Morning Report - News from Aug. 21, 1999

MOVIES

Tagging ‘Mrs. Tingle’: Miramax Films is drawing criticism from educational groups that say the company picked “the worst time”--back-to-school season--to release “Teaching Mrs. Tingle,” a black comedy about teens who hold their mean-spirited teacher (played by Helen Mirren) hostage. The movie opened Friday--four days after classes resumed at Columbine High School in Colorado for the first time since April 20, when two students gunned down 12 schoolmates and a teacher. “The timing is really unfortunate,” said Kathleen Lyons, spokeswoman for the National Education Assn. “We find it appalling that Miramax would release a movie about kids hunting down teachers.” David Griffith, director of governmental and public affairs for the National Assn. of State Boards of Education, said, “There’s a lot of talk about Hollywood’s role in this atmosphere of school violence. This is turning a tin ear to pick the worst time to put this movie out.” Miramax released a statement from writer-director Kevin Williamson: “I hope audiences find this movie to be funny, wicked and incredibly entertaining, but in addition I hope they take away the idea that we have all had bad experiences that can later become assets in life. You can turn the tables.” Originally called “Killing Mrs. Tingle,” the movie’s title was toned down after Columbine. The teacher is not killed or injured, though there are scenes involving a crossbow.

Academy Election: Robert Rehme has been reelected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. It will be his third consecutive one-year term; four is the limit. Alan Bergman of the academy’s music branch moved up to first vice president from vice president while Kathy Bates, representing the actors branch, was elected a vice president. Sid Ganis, of the public relations branch, was also elected a vice president.

TELEVISION

Class Answer: A 31-year-old doctoral student in computer engineering from Raleigh, N.C, got the $64,000 question right, but ABC’s new quiz show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” called it wrong. So it’s making up for its prime-time goof by giving David Honea another shot--and admitted its error on the air after the taped broadcast Thursday. Honea won $32,000 on the new show, which was taped Wednesday, but his bid for $1 million ended with a question asking which of the five Great Lakes is the second largest in area after Lake Superior. Honea said Lake Huron. The show said Lake Michigan. A correctly accepted answer would have given him $64,000 and put him only four questions away from becoming a millionaire. Honea accepted the results from show host Regis Philbin but decided later to voice his doubts. “A couple of other contestants said, ‘You’ve got to talk to them because you were right,’ ” Honea said Friday. After fact-checking, the show’s executive producer, Michael Davies, returned with the news. “Every game show makes mistakes,” Honea added gamely.

MUSIC

Master Class: Russian pianist Alexander Toradze--who plays at the Hollywood Bowl on Tuesday--and Los Angeles Philharmonic principal clarinetist Michele Zukovsky will give admission-free master classes next week in Mayman Hall at the Colburn School of Performing Arts, 200 S. Grand Ave. Toradze will teach Monday from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.; Zukovsky’s master class will be held at the same hours, Wednesday. The classes are presented by the L.A. Philharmonic Assn.

QUICK TAKES

Gene Simmons and members of the makeup-wearing rock band KISS will perform live at 5 p.m. Monday on cable network TNT’s World Championship Wrestling at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena. . . . Filmmaker-author Paul Mazursky (“Down and Out in Beverly Hills”) will read from his new book, “Show Me the Magic”--about his adventures “in life and Hollywood” with such celebrities as Peter Sellers, Stanley Kubrick, Paul Newman, Orson Welles and Natalie Wood--on the east patio at the Farmers’ Market at 11:30 a.m. today. . . . On Sunday and Monday, Hollywood Forever Cemetery continues its longstanding annual commemoration of film legend Rudolph Valentino’s death, at age 31, on Aug. 23, 1926. . . . Ten new episodes of the pre-school children’s series “Teletubbies” will air on PBS, beginning Sept. 6.