FIRST LOOK: The News in Brief, July 6, 2004

WEB MASTER: Spider-Man 2 grossed $115.8 million over the four-day July 4 holiday weekend, the best ever opening for Independence Day and a record six-day gross ($180.1 million) since opening Wednesday. Last week's number one movie, Michael Moore's Bush-bashing documentary Fahrenheit 9/11, was in second place with $22 million.

FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE: Marlon Brando leaving a tape of his funeral wishes, according to Britain's The Independent, which include Jack Nicholson leading mourners plus a list of who not to invite.

BRANDO ADD: George Englund, who starred with Brando in 1963's The Ugly American and was with the legendary actor 24 hours before his death, plans to write a book titled Memories of Marlon.

PASSING: Sometime actor Eric Douglas, the son of Kirk Douglas and brother of Michael, found dead Tuesday inside a Manhattan apartment building. No cause of death was announced. Eric Douglas was 46.

DOUBLE DELIVERY: Country crooner Kenny Rogers and his wife, Wanda, are the parents of identical twin boys. Justin Charles and Jordan Edward were born Tuesday in Atlanta. Rogers, 65, has three children from previous marriages.

BACHELOR NO LONGER: Former Bachelor star Bob Guiney marrying All My Children star Rebecca Budig in a surprise ceremony on Saturday in Michigan, according to People magazine.

DONNA'S ALL GROWN UP: Beverly Hills, 90210 alum Tori Spelling tying the knot with writer-actor beau Charlie Shanian at her father's mansion in Beverly Hills Saturday.

THREE'S A CHARM: Actor Dennis Quaid, 50, swapping vows with 32-year-old Texas real-estate agent Kimberly Buffington on Sunday. This is Quaid's third marriage.

FOR A GOOD CAUSE: Macy Gray appearing on a London stage Monday night wearing nothing but Jimmy Choo shoes to raise money for the Elton John AIDS Foundation, per local reports.

DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS: Cambodia's prime minister offering Angelina Jolie Cambodian citizenship in recognition for her nature conservation work in the country. She's donating $1.5 million to protect about 148,200 acres of forest.

PITCHING IN: Rupert Everett visiting Cambodia to raise awareness about AIDS and promote The Global Fund, a group that helps fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

IF IT'S NOT SCOTTISH, IT'S CRAP! Harper Collins announcing Monday that it's struck a six-figure deal with Sean Connery to publish his autobiography in 2006.

IN TRIBUTE: Tom Cruise paying tribute to former member of the Arizona Cardinals Pat Tillman, who was killed during combat in Afghanistan, at the 12th annual ESPY Awards on July 14.

UPDATE: David E. Kelley's new ABC legal drama, formerly titled The Practice: Fleet Street, will now be known as Boston Legal.

BEHIND THE CAMERA: Denzel Washington to direct a Sammy Davis Jr. biopic based on Wil Haygood's book In Black and White: The Life of Sammy Davis Jr.

TO THE BOARDS! David Hasselhoff set to play scheming lawyer Billy Flynn in the London stage production of Chicago. He'll appear in about 60 performances starting July 16.

PRIMETIME VOLLEY: Tennis great John McEnroe getting his own primetime slot when McEnroe debuts on CNBC Wednesday at 10 p.m. The show will feature an eclectic mix of guests from the worlds of music, art, sports and comedy.

NO REFUNDS? Phil Spector suing his former lawyer Robert L. Shapiro for portion of $1 million retainer the music producer paid for legal services in his murder case. Spector and Shapiro parted ways in February.

THEIR BRILLIANT IDEA: Four men suing the Wayans brothers for $15 million claiming the thesps stole their idea for White Chicks.

BUELLER? Jeffrey Jones, best known for playing high school principal Ed Rooney in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, arrested on Thursday and charged with failing to register as a sex offender. The 57-year-old actor pleaded no contest last July to a felony charge of employing a minor to pose for sexually explicit photos.

RUMBLE IN THE JUNGLE: Walt Disney Co. denying it's responsible in a copyright dispute over the song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," written by a Zulu migrant worker and used in the Lion King on film and on stage.

PAINT THIS: Elizabeth Taylor battling a German family who demands she return a Vincent Van Gogh painting titled "View of the Asylum of Saint-Remy," valued at $10 million to $15 million, that they claim was taken from them by the Nazis. The screen legend has filed a pre-emptive court declaration stating that she's the rightful owner.

ROCK AROUND THE COUNTRY: Radio stations nationwide simultaneously playing "That's All Right" on Monday, 50 years after it was first recorded by Elvis Presley.