Archie Support
The X-Files star David Duchovny felt a certain kinship with All in the Family's Carroll O'Connor on the set of their romantic comedy Return to Me, opening April 7. "I've dealt with my own irritability at people calling me Mulder—and I'm even more irritable when they call me Scully," says Duchovny, 39. "And here you have a guy who's had a long, varied, interesting and successful career, and they're still calling him Archie." Duchovny, who may exit X-Files at the end of the season, doubts that his performance as a widowed architect who falls for a waitress (Minnie Driver) in the upcoming flick will make any fans forget him as Agent Fox Mulder. "No matter what I do, no matter how many Academy Awards I win," he says, "that's what they're going to yell at me on the street. It ain't gonna change. But in a way it's a blessing, because that's how good the role is. Just like Archie."
Substantial Role
In the dark comedy 28 Days, due April 14, Sandra Bullock stars as a hard-drinking writer who must spend four weeks in a rehab facility after getting caught driving under the influence. The actress admits she had to overcome a few stereotypes about substance abuse. "We only hear about rehab places through celebrities," says Bullock, 35. "But the thing is, alcohol and drug addiction can happen to anybody. It doesn't discriminate. I spent some time in these rehab centers for research, and the people could live next door. There were rich people, grandmothers, housewives. There wasn't anybody in there that I expected." And who might that have been? Says a disappointed Bullock: "I wanted the heavy-metal rockers."
Issues, Issues, Issues
Former child actor Jerry O'Connell (Stand by Me), who costars in the sci-fi flick Mission to Mars, says he will be happy to be back on terra firma later this year to shoot the romantic comedy First Daughter, in which he'll play a Secret Service man assigned to guard the President's daughter at college. He wrote the screenplay as well, with Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Sarah Michelle Gellar in mind for the title role. "I was seeing her at the time," explains O'Connell, 26, adding that her participation now is "up in the air." As for their failed romance, he's the first to take the blame. "I was too much of an idiot," O'Connell admits. "Now I'm working on my communication issues. And I'm working on my attention span."
Hungering for Hannibal
Director Ridley Scott (Alien), who in June will begin filming Hannibal, the long-awaited Silence of the Lambs sequel, says he is not upset that Jodie Foster won't be returning to her Oscar-winning role as FBI agent Clarice Starling. "No hard feelings concerning Jodie," says Scott of Foster, who will be replaced by Julianne Moore. "Jodie fulfilled the role of a young Clarice brilliantly. She was the rookie, the innocent. But Hannibal picks up [seven] years later. She can no longer be innocent. So Julianne is starting off with a fresh canvas." As for the movie's other star, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Scott says the British actor is licking his chops to begin shooting. "Anthony was always keen to be Hannibal again," says Scott, 62, who also directed Russell Crowe in the period drama Gladiator, opening May 5. "He's probably in London having a steak right now, with some fava beans and a nice Chianti."
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