Names in the news

Proving that she has moved not only onward but upward from her wan and low-budget-indie-prone… Proving that she has moved not only onward but upward from her wan and low-budget-indie-prone ex-spouse Ethan Hawke, action heroine Uma Thurman has co-signed a contract with her hotelier boyfriend Andre Balazs to purchase a 16-room summer manse in Catskills-area New York.

Picturesquely located in the Hudson Valley hamlet of Staatsburg, the house and its 55 surrounding acres were owned by Penthouse magazine founder Bob Guccione, before he went broke.

No purchase price was disclosed, but here’s a hint: It went on the block after Guccione defaulted on a $14.5 million mortgage. That happened last year around the time Penthouse filed for bankruptcy.

JUST CALL HER `MOM’

Don’t let the fur coat, the dark glasses, and the stretch limo fool you.

Diana Ross told students in St. Paul, Minn., Saturday that motherhood, not stardom, defines her.

“I’m more a mom than a celebrity, even though I know you know me as a celebrity,” the 60-year-old entertainer told about 100 students at Musictech College, a small music conservatory that has named a full scholarship in her honor.

Of course, most moms headed for the auditorium do not indulge in such divalike behavior as striding in on a rented red carpet, accepting an armload of white roses, and pausing to autograph record albums thrust forward by devoted fans. But then, they don’t have Ross’s unsinkable self-confidence.

“I actually don’t remember ever not believing in myself,” she told the students. “I was brought up in the Brewster projects in Detroit and I always knew that there was a way out.”

THE MARTIANS ARE COMING

If you spot Martian invaders on the New Jersey Turnpike, do not be alarmed. Director Steven Spielberg is shooting “The War of the Worlds,” in which aliens from outer space destroy portions of New Jersey.

Filming at locales including Bayonne, Howell and Newark, “War” is a $128 million adaptation of the modest Orson Welles radio broadcast that was so realistic it caused mass panic among listeners in 1938. The first film version came out in 1953. This one, scheduled for release June 29, stars Tom Cruise. We’re guessing he does not play a Martian, but rather the guy who saves the world from them.

NO PASSION FOR PROMOTION

Mel Gibson says he will not spend a single cent on advertisements seeking Oscars for his blockbuster “The Passion of the Christ.” No television, radio or print ads will hawk the film about the crucifixion and death of Jesus, Gibson and his Icon Productions partner Bruce Davey insist. He will, however, send out DVDs to Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voters and hold public screenings of the film.

In recent years, Oscar marketing has become a multimillion-dollar enterprise as major studios and production companies throw parties and launch elaborate publicity endeavors.

Academy president Frank Pierson praised Gibson for working to restore the Oscars as a “celebration and appreciation of excellence” and resisting the “crass commercialism that was threatening the integrity of the award.” Personally, we are relieved that Jim Caviezel, who played the title role, will not push “The Passion” by appearing at tacky parties with a starlet on each arm.

SO SORRY

Actress Salma Hayek spent the weekend making the rounds of radio and TV stations in her hometown of Coatzacoalcos, Mexico, apologizing profusely for missing the ribbon-cutting at a new theater there. The damage control was necessary because Hayek’s failure to show up at the 17,000 seat municipal theater Friday night caused much consternation in the local press. She was even late for the celebratory concert by Italian opera singer Luciano Pavarotti.

Hayek explained she was delayed by the demands of making a film, “Las Bandidas” with Penelope Cruz, in another part of Mexico.

(Staff writer Michael Klein, Variety and wire services contributed to this column.

(c) 2004, The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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