ROCHON PURSUES QUALITY ROLES.

Byline: Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith

You'll definitely see romantic sparks between Lela Rochon and Chris O'Donnell in the film adaptation of John Grisham's "The Chamber."

That's the word from the "Waiting to Exhale" actress, who chased her part although it originally called for a beautiful blonde. "I felt the color of skin was not that important in this role," she said.

Lela, who just started Mississippi production on the Universal "Chamber," also said, "I know it was a struggle for Denzel (Washington) to get cast in 'Pelican Brief.' ... Maybe that opened the door for me here. ... One thing I will say is, I wasn't put in the movie because I was black."

Rochon tells this column the "Chamber" script includes the sexual tension between her character, a gubernatorial aide, and O'Donnell's - the young attorney trying to win clemency for his grandfather (Gene Hackman), a white supremacist on Death Row.

With "Waiting to Exhale" gaining phenom status, she admits she worried about what would be the right follow-up project. She chose Showtime's March 31-debuting "Mr. & Mrs. Loving" with Timothy Hutton - the true story of the interracial marriage that led to the abolition of anti-miscegenation laws. After that, "there were a lot of scripts that were, well, OK work, but nothing I felt would mark a step forward."

She thought "The Chamber" would mark such a step and decided to pursue it herself. Despite success, noted the African-American actress, "You still have to fight; It's always a fight" to win compelling roles.

A word to the wise - Oscar winners: Louise Fletcher, who received an Academy Award 20 years ago for her role as Nurse Ratched in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," will be among the missing at tonight's Academy Awards. She's in North Carolina making what she calls "the women's revenge" - a CBS TV movie titled "The Stepford Husbands" with Donna Mills.

"I worked a lot this past year and a half," Fletcher said. "I've got three movies waiting for release, and I guest on the April 24 segment of 'Picket Fences.' A show-business career is like that, hills and valleys."

She doesn't buy the theory of the so-called Oscar curse, and said, "I was certainly given scripts after I won the award; I'm not sure I always used my best judgment. But valleys come in everyone's career - they're behind me, they're before me. My accountant is really thrown by me. He'll say, 'What do you mean you're not working? Isn't there something you can do to get a steady income?' Some years he is impressed by me - other years he's not."

Remembering: Oscar show producer Quincy Jones and his staff have been working to put together a tribute to the late Gene Kelly for tonight's program. "We also want to pay tribute to George Burns and the many other filmland famed who died within the last year," said Jones. "It's been a rough year for us ... Lana Turner, Dean Martin ... so many."

He and Kelly, who died Feb. 2, were dear friends, and, he said, "We even talked about his appearing on the Oscar program."

What's hot, what's not: Fred Hayman, fashion coordinator of the Academy Awards for the eighth year, has just returned from Paris and is stocking his Rodeo Drive shop with the hot fashions for fall and summer. "The minimalist look is out - people were dressing too understated for too long," he reported. "Black is passe - orange, lavender, cream are big, and powder blue continues strong. Satin is in, micro-mania is over, and hemlines are now closer to the knee."

He tips that if you can only afford a few new pieces of clothing, they should be "a satin blazer with a matching skirt, and black pants to alternate wearing with the jacket."