John Travolta and Kelly Preston are ready for the next generation to take center stage, says proud mom Preston.

"It was a complete — as Oprah calls it — 'full-circle moment,'" says Preston of shooting daughter Ella Bleu Travolta's film debut, the upcoming Disney comedy "Old Dogs" with husband John and Robin Williams.

"It was so much fun to go to work with my little girl. Either I was in the scene with her, which was amazing, or I was there on the set just being Mom because she'd be in a scene without me. It was just the best for me."

In the film, John Travolta and Williams play business partners and old friends who end up having to take care of the 7-year-old twins Williams' character never knew he had. "Ella plays one of the twins and Conner Rayburn is her twin brother," says Preston, who plays the mother. "It's too hilarious with John and Robin as two grown guys who don't know the first thing about taking care of 7-year-olds. It's a whole lot of craziness with the two of them, but we also had a bunch of great guest stars come in — Matt Dillon, Dax Shepard, Luis Guzman, Bernie Mac, Seth Green and Justin Long. … They're editing it right now at Disney and they're very happy with it."

THE INSIDE TRACK: Grammy-winning producer/singer Steve Tyrell says the culmination of his new "Back to Bacharach" CD, due out in June, is, in a word, bittersweet.

"This album was hard for me to get back into because it happened right when my wife was diagnosed with cancer," says Tyrell, who first began work on the CD of classic songs written by the legendary Burt Bacharach and Hal David ("Alfie," "The Look of Love," "What the World Needs Now is Love") in 2002. After putting the CD on hold to care for his wife over the next 18 months, it took Tyrell four years and three albums later to return to it. "This whole Bacharach project turned into one of the most tragic times and one of the most happy," says the singer, who first met and worked with Bacharach as a teenager. He credits his longtime friend with helping him through the hardest times. "Burt loved my wife. He played 'A House Is Not a Home' at her memorial."

The hardest part now, says Tyrell, is singing all those love songs in concert every night. "It certainly makes you a better singer when you know what you're talking about," he says.

"'One Less Bell to Answer'? That song kills me... And 'I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself'? Sometimes the feeling gets you. But anybody that's been given a gift to stand on stage and perform for other people also has the responsibility of being true. You have to give them what you're feeling. If not, it's a fake performance."

He adds with a smile, "It's a good thing I sing the Bacharach songs at the end of the night. If not, people might be hanging themselves by the end of the show."

THE BIG-SCREEN SCENE: Johnathon Schaech reports he was called back to do "some re-shoots" for Screen Gems' upcoming thriller "Quarantine" with Steve Harris and Jennifer Carpenter.

"I think they want to broaden my character more," says Schaech. "It's a remake of a Spanish film about a fireman who goes into a building to address a hurt individual. The building becomes quarantined because of a disease, and the fireman and police who are in the building can't get out and the people outside can't help them."

Meanwhile, the actor-cum-producer/screenwriter — currently on the big screen in "Prom Night" — reports he and his Chesapeake Films' co-founder/writing partner, Richard Chizmar, "wrote the first episode for the NBC anthology series 'Fear Itself,' coming on May 29. It's like Hannibal Lecter meets 'The Thing' and is directed by Stuart Gordon. We're in negotiations to do another one."

THE INDIE EYE: Armand Assante dropped an e-mail from Moscow — where he's location scouting for an upcoming movie — to happily report his critically acclaimed indie film, "California Dreamin'," has found distributors for overseas and the U.S.

"I shot it in Romania last year, and the film has gone on to win five major international film festivals including Cannes' Un Certain Regard award," says Assante, who plays an American corporal in the film based on a true story about the detainment of a NATO truck filled with military equipment around the timing of the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. "It was bought by England Universal's Artificial Eye for distribution and by IFC in the States," he writes.

The movie's success is all the more poignant, notes Assante, since "27-year-old director Cristian Nemescu was tragically killed six weeks after we wrapped the film in a horrible car crash. … He was an immense talent. Thank God it's gotten some recognition."

With reports by Stephanie DuBois and Emily Feimster

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 2008 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

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