When A Career Goes Stale, It’s Best To Take A Sly View

Sylvester Stallone usually means big budgets, big muscles and, until recently, big profits.

But after the action star’s latest efforts, such as “Judge Dredd” and “Assassins,” didn’t earn the money typically expected of the “Rocky” and “Rambo” star, Stallone made a decision.

He’s signed to star in James Mangold’s “Copland” as a hearing-impaired sheriff.

“I felt I had gone as far as I could with a certain genre,” Stallone told the New York Times. “You know, it’s the 20th anniversary of ‘Rocky,’ and I wanted to go back to doing the things that drew me into films in the first place, fervent dramas with ensemble casts.”

“There aren’t many New York actors who could play this role,” Miramax head Harvey Weinstein said. “There’s De Niro. There’s Pacino. And there’s Stallone. And we’ve got him in our fold.”

Loose talk

Paul Reiser on a little joy of parenthood, namely changing diapers (in TV Guide): “It’s one of the few tangible things you can do. You know what I mean? It’s like, ‘OK, I see your problem now. You’re sitting in a pile of unwanted toxic waste. I can come here and help you out.”’

And for sure, it’s a beautiful day in his neighborhood

Fred Rogers turns 68 today.

If they die in a ‘Combat’ zone, box ‘em up, ship ‘em home

What with remakes of television shows being all the rage in Hollywood (think “The Brady Bunch Movie,” think “Mission: Impossible”), it comes as little surprise that Bruce Willis may star in the movie version of the 1960s TV series “Combat.” That, at least, is what Daily Variety is reporting. Walter Hill is set to direct, and other actors said to be interested include John Goodman and Eddie Murphy.

That answers the question of whether she’s pushy

So why is Sharon Stone seemingly on the cover of every magazine ever published? To here her tell it, physical presence has less to do with it than simple perseverance. “I’m of peasant stock,” she told The New Yorker. “I put my head down and work. Push. Push. Push. Push. There’s nothing dainty or delicate about it.”

Make no mistake, he’s got a million of them

In the tradition of classic stand-up comedy, we present this recent gag line from comic Henny Youngman, 90, and suffering from a broken hip: “Take my wheelchair, please.”

He found it again, though, on a Hyannisport beach

As a tradeoff for putting him on the cover of his next issue of George magazine, John F. Kennedy Jr., agreed to appear on shock-jock Howard Stern’s radio show. Kennedy admitted to having lost his virginity “somewhere in high school.”

And to think, Van Gogh died in abject poverty

If you’re wondering how much Stephen King is getting paid for his serialized novel “The Green Mile,” one report is that the best-selling horror author will receive $1 million for each installment.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 Color Photos

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Compiled by staff writer Dan Webster