Dan Webster

If you have trouble blending your desire to support charity with your need to see movies, Act III Theatres offers a convenient solution. It's called the Cans Film Festival.

FROM FOR THE RECORD (Wednesday, November 6, 1996): Correction Milos Forman directed the film "The People vs. Larry Flynt." The wrong director was credited in a Tuesday IN Life story. 1. Horrified by the kidnapping of his son Sean (Brawley Nolte), Tom Mullen (Mel Gibson) masterminds a daring countermeasure to get him back in "Ransom," due out Friday. 2. "Mars Attacks!" is a science-fiction comedy starring Pierce Brosnan, Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Martin Short and Rod Steiger. It is expected to open the second week of December. 3. "101 Dalmatians" 4. "Jingle All the Way" 5. "Beavis and Butt-Head Do America" 6. "The People vs. Larry Flynt 7. "The Crucible"

Donald Hall

Valentino Jiminez isn't worried about his future. "I didn't know that there were so many retirement homes around Spokane," he says. "When we grow old, we'll have a place to go. They're all over the place." At 47, Jiminez is a long way from needing a retirement home. But in the course of his avocation, he visits them all the time.

Simonides uses the "nom de plume" in presenting his theology to avoid attacks from offended religious zealots. Photo by Liz Kishimoto/The Spokesman-Review

Hollywood tends toward the biggest, the loudest, the brightest. The intent: big boxoffice returns. "Big Night," by contrast, is big in name only. The story of two Italian brothers struggling to run a restaraunt, this '50s period piece is purposely small, intentionally quiet and wholeheartedly human in its exploration of the heart. In short, it's as rich as a pesto sauce and as subtle as a chilled glass of pinot grigio.

Woody and Buzz are the stars of "Toy Story."

It may not be clear where Carmen Sandiego is, but it's obvious what it is - one of the most popular geography games ever created. Sunday in the Opera House, "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?" becomes "Where in the World of Music is Carmen Sandiego?" as the Spokane Symphony presents the season premiere of Spokane Symfunnies.

1. Considered fat by some model standards, Kathy Ireland, left, and Rachel Hunter, right, were pregnant when they posed for the cover of Sports Illustrated. 2. Naomi Campbell on the runway hardly reflects the average body. 3. Kate Moss made the waif look hot. But now she says the waif look is out. Photo by Associated Press

Even an average guy can be the romantic lead in a personalized novel.

(Photo from 'Sleepers')

Jeremy Irons and Liv Tyler star in "Stealing Beauty." Photo from Fox Entertainment

Max Schreck plays Count Dracula in the 1922 "Nosferatu."

Natalie Portman and Timothy Hutton in "Beautiful Girls."

Stephen Bauer stars in "Navajo Blues."

Firefigher Earl Emerson has written 13 mysteries, all set in the Northwest. Photo from Ballantine

Long before he started fighting fires for a living, Earl Emerson wanted to be a writer. The best-selling Seattle mystery writer figured that a firefighter's schedule would give him the prolonged periods of time needed to keep up a consistent writing schedule. He wasn't wrong. His job as a lieutenant in the Seattle Fire Department requires him to work 24 hours at a time, with the subsequent three days off.

(No caption-Photo of Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson)

"James and the Giant Peach" is about a lonely boy befriended by likable bugs.

It's not that Joan Overfield is jealous of Jane Austen. She has too much respect for the late author's skills, not to mention her novels. Still, when you've seen 18 of your own novels in print, it's hard not to begrudge the continuing popularity of a writer who has been dead for 179 years.

Descendent of clan that started sex?

Lili Taylor protrays Valerie Solanas in "I Shot Andy Warhol."

(photo of scene from movie "That Thing You Do.")

French films typically boast two main qualities: conversation and consumption. Claude Saulet's new movie, the lamely titled "Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud," doesn't do much to rebut this perception. If Saulet's characters aren't sipping wine or liqueur over dinner, then they're talking.