December 22, 2000

BROTHER'S BUYOUT ENDS WINSTON FAMILY FEUD

The feud between Ron and Bruce Winston is officially over. The sons of legendary jeweler Harry Winston have settled their long-running dispute - which ended in a lawsuit and accusations...

VULTURES CIRCLING ; WITH $3.2B VALUE, XEROX LOOKS LIKE TAKEOVER TARGET

With Xerox rapidly running out of money and posting big losses, vulture funds and rivals are starting to circle the weakened giant in search of a cheap deal. Analysts say...

SONY CHAIRMAN NIXES ANY DEAL WITH NAPSTER

Add Sony to the list of major music labels not interested in joining the Napster alliance. Sony Corp. Chairman Nobuyuki Idei said Bertelsmann's now-infamous handshake with the renegade song-swapping service...

NEW NYSE FLOOR WILL BE PUTTTIN' ON THE GLITZ

The proposed new Stock Exchange trading facility will be bringing an eyeful of Times Square to Wall Street, The Post has learned. At least one outer wall of the 230-foot-tall...

CLIVE CALDER TO THE RESCUE: ZOMBA CHIEF COULD SEAL MUSIC MERGER

The EMI and BMG mega-music merger could be in the hands of one man: Clive Calder. The chairman and CEO of Zomba, the largest independent music group in the world...

HANKS IS SEE-WORTHY

CAST AWAY Tom Hanks is amazing as a man stranded on a South Pacific island. One of the year's best.Running time: 143 minutes. Rated PG-13 (life-threatening situations). At the Empire,...

'MIRTH' DOESN'T BRING DOWN THE HOUSE

THE HOUSE OF MIRTH 1/2 Gillian Anderson meets Edith Wharton. A real snoozefest.Running time: 140 minutes. Rated: PG (discreet references to adultery). At the Paris, 58th Street and Fifth Avenue....

STATE-OF-ART MAMET

STATE AND MAIN 1/2 Film crew invades small town. Hilarious sweet and sour David Mamet comedy.Running time: 102 minutes. Rated R (profanity, nudity). At the Empire, the Lincoln Plaza, the...

KILLING IN THE RAIN & SNOW

NOWHERE TO HIDE 1/2 A bloody, visually stunning neo-noir action flick from South Korea that chronicles the police manhunt for a vicious killer.In Korean, with English subtitles. Running time: 110...

DREAMY BIOPIC FALLS SHORT

BEFORE NIGHT FALLS 1/2 Beautiful and well-acted but dreamy biopic of Cuban poet Reinaldo Arenas.In English and Spanish with English subtitles. Running time: 133 minutes. Rated R (sex, nudity, profanity)....

A 'MAN' FOR NO SEASON

THE FAMILY MAN Yule cringe at this latest "It's a Wonderful Life" rip-off.Running time: 125 minutes. Rated: PG-13 (suggestive situations, mild profanity). At the E-Walk, the Beekman, the Kips Bay,...

BEAUTY AND THE ITALIAN BEACH

MALENA 1/2 Tale of a victimized beauty in wartime Sicily.In Italian, with English subtitles. Running time: 94 minutes. Rated: R (violence, naked breasts). Opens Monday at the Angelika and the...

'HORSES' PRETTY BUT TALE'S DISAPPOINTING AND LAME

ALL THE PRETTY HORSES Pretty and well-acted, but pulls up lame.Running time: 116 minutes. Rated PG-13 (discreet sexuality, profanity). Opens Monday at the E Walk, the Lincoln Square, the Union...

WHEN THE KING OF FRANCE COMES TO DINNER

VATEL Lavish but cold and uninvolving film about the rise and fall of a 17th century catering genius.Running time: 102 minutes. Rated: PG-13 (violence). Opens Monday at the E. 82d...

THE 395-YEAR-OLD MAN

MR. RICE'S SECRET THIS is an earnest, well-meaning film about a mysterious, centuries-old William Rice - played by none other than David Bowie - who befriends a 12-year-old boy (Bill...

CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS STRIKES TV-LIKE TONE

THIRTEEN DAYS Tense retelling of the Cuban Missile Crisis, as seen through the eyes of a JFK aide played by Kevin Costner. Basically a very good TV movie.Running time: 145...

'MONTY' MEETS THE 3 STOOGES

AN EVERLASTING PIECESalesmen get wiggy in war-torn Belfast. A surprising laugh riot from Barry Levinson.Running time: 105 minutes. Rated: R (profanity). At the Lincoln Square, Broadway and 68th Street. DIRECTOR...

PAGEANT TALE IS NO BEAUT

MISS CONGENIALITY Sandra Bullock's comic talents are wasted by saggy, formulaic material.Running time: 109 minutes. Rated: PG-13 (mild violence). At the Loews Kips Bay, the Loews Orpheum, the Empire, others....

ROGERS AND HEART ; CELEBRATING 40 YEARS IN MUSIC, KENNY IS BACK WITH HIS CHRISTMAS SHOW

WITH four Grammys, 59 albums - including his new release "There You Go Again" - and total sales of more than 100 million records, Kenny Rogers could fill a small...

CLOONEY'S AT HIS BEST IN COEN FLICK

O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? Easy-going, comic tale of escaped convicts in Depression-era South, loosely inspired by Homer's "Odyssey."Running time: 106 minutes. Rated:PG-13. (violence). At the LincolnSquare and the Union...

A PEON'S GUIDE TO SURVIVING IN TINSELTOWN

SO you're thinking of chasing your dream to Hollywood?A flip through an irreverent new book by former showbiz assistants Bill Robinson and Ceridwen Morris should knock those stars from your...

ROCK FAN-ADDICTS ; POP'S CRAZIEST PEOPLE ARE PROBABLY IN THE AUDIENCE

"Fan Club" Tonight at 10 VH1 IWAS once a guest on "Politically Incorrect" with Gene Simmons of KISS. He was so breathtakingly fast that I looked like I was sitting...

JUDGE JERRY IS BAILING OUT

JUDGE Jerry Sheindlin is retiring from "The People's Court" after hosting the syndicated court show for two seasons. He will be replaced by a Miami judge, Marilyn Milian, who was...

THE STARR REPORT

CNN changes? Sources say CNN White House Correspondent John King could be leaving the network when his contract expires early next year. King was unavailable for comment. Meanwhile, NBC-owned Ch....

'REQUIEM' MAY BRING BURSTYN AN OSCAR NOD

ACTRESS Ellen Burstyn, who yesterday won a Golden Globe nod for her harrowing depiction of a Coney Island mother addicted to diet pills in the controversial film "Requiem for a...

COOKIES TO MAKE SANTA JEALOUS

ABOUT this time each year The Post newsroom turns into an unofficial sweet shop, as endless gift boxes of cookies, cakes, candy and popcorn from kind associates find their way...

EARTH'S FUTURE HAS EX-BEATLE GENTLY WEEPING

Ex-Beatle George Harrison is so worried about the Earth that he's jokingly considering calling his next album "Your Planet is Doomed - Volume One." "Basically, I think the planet is...

BRIT HOSTAGES' ORDEAL ENDS IN COLOMBIA

Two Britons who were kidnapped in Colombia's jungle while hunting for wild orchids have been released unhurt after nine months, officials in Bogota said yesterday. Paul Winder, 29, and Tom...

DAD FAILS TO GET U.S. SON FROM CUBA

The father in the "reverse Elian" case returned to Florida from Cuba yesterday without his 5-year-old son - preparing for a long court fight to get the boy back. "My...

TENOR'S KIDS ARE HIS MOST BRUTAL CRITICS

Millions of Andrea Bocelli fans would do anything to have the famed Italian tenor do a live concert in their homes - but not his kids. Bocelli said his children...

