Catholic Guilt

Image credit: Sylvester Stallone: Armando Gallo/Retna

'LEFTY' BEHIND Stallone's show gets dropped

If all else fails, blame the Church. That's what Sylvester Stallone did when CBS didn't pick up ''Lefty,'' the television drama he exec-produced starring ''Titanic'''s Danny Nucci as a tough-talking priest. Stallone believes the Catholic Church's current troubles led the Eye to pass on the pilot. ''Danny was fantastic,'' says Stallone. ''And to come out with a show about priests at this particular time...I think people are waiting for something to help them exhale.''

Stallone's the one who needs to take a breather, says one source close to the negotiations. It wasn't the priest-pedophilia scandal but ''Lefty'''s soft, ''Touched by an Angel'' sensibility that prompted CBS to reject it in favor of sharper fare like ''Without a Trace,'' a missing-persons drama with Anthony LaPaglia, and the cop-themed ''RHD/LA,'' which stars Tom Sizemore and is exec-produced by ''Heat'''s Michael Mann. Says the source, ''The network wants to go in a certain direction, with younger-skewing, harder-edged shows with an urban feel.''