MANILA, Philippines?Only a few TV-film seasons ago, Paris Hilton was flying high, with a hit television series and a few well-received appearances in popular movies. Later, however, her on-screen persona took a sour turn, from ditzy-campy to ?over-the-top?stop!?

Our take on Paris going from sizzle to fizzle is that her self-spoofing, Middle America-shocking performance style and personality finally got tired? and tiresome. Another factor could be Paris? age. Outlandish antics may be archly cute when performed by a teen or ?tween, but a rich ?bitch? pushing 30 can end up getting ditched.

The latest downbeat denouement to Paris? career was the recent poor opening week figures for her latest film, ?The Hottie and the Nottie.? Some other movies starting their run at the same time played in thousands of theaters and made millions of dollars?but ?Hottie? was initially screened in only around a hundred movie houses, and grossed less than $100,000.

?Hottie? it obviously was ?nottie.?

Can Paris Hilton?s career still recover lost ground? For that to happen, she should drop her signature ?bitchy rich girl? image and opt for a new persona that?s more age-appropriate.

She can pull this major transformation off, because a few of her past movie performances indicated that she could do more than play it silly, sassy and superficial.

If all else fails, she could always go back to helping her parents run their famous chain of hotels!

?The Kite Runner?

IT?S heartening to note that, unlike some other exceptional movie that won?t be shown locally, ?The Kite Runner? is set to be released by United International Pictures and distributed here by Solar Entertainment Corp.

The acclaimed film?s main plot is about its central character Amir?s journey back to Afghanistan to atone for childhood mistakes.

Amir is played as an adult by Khalid Abdalla, whose exceptional performance in ?United 93? was his very first outing as an actor. But his relative lack of experience didn?t matter to ?The Kite Runner?s? Mare Forster, who took Khalid to Afghanistan for a month-long ?total immersion? tour, which included lessons in the Dari language five hours a day.

Khalid needed to undergo the rigorous immersion process because he had never been to Afghanistan. In fact, he says, ?I was born in Scotland, brought up in London, my parents are Egyptian, and my father was born in Illinois.?

But all that dissonant background vanishes in ?The Kite Runner,? where Khalid?s acutely believable portrayal of Amir ends up as one of the film?s strengths.

Anak TV volunteers

ANAK TV, the association of TV networks and cable operators bound together by a common interest in responsible programming, invites out-of-school youths in Metro Manila to serve as Anak TV youth volunteers.

Applicants should be at least 21 years old, high school graduates, articulate in Filipino or English, and are able to assist in the foundation?s projects related to television literacy, the promotion of TV users? rights and the selection of family-friendly TV programs. The foundation will provide transport, lodging and a modest allowance for assigned work. A brief biodata with photo and contact numbers must be sent by Feb. 28 by regular mail to Anak TV volunteers, 82 Dr. Lazcano St., Laging Handa, QC. A free orientation will be conducted for accepted volunteers prior to posting assignments. Personal queries or follow-ups by phone will not be entertained.

Matthew Fox in two films

MATTHEW Fox, the star of the hit series, ?Lost,? vaults into the big screen with two starrers, ?Vantage Point? and ?Speed

Racer.?

In ?Vantage Point,? he and Dennis Quaid play Secret Service agents assigned to protect the US president. When the president is shot in Spain, chaos ensues and the agents stop at nothing to hunt down the assassin.

In a radical change of pace, Fox plays Racer X in the Wachowski Brothers? ?Speed Racer.? He was so excited about clinching his plum role in the movie that he did all of his own stunts ?some of which turned out to be quite dangerous!