PASSING Roger Ebert's thumb now stands alone: Gene Siskel died Saturday at the age of 53 from complications relating to his May brain surgery. Although Siskel had quickly returned to work after his operation, the ''skinny'' partner recently announced that he would be taking the next six months off to fully recuperate. Siskel had been arguing with Ebert on TV since 1975 and writing for the Chicago Tribune since 1969.

REEL DEALS Fox has commissioned a TV pilot based on the new movie Cruel Intentions, according to the New York Post, even before seeing how the film does when it opens (March 5). Good thing they weren't planning a ''Jawbreaker'' series.... Director Mike Figgis ("Leaving Las Vegas") is working on an adaptation of August Strindberg's 1888 play ''Miss Julie.'' The low-budget indie, which will star Saffron Burrows (''Circle of Friends''), deals with a high-class woman who has a loveless affair with her father's valet....Harmony Korine (''Gummo'') will once again unleash his bizarre visions on film in ''Julien,'' a film about a young teacher invigorated by her work at a school for the blind. Knowing Korine's taste for repulsive imagery, don't expect ''The Miracle Worker.''

BIRTH You can call her Scary Spice, Mel G., or Melanie Gulzar -- and now you can call her Mom. The Spice Girl gave birth to a 5.5 pound girl, Phoenix, on Friday night. Fellow Preggie Spice Victoria Adams is reportedly not far behind.

CASTING Reese Witherspoon and Samantha Mathis have joined the cast of ''American Psycho.'' Christian Bale, Willem Dafoe, and Jared Leto are already aboard, and filming begins Sunday in Toronto amidst protests by Canadian antiviolence groups angry because the 1991 source novel was believed to have inspired Canadian serial killer Paul Bernardo in 1993.

SAYING GOODBYE The Piano Man ain't wavering: In a recent interview, Billy Joel repeated his desire to retire from the pop world after his current tour, which is now scheduled to end on April 15 in Minneapolis. Joel, 49, says he hasn't written a pop song in four years and still plans to devote his energies to classical music. But there is hope for fans: He says he's not making a ''grand farewell announcement'' because ''I don't want to be like the Who announcing their farewell and then three years later they're back. But if I do play again, it will just be little pop-up appearances. Hopefully it won't be at some local dinner theater.''

INTERVIEWED Barbara Walters finally taped her interview with Monica Lewinsky this weekend in a guarded studio in New York. Walters had been waiting since November for the head-to-head, which is tentatively scheduled to be aired in a 90-minute ''20/20'' on March 3, the last day of sweeps.

AWARDS The Berlin Film Festival named ''The Thin Red Line'' its best feature on Sunday. Stephen Frears was voted best director for ''The Hi-Lo Country'' (a movie that was critically derided in the U.S.), and the announcement was met with audible distaste from the audience.

TODAY IN ENTERTAINMENT Andy Warhol died in 1987.... Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love wed in 1992.