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A STAR IS REBORN
Flamboyant BERNARD TAPIE, 53, won't go quietly. The '80s mogul who once owned Adidas
resigned from France's parliament under pressure last week. Almost simultaneously, he resurfaced
at the Venice Film Festival--with a role in Oscar winner Claude Lelouc h's new movie, Men and
Women: A User's Guide. Tapie's movie debut soon ignited a brouhaha over the director's decision
to cast a man convicted of fraud. Producer Marin Karmitz blasted Lelouch's hit as an
"irresponsible film about irresponsibility." An enraged Lelouch responded, "I promise you that I will
never darken French film again. I'll do all I can to work elsewhere." But Tapie may not have that
choice: stripped of his parliamentary immunity, he faces jail terms for tax fraud and rigging a soccer
match.
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