Web posted on:
Monday, March 15, 1999 2:48:43 PM EST

• English exhibit features Hitchcockian art
• Scott-Thomas to preside over Cannes
• Affleck says he was no prize date
• McConaughey lets novelty be his guide
• 'Baywatch' still seeks its own sandbox

Hitchcock

OXFORD, England (CNN) -- Oxford's Museum of Modern Art will pay tribute to director Alfred Hitchcock with an exhibit inspired by his films.

Hitchcock would have been 100 this year. The museum hopes to explore his influence on contemporary art with the exhibit, which will be named "Notorious," after Hitchcock's 1946 thriller.

The museum has commissioned and selected work by 12 contemporary artists who are inspired by Hitchcock and who explore the themes that obsessed him -- most notably fear -- in his works.

"We think it will be a unique celebration of Hitchcock in this centennial year of his birth," said Kerry Brougher, the museum's director.

Hitchcock directed "The Man Who Knew Too Much," "Spellbound," "North by Northwest," "Vertigo" and "Psycho," among other films. The exhibit will run from July to early October, then travel worldwide.

Scott-Thomas

PARIS (CNN) -- British actress Kristin Scott-Thomas ("The English Patient") will preside at next month's Cannes film festival.

Scott-Thomas will lead the film festival's opening and closing ceremonies, French television network Canal Plus announced Monday. The network will broadcast the ceremonies live.

She follows French actress Isabelle Huppert, who had the same task last year.

The festival runs from May 12-23. The master of ceremonies will be formally named April 22.

Affleck

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Movie stardom has made Ben Affleck one of the most sought-after men in show business. But he says it wasn't always that way.

"As a kid, I was the kind of guy who got dumped a lot," says Affleck, who told Cosmopolitan magazine he was a gangly, clumsy teen in an interview appearing in the magazine's April issue.

"I'm definitely amused at seeing my love life on the evening news," the 26-year-old actor, unattached again after romancing "Shakespeare in Love" co-star Gwyneth Paltrow, admits.

His other credits include "Chasing Amy," "Armageddon" and "Good Will Hunting," the script for which earned Affleck and co-star Matt Damon an Academy Award.

McConaughey

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Matthew McConaughey let his oddball streak guide him through an audition for his new movie, "EdTV."

McConaughey spilled a soft drink during the tryout for the part of a fame-hungry goofball -- then rather than wiping it up with a towel, he bent down and slurped it off the tabletop.

"I'm always trying to buck the system," McConaughey told the New York Daily News. "I love being goofy. It turns out I'm most happy when I'm that way, and people like me the most when I'm that way."

In "EdTV," the 29-year-old McConaughey's character lets a camera crew follow him around 24 hours a day -- an exercise that teaches him about fame's flip side. McConaughey said his personal philosophy fit perfectly into the premise.

"Something I've learned about this business is that the more you can be yourself, the better," he said. "There's only one of you, so you're a novelty."

"Baywatch"

HONOLULU (CNN) -- "Baywatch" is up against a deadline to find a new home, but the show's creator says no deal is imminent to move the television surf opera from California to Hawaii.

Hawaii is still a top choice to become the show's new home, said Greg Bonann, now the show's executive producer. Queensland, Australia businessmen withdrew their offer to host the show Saturday.

"I really need to make a decision," he told The Associated Press. "The Hawaii deal is not closed. There are a lot of contingencies hanging out there."

"Baywatch" has become a syndicated hit, featuring David Hasselhoff and a contingent of buff and busty lifeguards for 10 seasons. The first episode of the fall season of "Baywatch" must be delivered to distributors by September, Bonann said.

Reuters contributed to this report.