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CLOSE SHAVE: A bad hair day almost cost Clueless hunk Paul Rudd his role as stepbrother Josh opposite Alicia Silverstone. After auditioning for director Amy Heckerling, Rudd -- convinced he'd blown his chance -- shaved his head. Then he got the news. ''I was in a restaurant and Amy happened to be there,'' Rudd recalls, ''and she said, 'Oh, no! Did you realize if you didn't cut your hair you would have had the part?''' Heckerling overlooked the lack of locks and cast Rudd anyway, but his short stuff posed a challenge. ''They kept putting on all these wigs because they thought Josh should have long hair,'' says Rudd, who ultimately was permitted to appear au naturel. ''My hair ended up being the most totally nondescript, nonstyled, non-threatening cut,'' he says. ''I call it my Steve Guttenberg look.''
-- Jessica Shaw
ALL'S FARE: You can take Keanu Reeves out of the bus...or can you? A year after the runaway actioner Speed, Reeves is starring in the period romance A Walk in the Clouds. The movie is set mostly among verdant vineyards, yet Reeves' character still manages to end up on a city bus. ''I had to smile when I read that,'' says Reeves. ''My mind is going, 'I'm back on the bus.''' And speaking of back on the bus, what about that sequel? ''I don't know if we're gonna do Speed 2,'' he says, though the actor admits he's come up with a few ideas to reunite him with Sandra Bullock. ''I think the characters should be married. I'm thinking we should be on our honeymoon in Europe and find ourselves on the autobahn. Or maybe there's a car crash and we're on a speeding ambulance. What do you think?'' Revs our engine.
-- Cindy Pearlman
DIAMOND DODGER: Baseball has not been berry, berry good to Geena Davis. In fact, the game is making her batty. ''I haven't played in months,'' says Davis, who took up the sport to portray a star catcher in 1992's A League of Their Own. ''Now, whenever some celebrity softball thing comes up, I think I have to come out and be the best they've ever seen or I'll ruin my image.'' And Davis, who'll show her swash as a pirate in December's Cutthroat Island, is even more worried about competition from, say, a Pittsburgh Pirate. ''I was invited to play an exhibition game in Florida with retired ballplayers,'' says Davis. ''I said, 'Are you mad?' I was afraid those guys would take my head off.'' Lucky for her it's almost football season.
