MOVIES - April 1, 1996

Still Hanging: “The Birdcage” was the No. 1 movie in the box-office pecking order once again during the weekend--its fourth consecutive weekend in the top spot. The MGM/UA comedy took in $10 million, according to early industry estimates. Universal’s “Sgt. Bilko,” with Steve Martin, Dan Aykroyd and Phil Hartman, opened in second place with an estimated $8 million. In third was Warner Bros.’ “Executive Decision” with $6.8 million. Disney’s animated “Oliver & Company” was fourth with $4.8 million its first weekend in release. MGM/UA’s “A Family Thing,” starring James Earl Jones and Robert Duvall, opened with $3.3 million to tie with Warner Bros.’ “Diabolique” for fifth place.

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Walk to Filmdom: South African President Nelson Mandela’s best-selling autobiography is on its way to becoming a movie. The film rights to “Long Walk to Freedom” were awarded to South African producer Anant Singh, whose credits include the anti-apartheid musical “Sarafina,” for an undisclosed sum. Filming will begin next year.

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Don Simpson Scholarship: A scholarship fund at the University of Oregon has been set up in the name of the late Don Simpson, the “Top Gun” producer who died of what has been ruled a drug overdose on Jan. 19 at 52. The Donald C. Simpson Presidential Scholarship Fund will give preference to students studying journalism or molecular biology. The producer graduated from the university in 1967 with a major in journalism.