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July 18, 2000
Web posted at: 5:02 p.m. EDT (2102 GMT)

From staff and wire reports

Today's buzz stories:

• Reeve to direct film about paralyzed teen
• Brooke to head back to altar
• 'Passions' actor thinks big

NEW YORK -- Christopher Reeve, who was paralyzed in an equestrian accident, plans to direct a movie for ABC about a quadriplegic teen-ager, Variety reports.

"Rescuing Jeffrey" is based on a book by Richard Galli, whose 17-year-old son was paralyzed after a swimming pool accident. It deals with the accident and the difficult decisions Galli and his wife had to make.

Since his 1995 accident, Reeve has since appeared in a remake of "Rear Window" and directed the TV movie "In the Gloaming."

LOS ANGELES -- Brooke Shields returned from her vacation in Mexico with a not-so-shabby souvenir: a diamond engagement ring.

The "Suddenly Susan" star accepted fiance Chris Henchy's proposal last weekend.

"He took her away for the weekend and asked her on Saturday night," publicist Mia Ricchiuti said Monday. "I don't really know any of the details, but she did say 'yes.'"

Shields, 35, previously was married to Andre Agassi. Henchy, 37, was a producer on NBC's short-lived "Battery Park."

LOS ANGELES -- Born with a rare growth condition, 18-year-old soap actor Josh Ryan Evans is usually cast as a child due to his small physical stature.

Evans

But when he answers his fan mail, he signs every picture "Dream Big."

"Because I dream of big things, but I don't dream of being big, and I think everyone should dream as big as possible," said Evans, who appears on NBC's "Passions" and has a recurring role on FOX's "Ally McBeal."

By the time he was 12, he had undergone heart surgery three times, giving him adult-like perspective at a pretty early age.

"I realized life was precious ... and to enjoy the good times and take everything with a grain of salt, because if you don't, it will build up and get you down," he told CNN's Showbiz Today.