BACK-TO-BACK BEATTY

We hate to kick a movie when its down and dead, but. . . .

It’s no secret that “Ishtar” hasn’t been playing in town for ages, so why hasn’t Columbia covered its massive “Ishtar” billboard, which has loomed since early May over the Sunset Strip (across from Tower Records)? Doesn’t the studio have any other movies?

“We simply have a long-term lease which expires at the end of August,” explained a studio spokesman. “Since our contract is up so soon--and we have no plans to renew it--it just didn’t make economic sense to change over the billboard before the lease was up.”