ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT REPORTS FROM THE TIMES, NEWS SERVICES AND THE NATION’S PRESS.

PEOPLE

Julia Roberts Weds in Midnight Ceremony

In a move that will warm the hearts of cameramen all over Hollywood, actress Julia Roberts married her cameraman boyfriend Daniel Moder early Thursday in a midnight ceremony held at her 40-acre estate outside Taos, N.M.

The wedding marks Roberts’ second trip down the aisle. The Oscar winner for “Erin Brocko- vich” was previously married for 21 months to country-and-western singer Lyle Lovett.

Roberts’ publicist, Marcy Engelman, confirmed the wedding but declined to give any details about the couple’s nuptials, the bride’s attire or the guest list.

Harrison Attacker Released From Clinic

A paranoid schizophrenic who stabbed former Beatle George Harrison on what he thought was a “mission from God” was conditionally released from a psychiatric hospital in Liverpool, England, Thursday.

A panel of experts said Michael Abram, 35, was fit to be released from the Scott Clinic. Abram, who has a history of mental illness, was accused of breaking into Harrison’s home in Henley-on-Thames and stabbing him repeatedly, puncturing a lung. He also was charged with attacking Olivia Harrison when she came to her husband’s defense. He was tried for attempted murder but acquitted in November 2000 on the grounds of insanity.

George Harrison died of cancer Nov. 29, 2001.

TELEVISION

Bill Clinton Addresses AIDS Crisis on MTV

Former President Bill Clinton will return to MTV 10 years after his famous saxophone performance to address the global AIDS epidemic.

Clinton will be one of several panelists taking questions from an audience of young adults from more than 25 countries during the hourlong program “Staying Alive: A Global Youth Forum on HIV/AIDS,” to be taped July 11 in Barcelona, Spain. The special will be telecast July 12 on more than 30 MTV channels around the world.

The program is part of a new youth-oriented AIDS awareness campaign MTV is launching in conjunction with the Kaiser Family Foundation and Family Health International. A United Nations report issued Tuesday predicts that more than 68 million people will die of AIDS in the next two decades unless massive intervention efforts are begun immediately.

FILM

‘Ararat’ to Open Toronto Film Fest

Atom Egoyan’s controversial new film, “Ararat,” will kick off the opening-night gala at the 2002 Toronto International Film Festival, which runs Sept. 5-14.

“Ararat,” Egoyan’s third festival opener, recounts the alleged whitewashing of the 1915-17 mass killing of 1.3 million Armenians under the Ottoman Empire.

In a statement read by actor David Alpay, one of the film’s stars, Egoyan, who has Armenian heritage, said “Ararat” is a meditation on a new reality since the last festival--a reference to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

“I am convinced ... that the film will provide the opening-night audience with an emotionally loaded event,” said the 41-year-old-director, whose movie credits include “The Sweet Hereafter” and “Felicia’s Journey.”

“Ararat” has been the subject of criticism and threats of protests from Turkish groups that insist an Armenian genocide never happened or that its extent has been exaggerated.

QUICK TAKES

Deborah Norville will be the guest co-anchor of CBS’ “The Early Show” next week. Norville, currently host of “Inside Edition,” last anchored a network morning show during her short-lived stint on “Today,” which ended in 1991.... A $50,000 donation from Bruce Springsteen will pay for repairs at several playgrounds in the artist’s adopted hometown of Asbury Park, N.J. He’ll join the E Street Band for a performance from the city’s boardwalk on NBC’s “Today” show July 30 to mark the release of his latest album, “The Rising.” KCRW-FM (89.9) will air a special episode of National Public Radio’s “Jazz Profiles” honoring Rosemary Clooney today from 7 to 8 p.m. The program will include interviews with Clooney, who died last Saturday, Linda Ronstadt, Dave Frishberg, Jack Sheldon and others.... “Sex and the City” star Cynthia Nixon confirmed Wednesday that she is expecting her second child with longtime boyfriend Danny Mozes at the end of the year. HBO says the pregnancy will not affect the program’s shooting schedule.... Actor-comedian Tom Arnold, co-host of Fox Sports Network’s “Best Damn Sports Show Period,” married girlfriend Shelby Roos in a ceremony held Saturday at the Four Seasons Hotel.... Chris Rock and wife Malaak Compton-Rock welcomed the arrival of a daughter, Lola Simone, in New York. It is the first child for both.