Reel World

Scold for Scandal Not every Left Coast liberal is standing behind President Clinton. Ironically enough, New Line Cinema production head Michael DeLuca — who made headlines earlier this year when he got caught having sex (or not having sex — depending on what your definition is) at a Hollywood party — thinks Clinton should resign. ”For my 14-year-old niece to start asking her mother about oral sex — it just isn’t right,” he says. ”You want some square guy in [the White House]. It doesn’t work if he’s as f—ed up as the rest of us.”

So Seuss Us The Grinch sure is hard to please. Universal has its eye on Jim Carrey to play him in a live-action version and the crotchety bugger’s still not happy. ”The Grinch has serious emotional problems,” says Peter Seaman, who’s working on a first draft of the script with Jeffrey Price (the two cowrote Who Framed Roger Rabbit) for Ron Howard to direct. So what’s a screenwriter to do? Grinchanalysis, of course, exploring all those dark issues Dr. Seuss glossed over. ”We have to come up with the first act of the Grinch’s life and then the third act,” Seaman says. ”What made him so grinchy and then what happens after his change of heart.”
— David Hochman

Tucker Up With Rush Hour‘s box office nearing $120 million, what’s next for newly anointed superstar Chris Tucker? While shooting that movie, the comedian sped off set whenever he could to do stand-up in L.A. clubs, sharpening his skills for a concert film that’ll include autobiographical bits. ”People know my name now,” he says, ”but they don’t know my background.” Also, ”about 10” post-Rush Hour offers have rolled in — some rumored to have paydays approaching $20 million — all on top of a $7 million deal with Universal to produce and star as a secret agent in Double-O Soul, with Mariah Carey. After that, Tucker wants to ”branch out like Robin Williams and Tom Hanks” with a serious role. ”People just get tired of” comedy, he says. ”To be able to make people laugh and cry, that’s longevity.”