Fox to float 'Sea' amid summer action pix

GOOD MORNING: When the $100 million actioners starring Hollywood's youngstars start hitting the screens June 13, 20th Century Fox is betting on the box office action from its $33 million "Out to Sea" starring Jack Lemmon (72) and Walter Matthau (76) who are supported by such seasoned performers as Dyan Cannon, Gloria DeHaven, Donald O'Connor, Hal Linden and Rue McClanahan. I found the "Sea" group prancing around Stage 14 at Raleigh Studios on Monday, with director Martha Coolidge ringmastering the multi-backgrounded group in a lavish black-tied shipboard ballroom set. The movie shuts down Nov. 21 and resumes production Dec. 14 aboard the S.S.Westerdam for five days of shooting on cruise ship sequences with 70 in cast and crew held over. In the interim, Lemmon heads to D.C. for the Dec. 7-8 Kennedy Center Honors of which he is a recipient. ... This has been a tough assignment for Lemmon and Matthau -- they're in every scene, many at night on locations including a rowboat on Lake Castaic and the rest in non-stop dance sequences. They play "dance hosts" on the cruise even though Matthau, as you can imagine, cannot dance a step. I found him dragging a magnificently gowned McClanahan across the floor in what he called the tango. Any resemblance to the real thing is impossible. He and Lemmon are called on to do almost every kind of dance but not the Macarena. Howcum, I asked director Coolidge. "By the time this comes out the Macarena will be forgotten." Hmmm. On the dance floor, Lemmon looks magnificent, suave in his perfectly tailored tux and dance pumps. Matthau, in a short, ill-fitting white waiter's jacket is wearing pants far too short, revealing brown loafers. And he tries for "spontaneity" in his dancing while Coolidge tries to rein him into camera range, while everyone watching the monitors is breaking up O'Connor and Linden, playing hosts aboard the cruise ship, both have entertained on many luxury liners. Said O'Connor, "In the old days we used to play the Orpheum circuit -- now it's Fiji to Tahiti aboard ship." Linden will be ashore Nov. 25 at Carnegie Hall when he'll clarinet a Benny Goodman concert including "Sing, Sing, Sing." Next year, O'Connor leads the annual tap dance parade down B'way. He volunteered to me that Brent Spiner, playing the ship's stern entertainment director, "is the kind of terrific actor who comes along only once in 25 years!"

IN ADDITION TO WORKING every day in "Out to Sea," the stars are busy in several pix; Lemmon segues to "12 Angry Men," and "Against the Wind" in addition to "Grumpiest Old Men" with Matthau. The latter, with "I'm Not Rappaport" and new play dates of "The Grass Harp" adds the "Dennis the Menace" sequel following "Grumpiest." Lemmon admits after the next three pix he'll take a long time off. But that's what he told me last year! John Davis, producing "Sea" with David Friendly, was on the set, constantly on the phone talking on his 10 projects which include: NBC's "Asteroids," ABC's "Fire on the Mountain." Also "Miracle at Midnight" for Disney ABC, a story about the Danes saving the lives of German Jews in WWII. "Grumpy III" is also Davis', plus "Dr. Dolittle" with Eddie Murphy at 20th with Betty Thomas directing. Also "Digging to China" for Davis Classics, plus "Confucious Brown" at Universal, hopefully for Jackie Chan. And "The Breakers" at MGM and "Behind Enemy Lines," based on the Scott O'Grady story, at 20th plus "Lewis and Clark and George" for Davis Classics which he plans to put on the festival route. Director Coolidge is also prepping with Beth Sullivan "Caine," a CBSeries, and "You Must Remember This" for the bigscreen with Martin Scorsese producing. Lemmon thinks the world of Coolidge, admitting, "I've always wanted to be directed by a woman -- I haven't since I was doing live TV."

MEL TORME, ALTHOUGH BACK AT HOME, whispered, "I'm coming along," when I phoned to welcome him. And he thanks everyone for their get well wishes. ... Vanessa Brown, recuping in Sherman Oaks Hospital, told me she's already beaten ovarian cancer and she's now recuping from surgery. ... Lionel Chetwynd, in D.C. for Veterans' Day ceremonies at the White House breakfast and at the Vietnam War Memorial where he delivered the keynote speech, told me he's never been so moved as when Vietnamese Kim Phu made her speech following him. She was the 9-year-old whose photo after she was napalmed in that war shocked the world. Cheywynd wrote "To Heal a Nation," the story of Viet vet Jan C. Scruggs' struggle to erect the Vietnam War Memorial. Chetwynd next heads to France to research the story of Verian Fry, who helped French Jewish artists and intellectuals escape to Spain and Portugal during WWII. Chetwynd scripted "The Man Who Captured Eichmann," which aired Sunday on TNT.