Hollywood Digest

CAREY BATTLES ABC CENSORS

According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, Drew Carey had to stand up to what he called a threat by ABC censors to stop production on "The Drew Carey Show" because of an episode in which two dim-bulb characters are hired as airport security guards.

Carey told the paper that the network expressed concern about showing series regulars Lewis (Ryan Stiles) and Oswald (Diedrich Bader) as airport guards without having at least one security worker be seen as competent. He said network brass hinted on Monday that if producers didn't make a change, the entire script would be thrown out.

"I've never had a threat like that from the network," said Carey. "Everybody was kind of in shock. If you can't satirize authority institutions, what's the point?"

The paper said producers agreed to some changes and will film the episode Thursday, for broadcast in April.

SCHWARZENEGGER STILL UNDECIDED

Arnold Schwarzenegger is still contemplating running for public office some day, but for now he's content to meet his professional obligations and keep working on behalf of Special Olympics and beefed up after school programs for California kids.

The big guy told CNN Wednesday he has thought about politics often, and has been urged more than once to run.

"I have been asked for the last 10 years to run for office," he said, "congress, senator, governor or whatever it is."

Schwarzenegger said the most recent entreaty came last year, when the Republican Party was casting about for someone to challenge California Gov. Gray Davis, who is running for re-election in November.

"I could not do that at this point because I have too many obligations with movies," he said.

Schwarzenegger said he didn't run because he had to honor contracts to star in "True Lies" 2 and "Terminator 3 -- The Rise of the Machines."

If and when the time comes for him to throw his hat into the ring, Schwarzenegger said he'd have to check with his wife, Maria Shriver, first.

"The whole family participates in that," he said.

'THE LONE RANGER' RIDES AGAIN?

Plans are under way in Hollywood for a big screen version of the hit radio and TV series "The Lone Ranger."

Sony's Columbia Pictures has acquired screen rights to the tale of the masked man who rides from town to town helping the local folk deal with evildoers.

Insiders tell Daily Variety the project will have a budget in the neighborhood of $70 million, and will be freshened up a bit in the manner of Antonio Banderas' 1998 Zorro movie, "The Mask of Zorro."

The WB is already working on its own take on the Lone Ranger legend, expected to hit the primetime schedule this fall.

MOVIE BUSINESS IS BETTER THAN EVER

Movie executives gathered for the annual ShoWest convention in Las Vegas got an upbeat report on the state of their business this week from Motion Picture Association of America president Jack Valenti -- movie admissions for 2001 were at a 42-year high and total receipts reached an all-time high.

People bought close to 1.5 billion movie tickets -- up 5 percent from 2000 and the highest total since 1959, according to Valenti. Those ticket-buyers spent $8.41 billion, easily surpassing the $7.7 billion box-office performance of 2000.

All this, despite anxiety about the business in the wake of terrorist attacks on Sept. 11.

"A lot of people thought after Sept. 11, the movie industry would go into the tank, that people would be umbilically connected to their electronic box in their living room and wouldn't dare leave home," said Valenti. "For some strange, but to me not bizarre reason, the opposite happened."

A record 20 pictures grossed at least $100 million, and five of those reached $200 million -- "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring." Four pictures released in 2001 cracked the Top 20 all-time movie hit list, and eight now stand in the Top 50.

'POTTER,' 'RINGS' HEAT UP WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE

"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" -- or "Philosopher's Stone," depending on where in the world the movie is showing -- has run its worldwide box-office total to $941.7 million.

According to the latest numbers, "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" has grossed $749.6 million.

"Harry Potter's" number is spectacular, but still well short of the all-time record -- $1.8 billion for "Titanic." "Potter" is the 7th biggest box-office attraction in U.S. history with $314.9 million.

"Rings" is No. 13 with $287.7 and could overtake "The Empire Strikes Back" this weekend for No. 12.

STARS COME OUT FOR OSCARS

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Wednesday that Cameron Diaz will be a presenter at the 74th Academy Awards.

It will be the third appearance as a presenter for the star of "Vanilla Sky" and "Charlie's Angels." Diaz is due on U.S. theater screens in April in "The Sweetest Thing" described as a comedy about a woman who is forced to school herself in the ways of courtship when she finally meets "Mr. Right."

She also stars with Leonardo DiCaprio in "Gangs of New York," due in theaters later this year.

JUDGE THROWS OUT MEDIA-COLUMBINE LAWSUIT

A judge in Denver has thrown out a lawsuit claiming that video game makers and filmmakers bear part of the blame for the Columbine High School massacre.

The family of Dave Sanders -- a teacher who was killed in the April 1999 Columbine shooting -- filed the lawsuit on behalf of other victims.

Judge Lewis Babcock ruled that makers of violent games and movies could not have reasonably foreseen that people who used their products would go on to commit violent acts.