Disney took advantage of record crowds that turned out over Thanksgiving weekend for "Toy Story 2" to plug not two, not three, but four of its year 2000 releases: "Fantasia 2000," "Dinosaur," "The Tigger Movie" and "102 Dalmatians," with the three-minute "Dinosaur" trailer the most popular by far, according to our informal poll. Expect to see trailers for other 2000 releases very soon: Warner Bros.' summer action movie "The Perfect Storm," with George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg; Ridley Scott's "Gladiator," from DreamWorks; the New Line Cinema thriller "Final Destination"; and 20th Century Fox's animated "Titan A.E." It's not clear whether trailers for the sci-fi comic adaptation "X-Men" (Fox) or the Farrelly brothers-Jim Carrey comedy "Me, Myself and Irene" (Fox) will make it to theaters for the holidays. There's always the Super Bowl. 

LONDON -- FilmFour has acquired U.K. distribution rights to three more high-profile Miramax films, continuing a drive to bolster its film slate with key U.S. indie titles. FilmFour will handle the U.K. release of director James Gray's "The Yards," starring Mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Phoenix, Charlize Theron and James Caan; teen comedy "Down to You," starring Freddie Prinze Jr., Selma Blair and Julia Stiles; and Michael Almereyda's contemporary take on William Shakespeare's "Hamlet," which stars Ethan Hawke, Kyle  MacLachlan, Sam Shepard and Bill Murray. The deal marks the second time Miramax has sold a substantial number of key titles to a U.K. distributor outside its ongoing relationship with Buena Vista International, which in the past has handled U.K. distribution on the majority of Miramax films. 

'ALL PAID jobs absorb and degrade the mind,' said Aristotle.

CHARLIZE THERON is Hollywood's golden girl of the moment. She's made a dozen films in less than three years. She is part of the brilliant ensemble cast of the soon-due "The Cider House Rules." I sipped tea with Charlize at the Four Seasons Hotel the other day and found her frank, no-nonsense and staggeringly beautiful. Her stroll through the hotel lobby left onlookers slack-jawed with admiration. Charlize arrived a bit late, having been held up in NYC's hellacious  traffic. "Oh, that always happens," I said, trying to soothe her unnecessary apologies. "No, no, it just always happens to me!" she gasped. Then she laughed, "Now I suppose you're going to write, 'She was late, and has paranoid fantasies that the traffic is out to get her.'" The movie star was in Manhattan promoting "Cider House," then it was back to the set of "The Legend of Bagger Vance" with Will Smith and Matt Damon. The movie has a golfing theme, and though Charlize doesn't play in the film, she's taken up the sport very enthusiastically. She said, "I have this terrible feeling I'm going to turn into one of those people who schleps their golf clubs everywhere. I'm going to be just like Mark Wahlberg." (Wahlberg is one of her co-stars in the upcoming "The Yards.") Talk then turned to Mark, who we both agreed is a real sweetie who has worked hard to turn himself around from the slightly thuggy kid he was as Marky Mark, into the big star he is today. "He's one of the most talented actors I've ever worked with. And every time I run into him, he seems to get better-looking." Charlize recommended some divine-sounding brownie-fudgy-ice- creamy dessert she'd had the night before, ordered from room service, but it wasn't being served in the lobby tea area. "The great thing is, it's on the kiddie menu, though it seems very adult to me!" said Theron, who then went on to describe in mouth-watering detail, everything on the kiddie menu. "It's very good, and just enough food so that you won't have to suck it in if you're wearing a tight dress that night." (I have a feeling Charlize is not one of Hollywood's flesh fanatics. She seems to love food, and has a healthy body image. She knows she is supposed to look like a woman, not a 12-year-old boy.) We talked of the perils of cigarette addiction (she recently quit, though she's taken to collecting ashtrays!) ... how very annoyed she is that her film with Ben Affleck, "Reindeer Games," has had its title changed to "Deception." ("They were afraid it sounds like a Christmas movie, and since it's being released after the holidays they don't want to confuse people. Is that absurd? I  hate the new title. I'm going to fight it.") We also talked of the odd reactions people have to stars. "I was in Savannah not long ago, in a restaurant, chowing down like a maniac on mashed potatoes. A waitress stopped in front of me and stared. Then she called over another girl and they both stared. Then one nudged the other and said, 'So, that's what they look like.' I felt like an alien     species." When I complimented Charlize on all the sexy leading men she snares-Mark, Matt, Ben, Will, Joaquin Phoenix-she said, "Yeah, I'm always in the boys' club, but I'm dying to do a movie with some girls!" (Hey, Diane English, you've got another cast member here for your update of "The   Women"!) We also got into a deep-dish discussion of old movies-Charlize is a major buff-and journalistic ethics. When I mentioned to her that my column is usually criticized for being "too nice," she cocked an eyebrow and said, "Well, I'm sure that's true, but you did an item on me a couple of years ago that really hurt!" It was a story in which we chided Charlize's then-handlers for placing her at a table with Goldie Hawn and Madonna at an L.A. event. This was just when publicity about Charlize maybe taking over the role in "Chicago" from a "too old" Goldie was raging. (In the end, the movie was never made.) Charlize remembered it as a personal attack on her. That wasn't the intention at all.

