MOVIESStonewall, the Movie: The Stonewall riot of...

MOVIES

Stonewall, the Movie: The Stonewall riot of 1969 will be re-created complete with crowds, cops and drag queens beginning tonight in New York City as part of the filming of “Stonewall,” a BBC movie about the incident at the Greenwich Village bar that was linked to the beginning of the gay rights movement. Production began two weeks ago on the film that tells the story of six gay men in New York in the days leading up to the riots. In addition to exploring the men’s relationships, the film will recount the bloody rioting that occurred between gay men and police at the Stonewall Inn during the weekend Judy Garland was buried. But because the owner of the Stonewall would not allow film crews to shoot in front of the original bar in the Village’s Sheridan Square, the pivotal riot scenes will be filmed nearby in a re-created square. The movie, directed by Nigel Finch and starring Guillermo Diaz, will have its U.S. theatrical release in mid-1995.

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Imitating Art: A Democratic candidate for Florida’s Seminole County Commission is accusing his GOP challenger of stealing a speech from Dave Kovic--the character portrayed by actor Kevin Klein in the movie “Dave.” At issue is Kovic’s movie quote: “I ought to care more about you than I do about me. I ought to care more about what’s right than I do about what’s popular. . . . Because if I’m not . . . then maybe I don’t belong here in the first place.” Republican candidate Win Adams reworded it a bit in speeches and a mailing, without noting its origin: “Elected officials ought to care more about you than they do about themselves. They ought to care more about what’s right than what’s popular. . . . Because if they don’t, then maybe they don’t belong in elected office in the first place.” Rival candidate Larry Furlong called the use “borrowing at best, plagiarism at worst.” Said Adams: “I saw something in a movie that made sense to me, so I used it. I think we’re making a mountain out of a molehill.”

TELEVISION

Frankly, My Dear: For those who give a damn, the “Gone With the Wind” winds are blowing this month. Turner’s TBS has declared November “Gone With the Wind Month” in honor of the film going into national syndication. The movie will air in Los Angeles on KTLA Channel 5, with Part 1 on Wednesday from 7-10 p.m. and Part 2 on Thursday from 8-10 p.m. Tonight at 9 p.m. on KNBC Channel 4, Shannen Doherty stars in the title role of “A Burning Passion: The Margaret Mitchell Story,” a TV movie about the Atlanta author of “Gone With the Wind.” And “Scarlett,” the mini-series starring Joanne Whalley-Kilmer and Timothy Dalton based on the sequel to Mitchell’s work, airs Sunday and Nov. 15, 16 and 17 at 9 p.m. on CBS.

STAGE

Phantom Inheritance: British actor Michael Crawford, who starred in the musical “Phantom of the Opera,” said he would leave his fortune to charity and not his two daughters. “I’ve talked about it with the girls and it was fine,” Crawford, 51, said in an interview. Crawford, a multimillionaire thanks to his singing career, has two daughters, Lucky, 26, and Emma, 28, from a failed marriage.

POP/ROCK

Letter From Lennon: It’s like a slap in the face for Paul and Linda McCartney--from the grave. A stinging six-page letter John Lennon purportedly wrote to the couple after the Beatles’ split is up for auction. “I hope you realize what (expletive) you and the rest of my kind and unselfish friends laid on Yoko and me since we have been together,” Lennon wrote. The undated letter was a response to a note from Linda that apparently chided Lennon for his biting interviews after the group’s acrimonious 1970 break-up. “I don’t resent your husband--I’m sorry for him,” Lennon wrote. The letter is expected to bring up to $60,000 at the Butterfield & Butterfield auction house Dec. 3. The owner’s name wasn’t made public.

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Glory Days: Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.” is now one of the biggest in the U.S.A. The 1984 album is tied as the second biggest-selling LP in the country. The Recording Industry Assn. of America said that the record has reached 14 million in domestic sales, joining Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours” as runner-up to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” which has sold 24 million copies.

QUICK TAKES

Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts Jane Alexander will be interviewed by art critic Peter Clothier on KCRW’s (89.9 FM) “Politics of Culture” Tuesday from 2-2:30 p.m. . . . Cindy Costner, wife of actor-director Kevin Costner filed for divorce Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, citing irreconcilable differences. Cindy Costner’s petition confirmed a statement made by the couple about two weeks ago that they were ending their marriage of 16 years.