A look inside Hollywood and the movies incorporating Outtakes, Cinefile and Production Chart. : STAR POWER : You Can’t Even Let People <i> Think</i> Julia Roberts Is Going To Die

Twentieth Century Fox is taking no chances. They’re lucky enough to have box-office queen Julia Roberts starring in Joel Schumacher’s upcoming “Dying Young,” the story of a woman who takes a job as a companion to a wealthy man (played by Campbell Scott). And if the title suggests she won’t make it until the end of the picture, then the title must go.

“The title is definitely a bit downbeat, too dead-on . . . no pun intended,” said Fox distribution chief Tom Sherak. “We’re looking for something that will be a ‘plus’ when it’s time to market the picture--not something to overcome. Julia Roberts isn’t the one who is sick and, in fact, there’s no death at all. We’re trying to clear up any possible misperceptions.”

Though the trade publications have reported that Fox will employ the same strategy used so successfully with “Home Alone,” releasing this film in mid-May to get a jump on the summer competition, Sherak maintains that no decision has been made.

“All the studios are jockeying around,” he said. “And no definite release date is possible until we settle on a title. You can tell the exhibitors that ‘Dying Young’ is only a working title. But, if they hear it enough times, you get locked in.”