July
10 Spidey vs. Sparrow

Wait 'til next year. The battle for box office honors -- between "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Spider-Man" will stretch into 2007.

That's when "Spider-Man 3" comes to bat to challenge the three-day record -- $135 million -- set by "Pirates 2" ("Dead Man's Chest"). It beat out "Spider-Man's" previous record by $20 million.

The third "Spidey" is shooting in New York and someone who should know tells me, "You ain't seen nothin' yet."

The company was filming -- from 3 ayem -- in front of the New York Public Library for several days. In the scenes were Tobey Maguire and "Spidey's" "Uncle Ben" as played by Oscar-winner Cliff Robertson.

Sure, his "Uncle Ben" character had died in the first film. But Robertson reminds me he came back in the second film. He was sworn to secrecy as to how he returns in the third. But he tells me director Sam Raimi "is a genius."

They worked in the very early hours to try and avoid N.Y. traffic -- but word did get out and fans appeared along with the three ayem shooting call.

"Spider-Man 3" is Robertson's 78th film. He won his Oscar for "Charlie" in 1969 and says he has no intention of retiring. He's 80.

On July 15, he will be installed into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio. He'll pilot his own twin engine Beech Baron to the event. He also holds a glider record -- 240 miles. And on Aug.9, he will be honored by UCLA's School of Theater, Film and Television with a screening of "The U.S. Steel Hour," for which he won an Emmy.

Meanwhile -- back at Disneyland, "The Pirates of the Caribbean" -- the ride -- where the movie mania all started is breaking records of its own. During the first three days of its opening, waiting crowds extended from the entrance out through Frontierland, past the  shooting gallery, around to Main Street -- and on to the City Hall.

Waiting time -- two hours -- almost as long as the movie's 151 minutes. The movie does credit "Pirates" as "based on Walt Disney's 'Pirates of the Caribbean'." Among those anxious to be among the first aboard the enlivened attraction boasting "Captain Jack" as well as "Davey Jones," were Lindsay Lohan and Harry Morgan who arrived shortly after midnight Friday to go aboard.

Disneyland celebrates its 51st birthday July 17 -- but the 50th birthday celebration continues through the end of September. The next big movie-to-park attraction, "Finding Nemo" with underwater characters plus film in the submarine ride, doesn't arrive until the spring, 2007.

Wouldn't Walt have loved all of this?