CHER 'FAITHFUL' TO PROJECT AGAIN.

Byline: Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Cher seems to have had a change of heart about "Faithful."

Director Paul Mazursky reveals she has agreed to help promote the New Line movie, which finally hits theaters in April - almost two years after it was shot.

Mazursky insists he still can't understand what "bizarre insecurity" crept in that made Cher insist on some changes in his cut of the film. However, he said, "The changes were made. They didn't work. They gave a different rhythm to the movie. My cut was used, and the previews have been terrific."

The filmmaker said, "This is Cher's first film in five years ... and I won't confirm those stories that she was unhappy with how she looked in the movie - she didn't tell me that. I think she looks great. And she's very talented."

Mixing media: "Mr. and Mrs. Loving," Showtime's upcoming movie with Tim Hutton and "Waiting to Exhale's" Lela Rochon, may wind up going to the big screen.

Producer Daniel Paulson revealed, "We're trying to get a theatrical release in the same manner HBO did with 'The Last Seduction,' possibly through October Films. We've screened it for various focus groups, and the response cards have been incredible." Regardless of whether "Mr. and Mrs. Loving" gets theatrical distribution, it will debut on Showtime March 31.

"When I first heard the story, I thought it had to take place in Johannesburg - not in the United States, not in the '50s and '60s," commented Paulson. "This couple gets married. That night, sheriffs break into their home and arrest them for violating miscegenation laws ..."

The Loving case came to the attention of Robert Kennedy when Mildred Loving wrote to him asking for assistance. It culminated in the U.S. Supreme Court's 1967 decision abolishing miscegenation laws. Paulson wasn't the only one hot to turn the saga into a film. Hutton had also pursued rights to the story - before teaming up with Paulson.

Drawing a new picture: The man who gave us "Dennis the Menace," Hank Ketcham, proves it's not only kids who say the darnedest things as he shares his thoughts on the in-the-works sequel to the 1993 film incarnation of his famous comic strip. Ketcham says that although Walter Matthau "did a great job" playing Mr. Wilson in the feature, "and I'm sure Warners would love to have him back, personally, I'd like to see the part recast. It's this many years later, and he may be too old for the part now."

Anyway, Ketcham reports the sequel script is well under way. "It's taking a long time to get to this point, but I think it will be worth it," said the septuagenarian cartoonist - who devotes most of his time to painting more serious works these days, and who has had several showings as an artist. He added, "Most so-called sequels come - boom - right after the originals, and they sacrifice quality and disappoint the audience."

The inside track: French-Canadian singer Celine Dion will set off on her first North American headlining tour of amphitheater-size venues in July, with dates that'll keep her in these parts until Labor Day.

Things are hotter than ever for Dion, recently named the No. 1-selling recording artist in Europe for '95, who last week won Best Song honors at France's Les Victoires awards. Her "Because You Loved Me" - the first single and video off the soundtrack for the March 1-opening Robert Redford-Michelle Pfeiffer "Up Close and Personal" - is just out. Plus, she has the single and video for "Falling Into You," from her March 12-debuting album, hitting the air.

The beauty who dueted on the hit themes of "Beauty and the Beast" and "Sleepless in Seattle" said she finds it easier to sing songs for films than to sing tunes for which she conjures up her own inspiration. She saw "Up Close and Personal" in rough form and found it inspiring indeed "to already know these wonderful characters and their love story." ...

Songstress Oleta Adams tried her hand at co-producing a couple of the tunes on her new "Moving On" disc, but she says she won't be doing "a whole lot more. To produce you really need to understand the technical aspects of it totally, and I don't want to think about which microphone to use. I'd rather do the performance as long as I have a part of the decision-making process ... and since I'm playing the piano, writing the songs and singing them, I'm going to have a lot to say."

The singer says on her new Fontana/Mercury "Moving On" album "I went for more r&b. It's a lot more playful and romantic."