Hollywood Digest

'MINORITY' WINS BOX-OFFICE PLURALITY

The new Tom Cruise-Steven Spielberg futuristic thriller "Minority Report" was No. 1 at the U.S. box office in its opening weekend, but not by much, finishing with $35.7 million, while the new Disney animated feature "Lilo & Stitch" opened with $35.3 million.

Early estimates on Sunday had given "Minority Report" a No. 1 finish by $1.1 million, but the race tightened up when the actual numbers were counted.

"Scooby-Doo" fell from first to third in its second weekend with an estimated $24.4 million, and a 10-day total of $100.2 million. The Matt Damon spy thriller, "The Bourne Identity," dropped from second to fourth with an estimated $14.8 million in its second weekend, and a 10-day total of $54.1 million.

Ben Affleck's "The Sum of All Fears" took in $7.9 million in its fourth weekend, for a fifth place finish and a running total of $97.4 million. The new urban comedy "Juwanna Mann" opened at No. 7 with $6 million, just behind Nicolas Cage in "Windtalkers," with $6.7 million and a 10-day total of $26.7 million.

"Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" ($5.7 million) was No. 8, followed by "Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones" ($5.1 million, $279.8 million) and "Spider-Man" ($4.4 million, $390.2 million) rounded out the rest of the Top 10.

Overall, the U.S. box office took in $160 million, down 3 percent from last weekend but up 13 percent from the same weekend in 2001. It was the fifth biggest weekend of 2002, and propelled the year-to-date total to $4.22 billion -- 20 percent better than it had been at this point in 2001.

GEOFFREY RUSH'S NEXT

According to published reports in Hollywood, Geoffrey Rush ("Quills," "Shine") is in talks to join Johnny Depp in the cast of Disney's upcoming movie version of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" theme park ride.

Rush would play one of the pirates -- Capt. Blackheart.

Jerry Bruckheimer ("Black Hawk Down," "Remember the Titans") is producing the project, with a screenplay by Terry Rossio and Ted Elliott ("Shrek," "The Road to El Dorado").

WALK OF FAME, CLASS OF '03

The Hollywood Walk of Fame will welcome Kevin Bacon, Drew Carey, Robert Duvall, Etta James, Susan Sarandon, Martin Scorsese and Kermit the Frog next year.

Johnny Grant, chairman of Hollywood Chamber of Commerce Walk of Fame Committee and honorary mayor of Hollywood, announced the Class of '03.

"This year's honorees met all the criteria in longevity, professional achievement and contributions to the community," said Grant.

Beau Bridges, the Osmond Family, Gilda Radner, Isabel Sanford and Suzanne Somers will get stars in the TV category. Michael Bolton, Carole King and Earl Scruggs will be honored for their recording careers. Betty Garrett, Doris Roberts and Richard Rodgers are among the honorees in the stage category.

MAHER READY TO WRAP IT UP

Its replacement will not be on the air until after the 2003 Super Bowl, but "Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher" heads into its final week on ABC Monday night.

Maher has lined up four guests for the final show that he calls "the four best friends I made from the show" -- Arianna Huffington, Christopher "Kid" Reid, Ann Coulter and Michelle Phillips. It will be Huffington's 42nd appearance on the show.

Maher told the Los Angeles Times about the big names he never managed to book, because -- among other reasons -- publicists fretted that their clients would look bad if they said something dumb.

Julia Roberts never did the show. Neither did Gwyneth Paltrow, Bill Murray, Dustin Hoffman or Jennifer Lopez.

George Clooney did the show once, and Maher said he was close to getting Brad Pitt "around the time of 'Fight Club,'" but it didn't happen. Matt Damon never did the show, but his buddy Ben Affleck did, and Maher was happy with the outcome.

"Ben Affleck is truly a great guest," said Maher. "Even if he was the third lead on a crappy sitcom, I would say, 'Rebook him.'"

Maher said he'll be back on TV soon, but did not offer specifics. He said he's ready for "a long vacation."

ROB LOWE'S NEXT

Rob Lowe ("The West Wing") and Kimberly Williams ("Father of the Bride," "According to Jim") will co-star in a CBS-TV Christmas movie about a busy man who learns the true meaning of Christmas after a confrontation with a boy on Christmas Eve.

"The Christmas Shoes" is based on the debut novel of the same name by Donna VanLiere -- not on the Bob Carlisle ("Butterfly Kisses"), which tells a similar story.