Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Rick Fox Feeling Good About His 'DWTS' Chances, Long Shot or No/Billy Crystal Multi-Generational Comedy Flick on the Way

"Dancing With the Stars" starts its new season tonight (9/20), with many "DWTS" watchers already calling retired pro athletes Kurt Warner and Rick Fox the long shots of this competition. We asked Fox for his response to that.

"Well, we definitely are long. I'm 6'7"."

Rimshot for the b-ball hottie!

Fox — a veteran of six seasons with the Boston Celtics and seven with the L.A. Lakers — points out, "Mine's not as much a dancer's body as the others. That definitely plays into the challenge."

Indeed. His partner, 5-foot-4 Cheryl Burke, has been wearing 4-inch heels for their dances and has already been experiencing an aching neck.

According to Fox, he and superstar quarterback Warner "are a competitive duo in our own right, within the 12 of us competitors on the show. The competitive fire is always going to be burning, you know; we're representing our respective leagues."

He also notes that he and Warner "have had short bursts of communication, back and forth — things like, 'It feels like training camp again! ... I feel like a rookie ... I feel stiff, do you?' Underneath the competitive side, though, we're definitely cheering each other on and wishing each other the best," he adds.

Fox, of course, has been acting for the past five years and has racked up a sizeable list of credits — including "Oz," "The Game" and his "Ugly Betty" stint with former wife Vanessa Williams. He jokes that "I just hope my acting skills are good enough to pull off acting like I can dance. I'll dress and look the dancer even if don't move like one."

He does say, however, "When I think back to three weeks ago, my first time on the dance floor, I thought, 'This is going to be the most difficult thing I've done with my body.' Three weeks later — it feels like so much longer — I can see I've made progress. I'm getting results. There's been so much joy to it. I've pushed myself to a new level, and with those strides, those positive moments, I feel better about my chances."

Fox tells us he's been following "DWTS" since his retirement and "seen athletes come and go.

The ones with dance backgrounds, the gymnasts and ice skaters, do well, but I've yet to see a basketball player handle the ballroom floor as well as the hard court. I want to go in there and be the graceful giant."

THE BIG-SCREEN SCENE: "You Again" director Andy Fickman might just be going from one multigenerational romp to another. With his Kristen Bell-Jamie Lee Curtis-Sigourney Weaver-Betty White comedy due for release this Friday (9/24), the prolific moviemaker tells us he has a Billy Crystal picture in the works.

"Billy is one of my favorite comedic actors. I know he's been so busy — directing, doing his book, his Broadway show — but speaking purely as a fan, I really want to see him back on the big screen again," says Fickman.

He's awaiting a rewrite now from Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel on the yet-untitled Crystal film he describes as "tonally very much like 'Parenthood.' It has to do with how we treat our parents, and how our parents treat us as well. It's going to be fun."

Fun, too, was the process of making "You Again," he wants us to know. The movie has Bell and Curtis having to confront their nightmare high school adversaries — Odette Yustman and Weaver — as new members of their family.

"The biggest challenge, with such a wonderful ensemble, is making sure everyone is really being served onscreen. It's like having an all-star baseball team; you can go deep on the bench and still bring up someone who is going to hit a home run. Every day, it didn't matter, whatever the combo plate — Sigourney Weaver, Betty White, Victor Garber, Kristin Chenoweth — you could count on it being a great day."

MAKING IT REAL: It had to happen. We hear there are acting classes being offered now for reality show wannabes.

CASTING CORNER: With Sean Young's "The Black Dove" heading toward production in Cincinnati, it will be interesting to see who they line up to play the male lead. Producers are hoping for someone who is musical as well as being able to act, along the lines of Dwight Yoakam or Randy Travis or Jon Bon Jovi. According to casting notices, the character's a hard-luck kind of guy who starts taking an interest in his daughter while in jail.

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.

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