Hollywood Digest

IRAQ -- THE MOVIE

According to a report in The New York Post, Hollywood is already getting down to developing projects based on the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

The paper said Wednesday that HBO has ordered a pilot script for "Hearts and Minds," described as a military-based series set in the Middle East about intelligence teams dealing with nation-rebuilding and terrorism in the Middle East. Writer-producer Bryce Zabel is reportedly considering changing the locale for the show to Iraq -- from its original backdrop in Afghanistan.

The Post also reported that "JAG" executive producer Donald P. Bellisario is thinking about using the Iraq locale for the upcoming season of the military-justice drama.

"It's a gut feel," he told the paper. "In June I'll make a decision as to how I want to involve the show based on what the situation in Iraq is."

Bellisario -- who served four years in the U.S. Marine Corps -- said he thinks most TV dramas will stay away from the Iraq war.

"I think they'll take the attitude that people want entertainment and relief from the war," he said. "That's what I would do, if I were doing a non-military show."

RODNEY DANGERFIELD IN SICK BAY

Rodney Dangerfield is recovering at UCLA Medical Center from brain surgery, performed Tuesday to get him ready for heart valve replacement surgery next month.

The 81-year-old comic actor underwent the eight-hour surgery Tuesday to improve the blood flow in his body. The procedure is known as extracranial-intracranial brain bypass.

A publicist said the star of such comedy hits as "Back to School" and "Caddyshack" is expected to remain hospitalized for about 10 days. He is scheduled to have heart valve replacement surgery a little more than four weeks from now.

A-LIST RIVALS FOR SERIAL KILLER ROLE

Tom Cruise and Leonardo DiCaprio are reportedly in a race to see who can get to market first with a movie about a 19th-century U.S. serial killer.

According to a report in Daily Variety, Paramount Pictures has optioned "The Devil in the White City" -- Erik Larson's best-seller about serial killer H.H. Holmes -- for Cruise's production company, and producer-director Kathryn Bigelow ("K-19").

At the same time, DiCaprio's production company is also developing a movie about Holmes -- who confessed to killing 27 people at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. DiCaprio would star in the project, which is based on existing research about the Holmes case.

Holmes was hanged for the murders in 1896.

THE QUEEN IS A DIVA

Queen Latifah will host the sixth annual VH1 Divas concert -- "Divas Duets" -- at the MGM Grand on May 22.

The show, which will air live on VH1, will feature performances by Mary J. Blige, Jewel and Chaka Khan.

The annual "Divas" show benefits the nonprofit VH1 Save the Music Foundation. VH1 said that more than $25 million worth of musical instruments have been donated to 1,000 public schools since the foundation was established in 1997.

DUTTON TAKES ON CHIEF MOOSE

Charles S. Dutton will play Montgomery County, Md., police chief Charles Moose in a TV movie about last year's sniper killings in the Washington, D.C., area.

"The Beltway" -- the story of a three-week reign of terror that left 19 people dead -- will also feature Bobby Hosea ("61*") and Trent Cameron ("The Parkers") as accused snipers John Muhammed and John Lee Malvo, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

IS HE SERIOUS?

Street basketball legend Larry "Bone Collector" Williams has thrown down a challenge to NBA stars Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson -- to go one-on-one for $50,000.

Williams -- in a recent appearance of Fox Sports' "Best Damn Sports Show Period" -- dared Iverson to run with him, with the loser turning over $50,000 to the winner's favorite charity. In a subsequent appearance on a Los Angeles radio station, Williams made the same proposition to Bryant.

Both Iverson and Bryant are featured -- along with other NBA stars -- on "Entertainer's Basketball Classic at Rucker Park: The Second Season." The video also provides exposure to some of the best street basketball players in the world.

Whether Bryant and Iverson accept the challenge remains to be seen. In any case, it will have to wait a while -- since Bryant's Los Angeles Lakers and Iverson's Philadelphia 76ers expect to be tied up with the NBA playoffs for several more weeks, at least.