Flashes

BY GEORGE
Playing Quentin Tarantino's vampire brother in December's From Dusk Till Dawn was a 180-degree turn for ER's George Clooney. ''He's hard, he's mean, and he kills people for just looking at him the wrong way,'' says Dawn director Robert Rodriguez (Desperado) of Clooney's character. Still, Rodriguez reveals, you can take the man out of the ER, but you can't always take the ER out of the man. ''There is one scene where George is looking at Quentin's really bloody hand. Suddenly, he looked concerned, like an M.D. I'm yelling, 'You're getting into doctor mode! Cut it out!''' Clooney's confusion quickly cleared: ''Oh, yeah,'' Clooney reminded himself, ''I'm a killer today.'' — Cindy Pearlman

COUNTRY COMFORTS
Boas, high heels, and sequins, sure. But how did the Fresh Air Fund (FAF) — the New York organization that sends city kids to the country in the summertime — make its way into the drag-fest To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar? Star John Leguizamo decided to ad-lib the line in which his character recalls being an FAF kid as his own thanks for everything. ''I used to watch The Brady Bunch and be jealous because they had this big house and yard — all the normalcy I didn't have,'' says Leguizamo, who grew up in Queens, N.Y. ''So when I went to the Fresh Air Fund, I was like, 'Oh, my God, I got my own Brady Bunch!''' Though a spokeswoman for the charity says its officers are happy to hear that ''a former FAF child is doing so well,'' they're a bit worried about the critics. Says the spokeswoman: ''I thought [the movie] got lukewarm reviews.'' — Dave Karger

HEROES WORSHIP
Diane Keaton's Unstrung Heroes, her debut as a feature filmmaker, has won kudos from her cast (''She's an artist,'' says leading lady Andie MacDowell), her critics (Ebert gave it a thumbs-up), and, most especially, from her seven-time director and former beau, Woody Allen. ''He said the actors were wonderful, and he liked the look of it,'' says Keaton, who arranged a private screening for the reclusive director. Allen, however, did not respond the way many others have to this story about a young boy whose mother has cancer. ''Woody, cry?'' laughs Keaton. ''Like he would ever tell me if he cried! No, I don't think he was moved that much.'' — CP and Lisa Milbrand

ETC.
Just because you have a last name that conjures up fame and fortune, it doesn't guarantee you the advantages of Tori Spelling. So says Balthazar Getty, grandson of late oil tycoon J. Paul Getty and costar of the recently released Dead Beat. ''Because of my name, people think I'm just a rich kid,'' says Getty. ''But I had to work real jobs to be able to have money to spend on weekends. The name has hurt me.''