But on the other hand, what good will it do, exactly, to pull the plug? How will it be more sensitive or responsible to wait two or three weeks? What about the people who will almost certainly still be getting killed or pounded in the Middle East three weeks from now?

Life's brutality is constant and inescapable. People get it in the neck every day, but the show must go on. Especially this show, which is coming way too late in the cycle anyway (for the last time, thank goodness). The NEW YORK DAILY NEWS critic Jack Matthews says that staging the Oscars in this environment "will be about as much fun as the last Security Council meeting." All right then. So be it.

I think we all know that canceling the Oscars would convey an implied political statement. We're wrong, we're the baddies, we're making things worse, etc. Maybe we are on these counts, and maybe the real truth of it is more of a mixed bag. But the world has never been a field of clover and serenity, and it never will be. I wish it were otherwise.

I know this: If the standard is that while death and violence prevail in other lands and cultures then all celebrations of art and creativity should be postponed, we'd be wearing shrouds and living like monks every day of our lives.

It isn't all about bombs in Baghdad -- life itself explodes in a million different permutations all over the world, 24-7, in ways far more glorious and wondrous than even Will Smith, Tim Robbins, David Poland and Nikki Finke can imagine, and I don't see the harm in lighting a torch on the L.A. side of things and letting some of that glow affect our absorption of the cosmic overall.

Who Owns It?

When President Bush gave the order for the Iraqi fireworks to begin on Wednesday night, he said, "Let's go."

This is already being touted by the news media as one of those terse macho declarations that may live on in the annals of war history. Perhaps not as catchy as Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe's remark during the Battle of the Bulge when he was asked by the Germans if he was ready to surrender and said "Nuts," but aspiring to that general vicinity.

I don't know about that. For me, "let's go" will always belong to William Holden's Pike Bishop character in THE WILD BUNCH. He says this to Warren Oates and Ben Johnson right before the big final shoot-out with the troops of General Mapache. And Holden really nails it. It's partly in the way he looks at Oates with those bloodshot eyes and with absolute finality, and especially the way he emphasizes the word "go."

I guess we could split the difference and let Bush have "let's go" for the history books, but it'll always be crowded by an asterisk.

Death of Superman

After trying and failing repeatedly to cast the lead role, Brett Ratner has left the SUPERMAN project and now it's back to square one. I'm processing this as not just the latest chapter in one of the sloppiest and most misbegotten projects in Hollywood history, but an omen. Another movie about the Man of Steel seems so passé and beside-the-point. Okay, a good one could probably still be made with the right script, director and actors...but why bother?

It's over, guys. The Superman mythology, born in the 1930s, is not of our time or sensibility.

The hokeyness of the thing has been lampooned and winked at to death -- the '50s TV series, LOIS AND CLARK, Chris Reeve and the four Salkind movies -- and it doesn't fly any more. Life has been trying to convey this lesson to Warner Bros. execs, but they're not listening. A spokeswoman told VARIETY in the wake of Ratner's departure that the studio has "every intention" of moving forward with SUPERMAN.

You want a really cool flying superhero? Not a guy who stands impassively as bullets bounce off his chest, but who dodges them every time like a champ? He'll be in theatres in just a few short weeks, and his name is Neo.

If you want to read a really intelligent and perceptive game plan for Warner Bros. at this stage, check out what Upcoming Movies' Greg Dean Schmitz is suggesting on his SUPERMAN page. Turn to the other super-heroes in the studio stable, he's saying, and beat Marvel at their own game.

"Set SUPERMAN aside for now," he writes, "then take the $240 million you probably would have really spent on it, split it three ways, and greenlight three mid-range budget superhero movies of your choosing. Go with GREEN ARROW (maybe written by Kevin Smith?), THE FLASH (Vin Diesel wants to star) and maybe the Wachowski Brothers' PLASTIC MAN project (which might need a bit more than $80 million, but they're worth it)."

Ratner walked over the unwillingness of Warners execs to approve Matthew Borner, his latest choice to play Superman, in the wake of other contenders such as Brendan Fraser, Paul Walker and Josh Hartnett. Hartnett and Walker passed, leaving the field to Borner and Fraser as of late last week before it all went down the hole.

WB execs were reportedly not happy with Ratner's "collaborative decision-making style that sought to please everyone but ultimately didn't please Warners," said VARIETY. "Nor were relations aided by the very public tension between Ratner and SUPERMAN producer Jon Peters," the added. I was told yesterday by a guy in the loop that Ratner and Peters came to blows not long ago.

You have to admit this latest downturn lends support to the notion of the so-called SUPERMAN curse. The accident that paralyzed Christopher Reeve, the suicide of George Reeves, the nervous breakdown suffered by Margot Kidder, the multiple sclerosis that struck Richard Pryor, etc. It's specious on one level, but sometimes life really does put up road signs that travelers would be wise to at least read and consider.

