Madonna is expecting a son

MAMA’S BOY Reuters reports that Madonna and her boyfriend Guy Richie found out yesterday that they will be having a son. Though spokespeople for the singer declined to comment, the discovery allegedly came during a routine prenatal scan. As if she doesn’t have enough male fans already.

CASTING Tack on Christian Bale to the long list of hopefuls trying for the role of Anakin Skywalker in ”Star Wars: Episode II.” Popcorn UK reports that the ”American Psycho” star was ”particularly cagey” when asked by the London Free Press if he was being considered for the role. ”You wouldn’t have heard that from me,” he told the British paper. ”My lips are sealed. End of subject”…. Madonna’s pal Rosie O’Donnell isn’t one to sit idle: Also according to Popcorn UK, she’s in talks with director Chris Columbus about playing Mrs. Weasley in ”Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” Weasley is the mother of Potter’s best friend…. Meg Ryan is reportedly deciding between two upcoming film projects: Oliver Stone’s ”Beyond Borders” about international relief workers who fall in love, in which she’d star opposite Kevin Costner, and ”Criminal Conversation,” a legal thriller originally developed for Nicole Kidman…. ”Final Destination”’s Devon Sawa and ”Rushmore”’s Jason Schwartzman are in negotiations to star in the college comedy ”Slackers”

CENSORED BEAUTY Although the film is nominated for Best Onscreen Kiss, Dreamworks won’t allow MTV to show a clip at its annual movie awards from ”American Beauty” in which Kevin Spacey plants one on the much younger Mena Suvari. A DreamWorks spokesperson said, ”It’s inappropriate to celebrate a relationship between a 16-year-old girl and a 40-year-old man within the context of a ‘Best Kiss’ clip.”

NAPSTER-GATE Metallica, who earlier this month filed suit against the MP3 trading site Napster, charging copyright infringement, is now the target of a backlash. Pro-Napster webheads hacked into the band’s website and posted the message: ”LEAVE NAPSTER ALONE”…. And following Metallica’s lead, Dr. Dre has now written a letter to the MP3 trading site Napster demanding that they remove his songs by Friday. Will these rap-metal collaborations never cease?

REEL DEALS Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger will team on a movie script tentatively titled ”The Long Play.” It’s ”an insider’s look at the music business and the Machiavellian world of hit-making” according to a spokesperson for Jagger’s Jagged Films…. DreamWorks Animation will develop a feature based on ”10th Circle Added to Rapidly Growing Hell,” an article from the popular Wisconsin-based comic newspaper the Onion. The story, which deals with Satan’s need to expand hell due to a boon in wrongdoers, is the first of many pieces that the Onion is trying to sell to Hollywood…. The futuristic 1976 thriller ”Logan’s Run” may be headed for a remake. Producer Joel Silver (”The Matrix”) is said to be wooing Skip Woods, who penned the screenplay to John Travolta’s upcoming ”Swordfish,” to write and direct the film…. In more remake news, ”Beavis and Butt-head” creator Mike Judge is in talks to update ”The Incredible Mr. Limpet.”

TROUBLE ON THE SET Monday, a stunt pilot suffered a broken finger and cuts on the set of WWII drama ”Pearl Harbor” when his plane — a replica of a Japanese dive bomber — crashed. Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are to investigate the accident.

TEEN BEAT Christina Aguilera will record a song for her forthcoming Christmas album with idol (and R&B teen star of the ’50s) Etta James…. The ”Thong Song”’s Sisqo will join ‘N Sync on their upcoming U.S. tour kicking off May 9 in Biloxi, Miss…. Monday ‘N Syncers Joey Fatone and Lance Bass joined the Bloodhound Gang for a rendition of their hit ”The Bad Touch” at the Gang’s Orlando show.

MOVIE LISTINGS Cannes organizers released a decidedly indie list of movies that will compete in next month’s film festival. Included are the Coen Brothers’ ”O Brother, Where Art Thou?” a ’30s-set musical-comedy with George Clooney; ”Dancer in the Dark,” with singer Björk;; Neil LaBute’s ”Nurse Betty,” with Chris Rock and Reneé Zellweger; and ”The Yards,” with Mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Phoenix, and James Caan. This year’s festival runs May 10-21.

TV NEWS According to the New York Post, Academy Award’s cross-dressers Trey Parker and Matt Stone are being offered up to $1 million per episode to leave Comedy Central, home to their signature ”South Park.” Interested parties include NBC and Michael Ovitz’s new ATG Group…. ABC confirmed yesterday that it’s canceling the long-running teen sitcom ”Boy Meets World.” An hour-long finale will air Friday,. May 5, at 8 p.m.

STRIKE The Western Section of the Joint National Board of Directors of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) voted to strike against the TV and radio advertising industry, supporting the decision of the Eastern Section, which voted over the weekend. The work stoppage to begin May 1 will only affect the production of commercials. Thank god!

LEGAL NEWS A judge agreed to drop shoplifting charges against film critic Rex Reed as long as he’s not arrested in the next six months. In February, Reed allegedly tried to steal three CDs from a Tower Records. Reed has persistently denied the charges, claiming that he just forgot that he was carrying the discs.