More ‘Pulp Fiction’ possible

Venice, Italy — “Pulp Fiction, the Prequel”?

John Travolta, who played hit man Vincent Vega in director Quentin Tarantino’s blood-drenched 1994 film, said Tarantino had been considering another episode of the drama.

“Every six months he calls me to talk about a project on the story of the Vega brothers — a type of prequel to ‘Pulp Fiction,”‘ he said in an interview, La Repubblica newspaper reported in Friday’s editions. “Then, it all remains in his mind.”

Travolta is in town for the Venice Film Festival to promote “A Love Song for Bobby Long,” while Tarantino is a co-presenter in a retrospective of Italian B-movies.

“The problem is that we worked together in tight times,” Travolta said of the collaboration. “Now he makes films for millions of dollars. I don’t know if I’d still be OK for him.”

Coach honored for teaching

Los Angeles — Former longtime UCLA basketball coach John Wooden was among 10 educators honored at the unveiling of a sidewalk monument honoring teachers.

Friday’s ceremony was attended by about 200 parents, students, friends and officials. Wooden coached the Bruins from 1947-1975 and was an English teacher before that.

“It’s nice to see teachers honored,” he said.

The row of 10 bronze plaques dubbed the Walk of Hearts lines the front of a San Fernando Valley theater. It features the names of teachers set in designs of laurels shaped like a heart and an apple.

Fonda to receive Cooper Award

Bozeman, Mont. — Actor, director and Montana resident Peter Fonda will receive the first Gary Cooper Spirit of Montana Award, according to the fledgling film festival giving out the award.

Jeff Bridges will present the award from the HatcH Audiovisual Arts Festival, scheduled for Sept. 9-12. Like Fonda, Bridges has a home in Montana’s Paradise Valley.

Fonda said he was honored to receive an award named for Cooper, who he knew through his father, Henry Fonda.

“He was a great Westerner — his bearing, everything about him,” Fonda said of Cooper. “When I found out he was from Montana, I thought ‘Well, that’s why.”‘

Hometown to toast swimmer

Baltimore — It’s billed as a “Phelpstival,” a party, parade and presentation for Michael Phelps after his Olympic triumph.

The swimming champion makes his homecoming this coming week, and on Thursday Baltimore County Executive James Smith announced plans for a day of tributes Saturday.

There will be an honorary renaming of Cedar Avenue after Phelps, and a parade winding through downtown Towson will culminate in a ceremony on the Court House Plaza. The swimmer, who finished with six gold medals and two bronze at the Athens Games, will receive the keys to Baltimore County.