"I AM not the same, having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world," wrote Mary Anne Radmacher Hershey.

Listen, we are not the same having seen the moon shine on our own hemisphere -- and I am speaking of the tragedy of Haiti.

There are many legit agencies collecting money to help Haiti re-establish itself. There is always the Red Cross, which you can reach via www.redcross.org. Or you can wait for the big George Clooney two-hour telethon, which happens this Friday on all five networks and most of the cable networks.

But if you want a sure-fire agency right now, you could contribute to Mayor Michael Bloomberg's "Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City." One hundred percent of whatever you send will go directly from the Mayor's Fund to agencies assisting Haiti. Believe me, I think we can trust Mayor Bloomberg -- the rare politician who has never had his hand in the till for his own betterment. (I have personally raised a lot of dough over the years since 9/11 for this fund and I believe in it wholeheartedly.) You can mail yours to the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City, One Centre St, 23rd floor, NYC 10007, phone 212-788-7794 or visit www.nyc.gov/fund.

WHAT IS really going on in the world of movies these days? No, I'm not talking about the recent Golden Globes or the coming Academy Awards. I'm talking "real."

There is an Indian movie mogul named Anil Ambani who is angling to take over MGM Studios and if he succeeds, he'll become one of the most powerful movers/shakers in international film. He already owns a controlling stake in Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks and he has made several big deals with enormous stars like Brad Pitt, Jim Carrey, Julia Roberts and George Clooney.

These days, people may still look to Hollywood for inspiration, or to Harvey Weinstein in New York, but they also look east to Ambani. He owns India's second-largest mobile phone company, as well as something called Reliance BIG Pictures. His current blockbuster hit "3 Idiots" has broken all records. It is the talk of India and has caused many arguments and much controversy.

For a while there, it seemed Mr. Ambani had crashed. He lost billions in the world's economic crisis, but already his fortunes have revived and he is determined to become the world's most powerful film king. If he buys MGM, he will acquire one of Hollywood's greatest film libraries. And MGM looks ripe to fall into his hands in order to avoid bankruptcy later this year.

Mr. Ambani has his own dramas. He is in a feud with his brother, Mukesh, who is the richest Indian in the world. Their empires span insurance, financial services, communications and the generation of power and distribution. Their father started out as a gas station attendant and made his money manufacturing polyester. The brothers remain in deep competition. Their story would make -- a great movie!

PEOPLE KEEP asking about "Mad Men" Jon Hamm's new full beard. Why has he grown it?

He says: "I shaved twice a day for about eight months so one day I decided I'd just stop."

The new beard didn't keep his longtime girlfriend Jennifer Westfeldt from giving him a big, big kiss at the Golden Globes.

DO YOU wonder who the New York socialites might be, the ones who managed to play extras in the coming Oliver Stone movie "Wall Street II"?

You may not believe it but let's list the ones we know -- first was press agent Peggy Siegal, who enabled most of the rest: Julia Koch, Amy Fine Collins, Hamish Bowles, Jacqueline Stone (Oliver's mother), Monique van Vooren, Chuck Pfeiffer, Geoffrey Bradfield, Don Marron, Graydon Carter, Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia, Christopher Mason, Yanna Avis, Shala Monroque, Olivia Chantecaille, Lawrence Robins, Jackie Weld Drake, Joan Juliet Buck, Jill Fairchild, Mario Calvo-Platero, Lisa Crosby, Susan Hess, Grace Meigher, Kelly Klein, Tully Rector, Lord William Astor and Donald Trump. I'm sure I missed a few.

But you won't want to miss the scene where Gordon Gekko and Donald Trump talk about their hair in a barbershop. Donald suggests a comb-over like his own but Michael Douglas, playing Gekko, says, "No, thanks Donald, I am a gel man."

This movie with its subtitle "The Money Never Sleeps" opens April 23. Naturally, all of the extras say it will be a big hit.

COULD THIS be the last word on Jay Leno? Here is the Washington Post TV maven Tom Shales:

"Leno remains disingenuous to an intolerable extreme. He's always playing the injured puppy -- the good-hearted lug in the blue-collar shirt who gets trampled over by the big guys. He used dyslexia as a badge of honor."

(E-mail Liz Smith at MES3838@aol.com, or write to her c/o Tribune Media Services, 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite 114, Buffalo, NY 14207.)