People

By Josh Tyrangiel

THE NEW BOX-OFFICE MONSTERS Because it takes Pixar four years to make an animated film, folks there get very excited when there's actually something to see. (Steve Jobs called us many, many times.) The latest Pixar production is Monsters, Inc., due out on Thanksgiving 2001, starring BILLY CRYSTAL and JOHN GOODMAN--Crystal is the cyclops-pea, Goodman the yeti--as corporate monsters whose job it is to frighten kiddies. This being animation, they're also charged with being not so scary as to lose the stuffed-animal concession. Crystal and Goodman have the star power, but director Peter Docter says the real find is Mary Gibbs, 3, who happens to be the daughter of a Pixar employee and plays the lead human. "We initially brought her in just for scratch track, but she's so appealing that we kept bringing her in, giving her lots of candy and using whatever sounds she made." Is "candy" the new geek-slang for stock options?

WHO SAW IT COMING?

EMINEM, a.k.a. Marshall Mathers, 27, filed for divorce from his wife KIM MATHERS last week, after 14 months of F. Scott- and Zelda Fitzgerald-style marital stability. The couple separated in June after he was charged with assault for allegedly hitting a man he found kissing his wife at a nightclub. That was not the first sign of trouble. Mathers has recorded songs about berating and murdering the missus, and beat an effigy of her to wild applause during his recent tour. He also sports a KIM--ROT IN PIECES tattoo on his torso. In July, Kim attempted suicide by slashing her wrists. After last week's divorce filing, her attorney said, "I think she recognizes that this is an opportunity to remove herself from a relationship that has been holding her back." Eminem is seeking joint custody of the couple's four-year-old daughter. Her lawyer says she may seek joint custody of their bank account.

THE PARTING OF ELLEN AND ANNE

It was a thousand-day romance that snagged headlines and tugged at countless hearts. But last week the romance was over. In a joint statement to the New York Daily News, ELLEN DEGENERES, 43, and ANNE HECHE, 31, said, "Unfortunately, we have decided to end our relationship. It is an amicable parting, and we greatly value the 3 1/2 years we have spent together. We hope everyone will respect our privacy through this difficult time." The paper cited an unnamed friend who described the relationship as having run its course. The couple met amid the swirl of controversy surrounding DeGeneres' coming out as a lesbian--both personally and as the lead character in a popular sitcom. The two then weathered what they felt was a backlash against them: the cancellation of Ellen by ABC and the shrinking of Heche's once promising film career. Still, it seemed a perfect match. They exchanged rings; they championed gay marriage; their careers actually seemed to coalesce with a number of collaborations. But last week they were living apart. As a friend told the Daily News, "They're both very, very upset."

SAY, ISN'T THAT...?

As Billy Carter and Roger Clinton have taught us, First Brothers are supposed to be screw-ups. (We're watching you, Marvin Bush.) Now, in a nice postmodern twist, even fictional presidential brothers are causing headaches. JOE ESTEVEZ, sibling of West Wing Oval Office sitter and lefty activist MARTIN SHEEN, recorded a very Sheen-like voice-over for a convention ad touting the decidedly right-wing Hunting and Shooting Sports Heritage Foundation. While it's not Estevez's fault that he sounds exactly like his brother, a firearms-industry representative says the hire was no accident. "Let's just say this: We really liked the voice because we thought it would be recognizable for people to associate with." Estevez has been an actor for years, in such works as Bimbo Movie Bash and Slaves of the Vampire Werewolf. He even stood in for his brother on Apocalypse Now. Sheen, acting presidential, refused to comment on the ad.