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- 'Voice' of Wilma Flintstone Dies
- 31 acts announced for Woodstock '99
- Public Project To Preserve Films
- 'Xena' Episode Yanked
- McGregor Talks of 'Star Wars' Woes
- 'Star Wars' Comes With Restrictions
- You've Got Jokes!
- Sci-Fi Thriller 'The Matrix'
- Personal TV Recorder Debuts
- ABC Plans 27-Hour Millennium Special
- Update: Carson in hospital after surgery
- Hollywood Cannibals Get 'Ravenous'
- Wu-Tang Clan Rapper Arrested

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Most of us have notoriously slow phone connections to the Internet, unlike the high-speed lines used by many businesses. Cable companies are beginning to make high-speed Internet connections available to their customers but in many cases it's bundled with Internet service. AOL and other Internet service providers are campaigning to make sure cable connections are available to everyone. Get the details as NPR's Larry Abramson reports for Morning Edition.

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DANA POINT, Calif. (AP) _ Jean Vander Pyl, the voice of Wilma in ``The Flintstones'' and the last surviving original cast member of the pioneering animated series, has died. She was 79.  Ms. Vander Pyl died Saturday of lung cancer, said Michael O'Meara, one of her three sons.

``The Flintstones,'' a Hanna-Barbera cartoon that humorously chronicled family life in the Stone Age, ran from 1960 to 1966 and has been in worldwide syndication ever since.  Ms. Vander Pyl played the sometimes stern but always loving wife of Fred Flintstone.

``She was an anonymous celebrity,'' O'Meara said. ``You could go out with her and nobody would recognize her. ``All she'd have to do was go `Fr-ed!' and people would say: `Wilma Flintstone! I grew up with you!' She'd light up the room,'' her son said.

Ms. Vander Pyl also voiced Rosie the Robot and Mrs. Spacely on ``The Jetsons,'' until she became too ill about six months ago. She also made an appearance in Steven Spielberg's 1994 live-action movie based on the series.

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NEW YORK (AP) - Woodstock '99 will be busting with bands appealing to an audience not even born when the original concert took place 30 years ago. The Dave Matthews Band, Jewel, Metallica and Alanis Morissette are among those appearing at the three-day Woodstock '99 festival. Organizers expect about 250,000 people. "Three more days of mud, noise and logistical nightmares?" said Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich. "Wouldn't miss it for the world." The festival is scheduled for July 23-25 at Griffiss Park, an abandoned Air Force base about 50 miles west of Albany. Ticket sales begin April 18. The show will also feature Korn, Limp Bizkit, Fatboy Slim, Sugar Ray, Creed, Counting Crows, Rage Against the Machine, Rusted Root, the Brian Setzer Orchestra, George Clinton and Willie Nelson. None of the acts that played the original Woodstock, held in Bethel in 1969, were among the performers for the latest show. Six acts that played the 25-year anniversary concert, which drew an estimated 350,000 people to Saugerties, N.Y., are coming back: Metallica, Aerosmith, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sheryl Crow, Live and Collective Soul.

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WASHINGTON (AP), A $1.5 million public-private project to preserve hundreds of movies, such as Paul Robeson's ``The Emperor Jones'' and Frank Capra's World War II series ``Why We Fight,'' is being organized by a federally authorized foundation.  Officials on Tuesday announced the millennium program, called Treasures of American Film Archives. The coordinators are the National Film Preservation Foundation, set up by Congress, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Pew Charitable Trusts in Philadelphia is making a $200,000 contribution on the heels of a $500,000 NEA grant in February. The American Film Institute and other industry groups have also contributed.  Altogether, 17 separate archives will take part, including five federal agencies.

Hundreds of movies, some only a few minutes long, will be copied onto modern film stocks. Workers will preserve a master copy, from which viewing copies will be made.  The Library of Congress will work on ``The Emperor Jones'' and a collection from the laboratories of inventor Thomas A. Edison.  It will also preserve footage taken in the field by anthropologist Margaret Mead, author of the landmark ``Coming of Age in Samoa.''  Movies made before the 1950s were on highly flammable nitrate film, library officials say. Since then, newer and safer film stock has been used.

The National Archives will do the seven-film Capra series, commissioned by the War Department to overcome the isolationist feeling strong in the United States before World War II.  Duke Ellington's baritone saxophonist for 35 years, Harry Carney, took pictures of the orchestra between 1938 and 1941.  The National Museum of American History will be in charge of those, and of shorts on communications technology that Western Union started more than 70 years ago.

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LOS ANGELES (AP), An episode of ``Xena: Warrior Princess'' has been yanked from worldwide syndication after criticism from Hindu groups.

Renaissance Pictures, the show's producer, apologized Monday for offending members of the Hindu community and said it had no plans for further episodes involving Hindu deities. ``We certainly had no intention of offending anyone,'' the studio said.

