By Belinda Luscombe

MIRA, MIRA...MARILYN?

No, this is not a picture of MIRA SORVINO accepting her Best Supporting Actress Oscar, although she did wear almost that much ice on the big night. This is Mira playing the big M.M. in Norma Jean & Marilyn on HBO. Sorvino is an odd casting choice; rarely have two blonds had less in common. Marilyn never finished high school, while Mira not only has a Harvard degree but also got a Ford Foundation grant to write her thesis in Beijing. But don't call Marilyn a bimbo around Mira. "You can't become a superstar like that without having a brain," says Sorvino. "You'd make too many mistakes." As for her recently acquired "lord of all knickknacks," Sorvino is learning to appreciate the statuette. "I'm in my head too much," she says. "But if I don't enjoy this, I'm letting down everyone who hopes to get one."

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTIVISM!

OLIVER STONE was told that his film Nixon had won no Oscars by the Zapatistas in Reality, Mexico. Stone had been invited there by Subcomandante MARCOS, the Indian rebel group's white middle-class leader, who complimented Stone on his war films and Natural Born Killers, which Marcos had seen even though he has been in the jungle since 1994. "I thought Oscar week was a good time to do something else," says Stone, who found the rebel leader to be a "poet, philosopher and a very romantic figure." No movies are planned about him, however. In fact, Stone's planning no movies at all. "I need a rest," he says.

SEEN & HEARD

The moment middlebrow TV watchers have dreaded is here. After 12 years and more than 200 dead bodies, Murder, She Wrote is going off the air. Jessica Fletcher remains unflappable, but Angela Lansbury is said to be upset at what has happened to her series. Telemovies are planned, so it's a safe bet she won't get to do a big death scene either.

When he comes out of hiding, he really comes out. Salman Rushdie is writing a feature-film screenplay based on a short story he wrote about an immigrant boy growing up in London in the '60s. (Gee, Sal, how'd you come up with that one?) The Courter will be produced by British film company Warner Sisters (yes, Sisters). So far, it hasn't offended anyone.

IS IT SAFE?

There are two ways to make a living when you're a top safecracker. JEFF SITAR has chosen the less remunerative one. Sitar, who has been named the world's best safecracker four years out of the past five by tool supplier Lockmaster, has been called on to open everything from bank vaults with humans inside to the safes of dead relatives. As good as he is with his fingers, however, Sitar's at a bit of a loss when it comes to explaining his craft. "It's a combination of listening, looking and mathematics," he says. "You're looking for where the noises stop and start." Sitar says he beats 95% of the locks he meets, most within minutes. And yes, his fingerprints are on file with the FBI.