The Keanu Reeves-Charlize Theron coupling "Sweet November" fetched a decent $1.7 million in Japan, its last major market, ranked second behind local champ "Spirited Away." A dud in the rest of Asia, Australia, the U.K. and France, and an OK performer in Germany, Brazil, Italy and Spain, "November" has earned a modest $19.9 million.

KEANU Reeves says he's steamed that his steamy scenes with Charlize Theron have been trimmed from "Sweet November." In one of the edited sequences, Reeves and Theron share a bubble bath in which he dives underwater during a sex act. The Hollywood hunk's dip has now been relegated to the cutting room floor. "That's a drag," Reeves tells TV Guide online, "because I think it shows a nice intimacy and humanity . . . I trust Pat O'Connor, the director, and he says the cuts don't compromise what we did. But I think you lose something."

Some steamy sex scenes shot for the upcoming Keanu Reeves & Charlize Theron romance Sweet November (opening Feb. 16) have wound up on the cutting-room floor, and the pic's leading man is peeved with Warner Bros. for bowing to pressure from the MPAA.

The outdoor tables along 18th Street on Potrero Hill have been packed lately. For the price of a latte, locals can watch the making of ``Sweet November,'' an offbeat romance starring Charlize Theron as a neighbor who takes a new lover every month and Keanu Reeves as Mr. November.

We joined the gawkers just in time to catch Theron, looking pale and wan (apparently her character is at death's door), walk by in combat boots fetchingly worn with pink socks. She's followed by a Yellow Cab occupied by the Matrix breaker himself. He tries to entice her to get in with sweet talk and flowers.

The two rehearse this bit a half-dozen times. When the cameras start to roll, Theron puts out her cigarette (ill advised for someone in her presumed condition), and Reeves' puny bouquet is replaced with a bountiful one. As the scene is reshot again and again, the coffee drinkers become restless. ``Going to a movie is a lot more exciting than watching this crap,'' one woman is heard to complain.

Movie Insider was here with P.J. Johnston, the always cheerful executive director of the San Francisco Film Commission. Being of good cheer helps when he goes around to check that filming isn't disrupting local businesses. Popping into Potrero Hill shops, Johnston gets good reports -- especially from those being paid for their storefronts to appear in ``Sweet November.''

On-Set Reports: Nothing to juicy in these eyewitness reports folks, but they do give a chance for others living nearby to be alerted as to what may be going on in their local area, especially when what's going on is shooting on films starring Keanu Reeves & Mel Gibson. Thanks to 'David' & 'naskar258':

"I live in San Francisco and on my run the other day I witnessed filming of a new Keanu Reeves movie called "Sweet November". The shooting was taking place in a 4,000 brick Tudor house on the corner of Broadway and Baker in San Francisco. The house has a gorgeous out look of the SF Bay with views of the Bay Bridge, Alcatrazz, and the Golden Gate. At the end of Broadway on the west side, the street ends at a big iron gate and dirt road that lead into the Presidio. They will be shooting vehicles entering the dirt then cutting to the house to make the appearance of a long driveway and gate leading up to the home."

Charlize Theron says no to ''Pearl Harbor'' -- The actress explains why she's passing up a star-making role in Disney's high-priced epic

'SWEET' TALK Theron will star in the smaller ''November'' instead of the big-budget ''Harbor'' by Craig Seymour

