Tony Blair gets animated

London — Tony Blair has taken time out from the war in Iraq to star in an episode of “The Simpsons,” reports Ananova.com.

The British prime minister recorded three lines of dialogue for the show Sunday.

Blair will appear in the next series of the show in an episode set in Britain. Tentatively titled the “Regina Monologues,” it will show an animated version of Blair giving tips on tourism to Homer and his family.

The episode will also feature an animated version of Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling.

More criticism from Moore

Austin, Texas — Filmmaker Michael Moore, who slammed President Bush and the U.S.-led war in Iraq during his Oscar acceptance speech, continued his criticism before a university crowd in Bush’s home state.

The documentary maker said Monday night that the president’s approval ratings were high because the American people rally around their leader after a tragedy, and Bush “is the one occupying the federal land at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.”

But Moore said the United States was at war with Iraq because of the former Texas governor’s need to keep the public’s eye off his domestic failures as president.

“It’s not about the weapons of mass destruction; it’s about the weapons of mass distraction,” he told 4,400 students and guests at the University of Texas.

Robert Conrad faces charges

San Andreas, Calif. — The California Highway Patrol will recommend a felony charge against Robert Conrad, whose car crashed head-on into another vehicle two weeks ago, seriously injuring the driver, police said.

Conrad, best known for his roles in “Baa Baa Black Sheep” and “The Wild Wild West,” was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol after the March 31 crash on Highway 4 near Arnold.

Police wouldn’t release details of Conrad’s blood-alcohol test but said Monday the results would warrant the felony charge of driving under the influence with injury to another person.

Police listed Conrad’s age at 74. Television and film reference guides report the actor is 68.

Best of heroes, villains

Los Angeles — Arnold Schwarzenegger, who’s portrayed robots both killing and kindly, will host an upcoming television special about the top 100 heroes and villains of the screen.

An American Film Institute poll asked voters to choose among 400 nominated characters from American film history and decide which should be considered wicked or virtuous.

Schwarzenegger’s T-800 killer robot is nominated twice, once for the attacking character he played in 1984’s original “The Terminator” and again for 1991’s “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” in which the android he played was a protector.

The show is scheduled for June 3 on CBS.

Previous AFI lists included the 100 best American films, led by “Citizen Kane” and the 100 funniest movies, with “Some Like It Hot” at No. 1.