Daily News from New York, New York • 1027

cz 4o'4 "k1 i By Mike Fleming the guy who really knows studios usually dig their heels in when stars are under contracts but McCORMACK LANDS A PRIVATE' PART tr EVesh from a want to squeeze in pictures else fa season of "Murder One," Mary McCor-mack has been tapped to play the where. That was the case last year when Paramount enforced an op ''1. role of Allison Stern, wife of radio bad boy Howard Stern, in "Private Parts," Paramount's tion on Chris Farley by mak i ing him star in "Black adaptation of Stern's Sheep or best-selling book. risk a law- The film, which 1 A I suit, though some feel it will be a long time humorously traces the Sterns' being produced by Ivan Re- betore far- itman and directed by Betty Thomas, the team behind I 'AY ley does another Par pic. HBO's "The Late Shift" McCormack is a former intern at SHOCK FOR JOCK: Stem gets screen wife.

Warner on the other hand, is showing more flexibility with two stars. Case one is Wesley Snipes. After be vised reshoots of Cleese's "Fierce Creatures," the sequel to "A Fish Called Wanda." Williams last two pics, Ju-manji" and "The Birdcage," have each broken $100 million, making him hotter than ever. "Quixote" carries a $70 million price tag, and Williams will make $20 million. But if the gods cooperate, the quest of the film makers will end when Don Quixote's quest begins next March.

FIRM ADVICE FROM ROSEANNE Roseanne has managed to go from domestic goddess to business genius. After her profile in The New Yorker, she got scores of offers to do a book, even though she's already written a couple. The only idea that appealed to her is writing a book for Currency, the business-management imprint that's part of Doubleday. Sources say she's signed a seven-figure deal to write a book about women, power and satisfaction. Harriet Rubin, Currency's executive editor and director, says: "Our list is read by power brokers, and our books usually written by philosophers, poets, scientists, theologians, unique geniuses.

She belongs because I can't think of a woman who's achieved -more than Roseanne. CEOs 'can learn a lot from her." While it might seem strange for Roseanne to write a book for an imprint with expertise in management her TV show and personal life have been filled with turbulence and turnover she has managed to keep up the quality of her show. 'RENT CLIMBS UP TO SEVEN FIGURES The race to win screen rights to the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Rent" continues to intensify. Already in the fray are Warner Bros, with Joel the Gersh Agency who got into acting when she began going out on auditions. The film begins production May 2, with Stern, Robin Quivers and other fixtures of Stern's radio show are playing themselves.

A QUIXOTIC PROJECT MAY FINALLY SUCCEED" More than 30 years after Waldo Salt adapted the Miguel de Cervantes novel "Don Quixote," the film is on the verge of coming together ing booked for a $10 million payday on WB's "Executive Privilege," Snipes wanted to push forward a June start date in order to star in the Mike Figgis-directed "One Night Stand," which is coming together with Robert Downey Jr. and Nastassja Kinski as the woman who engages in the one-night stand with Snipes. WB's proven willing to TRYST SHOOT: Nastassja Kinski is to star with Wesley Snipes in -One Night Stand." with John Cleese playing the title role and Robin Williams playing his sidekick, Sancho Panza. Fred Schepisi Degrees of will direct the film starting next March in Spain. "For all of us, this goes beyond a movie," said CAA agent Jon Levin, who's worked 15 years on the project "It has been our quest" "Quixote" has long been considered one of the best scripts never made, although it's come close at least seven times, according to one person who nearly got it off the ground decades ago.

The effort to mount it seemed almost as futile as Quixote's own quest for redemption, with film makers seemingly tilting at windmills. Salt, the famed screenwriter who came off the Hollywood blacklist to write the Oscar-winning script for "Midnight Cowboy" and the Oscar-nominated nominated script for "Serpico," wrote "Quixote" in 1965. It was his passion, but he died without seeing the movie made, Over the years, cast SHE MEANS BUSINESS: Roseanne's writing about cooperate with New Line, so Snipes can make a two- power for a business publisher. him to star in "A Time to Kill." While WB could press him into immediate duty, Mc Conaughey wants to do a Uni versal remake of "Day of the Jackal," one of the hottest picture deal for "Stand," followed by the actioner "Blade," which will start right after the WB film. With three huge paydays lined up for this year, Snipes will be one happy camper in dealing with WB.

The studio's also mulling a similar request from Matthew McConaughey, who signed an option for a future -pic when Joel Schumacher and John Grisham tapped projects in town. If WB lets McConaughey do the remake, possibly with I Liam Neeson co-starring as the Jackal, McConaughay will likely return to WB a bigger star than before. Schumacher, ing combinations have Execs say making such decisions is tricky. Sometimes, everybody wins. Scott Rudin recalls the anxiety when Nathan Lane asked to post pone for a full year the Broadway bow of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum so that Lane could join Robin Williams in Danny DeVito's Jersey Films and Fox 2000.

Buzz hears that Columbia has joined in the bidding for "The Professional" director Luc Besson and that New Line is a likely participant as well. It's clear the "Rent" payment will be in the low seven Mike Nichols "The Bird nil cage." ranged from a pairing of Richard Burton and Buddy Hackett to the tandem of Williams and Sean Con-nery. It has been the passion of agents and produc-. ers, including Steven Haft, Quincy Jones and David Salzman, that's kept it go- ing. The most recent stardirector configuration fell into place because Haft, who produced "Dead Poets Society" with Williams, kept discussing the movie with the actor.

Williams has long wanted to work with Cleese and heard the English actor had also warmed to the material. "Believe me, we talked about saying no, but we were all friends, and we felt it would be morally wrong to stop him from doing that movie," said Rudin. Lane is a much bigger star 00 than last year, the show a il huge hit and Rudin got Jerry Zaks, who directs "Forum," to EXCLUSIVES NOT ALWAYS CONCLUSIVE Though it's nothing like the good' old days, Cleese, for his part, became direct "Marvin's Room." "It certainly has had a beneficial friendly with Schepisi hen the director super effect on the show," he says. BONING UP: Cleese will portray Don Quixote..