FLASHES

The Pope Smokes Dope

Jesus Christ Superstar is gonna be a movie! The film version will be directed and produced by Norman Jewison of Fiddler on the Roof, (and he’s a Methodist!) In the Heat of the Night and Russians are Coming fame. Filming begins August 10th in Israel, “where Jesus walked." Jewison says about his next “definitive dramatic work.”

Academy Award winning Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland star in another film together. This one is about the revplutionary Melvilles — former Gautamalan missionaries who left the religious life, got married and got arrested with the Catonville Nine.

Also playing a nun is . .. Raquel Welch, who teams up with Richard Burton in Bluebeard, now shooting in Budapest. She’s murdered by Bluebeard Burton whose fantasy sequence includes a six second flash of Sister Raquel’s plunging neckline. The scene may be dropped from the picture.

Blessed be The Godfather for he shall inherit millions. $26,000,815 to be exact in the first 26 days. Wall St. was jolted by Gulf & Western (Paramount Picture’s parent); shares are up 4.25 and trading had to be suspended twice because of heavy buy orders and soaring interest. The historic smash movie is slated to take the alltime No. 1 position, exceeding Gone With the Wind, Sound of Music and Paramourit’s other killer — Love Story.

The new U.S. - Soviet Union Cultural Exchange Pact has eliminated the U.S. State Dept’s advisory role. In the former agreement, the State Dept, discouraged American motion picture companies from selling films to Russia which could be used as anti-American propaganda. This year Little Big Man, The Chase and Funny Girl (the only approved movie) will be sold to the USSR.

New York Police Department lost its legal battle with Eddie Egan, supporting actor in Best Picture of the Year The French Connection. The force had fired and denied him a $7,000 a year pension for alleged “departmental infractions.” Now a full time actor, Egan is working on Badge 373 (his old badge number).

Stanley Kubrick recently wrote a letter to The Detroit News condemning their controversial refusal to accept advertising and reviews of X-rated films. Joining The News in the purification program is The Cleveland Plain Dealer. In an editorial The Detroit News responded to Clockwork Orange’s director: (among other blasts) “Trying to justify his position in terms of freedom of expression, Kubrick made a preposterous allusion to censorship in Nazi Germany. Such an example does not fit the issue unless to allow that Hitler would be pleased with screen glorification of violence and human indignity.” The same MPAA code they charge “is weak and unsatisfactory” is the same rating system they’ve used to justify their policy.