But that's the way it seemed to Charlize.

Her attitude was not combative or whiny, just curious. We really got into how fine the line is every day. How we try to avoid, but sometimes can't help, ruffling feathers. How we sometimes have to ruffle feathers to keep up the franchise on what we loosely call a gossip column. And I pointed out to Charlize that this column gives celebs who want their side told, a place to tell it.

I admired Charlize for bringing up her past hurt in an intelligent way, encouraging the sort of chat I rarely have with movie stars. 

From Marilyn Beck, Stacy Jenel Smith and Stephanie DuBois in Hollywood It took two years for Miramax to get around to releasing the outstanding '60s era drama ``A Walk on the Moon,'' which came and went last spring before most were even aware of its existence. But Diane Lane has no complaints. It was seen by enough of the right people in the industry to put her back on the hot list again.

The actress, who broke into movies at age 14 in ``A Little Romance,'' is making Warner Bros.' ``The Perfect Storm,'' with George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg. It's based on Sebastian Junger's best-selling story of a fishing boat caught in one of the worst storms in history, and the efforts to send out a rescue mission when the boat goes under. We'll see Lane play the streetwise girlfriend of Wahlberg's character.

Cindy Crawford and her husband Rande Gerber are hosting a dinner in Los Angeles tonight, to raise funds for The Silver Lining Foundation. The non-profit group provides recreational outings in Aspen, Colo., for children with cancer and other life- threatening illnesses. The guest list includes Elisabeth  Shue, Mark Wahlberg, Tori Spelling and Kevin Bacon. Music will be provided by Kenny G and the Bacon Brothers.

As he walks into the Tropical Cafe on Sunset Boulevard, a neighborhood hangout near his home in L.A.'s Silver Lake district that serves up Cuban sandwiches, flaky pastries and strong coffee, heads immediately turn. People see that malleable, guy-next-door face and feel they know him, but aren't sure why.

Standing 6-feet-2 with bushy hair and a beard to match, 34-year-old actor John C. Reilly might be mistaken for a reclusive astronomer, an undercover narc or a wandering soul just off a shrimp boat. Actually, the shrimp boat isn't far off, because the whiskers, he explains, are grown for Wolfgang Petersen's next film, "The Perfect Storm," in which Reilly has been cast as a doomed Massachusetts fisherman, alongside George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg. Reilly says he has even bulked up to 180 pounds for the part, "so I don't get pulled overboard by a swordfish."

The odd thing about Reilly is that although so many people seem to recognize him, you can bet not many can guess his name. Indeed, strangers often nervously approach Reilly and ask, "Don't I know you?" or "Didn't we go to school together?"

And Reilly patiently tells them he's a movie actor and they probably saw him on the big screen. His wife, producer Alison Dickey, is amazed at how often Reilly can size people up and name the movies they recognized him from.

"Oh, man, yeah!" they will invariably say. "You were that porn star buddy of Mark Wahlberg's in 'Boogie Nights!' What was your name again?"

"Reed Rothchild," he will answer.

"Yeah, man! Cool!"

Or, they will flash on other Reilly performances, like catcher Gus Sinski in Kevin Costner's recent baseball film "For Love of the Game"; the hard-luck gambler John in "Hard Eight"; Sgt. Storm in "The Thin Red Line"; Johnny Depp's best friend, Tucker, in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape"; the local constable, Frank Stamshaw, in "Dolores Claiborne"; the menacing bad guy, Terry, in "The River Wild,"; a young monk in "We're No Angels," or Drew Barrymore's editor in "Never Been      Kissed."

"Most people remember me from 'Boogie Nights' because it was such a startling movie," Reilly says. "But every movie that I do opens me to a different segment of the population."

Reilly, however, may soon achieve the name recognition that has eluded him when he appears next month in "Magnolia," writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson's first film since his critically acclaimed 1997 "Boogie Nights." The film features an ensemble cast, including Tom Cruise, and marks the third time Anderson has cast Reilly in one his films, beginning with "Hard Eight."

Like Philip Seymour Hoffman and Philip Baker Hall, Reilly inhabits a loose-knit company of actors that turns up regularly in Anderson's films. Indeed, the director calls Reilly one of his closest pals, describing the big, affable actor as "the funniest person I know" and adding, "He makes me laugh harder than any person on the planet--I mean, piss-in-my-pants, spit-takes kind of laughter."

