A look inside Hollywood and the movies. : FOR EYES ONLY : Anyone Else Except Tinker Bell Tries to Fly In, Give ‘Em the Hook

The hottest ticket in Hollywood these days? A tour of the five sound stages on Columbia’s Culver City lot, where Steven Spielberg’s “Hook”--a twist on the classic “Peter Pan” tale--is under way. Personalities who’ve obtained passes to the tightly guarded sets include David Geffen, Michael Ovitz, Bruce Willis, Warren Beatty, Billy Crystal, Barry Levinson, Penny Marshall and artist David Hockney.

On some of the same stages on which “The Wizard of Oz” was shot sits an elaborate re-creation of Never Never Land--including the Lost Boys’ tree house and a playground (shown in each of the four seasons) complete with its own “wind-coaster,” a skateboard with a sail that careens along on a hidden wooden track.

Most impressive, however, is the 80-foot-tall black-and-gold replica of Captain Hook’s pirate ship with rigging built by London shipyard workers that consumes an entire 235-foot-long sound stage. “You could drop this ship in San Pedro Harbor and it would fit right in,” says one dazzled observer.

The film, scheduled for a December release by Tri-Star Pictures, stars Robin Williams as a middle-aged Pan, who in his terms has sold out: He has grown up, married and fathered children of his own. When the raspy Captain Hook (Dustin Hoffman) kidnaps Pan’s progeny, our hero returns to Never Never Land to recapture them--as well as his youthful outlook on life. Pan’s companion through thick and thin, the fairy Tinkerbell, is played by current box-office powerhouse Julia Roberts.

One source estimates that the film may log in near the $50-million mark--even though the stars (and Spielberg) deferred their “Hook” salaries for a percentage of the gross profits. Such numbers notwithstanding, Tri-Star is confident.

“Unlike ‘Color Purple’ and ‘Empire of the Sun,’ this isn’t alien turf for Spielberg,” says an insider. “The story, about rediscovering one’s youth, plays perfectly into his strengths.”