BITS AND PIECES 01/15
PUSSSYKATT
--PBS has received the horn-of-plenty from Ken Burns: Terrific ratings for the
first three episodes of his 19-hour "Jazz" series. But "Jazz," which kicked off
last Monday, did not perform nearly so well as Burns previous two series,"The
Civil War" and "Baseball." In its first three night, "Jazz" averaged 4.1
million households in overnight metered-market ratings - nearly double the
usual PBS average. "Baseball," which aired in 1994, however drew an average
audience of more than 4.7 million households. "The Civil War," the series which
created Burns' reputation in 1990, was seen - on average - in more than 8
million homes. The first episode of "Jazz," notched the highest numbers (4.4
million households). Episodes 4 and 5 air tonight and Wednesday at 9 p.m. on
Ch. 13.
--"King of the Hill" mastermind Mike Judge and the show's cast delighted TV
reporters in Pasadena last week - by reading a scene from "The West Wing" in
character as propane poobah Hank Hill and pals. Hank, of course, was President
Josiah Bartlet, played on "West Wing" by Martin Sheen, with his best buds Dale,
Bill and mumbling Boomhauer playing various roles. The scene was taken from a
popular "West Wing" episode from this season about a missing fighter pilot.
--Twentieth Television's "Divorce Court" and "Power of Attorney" have been
renewed for next season.
--Author Services president Javier Ruiz packaging a one-hour TV documentary,
"The Three Hs," profiling sci-fi giants L. Ron Hubbard, Robert Heinlein and
Frank Herbert.
NY POST/PAGE SIX...
--THE night before Vince Vaughn left for North Carolina, where he is set to
shoot his new movie "Domestic Disturbance" with John Travolta, he partied at
Les Deux in Hollywood until 2:30 a.m. with Ben Affleck, Ann Heche and Milla
Jovovich. When he went to retrieve his purple convertible from the parking lot,
Vaughn was embarrassed when the car alarm went off. "I'm sorry, it's an
American car," he apologized to the crowd. He mysteriously looked at one group
of American women and added, "Not like you French people would understand."
--LARA FLYNN Boyle is not on the cover of this month's Vanity Fair. Keanu
Reeves is. But a cheeky cover line on the gossipy glossy's front page begs the
question: "Lara Flynn Boyle: Why isn't she on the cover? Her publicist is on
the phone. And it's not like Keanu is Jack Nicholson's girlfriend." A Vanity
Fair flack explains, "It's a joke. It was all in fun." Boyle's actual
publicist, Karen Tencer, who wasn't laughing, chose not to comment.
--BENICIO Del Toro must be speechless over Brad Pitt's diction-challenged
performance in "Snatch." It sounds awfully like the mumbling crook Del Toro
played six years ago in "The Usual Suspects." In the new Guy Ritchie-directed
caper, Pitt, playing a bare-fisted Irish boxer, works a near-unintelligible
slur for comic effect. In 1995, one critic said of Del Toro's "Suspects"
accent: "About one out of three words is intelligible, but he gets a laugh
every time he opens his mouth." Adding insult to injury, Del Toro - building
Oscar steam for his undercover cop role in "Traffic" - co-stars opposite Pitt
in the Friday-opening "Snatch," in which the Hispanic actor is forced into an
unconvincing Hasidic Jewish accent. Elsewhere in the movie, Ritchie lifts
techniques and borrows actors from other neo-noir films. Dennis Farina reprises
the tough guy role he played in "Get Shorty." And Ritchie indulges the Quentin
Tarantino style with the fervor of an NYU film student - a charge that critics
also made about Ritchie's debut picture, "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,"
full of "Reservoir Dogs"-like effects. And it boasted a surf guitar soundtrack
right out of "Pulp Fiction." Of course, when "The Usual Suspects" was released,
critics attacked it for being derivative of . . . "Reservoir Dogs."
--PRESIDENTIAL brother Marvin Bush, en route to London, eating Tex-Mex at
Tapika with his brother-in-law Chip Molster, who is in New York defending
Philip Morris in the high-profile asbestos case . . .
--MARY Hart buying nine pairs of shoes at Stuart Weitzman's shop on Madison
Avenue, including four stiletto heels and three T-straps, whatever they are . .
.
--PRIVATE eye Bill Stanton celebrating his gushing cover story in New York
magazine at China Club with partner Jack Maple, Yankees Derek Jeter and Chuck
Knoblauch and Ranger Petr Nedved . . .
--QUEEN Latifah - at Mary J. Blige's birthday party at Joe's Pub with Missy
Elliot, Busta Rhymes and Jay-Z - dirty-dancing with the totally nude male
dancer who was performing.