TENANTS IN TIZZY OVER NEW RENT RULES

ALBANY - The state unveiled new rent and eviction regulations yesterday that immediately left angry tenant groups promising a lawsuit. State Division of Housing & Community Renewal Commissioner Joseph Lynch...

BUSH QUITS DAY JOB, TAPS 2 MORE: FLAKE SEEN STILL IN THE RUNNING FOR EDUCATION

WASHINGTON - President-elect Bush resigned yesterday as Texas governor and picked two other governors, Christie Whitman of New Jersey and Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin, to join his Cabinet, sources said....

TENANTS IN A TIZZY OVER STATE'S NEW RENT RULES

ALBANY - The state unveiled new rent and eviction regulations yesterday that immediately left angry tenant groups promising a lawsuit. State Division of Housing & Community Renewal Commissioner Joseph Lynch...

MAN SLAIN AFTER SHOOTING 2 COPS

A New Jersey man went beserk after arguing with his mom yesterday and ran through his neighborhood firing a shotgun - critically wounding two cops before being shot to death...

OSCAR LOOKS LIKE TWO-WAY RACE

CAN "Gladiator" beat the "Traffic" at Oscar time? Five Golden Globe nominations for each picture put them at the head of the pack in an Oscar derby that seems a...

HOW TO PLAY THE STOCKING MARKET

In this city, mantles from which to hang Christmas stockings are a hot commodity and hard to come by. But, rest assured, filling stockings with goodies is a tradition most...

DOUGLAS AND ZETA-JONES IN BRIDAL SUIT

Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas have been given the green light to sue the magazine that printed unauthorized photos of their wedding. The High Court in Britain ruled yesterday that...

RUSSIA BIDS TO IMPORT NUKE RUBBISH FOR RUBLES

Russian legislators yesterday voted to create a lucrative but highly controversial new industry - accepting other nations' nuclear waste. Supporters said the program could bring in $20 billion over 10...

IMMATERIAL MOM MARRIED TO A MOB OF PHOTOGRAPHERS

MY assaulted senses find this difficult to believe. But scant weeks after Michael Douglas and his post-partum paramour shattered all records of nuptial tastelessness - down to employing their infant...

PINK-SLIP PARTY GREAT PLACE TO .COMMISERATE

IT WAS a holiday extravaganza typical of the eccentrics in dot-com land. The place: a splashy bar in the heart of Chelsea. The day: a work night, of course, because...

'SEX' STAR: W. WILL MAKE ME 'RELATIVE-LY' POOR

Deep-pocketed "Sex and the City" star Sarah Jessica Parker has come out swinging at George W. Bush - claiming her family may soon be in the poorhouse if the president-elect...

'BULL' HIT WITH NEW RAP IN ARIZ. DRUG OPERATION

Mob canary Salvatore "Sammy Bull" Gravano has been hit with more charges alleging that he was the godfather of an ecstasy ring in Arizona. A new state grand jury indictment...

EX-COP FEERICK GETS EARLY GIFT: HER LAW LICENSE

Christmas just keeps getting better for ex-NYPD Lt. Patricia Feerick. The former cop, granted clemency by Gov. Pataki last year in time for Christmas, received a new gift this week:...

ISRAEL SEES A SURPRISE PEACE DEAL

JERUSALEM - Israel and the Palestinians could reach a breakthrough peace accord by tomorrow after major new concessions by Prime Minister Ehud Barak and a helping push from President Clinton,...

CITY FACES $5B BUDGET GAP ; GIULIANI WARNS UNIONS NOT TO COUNT ON ANY BIG RAISES

Two fiscal monitors warned the city yesterday to tighten its budget belt, saying New York faces budget gaps as large as $5 billion in each of the next three years....

'GLADIATOR' IS FIGHTING 'TRAFFIC' IN OPEN FIELD

There's no hot and heavy favorite headed for a spectacular Academy Awards sweep this year, if Oscar's little brother the Golden Globes are any indication. The coveted-in-their-own-right Globes unveiled their...

