Celebrity Autographs And Celebrity Addresses

Wrapping up the Academy Awards for another year ...

Neither "The Sea Inside" nor "Born into Brothels" - which won, respectively, in the foreign language and documentary feature category - has played Hampton Roads yet. But the Kimball Theatre in Williamsburg will screen both films in April, with "Born into Brothels" opening on April 9 and "The Sea Inside" on April 23. The Naro Expanded Cinema in Norfolk plans to feature "Born into Brothels" in its next Non-Fiction in Film series, which starts in May. The Naro also could book "The Sea Inside" later in the spring.

When Cate Blanchett won for her portrayal of Katharine Hepburn in "The Aviator," why did no one point out this fascinating distinction: Blanchett is the first performer ever to win an Academy Award for portraying a person who had won an Oscar in real life? (Hepburn, of course, won a record four statuettes in acting categories.)

With that in mind, here's a trivia question to stump your friends: Before Blanchett, who was the only performer ever to win for portraying a real-life Oscar nominee? The answer: Jason Robards, who won the supporting actor category in 1977 for playing Dashiell Hammett in "Julia." Hammett was nominated in 1944 for his screenplay for "Watch on the Rhine."

The reviews were mixed for Chris Rock's performance as Oscar host. Overall, the ratings were down about 5 percent from last year, but the numbers were up among younger viewers and among viewers in the nation's bigger cities, and the drop in ratings was smaller than the drop seen earlier this year for the Grammys and the Golden Globes.

INDIE FILM SEMINAR

Don't forget that representatives of Cavalier Films will be at the Kimball Theatre at 7 tonight for a discussion of how independent films are made and financed. There is no admission charge.

The Charlottesville company, run by Barry Sisson and Marc Lieberman, specializes in films shot in the state of Virginia on budgets between $500,000 and $800,000. For more information, call (877) 974-7444 or go online at cavalierfilms .com.

SECOND COMING

"The Passion of the Christ" will return to about 750 theaters across the nation next weekend as part of a plan to re-release the film every Easter season. At least one local theater - AMC Hampton Towne Centre 24 - has confirmed its booking, and others may follow. The "Passion" that will arrive on March 11 is a new version of the film that created such a sensation last year. Director Mel Gibson has cut about seven minutes of the goriest violence, though presumably the film will still receive an R-rating.

WESTERNS

The Williamsburg Film Festival is scheduled for Wednesday-March 12 at the Holiday Inn Patriot Center. This annual event, which focuses on the culture surrounding the old B-Westerns, has grown to become one of the best of its kind in the United States. The festival includes movies, TV shows, serials, music and memorabilia related to classic Westerns. Many performers and actors will be on hand to tell stories and sign autographs. For more information, go online to williamsburgfilmfestival.org.

NARO NEWS

The Naro in Norfolk has started its Psycho Cinema series on Tuesday nights, focusing on films that explore the nature of the pathological mind. The next two weeks will feature "Undertow" on Tuesday and "The Woodsman" on March 15. "The Woodsman" got a lot of advance notice but failed to get a wide release when Kevin Bacon did not get an Oscar nomination. This could be its only local screening.

The Naro is also sponsoring a new event - The Visual Vocabulary of Film, a six-week seminar meeting every Wednesday night (starting Wednesday) that will use clips of classic films to show how great directors and cinematographers use visual style and images to create a universal language. The screenings will be held at The Studio for Healing Arts, one block north of the Naro. Seminar fee is $75. For more information, call 625-6275.

'ROBOTS' ON IMAX

Don't forget that the new animated film "Robots" opens next week on the 3-D IMAX screen at the Virginia Air & Space Center, the same day it opens in theaters nationwide. Advance tickets for the IMAX feature are on sale at the museum's front desk or by phone at 727-0900, extension 703.

'SMILE'

Writer-director Jeffrey Kramer will be at Regent University in Virginia Beach tonight for a private screening of his new film "Smile," based on a real-life story involving Operation Smile. The film -which stars Beau Bridges, Sean Astin, Linda Hamilton and Cheri Oteri - opens nationally on April 8. Tonight's screening is not open to the public; it is a private screening for staff members at Operation Smile staff members and Regent University.