Still, recognition can be a humbling experience. Like the time Reilly pulled into a gas station to get a flat tire fixed and the grease monkey blurted out: "Oh, yeah! You played a mechanic in 'Days of Thunder,' didn't you?"

"It's so embarrassing," Reilly observes, "not being able to change your own flat tire after playing an ace mechanic in a race movie."

As he takes a seat near the back of the cafe, poking at a fruit-filled pastry, it doesn't take a lot of coaxing to get Reilly telling stories.

Like the time they were making "Hard Eight" in Reno. The script called for Reilly to marry Gwyneth Paltrow's character, so Anderson called up a local wedding chapel and said they were coming over. As the actors stood before the real-life chaplain and the cameras began rolling, it suddenly dawned on everyone that Paltrow and Reilly might actually be getting hitched.

"They could technically be married!" Anderson said with a laugh. "We're not really sure!" Anderson noted that Paltrow was freaked and that Reilly, who had a wife back in L.A., was  saying things like, "I could be married to two women."'

"Gwyneth was really flipped out," Reilly recalled. "When you watch the movie, she is, like, laughing hysterically. That's just Gwyneth, it's not the character, because she had just started dating Brad [Pitt] at that point. . . . It was right when People magazine came out and said, 'Brad Pitt: The Sexiest Man Alive,' and I used to tease her and say, 'I know I'm not the sexiest man alive but, hopefully, my little screen kiss will suffice.' "
                                              * * *
Or take the improvisational cop videos that Reilly and Anderson made a few years back to kill time while Anderson was trying to drum up financing for "Boogie Nights."

Reilly would don a police uniform supplied by a Hollywood costumer and pile into the driver's seat of a car next to Anderson, who was taping him with a hand-held video camera. After phoning ahead to actor friends like Jennifer Jason Leigh and Hoffman to alert them that they were on their way, Reilly hit the gas and they roared off through the streets of Los Angeles, mimicking the popular reality TV show "Cops."

One day in Studio City, startled passersby stopped in their tracks as they watched Reilly, huffing and puffing, run past a gas station in hot pursuit of Hoffman, who looked every bit the petty criminal with long hair and grungy T-shirt. The alert citizens pointed at Hoffman and yelled at Reilly, "He went that way! He went that way!" while Anderson, camera rolling, scrambled to keep up. The mock chase went on for blocks.

On another day, the two drove up to Leigh's house as Anderson videotaped the improvised encounter. She asked the "officer" his name. Reilly told her, "Jim." She pressed. "Jim what?" He thought a moment, then came up with a name on the spot: "Jim . . . Kurring. Officer Jim Kurring."

As fate would have it, Reilly's "Cops" improvisation would live on long after Anderson switched off the video camera. His portrayal as Officer Jim Kurring has surfaced again--this time as a key character in Anderson's highly anticipated new film "Magnolia," which New Line Cinema is scheduled to release in L.A. and New York on Dec. 20 for Oscar consideration; the film opens nationwide Jan. 7.

Like "Boogie Nights," Anderson's script for "Magnolia" is also set in the San Fernando Valley; it takes its title from a major Valley thoroughfare.

The film focuses on one fateful day in the lives of an odd assortment of people. Cruise, for instance, plays a misogynistic self-help guru who conducts fiery seminars for men seeking tips on sexual conquest, while William H. Macy plays a former TV quiz-show boy genius who pines after a bartender with braces. Also featured in the cast are Jason Robards, Jeremy Blackman, Michael Dowen, Melora Walters and Melinda Dillon as well as Hoffman, Julianne Moore and Hall.

"Magnolia" begins by depicting some of the more bizarre urban legends that have sprung up in America over the years, like the tale of a scuba diver who was found in the branches of a tree after being accidentally scooped out of a lake by a water-dropping plane fighting a forest fire. What the movie posits is that just as urban legends can't be explained, life is filled with events and their consequences that seemingly defy logical explanation.

Reilly's Officer Kurring is perhaps the most stable character in the film's mini-plots. Despite encountering all sorts of craziness and crime on his police beat, he believes he can still save those around him and even falls in love with a young woman (Walters), whom he meets on a call. He asks her out on a date, even though her personal life is falling apart amid a swirl of family turmoil and drug addiction.

His ability to blend effortlessly into all kinds of roles landed him a part in his current film, "The Perfect Storm." He plays Dale Murphy, a fisherman on an ill-fated boat. The script entails getting smashed repeatedly with hundreds of gallons of water and, Reilly says, he crosses himself each time, praying to God, "Please let me live through this take."

