Sundance ads' final cut

Vaughn, Van Sant appear in new promo series

By JOHN DEMPSEY

It's one of Vince Vaughn's worst nightmares: being waylaid on the set of his latest movie, the remake of "Psycho," by a motormouthed young 16mm filmmaker pleading with the actor to drop everything and agree to appear in an indie movie to be produced on an undernourished budget.

Vaughn is re-enacting this scene on the Universal lot (where Gus Van Sant is directing the new "Psycho") as one of 10 goofy on-air promotional spots being filmed in Los Angeles by the Sundance Channel, which will start appearing on the network in 1999. Vaughn and Van Sant both show up in the spot.

Each of the spots features a well-known actor or industry personality enlisted by Sundance to have some fun while helping to draw attention to the channel. The actors on board are Matt Damon, Christina Ricci, Don Cheadle, Reese Weatherspoon, Ryan Phillippe and Edward Furlong.

Also turning up in at least one of the spots are Miramax co-chairman Harvey Weinstein and composer Danny Elfman. Jay Lacopo stars in each of the spots as the passionate indie filmmaker trying to finance and cast his movie. Lacopo is co-author of the spots with Ben Affleck's brother Casey, who also directed the dramatized blurbs. The exec producers are Tom Harbeck, who's exec VP of programming and creative director of the Sundance Channel, and Chris Moore of Fusion Studios in L.A.