Disney Dream

Los Angeles has a great opportunity, but it will require action. On Wednesday, NBC Universal's plan for a major expansion will go before the City Council for final approval. The plan, thanks in part to effective agitating by Los Angeles River advocates, bicycle riders and neighborhood activists, represents a fine civic bargain, but there is also an opportunity to accomplish much, much more. For those who live in Los Angeles, there is a lot at stake in this deal. NBC Universal and its corporate masters - currently Comcast, the largest cable operator in the United States - have been trying to expand Universal's footprint since 2006.

Walt Disney Co.'s $4.05-billion acquisition of Lucasfilm was driven by the desire to tap into the "Star Wars" juggernaut. But the surprise deal will also give Disney other noteworthy assets, including the pioneering visual effects company Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound. ILM is considered one of the preeminent visual effects firms in the industry, known for its high-level work on the "Stars Wars," "Indiana Jones" and "Jurassic Park" movies, the "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Iron Man" films and an upcoming "Star Trek" film from J.J. Abrams.

Here's a list of many of the lines that carry passenger traffic, along with a list of their vessels. Ships that are to have maiden voyages this year also are listed; check with the cruise line, though, because dates can change. AIDA CRUISES Ships: Each name preceded by and blended with AIDA: aura, bella, blu, cara, diva, luna, mar, sol, stella (which is to make its debut in March), vita. Info: 011-49-381-20-270707, www.aida.de. AMAWATERWAYS Ships: La Marguerite, Zambezi Queen.

One casualty of the Disney-DreamWorks animation battle may have been a few seconds of footage featuring Shrek playing the bagpipes and Donkey playing the accordion. It was part of a new trailer promoting THX, the venerable sound system owned by George Lucas and used in more than 2,500 theaters across America. Last June, DreamWorks pitched THX the idea of using the "Shrek" characters in a new trailer.

As usual, some heavy hitters will participate Sunday in AIDS Walk Los Angeles: GTE, The Gap and DreamWorks SKG will all sponsor walkers. But in sheer numbers, a modest, second-floor beauty shop in Studio City is beating out these world famous corporations. Salon Paul/Florent, with only five employees, has registered more participants for the walk benefiting AIDS Project Los Angeles than any of the corporations named.

As usual, some heavy hitters will participate Sunday in AIDS Walk Los Angeles: GTE, The Gap and DreamWorks SKG will all sponsor walkers. But in sheer numbers, a modest, second-floor beauty shop is beating out these world-famous corporations. Salon Paul/Florent, with only five employees, has registered more participants for the walk benefiting AIDS Project Los Angeles than any of the corporations named. During this final week of registration, the salon ranks fifth out of more than 800 teams.

Thirty-two states have urged Walt Disney Co., DreamWorks SKG and other Hollywood studios to add non-smoking messages to DVD releases. Maryland Atty. Gen. J. Joseph Curran Jr. is leading the effort, which he said was prompted by the release of a study that found adolescents with the most exposure to depictions of smoking in movies were almost three times as likely as their peers to try smoking. The study appeared Nov. 7 in the journal Pediatrics.

Movies Columbia "Across the Universe" "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story" Disney "Ratatouille" DreamWorks "Bee Movie" "Sweeney Todd" Focus Features "Atonement" "Eastern Promises" "Lust, Caution" Fox Searchlight "Juno" "The Savages" IFC "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days" Lionsgate "Away From Her" MGM "The Great Debaters" (with Weinstein Co.) "Lars and the Real Girl" Miramax "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" "Gone Baby Gone" "No Country for Old Men" New Line "Hairspray" "Love in the Time of Cholera" Paramount Vantage "Into the Wild" "The Kite Runner" "A Mighty Heart" "There Will Be Blood" Picturehouse "La Vie en Rose" Sony Pictures Classics "Persepolis" 20th Century Fox "The Simpsons Movie" Universal "American Gangster" "Charlie Wilson's War" "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" Warner Bros.