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Entertainment Today: Showbiz news

By United Press International
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'SPIDER-MAN' -- THE SEQUELS

With $114 million in the bank after its first weekend in theaters, "Spider-Man" is a winning proposition for Columbia Pictures, and now Marvel Enterprises has announced that the studio has paid a seven-figure advance for a "Spider-Man" sequel due in theaters in 2004.

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A third "Spider-Man" movie is planned for 2006. Tobey Maguire is signed for both sequels as Peter Parker-"Spider-Man."

Marvel is having a heyday -- with four more movies based on its characters coming to theaters in 2003. They include "Daredevil," starring Ben Affleck; "The Hulk," directed by Ang Lee ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"); "X2," the sequel to the 2000 hit "The X-Men"; and "Punisher," about a vigilante.

Other Marvel properties -- "Sub-Mariner," "The Fantastic Four," "Dr. Strange" and "Ghost Rider" -- are being developed at various studios. Warner Bros., which owns D.C. Comics, is working on bringing more "Batman" and "Superman" movies to the screen, as well as a Wonder Woman movie.

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STARS LINE UP FOR TRIBECA FESTIVAL

The Tribeca Film Festival Martin -- running from Thursday through Saturday in New York -- will feature Martin Scorsese, Susan Sarandon, Alan Alda, Jon Stewart and Sidney Lumet taking part in panel discussions.

The panels will also feature Lauren Bacall, Mike Wallace, Akiva Goldsman, Wendy Wasserstein and Nora Ephron. Jane Rosenthal, who heads the festival with Robert De Niro, told FilmStew.com the participation by so many leading entertainment industry professionals was more than she had hoped for.

"We sought out to design a program featuring provocative experts from all fields of cinema production and perception," said Rosenthal. "I am overwhelmed by the participation of so many prominent film and entertainment figures."

Bacall and Ephron will discuss "Love, In the Movies;" Wallace and Goldsman will sit on a panel that includes Harold Ramis for "A Meeting of the Minds." Stewart and Sarandon will talk about "Confusion in a Time of Uncertainty: Life After September 11th."


'T3' -- BUSH IS OUT, DANES IS IN

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Director Jonathan Mostow has replaced 20-year-old Sophie Bush and replaced her with 23-year-old Claire Danes as the love interest of John Connor in "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines."

Mostow told Daily Variety he didn't like doing it, but Bush was just too young to play opposite Nick Stahl ("In the Bedroom").

"This was a difficult decision because Sophia is a talented and charismatic performer," said Mostow. "However, we feel, after reviewing the dailies, that her appearance and manner play younger than what we wanted for the role. We look forward to working with Sophia on future projects."

Variety said the change happened four weeks into shooting on the project.

Bush's resume highlights so far include a brief role in "National Lampoon's Van Wilder" and a turn as the queen of the 2000 Tournament of Roses.


ASHANTI'S ON TOP

R&B singer Ashanti is riding the top of the pop and R&B charts with her current single "Foolish" -- and leading the competition in airplay while she's at it.

According to Broadcast Data Systems (BDS), the music industry song monitoring service, "Foolish" had the most "spins" -- songs played on the radio -- for the week of April 29-May 5. Pop formats played the record 15,181 times while urban stations spun it 4,638 times during the week.

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Toby Keith had the third most spun record, with 5,638 spins on country stations for "My List."


STARS LINE UP FOR DGA HONORS

The Directors Guild of America has announced that Halle Berry, Francis Ford Coppola, Tim Robbins and Martin Scorsese will appears as presenters for its third annual DGA Honors on June 9.

Sony CEO Howard Stringer will also be a presenter.

The DGA had planned to hold the event last November, but moved it to June so guild members could participate in disaster relief campaigns following the Sept. 11 terrorists attacks.

Director Spike Lee, "60 Minutes" producer Don Hewitt and former National Endowment for the Arts chair Jane Alexander are scheduled to be honored at the gala.

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