American graffiti

In Jerry Maguire, which opened here just before Christas, Tom Cruise's title character is a can-do sports agent who develops scruples, writes a brave anti-corporate manifesto, and undergoes a spiritual rebirth. It's now emerged that the film's director Cameron Crowe may have pulled something of a Maguire himself. A product-placement deal had originally stipulated that the end credits of Maguire were supposed to roll over a Reebok ad - but the filmmakers killed it at the last minute. The only remaining reference in the film to the sportswear giant is an outburst from one of Cruise's clients: "Fuck Reebok! All they do is ignore me!" Not, perhaps, what the sponsors had in mind. Unamused, Reebok has slapped Tristar with a $10m breach-of-contract lawsuit.

MTV has been ruthlessly stamping out music videos from its line-ups; not a good idea, as its non- music programming is even more unpalatable than the old steady diet of Celine Dion and Hootie and the Blowfish. Viewers have already been subjected to the backfired sociological-experiment-cum- soap-opera, The Real World, and the grisly dating game Singled Out. Now there's Loveline, a call-in show with a "raunchy" agony uncle, a sternly moralistic doctor, and some, um, intriguing callers. A sample problem? "I'm a vegetarian and semen makes me nauseous."

Matthew Perry, better known as the acerbic Chandler, is the latest Friend bidding for box-office success; he stars in Fools Rush In, a slushy Valentine's Day comedy with an inter-racial edge (of sorts). The track record for Friends at the box-office is not encouraging, though. She's the One, the Jennifer Aniston vehicle which opens in Britain in a fortnight's time, bombed here. To date, the most lucrative film-with-a-Friend remains the killer-virus shocker, Outbreak, which features - in a pivotal part - Marcel, Ross's departed and greatly missed monkey.

When the Oscar nominations are announced next week, expect sentimentality and old-timers to figure even more prominently than usual. Debbie Reynolds, 64, can count on being on the Best Actress shortlist for her role in Albert Brook's fine new comedy Mother. In the supporting category, Marion Ross (Mr C in Happy Days), 68, got strong reviews for her role in The Evening Star (the Terms of Endearment sequel). But the most likely Supporting Actress winner has to be Lauren Bacall. Bacall, 72, was the mother in The Mirror Has Two Faces, Barbra Streisand's saga of self-empowerment run amok. The feeling is she deserves some kind of recognition for getting out of that one alive.

More news from Hollywood. Joe Eszterhas's latest script, which he's hawked for a tidy $4.5m, is called Male Pattern Balding. The contents are strictly under wraps, but before agents for Patrick Stewart, Bruce Willis and Ted Danson start hounding casting directors for an audition, it should be noted that Eszterhas has cautioned against literal interpre- tations of the title. "It stands more for emotional qualities than it does for physical ones," explained the sensitive screenwriter. As fans of his vintage trio, Basic Instinct, Showgirls and Jade, will attest, Mr Eszterhas is in his element when deploying artful metaphors and profound symbolism.