FRANKENSIGNED
Break out the neck bolts. Robert De Niro, hot, er,
cold off the flop Mad Dog and Glory, has officially signed on the
jagged line to play the large-domed monster in TriStar's
Frankenstein. Kenneth Branagh, who costars as the twisted scientist,
will also direct the winter '94 film. How did De Niro ace out Andy
Garcia and Gerard Depardieu, who were also interested in starring in
the creature feature? ''Andy just read the script because he's
Kenneth's friend,'' says Garcia's spokesman. Depardieu, meanwhile,
was deemed ''too foreign,'' according to a source close to the
production. —Melina Gerosa
DESIGNING WOMAN
The recent fall fashion week in New York City was
a dud — unless you were a celebrity-watcher. Director Jim Jarmusch popped up at Anna Sui, Boy George stopped by Todd Oldham, and Dustin
Hoffman checked out Ralph Lauren. But all eyes were on Roseanne
Arnold, who attended Isaac Mizrahi's collection with Roseanne guest
star Sandra Bernhard. Arnold demonstrated her appetite for style by
furiously scribbling notes in her program and getting chummy with
model Linda Evangelista. ''She thought the collection was great,'' says
a Mizrahi spokeswoman, ''but she didn't order anything.'' Guess it's
hard to sling ''loose meat'' in haute couture. —Giselle Benatar
YO, TEACH
Reading, writing, and — rapping? A new extension course
at UCLA, ''The Rap and Street Music Phenomenon,'' promises to give
budding rappers the straight dope on the business of hip-hop. Taught
by Evan ''The E-Man'' Forster, label director for Tuff Break/ A&M
Records, the course features lectures by Heavy D. and a discussion
titled ''The Life of a Rap Star.'' Says Forster, ''Rap has become a $2
billion industry. This course is designed to show street kids how to
make a move into the business.'' What's next-a doctoral program taught
by Professor Griff? —Heather Keets
PETTY DIFFERENCES
Just three days into the filming of Sly
Stallone's futuristic thriller, Demolition Man, Lori Petty (A League
of Their Own) was replaced by Sandra Bullock (The Vanishing). Why was
Petty, a rising star since her perky League performance last summer,
let go? ''Warner Bros. wasn't all that happy with her dailies,'' says a
production source. ''They felt they could do better with someone
else.'' Petty pins the blame on bad chemistry between her and
Stallone: ''Sly and I were like oil and water.'' —Jeffrey Wells and Heidi
Siegmund
LEND THEM A TENOR
Chalk it up to the supersuccess of Whitney
Houston's ''I Will Always Love You'' from The Bodyguard — Hollywood is in
hot pursuit of melodic remakes. For Sleepless in Seattle, the Tom
Hanks-Meg Ryan romantic comedy due June 25, director Nora Ephron wants to use The Lettermen's 1961 hit, ''When I Fall in Love,'' though
she's having a hard time finding the perfect duo to cover the song.
''We think Celine Dion will do it,'' Ephron says. ''We had our eye on Stevie Wonder, but he wasn't interested. Worse comes to worse I'll
just use the Nat ''King'' Cole version, and I'll be very happy.'' —MG
MEDICAL RESEARCH
The normally reclusive Harrison Ford, in Chicago
to film Warner Bros.' The Fugitive, is taking the Windy City by
storm. He dropped by Mayor Richard Daley's office for a photo op: ''Suddenly a lot of secretaries came to see the mayor on pressing
business,'' says administrative assistant Amy Anzevino. Ford, who
plays the David Janssen doctor-on-the-lam role in the movie version
of the '60s TV series, also did rounds with Dr. Jim McKinsey at the
University of Chicago Medical Center. There, however, the actor
didn't cause as much of a stir. ''Some of our elderly patients didn't
recognize him,'' McKinsey says. ''Later they'd tell their kids, 'I had
a visit today from some actor named Harrison Ford. Ever hear of
him?''' —Cindy Pearlman
