MOVIESVampire Views: Anne Rice, who has already...

MOVIES

Vampire Views: Anne Rice, who has already said a lot about the movie adaptation of her book “Interview With the Vampire,” bought an eight-page insert in Friday’s Daily Variety to offer a point-by-point critique of the movie. Rice had mostly praise for director Neil Jordan, the cast and the production. But she didn’t hold back criticism, asking such questions as “Why didn’t the vampires cry blood tears!” and “Why did the vampires break so many necks and spill so much blood? Aren’t they too powerful to be so unskilled?” She also took issue with mostly negative reviews the movie has received in major newspapers and magazines. Of the ad, a Warner Bros. spokesperson said, “It’s her own doing and Anne is her own person.”

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Leibovitz Sues Paramount: Fashion and celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz filed suit Wednesday in Manhattan federal court against Paramount Pictures Corp. for allegedly superimposing her shot of actress Demi Moore over a photo of Leslie Nielsen to promote the movie “Naked Gun 33 1/2, the Final Insult.” According to the suit, Leibovitz’s lawyers asked the movie firm not to use the copyrighted photograph of a naked, pregnant Moore, which was shot by Leibovitz for the August, 1991, Vanity Fair cover. Paramount responded that the photograph was of a model hired for the campaign. Lawyers for Leibovitz contend that “intentional copying of the photograph” still violated the photographer’s copyright.

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Setback for ‘Last Seduction’: A Los Angeles judge ruled Friday that “The Last Seduction” will not be included on the first batch of Oscar ballots, rejecting arguments by the film’s makers that the movie was unfairly ruled ineligible for Academy Award consideration. In refusing to issue a temporary restraining order, Superior Court Judge Robert H. O’Brien told attorneys for the filmmakers to come up with better arguments or he likely will rule against them at a Jan. 6 hearing. The academy plans to mail ballots and a list of the 248 eligible films to about 1,000 out-of-state voters Jan. 5. Ballots to about 4,000 in-state members are scheduled to be mailed Jan. 13. At issue is a key rule of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that states no film is eligible for Oscar consideration if it first aired on television. “The Last Seduction” was shown on HBO last summer and is currently in 50 theaters. October Films and ITC Entertainment Group sued the academy, claiming that making the movie ineligible for an Oscar did irreparable harm, especially to actress Linda Fiorentino, who recently won the New York Film Critics Circle best actress award for her role in the movie. Academy President Arthur Hiller hailed Friday’s ruling, saying the suit is a “cynical publicity stunt.” Attorney Pierce O’Donnell, who represents the filmmakers, also said he was pleased, noting: “The academy tried to blow us out of the water without even a hearing, but the judge thought there were significant issues to grant us a full hearing.”

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Mother Love: Actress Susan Sarandon says she won’t take the starring role in a film version of Henry James’ “Portrait of a Lady,” which is to be filmed in Europe, unless she can get time off to spend with her three children, ages 2, 4 and 8, the New York Daily News reported Friday. “I don’t want to miss any of my children’s growing up,” Sarandon said. “I’m not that hungry for career.”

POP MUSIC

Shakur Jailed for Holidays: Rap star Tupac Shakur, recovering from gunshot wounds suffered in a holdup, will spend the holidays locked up in New York’s Bellevue Hospital after he was unable to come up with $3-million bail ordered by the state court. Attorney Michael Warren said the rapper surrendered early Friday and was placed in the prison ward two hours later. Shakur, 22, and his road manager, 23-year-old Charles Fuller, were both found guilty of sexually abusing a 21-year-old female fan in Shakur’s posh Manhattan hotel suite in November, 1993, but were acquitted on more serious charges of sodomy and criminal weapons possession. Both men face up to seven years in a state prison when they are sentenced Jan. 17.

QUICK TAKES

Supermodel Christie Brinkley exchanged wedding vows with real estate developer Richard Taubman on Telluride Mountain Thursday, then the newlyweds skied off into the Colorado sunset. Brinkley was divorced from pop star Billy Joel in August. . . . People who took a culinary tip from the Oprah Winfrey show Dec. 12 are being warned not to eat the sugared fruit centerpiece that was described, only to use it as a decoration. The recipe was offered by home decorating and culinary expert Martha Stewart, who now says the item should not be eaten because of the potential hazards of using raw egg whites, which can cause salmonella poisoning.

QUOTABLE

“It’s the kind of role everyone always wishes for,” actress Emma Samms of “Models Inc.” told Soap Opera Update. “I get to be incredibly mean, and then I also get to be very sweet and nice to the guy with whom I’m toying. Of course, the fact that he’s engaged to someone else makes it all the more wonderful.”