WINONA RYDER: HOW DEPP IS HER DEVOTION?

Are Winona (Mermaids) Ryder, 20, and British actor Gary (State of Grace) Old-man, 33, more than just costars in Francis Ford Coppola's next film, Brain Stoker's Dracula? Maybe, according to a source of ours who personally witnessed Ryder and Oldman at a recent Hollywood party "looking a lot closer" than two actors who happen to be making a movie together.

A source close to Ryder, while acknowledging that Winona is "an affectionate kitten," says Ryder doesn't even like Oldman. "He may have hit on her at one time," says the source, but her relationship with actor Johnny Depp is "stronger than ever. They have gone through some difficult times, but they are still engaged."

Oldman, however, recently separated from his wife, actress lima (Henry & June) Thurman, after about a year of marriage.

THE INVITATION IS NOT IN THE MAIL

In other couples news, high-powered producer Joel Silver, the man who brought audiences Die Hard 1 and 2 and Hudson Hawk, has been dating 1991 Playboy Playmate of the Year Lisa Matthews for months. While Silver describes Matthews, a 22-year-old model, as "wonderful" and someone he's "very fond of," he was quick to dispel rumors we had been hearing that he and Matthews are about to marry.

"I'm still a young guy," says the 39-year-old Silver, "with a great career ahead of me." Uh, is that your movie career or your dating career, Mr. Silver?

KID STUFF

Dan Aykroyd and Jamie Lee Curtis have top billing in My Girl, Columbia's new comedy drama, but only pint-size newcomer Anna Chlumsky (see p. 133), 11, and Home Alone's Macaulay Culkin, 11, appear in the movie's print ads and posters.

Why are the two supposedly bigger stars being undersold? "It was a conscious decision," says a source in a position to know. "Our research showed the adults were likable, but they don't pull people into the theaters." A Columbia spokesman declined comment.

WE'RE STILL WAITING

In 1989 Patti Scialfa (then Bruce Springsteen's girlfriend and backup singer) began cutting her first solo album for Columbia with Mike Campbell of Tom Petty's Heartbreakers as her producer. But the album never came out.

Granted, it has been a busy two years for Scialfa. She gave birth to son Evan James Springsteen 16 months ago, married the Boss last June and is now expecting another baby in January. A source close to the family, though, says domesticity has not interfered with the recording process, adding, "The album is simply not finished yet, and no release date has been set."

And no, hubby Bruce is not on the album-yet.