This is the news for May 29 from Nan Dibble and Helpers' Network Hotline
for fans of Beauty and the Beast. To contact me by e-mail, post to
ndibble@fuse.net. To stop (or to begin) receiving updates as e-mail, notify
me at the above e-mail address. To reach me by phone (evenings/weekends),
call (513) 961-4813.The website is at http://home.fuse.net/helpnet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gwen Lord, of Helpers Network UK, has asked me most urgently for "the"
address for fans to write to in support of a Beauty and the Beast movie of
some sort. I've been mulling over what to say and do about it ever since
and consulted with several knowledgeable people within the fandom on the
matter. Here's the conclusion I've come to.

First, as I've told Gwen, there's no such thing as "THE" address. Republic
is gone. The rights to B&B are held by a chain of interrelated corporations
at the top of which is Viacom, which may or may not know that they
ultimately control the rights to the series, and would undoubtedly be
extremely annoyed to be peppered by mail from any fandom. I think a letter
campaign directed someplace within the corporate maze of Viacom would be
nothing short of disastrous and achieve the opposite effect from the one
intended. Likewise Spelling Entertainment, farther down in the corporate
hierarchy.

I can tell you some of the things that WON'T work: none of the writers
(including Ron Koslow) or actors in the series has any power to get a movie
made. Writing to them on such a topic is just an annoyance and does no
good. Something that would have made a difference-buying whatever
B&B-related merchandise was offered-we have not done in sufficient numbers
to make any B&B merchandising venture even marginally profitable, as
witness the decline of the most recent effort, the Davis-Panzer "official"
B&B website-after such hopeful beginnings, now down to a few scripts and a
cut-rate pendant. With perhaps the sole exceptions of Columbia House's
marketing some of the series videos (among their thousands of other
offerings) and the Of Love and Hope album (now finally out of print), all
such marketing initiatives have failed for lack of sufficient support
(read: $$$) from the fandom. Failed conspicuously, and over and over. For
whatever reason, we've failed to put our money where our mouths were, and
that speaks louder to anyone contemplating a B&B film than any volume of
letters could do. I wish it were otherwise; but that's what I see.

It's an extremely complex matter, this idea of "keeping the dream alive"
through a movie. Rather than go into detail about any of the specific
problems that would face such a project, which you can probably enumerate
as easily as I, I'll just say that I see no purpose to be served by a
letter campaign directed at anybody at this time. Should circumstances
change significantly, I'll be glad to beat the drum. But not now. No. I
don't think so.

I think we're on our own now. We will endure as a fandom to the degree that
we can find common ground, and a continuing and lively interest, in the
series as it stands and in the friendships that have come from our
associations with one another within the fandom. We haven't had a movie in
the past ten years, and we're still here-a considerable number of us,
including a healthy number of people who have discovered the series only
recently. For instance, the Helpers' Network website is approaching 150,000
hits, and I've had to go to three lists to accommodate all the people who
have requested these updates. To quote Tennyson's "Ulysses," "Though much
is taken, much remains." I hope that can suffice without the fading
phantasm of a sometime B&B movie as the carrot on the stick to keep us
moving forward and sticking together. I hope we can do without that. I
believe we may have to.

However, anybody is (of course) free to disagree with my assessment and
promote whatever they choose. I will not impede them and will duly pass
along whatever announcements they choose to send me. It's my intention that
Helpers' Network always promote the series and support the fandom in
whatever initiatives those in the fandom choose to undertake-whether it be
producing a zine or a calendar, organizing a convention, contributing to a
charity, or writing letters.yet again.to somebody. Those of you who've been
in the fandom awhile know I don't often climb onto my soapbox. So I'll get
off now and back to the news.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Helpers Kathy Deltufo and Darlene Sullivan have brought to my attention
that Ron Perlman's TV movie will be airing on cable soon. As Darlene put
it, "At Last!!! The Animal Planet network is promoting Ron Perlman's TV
movie 'The Trial of Old Drum' co-starring Scott Bakula and Randy Travis. It
is the story of  a 12-year-old boy and his golden retriever, Old Drum, and
the events leading to a court trial for the dog in western Missouri in
1955. Animal Planet Network, Friday, June 9; 8:00 p.m. Eastern, 7:00 p.m.
Central." Which is 8 p, EDT.

