By Devin D. O'Leary

AUGUST 11, 1997:  Talk about your horror stories. I know two Hollywood stars who really wish the ghosts of their past would just go away. Matthew McConaughey (starring right now in Contact) and Renee Zellwegger (who got her big break last fall in Jerry Maguire) both did their first work in Richard Linklater's Dazed and Confused. Shortly thereafter, they starred in the low-budget gore flick Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation. The film was never released, but now that the two are big stars, it's rearing its ugly head again. Reportedly the agents of one or both actors have been doing their best to prevent the film from ever seeing the light of day. No such luck. Latest word is that TCM: TNG will be released to theaters in late August or early September. ... As long as we're on the subject of horror stories, Scream screenwriter Kevin Williamson has just been hired to write the latest Halloween movie (by my count, number six). Reportedly, original star Jamie Lee Curtis is interested in doing it if director John Carpenter climbs back on board. Carpenter said he might "if it's a great story." ... And speaking of horror, while we we're digging into our "Please, God no!" file, we found a report that MGM has paid a reported $1.75 million for the sequel right to Basic Instinct. Sharon Stone, to her credit, says she will not appear in the film.