In His New Action/Thriller, John Tries To Woo Women

So why did John Woo opt to direct the action-themed psychological study “Face/Off”? The chance to work with Nicolas Cage and John Travolta, right?

Obviously. But maybe equally as inviting was the chance to change his filmmaking emphasis.

“One of the reasons I liked the script, the females in this movie are much stronger and independent,” Woo said.

Those women characters, the wife of Travolta’s troubled federal agent (Joan Allen) and the psychopath Cage’s former girlfriend (Gina Gershon), represented a new direction for Woo, a master of macho filmmaking.

“In several of my Hong Kong films,” Woo told The Associated Press, “I admit it was usually too much focus on the men, the buddy-buddy thing. But I always wanted to make a truly strong female character.”

Loose talk

Will Smith on the “secret to my success” (in People magazine): “I’ve got big ears. America needs heroes with large ears. That’s why they like me and Mickey Mouse. If they ever do the live-action ‘Dumbo,’ I’m right up there as a contender.”

One day closer to the day he retires to Al Capone’s safe

Geraldo Rivera turns 54 today.

They call it a set, as in, ‘Get ready, get set…’

So what was the deal-breaker in the Gwyneth Paltrow-Brad Pitt relationship? One report has it that Paltrow was upset that Pitt was making nice, maybe too nice, with his “Meet Joe Black” co-star, Claire Forlani, whom you might have seen in such films as “The Rock,” “Basquiat” and “Mall Rats.” Pitt’s spokesperson was adamant: “He likes her as a co-star, but they’re absolutely not having an affair.”

‘Pal’ is his pet term for George Costanza

So, you think the portrayal of George Steinbrenner on “Seinfeld” is an exaggeration? On Wednesday, the owner of the New York Yankees did parking-lot duty at Yankees Stadium in an effort to figure out what the problems are. He chased at least one driver, who had tried to park illegally in a VIP space, yelling, “You can’t park there, pal!”

Three cheers for Mike Tyson: ear-ear, ear-ear, ear-ear

We haven’t commented much on the Mike Tyson affair, mostly because sports has done such a good job. But we have to note that the former champion’s likeness in the Hollywood Wax Museum has been moved from the Sports Hall of Fame to the facility’s Chamber of Horrors. Considering his Hannibal Lecter-like behavior, museum owner Raubi Sundher said, the move “seemed like the right thing to do.”

Ruth, baby, haven’t you ever heard of cybersex?

Always on the lookout for sexual dysfunction, Dr. Ruth Westheimer is worried about employees at Microsoft Corp. After touring the software company’s Redmond, Wash., headquarters, Westheimer noted that it’s difficult to “have time to have good sex if you work 80 hours a week.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 Photos

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Compiled by staff writer Dan Webster