I thank both my informants for their news.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Helper Lisa Howard Bock was kind enough to tell me that the LA2K ConCom are
taking a break from auctions this week. So you haven't missed any.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Helper/Correspondent Stephanie Wiltse sent this news in regard to Roy
Dotrice's new series.

Says Steff: A columnist with the Village Voice wrote up the Drama Desk
Award dinner thusly...

"There were 300 more hours of gratitude (and toilet runs), and then finally
that cute codger Roy Dotrice admitted, 'We're all of us desperately trying
to win something.' While doing so, at least we got a free lunch."

Stef continues: Don't forget to look for Roy at the upcoming Tony Awards
next Sunday, June 4th (for more info check: http://www.cinemind.com/moon).

There's not too much on ABC's website as yet except for this:

Madigan's Men
New this Fall on ABC - TV
FRIDAYS, 9:30 p.m., ET

Gabriel Byrne stars as Benjamin Madigan, a handsome, successful and
charismatic architect in New York City. He is single, adorable and
available and should be making out like a bandit with the ladies. But
Benjamin is recently divorced, and after 20 years of being a dutiful
husband and provider, he just hasn't got a clue about dating. He is a
member of a rare breed of men - the sexy man completely oblivious to his
own sexiness. While his co-workers shove him into the dating world, he is
full of the most rudimentary questions, like how soon to call a woman after
she gives you her number. For the answers to these and many other
questions, Ben can turn to his 16-year-old son, Luke (John Hensley), for
whom juggling a series of girlfriends couldn't come more naturally. In
addition, Ben's recently widowed father, Seamus (Roy Dotrice), has just
moved in. Seamus is ornery and speaks his mind, and with Luke's help, they
might just be able to teach Benjamin a thing or two about dating and women
in the 21st century.  From Touchstone Television in association with ATG.
Cindy Chupack is executive producer.

Publicity is starting to roll however on "Madigan Men." A Toronto newspaper
ran this blurb on the series, and Entertainment Tonight has already given
it a mention:

* Madigan Men stars Gabriel Byrne
(The Usual Suspects) as a New York architect trying to jump back into the
dating pool after 20 years of marriage. Roy Dotrice (Beauty and The Beast)
plays Byrne's recently widowed father; Grant Shaud (Murphy Brown) also
stars. *

There's a new website about Roy Dotrice as John Aubrey in the play "Brief
Lives" with a rare video clip (takes a long time to load but worth the
wait) from that production, check it out at:

http://www.cinemind.com/aubrey

Steff
webmaster@cinemind.com
Cinema of the Mind
http://www.cinemind.com
Starving Artists Workshop
Albany, NY

Thanks, Steff!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here are the Sightings. Things are pretty sparse in the aftermath of sweeps
month. I did them myself, so any oversights are entirely mine.

Saturday, May 27
1 a Beauty and the Beast (ODY)
3:45 a Roy Dotrice in The Scarlet Letter (SHO)

Sunday, May 28
11 p Beauty and the Beast (ODY)

Monday, May 29
6:05 a Edward Albert in Guarding Tess (SHO)
6:05 p Edward Albert in Guarding Tess (SHO)
8 p Linda Hamilton in Mr. Destiny (MAX)
1 a Beauty and the Beast (ODY)

Tuesday, May 30
1 a Beauty and the Beast (ODY)

Wednesday, May 31
10 p Ron Perlman in Magnificent 7 (TNN)
1 a Beauty and the Beast (ODY)

Thursday, June 1
11 a Brian Bloom (Cameron Benson, "The Hollow Men") in Bandit Goes Country
(TNT)
1 a Beauty and the Beast (ODY)

Friday, June 2
11 p Bruce Abbott (Devin) in The Demolitionist (USA)
1 a Beauty and the Beast (ODY)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If it's news and has to do with Beauty and the Beast, please think of the
Hotline and relay. We're all in this together, keeping the dream of Beauty
and the Beast alive however we can. Beast wishes, be well, and goodbye.


ndibble@fuse.net
http://home.fuse.net/helpnet