The Odessa American from Odessa, Texas • 20

fltC ODESSA AMERICAN MONDAY. October 20. 2003 Foil Mews' resident lifesralitafeiJiics-gyy r-'" NEW YORK (AP) Alan Colmes has been called an on-air punchingbag, wishy-washR a milquetoast and this. one must really hurt a conservative at heart V.And these words are from people who usually agree with I him. i You should see the e-mails he gets from.

people who don't. Wrote one disturbed fellow: "When you talk I fantasize abour shooting you. I pretend I have a pistol in my hand and shoot you all over I pretend to shoot you in the head and in your torso If you died I would celebrate." As Fox News Channel's resident liberal and half of "Hannity Colmes," Colmes must feel a kinship with Internal Revenue Service auditors, process servers or telemarketers. Conservative fans of Sean Hannity have little use for him. Liberals want to see him throw a few more haymakers, but that's hot his style.

"People say to me, 'Why don't you fight fire with he said. "You fight fire with water, not fire." Colmes' low-key manner in the face of Hannity's fire is on display in his new book, "Red, White and Liberal." Unlike political authors who snarl and bite, Colmes is nice. He writes as much to reason with conservatives as to rally liberals. t-i'i said Steve RendalL a FAIR ana-' ryst "Colmes is often giving points when he should be flght-; ing. When the chips are down, Colmes often concedes." In his best-selling book, "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them," Al Franken ridicules him, even reducing Counes' name to a smaller type size than Hannity's.

Franken imagines. Colmes having to earn his Fox News Channel salary by doing other odd jobs. "In Alan's new autobiography, "Back to You, Sean: The Alan Colmes Story' we learn that Colmes' duties as co-host of 'Hannity Colmes' include adding toner to the copiers and printers, loofah-ing Roger Ailes in his personal steam room, and ordering Chinese food for editors working on misleading video packages," Franken writes. Counes called Franken's book "very funny," but the typical liberal line. "What am I supposed to do?" he asked.

"Should I not work there because I'm a liberal and they want to paint Fox as a conservative? For them to make the argument that Fox is conservative, they have to diminish my role there." Counes, like Hannity a veteran radio personality, said some of his liberal critics misinterpret his style "Sean is a fastball pitcher," he said. "I may throw a change- up or a curveball as well as a fastball I may deal with things with a little humor sometimes. That may be perceived as weakness. I think most thinking viewers realize tlafs why our show works." He dismisses the idea that he's not on equal footing with Hannity Other people suggested him for the job not just Hannity and he wouldn't have lasted seven years if he wasn't up to it, he said. Counes' book jacket includes a blurb from former President Clinton, who writes, that Colmes "knows that facts and evidence count for more, than ideological and personal attacks." (Thanks, perhaps, for a chapter titled, "Bill Clinton, Our Greatest It drives Colmes' critics crazy though, that the jacket also includes a testimonial from Newt Gingrich that Colmes "is definitely my favorite liberal with whom to argue." Wouldn't a true liberal recoil at praise from Gingrich? FAIR cites other instances where it claims Colmes hasn't been reliably liberal: he voted for Republican Rudolph Giuliani as New York mayor, refrained from criticizing the Iraq war while in progress and supported Trent Lott during the uproar over comments that appeared to praise Strom Thurmond's pro-segregation campaign for president in 1948.

AP PHOTO room recently in New York. The political debate snow thrives as part of Fox's high-flying prime-time lineup. Fax News Channel's Alan Colmes, co-host of 'Hannity poses for a portriat at Fox's news- group Fairness and Accuracy in Media studied two weeks of "Hannity Colmes" this summer and found that between the co-hosts and their guests, conservatives spoke 2,768 lines to 2,004 for liberals. FAIR has likened Colmes to the Washington Generals, the hapless basketball team hired to lose to the Harlem Globetrotters every night "Hannity gives no quarter," Colmes' political commitment and demeanor, and suggest he's fighting a rigged battle They say Hannity is clearly the show's star; the conservative talk show host was hired first, and the show was jokingly known backstage as "Hannity Liberal to be Determined" before Colmes was selected, partly upon Hannity's recommendation. The liberal media watchdog "Hannity Colmes," meanwhile, thrives as part of Fox's high-flying prime-time lineup as other political debate shows, like CNN's "Crossfire," have faded.

"I think the American public likes to see people who like each other debate," he said. "I don't think they want to see people who want to kill each other." His liberal critics question Critics withhold awards because of 'screener' ban jflftfik Wnwt we just don't feel that we can really do our work properly" she said. Jean Oppenheimer, the president of the association, said many critics see films in theaters but use screener copies to view films again as they decide the best pictures of the year. "This really helps inform us better," said Oppenheimer, who reviews films for New Times, National Public Radio and other outlets. MPAA officials did not immediately return calls for comment Sunday say screener distribution has led to several Academy Awards for smaller films, include best actress wins for Halle Berry in 2001's "Monster's Ball" and Hilary Swank in 1999's "Boys Don't Cry." Ella Taylor, a critic for the LA Weekly suggested the cancellation and said she hoped other critics groups also would withhold awards.