'TOUGH TIME' FOR BROTHER IN REHAB

LOS ANGELES - While Madonna celebrates her wedding at a fairy-tale Scottish castle, her booze-plagued brother will be having a day that is more Dickens than Disney. Martin Ciccone, a...

THUG'S RANDOM PUNCH KILLS MAN OUTSIDE CLUB

A mystery attacker ambushed a mild-mannered paralegal as he left a Manhattan strip club - delivering a fatal punch to the back of his head for no apparent reason, police...

PROBE: PRINCIPAL DIDN'T COVER UP QNS. MOLEST CASE

Security lapses cited.Schools Investigator Ed Stancik cleared a Queens elementary-school principal yesterday of covering up reports of an intruder who later returned and molested four children in a case that...

COURT CLEARS A GABBY RABBI IN DIVORCE MESS

A Brooklyn appeals court, reversing a landmark decision, has ruled a rabbi broke no vow when he revealed an Orthodox Jewish woman's secrets to her husband - who then used...

TODAY IS THE BIG 'UNVEILING' ; ROCCO'S BAPTISM BEGINS FESTIVITIES

Here comes the bride - Madonna will walk down the aisle today in her second march to the altar. A guest list that includes Gwyneth Paltrow and Rupert Everett will...

FEDS: FINANCE BIG DUPED CLIENTS WITH '3RD-GRADE' FORGERY

A beleaguered money manager was busted yesterday on charges he lost $71 million of his clients' money and then tried to cover it up with childish cheating tricks. Michael Smirlock,...

RUDY AND DONNA PLAY TUG-OF-WAR FOR $IZABLE HAUL

Mayor Giuliani's 16-year marriage has headed south, but his family's finances have remained on a steady upward spiral - thanks to Donna Hanover's acting and broadcast career. While the mayor's...

FURIOUS AL: TIMES HIT ME WHERE I LIVE

The Rev. Al Sharpton says he has no secrets when it comes to his finances - but it's a different story when you talk about where he lives. The civil-rights...

N.J. MAN SLAIN AFTER SHOOTING TWO COPS

A New Jersey man went berserk after arguing with his mom yesterday - running through his neighborhood, firing a shotgun and critically wounding two cops before he was shot to...

RUDY RIPS LEVY BID FOR MORE 'BILINGUAL' BUCKS

Mayor Giuliani quickly jumped on Schools Chancellor Harold Levy's call to spend $75 million more to reform bilingual education programs. "I didn't see this as a more-money issue. I saw...

COURT UNPLUGS EX'S BID TO ZAP GE BIG

The Connecticut Supreme Court yesterday said marital-rights advocate Lorna Wendt went too far in trying to pad her $20 million divorce settlement - and refused to hear an appeal that...

$2B DEAL FOR ROCK CENTER SALE

Rockefeller Center's Christmas tree has a brand-new Santa Claus. Deep-pocketed real-estate giant Tishman Speyer Properties is buying the 12-acre mid-Manhattan landmark for just under $2 billion, sources told The Post....

FLAKE WILL NOT JOIN TEAM BUSH ; GOP WARY THAT HE BACKED AL GORE

WASHINGTON - Former Queens lawmaker Floyd Flake has taken himself out of the running for the job of education secretary in President-elect Bush's new Cabinet, The Post has learned. Sources...

GIFT OF LIFE MAY SAVE LIVER VICTIM ; STRANGER SAYS HE'LL BE DONOR

A Bronx lawyer yesterday said he would like to donate a portion of his liver to a woman who received what she thought would be a lifesaving transplant only to...

HIGHER CRIME RATES MIGHT MEAN NYPD SHAKE-UP: COMMISH

The leadership at several police precincts where crime has been rising may be shaken up next month, Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik said yesterday. "You don't want to make changes when...

CHAOS AS 'JUDGE HIT' JUROR BOLTS

Deliberations over a Wall Street honcho accused of trying to set up a hit on a Manhattan judge were thrown into turmoil last night when the jury deadlocked and one...

