• May 18, 1998
• Vol. 49
• No. 19

Insider

By Nancy Perry Graham

Behind a wall of security generally reserved for heads of state, Robert De Niro and Ellen Barkin joined 85 well-wishers in celebrating the May 1 marriage of expectant parents Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman at Manhattan's Cathedral of St. John the Divine. To foil paparazzi huddled outside the church in the wind and rain, the 6-foot bride didn't change into her Vera Wang gown until just before the ceremony. About a dozen security guards kept the proceedings private, even using umbrellas to shield arriving guests from photographers. After exchanging I dos before the Rev. Jean R. Smith, the radiant couple and guests adjourned to the nearby Synod House and danced to a jazz band. Uma's brother Dechen recently told the New York Daily News that his sister's pregnancy—her baby is due in July—affected the timing of the wedding: "That and the fact that they've been practically married and living together for the past two years. They just wanted to formalize everything."

Not many people say no to Robert Redford, but 15-year-old Cain Eaton—who writes poetry about cowboys and lives in Absarokee, Mont.—did. Redford had considered, then decided against, casting Eaton to play his character's nephew Joe in his upcoming drama The Horse Whisperer. Nonetheless, a representative for the movie called and offered Eaton $500 for using his poem "Boy," about a 4-H calf he raised and then had to sell. "If Mr. Redford wants my poem, why doesn't he call me?" Eaton told the rep before he turned down the offer, fearing someone might change his words. So what won't you hear in the movie? These lines, among others: "But nary a thing would help me as I turned just then/And he licked me once more through his pen./Well, I patted his neck with tears in my eyes/And I whispered to him my last goodbye."

I hear Liv Tyler is eying the role of Eleanor Smith, the mysterious and penniless woman in a movie adaptation of Amy Ephron's darkly romantic novel, A Cup of Tea. The film will be produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and his wife, Linda. Not that Jerry, a producer of Con Air and the upcoming Armageddon, is losing his testosterone. Says Linda: "Action junkies need not worry. Jerry is not turning Edith Wharton on anybody."

Harry Hamlin has been busy shooting a TV pilot called Movie Stars, in which he plays a film heartthrob whose jealous, ne'er-do-well brother brags about his Thursday-night poker game with "Travolta, Swayze and Stallone." The twist? The players are Joey Travolta, Don Swayze and Frank Stallone, all of whom play themselves and whine about—guess what?—the injustice of being a movie star's brother.

• Contributors:
• Hugh McCarten.