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PEOPLE

Wedding Bells: “Men in Black” star Will Smith and actress Jada Pinkett will have something extra to celebrate on New Year’s Eve in years to come. Smith and Pinkett were married Wednesday in a private ceremony in Baltimore, the actress’ hometown, Smith’s publicist said. It’s the second marriage for Smith, 29, who has a 5-year-old son, and the first for Pinkett, 26, who indicated she was pregnant when the couple applied for a marriage license on Dec. 18.

VIDEO

Tapes in Black: “Men in Black” conquered two domains in 1997. In addition to ruling the box office, where the movie starring the aforementioned Smith and Tommy Lee Jones movie took in a whopping $249.5 million, the film also topped the year-end tally of video sales, according to VideoScan, which tracks purchases made at about 16,000 retail locations nationwide. “MiB,” which wasn’t released on tape until Nov. 25, topped an otherwise lackluster sales year, with the video market as a whole down 5% to 6% from 1996. In fact, VideoScan said, if “MiB” had been released last year, it would have ranked only fifth on the list, behind the 1996 blockbusters “Toy Story,” “Babe,” “Independence Day” and “Pocahontas.” In the overall 1997 sales tally, “MiB” was followed closely by the reissued “Bambi,” one of five Walt Disney titles to make the Top 10. The rest of the list, in descending order: “Space Jam,” “101 Dalmatians,” “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” “Jurassic Park: The Lost World,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “Star Wars Trilogy: Special Edition,” “Jerry Maguire” and “Beauty and the Beast’s Enchanted Christmas.” The top video rentals of the year, meanwhile, according to the Video Software Dealers Assn.’s VidTrac service, were “Jerry Maguire,” “Liar Liar,” “First Wives’ Club,” “Ransom” and “Phenomenon.”

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Solid DVD Numbers: A bright spot in the video world, meanwhile, was last year’s debut of DVD releases, with the digital videos selling more than 1.5 million copies since the first titles came out in March, according to VideoScan. “We have no direct comparisons, but . . . with music CDs it took two or three years to really get a foothold,” said a VideoScan executive. The special-effects-laden “Twister” was the year’s best-selling DVD, followed by “Goldeneye,” “Batman & Robin,” “Eraser” and “Blade Runner.”

TELEVISION

Coming Fare?: A Japanese cartoon series blamed for seizures in hundreds of viewers may be coming to America--minus the flashy special effects believed to have caused the afflictions. The television syndicator 4 Kids Entertainment said it plans to peddle “Pokemon”--which is based on Nintendo’s “Pocket Monsters” video game--to U.S. stations, even though nearly 700 people, mostly children, were treated in Japan for symptoms, including blackouts, convulsions and nausea, after watching a 30-minute episode of the weekly show in early December. More than 200 required hospitalization. But Al Kahn, chief executive of 4 Kids Entertainment, said the cartoon is being edited to remove the rhythmic bursts of intense blue, red and white light that are believed to have caused the seizures.

MOVIES

Thumbs Apart: Film critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert will discuss their annual picks for the “Best Movies of 1997” on this weekend’s program, airing Sunday at 6:30 p.m. on KABC-TV Channel 7. The critics, who last year agreed on six of their top 10 films as well as their choice for film of the year, this year saw thumb-to-thumb on only four of their 10 selections, with neither’s first choice making the other’s roster at all. Siskel’s list is headed by Ang Lee’s “The Ice Storm,” followed by “L.A. Confidential,” “Wag the Dog,” “In the Company of Men,” “The End of Violence,” “The Full Monty,” “The Sweet Hereafter,” “Good Will Hunting,” “Mrs. Brown” and “As Good as It Gets.” Kasi Lemmons’ “Eve’s Bayou” capped Ebert’s list, meanwhile, followed by “The Sweet Hereafter,” “Boogie Nights,” “Maborosi,” “Jackie Brown,” “Fast, Cheap and Out of Control,” “L.A. Confidential,” “In the Company of Men,” “Titanic” and “Wag the Dog.”

QUICK TAKES

Performances in a total of 143 feature films and 241 TV programs have been found eligible for 1997 Screen Actors Guild Awards. Nominations--voted by 4,200 randomly selected guild members--will be announced Jan. 27, with the awards airing March 8 on cable’s TNT. . . . Half-price student and senior rush tickets will be offered for the Long Beach Terrace Theater’s Jan. 6 to 11 production of “Grease.” The discounted seats will be available at the theater’s box office each night one hour before curtain. Only one ticket per person (with valid ID) will be available. . . . Former “Full House” star John Stamos, 34, and supermodel Rebecca Romijn (MTV’s “House of Style”), 25, have announced their engagement, although no wedding date has been set. It will be the first marriage for each. . . . Country music stars Garth Brooks, Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Martina McBride and Lorrie Morgan have all signed on for a new advertising campaign in which they will appear with their two front teeth missing. The ads--which will begin airing in Tennessee in January--will try to boost sales for the National Hockey League’s new team, the Nashville Predators. . . . Feminist attorney Gloria Allred will guest-star as a judge presiding over a courtroom battle of the sexes on the Jan. 12 episode of UPN’s “In the House.” . . . The Bank of Scotland is reportedly issuing a 007 credit card that bears the silhouette of James Bond with a gun as seen at the beginning of the Bond movies.