THE BUZZ : WILDER DIDN'T CODDLE FILM STARS - OR THEIR EGOS.

Byline: - Daily News Wire Services

Billy Wilder has directed most of Hollywood's legends, and none of them was safe from his serrated wit.

A new bio of the irascible lensman behind such classics as ``The Lost Weekend'' and ``Sunset Boulevard'' shows how he reveled in puncturing engorged egos.

Ed Sikov's ``On Sunset Boulevard'' presents an all-star cast of talent deflated by Wilder. Of Marilyn Monroe, Sikow recalls Wilder's assessment: ``breasts like granite and a brain like Swiss cheese.'' Likewise, Jack Lemmon ``had to be an actor. I doubt he could have done anything else, except play piano in a whorehouse.'' And Wilder doubted Peter Sellers could have a heart attack, writes Sikov, because ``you have to have a heart.''

There was no love lost between Wilder and Humphrey Bogart, either.

Sikov recounts how Bogart turned the making of the comedy ``Sabrina'' into an ``extended nightmare.''

Angered by the number of close-ups Wilder was lavishing on his young co-star, Audrey Hepburn, the aging Bogart ``started doing malicious imitations'' of Hepburn's refined British speech and Wilder's Austrian accent, Sikov writes.

On the set of ``Kiss Me, Stupid,'' Wilder showed actor Ray Walston how to get ready for a nude scene with Kim Novak by taking off his own clothes and getting in bed with her, according to Sikov.

Today, at age 92, Sikov writes, Wilder is as crusty as ever. Tom Cruise and director Cameron Crowe tried to get him to play the mentor to Cruise's sports agent in ``Jerry Maguire.'' Wilder turned them down, grunting: ``And why do we care about this sports agent to begin with?''

He went on to criticize Cruise's black jeans and dress shirt. But before they left, the old charmer told the two pups, ``Nice to meet you.''

Turning to Cruise, he added: ``Especially you.''

Wilder and his agent couldn't be reached for comment.

`Bug's Life' adds outtakes: In an unprecedented move, the Walt Disney Co. and Pixar this week are sending out new copies of the final film reel of ``A Bug's Life'' to about 2,700 theaters featuring a different set of 13 faux outtakes from the movie.

The original manufactured bloopers that run for about two minutes during the closing credits have been singled out by many reviewers and filmgoers as the most clever part of the animated movie. The computer-generated characters are shown as actors flubbing lines, breaking character, laughing uncontrollably, falling and bumping into props. Clapboards and boom mikes common to live-action film sets are also seen. It's typical stuff audiences have come to expect during the credits of Jackie Chan movies and the ``Home Improvement'' TV series but never an element of any animated film.

Director John Lasseter said his crew came up with more than two dozen ideas for pretend outtakes, which were ``like treats for the animators,'' but only about half were used in the original print to fit with music that runs in the background. When response was so strong to the first outtakes, Pixar ordered production to be completed on the rest of them.

Lasseter said swapping out the original outtakes for the new ones is ``like a Christmas gift for me'' that he also hopes will re-energize the movie for the holiday season.

``Since Thanksgiving and Christmas are essentially two different seasons, this essentially helps us re-open the picture,'' a Disney spokeswoman said.

After all, many filmgoers paid recently full admission prices simply to see a trailer for next year's ``Star Wars'' prequel.

The new ``Bug's Life'' outtakes will still not appear until well into the credits - unlike bloopers of other movies that pop up immediately - so as not to disrupt the flow of the closing song by Randy Newman. ``It was a balancing act,'' Lasseter said.

Caught `RedHanded': UPN has ordered six episodes of the reality series ``RedHanded,'' a hidden-camera show that reveals the sinners among us.

The series will premiere as part of UPN's midseason lineup, though no launch date has been set. The reality series joins ``Dilbert,'' ``Between Brothers'' and ``The Sentinel,'' which premiere in January and February.

`` `RedHanded' is a unique hybrid between a sitcom and a hidden camera show,'' said entertainment president Tom Nunan. ``The show is a hit on London Weekend Television, and this American version of the show will entertain viewers with its hilarious `sting' operations and off-kilter scenarios.''

UPN says the half-hour show uses a labyrinth of hidden cameras to teach lessons to friends, family and fellow workers.

Kelly given go-ahead: Segueing from lawyers to snoops, David E. Kelley has been given a green light by ABC to develop a drama about private investigators.

Kelley - whose ``The Practice'' on ABC took home the best drama Emmy this year - penned the highly anticipated project, tentatively dubbed ``Snoops,'' for fall. The drama represents the last in a multiseries commitment with ABC.

An ABC spokesman confirmed that the network this week ordered the pilot.

ABC execs first approached Kelley about developing a drama about private investigators, and the writer-producer turned in an irreverent script about four PIs who rely on high technology. No cast has been set.

Should ``Snoops'' go the distance, it's unknown whether Kelley will take on the writing responsibility. He's already writing most of the scripts for Fox's ``Ally McBeal'' and ``The Practice.''

Kelley, who has a multimillion-dollar development deal at 20th Century Fox TV, owes his next project to Fox in 2000. In the meantime, the broadcast networks have already approached the prolific writer about future commitments. It's likely Kelley will seek deals that offer greater time-slot assurances and creative freedom, sources said.

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos

Photo: (1) The outtakes at the end of ``A Bug's Life'' are so popular that Pixar is issuing a new print of the film with 13 more.

(2) Billy Wilder, left, reportedly said about actor Jack Lemmon: ``I doubt he could have done anything else, except play piano in a whorehouse.''

(3) Writer-director Cameron Crowe, left, and Tom Cruise had a role in mind for Wilder in ``Jerry Maguire,'' but he couldn't be persuaded, according to a new biography about the legendary director.