Quibbles & Bits

. . . Actor--and dance man--Gregory Hines makes his directing debut in January with “Gotta Dance,” an independent feature about an L.A. youth who has to choose between street life and the hard work that could lead to a dance career.

. . . Cursed: After making Jamaicans the bad guys in “Marked for Death,” 20th Century Fox has done it again in “Predator 2.”

. . . Academy Awards night isn’t until March 25, but the studios are already jockeying for position--taking out ads in the trades touting upcoming screenings of their films for Academy members. Next up will be those ads “suggesting” particular Oscar nominations (to be announced Feb. 13). Stay tuned.

. . . No, all those topiaries decorating the Fox lot aren’t the notion of a landscape-minded executive. The dozen or so pieces of artificial foliage--clipped in such shapes as penguins, dinosaurs and Elvis--are left over from “Edward Scissorhands,” the new movie from director Tim Burton that’s due out Dec. 7.