<B>Screen rebel Marlon Brando dies at 80 </B>

Marlon Brando, the reclusive Oscar-winning star of “The Godfather” and “On the Waterfront,” hailed as one of the most influential actors of his generation, has died at age 80, associates said on Friday. The legendary actor died of lung failure at the UCLA Medical Center on Thursday evening, a hospital spokeswoman said. His agents, citing Brando’s long-held desire for privacy, declined to give further details.

<B>Movies: make way for Spidey </B>

Hollywood’s major movie studios ceded the weekend box office sweepstakes to “Spider-Man 2”, leaving only a handful of independent films debuting on Friday and prior releases to compete against it. But for movie fans who find their “Spider-Man” screenings sold out over the US Independence Day holiday, there are, perhaps, more well-reviewed movies now playing than in recent memory.