Side show

WEB OF INTRIGUE: The machinations behind getting the next Spider-Man movie made are turning out to be more interesting than anything that will end up on the screen.

The plot summary: After the massive success of last year's original, star Tobey Maguire became a male diva, which prompted the studio to say it was going to replace him with the boyfriend of co-star Kirsten Dunst, but Maguire's agents stepped in to save the role for their client, who then fired them.

This goes back a few months, when the official line was that a back problem could keep Maguire out of The Amazing Spider-Man. In truth, trade paper Variety says, Maguire was using the alleged problem to get studio Columbia to meet a list of filming demands.

Columbia got fed up with his behavior and decided that Maguire was endangering the movie. It announced that Jake Gyllenhaal, who is dating Dunst, would replace Maguire in the superhero role.

Maguire's agents then did what they were getting paid to do: broker a peace agreement. When filming started Saturday, Maguire was in front of the cameras but not as happy as he wanted to be. He is looking for new agents.

THE PITS. AND WE'RE NOT TALKING BRAD AND JENNIFER: Halle Berry has the best female underarms and George Clooney the best male underarms, according to a poll of men and women commissioned by the Secret deodorant people.

Also, 68 percent of the women think underarm beauty is important, a news release says. Thinking the same thing were 62 percent of the men.

SOME PEOPLE SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO NAME THEIR CHILDREN: Food Network chef Jamie Oliver and his wife have named their new daughter, born Thursday, Daisy Boo. Daisy will keep big sister Poppy Honey company.

AND THEN THERE WOULD HAVE TO BE GIL GRISSOM CLONES: Among the best things to ogle on TV are the crime labs in CSI and CSI: Miami.

But don't get carried away wondering why, if this technology is available, everyone who commits a crime doesn't get caught.

For starters, most real crime labs aren't that well-equipped.

"We have a bigger variety of equipment than any lab I know of in L.A. County," says Rich Catalani, a CSI technical adviser and a forensics investigator in the Los Angeles sheriff's department.

He tells the Sacramento Bee: "Every technical adviser comes on the set and says, 'I want to work in this lab.' "

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