Carey’s Illness Delays Release of ‘Glitter’

With Mariah Carey recuperating from an emotional and physical breakdown in a New York-area hospital, 20th Century Fox has moved the release date of her first film, “Glitter,” from Aug. 31 to Sept. 21. The actress had canceled all public appearances because of her condition.

Carey makes her motion picture debut as a singer hurled into the New York club scene in the early 1980s. In a case of art imitating life, she struggles through her personal and professional life, riding the roller coaster to superstardom.

Bruce Snyder, president of domestic distribution at Fox, expressed hope that the new release date will “allow her to support the launch of an exciting new aspect of a brilliant and record-breaking career.”

Carey’s next CD--her first for Virgin Records--is also called “Glitter” and serves as the soundtrack for the film. It is still due to be released on Aug. 21.

Writers Select Best, Most Overrated Scripts

The winner, to most folks, comes as no surprise. “Citizen Kane”--according to a survey of East Coast members of the Writers Guild--is regarded as the best screenplay of all time.

The Library of America, a New York City-based publishing house, is using the results to help decide what film scripts to include in a series on great American writing.

Following on the heels of “Kane” in the “best” department: “Casablanca,” “The Godfather,” “Chinatown,” “All About Eve,” “Some Like It Hot,” “Sunset Boulevard,” “Annie Hall,” “The Graduate” and “The Godfather: Part II.”

“Groundhog Day” tops the list in the “under-rated” category, followed by “Quiz Show,” “Aliens,” “The Wizard of Oz” and “The Best Years of Our Lives.”

“Citizen Kane” and “Casablanca” also pop up on the list of “overrated” screenplays--taking second and fourth place, respectively. Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction” had the dubious honor of placing first in this category, while “Gone With the Wind” came in third.

“What surprised me was how few films from the 1930s--screwball comedies and films noir--made the cut,” Library of America publisher Max Rubin said. “And that none of the films in the top 15 were made after the 1970s, which disproves the idea that today’s screenwriters don’t have an appreciation for older movies.”

The publisher plans to ask the Writers Guild of America West to participate at a future date.

POP/ROCK

Bungling the Anthem, Joining Other Notables

Robert Goulet forgot the words. Roseanne grossed out the crowd. And Macy Gray triggered boos and giggles as she struggled through “The Star-Spangled Banner” before the pro football Hall of Fame exhibition game Monday night in her hometown of Canton, Ohio.

Wearing a Cleveland Browns jersey and a large cap, the Grammy winner (“On How Life Is”) sang an offbeat, tentative version of the national anthem in her signature raspy tone. Her voice grew more wobbly, she stumbled over the words and--good news, bad news time--a low-flying formation of planes drowned her out at the end.

TELEVISION/RADIO

Rap Sheet Growing on CBS’ ‘Big Brother’

CBS’ “Big Brother 2” made headlines after a knife-wielding incident in the house involving contestant Justin Sebik, who had several assault charges against him. Since then, it’s become apparent that he’s not the only participant with a rap sheet. Another ousted contestant, Shannon Dragoo, has been involved in a vehicular manslaughter case, and Mike Malin was arrested for trespassing on the Warner Bros. lot seeking unauthorized photos of “Batman & Robin.”

Now it comes out that two other “house guests” also have records. According to the Web site https://thesmokingun.com, Krista Stegall was arrested in March on “simple battery” charges following an argument with her boyfriend; and Hardy-Ames Hill, a bouncer, was arrested on a drunk driving charge in 1999, with blood alcohol nearly twice the legal limit. Hill has also discussed an arrest for an altercation with a police officer during the show.

CBS has stated that it missed some of the data regarding Sebik in its background check but was aware of the legal track records of the other contestants.

A Heart-Wrenching Experience for Keillor

Garrison Keillor, host of the public radio series “A Prairie Home Companion,” is philosophical about the heart valve operation he had last month at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. While he’s appreciative of the “ordinary miracle” such procedures have become, he points out, it erodes one’s pride--and psyche.

“Taking a slow postoperative stroll down the hall, heading for the lounge with the jigsaw puzzles, you catch a glimpse of yourself in the glass door ahead, a shambling galoot in droopy pajamas,” he writes in an essay for the Aug. 13 edition of Time magazine. “This is not a guy whom any woman longs to have.... It’s hard for a man with a strong sense of himself ... to accept this elemental defeat.”

In the end, however, that’s less important than the fact that he’s still on the planet.

“Fifty years ago, in my boyhood, a guy who blew out a mitral valve was sent home to sit in a sunny corner and play cribbage until congestive heart failure swept him away,” notes the 58-year-old broadcaster, who lives in St. Paul, Minn., with his wife and 3-year-old daughter. Keillor, in contrast, plans to start a new season of his weekly radio broadcast on Oct. 6.

And his new book, “Lake Wobegon Summer 1956,” is due to be published by Viking Press this month.

QUICK TAKES

DreamWorks has pushed back the opening of Woody Allen’s “The Curse of Jade Scorpion” to Aug. 24.... John Cameron Mitchell, the writer, director and star of “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” will field questions from the public after the 7:45 p.m. screening of the movie at Laemmle’s Sunset 5 on Thursday.... Comedian Jamie Foxx will host the MTV Video Music Awards, airing from New York on Sept. 6. Performers on the show include U2, ‘N Sync and Alicia Keys.... Pasadena’s Art Center College of Design is one of 10 institutions to receive National Endowment for the Arts New Public Works awards. The money will support a competition to redesign the streetscape of the Arroyo Parkway that serves as the gateway into Pasadena from Los Angeles. The jury will include Walter Hood of Hood Design, architect Frank Gehry and Richard Koshalek, president of the college.... Bobby Dall, the bass player for Poison, is recovering from emergency spinal surgery, forcing the glam metal band to cancel its tour, including an Aug. 16 show at Universal Amphitheatre and an Aug. 19 show at the Glen Helen Blockbuster Pavilion. Refunds are available at the point of purchase. Dall suffered spine injuries last week while performing and underwent disc replacement on Sunday in Nebraska.