For Immediate Release on Entertainment Drive
Released by Beck/Smith

Eric Roberts' Hard Movie Road
Hollywood -- March 4, 1996 -- Eric Roberts does a powerful turn as a terminal AIDS patient who brings his loved ones together for one last bash -- before he kills himself -- in MGM's forthcoming "It's My Party." He says he almost didn't get the part. "They offered it to this other, fine young actor first," admits Eric, "but he turned it down because of the subject matter. [Producer] Joel Thurm said, 'I know a guy who could do it and isn't afraid of any subject matter.'" Meaning, of course, Eric. Director Randal Kleiser wasn't convinced. According to Roberts, "He said, I don't know about Eric. He's kind of a hardass, tough guy.' So we met and talked, and then, that's when my wife stepped in. She said, 'Show him the Greg Kinnear interview you did last week' -- when I was very tired and joked around a lot and, well, was really more like myself than I usually am in those situations. And that's what convinced Randal I could do it." Roberts said he had "no opinion" of the casting choice of Gregory Harrison to play the key role of Roberts' lover. "I only knew Greg from 'Trapper John,' but I trusted Randal to know he'd work. You know how this movie originated, don't you? Greg basically plays Randal Kleiser." Roberts basically plays the late decorator Harry Stein, Kleiser's lover, who took matters into his own hands when AIDS began affecting his brain -- after throwing a last party that became the talk of the town. Roberts says he and the rest of the cast -- which also includes Margaret Cho, Bronson Pinchot, Lee Grant, and Olivia Newton-John -- "used to watch Randal at work, wondering how he could get through this emotionally. What a job he did, eh? He kept the film from getting too sentimental." "It's My Party" did not allow the actors to dodge physical displays of affection, including full-out kissing. How'd Eric feel about that? "Here's how I'll answer that question," he says. "I've played people who've blown other people apart with shotguns, and nobody's said anything. Nobody's asked, 'Wasn't that hard for you?' Yet kissing another man, well -- ironic, isn't it? It wasn't hard, but it was kind of funny. Greg and I never rehearsed the scene, of course. We were just gonna go for it. So when the scene came up, we, like, go to kiss and each of us jockeyed for the dominant mouth position." Cut!

John Landis and Harold Ramis Defend 'Animal House'
Hollywood -- March 5, 1996 -- "Politically Incorrect" host Bill Maher moderated the "Animal House" reunion tribute and Q&A at HBO's 2nd Annual Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen last weekend. Maher laughingly accused the filmmakers and writers of being responsible for "the devolution of America" with the now-classic 1978 comedy about a college frat house gone wild. The film's director, John Landis, however, insists his film isn't responsible for the subsequent comedies that pushed the envelope further and further with vulgar, profane antics and scatological humor. "'Animal House' has nothing in common with those pictures other than that they're comedies," insists Landis. "It touched a nerve that really had to do with fraternities and sororities. I've had so many thousands of people of all colors, sizes, and economical levels come to me and say, 'You know, that was me' or 'I knew that guy.'...The movie tapped into that universal feeling about the age group 18 to 23. I'm proud of this movie. It had a remarkable cast and the truth is it had a very smart script and no one ever gave it credit for that." Director Harold Ramis, who co-wrote "Animal House," also disagrees with Maher's accusation. "We were reflecting the devolution of America but we didn't create it," says Ramis. "What people missed is that 'Animal House' was about something that we really went through in college. The proof of it was that guys in their 70s who went to school in the 20s were saying, 'That's just how it was...the same attitude.' 'Animal House' has more to do with being a liberated adolescent -- you're 17, 18, you get sprung from home, go away to college and go nuts...everybody does it. It has nothing to do with society, it's just about growth and development. We were tapping into something real and all these other movies mistook the style of the movie for the content of the movie, so they just thought, 'If we're disgusting about anything it's going to be funny or good.'"

