Co-star Anna Chlumsky talks about the making of 'Gold Diggers'.

By Steven Rea Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service Nov 3 '95

Eighteen years after its release, "Saturday Night Fever" still wields a mighty

influence over the movie biz. The latest instance of "Fever-" ish homage:

Anna Chlumsky doing John Travolta's disco moves atop a tiny boat while the

Bee Gees wail "You Should Be Dancing." This occurs midway through "Gold

Diggers: The Secret of Mountain Bear," an outdoor-adventure movie in which

Chlumsky, star of the two "My Girl" hits, is teamed with Christina Ricci,

star of two "Addams Family" films and "Casper." "We choreographed it by

studying John Travolta's dance moves in "Saturday Night Fever," reports

Chlumsky, a Chicago-area 10th-grader. "At first, it was a little difficult

getting used to the rocking of the boat... but I was really doing well

towards the end."

Filmed last year in British Columbia, "Gold Diggers" tells the tale of two

teens - a city slicker (Ricci) and a tough, troubled tomboy (Chlumsky) - who

form a friendship when they traipse into the woods looking for a legendary

treasure. The movie bears absolutely no resemblance to the lavish 1930s

"Gold Diggers" series with their Busby Berkeley-musical numbers. A little

disco on a dinghy is as musical as the "Gold Diggers" of 1995 gets.

Although the new "Gold Diggers" is slightly nostalgic (it`s set in the early

'80s, and framed with a voice-over narration from a reflective Ricci), and

deals with the camaraderie between the two girls, Chlumsky says that it's

not just one of the "bunch of women's films out there now." That is: "Now and

Then" (also with Ricci), "How to Make an American Quilt" and "Moonlight and

Valentino."

"It`s kind of the fad of the season," Chlumsky said by phone from her

hometown the other day. "But our movie doesn't emphasize the fact that we're

girls. ...The story could have worked perfectly if there were two boys or a

boy and a girl." Chlumsky's favorite movies of the year, thus far: Mel

Gibson's "Braveheart," "Unstrung Heroes" and "Smoke."

Unlike Ricci, who has been busily employed since filming "Gold Diggers"

(Ricci's done a Gabriel Byrne-scripted Irish movie, "The Last of the High

Kings," and a remake of Disney's "That Darn Cat") Chlumsky hasn't had

another job since. "I'm trying for 'em, but no luck yet," she said a little

ruefully. "Sometimes it gets frustrating, but I just have to tell myself,

well, someone else is getting it, and good for them. It just wasn't meant to

be. ... You just have to go on the audition, enjoy the audition for what it

is, and then not wait ba the phone and get all distraught over not getting

it. Just get on with real life."

END