HOT TYPE: The first 40 pages. That’s...

HOT TYPE: The first 40 pages. That’s all Fox 2000 executives read before deciding to pay Robert Ferrigno at least a “high-six figure” sum for the film option on his next Orange County-set novel, “Dead Silent.” . . . Fox 2000 President Laura Ziskin was quoted in Variety on Wednesday, saying that all the characters and events in the manuscript just said “ ‘movie’ in big giant letters.” Also: Ferrigno sold the German rights for $75,000. Says his agent, Mary Evans: “The same 40 pages are speaking in many languages.”

SURF & SPEND: The shores at Huntington Beach will be jammed for two major surfing championships, starting Monday (OC Live!). And no surprise, says Mike Kingsbury, spokesman for the Surf Industry Manufacturers Assn., based in Corona del Mar: “Orange County remains the dominant force behind the growth of the sport.” Examples: An estimated 200,000 wave riders here--12% of the nation’s active surfers. Also, the majority of surfing apparel manufacturers are based here.

GET TO THE BEEF: New U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman will be in Anaheim on Monday to talk about nutrition--and do a little Republican bashing. He’ll speak at a five-day national school-food-service conference--which starts this weekend. . . . Organizers say he’ll talk against nutrition cuts proposed by the GOP-led Congress. . . . If those in attendance want lighter conversation, the other keynote speaker is Florence Henderson from TV’s “The Brady Bunch.” She now hosts a cable-TV country cooking show.

REAL CHANGE: The Orange County Philharmonic Society, the county’s oldest presenter of classical music, has officially changed its name. Now call it: the Philharmonic Society of Orange County. Minor switch? . . . “The idea is to emphasize the musical aspect of the organization, rather than the geographical aspect,” says a spokesman. . . . The group’s 1995-96 season opens Sept. 9-10 with Ballet Folklorico de Mexico at the Orange County Performing Arts Center.