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By SHARON FINK, Times Staff Writer THANKS, MAN, YOU SAVED MY . . . : As we told you Thursday, the biggest movie censorship battle in Australia this year has been over the graphic sex and violence in the French film Baise-Moi. Today, we tell you that the biggest movie censorship battle in the United States has been waged over George Clooney's rear end. The people who rate movies in this country initially gave Clooney's new flick, the sci-fi romance Solaris, an R because of two scenes: one with Clooney dancing partially clothed with his wife, played by Natascha McElhone, and one with the couple lying in bed on their stomachs, talking. Both scenes take place in darkened rooms, E! Online says. Director Steven Soderbergh was not happy with the R. He wanted PG-13, which means more people can see the movie (without having to sneak in), which means the movie makes more money. And he didn't want to cut any more scenes, having already cut and snipped some sex to keep the raters happy. So Soderbergh went before the ratings board Wednesday to plead his case himself ("We've seen scenes like this on network television," he ranted to the Los Angeles Times last week). Either Soderbergh was very persuasive or the board decided that in the end, George Clooney's naked posterior would not contribute to our greater moral downfall. Solaris is now PG-13. It's in theaters Nov. 27. WHO GETS TO BE STEFANIE POWERS? ABC is bringing back the husband-and-wife detective show Hart to Hart. But this time the characters will be two gay interior decorators who solve a murder each week. It will be called Mr. and Mr. Nash. This seems an appropriate time to remind you that we do not make these things up. THAT'S A LOT OF BLUE SUEDE SHOES: And you laugh at Elvis impersonators. The King clones will continue to make $650 for each daily appearance they make at Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority events. The status quo is kept intact in a one-year contract extension between the authority and talent agencies that book the faux Hound Dogs. That amount is almost double what showgirls receive for similar four-hour gigs ($350), according to an Associated Press report. And showgirls even have to be in shape. FOR THE WOMAN -- OR MAN -- WHO HAS EVERYTHING: Don't be fooled by other holiday gift suggesters who make this claim. We mean it. We can't imagine anyone already having a heated eyelash curler. It's made by Talika Paris and costs a reasonable $25. That should even fit your gag gift budget.
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