TALK AIN'T CHEAP
Last week talk-show hostesses OPRAH WINFREY and ROSEANNE vied for the arguable honor of conducting the first non-grand jury grilling of Monica Lewinsky. When negotiations with Winfrey seemed to fall apart, allegedly because Lewinsky asked for money, Roseanne picked up the ball and offered some--a lot, in fact. If Lewinsky is still debating her choice, we offer some points to consider.
ROSEANNE Familiar with being a social pariah
On first show, featured a Linda Tripp impersonator, identified as a "big fat snitch"
Said on Larry King Live she thinks the President loved Lewinsky
Offered seven figures
OPRAH Could set up a tie-in with the book club for when Lewinsky eventually writes her memoirs
Does really good makeovers
Many people actually watch her show
Doesn't pay for guests
THANK YOUR PLUCKY STAR
Jimmy Carter may want to watch his back. The American racking up the most humanitarian interventions these days is TOM CRUISE, who extended his string of rescue missions last week by aiding a mugging victim in London. Hearing cries for help, Cruise, emboldened no doubt by the presence of his bodyguards, ran to assist a woman being robbed of her jewelry. Cruise is no neophyte knight in Armani armor. At a 1996 premiere of Mission: Impossible he lifted two boys over a barricade to prevent them from being crushed. A few months later, while sailing in the Mediterranean, he rescued castaways from a burning boat. Also that year, he swooped in to comfort a hit-and-run victim and paid her hospital bill. Just another lucky citizen, saved by the beau.
CHILLA IN MANILA
It's not exactly a fatwa, but in her own adorably angst-ridden way, actress CLAIRE DANES has provoked the ire of a foreign government. While filming the movie Brokedown Palace earlier this year in Manila, she managed to miss the more tourist-friendly aspects of the Philippine capital. Recalling her experience in an interview with Premiere magazine, Danes, who apparently possesses a keen nose, recalled that the city "smelled of cockroaches." In an earlier interview, she referred to the city as "ghastly and weird." The proud members of the Manila city council could take no more. In a 23-to-3 vote, they agreed to ban all movies in which Danes appears. Philippine President Joseph Estrada said she "should not even be allowed to set foot" in the country. Danes issued a statement saying her comments were misunderstood, but the actress, who just began her freshman year at Yale, may want to consider some classes in diplomacy.
HARMONIC DIVERGENCE