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New York Grapevine: Uma Thurman on being suddenly single.

The script for Prime proved irresistible and she got to play opposite Meryl Streep

INA informers learned from big time gossips queens in New York, that Uma Thurman sweeps into the room making sounds like a duck. Then after she's done with the quacks, she makes like the Roadrunner with a series of beeps. "I'll just do this intermittently whenever we lose energy," she tells reporters impishly as she settles her lanky figure behind a table. Actually, she's delivering more than enough energy on her own. She's also communicating her intelligence and wit. After all, this is a star who can be funny about her size 11 footwear and once famously described herself this way: "Tall, sandy blond, with sort of blue eyes, skinny in places, fat in others. An average gal." Furthermore, once she dispenses with the quackery, she's also providing a lot of honesty this morning -- considering that the new romantic comedy she's here to talk about offers some real-life parallels. In Prime, which opens Oct. 28, the 35-year-old Thurman plays a 37-year-old photography producer who's desperately trying to pick up the pieces after a divorce. This leads her into a relationship with a 23-year-old artist (Bryan Greenberg) who unfortunately happens to be the son of Thurman's therapist (Meryl Streep.) Thurman isn't involved in a May-December romance herself, but she can certainly identify with a character who suddenly finds herself single -- given that her six-year marriage to actor Ethan Hawke had a messy and highly public ending last year. "I understand obviously -- my life being the road-kill public knowledge that it is," she grins. "You know -- barely scraping bodies off the sidewalk. "I understood exactly what this character was going through. I know what it's like to wake up a decade later and be single again and alone again and thinking that you had a plan and the plan gets derailed. A lot of people in America know what that feels like, too. "I thought this was a really unsarcastic, uncynical, pretty sensitive rendering of a strong, decent but vulnerable human being in that position, and I liked it a lot." She wasn't the producers' first choice. Sandra Bullock was set to do it and then changed her mind. When the filmmakers discovered that Thurman was available, they turned to her and sent her writer-director Ben Younger's screenplay. She was hesitant. "I got the call and I said: 'What's wrong with this piece of material? Sandy's a smart girl.' So I skeptically picked it up ... and I read it and I was surprised. I was moved by it. It wasn't a typical American romantic comedy -- not that I don't like those: I actually do -- but it was totally much more sensitive and subtle and rich and lifelike. It was kind of like just what the doctor ordered. When I finished the script, I thought: okay, this is a total yes for me." A further enticement was Meryl Streep "who is my hero of all time." Prime is arriving only weeks after Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher set a real-life example by getting married and making it onto the front cover of People magazine. Thurman knows that a good section of society is still uncomfortable about such pairings; in fact she pleads guilty herself. "When I was younger, I thought it was grotesquely comic for all these older guys to hit on me." she admits. Then after the laughter subsides, she adds: "I know! WHAT was I thinking?" But then Thurman turns more serious, suggesting that most humans must "battle our larger selves and our smaller selves -- as individuals and as a culture" and must learn not to be judgmental.- Jamie Porman.

Jennifer Aniston, Bruce Willis, Jessica Lange and Robin Williams are among the stars who will have films on display at January's Sundance Film Festival.

It was announced today in New York that, Jennifer Aniston, Bruce Willis, Jessica Lange and Robin Williams are among the stars who will have films on display at January's Sundance Film Festival, which announced entries Wednesday for its lineup of premiering films. Aniston stars with Catherine Keener, Frances McDormand and Joan Cusack in writer-director Nicole Holofcener's Friends With Money, a tale of three married women and their lone single friend. The film is one of 17 playing in the high-profile premieres lineup at Sundance, the top U.S. showcase for independent movies. The festival runs Jan. 19-29 in Park City, Utah. Other premieres include Lucky Number Seven, a mob tale starring Willis, Ben Kingsley, Morgan Freeman, Josh Hartnett and Lucy Liu; Wim Wenders's Don't Come Knocking, with Sam Shephard starring opposite Lange, Sarah Polley and Tim Roth as a western-movie star on a road trip trying to reconcile with his messy past; and The Night Listener, starring Williams and Toni Collette in the story of a radio talk-show host whose life is in turmoil.

Photos from L to R: #1. Jennifer Aniston. #2. Robin Williams.

Collette also co-stars with Greg Kinnear and Steve Carell in Little Miss Sunshine, about a family's road trip to put their daughter into a beauty pageant. Winona Ryder, Joseph Fiennes, David Arquette and Juliette Lewis are among the ensemble in The Darwin Awards, about a forensic detective and an insurance investigator looking into a potential winner of a prize given to people who kill themselves in idiotic ways. Aaron Eckhart stars with Katie Holmes, Maria Bello, William H. Macy and Sam Elliott in Thank You for Smoking, making its U.S. premiere after an acclaimed debut at September's Toronto International Film Festival. Directed by Jason Reitman, son of Ghostbusters filmmaker Ivan Reitman, the film is a satire about a spin doctor for the tobacco industry. Terry Zwigoff's Art School Confidential features John Malkovich, Jim Broadbent, Angelica Huston and Max Minghella in the tale of a talentless wannabe artist caught up in a murder that makes him a celebrity. The Sundance premieres also include two documentaries. Neil Young: Heart of Gold, directed by Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs), is a portrait of the venerable rocker performing along with Emmylou Harris in Nashville. Director Kirby Dick's documentary This Film Is Not Yet Rated delves into Hollywood's movie-ratings system overseen by the Motion Picture Association of America. A separate Sundance program also has high-profile documentaries, among them A Matter of Degrees, Davis Guggenheim's look at Al Gore's campaign to educate people about global warming. Shari Cookson's All Aboard, Rosie's Family Cruise follows a boat trip Rosie and Kellie O'Donnell organized for 500 gay and lesbian families. Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out is directed by Stewart Copeland, who examines his life as drummer for the 1980s rock band led by singer Sting. -By D. Germen.

