Online Chat

        Film critic Margaret A. McGurk discusses the Oscar nominations. Log on to Cincinnati.Com Friday from 12:30-1 p.m. and join in.

Countdown

        Women's fest lineup: Cincinnati Women's Film Festival returns to Raymond Walters College in Blue Ash, 1-10 p.m. March 2, with more than a dozen international films and videos focused on the lives of women.

        Highlights include screenings of the 1953 thriller The Hitch-Hiker directed by Ida Lupino, the 1995 Canadian documentary The Lost Garden about early cinema pioneer Alice Guy-Blache, and The Legend of A Sigh, a 1991 Iranian feature about a woman novelist who magically changes places with women from other social classes.

        A complete schedule is online at www.rwc.uc.edu. The festival is free and open to the public. 745-5645.

— Margaret A. McGurk

FYI

        Hot off the Internet: The sizzling, all-female Eroica Trio will perform Beethoven's Triple Concerto with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in season-opening concerts Sept. 13-14. This news comes via the Eroica Trio's Web site, eroicatrio.com. The members of the piano trio, who performed last month at the Cincinnati Chamber Music Society, look like models and play superbly. They have just released a phenomenal all-Brahms album on Angel/EMI Classics — including Brahms' Lullaby, heard as an encore in their Cincinnati appearance.

        Stay tuned for the rest of the CSO's 2002-03 season, to be announced next month when Maestro Paavo Jarvi is back in town. Tickets: 381-3300.

— Janelle Gelfand

        Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts form a talent triumvirate when it comes to packing movie theaters and getting films financed, according to a new survey of celebrity bankability.

        Industry executives ranked the three stars at the top of a list of 130 actors based on their ability to secure financing for a film, obtain studio distribution and guarantee huge box office receipts on the strength of their name alone.

        The full “Star Power 2002 Survey” was published in The Hollywood Reporter.

        Rounding out the top 10 were Mel Gibson, Jim Carrey, George Clooney, Russell Crowe, Harrison Ford, Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt.

        A separate list for musician/actors ranked Will Smith, Jennifer Lopez and Mark Wahlberg at the top, along with Madonna, Britney Spears, Whitney Houston, Ice Cube, Janet Jackson, Cher and Courtney Love.

— The Associated Press

        Limp Bizkit knows how to draw a crowd — thousands showed up earlier this month when the rock-rap group held an audition to replace former lead guitarist Wes Borland.

        About 5,000 hopefuls came to a Guitar Center in Atlanta, some of whom drove 10 hours for a shot at jamming with the band, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Others waited from 6 a.m. until the group showed up at 6 p.m.

        Last month, the eclectic band, lead by Fred Durst, hit the road on a 22-city tour to find a replacement. Mr. Borland left Limp Bizkit in October.

— The Associated Press

Movies opening Friday

        • Crossroads
       • Hart's War
       • John Q
       • Monster's Ball
       • Return To Never Land
       • Super Troopers

Coming Friday in Weekend

        Sampler weekend: It's Fine Arts Fund Sampler Weekend — 143 arts events in 47 locations. We offer our best bets for the weekend.

Dress-alike spouses wear their hearts on their sleeves
Belle of the 'Monster's Ball'
KNIPPENBERG: Knip's Eye View
Black theatre fest to add out-of-towners
Ex-bike shop owner now shooting Ozzy
Know Theatre Tribe's daring triple play challenges viewers
The Early Word
'Friends' stars signed away rumors
Get to it