"I always get these jobs of extreme physical endurance coupled with the necessity to have a deep understanding of some occupations, whether it's a baseball player, or soldier, or cop, or fisherman," Reilly says with exasperation. "I don't know what my story is, but I always end up in movies like that, and I always end up surrounded by men too. I told my wife I'd like to play a handyman in a convent--an easy job surrounded by girls."

He may not always get the girl, but he does manage to work for some big-name directors such as Brian De Palma, Woody Allen, Terrence Malick, Lasse Hallstrom, Curtis Hanson and Neil Jordan.

But Anderson believes that Hollywood is selling Reilly short if it keeps casting him in buddy roles. "What I saw in him was a Jimmy Stewart quality, a Joel McCrea quality, an old-fashioned leading-man quality," Anderson said. "Obviously, his face is untraditional, but talk to any girl who's ever worked with him, from Gwyneth Paltrow to Melora Walters, and they have all practically fallen in love with him. It's on display again in 'Magnolia.' "

With an Irish mug that seems fashioned from putty, Reilly is to the 1990s what such brilliant character actors as Walter Brennan, Arthur Kennedy and Lee J. Cobb were to earlier generations.

Reilly himself doesn't complain about not having a Robert Redford profile. "I don't think of a 'character actor' as a pejorative term at all," he shrugs. "It's like, I wear it as a badge of honor."

The way he sees it, George Clooney and Brad Pitt want to play the kind of parts he always gets. "They come up to me and say, 'I love your work so much and love what you do and how detailed it is. I always have to be a guy who's, like, smiling.' " Reilly shakes his head. "Just sitting there looking pretty or putting on that winning smile gets pretty boring after a while."
                                              * * *
In "Magnolia," Anderson has stripped Reilly of Officer Kurring's outlandish characteristics that were evident in their old mock-cop videos and transformed him into a policeman with subtle traits and noble qualities.

"In a way, my character is the hero of the story. Even though he is flawed and has his own problems, he is the one guy in the story who is trying to get outside of himself and touch someone," he says. "Everyone else is locked into their own morass."

To prepare for his role, Reilly accompanied real LAPD officers on their patrols--at one point, responding to a wrenching call related to a 14-year-old girl with a baby who was in a fight with her mother.

While filming "Magnolia," Reilly felt the "intensity" of walking into a dangerous neighborhood dressed in a uniform and badge.

"I got a real sense when I was walking in there just how scary it is for a policeman," he says. "You never know, if you open a door, whether it's somebody going to be saying, 'Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize the music was so loud. I'll turn it down,' or whether it's going to be some kind of insane person with a gun behind the door. That element of chance--you have to be a pretty brave person to be a policeman. You might as well have a sign on saying, 'Shoot me.' "

A child of the Midwest--or, what he prefers to call an "Irish-Lithuanian-Polish-Chicago-South Side thing"--Reilly grew up with three brothers and two sisters in a rough part of town. His father owned a local linen-supply company, and Reilly remembers what it was like helping out in the laundry room.

His big break came when he sent off a videotape of himself performing to director De Palma, who brought him to Thailand and eventually cast him alongside Sean Penn in the 1989 Vietnam War film "Casualties of War."

Just like that, his first plane trip out of Chicago, and Reilly's life was turned around. Not only did he go on to make his next two pictures with Penn ("We're No Angels," "State of Grace"), but he also fell in love and later married Penn's development person.

"My first plane ride, my first movie and, basically, the first woman I met there I fell in love with and I married," Reilly marvels. "We've been married seven years now and have a 1-year-old kid."

Although he has made 21 films overall, Reilly notes that it's getting harder for character actors to thrive in Hollywood.

"Unfortunately, the producers are spending all their money on the stars and then they want to cast everyone else at sort of [Screen Actors Guild] scale," he said. "What it is doing is destroying that class of actor, the character actor, . . . people who bring credibility and realism to movies."

If there is one note of personal sadness to Reilly's story, it is the death of his father.

"He was kind of a movie buff," Reilly says of his dad. "He fancied himself sort of a cross between Humphrey Bogart and W.C. Fields, so he was real tickled that I was in movies."

His dad was also a fisherman.

"He had a boat on the Great Lakes and, when he got older, he had a house down in Key Largo.We'd go out to sea. That's where I spent time with my dad. I think of him all the time when I'm doing ["The Perfect Storm"]. He died about six years ago. It was very, very hard, but he was so proud of me."

The interview over, Reilly walks back through the cafe, stopping to chat with some Latino bakers behind the counter and some patrons at tables. The sun has burned through the overcast, and Sunset Boulevard is alive with traffic and noise. Reilly walks outside, shakes hands and smiles, then crosses a side street to his parked car. In moments, he is gone, a face without a name, heading back toward home.
Robert W. Welkos is a Times staff writer. 