--AGE has not mellowed Al Goldstein. The Screw magazine magnate is marking his
65th birthday by opening a legal brothel in St. Maarten. He tells PAGE SIX he
was inspired to launch "Al Goldstein's International Rabbit Ranch" after
watching an A&E biography about Kentucky Fried Chicken founder Colonel Sanders.
"I realized that he didn't start his franchises until he was 65," he says. "I'm
going to be the Colonel Sanders of prostitution." Goldstein, who plans a second
Caribbean cathouse in Aruba in June, celebrates tonight at the 2nd Avenue Deli.
--MUSIC mogul Guy Oseary has a new gal pal: Wonderbra model Eva Herzigova. The
pair vacationed in St. Barts together over New Year's on the same yacht with
Anthony Kiedis, Stephen Dorff and Rhea Durham, from which a tender sent ashore
severed a young woman's leg with its propeller. Before she and Oseary hooked
up, Herzigova was rumored to be dating Fashion Cafe owner Stefano Chitis.
NY POST/NEAL TRAVIS...
--THE official breakup of her marriage to Alec Baldwin doesn't seem to be
having an adverse impact on Kim Basinger's career. Hollywood gossip says Kim
just signed to play a PR woman in the Al Pacino film "People I Know." The flick
is loosely based on the life and times of superflack Bobby Zarem, whom I
recently called semi-retired. Zarem, who's spending a lot of time in his native
Savannah, Ga., insists he's not retired in any way - "It's just that I'm not
putting up with as many a- - - - - -s as I used to," he says.
NY DAILY NEWS/MITCHELL FINK...
--You don't have to be on a plane to know the difference between first class
and coach. Everyone attending last week's Shoah Foundation dinner received a
nice gift bag that included a tape of the documentary "The Last Days," a
"Schindler's List" CD and a bottle of Bulgari perfume. Helen Hunt, who emceed
the event, got something a little more substantial: an $18,000 diamond watch.
Because one of the evening's honorees, philanthropist Severin Wunderman, also
happens to own the Corum watch company, Hunt was asked to wear one of his
expensive trinkets for the night. And it didn't have to be a loaner, she was
told she could keep it. At first, she demurred. "I'm honored to wear the
watch," she said just before the event. "But for me to keep it, or look through
a catalog to pick out a diamond watch, that's just too overwhelming. I couldn't
do it." But by evening's end, Wunderman had convinced the Academy Award-winning
actress. "I insist that you keep it," he said to her. And she said okay.
--There's the company line on why Jeffrey Lane is stepping down as co-executive
producer of Bette Midler's CBS show, "Bette" — and the inside story. The
company line, reported last week in the Hollywood trade papers, is that Lane is
"giving up his daily production duties" so he can remain involved with the
series as a writer. The story I heard is a lot uglier. Lane and Midler were
having problems early on. But the rancor between them really erupted when he
returned after the holidays and announced he hadn't written anything over the
vacation week. Sources close to the show told me Midler went ballistic and
fired him. Lane's response was to quit. As I understand it, he's now supposed
to stay home, be a consultant and write for the show until his contract runs
out. CBS, meanwhile, is looking for a new "show runner." A network rep claimed
"no knowledge" of any trouble between Midler and Lane. "As far as we're
concerned," I was told, "this was a mutual and amicable decision." Midler's
rep, Cindi Berger, tells a slightly different story. "If you walk over to the
set," she said, "Jeffrey is still there. He has not quit. He has not been
fired." "Jeffrey is writing for the show at home," countered a spokesman who is
in regular contact with him. "He just wanted to step down from his other
duties. That's all this is about."
--The title of Guy Ritchie's upcoming movie is "Snatch" — and somebody took
it literally. Those same Dolce & Gabbana shirts that Madonna has been sporting
lately to promote her husband's film are going to be given away as prizes by
Details magazine, which is sponsoring the "Snatch" premiere. The shirts have
been in demand ever since Madonna was photographed wearing one to the launch
party of her recent CD. In fact, they've created such a frenzy that while the
250 tees were being transported to Los Angeles for the movie premiere tomorrow,
two boxes were stolen off the truck. Now they've been spotted on the online
auction site e-Bay, where they're selling for $100. The other tees will be
offered on the Details Web site starting Feb. 19.
USA TODAY...
--Destiny's Child, 98 Degrees, Jessica Simpson, Nine Days, Lee Ann Womack and
Jaci Velasquez are among the musicians set to perform at the sold-out Concert
Celebrating America's Youth on Friday at Washington's MCI Center. The
Presidential Inaugural Committee describes the non-partisan show as an event
aiming "to celebrate America's spirit in song and dance."
