Talking Has Never Been a Problem for Her

On Tuesday, the same day that ABC will air the finale of her popular series “Roseanne,� the actress is scheduled to hold a press conference to announce a deal for a new syndicated daytime talk show. The five-day-a-week gabfest will be produced by King World, which produces the top-rated “Oprah Winfrey Show,� and will start around the fall of 1998. The announcement comes as other stars trumpet their intentions to enter the talk-show arena with entertainment-oriented programs similar to “The Rosie O’Donnell Show� and “Live With Regis and Kathie Lee.� Comedian Howie Mandel is preparing a 1998 talk show for Paramount, and Meshach Taylor, formerly of “Dave’s World� and “Designing Women,� is close to a deal with MGM. Meanwhile, Winfrey, the queen of the talk shows, is hinting that she may want to bow out of the daytime arena around the time that Roseanne is preparing to come in. Winfrey released a statement Friday that said she is committed to hosting and producing her show through the 1997-1998 season but will decide by this September whether she wants to continue beyond the fall of 1998. Winfrey has a contract through 2000, but it contains an escape clause that would allow her to quit two years early, and she said in interviews last week that she doesn’t know if she has enough “ways to speak to the country� to stay on much longer.

How to Fight a Dinosaur? With Romance

“Addicted to Love� is a light romantic comedy starring Meg Ryan and Matthew Broderick as spurned lovers who team up to spy on their exes and embark on a diabolical plan of revenge. It might seem like a diabolical plan conceived by the film’s distributor, Warner Bros., to open the film Friday against Universal Pictures’ “The Lost World: Jurassic Park.� “People’s reactions were, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s so sad,’ and I was kind of despondent about it when I first heard the idea,� said “Addicted� director Griffin Dunne. “But, we’ll be the very first [romantic comedy] out this summer. Ours is a definite alternative--assuming that the dinosaurs don’t fall in love with each other.� Originally scheduled to open in mid-April, “Addicted� was intentionally positioned against the dinos in an effort to carve out a distinct niche as a date movie. It’s also the first out of the pack of about 20 romantic comedies due this summer in a season most notable for its plethora of high-budget action and special effects-laden film extravaganzas. “It doesn’t make any difference if it comes out May 23 or June 15,� said Dunne. “It’s a brutal summer. There’s a huge glut in the market anyway. So, let the chips fall where they may.�

Reunion Isn’t Just a Rumour Anymore

Will a Fleetwood Mac reunion be able to match the spectacular success of the Eagles’ regrouping? The music industry will get an early indication this week when Fleetwood Mac’s most successful lineup launches its comeback with a pair of shows that will be taped for MTV. Lindsey Buckingham, Christine McVie, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood and Stevie Nicks will gather Thursday and Friday at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank to perform full-length concerts together for the first time since 1982. The performance will air in early August and provide the material for a live album that is due later that month. The album, in turn, will be followed by a full-scale tour. A chart rival of the Eagles in the late ‘70s, when its “Rumours� album became one of the all-time sales leaders, Fleetwood Mac is hoping to generate the same kind of financial windfall the Eagles did when they reunited in 1993 for an album and two-year world tour. Industry observers, however, are skeptical that the new Mac can reach that level because, unlike the Eagles, the band has remained active over the years despite the loss of key members, perhaps tarnishing its image. “This tour will do well playing amphitheaters,� says Gary Bongiovanni, editor in chief of the trade publication Pollstar. “But it’s not going to be a stadium act, and it’s not going to be something that people are going to pay $100 to see, like the Eagles.� Still, adds Bongiovanni, “unless they really overprice the tickets, that’s a group that’s going to appeal greatly to the aging baby boomer generation.�

How Long Should a Hollywood Workday Be?

On Tuesday and Wednesday, members of International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees, the union representing many Hollywood workers, will meet with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers for their quarterly meeting in Palm Springs. Of particular interest to many union members is a motion to limit the number of hours worked daily on the production sets of film and television shows to 14 in the wake of the March fatal car accident of 35-year-old assistant camera operator Brent Hershman after a grueling 19-hour workday on a film set. “Brent’s Rule,� as the petition has come to be known, has drawn more than 10,000 signatures, has been endorsed by the Screen Actors Guild and has spurred the establishment of a Directors Guild committee to examine safety issues. The quarterly meetings were set up to resolve issues during the course of a contract, encouraging mediation rather than opening up contracts. Therefore, it is unlikely that the current contract--which runs through 2000--will be reopened for the workday issue, but an amendment could be added or other concessions made, said a union representative.