Online: Teams of models and excited men lined up for a party hosted by beauty Web site gloss.com and Elite Models last week at L.A.'s Park Plaza Hotel. The bash was as crowded, hot and sweaty as a high school dance. Even with KCRW-FM's Nic Harcourt and Jason Bentley spinning tunes, guests got cranky. Hors d'oeuvres were few and far between, and many of the bartenders seemed to be mixing their first martinis.

Mark Wahlberg, Taye Diggs, Lisa Nicole Carson, Hugh Hefner and Kiss' Gene Simmons were all in attendance, and Tori Spelling was spotted with a laptop computer ordering products off the site from Philosophy and Smell This.

Jennifer Aniston as a heavy metal rock chick? We can picture that. The Friends star may get a chance to stretch her screen career (and maybe stretch some stylin' rock-star spandex); she's in talks to star opposite Mark Wahlberg in the George Clooney-produced Metal God.

The Warner Bros. project is based on the true tale of an office supplies salesman who played in a Judas Priest cover band before joining Judas Priest itself.

Curiously, Aniston's beau Brad Pitt was once attached to the project. The Fight Club star also turned down the chance to be in Cameron Crowe's rock star opus Stillwater, currently shooting. Without Limits actor Billy Crudup (dubbed the "next big thing" by Mr. Showbiz columnist Edward Margulies) took the part instead.

Stephen Herek of Mr. Holland's Opus fame will direct Metal God, which is slated to begin production early next year.

Aniston, who has been circling several feature projects, including, at last check, Against the Glass and The Virgin Mary, will be available when Friends goes on hiatus at the end of May. She hasn't yet had found significant filmic successes with previous efforts Picture Perfect, Office Space, and The Object of My Affection.

Reuters contributed to this story.

Friends' star to let her hair down with Wahlberg.

Despite the paltry performance of her films at the box office, Jennifer Aniston continues to be courted by the major players.

Today's Variety reports that Rachel Green's alter-ego is in talks to star opposite 'Boogie Nights' star Mark Wahlberg in 'Metal God', the true story of an office supply salesman who finds fame and fortune when he joins a  heavy metal band ('Tonight, Matthew, I'm going to be a leather-clad Rock Dinosaur').

The film is to be directed by '101 Dalmatians' man Stephen Herek and has been rewritten by 'Thelma & Louise' scribe Callie Khouri.

Aniston's previous cinematic forays have included the lightweight 'The Object Of My Derision, er, Affection', 'Picture Perfect' and 'Til There Was You'. She can next be heard providing a voice on acclaimed animation pic 'The Iron Giant', which opens in the UK on December 17.

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - ``Friends'' star Jennifer Aniston may test her mettle with heavy metal: she is in talks  to star opposite Mark Wahlberg in ``Metal God.''

The Warner Bros. project is based on the true tale of an office supplies salesman who played in a Judas Priest cover band before joining Judas Priest itself.

Stephen Herek (''Mr. Holland's Opus'') will direct. George Clooney will serve as one of the producers via his WB-based Maysville Prods. banner.

``Metal God'' is slated to begin production early next year. Aniston, who has been circling several feature projects, will be available when ``Friends'' goes on hiatus at the end of May. Her feature credits include ``Picture Perfect,'' ``'Til There Was You'' and ``The Object of My Affection.'' 

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - The tides of change continue to crash upon the agency front, with several moves highlighting the Halloween weekend.

The Endeavor agency has signed actor Mark Wahlberg (``Three Kings''), writer-director Paul Schrader (``Bringing Out the Dead'') and writer Ann Biderman (``Smilla's Sense of Snow'').

Wahlberg, who's shooting ``The Perfect Storm'' for Warner Bros., had been represented by United Talent Agency for more than five years (except for a short, six-month stint at Creative Artists Agency), during which time he went from being hip-hopper Marky Mark to film star. He continues to be managed by Leverage Entertainment.

Schrader had been with the William Morris Agency, while Biderman was previously with International Creative Management.

Carrie-Anne Moss, who co-starred opposite Keanu Reeves in ``The Matrix,'' has left United Talent Agency after only a year with the firm. Moss has not signed with another agency but continues to be represented by her longtime Vancouver-based manager Liz Hodgson.

Moss also left attorney Barry Hirsch, returning to her former counsel, Robert Lange, of Kleinberg, Lopez, Lange, Brisbin & Cuddy. It's unclear why the actress, who's shooting Warner's ``Red Planet,'' left UTA and Hirsch, but sources said her departure was sudden and came during negotiations for her to reprise her role in the next two ``Matrix'' installments, which are slated to begin shooting in Australia next year.