She said there were many films released toward the end of the year, and that voters may not be able to see them all without screeners. "Unless they rescind the ban LOS ANGELES (AP) The Los Angeles Film Critics Association has canceled its 2003 awards to protest an industry ban on sending special DVDs and videos to award voters. The association voted Saturday not to hand out the awards, which can boost interest in a film and predict its Oscar chances. Members said they would consider resuming the awards if the studios again hand out videos and DVDs of new films. The major studios and their trade group, the Motion Picture Association of America, agreed in September to stop sending "screener" copies to the 5,600 Academy Awards voters and other groups that hand out awards, including the Los Angeles Film Critics and the National Society of Film Critics.

The studios hoped to prevent piracy but the decision angered supporters of smaller movies who say voters may miss independent pictures if they have to see them at screenings in theaters. Opponents of the ban 1 Ul v. I ii "'if I bs A-'Ste. Stk23M043 SALES PRICS H1vOOS 1 i Payment 10 Dim 60 $179 Mo 5.9 A.RH., Del. Payment 1 15,043 60.

AP PHOTO in a scene from the New IJne Cinema remake of The Texas Chainsaw in this undated photo. Actors, from left, Jessica Biel, Mike Vogel, Eric Leerhsen, Johnathan Tucker and Eric Balfour, appear i Stk23M027 I I Down Piymanl 10 pkjt TTAL, 72 $248 Mo. 5.75 A.RR.,M.Payrant$21.424.16 Texas Chainsaw Massacre' gets a $29.1 million slice of box office Stk23MO10 A if f. I. i a uown ravmern pun uown 60 $169 Mo.

4.9 A.PR., Del. Paymem $12,278. rv Stk23MO10 Down Pfitm 10 72 Moa- S2HB UD. 0 eUVK A.RPI, OH. Ptynvnt stranded in a Texas town, where they are preyed on by a clan of cannibals, including chainsaw killer Leatherface.

In its first weekend, the movie took in three times its $9.5 million production budget. Three-fourths of the audience was younger than 25, while the crowds were evenly split between men and women. Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday. North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.

Final figures will be released today Texas Chainsaw $29.1 million. 2. "Kill Bill Vol. 1," $12.5 million. 3.

"Runaway Jury," $12.1 million. 4. The School of Rock," $11.3 million. 5. "Mystic River," $10.36,.

million Good $9 million. 7. "Intolerable Cruelty," $6.9 million. 8. "Out of Time," $4.1 mil- i lion.

9. "Under the Tuscan Sun," $3.4 million. 1 10. The Rundown," $2.8 a $4,298 average in 2,815 theaters for "Runaway Jury" and a $7,059 average in 1,467 cinemas for "Mystic River." Cate Blanchett's "Veronica Guerin," in which she plays a real-life Irish journalist slain during an investigation of Dublin druglords, bombed with $603,000 in 472 theaters, averaging just $1,278. In limited release, "Sylvia" Gwyneth Paltrow's film biography of suicidal poet Sylvia Plath opened strongly with $56,132 in three theaters in New York City and Los Angeles, averaging $18,711.

"Pieces of April," a Sundance Film Festival favorite that stars Katie Holmes and Patricia Clarkson, debuted with $48,000 in six New York City. and Los Angeles theaters for an $8,000 average. The overall box office soared, with the top 12 movies grossing $105.3 million, up 43 percent from the same weekend last year, when the horror tale "The Ring" was the top movie with $15 million. "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" stars Jessica Biel as one of a group of friends LOS ANGELES (AP) Bloodshed continues to rule at theaters. "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," the remake of the 1974 horror tale that helped launch the modern slasher genre, debuted as the top weekend movie; with $29.1 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Quentin Tarantino's bloody vengeance saga "Kill Bill Vol. 1," the previous weekend's No. 1 movie, slipped to second place with $12.5 million, lifting its 10-day total to $43.3 million. The John Grisham court thriller "Runaway Jury," with Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, John Cusack and Rachel Weisz, opened in third place with $12.1 million. After a strong debut in limited release a week earlier, Clint Eastwood's "Mystic River" starring Sean Penn and Tint Robbins expand-, ed to wide release and came in at Na $10.36 mil-lion'" Playing in 3,016 "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre? Laveraged a strong $9,649 a cinema, compared to Stk23M093 i I Down Payment 10 pka TT4t, 72 Mo tZm Mo.

6 75 APR, Dat Pvfmmt $26,428. 1,3.