No chads in ‘Futurama’

Los Angeles – Al Gore has a guest role on the season premiere of the animated science-fiction comedy “Futurama,” supplying the voice of his own preserved head.

“I think I may have a future as a disembodied head,” Gore joked in an interview Friday. “I’m not sure that any political calculation would have steered me toward this part, but it was great fun doing it.”

“Futurama,” which airs Sundays on Fox TV, chronicles the 30th-century life of a hapless time-traveler named Fry, his raunchy robot pal Bender, and their cyclopean space pilot Leela.

Gore’s head is introduced at a global-warming convention as “the inventor of the environment and first emperor of the moon.”

Hayek answers her critics

Mexico City – Actress Salma Hayek returned to the city where she got her start in show business to defend “Frida,” the Miramax Films release in which she stars as Mexican painter Frida Kahlo.

Many U.S. critics call the film one of the most important Hispanic-themed movies in years. But Mexican critics have accused Hayek of turning her back on Mexico to impress U.S. moviegoers.

Some charge “Frida” sensationalizes the lives of Kahlo and her husband, muralist Diego Rivera. Others complained that it downplayed the couple’s leftist political views.

“It’s not a documentary,” Hayek said Friday. “They want to see a biography, but you can’t do a biography in two hours.”

Singer courts fans

Decatur, Ga. – Singer Bobby Brown used a criminal court appearance Friday to promote his new movie and sign autographs.

State court Judge Wayne Purdom allowed Brown to remain free on bail on charges of driving under the influence and failure to appear in court. Brown, whose attorney said he was not prepared to plead, is free at least until his next court appearance Tuesday.

Brown, who was approached by fans in the courtroom after the hearing, apologized to anyone he may have hurt.

Brown was arrested early Thursday in Atlanta on charges of possessing less than an ounce of marijuana, speeding and having no driver’s license or proof of insurance.

Brown’s upcoming movie, “Guns and Roses,” will be released next year.

‘8 Mile’ script lured actor

New York – Although he’s a fan, Mekhi Phifer initially turned down a costarring role in rapper Eminem’s new film “8 Mile.”

“I was a fan of his music when they first told me that there was an Eminem movie coming up,” Phifer told reporters recently. But the 27-year-old actor said he wasn’t interested until after he’d read the script.

“I said, ‘Well, this is dope.’ And then I said, ‘All right, I’ll fly in and meet the cat.’ And I met him. And then I felt his passion for what he was going to do.”

Phifer made his movie debut in 1995 in Spike Lee’s “Clockers.”

“8 Mile,” directed by Curtis Hanson, opened in theaters Friday.