Reuters/Variety 

Mark Wahlberg, now on screen in Warner Bros.' "Three Kings," has signed for representation with the Endeavor Agency {Agents David Lonner, Adam Venit and Doug Robinson left CAA to become partners at Endeavor.- Lianne}, ending his five-year relationship with United Talent Agency. The actor will continue to be managed by Stephen Levinson of Leverage Management and attorneys Jason Sloane and Fred Goldring. Wahlberg is shooting Warner Bros.' "The Perfect Storm" opposite "Kings" co-star George Clooney. He will then segue to the Steve Herek-directed "Metal God," also for Warners. His other credits include "Boogie Nights" and "The Basketball Diaries."

Weird thing about David O. Russell's Three Kings is it's one of the few movies I liked better the more I thought about it. I walked out of the theater thinking "great visceral experience, nice technical achievement" but I didn't think that there was that much to the film. I pegged it as sort of the standard anti-war war film -- the sort of movie that tells us that war is so much nihilistic chaos, that wars are fought to protect the interests of rich people, that bullets cause terrible damage to human beings, the enemy has a human face and that the best soldiers are the ones most susceptible to brainwashing.

Yadda yadda yadda.

Those things are certainly true, but they aren't the whole truth. Operation Desert Storm might have been a superfluous war (I don't think so but let's grant the movie its premise), but it wasn't Vietnam. And Vietnam wasn't the Korean Conflict, which wasn't World War II. The knee-jerk reaction to Three Kings might be that it's a knee-jerk reaction to Saving Private Ryan. If Spielberg wants to celebrate the heroism of ordinary, decent men caught up in extraordinary circumstances, then Russell can supply the smart-mouthed indie response -- here's how crass and self-serving ordinary, decent people can be. Three Kings can be read as A Simple Plan (or The Treasure of the Sierra Madre or Reservoir Dogs) meets On the Road to Morocco.

Furthermore, we ought to be suspicious of movies that pretend to show us how horrible war is while making it seem like great fun.

Cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel (The Usual Suspects, Fallen) gives the film a grainy, overexposed look that evokes the desert heat and the escalating tensions between the different groups involved. A hand-held camera was often employed during combat, which gives the film the same kind of jarring, disjointed intensity Spielberg achieved in Saving Private Ryan. There are also stylistic echoes of Oliver Stone and Spike Lee -- as well as an unmistakable thematic similarity to Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now.

While I enjoyed Three Kings, I had certain reservations about it -- it was a big messy derivative movie with all kinds of neat cinematography tricks but I wasn't sure it was any more than that.

But unlike most movies that evaporate almost as soon as you've seen them (and there's nothing wrong with movies that offer no more than refreshment) something about Three Kings stayed with me. I kept mulling the characters over in my mind, kept remembering nuances of performance, little bits of business and the attitude of the camera. A week or so after I saw the movie, I confess I felt impressed by it -- or at least by its details.

It is a paradox -- yet another big-budget ($50 million) mainstream film with an alleged independent spin. Russell, a hot young talent with just two feature films under his belt (1994's sparkling Spanking the Monkey and the updated screwball comedy Flirting With Disaster), has delivered a quirky, surreal film that is less an examination of war than of war movies. It travels freely across genre borders -- despite a patchy script that dispenses with the underlying politics of the Persian Gulf War with a (mercifully) brief speech by George Clooney and begs more questions than it answers, Three Kings (why isn't it Four Kings?) is by turns a crime caper story, a buddy film and a hip black comedy.

Once you decide not to hold the movie's lack of a coherent story against it, you can begin to enjoy three genuinely wonderful performances by Ice Cube, Mark Wahlberg and Spike Jonze (a director making his acting debut) and a crafty one by Clooney, who may be the last real movie star left in Hollywood.

Set the day after the cease-fire agreement that ended the shooting in the crusade against Saddam Hussein in 1991, the movie concerns four American soldiers: Special Forces Maj. Archie Gates (Clooney) and a trio of National Guardsmen (Cube, Walhberg and Jonze). They find a map secreted on the body of an Iraqi prisoner, immediately deduce that the map shows the location of Kuwaiti gold bullion confiscated by Saddam and set off together to steal the booty for themselves.

The mission involves dumping a cable news reporter Gates has been assigned to escort. She's a Christiane Amanpour clone named Adriana Cruz (Nora Dunn).

The rough-and-ready Americans believe that they'll be able to relieve the defeated Iraqis of the gold without much trouble -- in the aftermath of the war Saddam has more important things to worry about than whether Kuwaiti property gets returned.

Complications naturally ensue as the American privateers become involved in the plight of the Iraqi rebels who have risen up at President Bush's behest, only to find themselves abandoned by the American army.

Russell, who wrote the screenplay, is much better at bouncing believable characters off one another than imagining a coherent adventure tale, and the real strength of the movie is how natural and sympathetic these would-be privateers become.

