The San Francisco Examiner du lieu suivant : San Francisco, California • 245

Colics BAR GRILL OF PUERTO VALLARTA Fabulous Saturday Sunday Brunches from $3 ROOM FOR GREAT HOLIDAY PARTIES ON THE WATER In Tiburon Desde 1130 5 MAIN ST. 435-3101 'The Black Hole'-First Disney Movie Without a Rating "Do I know what a black hole is? Sure, I know what a black hole is. It's the graveyard of a star. See, a star burns up and implodes. Then crazy things happen inside, but what crazy things I don't know.

The reason I know all this, I read it in Omni Joseph Bottoms, star of Walt Disney's "The Black Hole." THEN RON MILLER, Walt Disney's son-in-law, was appointed the studio's executive vice president in charge of production in 1976, he realized that Disney pictures had limited, appeal. Sure, the moppets were flocking to see "Escape from Witch Mountain" and "The Apple Dumpling Gang," but there was a vast audience of movie-goers 13 to 30 who were not. Yet these were the faithful cinema lovers who were rushing to see "Star Wars" over and over again. Maybe, Miller decided, it was time to expand the Disney horizons. What Miller had in mind was to encompass the Universe.

His dream was a science-fiction extravaganza that would blend the episodic action and stunning visual splendors of "Star Wars" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." (During his pre-production, "Star Trek-The Motion Picture" was still in a state of uncertain flux.) Miller hired Peter Ellenshaw to handle the elaborate special effects and matte work; he chose Gary Nelson (fresh from his TV success "Washington: Behind Closed to direct; he picked Maximilian Schell to portray Dr. Hans Reinhardt, an eccentric scientist lost in space aboard the research vessel Cygnus. Other space adventurers ultimately sucked into a hole in space were Anthony Perkins as astro-physicist Dr. Alex Durant; Robert Forster as Captain Dan Holland, pilot and commander of the search craft Palomino; Joseph Bottoms as Lieutenant Charles Pizer, first officer of the Palomino; Yvette Mimieux as astrogeophysicist Dr. Kate McCrae; and Ernest Borgnine as space newshound Harry Booth.

Miller's central theme was the Black Hole of Space, a theory among astronomers that when a star dies it becomes a compressed mass, where possibly the laws of physics cease to exist as we know them. Anything might be possible, including time and space phenomena. Miller, who wound up as producer of the project, insisted that the screenplay by Jeb Rosebrook and Gerry Day deal with some of these wild premises. Twenty million dollars and several years later the result is "The Black Hole," which opens Friday at the Stonestown and other Bay Area theaters. Historically, it is the first Disney film not to carry a rating.

Because, of violence between man and robot during a laser Datebook, Sunday, Dec. 16, 1979 A GIANT SPACE STATION ORBITS THE BLACK HOLE MOVIES Joseph Bottoms in a lead role By John Stanley battle, and because of a few well-seasoned "hells" and "damns" sprinkled throughout the soundtrack, the MPAA ruled that "Black Hole" could be seen by the world under a PG rating. Thus, Miller hopes to reach that audience of 13 to 30 movie-goers. JOSEPH BOTTOMS was having dinner in the Carnellian Room on the top floor of the Bank of America building. He appeared fidgety when I first saw him because he wanted to sit at the far end of the table for a better view of the city, but several Buena Vista executives had already claimed those chairs.

So, Bottoms contented himself with a view of his bride, Del, whom he married in October. Bottoms, who was obviously very much in love at the moment, displayed a boyish quality as well. He had no inhibitions about clowing to break the ice. When he later signed his photograph, he penned pointed horns atop his head, drew an arrow through his brain, painted on bushy eyebrows and added fangs to his mouth. "Look," he explained proudly, placing his fingertips on the tablecloth.

"I finally stopped biting my nails. Del helped me to overcome myself after years of nibbling." Del, an attractive woman at least a decade Joseph's senior, looked wistfully across the table. "Not only is it bad for your fingers," she remarked, "but it's bad for your teeth." "Yes," added Bottoms, "it breaks down the porcelain. I don't know why I didn't stop sooner. I've always been embarrassed about it.

When I was making 'Black Hole' there was a close-up of my hand and I kept curling my fingers inward so the camera wouldn't pick up the ugly-looking nails." I asked Bottoms if making a film at the Disney Studio differed from any other film. He nodded emphatically. "No doubt about it. It's a family enterprise. I couldn't believe that I was standing on Stage 3 where they'd made Leagues Under the Sea' 25 years ago.

You see, I've always loved Disney pictures. I saw them all as a kid. After reading in Variety that Disney was planning a big science-fiction picture, my agent and I approached Disney's casting director, Bill Shepard. At that time the project was called 'Space Probe I did everything I could to convince Shepard, because damn it, I wanted to be in a movie. I even did some talk shows to let him see different sides to my personality.

It was the first time I 1 See Page 28 A SECOND POPULAR THE HAS DEMAND ADDED StuN 7:30 JAN. SUNDAY PM 6 DECATHLON plus special guest THE cow WITH THE PALACE HIT SINGLE "BABE" SATURDAY, Tickets: BASS and and $8.50 the Cow San Palace Jose box office $10.00 day outlets; of also show Macys JANUARY FOREIGNER Rick DERRINGER April WiNE FRIDAY JANUARY 11 8 PM Oakland Coliseum Tickets: $8.50 day of show AI BASS and Coliseum outlets Tickets avallable at all BASS oullets Including 1333 Columbus SE, most Bullocks, most Record Factory Stores, Eucalyptus Records and the BASS Ticket office, 362 22nd Street, Oakland For more Information, call 44 916 962-0314 or 707 527 9393 -To charge lickets by phone. call 415 835-4342 or 408 297-7552 All.lickets subject to service charge WATCH OUT FOR COUNTERFEIT TICKETSI BUY ONLY FROM AN AUTHORIZED TICKET AGENCY. BILL GRAHAM PRESENTS PAGE 25.