FIRST LOOK: The News in Brief, July 26, 1999

Gary Coleman...Marilyn Manson...Josie Bissett...

By Joal Ryan Jul 27, 1999 12:15 AMTags
BOO! Spooky-house flick The Haunting, with Liam Neeson scared up $33 million in its debut box-office weekend, good for No. 1.

AGH! Ticket sales for Eyes Wide Shut fell 60 percent from its own No. 1 opening. The leisurely paced sexual drama slumped to fourth place.

THE JEDI RULES: The Phantom Menace passing the $400 million mark over the weekend, dumping E.T. and moving up to the No. 3 on the all-time earners list.

PAGING MR. DRUMMOND: Ex-Diff'rent Strokes star Gary Coleman making good on $400 in outstanding fines he owed a Southern California court.

NICE GUY: Marilyn Manson again delaying release of his new "Coma White" video out of respect to the victims of the JFK Jr. plane crash. The video features a re-creation of the JFK murder in Dallas.

MANSON ADD: Manson originally shelved the video after the Colorado high-school massacre.

CELEB COURTHOUSE: In Hollywood, a 39-year-old woman found guilty of elder abuse in an attack on adult-film kingpin Russ Meyer, now 77.

SICK BAY: Walter Matthau "fine" and coming home "soon," his family insists, as the actor's Los Angeles hospital stay for pneumonia stretches to 10 weeks.

CEMENTED: Richard Gere sticking his parts in concrete outside Hollywood's Chinese Theatre Monday. His latest, Runaway Bride, opens Friday.

ALTAMONT '99: Woodstock '99 ended in flames Sunday as crowd-ignited bonfires erupted into fire deparment-certified blazes. No major injuries reported.

CONCERT ADD: Overall, the three-day fest drew more than 225,000 on a steamy New York weekend. The Red Hot Chili Peppers were the closing act.

OH, BABY! Ex-Melrose Place costars (and real-life marrieds) Josie Bissett and Rob Estes new parents to son Mason Tru.

THEY GROW UP SO FAST: Felicity star Keri Russell back at work after skipping a preseason location shoot over a contract dispute, a show spokesperson says.

NOT X-ED OUT: David Duchovny refusing to rule out an eighth season for The X-Files. "[I] wouldn't say never about anything," he told TV critics this weekend.

COMEBACK: Would-be Hollywood exile Ellen DeGeneres in talks with CBS about hosting a comedy variety series.

WHAT WILL DIAGNOSIS MURDER FANS THINK? Popsters Ricky Martin, Celine Dion and Shania Twain all inking deals to do prime-time specials next season for geriatric-minded CBS.

MOB HIT: Emmy fave The Sopranos the big winner at Friday's Television Critics Awards, with a record four wins including one for program of the year.

SIR LORD: Sir Ian McKellen to play Gandalf in the planned Lord of the Rings big-screen trilogy. For more casting news, see Dotted Line.

INITIAL THOUGHT: Ex-Miss America Vanessa L. Williams in talks to costar with Samuel L. Jackson in the Shaft remake, the Reporter says.

BUSTED: Ex-Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash, 34, out on $50,000 bail following an arrest Saturday in West Hollywood for allegedly beating up his girlfriend.

BAD RAP: Rapper Juvenile (400 Degreez) arrested in Jacksonville, Florida, after refusing to remove a bandana and sideways baseball cap in a mall. Really.

MORE RAP FUN: In New Orleans, rappers Kane and Abel say they're up on drug charges because they won't help the feds link a coke ring to mogul Master P.

GUESS WHO? Pete Townshend's Lifehouse, his newest rock opera in the vein of Tommy, to debut on BBC Radio in December.

UPDATE: Director Oliver Stone reputedly agreeing to give a deposition in the Natural Born Killers lawsuit filed by a man who says he was injured in a film-inspired shooting.

KA-CHING! The Fender Telecaster used by George Harrison in the Beatles' impromptu roof-top London concert in 1969 expected to fetch up to $320,000 at auction next month.

TOUGH ACT TO FOLLOW: The 1912 boat used in adventure classic The African Queen now a tourist ride in Michigan's Saginaw River.

BRUNCHES WE'D LIKE TO SEE: Muppets/Tea with Mussolini--From a double-bill marquee in Manhattan.

B-DAY WATCH: Oscar-winner Kevin Spacey hits the big 4-0 today.