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Lara, Soft

Plus, stars support Paula Poundstone, ''XXX'' marks the spot for Vin Diesel, and more

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Angelina Jolie returns to Cambodia | jolie_l

'TOMB' PARADER Jolie returned to Cambodia with a UN delegate for refugees this week

By Gary Susman

LIP SERVICE Perhaps in atonement for the way ''Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'' portrayed Cambodia and its residents, Angelina Jolie spent a week there touring remote, war-ravaged areas as a guest of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. During her stay, which ended Friday, she visited villages hit so hard by the brutality of the Khmer Rouge that they still haven't recovered, even three years after the Communist regime decamped at the end of the civil war there. Some Cambodian officials were offended by ''Tomb Raider'' scenes shot at Angkor Wat, Cambodia's most famous monument and the world's largest religious shrine, that depicted Cambodians wearing the garb of their traditional enemies, the Vietnamese. (Unlike everyone else, who found ''Tomb Raider'' offensive merely as an insult to their intelligence.)

LEGAL BRIEFS Paula Poundstone's attorney suggested Monday that he'll raise her alcoholism as part of her defense against charges of abusing of her adopted and foster children. ''Anytime anyone abuses alcohol, it clouds their judgment,'' said lawyer Steven Cron. ''I can't discuss the facts of the case, but that's a given.'' Cron made his remarks outside the Santa Monica courtroom where Poundstone waived her right to a speedy trial in order to have more time to investigate the case against her, postponing the next court date to August 27, when a date for a preliminary hearing will be chosen. Poundstone is charged with three counts of committing a lewd act against a girl under 14 and one count of endangering four other children. She has pleaded not guilty and could face 13 years in prison if convicted. Since shortly before her arrest, she has been staying at a live-in alcohol rehab center in Malibu. Her children have been handed over to foster care, though she has had supervised visits with her adopted children in rehab.

Several supporters accompanied Poundstone to court yesterday, including children and fellow comedians. ''I think she just wants her life back,'' said Cathy Ladman. Friend of 20 years Jay Leno wasn't there, but he spoke to USA Today, worrying that, even if Poundstone is acquitted, her career will never recover from the stigma of her arrest. ''Obviously your career is never the same when these kinds of things happen,'' he said, ''Your fear is people go, 'Oh, what happened to her? Did she go to jail?' 'No, she was found innocent.' 'Oh, I didn't know that.''' On the other hand, said comic Jim Brogan, ''I think it'll all get cleared up, and she'll be able to joke about it in her act. This will give her a new five minutes.''...

DMX has finally put behind him a string of legal woes in upstate New York, paying a $1,000 fine and pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of reckless assault, in return for Erie County prosecutors dropping more serious charges of assault and contempt of court. The trouble began after a concert in Buffalo last year, after which the rapper was arrested for driving without a license. He appealed the 15-day jail sentence, and although it was upheld, he showed up for it two weeks late, claiming he was contractually bound to shoot a music video in Los Angeles. That led to the contempt charge; the assault charge came when he allegedly threw a dining tray at a guard. DMX claimed he was the victim, a claim bolstered when he left jail on crutches. His new album, ''The Great Depression,'' is due out September 25....

Last week, actor William Baldwin, president of the actors' lobbying group The Creative Coalition, was railing against senators in a Washington hearing, claiming that their push to tighten ratings and marketing restrictions on music was a racially motivated attack on free speech rights. This week, though, he's making nice with the Senate as he hosts a D.C. meeting on the issue of runaway production (shooting films and TV shows outside the U.S.), which many in Hollywood argue is taking American jobs and money abroad. Three Democratic senators -- Arkansas' Blanche Lincoln, Louisiana's John Breaux, and Illinois' Dick Durbin -- may introduce as early as today their bill to give tax credits to producers on wages paid to the casts and crews of domestic film and TV shoots.

REEL DEALS Six weeks ago, he was that young bald guy with the ultra-deep voice, but now Vin Diesel will get $10 million to star in ''XXX.'' (No, it's not about porno or moonshine; it's described as a spy thriller with hip-hop attitude, whatever that means.) The film, shooting this fall, will reteam him with his ''The Fast and the Furious'' team of director Rob Cohen and teensploitation producer Neal Moritz. Diesel is also in talks to make a sequel to his 2000 sci-fi thriller, ''Pitch Black.''...

Catherine Keener will star in ''How To Survive a Hotel Room Fire,'' Steven Soderbergh's ''sex, lies and videotape'' sequel. The ''Being John Malkovich'' star also appeared in Soderbergh's ''Out of Sight.''...

New Line will pay screenwriter Lance Khazei six figures to script a sequel to its 1994 hit ''The Mask.'' Don't expect Jim Carrey to return as the film's banker-turned-comic book hero, though, unless New Line pays him his usual truckload of money. Khazei's previous credit is an original script called ''Romantic Comedy'' that he sold to MGM.

TUBE TALK Bruce Willis will star in an adaptation of Sam Shepard's play ''True West'' for Showtime. It will be a taped version of the current production being staged by Willis' Company of Fools organization at the Liberty Theater in Hailey, Idaho, where the actor lives. Willis, who costars with Chad Smith in the play about battling brothers, wanted to pay tribute to his own brother, Robert, who died last month. Proceeds from the film will go toward research on pancreatic cancer, the disease that killed Robert Willis....

As fall approaches, upcoming TV series are gaining last-minute additions to their casts. ''ER'' graduate Kellie Martin is joining ''The Court,'' Sally Field's midseason drama on ABC. ''Ellen'''s pal Joely Fisher is joining CBS' comedy ''Danny,'' starring Daniel Stern. Eddie Kaye Thomas, of ''American Pie'' and its upcoming sequel, is in talks to star in the WB comedy ''Off Centre,'' produced by Paul and Chris Weitz, the team behind the ''Pie'' pics.

TOON TUNES The bubblegum boom may not be over; it's just getting younger. Kid-friendly cable channel Nickelodeon signed a deal with teen-pop label Jive Records (home of Britney Spears, 'N Sync, and Backstreet Boys) to develop new acts and distribute records for the pre-Clearasil set. First up will be the soundtrack to Nickelodeon's computer-animated feature ''Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius,'' which will include several tracks by 13-year-old Aaron Carter. Also on tap is a pop record by Nick Cannon, alumnus of the channel's comedy series ''All That.''

ROOM WITH A BOO Don't know if the realtor managed to mention it to Kate Winslet when she bought her new home in Tintagel, on the southwest coast of England, but it's not entirely unoccupied. In fact, it's haunted, according to John Mappin, owner of the nearby Camelot Castle Hotel. He says the ghost may be that of a hotel worker who lived in the house 70 years ago. But Winslet and her husband and infant daughter needn't worry; he's as friendly as Casper. Says Mappin, ''He has been seen walking from the house to the hotel, as if he is going to work. No one has ever been frightened of him and I think he probably adds character to the house.''

PASSING NOTES Presley Scott Harwell, 8-month-old son of Smash Mouth frontman Steve Harwell and Michelle Laroque, died Saturday of leukemia. The band has canceled its forthcoming tour dates.