--Luiz Floriano Bonfà , a master guitarist and composer who helped found bossa
nova music, died of cancer Friday in Rio de Janeiro. He was 78. Bossa nova , a
more sophisticated and less percussive samba style, was introduced to the world
in Bonfà's soundtrack to the 1959 classic film Black Orpheus.
--Guy Ritchie's world has been turned upside down. He eagerly arrived here
recently from usually dreary London, where it was oddly sunny and gorgeous,
only to find Tinseltown chilly, gray and soaked in rain. The weather is the
least of the adjustments Ritchie has had to make. "Six weeks ago I was a single
man tapping my heels. Now I've got two kids and a wife," he says in a playful
tone as he relaxes in a hotel suite at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills.
Ritchie, 32, the avant-garde British director/writer whose comedy Snatch hits
theaters nationwide Friday, doesn't have just any wife. His missus is Madonna.
The couple drew worldwide media attention when they tied the knot Dec. 22 in a
shroud of secrecy at Skibo Castle in Scotland, a country Ritchie loves.
FOR FULL STORY: http://www.usatoday.com/life/enter/movies/flick036.htm
--Jennifer Lopez says her new album, J Lo, is aimed at the hips, not the head.
"I just want to make everyone dance and have a good time without all that other
deep crap," Lopez said in the Jan. 20 issue of TV Guide. Lopez said fans
inspired the name of the album, which hits stores Jan. 23. "Whenever I go
someplace, people yell, 'Jenny Lo! J Lo!' This record is a homage to them,"
said Lopez, 30. Her hits include If You Had My Love. She starred in the films
Selena and The Cell.
--DANBURY, Conn. — Actor Paul Newman donated $10,000 to build a pedestrian
bridge that will help complete a 2.2-mile walking trail along the revitalized
Still River. "We are ecstatic that Paul Newman has chosen to support this
environmental initiative," Mayor Gene Eriquez said Friday. For years, the river
was polluted by the hat factories that once filled Danbury. Six years after the
revitalization project began, there are trout and smallmouth bass in the river
and a walking trail dotted with environmental education markers. Since starting
Westport-based Newman's Own food line in 1982, Newman has donated all after-tax
profits of more than $200 million to thousands of charities.
UPI....
--War Child -- an international charity organization formed in the mid-1990s to
help children and their families in war and conflict zones -- has taken a PR
hit, with the announcement by Luciano Pavarotti, David Bowie and other
celebrities that they are dropping their support for the group. Pavarotti cut
his ties with War Child following published and broadcast allegations of
corruption and financial irregularities associated with the construction of a
music center for Bosnian children. Britain's Guardian newspaper and Channel 4
News conducted a joint investigation and reported that two senior members of
War Child took money -- allegedly a bribe -- while working in Bosnia.
Co-founder Bill Leeson and consultant Mike Terry reportedly accepted $10,000 in
1996 from the prime contractor on the Pavarotti Music Centre, and allegedly
offered to share the money with the center's directors. The directors declined
the offer and notified the trustees about it. War Child officials in London
issued a statement saying that any problems "occurred years ago," that the
charity has had a complete turnover on its board of trustees, and that the new
board, staff and patrons "are dealing properly with these historical charges."
--"No Angel," singer-songwriter Dido's debut album, has cracked the top 10 on
Billboard's Top 200 album chart -- more than a year-and-a-half after its
release. The album climbed eight spots to Number Nine, right behind Sade's
"Lovers Rock" and just ahead of Lenny Kravitz's "Greatest Hits." Sales
benefited from Eminem's sampling of a song from the album, "Thank You," on his
hit, "Stan" --and from the use of another track, "Here With Me," as the theme
song for the WB TV show "Roswell." Dido told LAUNCH that the album title, "No
Angel," may best describe the project as a whole. "For me," she said, "it sort
of sums up the album in that, you know, it's not perfect and I'm not perfect."
She said she's not afraid "to make mistakes and stuff ... all the songs are
somehow about, you know, some mess-up of some sort, you know, or something
that's universal or funny." Dido sets off on a brief tour of Europe and Britain
in Stockholm, Sweden, on Jan. 27.
--The Dave Matthews Band's fourth studio album, "Everyday," is scheduled to be
released Feb. 27, but fans don't have to wait that long to hear the first
single. It's been posted on Napster -- with official permission from the band.
Rolling Stone reports that "I Did It" is the first major-label track to be
promoted on Napster since the Bertelsmann Music Group agreed to drop its
lawsuit against Napster and invest money in the file-sharing company instead.
Napster directs visitors to DMB's official Web site (www.davematthewsband.com)
where they can access the approved version of the track. Rolling Stone reports
that DMB's management says the band was glad to know Napster users were
enthusiastic about the new song, but they wanted to make sure that their fans
heard it under the best conditions -- so they put a high quality MP3 file up on
their site that "sounds as the band intended."