'LANDSLIDE' ROY SNARES VICTORY BY 198 VOTES

Sen. Roy Goodman said he wants to be known as "Landslide Roy" after claiming re-election last night by a razor-thin margin of 198 votes out of 117,000 cast. Goodman's Democratic...

SHEDDING LIGHT ON HANUKKAH

The oil was only supposed to light the temple in Jerusalem for one day - but it lasted for eight. That is the miracle of Hanukkah, the eight-day holiday that...

BRONX TEACHER ASSAULTS 6 'MESSY' STUDENTS: COPS

Six students at a Bronx middle school were treated at a hospital yesterday after being attacked by a Scrooge-like teacher angry over their Christmas party, police said. The students at...

THERE'S NO QUICK FIX: IT'S UP TO VAN GUNDY TO MAKE ALL PIECES FIT

IF YOU believe the whispering sources around the league, the Knicks have figured out that the player obtained in their celebrated trade of Patrick Ewing is now viewed as the...

WHAT ME, WORRY? RICE WANTS TO STAY, WON'T LET TRADE TALK DISTRACT HIM

Contrary to popular belief, Glen Rice says he's thrilled to be a Knick and would be crushed if the franchise traded him. Reacting to The Post's report the Knicks were...

NO RAY OUT FOR NETS

Bucks 80 Nets 78 MILWAUKEE - It couldn't happen, could it? The Nets, in the third quarter, despite a shake up in the line up, a slower tempo and a...

SCOTT'S OUT OF ANSWERS

MILWAUKEE -The hours of sound sleep dwindle and the miles on the treadmill rise as Nets coach Byron Scott tries to decipher what drives his players. Or perhaps, more accurately,...

LAWRENCE HAS OLD FIRE BACK

At this point in his career, the Islanders expected Mark Lawrence to be one of their top forwards. That thinking was based on his 1998-99 season, in which Lawrence registered...

NO ANSWER FOR STORM

The tape playing on the other end of the line is of happier times. As you wait on hold with the St. John's basketball office, the radio call of the...

ISLES: CLOSE BUT NO STARS

Stars 3 Islanders 1 Maybe the Islanders needed another pre-game meeting with owner Charles Wang. Or, more realistically, maybe they just needed a top-line center with offensive punch. Despite holding...

STORM BACK ON TRACK

St. John's 72 Manhattan 63 The St. John's basketball team still can show its face in at least one part of New York City. The Red Storm topped Manhattan, 72-63,...

GANG GREEN CHRISTMAS : YULE BE SORRY IF YOU DON'T TAKE THE JETS

AL GROH pulled a little Bill Parcells out of his hat with his Ravens-are-too-good tack on Wednesday, reminiscent of how Tuna would cajole LT into frothing-at-the-mouth performances by building up...

YOUR MOTHER SHOULD KNOW ; COLLEGE HOOPSTERS SHOULDN'T PLAY HOOKY DURING EXAM WEEK

FOR all of its well-intended rules designed to foster academic integrity, the TV money-addicted NCAA is bereft of common sense rules - the kind instituted by Mom and commonly found...

GO NORTH TO ALASKA WITH CSONKA

OUTDOOR shows have come a long way in the last 10 years with current programming offering informative where-to and how-to guides on seeking wild game or game fish. There are...

JESSIE SETS SIGHTS ON NO. 1 SEED

GIANT NOTES How confident was Jessie Armstead that the Giants last weekend would take care of business and clinch the NFC East title? A friend of his in Dallas had...

TIMO NO LOCK IN RIGHT ; BOBBY SAYS THE STARTING JOB'S OPEN

When Timo Perez arrives at spring training, he will not be guaranteed the right-field job. "I don't think so," manager Bobby Valentine told The Post yesterday. Perez will be one...

