News from the entertainment capital

ATTACKS BOOST CABLE NEWS RATINGS

The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., have driven larger than usual numbers of viewers to cable news channels.

Ratings for the third quarter of 2001 show CNN was 104 percent ahead of the primetime numbers it posted during the comparable period in 2000. Fox News gained 175 percent, and MSNBC gained 87 percent.

DE NIRO RELUCTANTLY ACCEPTS HONOR

Robert De Niro picked up a lifetime achievement award this week at the Independent Feature Project's Gotham Awards at Chelsea Piers in New York, but the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center cast a shadow over the event.

"Proud as I am of this," De Niro told the audience, "it seems not as important after what happened."

In his acceptance speech, the star of "Raging Bull," "The Godfather, Part II" and "GoodFellas" paid tribute to "the firemen and policemen and rescue workers who died in the line of duty, as well as those who continue to do their jobs."

SHARON STONE UPDATE

Sharon Stone says she's "very, very lucky" to be alive.

Stone, who is recuperating at a San Francisco Hospital after suffering a brain hemorrhage on Saturday, told the New York Daily News her condition is treatable with medication, so she did not require brain surgery.

Still, she said, the condition is serious.

"So far," said Stone, "it appears I've fallen into the 5 percent category that when it blows, it blows itself up."

CHARLES GETS A LITTLE BROTHER

Jodie Foster has a new baby.

A publicist for the two-time Oscar-winning actress said Foster gave birth Saturday to Kit Foster, who weighed in at 6 pounds, 3 ounces.

Foster's first child, Charles, is 3. The 38-year-old star of "Accused" and "The Silence of the Lambs" has never revealed the name of Charles' father.

ANOTHER POSTPONEMENT FOR NEW CAGE MOVIE

MGM has decided to further postpone the release of "Windtalkers," starring Nicolas Cage as a U.S. Marine responsible for security for a team of Navajo Americans who used tribal code to communicate secret military orders during World War II.

Director John Woo's follow-up to "Mission: Impossible 2" had originally been scheduled for release this summer, but was rescheduled for Nov. 9. Now the release has been set for next June 14.

Studio executives said the reason for postponing the release had nothing to do with the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. Rather, they said the decision was motivated by a crowded fall and holiday movie schedule.

'ALI' SET FOR CHRISTMAS RELEASE

Sony has decided to release "Ali" on Dec. 25.

Starring Will Smith as three-time heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, the movie had tentatively been scheduled for a Dec. 7 release.

According to Daily Variety, studio executives decided the picture could make its biggest impact with a Christmas Day release.

HONORS FOR LEGENDARY CAMERAMAN

The American Society of Cinematographers will present its lifetime achievement award to Laszlo Kovacs next February.

Kovacs has been one of the most influential cinematographers in film over the past 30 years, with such credits as "Easy Rider," "Five Easy Pieces," "Paper Moon," "Shampoo" and "Ghostbusters" on his resume. Yet, he has never been nominated for an Academy Award.

Previous winners of the ASC lifetime award include Conrad Hall ("American Beauty"), Gordon Willis ("The Godfather") and Haskell Wexler ("One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest").

The award will be presented in Los Angeles on Feb. 17.