Matt Damon, star of the "The Bourne Identity" and other films, dropped by the Television Critics Association media tour in Pasadena, Calif., yesterday to promote his longtime passion project.

Damon is an executive producer of "The People Speak," a History Channel documentary that features Damon, Marisa Tomei and other celebrities performing selections from diaries, speeches and other sources from American history.

The show is adapted from Howard Zinn's controversial "A People's History of the United States," which narrated the story of Americans' struggle for social justice through the eyes of ordinary people. The book has sold an estimated 2 million copies.

"From the moment we had any influence in this town, we've been trying to get this project off the ground," said Damon, who grew up near Zinn in Boston. "It demonstrates how everyday citizens have changed the course of history."

POWELL TO COMMEMORATE FLIGHT 93

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell will be the keynote speaker at this year's ceremony to honor the victims of Flight 93.

The Families of Flight 93 group announced yesterday that Powell will speak at the ceremony Sept. 11 near Shanksville, Pa. Forty passengers and crew were killed when Flight 93 crashed into a Pennsylvania field during the hijacking Sept. 11, 2001. "I look forward to coming to Shanksville to be with the families of those who gave their lives on 9/11 in freedom's name," Powell said in a statement.

'TWILIGHT' CASTING SWITCH DRAWS BLOOD

Bryce Dallas Howard is taking over as the villainous vampire Victoria in the third "Twilight" movie, and the actress who played the part in the first two films says she was "stunned" and "hurt deeply" by the switch.

Rachelle Lefevre says she was unaware that Summit Entertainment had chosen someone else for the part in "Eclipse." Summit announced Howard as her replacement late Tuesday, saying Lefevre had scheduling conflicts.

"Eclipse," based on the third book in Stephenie Meyer's saga, begins shooting in Vancouver, British Columbia, in August. Part 2, "New Moon," comes out Nov. 20.

HEART DISEASE KILLED E. LYNN HARRIS

A coroner's official says heart disease, complicated by high blood pressure and a hardening of the arteries, is what killed author E. Lynn Harris last week while he was visiting Los Angeles to promote his latest book.

The Atlanta resident, 54, was considered a pioneer of gay black fiction. He wrote 11 novels, and 10 of them became New York Times best-sellers.