A-ROD'S DEAL NOT SO INSANE

No sports fans, there is no insanity clause in Alex Rodriguez's contract. The much-publicized escalator clause in A-Rod's contract, the one that would force the Rangers to make the shortstop...

KERRY'S GOT TO DO BETTER ; GIANTS NEED QB TO STEP UP

It is not that he fell down, but how quickly he rises. That's the way Kerry Collins is approaching his poor showing in last week's division-clinching victory over the Cowboys....

TAYLOR-MADE RIPS DON'T FAZE JASON A BIT

Jason Sehorn claims he could care less if Jacksonville's Fred Taylor wants to diss him and the rest of the Giant defense, doesn't mind being called a safety trying to...

FORGET AL, CALL HIM LITTLE BILL

QUESTION for Al Groh: Little Bill, who you talkin' to? (Background paragraph for those of you who, A) don't have kids or, B) don't watch TV with the kids you...

MARTIN & JETS MUST LAY IT ON LINE VS. RAVENS

Standing in the corner of the Jets' locker room where the offensive linemen reside yesterday, a mention to right guard Randy Thomas of how critical the line's performance will be...

'TIS SEASON FOR RANGERS TO GET HELP

WITH one game to go before the Christmas break tomorrow afternoon at the Garden against Nashville, six days to go before a trade can be announced, and the Rangers actually...

GROH KICKING AROUND IDEA OF REPLACING HALL WITH CONWAY

JET NOTES Who will be kicking field goals and extra points for the Jets Sunday - if there are any opportunities to score - has become an issue shrouded somewhat...

BAZE BLAZES TO 400 WINS AGAIN

Hall of Fame jockey Russell Baze reached the 400-win plateau for the eighth consecutive year as he guided Run a Copy to a gate-to-wire victory in the fourth race at...

TROUBLE IN SIXERLAND ; BROWN: KUKOC, GEIGER GOTTA GO

SUBJECT: All is not swell by the Liberty Bell Larry Brown called an emergency session of Philadelphia's War Games Tribunal following the 76ers' two-point calamitous loss to the Jazz and...

FLORIDA FOES GIVE DEVILS CHANCE TO FLEX MUSCLES

SUNRISE, Fla. - They never receive free passes, these Devils. Even after reaffirming their Stanley Cup finals triumph, the Devils have something to prove in the Recount State, home of...

FRUSTRATED SCOTT CAN'T FIND ANSWERS FOR NETS

MILWAUKEE - The hours of sound sleep dwindle and the miles on the treadmill rise as Nets coach Byron Scott tries to decipher what drives his players. Or perhaps, more...

RICE: I'M HAPPY CAMPER

Contrary to popular belief, Glen Rice says he's thrilled to be a Knick and would be crushed if the franchise traded him. Reacting to The Post's report the Knicks were...

HOLIDAY JEERS ; INCOMPETENT KNICKS BOOED DURING SLOPPY LOSS TO CELTICS

Celtics 92 Knicks 86 It's not the attitude. It's not the "whisperers." It's the incompetence. It's the sloppiness. It's the inability to get to the foul line, get easy shots...

THERE'S NO QUICK FIX: VAN MUST MAKE ALL PIECES FIT

IF YOU believe the whispers around the league, the Knicks have figured out the player obtained in their celebrated trade of Patrick Ewing is now viewed as the player that...

RED STORM SAVES FACE

St. John's 72 Manhattan 63 The St. John's basketball team still can show its face in at least one part of New York City. After suffering two embarrassing losses to...

HOLIDAY JEERS: INCOMPETENT KNICKS BOOED DURING SLOPPY LOSS TO CELTICS

Celtics 92 Knicks 86 It's not the attitude. It's not the "whisperers." It's the incompetence - on offense and now defense. It's the sloppiness. It's the inability to get to...

QUICK-HEALING LJ RETURNS TO LINEUP

KNICK NOTES Larry Johnson upheld his reputation as a quick healer as he returned from a sprained right knee for last night's Garden game vs. the Celtics. But his appearance...