Hollywood Digest

'MENACE' STAR BITES THE HAND

Joining most of the critics who expressed pretty much the same opinion when "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace" was released in 1999, one of the movie's stars -- Ewan McGregor -- now says the movie was a disappointment.

In an interview with England's FilmFour, McGregor said the upcoming "Episode II: Attack of the Clones" is a more entertaining picture.

"I thought ('Episode I') was ... kind of flat," said McGregor, who played the Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi. "I think there is much more humor and there is much more color in 'Episode II.'"

Despite the cold reviews for "Episode I," fans spent $431.1 million to see it in U.S. theaters -- making it the No. 3 U.S. box-office attraction of all time.

"E.T. The Extra Terrestrial," released in 1982, is still in fourth place. But when you add the $30.5 million it has grossed in its current 20th anniversary re-release to its previous running total, $399.8 million, the new total is $430.3 million -- putting "E.T." within striking distance of replacing "Episode I" at No. 3 on the all-time list.

Advance tickets for the new "Episode II" are scheduled to go on sale at Odeon cinemas in England this Friday. Fans in Los Angeles began camping out on the sidewalk outside the Mann Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard last week, determined to be among the first to see the new "Star Wars" movie.

JACKIE CHAN'S NEXT IS PUT OFF

DreamWorks has announced that it will delay the release of Jackie Chan's upcoming action-comedy-fantasy "The Tuxedo," from June 7 to a yet-to-be-determined date in October.

The studio said the delay was necessary to give the production team more time to work on effects and stunts.

Chan and Jennifer Love Hewitt star in the story of a man who acquires super powers when he puts on a special suit of formal wear. It's being directed by Kevin Donovan in his feature film debut.

"The Tuxedo" was written by a team that includes Michael J. Sullivan, one of the writers of the current box-office hit "Ice Age."

ANOTHER NEW DATE FOR 'GANGS'

According to a report in Daily Variety, Miramax executives have finally worked out their issues with "Gangs of New York" director Martin Scorsese, and plan to release the picture this Christmas.

One of the main points of contention had been the running time. Scorsese had the epic down to somewhere in the neighborhood of three hours, but Variety reported that it's now down to less than two hours and 40 minutes.

Another issue was the explicit violence depicted in the story of gang warfare for control of the streets of Manhattan during the middle part of the 19th century. Miramax reportedly had reservations about releasing the movie with the Sept. 11 still fresh in the public's mind.

"Gangs of New York" stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis and Cameron Diaz.

'FAT ALBERT' TAKES A TIMEOUT

According to a report in The Hollywood Reporter, pre-production has been suspended on the movie version of Bill Cosby's long-running CBS kids' show "Fat Albert," because of creative differences between Cosby and director Forest Whitaker.

According to the report, Whitaker is off the project, and work will not resume until a new director is found.

"Fat Albert" ran on Saturday mornings on CBS from 1972-84. When UPN aired "The Fat Albert Christmas Special" last December, it won its 8 p.m. time period among adults 18-34, women 18-34 and kids 2-11.

DAVE AND TED TOGETHER?

Ted Koppel and David Letterman have agreed to swap appearances on their late-night TV shows.

Koppel told TV Guide he and Letterman made the agreement when he called Letterman to thank the CBS comic for his kind words during the recent controversy surrounding ABC's bungled plan to replace the veteran journalist's long-running "Nightline" with the popular comedian.

Letterman was on vacation when the story broke, but when he returned to the show he told his audience that he had decided to stay put at CBS -- and said Koppel should be able to stay on at ABC as long as he wanted.

Koppel said he and the brass at ABC are discussing the future of his show.

"Maybe it was naive on my part," said Koppel, "but it really had not occurred to me that 'Nightline' was in any jeopardy."

STARS COME OUT FOR NEW SAG DEAL

The Screen Actors Guild is getting help from some high-profile members in its campaign to convince the rank and file to approve a new deal with talent agents -- to replace the contract that covered the actor-agent relationship for 63 years before it expired earlier this year.

The union will run ads in the Hollywood trade papers on Tuesday announcing endorsements of the Agency Franchise Agreement by dozens of actors, including screen legend Gregory Peck, "American Beauty" stars Annette Benning and Kevin Spacey and former SAG presidents Patty Duke and Richard Masur.

Oscar and Emmy-winner Helen Hunt, deejay Casey Kasem, singer Bonnie Raitt, "West Wing" stars Martin Sheen, Rob Lowe, Bradley Whitford and John Spencer, and former "M*A*S*H" stars Jamie Farr, Mike Farrell and Loretta Swit are also lending their names to the campaign, along with former head of the National Endowment for the Arts Jane Alexander.

Whitford and his wife, "Malcolm in the Middle" star Jane Kaczmarek, issued a separate statement of their own urging a vote for the new deal.

"If SAG members do not approve this new Franchise," said Whitford and Kaczmarek, "the world of actor-agent relationships will become completely unregulated. The actors' union will no longer have authority over agents' conduct, and actors will be on their own to negotiate deals in the free market jungle."

Farrell, SAG's first vice president and the star of the NBC drama "Providence," also issued a statement of his own.

"A 'no' vote," said Farrell, "will end the 60-year-old Franchise Agreement that has protected actors and will create an unregulated, chaotic environment."