The Big Screen Has Been Mostly Unfriendly

Will viewers rush in to see Matthew Perry woo Salma Hayek? That’s the question facing “Fools Rush In,” Columbia Pictures’ romantic comedy that bows Valentine’s Day and stars Perry, the smirking co-star of TV’s “Friends.” Hollywood had high hopes for the infinitely marketable Gen-X roomies, who earn such astronomical ratings every Thursday night on NBC. But so far the sitcom ensemble has proven more adept at negotiating pay raises than pulling in big box office. While Courteney Cox fared well in the current horror sleeper “Scream” ($65 million and counting), relatively few fans cheered Jennifer Aniston in “She’s the One” ($9.5 million), Lisa Kudrow in “Mother” ($8.9 million, though hers was a secondary role), David Schwimmer in “The Pallbearer” ($5.7 million) or Matt LeBlanc in “Ed” ($4.4 million). Don’t feel bad for ‘em, though. They recently won fat raises on their series contracts, persuading Warner Bros. Television to pay each of the six principals an estimated $2 million a year in salary. You know, like, who needs movies?

Even Better Than the Real Thing?

U2 fans will get preliminary details of the Irish quartet’s upcoming 18-month world tour at a press conference Wednesday in New York. The stadium trek, which is expected to rival the band’s ambitious and acclaimed 1992 “Zoo TV” extravaganza, will start April 25 at Las Vegas’ Sam Boyd Silver Bowl. The second stop is believed to be April 28 at San Diego’s Jack Murphy Stadium. Tickets for some dates are likely to go on sale as early as Saturday with additional tickets going on sale before the album “Pop” hits the stores March 4. “Discotheque,” the first single from the album, finds the band adding electronic dance-rock textures to its traditional guitar-driven sound and has been getting wide radio exposure since its release last month. U2’s Los Angeles-area stop is expected to be in June, with the Coliseum (where it played two shows in 1987) holding a slight edge over Dodger Stadium (which hosted two “Zoo TV” performances) and the Rose Bowl.

Movies Are Pawns in TV Chess Game

Fox’s telecast of the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie “True Lies” Tuesday is merely the latest demonstration of the much-loved Hollywood term “synergy” in action. That’s because “True Lies” was released by 20th Century Fox, which funneled several blockbusters--including “Speed” and “Home Alone 2”--to its sister Fox network. Movies, in fact, have become key assets for networks owned by studios: Disney plans to show a select number of its popular animated movies on ABC next season after airing “The Lion King” in November, and Turner’s TNT and TBS cable networks snagged a package of movies that includes “Michael,” “Space Jam” and “Mars Attacks” from fellow Time Warner divisions. Such incestuous deals are of concern to filmmakers, who want to see their films auctioned off to wherever they’ll garner the most money and highest ratings. Fox’s Tuesday movie, for example, seldom attracts the audience that rival networks do with their Sunday movies. In addition, KTTV-TV Channel 11 will start “True Lies” at 7:30 p.m.--when viewing levels tend to be lower--despite a TV-14 rating, recommending parental guidance for children under 14. The flow of movies to studio-owned networks is also threatening to NBC and CBS, which currently lack such an affiliation. Then again, in the era of merger mania, how long that will last is anyone’s guess.

What’s Next for a Major Dance Presenter?

Because impresario James A. Doolittle essentially ran a one-man operation, the local arts community is closely watching what happens to both his planned dance season at the Music Center and to his Southern California Theatre Assn. in the wake of his death on Jan. 31 at age 83. A meeting of the seven-member SCTA board this week is expected to confirm that the organization will continue, but who will be making decisions on a day-to-day basis and the final status of a number of projects remain in question. The Music Center season alone included performances by American Ballet Theatre, the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, Ballet Folklorico de Mexico, the Houston Ballet and Cleveland San Jose Ballet. Although at Doolittle’s death not all the details of these appearances had been hammered out, the Music Center expects the season to go forward as announced. But just before his death, Doolittle was also in discussions with the Royal National Theatre about an engagement in Palm Desert. Complicating the immediate future, said one SCTA source: resolving the question of whether or not Doolittle put personal funds into some of his projects. Doolittle’s immediate family had no comment about the distribution of his personal estate.