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Showbuzz
Web posted on:
Thursday, November 12, 1998 4:32:27 PM EST
Today's buzz stories:
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"Babe"
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LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- "Babe" isn't ready for his encore yet. "Babe: Pig in the City" is taking longer than expected to finish, forcing Universal Studios to cancel the movie's benefit premiere and a weekend publicity event, officials said Wednesday.
Universal said the editing process has taken longer than expected because of the "extraordinary" amount of special effects used in the film to make the animals appear to talk. However, the sequel to 1995's Oscar-winning "Babe" will be ready for its November 25 opening over the five-day Thanksgiving weekend.
The follow-up to "Babe," which grossed $63.6 million, takes the sweet-natured pig to the city, with actor James Cromwell returning as Farmer Hoggett. The world premiere planned for Sunday was to have raised money for the Children's Defense Fund. The benefit committee included John Travolta, Robin Williams and Arnold Schwarzenegger. A weekend media event in which reporters could interview the film's stars also was cancelled.
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Reeve
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RALEIGH, North Carolina (CNN) -- Christopher Reeve said his upcoming ABC movie "Rear Window" showcases new technology that can be used by people with spinal cord injuries. "In the middle of a thriller, we're actually showing a lot of new technology," the paralyzed actor said Wednesday.
Reeve, who starred in the "Superman" movies, broke his neck in a fall from a horse in 1995. In Raleigh at a fund-raiser for the WakeMed rehabilitation center, he said viewers should not expect a replica of Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 classic, "Rear Window." "The movie I just did is specifically not a remake of the old film," he said.
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Shue
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ATLANTA (CNN) -- A "Melrose Place" actor is joining the son of a slain civil rights leader in an effort to encourage youngsters to perform acts of justice and kindness. Andrew Shue and Martin Luther King III are working together on the Kindness and Justice Challenge, which is scheduled to be held in the two weeks after the January 18, 1999, holiday honoring King's father.
"I think the most important element here is getting that young person ... to think about helping somebody else," said Shue, who created the challenge last year. King, who is chairman of the program, said, "Like my father, I believe in the power of young people to change the world."
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Swiss banks allegedly profitted by accepting gold taken from Jews during World War II
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LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Hollywood won't ignore the issue of Holocaust-era assets in Swiss banks. But does plan to throw some bank robberies and car chases into the story. Tony Scott is in negotiations to direct "Josiah's Canon," an action film on the subject, Daily Variety reported on Wednesday.
Scott's previous pictures include "Beverly Hills Cop 2," "True Romance," and the soon-to-be-released "Enemy of the State." "Josiah's Canon" is to centered on a Holocaust survivor who leads a team of bank robbers in robbing of a Swiss bank that holds fortunes deposited by Weimar Jews murdered in concentration camps, according to Daily Variety.
Last summer, the two biggest Swiss banks agreed to create a $1.25 billion fund to provide restitution for not returning assets deposited in secret accounts. Swiss banks set up their secret accounts to attract deposits from German Jews forbidden by Hitler to have bank accounts after the fall of the Weimar Republic.
DALLAS (CNN) -- A court has ordered fitness guru Susan Powter to stop the excuses. She must pay her ex-husband, Lincoln Apeland, $143,860 in alimony. Apeland, a Dallas mortgage loan officer, went to court over the $4,166 monthly alimony payments Powter agreed to pay him when they divorced in 1995. Financial trouble has kept Powter from paying, her lawyer said.
Powter, who filed for bankruptcy and now lives in Seattle, didn't appear in court. She and Apeland married several years before she became famous. He said he put his career on hold so that his then-wife could pursue her career. "I was loyal to her," he said. "When she breached the contract, I felt like a chump. The last thing I wanted to do was end up in court, and here we are."
Reuters contributed to this report.
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