The Merchant-Ivory Productions will be workingon the making of a new film--"Picasso"--in thenear future, he said.

Merchant also fondly recalled his ownconnection to Harvard.

When he was producing "The Bostonians"then-Harvard President Derek C. Bok helped himacquire an $800,000 loan from the Bank of Boston.

"My debt to Derek Bok will bring me here freeof cost," said Merchant joking.

Most members of the audience were captivated byMerchant's speech.

"He was an incredibly engaging speaker. He hasa lot of passion and a lot of heart," said MarilynI. Byrne, a secretary at the Law School.

"He's really intelligent and charming. I wish Ihad a dream like that and I could go after it,"said Ayla A. Lari, a first-year student at the LawSchool