DATE: Thursday, July 17, 1997               TAG: 9707170097

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E1   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: BONKO IN HOLLYWOOD

SOURCE: LARRY BONKO
DATELINE: PASADENA, CALIF.                  LENGTH:   80 lines

MOVIES HIGHLIGHT PLANS AT FAM DAYTIME PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN ENVISIONED BY 1998

WHILE LAWYERS and accountants put the finishing touches on Rupert Murdoch's $1.7 billion purchase of Virginia Beach-based International Family Entertainment, it is business as usual for The Family Channel.

So said Tony Thomopoulos before a gathering of more than 200 TV writers who are here in Pasadena to preview the fall season. Thomopoulos heads MTM, which supplies original programming to The Family Channel. The channel and MTM are included in Fox Kids Worldwide Network's deal to buy IFE.

Thomopoulos, who in his TV career has been the No. 1 man at ABC and helped develop ``ER'' for NBC, said he expects The Family Channel to program for children daily from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. starting in the fall of 1998. FAM's prime time schedule will likely remain as it is today - some vintage re-runs such as ``Hawaii Five-0,'' some original films, a bit of The Three Stooges and recycled Johnny Carson.

``That's the current thinking,'' Thomopoulos said.

He said he expects the deal with Fox to be closed in 30 to 45 days.

As he waits for the sale of IFE to be finalized, Thomopoulos is going ahead with three film projects: ``Mother Teresa: In the Name of God's Poor,'' starring Geraldine Chaplin; a Jaclyn Smith movie, ``Married to a Stranger''; and Connie Sellecca in ``Doomsday Rock.''

With the Fox-IFE sale closing fast and the possibility that MTM will be absorbed by the huge Fox organization, it's anybody's guess how much longer Thomopoulos will be in his current job. He sounds like a man wondering about his future.

``I'm here today. Today is today. We'll find out about tomorrow tomorrow,'' he said.

Thomopoulos also speculated that Fox will rename The Family Channel - that ``Fox'' will be in there somewhere. Fox Family, perhaps?

``The name is under discussion now,'' he said.

The Fox-IFE marriage was one of two stories of local interest circulating as the cable portion of the Television Critics Association press tour was winding down. The Hollywood Reporter reports that Paxson Communications Corp. has paid $75 million for the Travel Channel, owned by Landmark Communications, with headquarters in Norfolk, and intends to change the programming to make it more like A&E and Discovery.

While it's no surprise that Sellecca and Smith have committed to FAM films - they've been big names on the small screen for years - it was a bit of a stunner to hear Thomopoulos announce that the saintly Mother Teresa is involved in a TV project.

And she is involved, said Thomopoulos.

``Very much so. Any changes that were made in the script's dialogue or changes in story points had to be cleared with her,'' he said. ``This script is the truly authorized version of Mother Teresa's story - authorized by Mother Teresa herself.''

Chaplin said she has no idea why the producer, Robert Halmi Sr., chose her for the role. ``My agent called me and said I have a part for you. It's Mother Teresa,'' she said.

They have never met - nun and actress.

``I have really identified her as a woman, a rebel and a fighter,'' said Chaplin, who is Charlie Chaplin's daughter.

Of that, she said: ``It's always been a blessing. Doors were opened to me. Because people loved my father so much, it made things easier for me. He's a shadow that I never want to lose.''

Smith and Sellecca appear in films more like what you'd expect in prime time these days. ``Doomsday Rock'' is about - can you guess? - asteroids that menace Earth.

``There are 100 million objects flying around in space, and at any given moment, any one of them may hit Earth,'' said Sellecca, who's obviously been briefed by astronomers.

Smith's film is about a wife and mother who loses her memory in an accident. This is the Jaclyn Smith who once co-starred with Farrah Fawcett in ``Charlie's Angels'' - the same Farrah who's lately been acting ditzy on talk shows.

Of Fawcett, Smith said: ``She's a good friend of mine and a talented actress. I have not seen what's been going on with her - not been watching her on television. Maybe she's playing a role out there.''

One of Charlie's angels and Mother Teresa. That FAM of the future in prime time. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

Geraldine Chaplin stars in ``Mother Teresa...''

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