Nominees for the People's Choice Awards are out, and the people choose vampires.

"Twilight" and "True Blood" were among the top nominees announced yesterday. Fans cast more than 18 million votes online to select the nominee slate and will also choose the winners in 35 categories.

"Twilight" is up for favorite movie, franchise and on-screen team for its trio of stars: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner.

"True Blood" was nominated for favorite TV obsession and sci-fi/fantasy TV show, plus star Anna Paquin earned a nod for TV drama actress. "The Vampire Diaries" was also a double nominee, up for favorite sci-fi/fantasy show and new TV drama. Fans can vote for their favorites online at www.peopleschoice.com.

Queen Latifah is set to host the People's Choice Awards in Los Angeles. The ceremony will be broadcast live on CBS on Jan. 6.

ASTRONAUT NAMED HONORARY LUNAR ENVOY

Los Angeles County has given moonwalker Buzz Aldrin a new title: Honorary consul general to the moon.

Forty years after Aldrin and Neil Armstrong became the first men to walk on the moon, county supervisors yesterday gave him the title while saluting the contribution of veterans to America's space program.

The 79-year-old Aldrin was an Air Force veteran before joining NASA.

Aldrin thanked the supervisors and called on the federal government to lead an international effort to colonize another planet, clean up space debris and pursue commercial opportunities in space.

JACKSON'S FATHER WON'T INHERIT ASSETS

Michael Jackson's father does not stand to inherit any of his son's assets and cannot challenge the appointment of the executors chosen by the singer to handle his will, a judge said yesterday.

Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff said Joe Jackson was not named in the will but could pursue a motion to receive a family allowance from the estate because he claimed his son had been supporting him.

The court also released an accounting that the estate had paid nearly $1 million in expenses for the private family funeral held at Forest Lawn Memorial Park.

SALES PITCH, NOT BLACKMAIL, LAWYER SAYS

David Letterman was on the receiving end of a sales pitch, not a shakedown, a defense lawyer said yesterday as he argued that a TV producer accused of extorting the comic was simply peddling a screenplay.

Robert J. "Joe" Halderman's lawyer asked a judge to toss the attempted first-degree grand larceny case, which spurred Letterman to acknowledge his office dalliances in an on-air monologue last month. Attorney Gerald Shargel said the $2 million exchange was business, not blackmail.