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

PEOPLE

Heche Returns to the Set: Actress Anne Heche reportedly flew to a film set in Canada on Monday morning after a weekend in which she was briefly hospitalized after wandering up to the door of a rural home outside Fresno, appearing shaken and confused. On Saturday, it was announced that Heche, 31, had split with Ellen DeGeneres, 43, her companion for the last 3 1/2 years. That same day, according to a Fresno County sheriff’s office spokesman, Heche’s sport utility vehicle broke down in a rural area about 40 miles west of Fresno. Heche apparently knocked on the front door of a house and made strange statements to the occupants, said Lt. Merrill Wright. Sheriff’s deputies took her to University Medical Center, Wright said. Neither Wright nor the hospital would comment on what may have caused her condition. Hospital records show Heche was released early Sunday after being seen by doctors for two hours, reported KFSN-TV in Fresno. There was no immediate response to calls placed to Heche’s manager. “Unfortunately, we have decided to end our relationship,” the couple said in a statement published in Saturday’s New York Daily News. “It is an amicable parting, and we greatly value the 3 1/2 years we have spent together.” DeGeneres was the first openly gay lead on television. The pair collaborated on an HBO film, “If These Walls Could Talk II,” in April. Heche also filmed a three-month stand-up comedy tour by DeGeneres, which culminated with an HBO cable special that was shown last month.

TELEVISION

Fox “Cruise”-ing for Ratings: Apparently undaunted by its last stab at prime-time matchmaking, “Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?,” Fox is reentering those waters with the tentatively titled “Love Cruise,” a seven-week series that sends 16 people on a cruise through the Caribbean, voting one man and woman off at the end of each hour. The winning couple receives an unspecified “grand prize” as well as the “possibility of finding true love”--painstakingly documented, in this case, by the producers of “The Real World.” A permanent time slot has yet to be set, though the program could play Thursdays, where Fox has announced still-vague plans to run a drama being created by “Jurassic Park” author Michael Crichton.

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WB Falls Forward: The WB will introduce its fall prime-time schedule beginning with the premiere of “Sabrina, The Teenage Witch,” on Sept. 22 as a counter-programming option to the Olympics. “Sabrina” will be followed by the new comedy “Grosse Point” and last season’s “Popular.” The network will again counter-program the Olympics on Sept. 26 with the season premieres of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Angel.” In addition, the WB has revamped its previously announced Sunday lineup. Premiering on Oct. 8, Sunday nights will now lead off at 7 p.m. with the “The Jamie Foxx Show” followed by “For Your Love,” “The Steve Harvey Show,” “The PJs,” “Hype” and “Nikki.”

FILM

Goodbye, Walter: Walter Matthau was remembered as a loving father and husband, a good friend, a brilliant actor and wit and an expert on Mozart during an emotional memorial for the late actor Sunday at the Directors Guild. Sophia Loren, Gregory Peck, Carol Burnett, Karl Malden, Carl Reiner and producer Howard Koch were among those who paid their respects to the Oscar-winning star of “A Fortune Cookie” and “The Odd Couple” who died July 1 at age 79 of a heart attack. The event was hosted by Matthau’s director-son, Charlie. Among the speakers was Red Buttons, who said if Matthau were a painting “he’d be hanging in the Louvre.” Diane Keaton, who directed Matthau in his last film, “Hanging Up,” described Matthau as “the funniest man on Earth” who had a “face to die for.” Playwright Neil Simon told the crowd that Matthau was the “easiest person to write for.” The actor’s best friend and frequent co-star, Jack Lemmon, told several funny stories about Matthau before breaking down. “One thing is a constant: When I was with Walter in a film or personally, it was always magic time. He was my best friend, and I just miss him,” he said, crying. Other speakers included Lauren Bacall, as well as Matthau’s agent, doctor and rabbi. The event ended with a montage of Matthau’s films and personal photos by Chuck Workman. “He gave me everything,” Charlie Matthau told the crowd.

POP/ROCK

No Fences: Garth Brooks says turning his Nashville home into a Graceland-style museum seemed like a good idea--until he talked with the people who run Elvis Presley’s tourist attraction. They told Brooks his hilltop house would have to be torn up to make way for security cameras, fire exits and the like. “This isn’t fun anymore,” Brooks said Friday, two days after neighbors complained about the proposal in a meeting with the singer’s attorney. He’s soured on the idea for now and plans to continue using the Nashville-area house, known as the Blue Rose Estate.

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Pop Follow-Up: MTV News reports that U2 has unveiled more details about the band’s upcoming album, including the title, “All That You Can’t Leave Behind,” as well as the full track listing for the 11-song disc, currently set for release on Oct. 31. The album’s lead track, “Beautiful Day,” will be the first single, and U2 has already shot a video for the song in Paris with director Jonas Akerlund. The Dublin band recently treated fans to a free preview of the song by making a 45-second sound clip of “Beautiful Day” available for download via its official Internet site, https://www.u2.com.

QUICK TAKES

Move over, Heather Locklear: Actress Bridgette Wilson (“I Know What You Did Last Summer”) is joining the cast of the new Fox series “The $treet,” playing a money manager at the show’s brokerage firm who “wreaks havoc . . . with her scheming ways.” In addition, Molly Ringwald will guest star as Devyn Alden, the rich daughter of a business tycoon. The series premieres Nov. 1. . . . The Los Angeles Opera has announced that sopranos Eva Johansson and Linda Watson, bass Fyodor Kuznetsov and bass-baritone Alan Held will join Placido Domingo and the Kirov Orchestra in a series of concert performances of Act One of “Die Walkure” and Act Two of “Parsifal” on Sept 10, 13 and 15. . . . Columbia TriStar home video is releasing “The Patriot” on both video and DVD on Oct. 24. . . . Sydney Pollack will receive the 2000 John Huston Award for Artists Rights on Dec. 10 in New York. The Huston Award recognizes artists who have exhibited courage, vision and service on behalf of artists rights. Previous recipients include Tom Cruise, Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg. . . . Starting Sept. 9, the Getty Center will no longer require parking reservations on weekends, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. . . . Linda Blair will host the new Fox Family reality program “Scariest Places on Earth,” premiering Oct. 23.