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In the news
By Times staff writer Sills to become chairwoman of Metropolitan OperaBeverly Sills, the former chairwoman of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, said Saturday that she's returning to action after six months of retirement -- as the new chairwoman of the Metropolitan Opera. The Met's executive committee recommended the 73-year-old one-time diva to the opera house's board of directors Thursday; the board is expected to approve the decision next month. Sills is to start her new job by the end of October, succeeding James Kinnear, who is to become honorary chairman. Sills resigned as Lincoln Center chairwoman in May. Sills, who retired from singing in 1980, won't spend much time dealing with actual productions at the Met. "(Met General Manager Joseph Volpe) is running the house, period. And I'm going to concentrate on two things that have been a passion with me: audience development and fund-raising," she said. The world's biggest opera company has an annual budget of $200-million; $75-million comes from benefactors. DiCaprio films separatedForget about dueling DiCaprios this Christmas. Miramax Films planned to release the Leonardo DiCaprio drama Gangs of New York on Dec. 25 -- the same time DreamWorks was set to release the DiCaprio-Tom Hanks crime saga Catch Me If You Can. Now Miramax plans to shift the Martin Scorsese-directed Gangs to an earlier weekend in December, studio spokesman Matthew Hiltzik said Friday. Catch Me If You Can remains set for release Dec. 25. Sniper film may be delayedThe recent sniper attacks in the Washington area have prompted 20th Century Fox to consider postponing the release of the thriller Phone Booth, about a man who answers a public telephone and finds himself pinned down by a faraway shooter. The film, starring Colin Farrell as the trapped victim and Kiefer Sutherland as the shooter, has been set to debut nationwide Nov. 15. Screenwriter Larry Cohen, who wrote Phone Booth three years ago, said he would not mind if the studio delayed release of the film. "I'd hate to inflict pain on any of the family and friends of the victims and bring the pain back to them," he said.
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