Last month, Hindu protesters said they were frustrated when studio executives wouldn't meet with them to hear their concerns about the show's portrayal of Lord Krishna and Hanuman.  Using the deities in the action-adventure series, which stars Lucy Lawless as Xena, was an affront to those who worship them, said Tusta Krishnadas of the World Vaishnava Association.

The episode first aired in February.  If a decision is made to re-air the episode, changes would be made with guidance from Sunil Aghi, president of the Indo-Americans Political Foundation, Renaissance said.

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LONDON (AP), Ewan McGregor says playing young Obi-Wan Kenobi in the new ``Star Wars'' movie wasn't all swords and special effects.  Some of the filming was ``the epitome of tedium,'' the 28-year-old Scottish actor said in Tuesday's Express.  ``The work was so complex with all the special effects and stuff that I found myself hanging around for days,'' he said. ``I was frowning a lot. It became just a frowning exercise.''

The George Lucas-directed movie, ``Star Wars: Episode I, The Phantom Menace,'' is the first installment in the much-anticipated three-part prequel to the blockbuster space trilogy. It comes out next month.

Boredom didn't stop McGregor from signing up for the two other ``Star Wars'' movies, which are to be completed by 2005. ``I guess I'm just an actor who can't say no. Besides, there's nothing cooler than being a Jedi knight,'' he said.

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LOS ANGELES (AP), If theaters want the Force to be with them, they may have to meet strict conditions. The studio distributing the eagerly anticipated ``Star Wars: Episode I, The Phantom Menace'' wants multiplexes to show the movie only in their biggest and best theaters for at least two months, with no more than eight minutes of coming attractions. In addition, 20th Century Fox is asking that theater owners who play ``Phantom'' on more than one screen keep it on all those screens through the minimum run. Theaters are also being told to refrain from using a single movie print to show the film on two screens. And they're being asked not to show any non-movie advertisements before the film.

These, at least, are the conditions Fox wants. The final terms still must be worked out over the next few weeks in negotiations between the studio and theater owners.  If Fox gets its way, a theater failing to follow the studio's conditions could be hit with hefty fines or lose the right to show what could be one of the highest-grossing films of all time, one expected to rival ``Titanic.'' ``Titanic'' grossed a record $600 million in North America.

``There are often conditions put on (theaters), but this is pretty unusual,'' said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations Co., which tracks the industry.  ``But Fox feels that with this type of product they can make these demands and the exhibitors will agree to them. I mean, who wouldn't want to have their theater playing this movie?'' ``Phantom'' opens May 19. The movie is a ``prequel'' to the ``Star Wars'' trilogy of the 1970s and '80s, taking audiences back to when Darth Vader was a child. The film is accompanied by a major merchandising and promotional campaign that includes toys and souvenir Pepsi cans.

How many theaters will show the movie is still unknown because it is uncertain how many of them will agree to these and other terms dictated by Fox, which is distributing the movie for director George Lucas. He financed it himself.  The conditions were first reported Tuesday in the Hollywood trade publication Daily Variety.   Officials at 20th Century Fox declined to comment. Several theater chain owners said they couldn't discuss the conditions because they had not yet negotiated with Fox.   These conditions are in addition to the previously announced requests by Fox and Lucas that theaters refrain from selling tickets in advance, a move that is aimed at thwarting scalping but is likely to mean longer lines.

The request, still being negotiated with theaters, would be a blow to ticket services like Moviefone, through which people can buy tickets by phone for a service charge of about $1.50 per ticket.

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You've probably received jokes via e-mail as they make their way around the Internet. E-mail has led to a proliferation of joke-telling -- people who might normally be shy about telling jokes are now sharing them with countless others. E-mail is also a showcase for a form of joke-telling not limited to words; " utilizing pictures, graphics and moving images to tell" a joke. Listen to NPR's Dean Olsher and his top ten list of observations about e-mail and jokes.

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Imagine the year isn't actually 1999. Everything you do and experience is just a virtual reality pulsed to your brain by evil overlords who have all of humanity under their control. Now imagine that Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Laurence Fishburne are responsible for rescuing you -- and everyone else -- from bondage using high-tech special effects and martial art stunts. Sound intriguing? Check out The Matrix, a new movie by Andy and Larry Wachowski. Listen as Washington Post columnist Tom Shales reviews a film he describes as confusing, but cool.

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SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP), Eight years ago, Anthony Wood decided that he didn't want to miss another second of Star Trek, so he set to work designing a digital VCR that could search for programs and record them on a computer disk.

This week the first personal video recorder is rolling out for consumers. For $500 to $1,000, viewers get on-demand programming from a black box that sits on their television set and collects shows based on their individual taste. Want to see every show coming through your television about bananas? Beer? Starring Doris Day? Just program your television and watch away.

``Up to now, we've all been slaves to television schedules, but with personal television, viewers are now in control,'' said Wood, the Star Trek junkie who is now CEO of Replay Networks Inc., one of two companies offering the systems.

