Hollywood Digest

BRIGHT OUTLOOK FOR HOLLYWOOD ECONOMY

Economic forecasters at UCLA have issued an upbeat report on Hollywood, finding that the movie business is in relatively good shape now and looks to stay fit in the foreseeable future.

The UCLA Anderson Forecast concluded in its latest quarterly report that movie production -- which is being done overseas more and more frequently as a cost-cutting move -- is not likely to disappear substantially from Los Angeles, as defense-related activity did during U.S. military downsizing following the end of the Cold War.

"The motion picture industry is very healthy," said Anderson Forecast senior economist Christopher Thornberg in the report, "and it is nearly impossible to imagine that the substantial capital and human capital assets in place in (Los Angeles) County will be abandoned anytime soon as the aerospace industry did in the early '90s."

Thornberg said the entertainment industry is actually one of the stronger components of the Southern California economy.

"After avoiding the worst of the 2001 downturn in the national economy, Southern California and Los Angeles have slipped into an economic stall very much like the rest of the nation," he said. "The only very good news in the local labor market is that the motion picture industry is making a strong recovery."

HONORS FOR ETTA JAMES, JOHNNY MATHIS, SIMON & GARFUNKEL

The Recording Academy has announced that Etta James, Johnny Mathis, Glenn Miller, Tito Puente and Simon & Garfunkel have been chosen to receive 2003 Lifetime Achievement Awards at the 45th annual Grammy Awards in February.

Engineer-producer and folk music archivist Alan Lomax and the New York Philharmonic have been honored with Trustees Awards.

The Lifetime Achievement Award honors "lifelong artistic contributions to the recording medium," while the Trustees Award "recognizes outstanding contributions to the industry in a non-performing capacity."

The 45th annual Grammy Awards will be handed out at Madison Square Garden in New York on Feb. 23 in ceremonies to be televised by CBS.

NICOLE SPEAKS

Nicole Kidman ("Moulin Rouge," "The Others") will be featured this Sunday on "60 Minutes," and gossip columnist Liz Smith reported Thursday that the Oscar-nominated actress opens up about her marriage to Tom Cruise, among other sensitive topics.

Kidman reportedly told reporter Leslie Stahl that her marriage to Cruise held her career back, and said that her husband's devotion to Scientology might make it difficult for their children to "find their identities in later life." According to Smith, Kidman also told Stahl she wishes to be swept off her feet romantically again.

'SCARY MOVIE 3' ADDS FIREPOWER

Kevin Smith -- the writer-director of "Dogma" and the upcoming Ben Affleck-Jennifer Lopez movie "Jersey Girl" -- has joined the creative team for "Scary Movie 3," as executive producer and co-writer.

The writing team already includes Pat Proft ("The Naked Gun"), Brian Lynch and Craig Mazin ("Rocket Man"). David Zucker ("The Naked Gun," "Airplane!") is directing.

'SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES' COMING TO BIG SCREEN

Plans are under way in Hollywood for a movie version of "The Spiderwick Chronicles," the series of books by fantasy writer Holly Black and illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi.

Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Films have optioned the movie rights, based on an idea by Black and DiTerlizzi, about three adventurous kids who interact with a world populated by all manner of magical creatures.

CALLING ALL COMICS

NBC will launch a nationwide search on Dec. 15 for the best professional and aspiring comedians -- male and female, 18 or older -- beginning with a series of auditions to narrow the list down to 10 contestants for a planned TV series, "Last Comic Standing," hosted by comic actor Jay Mohr ("Mohr Sports").

Finalists will be selected in competitions in New York and Los Angeles and the finals will be staged in Las Vegas. The TV show will follow the 10 winners as they live together in a house and compete for the big prize -- an exclusive talent contract with the network.

Regional auditions will be held in Chicago (Dec. 15), St. Louis (Dec. 18), Houston (Jan. 8) and San Francisco (Jan. 12). Plans call for NBC to add "Last Comic Standing" to its prime-time schedule in the spring or summer of 2003.