March 14, 2000

Brad Pitt's second thoughts about Oscar

By ROGER ANDERSON Scripps Howard News Service

ACHILLES EMERGES FROM HIS TENT: First, Brad Pitt was going to skip this year's Oscar thing. Then he evidently thought better of it, issuing a statement to the New York Daily News attempting to clarify what had struck many observers as plain old surliness.

"Although the Oscars are still the Everest of awards for our industry," Brad told the rag via a spokeswoman, "there is now an oversaturation of these events. Every time you turn on the television, someone's getting an award. My wish is that it was still the golden days when there were only the Oscars - we'd all show up, acknowledge and support the year's work, and call it a day. But these days, you go where you're needed." Watch for him to parachute in.

INDIANA ON THE HORIZON: The folks over at the New York Post claim - and we believe them - that the studio audience at a taping of "Inside the Actors Studio" went "into a frenzy" when guest interviewee Harrison Ford happened to mention in passing that he and his colleagues actually are hoping to make another one of those "Indiana Jones" movies that did so well at the box office.

"I say that only because I want it to happen," Harrison says. "This is no announcement. We're waiting for a script everyone is happy with, and George is busy elsewhere. Very little progress has been made, but Steven and I are ready."

WHO, NOW? Those of you who have better uses for your brain cells than to retain information about the making of old movies should be advised that the persons to whom Harrison refers are, respectively, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, both of whom have had their very large and talented fingers in all the previous "Indiana Jones" pies.

OSCAR, REVISITED: Then there's this thing where Tom Cruise has been nominated for a supporting-actor statuette by dint of his universally praised role in "Magnolia." Unhappiness rears its head as the aforenamed movie remains mired in red box-office ink, with its only chance for turning a profit being Tom's willingness to get out there on the hustings to promote the darn thing. But he won't.  
         
"Tom is not going to do anything in addition to what he's already done to promote 'Magnolia,'" says Pat Kingsley, who is employed by Tom to make such categorical statements on his behalf. "He’s done it. Anything more might be perceived as campaigning, and that he doesn't want to do." Actually, we've got a better idea.

CATTLE CALL: In light of what has come up in the column so far, it's interesting to note an item in USA Today saying that the VH1 music channel is looking for actors to portray Mickey, Davy, Peter and Mike in a made-for-cable Monkees movie. Who better to fill those roles, after all, than Brad, Harrison, Tom and - oops, we're short one, aren't we?

A STITCH IN TIME: "I just loved the way it was interwoven," Michael Douglas tells a reporter, talking about the plotline in his new pic, "Wonder Boys,” "this crazy weekend where all these different people were having crises or having to make a choice….”
Sounds original - not the least like "The Big Chill" or "Weekend at Bernie's."

"And most movies," Michael goes on, "you can watch and kind of predict, but this one you had no idea what direction it was going." (Not even if you read the script?)

Michael, five words: Hey, hey, we're the Monkees. . .

WHICH REMINDS US: Catherine Zeta-Jones, the wonderful actress who has gained heightened fame recently by becoming engaged to the Douglas fellow and becoming pregnant with his baby, is down to co-star in a movie titled 'Traffic," about drug violence. This news comes on the heels of earlier intelligence that she was backing out of an Oliver Stone movie because of her increasingly delicate biological condition. The difference, according to one report, is that her "Traffic" character will be pregnant. Not only that, Catherine gets to attend birthing classes between takes.

THE BUSINESS OF SHOW BUSINESS IS BUSINESS: Since we can't resist another opportunity to beat that Oscar equine, here's what industry analysts say about the awards show's chances of doing well with the Nielsen nation this year.

"The Oscar telecast does well when there are a couple of very big pictures that drive it," Young & Rubicam's Bob Igiel says sagely. "I think the numbers will be more toward average."

A daring prognostication, to be sure - but let's also see what TV Media analyst Steve Sternberg has to say.

"The fact that Billy Crystal is the host kind of offsets the fact that there's no blockbuster this year," Steve says, adding that "It might create interest because nobody knows who's going to win." Kind of like "Wonder Boys." 
           
FINALLY: Here's songwriter Don McLean getting all enthusiastic about Madonna's well-received (if somewhat truncated) cover of his epic, "American Pie."

"I have heard her version," Don tells a reporter, "and I think it is sensual and mystical. I have received many gifts from God, but this is the first time I have received a gift from a goddess."

Sorry, Don, but any effort you may be making to avoid laying it on too thick gets a C-minus from us.

Roger Anderson is arts and entertainment editor at Scripps Howard News Service.

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