Similar to the established WebTV, ReplayTV and TiVo, a device made by a company also named TiVo, store programs on an internal hard disk for viewers to watch when they're ready. In addition, the systems give viewers the power to pause, rewind and ``instant replay'' live television.  Both devices connect to a telephone line, which downloads commands from the personal video recorder companies to the set-top boxes. Replay will cost $699 for six hours of recording time; more storage costs more. TiVo, which is shipping the first models this week, will cost $499 plus $9.95 a month for 14 hours of programming.

Analysts say the systems are going to change the way people watch television. By 2004, 14 million television viewers will be using personal video recorders to control their programming, estimates Forrester Research analyst Josh Bernoff. Forrester Research also predicts that in just two years, the systems will store 24 hours of video and cost less than $500 each. One thing the systems won't do now is filter out the $60 billion worth of television advertisements broadcast each year. ``Technologically it's possible, but it's not particularly a good idea if you want to be a part of the entertainment industry,'' said TiVo vice president Ed MacBeth.

But Forrester Research predicts that too will change. ``By 10 years from now, personal video recorders will penetrate four out of five homes and overall TV ad viewing will be cut nearly in half,'' said Bernoff. ``With its advertising base gutted, television will turn upside down.'' David Coursey, a promoter and review of high-tech products, said the systems have ``created a great deal of buzz in the industry and among consumers.'' ``On-demand viewing is likely to change dramatically the way television content and advertising are created and delivered,'' he said.

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NEW YORK (AP), ABC is planning a 27-hour special to mark the start of the year 2000, a telethon-like affair with Peter Jennings as the host. The special will blend news and entertainment, with ABC correspondents stationed in different time zones to mark the historic entry into the new year, ABC News President David Westin said Tuesday. Jennings will be stationed in a new studio ABC is building in New York's Times Square. The studio, which will house ``Good Morning America,'' is expected to be ready in September.

The veteran anchorman seemed almost insulted when asked if he would stay awake for the entire 27 hours, matching Jerry Lewis' round-the-clock performance during the annual Labor Day telethon.  ``Absolutely,'' he said. ``The idea of being able to go from time zone to time zone around the world and get some sense of what's going on is exciting.  A lot of it will be very celebratory.''  In addition to following the New Year's celebrations, news organizations will be watching closely to see the immediate effect, if any, of the Y2K computer bug. 

CBS, NBC and Fox representatives had no comment Tuesday on how their networks will mark the special night.  ABC has spent several years, and more than $20 million, on ``The Century,'' a documentary series reviewing the last 100 years.  It will run in six, two-hour segments on March 30 and April 1, 3, 5, 8 and 10.  The New Year's special won't leave Dick Clark out in the cold, figuratively speaking.  The veteran host of ABC's ``New Year's Rockin' Eve'' will have some role in the New Year's special, Westin said.

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SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) - Johnny Carson is expected to be hospitalized for a few days after successful quadruple heart bypass surgery. The 73-year-old entertainer was taken from his Malibu home to Saint John's Health Center early Friday, and doctors performed the surgery a few hours later, hospital spokeswoman Lindi Funston said Wednesday. She said Carson had the surgery to treat coronary artery disease. "The operation went very well and his heart is functioning normally," Ms. Funston said. Carson retired as host of NBC's "Tonight Show" in May 1992. He was host of the late-night program for 30 years before Jay Leno took over.

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Do your interests run toward the macabre? If so, the new film Ravenous might be for you. The movie, directed by Antonia Bird, is set in a remote military outpost where the soldiers indulge their rather gruesome appetite -- for human flesh. But these men don't eat people out of necessity, like previous Hollywood cannibals. Instead, these characters consume flesh in the hope of capturing another's soul. Hear more about Ravenous as Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon speaks with entertainment critic Elvis Mitchell, who calls the film smart and subtle.

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NEW YORK (AP), Trouble-prone rapper ODB was arrested Monday after police allegedly found three small containers of crack cocaine on him during a traffic stop in Brooklyn. The Wu-Tang Clan rapper, whose real name is Russell Jones, was stopped by officers who saw a 1996 Range Rover without license plates, double-parked. The driver did not have a license or registration, police said. When Jones, 30, gave his name, a record check revealed he had a suspended license and was wanted for failure to pay child support, leading to a search that turned up the drugs, Lt. Dennis Cirillo said.  Jones was in custody awaiting arraignment on misdemeanor drug charges. His attorney, Peter Frankell, did not immediately return calls for comment.

Last month, a Brooklyn grand jury decided Jones would not face attempted murder charges stemming from an encounter with officers who stopped Jones' car for allegedly not having its lights on. The officers said that when they approached the driver's window two shots were fired, and they shot back. No gun was found in the car. Jones was convicted of second-degree assault in New York in 1993. He was arrested last month in Los Angeles when he parked in a no-parking zone and police found he was wearing a bulletproof vest. He has pleaded innocent to violating a law banning felons from wearing body armor. In addition to facing shoplifting charges in Virginia, he is accused in Los Angeles of threatening to kill the mother of his 1-year-old child and making death threats to guards at a nightclub.

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