61 Movie

It is dusk in Los Angeles, and some of the greatest Yankees ever are standing in front of a gray concrete wall, defending themselves against the little man with the thick-handled baseball bat. They flip the baseball, he returns it with an easy turn of his wrists, a blur of old wood, a damp thwack and a tiny dark shadow back across the moist grass.

Daniel Toscan du Plantier, 61, a film producer who promoted French cinema abroad, died of a heart attack Tuesday while attending the Berlin International Film Festival. From the mid-1970s to the mid-'80s, he was director-general of Gaumont Films, one of France's main production companies. There he produced Ingmar Bergman's "Fanny and Alexander," Federico Fellini's "City of Women" and Francois Truffaut's "The Last Metro," among other films.

Daniel Toscan du Plantier, 61, a film producer who promoted French cinema abroad, died of a heart attack Tuesday while attending the Berlin International Film Festival. From the mid-1970s to the mid-'80s, he was director-general of Gaumont Films, one of France's main production companies. There he produced Ingmar Bergman's "Fanny and Alexander," Federico Fellini's "City of Women" and Francois Truffaut's "The Last Metro," among other films.

It is dusk in Los Angeles, and some of the greatest Yankees ever are standing in front of a gray concrete wall, defending themselves against the little man with the thick-handled baseball bat. They flip the baseball, he returns it with an easy turn of his wrists, a blur of old wood, a damp thwack and a tiny dark shadow back across the moist grass.

Urban update Hong Kong ranks 32nd on a list of the world's most populous cities. Known for its cosmopolitan lifestyle, Hong Kong has more cellular telephones and Rolls-Royces per capita than anywhere else in the world. Other average comparisons, in U.S. dollars, with major urban centers: * Hong Kong Taxi ride from airport to city center: $7.80 Local telephone call: 13 cents Daily cost for a business traveler: $474 Big Mac: $1.28 Coca-Cola*: $2.50 Movie ticket: $7.

Viewership for the NBA Finals was down slightly from last year, but last week's three games outdistanced the competition and gave ABC its first weekly victory in the prime-time ratings race since September. The Lakers' four-games-to-one victory over the Orlando Magic averaged 14.35 million viewers, compared with 14.94 million for the six games of last year's finals between the Lakers and the Boston Celtics, according to figures released Tuesday by Nielsen Media Research. The Lakers' 99-91 overtime victory in Game 4 last Thursday was the most-watched prime-time program for the week, averaging 15.96 million viewers.

Who needs critics? Not Tyler Perry, for one. The self-made entertainer's second feature, "Madea's Family Reunion," delivered the year's best opening weekend with an estimated $30.3 million -- without being screened in advance for critics, which means most reviews were not published or broadcast until after the film opened Friday.

"Homeward Bound 2: Lost in San Francisco" debuted at No. 1. Top 10 videos for the week ended Aug.4, ranked by weekly unit sales: *--* Last 2 wks Rank week ago Title Label 1 -- -- Homeward Bound 2 Disney 2 1 -- How the West Was Fun Paramount 3 -- -- Under Siege 2 Warner 4 2 1 Clueless Paramount 5 6 -- Dangerous Minds Disney 6 3 2 Jumanji Columbia 7 -- -- Natural Born Killers (dir.

Thanksgiving tends to produce a big slowdown in network TV ratings, and last week was no exception. Monday's performance show of "Dancing With the Stars" gave ABC the week's most-watched program, with 21.09 million viewers, according to figures published Tuesday by Nielsen Media Research. And Tuesday's "Dancing" finale ended up with 20.65 million. Thanks to a football overrun, CBS' "60 Minutes" continued its surge this season (18.64 million), and "NCIS" had another strong week (18.12 million)

Lavish tributes flowed Saturday in a worldwide eulogy for Bette Davis, the tempestuous actress whose fiery talent and celebrated toughness made her one of Hollywood's most acclaimed and enduring stars. Davis, whose career spanned a half-century of American film, died Friday night of cancer in a suburban Paris hospital. She was 81.