A friend in a position to know disagrees. "There's no superstition [involved]. All that's going on is a bunch of greedy, out-of-control spenders failing to see the obvious: the story's more important than the budget or who's in it, or who's directing.

"In the right hands, no character is redundant," he argues. "Superman's only as hokey as the cynic in the audience makes him out to be in his or her head. But fuck the cynic: the reason Superman has, and always will, work is because he's the ultimate immigrant. He came to this country (well, this world) with nothing, and carved himself out a little piece of the pie. He's the ideal American -- a person from someplace else (which also makes him the ideal Angeleno). In the right hands (like the Wachowski's, say) a Superman movie would be a thing of beauty."

Screening Shakedown

"I, too, was at the DREAMCATCHER all-media on Tuesday night and agree the security measures there were a complete joke. One WB employee had to battle it out with the security guard over a pager that his guest needed to have because she was a doctor. Another had to empty his pack of cigarettes on a table because it made the metal detector beep a little too much. The least they could have done was inform the invited guests what was in store for them.

"Fortunately, I got there early, so getting in wasn't so much of a problem, but when I left to use the restroom I was told I had to go through the 15-minute security line again. I'm quite certain that no credible journalist attending such a screening has tried to video the film and sell it on the black market. Aren't these the people the screenings are set up for?

"My biggest complaint with all-media screenings is too often they're not attended by the media, and I feel pretty secure in assuming that those responsible for bootlegging CRADLE 2 THE GRAVE were not among those there to review or otherwise publicize the film for some legitimate outlet. Studios bring in their recruited audiences to 'enhance' the experience and make it impossible to find decent seats unless you arrive no later than 7:15 pm.

"And then often, as was the case last night, there are pockets where people find it necessary to chatter throughout the screening. I'm quite certain they weren't facing a deadline at 8 a.m. Wednesday for 1,000 words on the film or any other deadline for that matter, as myself and others were facing.

"Your idea for some kind of credential for journalists who attend regularly sounds reasonable, but studios should take a closer look at exactly who attends these events. If you want promotional screenings with recruited audiences, fine. But make something else available for responsible professionals who are there on legitimate business." -- British L.A.-based journalist

"I went through the same thing last Tuesday night at a screening of DREAMCATCHER in San Antonio, Texas. However, I was able to keep my phone. As for the movie itself, it was average, at best. It felt like there were parts or explanation missing, but that is usually the norm." -- Mark Aguirre, Accounting Supervisor, Newtek, Inc.

Not The Best

"You dismissively mention that CHICAGO is the 8th best film according to the charts at Movie City News. But THE PIANIST is 7th, only 3.5 points ahead of CHICAGO. Of the nominated films, THE TWO TOWERS scored the highest on that chart, a full 80 points ahead of Polanski's and Marshall's films. And of course the top five critics faves weren't even nominated.

"But really, how many times in the past 20 years has the Best Picture Oscar gone to a film that was the critical favorite? Maybe SCHINDLER'S LIST. Otherwise the prize usually goes to the safest, most Hollywood-styled production. I'm not upset to see CHICAGO win this year because I enjoyed the hell out of it, which is more than I can say for A BEAUTIFUL MIND or AMERICAN BEAUTY. I'm way past getting upset because the best film doesn't win -- that's not what this contest is about." -- Clay Clifton.

Sunset Boulevard vs. Lonely Place

"I read your comments on the SUNSET BOULEVARD and IN A LONELY PLACE DVDs. SUNSET BOULEVARD looks fantastic -- almost too fantastic, due to the lack of grain. It's razor-sharp, crystal clear, gorgeous to behold - and sort of flat, like a videotape.

"I point you towards restoration-meister Robert Harris' article on the SUNSET BOULEVARD DVD, which applauds the restoration and says this is a must-buy DVD, but also points out that it doesn't look like anything you ever saw in a theater. (Here's the link: http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/robertharris/harris111502.html)

I haven't seen the IN A LONELY PLACE DVD yet but I'm rather happy to hear that it's still got some grain. Hope you enjoyed your trip to Europe. I'm very envious you got to talk to Roman Polanski, even if it was a non-interview interview. And I'm with you -- THE PIANIST is the movie of the year." -- Paula Vitaris

Wells to Vitaris: Too fantastic?

"Who cares about this purist bollocks? Let's just have the best copy of the movie possible. Are those who say we should only watch classic films with original grain patterns claiming that the director or cinematographer wouldn't take advantage of today's digital processes wouldn't they have done so - of course they would. Why wouldn't they want the best representation of the art available? I disagree about seeing stuff at a cinema grain and every thing though - I once saw an un-restored print of SOME LIKE IT HOT at a cinema and had to leave. Watching a badly looked-after print of a film is the worst thing in the world!" -- Rupert Lally

"I'm not sure I can agree with your position about grain being bothersome in watching a film like IN A LONELY PLACE. Part of the experience of watching a movie is getting all the little troubles that go along with even the most perfect of prints because they still remind us that we are on the other side of a mirror. By taking out the grain, we lose the perspective of dealing with a medium that was or is not as perfect as the DVD and with that lost perspective, our whole perception of a film's reality can change. -- Gabriel Neeb

Style Monsters

"In Amy Wallace's article about Hollywood hair stylists, a publicist tells her, 'It used to be reasonable -- $1,500 a day for hair, $1,500 a day for makeup...now if you get each for $2,500 a day, you feel lucky.'

