Maybe ‘The Postman’ Is The Real ‘Kevin’s Gate’

The critics hate Kevin Costner. Forget the fact that, even given huge cost overruns, they ended up loving “Dances With Wolves.” Forget the fact that he, despite so-so acting chops, earned plaudits for his performances in “Bull Durham” and “Tin Cup.”

The critics hate Kevin Costner. We know this because he claims it is so. And who are we to argue with such star power?

Feeling the impact of such opprobrium, Costner has taken to identifying with other threatened artistic types. He told USA Today that when James Cameron was pilloried over the rising budget of “Titanic,” I called him up… (and) asked if he wanted me to look at it.” (Cameron said no.)

And to embattled Kathie Lee Gifford, Costner quoted scripture: “Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.”

Loose talk

Leslie Nielsen (“Mr. Magoo”) on his ability to do comedy: “I used to have to get two or three drinks in me to do it with friends.”

In TV ad-speak, he would say, ‘Show me the bunny!’

Cuba Gooding Jr. turns 30 today.

She had a man, ba-dum, ba-dum, who cheated on her…

Speaking of Kathie Lee Gifford, San Francisco Chronicle columnist Leah Garchik reports that the talk-show host is planning to record an album with the, for now, working title of “Kathie Lee Sings the Blues.”

Isn’t this the plot of the next James Bond film?

The theme of the Egyptian movie “The Last Supper” comes straight from the headlines: It alleges that Princess Diana’s Aug. 31 death by car crash was a British plot to foil her planned wedding to Dodi Fayed and subsequent conversion to Islam. “I have to deal with this, even if it is naive,” said director Khairi Beshera.

And do you see how well it is working?

Despite how far his image had fallen, Prince Charles has again gained the people’s favor. A recent opinion poll indicated that 61 percent of Britain is satisfied with how he’s doing his “job.” That’s up from 42 percent shortly before Princess Diana’s death.

And can you guess who’s next in the firing line?

Reports from England allege that the Duchess of York is in financial trouble. Again. Seems her high-profile deals with Weight Watcher’s and various children’s books allowed the duchess to pay off most of her $6.65 million bank overdraw, but it did little to settle her tax bill.

Now she can include ‘Uma, Oprah, Uma, Oprah’

Don’t expect to hear anyone recommending Oprah Winfrey’s autobiography anytime soon on her popular reading club. “The smartest thing I ever did was cancel my autobiography,” Winfrey told Living Fit magazine. “If I wrote that book today, it wouldn’t look anything like the book I would have written.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 Photos

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