Coen brothers to begin shooting new film in Minn.

Coen brothers to begin shooting new film in Minn.

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — Oscar-winning Coen brothers are returning to their home state of Minnesota to shoot their next movie.

Joel and Ethan Coen (pronounced cone) started shooting “A Serious Man” in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area Monday.

The movie, about a professor whose life is falling apart, is set in 1967 in an unspecified suburb similar to St. Louis Park, where the Coens grew up.

It’s the first time the Coens have filmed in Minnesota since 1996’s “Fargo,” which won Oscars for screenplay and best actress.

The brothers won this year’s best picture Oscar for “No Country for Old Men.”

Colbert to have his DNA sent into space

NEW YORK — Should this world ever cease to exist, Stephen Colbert will live on.

The comedian’s DNA will be digitized and sent to the International Space Station, Comedy Central announced Monday.

In October, video game designer Richard Garriott will travel to the station and deposit Colbert’s genes for an “Immortality Drive.”

“I am thrilled to have my DNA shot into space, as this brings me one step closer to my lifelong dream of being the baby at the end of 2001,” Colbert said in a statement, referring to the 1968 landmark science fiction film “2001: A Space Odyssey.”

Garriott, one of few private citizens to travel into space, is collecting material for a time capsule of human DNA, a history of humanity’s greatest achievements and personal messages.

The host of “The Colbert Report” will essentially be preserved so aliens can clone him.

“In the unlikely event that Earth and humanity are destroyed, mankind can be resurrected with Stephen Colbert’s DNA,” Garriott said in a statement.

“Is there a better person for us to turn to for this high-level responsibility?”

‘90210’ star moves her act from TV to the pulpit

LOS ANGELES — “Beverly Hills 90210” fans discover in Tuesday’s episode of the “90210” sequel that Kelly Taylor’s troubled mother, Jackie, hasn’t changed much.

The same can’t be said for Ann Gillespie, who plays Jackie: She’s gone from actress to Episcopal priest.

Between sermons, weddings and funerals at Christ Church in Alexandria, Va., the Rev. Gillespie squeezed in an appearance on “90210,” CW’s follow-up to the hit Fox series that aired from 1990-2000.

In reprising her role as mom to Jennie Garth’s Kelly, Gillespie was sorry to find out that Jackie still is battling alcoholism.

“She actually seems to be worse off than at the end of the last series,” Gillespie said.

“My own desire was to have the character become healthier because, of course, that’s what I’m devoting my life to.”

Today’s Birthdays

Actor Cliff Robertson is 85. Actor Topol (“Fiddler on the Roof”) is 73. Singer Inez Fox is 66. Singer Dee Dee Sharp is 63. Singer-keyboardist Doug Ingle (Iron Butterfly) is 62. Country singer Freddy Weller (also of Paul Revere and the Raiders) is 61. Actor Tom Wopat is 57. Musician-producer Dave Stewart (Eurythmics) is 56. Actress Angela Cartwright (“The Danny Thomas Show,” “Lost In Space”) is 56. Actor Hugh Grant is 48. Actor-comedian Adam Sandler is 42. Model Rachel Hunter is 39. Actor Goran Visnjic (“ER”) is 36. Jazz singer Michael Buble is 33. Actress Michelle Williams (“Brokeback Mountain,” “Dawson’s Creek”) is 28.