Remote Patrol

With the blockbuster opening of Varsity Blues, James Van Der Beek became the first Dawson's Creek cast member to flirt with bona fide movie stardom. Not since Friends has a hit TV show inspired such frenzied attempts to turn small-screen celebs into big-bucks box office draws. Since The WB's teen soap made its splash last year, all four leads have landed high-profile film roles. The question is, Will they become cinematic award winners like The Opposite of Sex's Lisa Kudrow or bad-luck charms like Almost Heroes' Matthew Perry?

Van Der Beek's Varsity role was a canny choice. He showed his range by physically transforming himself from fair-haired film geek Dawson Leery of Capeside, Mass., into brunet football jock Jonathan Moxon of West Canaan, Tex. Yet he maintained his appeal to teenage girls by retaining Dawson's sensitive-guy core. ''Mox'' remains faithful to his girlfriend (the Katie Holmes-ian Amy Smart), even when a slutty cheerleader (Ali Larter) tries to seduce him.

Dawson and Mox mark major departures from Van Der Beek's previous career path of playing bullies in the little-seen teen flicks Angus (1995) and I Love You, I Love You Not (1996). The versatile Van Der Beek can even handle comedy, as he proved with his guest-host gig on SNL (where he played everyone from a dweeby spelling-bee contestant to a frisky Cats cast member).

Holmes (Joey) seems the next Creeker most likely to succeed on the big screen. She made an impressive film debut as Libbets Casey, the object of Tobey Maguire's desire in 1997's The Ice Storm. She left her girl-next-door image behind in '98's Disturbing Behavior, playing a black-clad bad kid, but she was hobbled with the awful script by Scott Rosenberg (Con Air). At least she's working with good people in her next two movies. Go, in which she plays a supermarket clerk caught in the middle of a botched drug deal, was directed by Swingers' Doug Liman, and Killing Mrs. Tingle, in which she stars as an ambitious honor student, is the directorial debut of Scream and Creek creator Kevin Williamson. If he's the new John Hughes, Holmes could become his Molly Ringwald-ish muse.

Unless, of course, Michelle Williams (Jen) takes that title. She appeared in the Williamson-coscripted Halloween: H20, matching large-lunged costar Jamie Lee Curtis shriek for shriek. Horror movies were nothing new to Williams: She cut her teeth on a nonspeaking role as a young, genetically engineered creature in 1995's Species. Presumably, she'll have more to say in her next movie, Dick, in which she plays a high schooler who befriends President Nixon (Dan Hedaya).

Joshua Jackson might seem the longest shot for movie stardom. He's been stuck with smart-ass-classmate roles reminiscent of Creek's Pacey Witter in Scream 2 and Urban Legend. Yet he's got a long list of film credits, including all three Mighty Ducks. And he'll soon play a change-of-pace part as Ryan Phillippe's gay blond pal in Cruel Intentions, the teen remake of Dangerous Liaisons. Who knows — Jackson's off-kilter TV charm just might translate to the nation's multiplexes. Of course, I once thought the same thing about David Schwimmer.

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