People talk 10/26

Reclusive filmmaker will stage play 'Anna'

Ingmar Bergman is planning to stage a play for Swedish Television next year.

The reclusive 83-year-old filmmaker will direct his chamber play "Anna," the public service network said Wednesday.

Few details were provided, although Swedish media speculated it would be a sequel to "Scenes From a Marriage," a six-part TV series that was made into a movie in 1973.

News agency TT quoted Bergman's close friend Erland Josephson, who co-starred with Liv Ullman in "Scenes From a Marriage," as saying the two actors would play the same parts in the new production.

Bergman's film classics include "The Seventh Seal" and "Fanny and Alexander."

MPA president says keep telling stories

Filmmakers don't need to avoid sensitive topics because of last month's terrorist attacks -- as long as they tell a good story, said Motion Picture Association of America President Jack Valenti.

"I'm a great believer in making a movie that tells a story," Valenti said Wednesday. "There are only about eight plot lines since the time of Sophocles and Euripides that still endure."

He said producers of the Arnold Schwarzenegger film "Collateral Damage," in which a firefighter confronts terrorists, responded to legitimate concerns when they postponed the opening from early October. But, he noted, the film's terrorists are eventually beaten by Schwarzenegger's character.

Valenti is urging filmmakers to continue their daily routines.

"Be fearful. Be anxious. That's OK. But do your job," he said.

Valenti spoke at a trade show organized by the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce in Chantilly, Va.

Rehnquist gets plaque for weather interests

Chief Justice William Rehnquist is now an official "weather weenie."

Rehnquist was presented with a plaque Tuesday by the Washington chapter of the American Meteorological Society honoring his interest in weather and climate.

The chief justice served as a weather observer in the Army Air Corps during World War II and described his service in North Africa in a talk to the weather group. Meteorologists use the term "weather weenie" as a good-humored description of people interested in the weather.

Commenting on his decision after the war to leave meteorology and become a lawyer, Rehnquist said he likes to think the switch improved both professions.

Former first lady says fight with friendship

Barbara Bush said the war against evil must not only be fought with force, but also with generosity, love and friendship.

Echoing the words of her son, President George W. Bush, the former first lady said the best way to support the country is for everyone to renew commitments to their communities and to each other.

Her $100-a-plate appearance in Omaha, Neb., helped the American Red Cross raise money for victims of last month's attacks.

-- From wire reports