogues) is 47. Actress Cynthia Gibb is 42. Rhythm-and-blues singer Brian Dalyrimple (Soul For Real) is 30. Actress Tammy Blanchard is 29.
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