Bowie hungers for Montreal! by MATTHEW HAYS Téléscene spokespeople were a bit red-faced early this week, and none too happy, about a leak concerning their cable-run series The Hunger. The rumours could only be confirmed, a publicist at the busy production house told me, but not elaborated upon: indeed, rock demigod and actor David Bowie would be arriving in Montreal to introduce the new season of The Hunger, the anthology series formerly introduced by Terence Stamp. Thanks to the good old Internet, a memo was sent 'round the world, announcing the news about Bowie's arrival. The message also indicated one episode would have the former Thin White Duke reprising his vampire role from the 1983 feature film The Hunger. No word yet on whether Susan Sarandon and Catherine Deneuve will be in town to reprise their delightfully lesbo-erotic scene from the film. In town for a reunion will be Patty Duke, here to shoot an update of her 1963­66 sitcom The Patty Duke Show. When the show premiered, it made Duke the youngest person (at 17) ever to have their own TV show. Duke had already set an age-related record in 1962, when she became the youngest person to date to receive an Oscar for her tour-de-force performance as Helen Keller in Arthur Penn's The Miracle Worker. Also appearing in the show will be Cindy Williams of Laverne and Shirley fame. With Bowie and Shirley in town, why not create an entirely new sitcom around them? Semi-retired rock star moves in with brewery employee in lower-end but charming basement suite; endless wacky hijinx ensue! David Arquette stars in The Alarmist, a bizarre and quirky comedy adapted from the cult novel, which opens this Friday, November 20. Arquette plays a young, naïve salesman who is trained by sleazy moneygrubber Stanley Tucci. Arquette is horrified by Tucci's tactics as a home-alarm system salesman. Tucci smashes the doors in of various clients, who then tell all their neighbours that their recently purchased alarm system scared the faux burglars away, assuring plenty of new sales for Tucci's company. Kate Capshaw buys a system from Arquette, and the two are soon in bed together. The Alarmist is Kafka meets Death of a Salesman--a wicked comedy, a bit uneven at times but worth a glance for fans of the off-kilter. Repertory film buffs will have noticed that the new Cinéma du Parc schedules do not include listings from the Parc's offshoot, Cinéma Décarie. It appears the folks behind the ambitious sequel cinema complex have shut its doors--at least for the time being. When asked about the cinema's apparent closure earlier this month, managers said the complex was shut for "a series of private screenings." Since then, Parc types haven't returned the Mirror's phone calls. For those horror buffs lamenting the fact that Bride of Chucky is no longer playing, there is relief at hand: the local production Out of Mind: The Stories of H. P. Lovecraft will be playing this week (November 19­22) at the Cinémathèque québécoise. Directed by Raymond Saint-Jean (Cabaret neiges noires), the film is inspired by the goth horror tales of the American author. COMMENTS: matt_hays@babylon.montreal.qc.ca