--R.E.M. has announced that its upcoming album will be called "Reveal."
According to R.E.M.'s official Web site (www.remhq.com) the band is in the
final stages of finishing the record -- their 12th complete studio album and
their first record since 1998 -- with producer Pat McCarthy. "Reveal" is
scheduled to be in stores in May. Spin reports that the boys in the band --
Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, and Mike Mills -- will occupy themselves in the
meantime with gigs in South America, starting with the 10-day Rock In Rio
festival, which runs from Jan. 12-21. They're also booked to play on Jan. 17 at
the inaugural Buenos Aires Hot Festival, which also features Beck and Neil
Young.
--Alan Jackson has announced plans to hit the road this spring with two of
country music's number one ladies. Sara Evans is currently enjoying her second
number one single, "Born To Fly," and Lee Ann Womack spent six big weeks on top
last summer with "I Hope You Dance."
ASSOCIATED PRESS....
--If you've seen one "Scooby-Doo" cartoon, you've pretty well seen them all.
Scooby-Doo is the cartoon Great Dane that travels the country with four
post-teen amateur sleuths solving quasi-supernatural mysteries and capturing
criminals. Scooby's companions are the dapper Fred, a barrel-chested
blonde-haired semi-he-man; the lovely Daphne; Velma, an intelligent and
overlooked gal with freckles and thick glasses; and Shaggy, Scooby's
quasi-slacker pal. All of the original series episodes adhered to a certain
formula. "Scooby-Doo" first came to my attention when I was attending
elementary school. Back then the episodes always ended with implausible
explanations about how seemingly supernatural events were being caused by
criminals who were trying to cover their tracks. Scooby and posse encountered
real ghosts, witches and monsters in later cartoons. FOR FULL STORY:
http://interestalert.com/remote/siteia/morenews.shtml?Sys=siteia&Fid=ENTER
TAI&Type=News&Title=Entertainment
www.zap2it.com...
--Method acting was never so delicious. The morning Dennis Quaid appeared
bar-top dancing on the New York Post’s front page last week, he was spotted
shooting his latest film, HBO’s "Dinner with Friends," at Gourmet magazine's
test kitchens. Quaid plays a writer for the monthly publication who reports to
real-life editor Ruth Reichl, the Post reports. The film, directed by Norman
Jewison, also stars Greg Kinnear and actress Andie MacDowell, who is said to be
Quaid's new girlfriend. Take that, Russell Crowe.
--"CSI" star William Peterson says one of the biggest things he has in common
with his character, forensic expert Gil Grissom, is how boring they are. Not
that either shooting a hit TV show or unraveling mysteries is particularly dull
-– but, Peterson told AP, "When I'm in my house, I'm on the couch watching
ESPN -- at best having a sandwich. I don't go out. I do nothing. I'm exhausted
all the time because the work is everything. Grissom is the same way. His work
is everything. For Grissom, it's a vocation and it's all he is. It's how he
finds himself, through the solving of these human puzzles. When he goes home,
he puts on PBS, or possibly just ‘Jeopardy,’ and he does the crossword."
The Golden Globe-nominated "CSI" was conceived as a star vehicle for Petersen,
but the 47-year-old actor was particular about what the lead role should be. "I
didn't want to play a lawyer. I didn't want to play a doctor. I didn't want to
play a single dad," he said. "I wanted to do something I felt I could learn
from, something that would be a challenge and something that would not dry up."
At one time, Petersen had tried to develop a pilot for NBC, written by
playwright David Mamet. "I thought it was brilliant, but they thought it was
too esoteric," he said, admitting that he has slowly come to learn that
television is a completely different medium than stage and film. Peterson
believes that since the O.J. Simpson murder trial, the language of criminology
has become part of the vernacular, so audiences were primed to view forensic
science in drama form. Quoting a real crime scene investigator, Peterson said,
"Homicide detectives chase the lie, we chase the truth."
--Seeing as how "The Tonight Show" shoots in Los Angeles, it wasn’t
surprising that the audience member host Jay Leno picked from the crowd to
participate in a 1999 sketch was an actor. But a working one? Leno randomly
selected Sean Patrick Thomas to join in a skit that included a Leno
impersonation. But when Thomas, now starring in "Save the Last Dance" with
Julia Stiles, told Leno he was in the then about-to-be-released "Cruel
Intentions," Leno didn't believe him, the New York Post reports. After
witnessing Thomas at work in the skit, he told Thomas, "Sean, you say you're an
actor, but I guarantee you this, you're never going to sit in this chair up
next to my desk." Thomas said, "He was joking that I was giving a bad
impersonation. Maybe I was too good, and he was insulted." After the release of
"Cruel Intentions," "they invited me back, and I got to sit in the chair."
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