INFO FROM TODAY'S SHOW FEATURED GUESTS Hunter Tylo, actress Olivia Newton-John, singer Blaine Trump, philanthropist OTHER INFORMATION Olivia Newton-John's new album, Back with a Heart, is available in stores now. For more information on the disease, retinoblastoma, please call 877-728-3393 or 877-SAVE-EYE. For information on God's Love We Deliver, please call 888-235-7223. OTHER ALBUMS BY OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN Back To Basics Clearly Love Come On Over Don’t Stop Believin’ Gaia Greatest Hits Greatest Hits 2 Have You Never Been Mellow Heathcliff If Not For You Long Live Love Love Performance (live in Japan) Making a Good Thing Better Music Makes My Day Olivia Olivia Newton-John Physical The Rumour Soul Kiss Toomorrow Totally Hot Two Of A Kind Warm And Tender Xanadu LINKS The people you want to know more about are at People magazine's web site. http://pathfinder.com/people/ Critic: Brandon Judell "Grease," the movie, opened on July 7, 1978, and life for the chronically slicked has never been the same. A few new songs were added to the hit Broadway musical on its way to the screen plus a cast of sexy, hot-dancing, elderly teens were hired, and wallah! "Grease" quickly took over the American airwaves, the covers of teen mags, and the Variety top ten box office listings. But not everyone was smitten by the romance between Danny Zuko (John Travolta), a cool dude, and the innocent Sandy (Olivia Newton-John) with whom he fell in love over summer vacation. They thought they'd never see each other again, but now they're at the same high school. Can Danny follow his heart and be seen in the arms of a goody-goody? And can Sandy with her Sandra Dee virtues learn to tease her hair and wear a halter top? Tedd Sennett in his classic book on the subject, "Hollywood Musicals" (Abrams), wrote: "Obviously the film's language and blunt sexual attitudes would have sent Judy Garland into a dead faint in the Mickey-Judy films of the forties, and even Annette Funicello would have slapped Frankie Avalon's face in the fifties 'beach party' movies . . . But despite the movie's pretensions at being a major musical, it has no more value than any of the earlier [teen] movies. In fact, the similarities are more apparent than the differences: the overage students, the foolish, mindless musical numbers, the boy-girl complications, the total lack of interest in learning, and the noisy rumpus of rallies and dances . . . The older films, however, never suffered from delusions of grandeur." And Sennett goes on and on. There are oddball aspects of "Grease." Stockard Channing who plays possibly pregnant Rizzo was 34 at the time. And even though she could have been playing a grandmother of a loose teen, she was terrific as everyone's favorite sardonic tramp. Travolta, then 24, was just coming off the mega-success of "Saturday Night Fever," and he really could do no wrong, at least until the following year with "Moment by Moment" where he played Lily Tomlin's love interest. And surprisingly this was the 30-year-old Olivia Newton-John's only celluloid hit, and her singing career didn't really last that much longer. Today she's almost more famous for surviving breast cancer and bravely speaking out about it. But these three and a lively supporting cast that included the marvelous Didi Conn, Dody Goodman, and Eve Arden, were and still are sensational fun. The vibrant choreography, the addictive songs, and the glee at being young and quite possibly having a happy future continue to enthrall. And on the big screen, after years of watching them on the tube, the school day antics that lead up to graduation day are even more fun than I remember. The only sad aspect of "Grease" was that it didn't revive the musical genre for a generation pretty much unused to actors breaking out into song after biting into a hamburger. The film was just an isolated reminder of how good things used to be in Hollywood musically, and probably will never be again. ----------------------------- DIRECTOR: Randal Kleiser CAST: John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, Jeff Conaway, Barry Pearl, Michael Tucci, Kelly Ward, Didi Conn, James Donnelly, Dinah Manoff, Eve Arden, Frankie Avalon, Joan Blondell, Edd Byrnes, Sid Caesar, Alice Ghostley, Dody Goodman, Sha-Na-Na, Lorenzo Lamas, Fannie Flagg, Dick Patterson, Ellen Travolta, Michael Biehn SCRIPT: Allan Carr, Bronte Woodward (Based upon the play by Warren Casey & Jim Jacobs) PRODUCERS: Allan Carr, Robert Stigwood (Paramount) PHOTOGRAPHY: Bill Butler MUSIC: John Farrar, Bill Oakes, Louis St. Louis PRODUCTION DESIGN: Philip M. Jeffries COSTUMES: Albert Wolsky EDITING: John F. Burnett GENRE: Musical - PG - 1:50 (C) Copyright Critics Inc. 1998. All Rights Reserved. Olivia Newton-Johnsinger/actress, recipient of the Cadillac Concept: Cure Humanitarian Award for her work in fostering breast cancer awareness. Now that you've weathered breast cancer; how does it feel to be getting on with your career? I'm making a Nashville country album. It's a new lease on life right now! Grease is being re-released this summer. Are you excited? I think it's wonderful. I can't believe it! It's still as hot, and the kids just love it. How has the role of women in Hollywood changed since Grease was first released? Now Sherry Lansing is the head of Paramount. I can't imagine that 20 years ago! All these powerful women in front of the camera and behind the camera -- It's incredible. The balance was off-kilter, and it's coming back up. We need all the warmth and nurturing we can get!