Wahlberg has a genuinely marvelous scene where he manages to make us believe his character is actually empathizing with his torturer. Cube is a fine, intelligent actor who is given the difficult ordinary-guy role. Jonze has the flashiest role as an ignorant Texas redneck who wishes people wouldn't keep alluding to his lack of a high school education. Dunn's cable journalist is more than the easy parody of Amanpour it could have been; she isn't a silly airhead but a driven professional obsessive.

While Three Kings is violent, at least the violence is not sanitized. In one of the movie's memorable scenes, we see what happens inside the body cavity when a bullet tears through -- a sludge of green bile floods in to fill the ragged void. It's disturbing, as movie violence ought to be.

Three Kings mightn't be the best thought-out or most reassuring movie of the year, but the more I think about it, the more I'm sure that it is one of the best. [email protected].

After telling the story of a teacher who ignited his students' passion for music in "Mr. Holland's Opus," director Stephen Herek may next tackle musical inspiration of a much louder kind.

The entertainment trade publication "Variety" reports that Herek has agreed to direct "Metal God," a film based on the story of Ripper Owens, the singer who was plucked from a Judas Priest cover band and chosen to replace original Priest frontman Rob Halford in the real deal.

"Variety" reports that Hollywood's fictionalized take on the heavy metal Cinderella story is being developed by George Clooney's Maysville Productions. The movie will reportedly start pre-production early next year (see "Mark Wahlberg Weighing 'Metal' Role For Next Film").

Herek's directing credits also include 1992's "The Mighty Ducks," 1993's adaptation of "The Three Musketeers,"   and the 1998 Eddie Murphy flick "Holy Man."
 -- Robert Mancini 

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Director Stephen Herek (``Mr. Holland's Opus'') has committed to direct ``Metal God,'' loosely based on the true story of an office supplies salesman who fronted a Judas Priest tribute band before graduating to Judas Priest proper.

Former rapper Mark Wahlberg, currently in theaters with George Clooney and Ice Cube in ``Three Kings,'' is in advanced negotiations to take the starring role. The actor is currently in production on Warner Bros.' ''The Perfect Storm,'' in which he also co-stars with Clooney.

Clooney's Maysville Prods. is developing ``Metal God'' at Warner Bros. ``Metal God'' will begin pre-production early next year.

 LOS ANGELES - This Halloween, many of Hollywood's wannabe jocks will be wearing the same costume: basketball uniforms.

They won't be trick-or-treating, but playing in a new league sponsored by the National Basketball Association called the NBA Entertainment League. Beginning Oct. 31, 10 teams of 12 players - stocked with top celebrities - will compete in a three-month season in the Los Angeles area.

Among the stars on the hardwood: Woody Harrelson, Ray Liotta, Dylan McDermott, Coolio, Lou Diamond Phillips, Jaleel White, David Duchovny, Mark Wahlberg and Damon Wayans.

"The league is an extension of the great relationship we have with the Hollywood community," NBA spokesman Mike Bass says. "We often help out with productions on television or film to give basketball scenes authenticity."

There are no tryouts for the Hollywood bigwigs, but Bass insists that "the quality of play will be at a decent level." (Some industry execs who have played with stars involved say there are participants who lack basic skills.)

Fans hoping to snag a peek at their favorite shooting stars can forget it for now. The regular season will be closed to the public, but the playoffs and the finals might be open.

Still, fanatics will be able to keep tabs on the actors, as the league will keep comprehensive statistics.

Organizers say they had no problem assembling teams, which are primarily composed of men but include some women (no big female names yet).

Actors who joined early got their friends together to form teams. For example, Bill Bellamy's squad includes pals Chris Tucker, Lorenz Tate and Jamie Foxx, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Although it's unclear how it will recoup the cost of the entertainment league, the NBA may set up another one in New York if the L.A. season is deemed successful. Spike Lee, get ready to lace up your basketball shoes.

Apparently nursing the dream that they could have been basketball contenders, several big-name actors will be playing in a new b-ball league, reports USA Today.

The LA-only celeb squad, to be called the NBA Entertainment League, will be made up of 10 teams of 12 players each. Already signed up: White Men Can't Jump star Woody Harrelson, Ray Liotta, The Practice's Dylan McDermott, rapper Coolio, Lou Diamond Phillips, Jaleel "Urkel" White, David Duchovny, Mark Wahlberg, and Damon Wayans.

Some actors have already chosen teammates: The Hollywood Reporter notes that Jamie Foxx and Bill Bellamy, who portray football players in the upcoming film Any Given Sunday, will team with pals Chris Tucker (Rush Hour) and Lorenz Tate (Love Jones). Organizers say some women will participate, but no female celebs have been announced yet.