"Oh, good God! Apparently this is the reason my hair looks like crap on daily basis. Please Hollywood, get your heads out of your butts and act like you actually live on this planet!" -- Beth Ausband

"I agree with you wholeheartedly on your appraisal of the value of big name Hollywood stylists vs. their diva-like behavior and phenomenal prices. I wrote a column for a few years called JerkyFlea's Celebrity Hair Spray (http://www.hairboutique.com/jerkyflea/jerkyflea.htm), which chroniclied the news of and commenting on celebrity hair.

"From what I observed, I thought that, at the very least, 50% of the time the stars (and thus their studios/publicists/whoever) were NOT getting their money's worth. And judging by the email I received, so did my readers. For the most part, there was nothing so special about the celebrity's hair that appeared to require thousands of dollars to create.

"And I'm not talking cuts -- just styling. What in those pictures you showed of Meg Ryan, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Madonna couldn't have been accomplished by a senior stylist at SuperCuts? When the stars shell out the big bucks for these events, the results are generally even more inconsistent. For every great cut (e.g., Jane Fonda's short cut by Sally Hershberger just before the Oscars), there would be a complete follicular disaster (e.g., Faith Hill's notorious peroxide chopped bob just before the People's Choice Awards).

"For every sleek, elegant red-carpet style, you'd have an actress with hair that looked like she styled it with a Cuisinart while driving to the event with the windows down. If I was paying Oribe $5000 to do my hair, I wouldn't want observers questioning whether or not I had passed a mirror before leaving the house." -- Jerky Flea

Greeks

"Last Monday I heard an Academy member (director/writer) say he voted for best screenplay for MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING based on the fact that it was refused by all the studios and yet went on to become the giant grosser it is. He attributed its success to the script and said it showed that a clever script can buck the studio system. He then said they had not seen the film and would not see it because they did not want to be disappointed if it didn't live up to the hype." -- Berg

Dean's Ghost

"I have been looking everywhere for a DVD of EAST OF EDEN, the 1955 film with James Dean. So far I have been unsuccessful. I live in Toronto, so the chances of you recommending a good place is slim. However, if these DVD distributors you were talking about take a look at your list, is there any chance that they will listen and release it? I really hope so, or I don't know if I'll ever see this movie (I'm only 17, so I definitely wasn't around when it came out). Any reply I recieve from you would be most appreciated." -- Michelle

Wells to Michelle: The widescreen (2.55 to 1 aspect ratio) version is only on laser disc, and I think I read somewhere that the DVD release has been held up by some rights issue. You're 17 and haven't seen the film...okay. May I ask why you're so into seeing it?

Michelle to Wells: "I saw the James Dean movie, with James Franco, and I got really interested. So I rented REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE and GIANT and fell in love with him. I don't know... it's weird. I know if he was still alive he'd be old enough to be my grandfather, but there's something captivating about him."

Role Playing

Patricia Lee of Chesapeake, Virginia, was first to identify Wednesday's cast. They appeared together in MAD DOG AND GLORY. Robert De Niro was the not-so-tall leading man.

Today's cast: Joan Blondell, Edward Woods, Mae Clark, Jean Harlow, Leslie Fenton, James Cagney.

What's That Line?

Jeff Grant of Bismarck, North Dakota, was first to identify Wednesday's dialogue. It's from John McNaughton's MAD DOG AND GLORY ('93). Guy #1 and #2 were played by Robert DeNiro and the great Bill Murray.

A couple of cops are talking about a tense situation that happened the night before.

Cop #1: It was the first time I pulled my gun in fifteen years. (Pause) I pissed on myself.
Cop #2: You know why? Because you're a sensitive, intelligent individual.
Cop #1: [Unconvinced] You ever piss on yourself?
Cop #2: Look, I woulda walked in there and drilled the little rat-eyed bastard, but that's just the way I am. On the other hand, if I ever had an intelligent thought it would die of loneliness, so....it all evens out. Y'know what I mean?

[Cop #1 shrugs, still feeling bad about himself.]

Cop #2: Let me tell ya something. The next time that happens...you're that scared? The best thing is sex. You're all adrenalized? You go off like a rocket!
Cop #1: [Mumbling, hand to forehead] Uhhm...just gimme a break, will ya?
Cop #2: If I was you last night, I would been on the phone to every broad I knew wasn't related to me by blood.