Paris Movie

For French auteur Cédric Klapisch ("When the Cat's Away . . .," "L'Auberge espagnole") the success or failure of his new film, "Paris," came down to a question of real estate. To make his love letter to the City of Light work, Klapisch had to find just the right apartment -- with a balcony, of course -- where his protagonist, a dancer named Pierre (Romain Duris, in his sixth film with the director) could watch working-class denizens go about their daily lives. Klapisch found his ideal flat "very close to the Père-Lachaise Cemetery," says the 48-year-old filmmaker on the phone from New York City.

For French auteur Cédric Klapisch ("When the Cat's Away . . .," "L'Auberge espagnole") the success or failure of his new film, "Paris," came down to a question of real estate. To make his love letter to the City of Light work, Klapisch had to find just the right apartment -- with a balcony, of course -- where his protagonist, a dancer named Pierre (Romain Duris, in his sixth film with the director) could watch working-class denizens go about their daily lives. Klapisch found his ideal flat "very close to the Père-Lachaise Cemetery," says the 48-year-old filmmaker on the phone from New York City.

Euro Disney on Wednesday announced plans to open a second theme park outside Paris that will offer visitors a behind-the-screen look at the movies. Euro Disney executives are hoping that Europeans will embrace the Disney show-business theme park the way they have Mickey Mouse and Space Mountain. The Disney Studios park is scheduled to open in the spring next to the existing park in Marne-La-Vallee, east of Paris. It will cost about $670 million.

Euro Disney on Wednesday announced plans to open a second theme park outside Paris that will offer visitors a behind-the-screen look at the movies. Euro Disney executives are hoping that Europeans will embrace the Disney show-business theme park the way they have Mickey Mouse and Space Mountain. The Disney Studios park is scheduled to open in the spring next to the existing park in Marne-La-Vallee, east of Paris. It will cost about $670 million.

Ten people were injured late Saturday when fire struck a Paris movie theater showing "The Last Temptation of Christ." Four spectators and six police officers who helped evacuate the cinema were hospitalized for treatment of smoke inhalation, police said Sunday. One of the spectators suffered serious injuries, they said. It took firemen an hour to bring the flames under control at the St.

Universal and Imagine Entertainment's "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas" struck green (as in greenbacks) in its opening weekend, grossing $55.1 million. The lavish Brian Grazer-Ron Howard production based on Dr. Seuss' beloved holiday story was the second-biggest opener of the year and the fifth highest-grossing opener ever. "Grinch," which was directed by Howard and stars Jim Carrey, is the fifth consecutive No. 1 film for Universal--a modern-day record.

Even as millions of kids flocked to movie theaters to see Nickelodeon's "Rugrats in Paris" over Thanksgiving weekend, the folks at the cable channel were plotting and planning to take "The Wild Thornberrys," already a quiet success on television, to the big screen too. The idea is to turn "Wild Thornberrys" into a mega-hit like "Rugrats." It will be two years before Nick knows for sure if it has managed anything close.

It's fascinating to look at the blog postings Wednesday from the Cannes Film Festival of the premiere of "Inglourious Basterds," Quentin Tarantino's WWII Nazi-scalping action fantasy (he has the Reich apparently coming to an end not in Hitler's bunker but in a Paris movie theater). To me, the postings reflect each blog's rooting interest in the film and the director, whose PR campaign is orchestrated by the Weinstein Co., which will release the film later this summer.

Marlon Brando's hold on the public imagination has more to do with his scandals, his acting fees and even his weight than any of his recent performances. It wasn't always so. Between 1947 and 1954, from "A Streetcar Named Desire" to "On the Waterfront," Brando changed the way we think about acting.

French movie critics and writers have been conscientiously following Peter Sellars' "The Cabinet of Dr. Ramirez," the no-dialogue, Expressionistic film starring Mikhail Baryshnikov that had its world premiere in Paris. Sellars' movie, the story of a Wall Street trader, his girlfriend, his roommate and two beggars, drew a host of full-page feature stories in French publications, but reviews were mixed. Critics' comments ranged from raves to raving mad.

As head writer for the Rugrats television series and one of many writers to work on "Rugrats in Paris-The Movie," I was distressed to read in "Birth of a Nickelodeon Nation" (by Irene Lacher, special Hollywood issue, March 26) that Susan Sarandon, John Lithgow and Debbie Reynolds will provide the voices of the "preternaturally eloquent babies" in the film. These fine actors play adults in the film. The voices of the babies will belong to--and have always belonged to--a group of actors who are often unseen but should not be unsung: Christine Cavanaugh (as Chuckie)

Children's Web sites come in all shapes and sizes. Two of the largest, Nick.com and Yahooligans.com, offer distinctly different online services. Nick.com is a fun-first site loaded with Nickelodeon-generated content. Yahooligans provides online activities but serves mainly as a comprehensive directory of age-appropriate Web sites. Nick.com Nick.com at http://www.nick.com is both an online showcase for all things Nickelodeon and an ambitious entertainment site.