Industry buzz had it that Charlize Theron would likely become a female lead in ''Pearl Harbor,'' Disney's WWII epic whose $135 million preshooting budget makes it the most expensive film ever greenlit. But the increasingly hot Theron, who next stars opposite Ben Affleck in John Frankheimer's ''Reindeer Games'' (opening Feb. 25), tells EW Online that she's passing on the project. Instead she'll join Keanu Reeves in a remake of the '68 romantic drama ''Sweet November,'' which starts shooting at the same time as ''Harbor.'' ''Whomever is in it [''Harbor''] will probably become a huge star and the movie will do extremely well,'' says Theron. ''But I know I'm here [in my career] because I've always made decisions based on what felt right to me and what felt challenging to me.'' Theron denies that her choice was influenced by the negative hype surrounding ''Harbor'''s initial price tag, which dwarfs the greenlighted bugets of both ''Titanic'' (less than $100 million) and ''Waterworld ($65 million). ''I made my decision based on the character in 'Sweet November,''' she says. (We can see why: In the original version, Sandy Dennis plays a woman who takes a new lover every month.) So while ''Pearl Harbor'' still has ''Armageddon'' director Michael Bay at the helm, and lots of stunt people, pyrotechnics, and ''Titanic'''s water tank to re-create the infamous Dec. 7, 1941, attack, it's now short one soon-to-be A-list actress. But, then again, with a $135 million budget the producers can surely afford a new one. Rennie Zellweger, perhaps

LOS ANGELES - Charlize Theron is in negotiations to star opposite Keanu Reeves in Warner Bros./Bel-Air Entertainment's remake of the 1968 drama "Sweet November." The project takes Theron out of the group of possible contenders for Disney's big-budget epic "Pearl Harbor".That Jerry Bruckheimer-produced extravaganza is to be directed over a period of five months with Michael Bay at the helm. No cast has been set. "November," to be helmed by Pat O'Connor, tells the story of a work-obsessed man (Reeves) who comes into contact with a woman (Theron) who takes a new lover each month. After falling in love with her, he discovers she is dying of cancer.

``Devil's Advocate'' costar Keanu Reeves in a remake of the 1968 film ``Sweet November'' for Warner Bros.

The film, with a script by Kurt Voelker, will be directed by Pat O'Connor (``Circle of Friends''). Theron chose the project over an offer to play the female lead in ``Pearl Harbor,'' the WWII Disney epic that Michael Bay will direct.

``Sweet November'' originally starred Anthony Newley as a Gotham-based tycoon who falls for a woman who insists on taking a new lover each month because she is dying. Theron will play the dying woman.

Reminiscent of his decision to take on the sweeping romance "A Walk in the Clouds" after breaking out in the action-packed "Speed," actor Keanu Reeves is in final talks to star in a remake of the 1968 love story "Sweet November," fresh off his sci-fi-action megahit "The Matrix."

Financed by Warner Bros. and Steve Reuther's Bel Air, the film is written by Kurt Volker and is set to be directed by Pat O'Connor ("Circle of Friends"). Daily Variety reports that the feature will begin production Feb. 28. Upping his post-"Matrix" base salary, Reeves is expected to receive $15 million against 15% of the feature's gross.

Already on its way to the cineplex for Reeves is the football comedy "The Replacements," co-starring Gene Hackman and set for release by Warner in August. The "November" project represents one of two films the actor will headline before settling in for a 250-day shoot filming two sequels to Larry and Andy Wachowski's "The Matrix." That production is set for winter 2001.

The original "Sweet November" starred Anthony Newley as a wealthy Gotham businessman who falls for a girl who insists on a new lover every month because of a fatal illness. Erwin Stoff and Deborah Allan Stoff, a former high-profile television executive who retired to teach screenwriting at USC, are producing the current project.

When Reeves showed interest last summer, Deborah Stoff decided to come out of retirement to develop the script, which was a longtime passion. Their mutual interest led to O'Connor, an Irishman who lives in London with actress-wife Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. Besides "Circle of Friends," O'Connor has directed "Dancing at Lughnasa" and "Inventing the Abbotts."

The movie will be Reeves' first love story since the $100 million worldwide-grossing "A Walk in the Clouds." His representatives in negotiations for the film were CAA and 3 Arts. O'Connor and scripter Volker were both repped by UTA.

Plans for Reeves' next film before "The Matrix" sequels have not yet been set, although Variety has speculated that he may opt for "Fishing for Moonlight," a story about a stockbroker who risks his livelihood to rescue a Russian woman caught up in prostitution.

That project is being set up at Village Roadshow Pictures (also responsible for "The Matrix") by producers Dylan Sellers and Erwin Stoff. The screenwriter is Jack Olson, who recently completed "33 Liberty Street" for Warner Bros.