The Virginian-Pilot
                             THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Monday, January 2, 1995                TAG: 9412310043
SECTION: DAILY BREAK              PAGE: E6   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: - Mal Vincent
                                             LENGTH: Short :   35 lines

STARS TELL ALL ON BOSS ALTMAN

WHY IS IT that stars, big stars, will accept pay cuts just to work with Robert Altman? At a ``Pret-a-Porter'' party held at the Bulgari jewelry store in New York, everyone was willing to talk.

Lauren Bacall: ``There are no airs about Bob. He's not interested in the whole star thing. He's accessible. He's a little bit cynical, but it's wonderful.''

Rupert Everett: The movie is really about ``the biggest tragedy of our time, an obsession with camouflage. It's well known that a man, in seven months, can pump himself up into a new look. A woman can slim herself down. It can become a complete obsession.''

Anouke Aimee: ``I usually had no idea what was going on. I wanted to laugh, but I had to stay in character because I never knew where the camera might be. But I trusted Altman. What else could I do?''

Richard E. Grant: ``With Altman, every actor knows he's not going to make you look dumb. Altman makes you feel as if you're great. He puts a responsibility on the actor that no other director does.''

Sally Kellerman (the original Hot Lips in ``M*A*S*H''): ``Bob has pretty nigh ruined me. In this new picture, I have a topless scene that is an exact copy of the one I had 20 years ago in `M*A*S*H.' I said, `Bob, no one is going to pay to see me topless today.' He said the scene was necessary. I said, `But, Bob. It's humiliating.' He said, `Yes, I know.' '' by CNB