Steve Martin Recalls Career Beginnings Hollywood -- March 6, 1996 -- Steve Martin shared a bit about his early professional life at the AFI tribute to his career last weekend at HBO's 2nd Annual U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen. The comic-cum-actor-cum-screenwriter-cum-playwright says he started out as a magician. But "I couldn't see where that magician thing was going to go. I mean, these days all a magician gets is $45 million and a chance to marry Claudia Schiffer." He began writing for "The Smothers Brothers" variety show in the 60s. Though he won an Emmy for his work on that show, he says, "I didn't get a real thrill out of writing material for other people to do, so I went back out on the road again as a comic." His peculiar brand of comedy brought him to the attention of Johnny Carson and he became a frequent guest on "The Tonight Show" in the 70s, before shooting to the top through his hosting stints on "Saturday Night Live." His first movie, "The Jerk," was a box-office hit, but Martin says he decided not to play it safe by doing "The Jerk II." And that's how he ended up in the box-office debacle "Pennies from Heaven," a dark musical about the Depression which was more of a dramatic turn for the funny man. He says that move "was under the philosophy 'Never give them what they want.' I felt that 'Pennies from Heaven' was a beautiful movie and I really wanted to do it, though I knew as a career move it was a disaster." Martin says he had never danced before "Pennies from Heaven," in which he tap danced and waltzed a la Fred Astaire. Now he says, "I apologize for my $15 million tap dancing lesson." Martin says his heart now is in playwriting. Though he wrote the screenplays for the films "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" and "Roxanne," he says, "I always thought movies were the reverse of what I do best. When I did standup I'd listen to the audience and make changes. In Hollywood they spend $25 million to make a movie, then they show it to see if it's any good. I thought, 'Gee, how clever it would be if you could write the thing, then show it and change it and make it better.' And I'm also kind of good on my feet. I like working with the actors and saying, 'Let's try this' or 'Let's try that' and in a play you can do that." His legit works -- "Picasso at the Lapin Agile" and "Wasp and Other Plays," a collection of one-acts -- have received nothing but critical acclaim. But he admits to still being insecure about his work. "I came to writing sort of through the back door, so I never feel bona fide -- although I am proud of my plays. I feel that I said exactly what I wanted to say with them."

Midler "First Wives" Scores with Trump
Hollywood -- March 7, 1996 -- Best Score Oscar nominee Marc Shaiman ("The American President") is now in the thick of musicalizing the Bette Midler-Diane Keaton-Goldie Hawn feature, "The First Wives Club." He reports they just finished shooting a bit with Ivana Trump -- one of many cameos in the picture. The scene has the ladies at a gala for the women's organization they form. "Ivana, who is the last guest to leave the party, comes by and says, 'Don't get even -- get everything!' Everyone was talking about her going through her bit like a real pro....You'd never know she wasn't a professional actress," says Shaiman. The composer, who first worked with Bette back in her Harlettes days, feels so close to this movie, he facetiously calls himself "the fourth First Wife." He says, "It has yet to be determined whether Bette will sing for the soundtrack. Paramount Pictures would certainly like that very much, but no deal has been worked out." Midler sings just a little bit on camera. "I have to sometimes remind Bette that her character is only a casual singer. She wants everything to sound immaculately perfect," Shaiman says. The composer also scored the forthcoming Whoopi Goldberg-Gerard Depardieu fantasy film "Bogus." His other credits include "Sister Act," "City Slickers," "A Few Good Men," "Misery," and "The Addams Family." He was Oscar-nominated for Best Original Song -- "A Wink and a Smile," from "Sleepless in Seattle" -- two years ago. "At the time, my parents said, 'Can we come?' And I said no....This year, I'm scrounging everywhere, begging every Academy member I know, 'Please, find me two more seats for my parents.' Who knows, maybe I'll end up sending them and watching the show from home."

No Report for Friday, March 8th

Copyright (c) 1996 Beck/Smith Ent.


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