From ‘Sixth Sense’ to Sixth Grade
The summer movie season is officially over and the verdict is in: while “Phantom Menace” might have sold the most tickets, the real sensation of the summer was that prickly feeling on the back of Haley Joel Osment’s neck. “The Sixth Sense” is now projected to gross more than $200 million, and last week it outdid “Menace” for number of consecutive weeks during which it led the box office. It accomplished this as a come-from-nowhere sleeper. And even though Bruce Willis might have helped to “open” the movie, it was the 11- year-old Osment who became the most-talked-about actor in Hollywood. But despite instant stardom (and even supporting-actor Oscar buzz), he’s more concerned with his next role–as a real-life sixth grader. “It’s gonna be cool being the oldest grade at school,” says Osment. “And we get to go into new math like geometry and algebra!” He’ll need it to calculate his asking price on that next three-picture deal.
Unsupported Evidence
Kathie Lee Gifford has had bad luck with clothes. The most recent apparel flap, however, isn’t about Third World labor issues, but the matter of whether she’s been wearing a bra on the show. Since the new season of “Regis and Kathie Lee” debuted last month, news reports say viewers have complained that they don’t want to see quite so much steam with their morning coffee. Gifford, 46, has definitely been sporting new, more provocative necklines. But the show adamantly denies she has appeared braless or that anyone has complained. Cohost Regis Philbin further stirred this tempest in a tea… cup when he told Extra last week, “We’ve been together for 15 years, and she likes to stay, pardon the expression, abreast of the fashion world.” He said he couldn’t confirm one way or the other if his colleague is getting adequate support. But one thing is sure. At a time when Regis is the improbable toast of network television for hosting “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” look who’s getting the attention.
Ungentle Ben
On the set of his upcoming flick, “Reindeer Games,” Ben Affleck found that playing a tough guy wasn’t as easy as he’s paid to make it look. His role as an ex-con in the thriller marks the first time the taller half of the most famous buddy show in Tinseltown has had to carry a movie alone, and he knocked himself out for the part–literally. The actor tells Vanity Fair that while he was filming a prison brawl for the heist caper, an inmate, played by 315-pound Washington Redskins defensive tackle Dana Stubblefield, accidentally banged into him. Affleck wound up with a concussion. “[He] knocked me so stone-cold out that I don’t remember a thing. That was the day I realized I had no chance of playing in the NFL.” How about the NBA? Looks like he’s got the tattoos for it.
