The Not So Big Show

OSCAR TALLY So far, the pundits are split about the 73rd Annual Academy Awards last Sunday, but the public gave the Oscars the proverbial thumbs down. ABC's telecast of the Oscars was the lowest rated in five years, according to Nielsen Media Research. Approximately 42.9 million watched Russell Crowe, Julia Roberts, and company take the stage.

Last year, 46.3 million people tuned in to the ceremony. The last time fewer people tuned in to the Academy Awards was 1997, when 40.1 million viewers watched ''The English Patient'' win Best Picture. To date, the highest rated Oscars was 1998's, when more than 55 million fans just had to see if Leo would attend the ''Titanic'' fest.

Oh, and in case you're wondering who won that big screen TV producers offered for the shortest speech, the lame promotional stunt prize goes to... Michael Dudok de Wit, who won the Best Animated Short trophy for ''Father and Daughter.'' De Wit's speech came in at just under 15 seconds.

REEL DEAL Director Jonathan Mostow (''U-571'') is in talks to make ''Terminator'' 3. According to Variety, Mostow has had ''several strong meetings'' with star Arnold Schwarzenegger, but a final deal has yet to be confirmed. Mostow has just four films on his resume, but his last two (''U-571'' and ''Breakdown'') were action adventures, one of which featured heavy special effects. Although Schwarzenegger is reportedly on board to make ''T3,'' no studio has agreed to distribute it. With a director signed, sources tell Variety, a studio deal should be easy to secure.

REAL TV MTV will debut its newest half hour reality show ''Becoming'' during its branded ''10 Spot'' in May. In each episode of the new series, a selected fan will ''become'' their favorite artist(s) by starring in a reshoot of one of their idol's videos. According to Variety, some of the first fans will become the Backstreet Boys and Destiny's Child. The first four episodes premiere May 14 - 17, with the remaining six airing once a week.

TUBE NEWS ''Big Brother'' is coming back, but not without a makeover. CBS execs are being secretive, but the network's website has started touting a totally restructured new edition of the reality series with mediocre ratings. The biggest change in format is that the players and not the general public will vote each other out.

Hopefully this means no more annoying segments from AOL message board monitors. ''Now, 'Big Brother' is an exciting, cutthroat, dramatic competition that will require players to use brain, brawn, and charm to win,'' the site says. ''One by one, each of the houseguests will be eliminated as the group votes them out.'' The audience will only get involved once there are three contestants left in the house. CBS is currently casting the series and is accepting applications through April 20.

UPSET Speaking of CBS' reality shows, Australia's Defense Minister Peter Reith chastised the country's air force Tuesday for giving ''Survivor'' 2 contestants a free ride to the Outback. Reith told the press that he had not approved the approximately US$150,000 trip. ''I'm not too happy about it. It's a waste of taxpayers' money,'' he said. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) sent a Caribou transport aircraft to fly the 16 ''Survivor'' contestants from Townsville in Australia's northeast to the show's arid locale.

CASTING Jason Behr (''Roswell'') has joined Kevin Spacey, Cate Blanchett, Judi Dench, Rhys Ifans and Pete Postlethwaite in Miramax's adaptation of ''The Shipping News'' for the studio's director in residence Lasse Hallström (''Chocolat''). Based on E. Annie Proulx's Pulitzer Prize winning novel, the drama is currently shooting in Halifax, Nova Scotia, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Sissy Spacek is in talks to star opposite William Hurt, Ben Kingsley, and newcomer Alexis Bledel (''Gilmore Girls'') in ''Tuck Everlasting.'' Spacek would play the mother of a family with a big secret: the fountain of youth is in their backyard. The film is based on the critically acclaimed 1975 children's book by Natalie Babbitt.

HONORED Grammy winning producer - composer Quincy Jones was named a commander of the French Legion of Honor by French President Jacques Chirac at his presidential palace on Monday. According to the Associated Press, Jones, who was named to the Legion of Honor in 1990, is the 32nd American and the first U.S. born musician to become a commander. The 68 year old music legend is best known for coordinating the international relief song ''We Are the World'' and producing the best selling album of all time, Michael Jackson's ''Thriller.'' And if you're wondering what Jones has to do with the French: He studied composition in France with master piano instructor Nadia Boulanger in the 1950s, and has worked with some of the France's most celebrated musicians, including Charles Aznavour and Michel Legrand.

CONGRATULATIONS The LaFace empire grew by two on Monday: Kenny ''Babyface'' Edmonds and his wife Tracey Edmonds had their second boy, Dylan Michael Edmonds, Monday in Los Angeles. Little Dylan weighed 7 pounds, 1 ounce. The couple already has a 4 year old son. Meanwhile, Arista President Antonio ''L.A.'' Reid, who cofounded LaFace with Edmonds, also welcomed a new baby Monday. His new wife, Erica Reid, had 6 pound, 13 ounce Arianna Manuelle in New York. She is the Reids' fourth child.

SPLIT Ellen Fein, coauthor of the ''Rules'' books that supposedly teach women how to successfully snag husbands, is getting a divorce. The divorce announcement comes just three months before the release of Fein and coauthor Sherrie Schneider's third installment in the ''Rules'' series: ''The Rules III: Time-Tested Secrets for Making Your Marriage Work,'' which hits bookstores in June. Fein, 43, has been married to pharmacist Paul Feingertz, 41, for more than 15 years, People magazine reported. AOL Time Warner Books will insert a paragraph into the latest introduction, explaining that Fein and her husband are divorcing. Schneider, however, is still married. Guess some Rules are meant to be broken.