Who's in

Robin Williams set for Law & Order

Robin Williams will guest star on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, but don't expect him to bring laughs to the NBC crime drama.

Williams is playing an "engineer whose life has gone terribly wrong" and who faces serious repercussions, series spokeswoman Pam Golum said on Tuesday. The episode, which films later this month, is scheduled to air on April 29.

After his breakthrough role on the 1980s sitcom Mork & Mindy, Williams' career has mostly centered on a mix of movies, including Good Morning, Vietnam, Dead Poets Society and Patch Adams. He won an Academy Award for 1997's Good Will Hunting.

The Special Victims Unit episode with Williams, titled Authority, is the show's 200th, Golum said.

Jim Carrey to pen depression book

Actor Jim Carrey is writing a self-help book for sufferers of depression who want to avoid using drugs to beat the condition.

The Horton Hears a Who star battled with depression for years after his meteoric rise to fame in the 1990s, using Prozac and other medication to try and control his dark thoughts.

But the 46-year-old states numbing the pain with medication is not the way to deal with the problem, and hopes his new book will help people focus on where their problems stem from.

He says, "I dealt with depression for a while by medicating with Prozac and although it was good for dealing with the problem there and then, I wasn't getting to the bottom of my anger and frustration.

"I think we have a real problem these days in that everything is treated with a drug. I think there's a whole new way of healing depression that doesn't require drugs, and I'm writing a book about it."

Britney Spears set for South Park

Britney Spears has landed another TV spot just days after filming an episode of comedy How I Met Your Mother-on South Park. The pop singer will join Marilyn Manson and Tom Cruise among the stars who have been parodied on the cult cartoon series, when her likeness appears in an episode that airs on Wednesday.

In the episode, South Park regulars Stan and Kyle take on a mission to get a troubled Spears to the North Pole.

In a news release, a spokesman for the show says, "Britney Spears is trying to get away from it all in the mountains near South Park when the boys have a run-in with her. Stan and Kyle get caught up in Britney's celebrity and the never-ending feeding frenzy that follows her wherever she goes."

Ford and Calista to marry this year

Harrison Ford will marry Calista Flockhart when he has finished promoting the new Indiana Jones movie, reports say.

The couple have been an item since meeting at an awards ceremony in 2002 and live with Flockhart's 7-year-old adopted son Liam.

A source told The Daily Express: "Marriage is something Calista has wanted for some time. It's like they're pretty much married anyway.

"Harrison loves Liam like he's his own son and wants to adopt him. Calista thinks it's a brilliant idea but wants him to marry her too so they can be a proper family."

The insider added: "He has agreed and it will happen once he's wrapped up all promotional duties around Indy. He should be done by the height of the summer."

Agencies

(China Daily 03/20/2008 page18)