FILMMAKERS BUILD ANTICIPATION FOR `BIRTHDAY' PRESENT.

Byline: Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

The push is on for ``To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday'' - though the picture, in which Michelle Pfeiffer plays the dead wife to whom her widower (Peter Gallagher) remains tragically attached - doesn't open until October.

Director Michael Pressman acknowledges, ``We're trying to generate heat. I hate to say this, because it's tooting my own horn, but it is a little gem and has to be handled carefully.'' He adds, ``Triumph Pictures is screening it a lot - and people are already beginning to talk about it a lot.''

The film marks the move into feature film producing and writing for David E. Kelley, the brilliant creator-writer of ``Picket Fences'' and ``Chicago Hope.'' Kelley has been careful that articles about him not capitalize on the fact he's married to Pfeiffer - and therefore, it turned out to be a surprise that he chose to cast her in his first movie.

Pressman insists the $10 million movie did not depend on Pfeiffer's involvement. ``We had a go without her. We had Claire Danes and Kathy Baker. We were seeing people for the male lead and had a start date.''

So how did Michelle get involved? ``She read her husband's script and decided she wanted to make the movie.'' He adds, ``We're being careful not to present her as its star - hers is a supporting role and only necessitated 10 days' work.''

Still and all, it's Michelle who serves as the box office lure. But there's nothing wrong with that, because - hook, line or sinker - it's a quality picture people should see.

The big-screen scene: Producer Arnold Kopelson hopes to start ``The Devil's Advocate'' in October - with Keanu Reeves playing an attorney who discovers he's working for the most sinister of bosses. Kopelson expects to have another major name locked in within the next couple of weeks for the chiller thriller Taylor Hackford will direct.

Meanwhile, the producer, between international tub-thumping treks for ``The Eraser'' starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, reports he'll have three films in production simultaneously. On Aug. 5 in Toronto, he starts ``Murder at 1600'' with Wesley Snipes and Diane Lane, and on Aug. 26 production starts in Los Angeles on the Dustin Hoffman-John Travolta film ``Mad City.''

Hello again: Larry Hagman will be starring in ``Orleans'' for CBS after all.

We reported recently that CBS had ordered six segments of the saga in which the former ``Dallas'' star is to play the patriarch of a New Orleans dynasty - but that MTM productions didn't want to gear up for shooting of less than 13 segments of the show. Well, MTM is now out and Paramount TV is in as the company that will be making the midseason replacement series.

CBS now intends to bring us six hourlong segments of the drama - plus the two-hour pilot. At least for starters.

Jumpin' joint: The House of Blues club that's temporarily set up in a church next to Atlanta's Centennial Park has turned out to be one of the Olympic city's hottest spots. Already, the list of VIPs who've visited includes Charles Barkley and Scottie Pippen of the Dream Team, Prince Albert of Monaco, Donald and Marla Trump, Jon Secada, David Hasselhoff, Drew Carey, the Prince of Brunei, the Princess of Malaysia, Marky Mark, swimmer Steve Lundquist and the ``Today Show's'' Al Roker.

Roker actually went on stage and did a rendition of ``Soul Man,'' asking, ``How do you qualify to be a Blues Brother?'' Those ``Brothers'' - Dan Aykroyd, Jim Belushi and John Goodman - performed to capacity crowds this week. Ahead are several Olympics parties, including fetes for the Russian and the Australian teams.

MEMO: The Celebrities column appears Monday through Friday.