FIRST OFF . . .

Hollywood has cast its eye on the globally famous trapped gray whales story and sees . . . a movie starring Marlon Brando. Cindy Lowry--the Alaska Greenpeace representative who coordinated Eskimos, U.S. agencies and the military, the oil industry and two Soviet icebreakers to rescue the whales--said Sunday that Brando and others have contacted Greenpeace about making a movie about the whales’ plight. (Brando is in Zimbabwe currently, filming a movie.) Added Ron Morris, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration biologist who directed the rescue operation: “I already have two movie offers.” He did not mention the names of the companies involved, nor was mention made of the whales’ share of the profits.