Lawrence Kasdan

Director Lawrence Kasdan is holed up in his office on the 20th Century Fox lot awaiting the release of "Grand Canyon" which opens in Los Angeles Wednesday. Alternately anxious and philosophical, practical and idealistic, he's a walking billboard for a central theme of the film: the difficulty of pursuing a life of honor and principle in a world which works against it. "Working in Hollywood is a constant battle with yourself," Kasdan says, "because the criteria for success are very confusing.

Like Freeway, the lovable stray dog at the center of this very teary comedy, "Darling Companion"has lost its way. Even the marquee ensemble anchored by Diane Keaton, Dianne Wiest, Kevin Kline and Richard Jenkins is not enough to rescue this motley mutt of a movie. Maybe it's a case of emotions getting the better of filmmaker Lawrence Kasdan. "Darling Companion" is close to his heart, inspired by Mac, the dog he and wife Meg rescued from a Los Angeles shelter who was lost during a trip to the Rockies.

Like Freeway, the lovable stray dog at the center of this very teary comedy, "Darling Companion"has lost its way. Even the marquee ensemble anchored by Diane Keaton, Dianne Wiest, Kevin Kline and Richard Jenkins is not enough to rescue this motley mutt of a movie. Maybe it's a case of emotions getting the better of filmmaker Lawrence Kasdan. "Darling Companion" is close to his heart, inspired by Mac, the dog he and wife Meg rescued from a Los Angeles shelter who was lost during a trip to the Rockies.

This weekend the Writers Guild Foundation will honor writer-director Lawrence Kasdan with a two-day retrospective of seven of his films at its Beverly Hills theater. In addition, Kasdan will appear Saturday after a 7 p.m. screening of 1991's "Grand Canyon" for a Q&A session moderated by journalist F.X. Feeney. "I love movies," Kasdan said. "That's why I got into this and why I have devoted my life to it. To be in a position to make movies is a great privilege."

In 1983, Frances Toto, a mother of four living in Allentown, Pa., and married to Tony Toto, a local pizza shop owner, decided to have her husband bumped off. It was an impulsive decision, Frances said later, but not a capricious one. Tony was cheating on her pretty much around the clock, and girls were starting to call the house. "A body can only take so much," Frances explained.

Big-Time Casting: Oscar winner Kevin Costner and Grammy winner Whitney Houston are being teamed by Warner Bros. to star in "The Bodyguard," a thriller about an ex-Secret Service agent hired to protect a high-profile actress-singer who is stalked by an obsessive fan. The film, set to begin shooting in November, marks Houston's big-screen debut.

"Dreamcatcher" is not only based on a Stephen King novel, the first he wrote after his near-fatal 1999 accident; the experience of watching it also uncannily duplicates what it feels like to read one. Which is sometimes, but not always, a good thing.

This weekend the Writers Guild Foundation will honor writer-director Lawrence Kasdan with a two-day retrospective of seven of his films at its Beverly Hills theater. In addition, Kasdan will appear Saturday after a 7 p.m. screening of 1991's "Grand Canyon" for a Q&A session moderated by journalist F.X. Feeney. "I love movies," Kasdan said. "That's why I got into this and why I have devoted my life to it. To be in a position to make movies is a great privilege."

Faithful readers of the Cathy comic strip already know the character's fondness for Lawrence Kasdan films, but Cathy's affection for Kasdan's "Grand Canyon" has become a passion as consuming as dieting, shopping and her relationship with her boyfriend Irving. Cathy, the creation of cartoonist Cathy Guisewite, first noticed "Grand Canyon" in the Dec. 27 strip, when Cathy went to the movies with Irving and her parents.

Is it really the unbearable lightness of the summer movies? Are they the backless dress, the halter top of the movies? Lightweight? Unsubstantial? Indulge in them once and throw them away? You might think so, and you might be surprised. The studios certainly seem to look on summer as the season of lowered expectations. They don't release "Silkwood" for Spring Break, or "Platoon" on the first day of summer school. When the light gets gray and heavy in the wintertime, you can look for the movies to follow.

"Dreamcatcher" is not only based on a Stephen King novel, the first he wrote after his near-fatal 1999 accident; the experience of watching it also uncannily duplicates what it feels like to read one. Which is sometimes, but not always, a good thing.

Larry Kasdan orders a lamb sandwich, fries with vinegar and flat mineral water--very Hollywood in his specificity. But that appears to be the only thing Hollywood about him. In fact, the director of "Body Heat," "The Big Chill," "Silverado," "The Accidental Tourist," "I Love You to Death," "Grand Canyon," "Wyatt Earp" and "French Kiss" (not to mention writing or co-writing "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "The Empire Strikes Back," "Return of the Jedi" and "The Bodyguard") has an even rarer quality.

The obvious take on the characters central to "Four Dogs and a Bone," John Patrick Shanley's scathing sendup of the movie business, is that they're some kind of subhuman life form. Ruthlessly ambitious, shallow, duplicitous--in short, your basic industry types. However, filmmaker Lawrence Kasdan, whose production of the play will inaugurate the Geffen Playhouse in Westwood when it opens there Thursday, sees them differently.

Furious that the movie "Grand Canyon" portrays their city as a crime-torn ghetto, Inglewood officials threatened Thursday to ban movie production in the city unless the movie's producers apologize. In an open letter to the Hollywood community, Inglewood officials called the movie an "assassination of an entire municipality's character" and "a dangerous display of social irresponsibility."

Faithful readers of the Cathy comic strip already know the character's fondness for Lawrence Kasdan films, but Cathy's affection for Kasdan's "Grand Canyon" has become a passion as consuming as dieting, shopping and her relationship with her boyfriend Irving. Cathy, the creation of cartoonist Cathy Guisewite, first noticed "Grand Canyon" in the Dec. 27 strip, when Cathy went to the movies with Irving and her parents.

Director Lawrence Kasdan is holed up in his office on the 20th Century Fox lot awaiting the release of "Grand Canyon" which opens in Los Angeles Wednesday. Alternately anxious and philosophical, practical and idealistic, he's a walking billboard for a central theme of the film: the difficulty of pursuing a life of honor and principle in a world which works against it. "Working in Hollywood is a constant battle with yourself," Kasdan says, "because the criteria for success are very confusing.

"It's insane--it's repugnant to me! It's like putting ketchup on ice cream." Grimacing, Lawrence Kasdan shook his head, as if to empty it of the two words he'd just heard. Yuppie Western.

Furious that the movie "Grand Canyon" portrays their city as a crime-torn ghetto, Inglewood officials threatened Thursday to ban movie production in the city unless the movie's producers apologize. In an open letter to the Hollywood community, Inglewood officials called the movie an "assassination of an entire municipality's character" and "a dangerous display of social irresponsibility."

Big-Time Casting: Oscar winner Kevin Costner and Grammy winner Whitney Houston are being teamed by Warner Bros. to star in "The Bodyguard," a thriller about an ex-Secret Service agent hired to protect a high-profile actress-singer who is stalked by an obsessive fan. The film, set to begin shooting in November, marks Houston's big-screen debut.

In 1983, Frances Toto, a mother of four living in Allentown, Pa., and married to Tony Toto, a local pizza shop owner, decided to have her husband bumped off. It was an impulsive decision, Frances said later, but not a capricious one. Tony was cheating on her pretty much around the clock, and girls were starting to call the house. "A body can only take so much," Frances explained.