Regardless of the team rosters, forget about getting a ticket to root for your favorite celebrity. The regular season, which starts Oct. 31 and runs three months, will be closed to the public, although fans might be able to view the finals. No word on whether the Entertainment League's games will be broadcast. We assume that official jerseys are in order, which rules out the more amateurish shirts-vs.-skins team apparel.

The new NBA league will, however, be keeping stats on its star dribblers. We can only hope there'll be trading cards, posters, and the usual sports paraphernalia sports fans love to collect.

The celebs won't have to tryout for the teams, but there will be playoffs to thin the star-studded ranks.

"The league is an extension of the great relationship we have with the Hollywood community," NBA spokesman Mike Bass tells USA Today. "We often help out with productions on television or film to give basketball scenes authenticity."

If the LA league catches on, the NBA is eyeing setting up an East Coast version in New York.

Basketball stars have a long history of trying to make it in Hollywood--think Shaquille O'Neal and Dennis Rodman. But now, the National Basketball Association is filling its roster with a gym-full of Tinseltown heavyweights.

Beginning October 31 in Los Angeles, 10 celebrity-packed teams will begin a three-month season in the new NBA Entertainment League.

White Men Can't Jump star Woody Harrelson, X-Files guy David Duchovny and former underwear poser Mark Wahlberg are among the league's scheduled headliners.

Other players include: Ray Liotta, Dylan McDermott (The Practice), rapper Coolio, Lou Diamond Philips (La Bamba), and Damon Wayans.

Also on the roster of 120 stars who will be hitting the hardwood: Jaleel "Urkel" White.

"It's funny, because all of our players want to be movie stars, and movie stars all want to be basketball players," Greg Winik, the NBA's senior vice president of programming, tells the Hollywood Reporter.

The league is open to women, but male basketball hopefuls make up most of the rosters. No word yet on which, if any, female celeb types have signed up.

"The league is an extension of the great relationship we have with the Hollywood community," NBA spokesman Mike Bass says in USA Today. "We often help out with productions on television or film to give basketball scenes authenticity."

If Internet chat rooms are any indication, fans are pumped and already offering to form cheerleading squads. Looks like they'll be disappointed, though. The regular season games will be closed to the public. And no TV coverage's planned, either. (The better to let Marky Mark blow that layup in private, you know.)

On the upside, the league will keep comprehensive stats on each player, and opening the playoffs and finals to the public is under consideration.

The celebrity ballers will play for nine Sundays at a Burbank, California, high school, followed by a two-week round of playoffs at the Great Western Forum, onetime home of the Los Angeles Lakers. Finals will take place at the beginning of January in the brand, spanking-new Staples Center, with league commissioner David Stern on hand to present the championship trophy, the Reporter says.

According to NBA execs, if the season is successful, they'll consider another Los Angeles run, as well as launching a league for Big Apple stars.

Your time is coming, Spike. 

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Still smarting from the Senate's 51-48 vote Wednesday defeating the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty on nuclear arms, President Clinton decided to relax Thursday and order some Hollywood takeout.

''Three Kings'' director David O. Russell flew into D.C. Thursday afternoon with the film's producers for a private screening at the White House.

''Clinton thought the movie was brilliant,'' said one attendee. ''He had seen a 'making of' (documentary) on HBO on latenight TV and wanted to see the movie.''

The guests, who included cast members Nora Dunn and Spike Jonze, Jonze's new wife Sofia Coppola, and Russell's wife Janet Grillo, were first treated to finger food before the 7:30 p.m. unspooling in the White House screening room.

Stars George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg were on the Burbank set of WB's ''The Perfect Storm'' and could not attend, nor could Ice Cube.

With First Lady Hillary Clinton in New York campaigning for outgoing Democratic Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan's seat, the president was joined by a group of about 40 aides, cultural attaches and special invitees.

After the screening, Clinton held forth in the slightly elevated, heavy-draped room on the larger foreign policy implications of the film, a lively debate fueled in part by the Commander-in-Chief's anger at continued nuke testing.

''He saw the film as a result of everything that had happened since WWI and WWII,'' a guest said. ''He said we were partly responsible for the dynamics in Syria and Lebanon. ... He applauded (the filmmakers) for making such a movie, and also told that to the few detractors in the room. He said the Gulf War was something (the entire coalition) wanted to get over with very fast, and that we absolutely did not help the Iraqi people after we freed Kuwait. He was very articulate about it.''

Clinton is also said to have spoken on the global impact of the Test Ban Treaty defeat, excoriating the Republican-led charge to continue allowing underground nuclear testing.

The filmmakers had gone to the Beltway a week ago to screen ''Kings'' for a select group of congressmen, which is said to have partly prompted Clinton's interest in a private showing.

The only drawback about this evening for the Hollywood crowd? ''Someone needs to donate a new sound system,'' concluded one guest.

Reuters/Variety