Flashes: July 26

Generally Speaking: Robert Loggia's appeared in more than 60 movies, including Scarface and Big, but his role as an Army general in the record-shattering Independence Day is becoming Loggia's defining screen moment. ''I was on a golf course and people were calling over, 'Hey, General, thanks for saving the planet!' from an adjoining green,'' says the 66-year-old actor. ''Being credited with saving the world isn't such a bad thing. The recognition I'm getting from this movie has been immediate. I feel like I'm riding the crest of a wave — except it's more like a tsunami.''