FILM/TV BITS ‘Pink’ sees green at B.O.; Beals holds ‘Grudge’; 50 in ‘Brave’; Rowell & Foxx?; Tirico heads “MNF’; ‘Tom Willis’ dies; ‘Game’ highlights Negro League.

*“The Pink Panther,” starring Steve Martin as Inspector Clouseau and Beyonce Knowles as a pop star, topped the box office last weekend on sales of $21.7 million. Beyonce also holds the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart with “Check On It,” the first single from “The Pink Panther” soundtrack. New Line’s horror sequel "Final Destination 3" ran a close second with $20.1 million, followed by Universal’s animated "Curious George" at No. 3 with $15.3 million, the Warner Bros. thriller "Firewall" starring Harrison Ford in fourth with $13.8 million and “When a Stranger Calls” at No. 5 with $10 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

*Jennifer Beals has been cast in “The Grudge 2,” Columbia Pictures and Ghost House Pictures’ sequel to the 2004 horror hit. The star of Showtime’s “The L Word” joins star Amber Tamblyn, who takes over the lead role abandoned by Sarah Michelle Gellar. Director Takashi Shimizu returns to direct the sequel, which explores more of the secrets behind the grudge’s wrath and introduces a seemingly unrelated host of characters who find themselves connected by the curse, reports Variety. The details surrounding Beals’ character is being kept under wraps.

*Rapper Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson will star opposite Samuel L. Jackson in the Iraqi wartime drama “Home of the Brave,” pairing two actors who have been critical of each other in the past. According to Variety, 50 will play one of three soldiers who struggles to readjust to normal life after returning home from a lengthy tour in Iraq. Jessica Biel, Eva Mendes and Christina Ricci have also joined the cast, while “Young and the Restless” star Victoria Rowell is rumored to be in negotiations. Samuel L. Jackson will play a doctor who tries unsuccessfully to resume his routine. For most of 2005, the two Jacksons were at opposing ends of an argument about the casting of rappers in films regardless of acting talent. Samuel L. felt rappers should prove they can act before being considered to lead a movie.

*Speaking of Victoria Rowell, her passionate kiss with Jamie Foxx during his performance of “Gold Digger” at the Grammys last week has led to rumors that the two may be dating.

*ESPN has announced that Mike Tirico will serve as the play-by-play announcer for “Monday Night Football,” replacing Al Michaels who stepped down from his position last week to join NBC’s NFL booth. Tirico will sit in the lead chair alongside former quarterback and former Sunday Night Football analyst Joe Theismann and Tony Kornheiser, who writes for the Washington Post, has a radio show, and is co-host of ESPN’s “Pardon The Interruption.” “MNF” will be aired on ESPN after spending 36 years on ABC. Tirico, who joined ESPN in 1991 as a “Sportscenter” anchor, has done play-by-play for ESPN NFL games, college football, college basketball, and NBA games for both ESPN and ABC.

*Franklin Cover, known to fans of “The Jeffersons” as George and Weezy’s white neighbor Tom Willis, has died, his publicist said Thursday. He was 77. While Cover appeared on numerous TV shows - including "The Jackie Gleason Show,""All in the Family,""Who’s the Boss?""Will & Grace,""Living Single,""Mad About You" and "ER” - he was best known for his role on “The Jeffersons” as Willis, the husband of Roxie Roker’s character Helen Willis in the long-running sitcom. Cover died of pneumonia Saturday at the Lillian Booth Actor’s Fund of America home in Englewood, N.J., said publicist Dale Olson. He had been living at the home since December 2005 while recuperating from a heart condition. He is survived by his widow, Mary, a son and a daughter.

*“For The Love Of The Game,” a new film project highlighting the presence of Latin American baseball players in Negro League Baseball, stars Tito Puente Jr. and Irvin Mayfield. The son of Latin jazz great Tito Puente depicts the journey experienced by Latin baseball players on American soil, while Grammy-nominated New Orleans jazz legend Irvin Mayfield plays a motivated and determined young baseball player. Screenwriter and Director Bernard Bailey said, "Our goal is to introduce a younger generation to an exciting piece of American history while maintaining an entertaining film that a younger audience can appreciate. Overall our film will give mature audiences fond memories of an era almost forgotten." The film will premiere in theaters and on DVD on April 7.