Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Funny fellows Daniel Stern and Matt Frewer hit it off so well making the Dec. 18-debuting "Battle of the Bulbs" Hallmark Channel movie, Stern reports that they're talking about taking their collaboration further.

"I wrote a play, 'Barbra's Wedding,' and I've been talking with Matt about it. I might direct him in it in Vancouver next year. It's a funny play with some physical stuff. It takes place the day Barbra Streisand is getting married, with the couple that lives next door to her," describes Stern, who was living in Malibu at the time of Streisand's big, massive-media-magnet wedding to James Brolin. "This couple's marriage is being tested while all this activity is going on outside. I think Matt would be great in it. I'd so love to see him in my play."

Frewer and Stern had never worked together before making their "Battle of the Bulbs," in which they play neighbors obsessed with outdoing each other's Christmas light displays. Stern contends that when they met, "I didn't like him at all. The idea looked good on paper, but was really a let-down," he says — a joke.

Seriously, "They called and asked if I'd do this movie, and I read it and just found it very charming," says the actor-playwright-director-sculptor. "It was fun. In terms of the acting, it was not the deepest part I've ever played. And I didn't have to do anything incredibly crazy or dangerous. Matt was the one who got beat up this time," he adds, alluding to the battering he took as bungling burglar Marv in the "Home Alone" movies.

Those, of course, have become holiday perennials. Stern is amazed and amused to have become a regular part of the Christmas scene. "It's crazy. With the 'Home Alone' thing, this time of year's turned into an annual festival. It's so strange in my life and so pleasing."

AT THIS AGE: Perhaps it's a sign of the graying of America, but there's a trend growing toward TV shows and movies showcasing senior citizens.

The big-screen "Geezers" with J.K. Simmons and Mike O'Malley will "shatter common stereotypes about the elderly," claim its producers.

On the TV side, there's the George Segal-Jessica Walter "Retired at 35" coming up on TV Land, about a man (Johnathan McClain) who enjoys the scene so much at his parents' retirement community, he moves in with them. There's Michael Eisner's "Circling the Drain" black comedy that focuses on older folks on their way out. And there's NBC's "Early Bird" pilot, being cast now, that follows an assortment of denizens of a senior living village — including a gal described as being like Samantha of "Sex and the City" in 20 years, and a 70-plus gent who is recently divorced, estranged from his children and fearful of starting anew at his age.

INSIDE ASIDE: Fans of "The Closer" who got a kick out of Kyra Sedgwick's real-life daughter, Sosie Bacon, playing her niece last year may wonder when they'll see her again. Well, don't hold your breath. "They wanted her to come back, but she didn't want to," Sedgwick reveals. Bacon, now a college freshman, would rather stay focused on school for the time being.

RECYCLED AND RECYCLED: Forces behind a new celebrity reality TV show are lining up well-known actors, models, politicians and other famous and notorious to participate in large-scale competitions. Notables who consider themselves fun-loving and highly competitive types are especially wanted. Sounds like "Wipeout" meets "Battle of the Network Stars."

Meanwhile, also being sought now: an overweight celebrity who is interested in trying an outpatient procedure that's not a gastric bypass — and serving as spokesperson for it next year. Assuming all goes well.

To find out more about Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith and read their past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2010 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

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