Costner sues Ascendant Pictures for $8 million, claims they broke agreement

Kevin Costner sued Ascendant Pictures, claiming the company broke an oral agreement to pay him $8 million to act in the romantic comedy Taming Ben Taylor. The suit filed Tuesday in Superior Court alleges Costner and Ascendant agreed in December 2004 on pay and movie royalties. The Beverly Hills company then pulled out of the agreement in June, according to the suit. Calls to Ascendant Pictures late Tuesday were not immediately returned. The movie was never made. The script was about a grouchy, divorced man who refuses to sell his failing vineyard to the golf course next door. Costner is seeking $8 million and reimbursement of legal fees.

LONDON FILM FESTIVAL

HOW GOOD ARE THE BRITISH FILMS?
As the London Film Festival draws to a close on Thursday, the BBC's Rob Winder reflects on the British film-making talent on offer at this year's festival.

More than 180 films from 50 countries have been presented at this year's event but there were only eight British feature length films on display. This is half the number that France presented at the festival and disappointing given that the event is sponsored by the British Film Institute. "British talent is involved in the other films like the Constant Gardner and I'd argue we are presenting the best of new British film-making talent in our New British Films strand," said Michael Hayden of the LFF. Highlights: So British talent is reflected in a number of films from all over the world but what of British films themselves? The highlight was a razor-edged drama of inter-racial relationships in the north of England - Love and Hate. Director Dominic Savage said after the screening that he felt the film was increasingly relevant following the bomb attacks on London. The cast, many of whom had little or no acting experience, excel themselves in a Romeo and Juliet for Britain in 2005. Another pleasant surprise was Stoned - a biopic of Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones. Jones is portrayed as a talented musician but equally he is shown as a man with a sadistic streak. Paddy Considine - last seen in the excellent revenge thriller Dead Man's Shoes - puts in another compelling performance as Jones's builder and companion. Showing Promise: Unknown White Male was an interesting documentary about a man struggling to rebuild his life after waking on a New York subway train with complete memory loss. The early part of the film is gripping as a distressed Doug Bruce struggles to escape from a psychiatric hospital. And the film later poses an interesting question. If you had the chance to rebuild your life from scratch - what would you keep and what would you throw away? But ultimately, it felt like something for the small screen. Song of Songs has to be one of the most intense films ever made and set in north London. Set in the Jewish community, it tells of religious conviction and of breaking taboos. While it is an intelligent film I felt the script needed more work. Must do better: Other new British Films lacked a certain something. Richard Jobson's A Woman in Winter sounded like a promising tale of love and astronomy set in Edinburgh. But a confusing plot and some schmaltzy performances - the love scenes are particularly gruelling - made for an unsatisfying experience. Comic artist Dave Mackean's Mirrormask is a psychedelic trip featuring comedians Rob Brydon and Lenny Henry. A decent soundtrack can really make a film (as in the Japanese horror film Dark Water) but the grating sounds that accompany Mirrormask really detract from some decent animation that is reminiscent of Pink Floyds The Wall. And in the end Mirrormask feels like a pretty directionless journey. -By Rob Wider

French actor Gerard Depardieu says he's ending his film career

Photo: Gérard Depardieu, Bordeaux, June 19, 2005.

PARIS, France- Famed French actor Gerard Depardieu said in a newspaper interview that he's ending his film career - and swears he wasn't drunk when he said it. "I'm in the process of stopping filming," the portly, Oscar-nominated actor was quoted as saying in weekly Le Parisien Dimanche. "I'm a guy who's leaving! A guy who's not drunk. For once." Depardieu, one of France's most prolific actors, was speaking on the set of an upcoming French film and is scheduled to appear in a new installment of the Asterix series next year, the newspaper said. But he insisted his career will soon be over. "I have nothing to lose," the 56-year-old star said. "I have done 170 films. I have nothing left to prove. I am not going to hang on like a jerk." Depardieu was a leading French actor of the 1980s and 1990s with such hits as Green Card, Jean de Florette and Cyrano de Bergerac, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award.

The serious side of Clooney

His physical nightmare started with the filming of the controversial scene in which Clooney, in the role of a veteran CIA agent, is tortured by a Middle Eastern thug. Clooney is strapped to a chair during the brutal interrogation and at one point jerks it over onto the floor. That spontaneous gesture was his big mistake. "That's what did it," he remembers. "And it's my fault. I said, 'Tape me to the chair,' because I wanted it to look really ugly and bad -- and it did. I sort of flung myself over, but I obviously couldn't protect myself when I hit the floor." Clooney was in terrible pain for months until his condition was correctly diagnosed. It was a big price he had to pay for making a movie in which he passionately believes. On a lighter note, he admits it was no picnic either gaining 30 pounds in order convey the impression of a CIA operative who has started going to seed but sees that as a valuable tool in ensuring he won't be noticed. "I could not have done the film if I had not done that (gained the weight) because I thought the character really needed to fit into the idea that he's not recognizable. But physically, it's a very difficult thing when you're 44 and do it from when you're in your thirties and do it." His body flab is hard for him to watch on screen, and he jokes that when he watched the scene in the editing room he would quickly flip it forward. There are two aspects of Clooney on display today -- the pleasant happy-go-lucky star who's always ready with a quip and who can be very effective at persuading you that life is just a lark; and, in contrast, the serious committed artist and political and social activist represented in recent months by Good Night, And Good Luck, which he also directed.