Hollywood Digest

HONORS FOR GEORGE LUCAS

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts, Los Angeles, honored George Lucas Friday with one of the British film industry's most prestigious prizes, the Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film.

"He has contributed immensely to our industry as an innovative filmmaker, changing the way movies are made, seen and heard," said Gary Dartnall, chairman of BAFTA/LA.

Lucas has been responsible for a substantial amount of work for British filmmakers, having made nine pictures in England -- including "Willow" and "Labyrinth."

Among the Hollywood elite who showed up for the presentation in Los Angeles were Harrison Ford, who starred in three of Lucas' "Star Wars" movies and the Lucas-produced "Indiana Jones" trilogy. Steven Spielberg, who received the Britannia Award last year, was also there.

Lucas joined a list of Britannia winners that includes Stanley Kubrick (1999), John Travolta (1998), Dustin Hoffman (1997), Bob and Harvey Weinstein (1996), Anthony Hopkins (1995), Martin Scorsese (1994), Peter Ustinov (1993), Michael Caine (1992), and Albert "Cubby" Broccoli (1991).

The Britannia Award for Excellence in Television -- honoring legendary TV producer Aaron Spelling and the British Broadcasting Corporation -- was presented this year to HBO Original Programming, in recognition of "its outstanding contribution to US/UK programming," including "Band of Brothers."

'LANES' PASSES 'PANIC' AT BOX OFFICE

Urban anxiety ruled at the U.S. box office this weekend, as "Changing Lanes" and "Panic Room" finished in the top two spots.

"Changing Lanes" -- starring Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Affleck in a morality play about the dire consequences of unchecked road rage -- opened at No. 1 with an estimated $17.6 million. "Panic Room" -- starring Jodie Foster as a big city mom trapped in her own state-of-the art home security system -- fell to second with an estimated $11.3 million.

The thriller, which finished at No.1 in its first two weeks in theaters, has rung up a 17-day gross of $74.1, giving Foster her first big hit since "Contact" grossed $100.9 million in 1997.

The new Cameron Diaz comedy "The Sweetest Thing" finished third with $10 million.

Good reviews and endorsements from Stephen King and James Cameron were not much help for "Frailty." The psychological thriller starring "Titanic's" Bill Paxton in his feature film directing debut took in just $4.2 million in its opening weekend, finishing in a tie for eighth place with the college comedy "National Lampoon's Van Wilder."

Overall, the U.S. box office took in $95 million, up 6 percent from the same weekend last year. The box-office for 2002 so far is running 15 percent ahead of last year's pace.

CUSACK HEADED FOR NEW GRISHAM PROJECT

According to a report in Daily Variety, John Cusack will star in the movie adaptation of John Grisham's novel "The Runaway Jury," and Naomi Watts ("Mulholland Drive") is under consideration to co-star.

Cusack will play the foreman of a jury in a landmark lawsuit against a gun manufacturer. The character comes under tremendous pressure from all sides in competing campaigns to control the course of justice.

Earlier plans had called for Will Smith to star and Mike Newell ("Four Weddings and a Funeral") to direct, but Grisham reportedly vetoed that arrangement. Gary Fleder ("Don't Say a Word," "Kiss the Girls") is now signed to direct "Runaway Jury."

ACADEMY SLAPS POWERFUL AGENCY OVER OSCAR ADS

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences took out full-page ads in the Hollywood trade papers Friday to criticize one of the most powerful talent agencies in the entertainment capital for exaggerating the number of Oscar nominations accounted for by its clients.

The Creative Artists Agency ran ads on March 22 -- two days before the 74th Academy Awards -- congratulating a long list of its clients for their nominations. The problem with CAA's ad, said the academy, is that half the people on the agency's list were not actually nominated for Oscars.

The academy's corrective ad -- headlined "Department of Clarification" -- tweaked CAA for suggesting that all those non-nominees had actually been honored by the academy.

"It seems prudent to nip this form of enthusiasm in the bud," said the academy ad, "lest CAA or another even more enthusiastic entity decide next year to celebrate its clients by awarding several dozen of them not just nominations but actual Oscars, or Congressional Medals of Honor, or Nobel Prizes."

Academy president Frank Pierson told the Los Angeles Times that CAA had engaged in "wretched excess" in running its congratulatory ads.

"We wanted to get it out that we don't like it," Pierson said. "Maybe everybody should take a step back and think about what they are doing during the Oscar season."

The non-nominees named in the CAA ad included Ewan McGregor ("Moulin Rouge"), Viggo Mortensen and Liv Tyler ("The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring"), Kristin Scott Thomas ("Gosford Park") and Ed Harris ("A Beautiful Mind").

FROM STAGE TO SCREEN AND BACK

Plans are under way for a New York revival later this year of Terrence McNally's play "Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune" -- which was made into a 1991 movie "Frankie and Johnny," starring Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer.

Gossip columnist Liz Smith reported that the new production will star Edie Falco ("The Sopranos") and Stanley Tucci ("Conspiracy," "Winchell"). The play will run for just 10 weeks, since Falco will need to get back to work on a new season of "The Sopranos" in January 2003.