News from the entertainment capital

'CLONES' MOVING RIGHT ALONG

George Lucas has reported to "Star Wars" fans that his special effects company, Industrial Light & Magic, recently completed work on the 1,000th effects shot for "Star Wars: Episode I -- Attack of the Clones."

"We hit the milestone," said Lucas on the movie's Web site, starwars.com.

"The tendency with other movies," said Lucas, "is to do the big push at the very end. It's like a term paper -- you study, you work, you do your research, and you keep putting off the actual writing until it's almost too late. What we've done is gotten half the term paper already written way early, so we have plenty of time to do rewrites and finish the project and have the opportunity to make changes and improve it. It's a great thing to be on schedule."

The movie, due in theaters next May, is still months away from completion.

"Everybody's done just a really great job of staying on schedule and keeping their heads down and really working hard to meet these milestones," said Lucas. He also said ILM has yet to begin to tackle "the most difficult part and the most complicated shots."

OSCAR PARTY PLANS

With the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences moving the Oscars presentation to the new Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland next year, everyone associated with Hollywood's big night is on a steep learning curve -- including Oscar party planners.

According to a report in Daily Variety, hopes of holding the major post-Oscars parties close together in the new complex are being dashed by the Academy itself.

The lease the Academy negotiated for Hollywood & Highland requires that all businesses in the new complex be closed on Oscar night. That includes the new restaurants and clubs that party planners had thought would be perfect places to hold celebrations that traditionally have been spread out all over Hollywood.

"The great thing about having all the studio parties in the complex is we minimize the time people have to spend in their cars going party hopping after a very long day," said Hollace Davids, Universal Studios' senior VP of special projects and a veteran Oscars party planner.

The Academy's Governors Ball will be held at Hollywood & Highland, but the rest of the galas -- including the big one, the Vanity Fair party -- will have to settle for locations a little farther away from the Kodak Theatre.

The decision to restrict Oscars parties at Hollywood & Highland is motivated by a number of practical matters -- mainly having to do with parking and security.

The story in Variety suggests that competition for A-list partygoers also figured in the decision, with Governor's Ball planners hoping they can attract as much Oscar night glamour as possible to the official Academy party by making it less convenient for the stars to hop from party to party.

ACTORS FIGHT RUNAWAY PRODUCTION

"NYPD Blue" star Esai Morales will represent the Screen Actors Guild next week when he testifies at a California legislature informational hearing on the issue of runaway production -- the growing trend of taking movie and TV production outside of the United States in order to save money.

The Select Committee on the Future of California's Film Industry will hold the hearing on Strengthening Film and Television Industry Opportunities in California on Dec. 5 in Los Angeles.

Morales, who also stars in the Showtime series "Resurrection Blvd.," was recently elected SAG 9th Vice President. He is scheduled to testify about how performers are professionally impacted by runaway production.

HONORS FOR BANDERAS

Organizers of the 10th Annual Latin American Film Festival have announced that Antonio Banderas will be the first recipient of the Anthony Quinn Achievement Award when the festival is held next April in Providence, R.I.

A native of Malaga, Spain, Banderas is best known as the star of "Spy Kids" and "The Mask of Zorro." He is married to actress Melanie Griffith.

A native of Mexico who was raised in East Los Angeles, Quinn won supporting actor Oscars for "Viva Zapata!" (1952) and "Lust for Life" (1956). He lived in Bristol, R.I., from 1995 until his death this June at 86.

ABC GETS 'HARRY' RIGHTS

Warner Bros. may have scooped the rest of Hollywood on movie rights to "Harry Potter," but Disney has found a way to own a piece of the action.

The Disney-owned ABC-TV network has secured the broadcast TV rights to "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" -- the first filmed version of author J.K. Rowling's series of Potter books. In a joint announcement of the deal, neither Warner Bros. nor Disney revealed the price Disney agreed to pay.

'24' WILL BE TRUE TO ITS NAME

Fox-TV has ordered 11 more episode of the new Kiefer Sutherland spy-thriller series, "24," guaranteeing fans that the show will live up to its premise -- a 24-hour story told in real time, one hour each week.

"24" was well reviewed, but viewers have not exactly made it a smash hit in its Tuesday 9 p.m. time slot -- even though Fox gave the show a heavy promotion prior to its premiere four weeks ago.

The network even replayed the first episodes on Friday nights, and plans to stay with that pattern for a few more weeks. It has also replayed the show twice each week -- on Sunday and Monday -- on its FX cable channel.

ARE YOU WATCHING LESS TV?

If you're reading this online, there's a chance you're not watching as much TV as you used to.

According to a new survey by researchers at UCLA, Internet usage is cutting down on the number of hours people spend watching TV.

The study also concluded that time spent online is not cutting into personal relationships. In fact, the researchers reported that Internet users actually interacted with friends for slightly longer periods of time than people who don't go on line.

Users and nonusers spent roughly the same amount of time on typical household activities such as meals and recreation, but nonusers reported spending an average of 10 hours per week watching TV while users reported spending fewer hours watching.

People who had more experience online watched less TV than Internet newcomers. The newcomers reported watching 9.4 hours per week, while the old hands said they watched 6.7 hours per week.

Internet users also reported spending less time listening to the radio, using the phone and reading traditional media such as books, newspapers and magazines.