CELEBRITY WATCH
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May 5, 2000
Web posted at: 6:05 p.m. EST (2205 GMT)

From staff and wire reports

Today's buzz stories:

• Sammy Davis' estate sues music company
• 'Small Soldiers' suit puts Spielberg in crosshairs
• Oldman snags 'Hannibal' role
• Prince Andrew, Fergie to remarry?

Sammy Davis' estate sues music company

LOS ANGELES -- The estate and widow of Sammy Davis Jr. have filed a lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG) and its subsidiary Polygram Records on charges of breach of contract, fraud and failure to pay royalties, Variety reports.

Davis and MGM-Verve Records agreed in 1976 to re-release 35 of Davis' songs, according to the complaint filed last week in federal court in the Southern District of New York. The compilation was to include "The Candy Man," "Mr. Bojangles" and other hits, the magazine reports.

(MGM-Verve was later purchased by Polygram, which UMG in turn bought in 1998.)

The company neither released an album nor returned the masters to the Davis family -- a violation of the agreement, the suit says. The complaint also contends that Davis, who died of cancer in 1990, for 23 years was duped out of royalties generated by the individual licensing of those songs.

A UMG representative declined comment, citing the company's policy against talking about pending litigation.

'Small Soldiers' suit puts Spielberg in crosshairs

Spielberg

LOS ANGELES -- A filmmaker who says Steven Spielberg stole the plot of his award-winning short film to make "Small Soldiers" (1998) is suing the director, his DreamWorks SKG studio and Universal Pictures for copyright infringement.

Gregory Grant says Spielberg and his Amblin Enternatinment production company used the plot from his "Ode to G.I. Joe." He's seeking unspecified damages, according to a complaint filed Thursday in United States District Court.

Grant met with Spielberg and executives from Amblin to discuss making a full-length film, but the director told him they weren't interested in making a movie about toy dolls, the complaint states. Then, two weeks later, Grant claims in the suit, Amblin and Spielberg announced they were making "Toy Soldiers," an animated movie about toy combat figures who come to life.

A DreamWorks spokeswoman declined comment Thursday, saying the company hadn't seen the lawsuit.

Oldman snags 'Hannibal' role

Oldman

FLORENCE, Italy -- Gary Oldman is joining the cast of "Hannibal," the sequel to the 1991 thriller "Silence of the Lambs." He'll be working beside Anthony Hopkins and Julianne Moore, film producers say.

Shooting starts Monday, and is to take five weeks in Florence, Italy, before shifting to the U.S., where producers have set aside eight weeks to film scenes in Washington, Richmond, Virginia, and North Carolina.

Hopkins is playing the evil and crafty Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lechter -- this time, ensconced in the Florentine art world. Moore replaces Jodie Foster as FBI agent Clarice Starling, who relied on Lechter's help in "Lambs" to find a killer. Oldman will play one of Hannibal's victims, who is out for revenge. Ray Liotta plays a senior FBI agent.

Director Ridley Scott, whose "Gladiator" opens this weekend, takes the helm.

Prince Andrew, Fergie to remarry?

Sarah Ferguson and her ex-husband, Prince Andrew, both say a remarriage is not ruled out

LONDON -- Could wedding bells toll again for Prince Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York?

"I don't rule remarriage out," he tells Tatler magazine in its June issue. "I simply say if it should happen, great. It is not in, nor is it ruled out."

The two divorced four years ago, and the split appears unusually amicable. Fergie moved back to their marital home three years ago with their two daughters.

"We are not just doing it for the children. We are doing it for our own benefit too," Andrew says. "Both Sarah and I are determined not to make a nonsense of it again."

What's the duchess' take? "There has been no discussion on remarriage or reconciliation," she says, nearly echoing her ex. "(But) if it should happen, great. It is not in, nor is it ruled out.

"The love is still very much there, just in a different form."

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.