Tattle: Chewing the scenery

IN ANOTHER East Coast-West Coast rivalry, the New York faction of the Screen Actors Guild is at odds with the Los Angeles faction.

The New Yorkers Friday called for the union to suspend an upcoming vote to authorize a strike amid stalled negotiations with Hollywood producers.

"Our members and our industry are struggling through the worst economic crisis in memory," the New York board said in a statement. "While issuing a strike authorization may have been a sensible strategy in October, we believe it is irresponsible to do so now."

The New York division's 14 board members also called for the 71-member national board to hold an emergency meeting to appoint new negotiators to work with the American Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the major studios.

"With a fresh team, the AMPTP will return to the table, and we can get a fair deal," the New York board wrote. "A deal that will not cost careers, homes, lives. We want our members to understand that while strikes are sometimes unavoidable, we will do everything in our power to avoid this one."

SAG President Alan Rosenberg said he was surprised by the announcement because the group did not approach him first. He said he agreed to call an emergency meeting to discuss "this extraordinarily destructive and subversive action."

Subversive? Next up for Rosenberg will be a regional theater role as Captain Queeg.

SAG plans to send strike-authorization ballots to more than 100,000 union members on Jan. 2, a date that puts Oscar night within reach of a potential boycott.

Look, the actors are not boycotting the Oscars. It's not happening. Hence, it's an idle threat so get back to the table and work something out.

And as for the studios, stop lying about the Internet and be reasonable. In business in which people are paid royalties (unlike, say, the newspaper business) why would people give up royalties in the area where the revenue will be?

Oh, and stop remaking every movie you made 10 years ago.

Tattbits

* Roger Avary, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of "Pulp Fiction" has pleaded not guilty to vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence of alcohol in a fatal January crash. He was arraigned Friday in Ventura.

Authorities say Avary's car hit a telephone pole in Ojai on Jan. 13. The crash injured his wife and killed passenger Andreas Zini, visiting from Italy.

Avary has apologized for the accident. His lawyer has said the writer was grief-stricken over the death.

* Less than two months after giving birth to son Archie, Amy Poehler has officially exited "Saturday Night Live."

This makes Tattle sad.

Poehler made a surprise return last week to "SNL," then, Saturday, surprised viewers again by telling them goodbye.

"This is my last show," Poehler announced from her "Weekend Update" anchor desk. "Being able to do over 140 shows with my friends and my family has been a dream come true."

"I love you," she told the audience, "and I will miss all of you very much."

Much of the somberness was taken out of the goodbye by cast member Fred Armisen, who wandered aimlessly in front of Poehler as blind New York governor David Patterson.

* Publicist Jack Ketsoyan says Tara Reid has checked herself into rehab.

Unfortunately, Tara thought she was checking in to the Chateau Marmont.

* Author Don J. Snyder is trying to correct a key omission in his acclaimed 1999 memoir, "Of Time and Memory," by writing a screenplay which sets the record straight about the birth of him and his twin brother in Pennsylvania and the ensuing death of their mother.

Of course, should the screenplay actually be produced, the Pennsylvania town will be a patch of farmland in the South, and Snyder's brother will be killed by his mother after she's infected by a weird, alien virus.

But it's worth a try.

* Mario Batali is doing it. So are Gwyneth Paltrow, Cameron Diaz and Salman Rushdie.

These and other celebrities from the culinary, entertainment and literary worlds are donating one-of-a-kind lunchboxes they designed to help raise money for the Food Bank for New York City and The Lunchbox Fund, which provides lunch to impoverished schoolchildren in South Africa. The boxes are being sold online at www.thelunchboxauction.org

until midnight Thursday. Bidding starts at $100.

* Hugh Jackman, People's "Sexiest Man Alive," will be hosting the Oscars in February, ending a run of comedian hosts.

"[Hugh] has style, elegance and a sense of occasion," new Oscar producers Laurence Mark and Bill Condon said in a joint statement. "Hugh is the ideal choice to host a celebration of the year's movies - and to have fun doing it."

"Thirty years ago when I was in Sydney watching Johnny Carson host the Oscars with my family, I never imagined that I'd one day have the chance to be up on that stage myself," Jackman said in a statement. "I am very grateful to the Academy for giving me this opportunity. And, excited to be working with Larry and Bill on what I know will be a fun and memorable celebration."

It will be memorable if Jackman keeps it to three hours.

* Fox TV's Jill Hudson isn't commenting on a report from the "Idol" fan Web site mjsbigblog.com that the annual "Idol Gives Back" charity event has been canceled.

Earlier this week, the site quoted from what it said was an internal Fox memo declaring, "there will be no Idol Gives Back."

The star-studded special has aired for two years, soliciting donations to benefit children in the United States and Africa.

If it returns this year, money may be raised to benefit Rupert Murdoch. *

Daily News wire services contributed to this report.

E-mail gensleh@phillynews.com