We’ll Bet She Wishes She Had The Cash Back

Add Anna Paquin to the increasingly long list of people who don’t think that David Letterman’s jokes are very funny.

On Letterman’s “Late Show” Monday night, he offered $10,000 to Tom Gates, the Florida pilot who missed a $1 million free throw during an NCAA tournament contest, if he could sink one in a hoop set up on the stage.

Gates missed again. So did fellow guest Mary Tyler Moore. Then Paquin, the 13-year-old “Jane Eyre” star, made it - and Letterman handed her the dough.

But backstage, his people took back the cash, saying it was just a joke (and adding that she was standing too close to the basket anyway).

After further negotiations with the disappointed Paquin and her dad, it was agreed the money would go to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Loose talk

Nancy Travis (“Almost Perfect”), on being recognized by fans (in People): “Of course it’s always during those embarrassing moments, like when I’m walking my dogs and picking up the excrement in a plastic bag. Hopefully people will think, ‘At least she’s picking it up.”’

Movie memories? He has a whole Atticus full

Gregory Peck turns 80 today.

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s Bud Lite

Film legend Charlton Heston, known for his roles in such Biblical epics as “The Ten Commandments” and “The Greatest Story Ever Told,” is making no apologies for appearing in one of those silly “I love you, man” commercials for Bud Lite. As Heston told the Los Angeles Times: “If it were Moses holding a staff in one hand and a beer in another, that would be different. But I’m an actor, for heaven’s sake. You have to compartmentalize.”

It will reinforce his image as a papal person

Pope John Paul II is making his feature film debut in a documentary produced by Italy’s state broadcasting company. Says the promo: “The pope laughs, the pope cries, the pope prays, the pope climbs mountains, the pope hugs the downtrodden of Mother Teresa and the pope dances with Australian school girls.”

With his hospital bills, he can use the royalties

Paralyzed “Superman” star Christopher Reeve will be back on the big screen before long, as the voice of the noble King Arthur in the cartoon feature “The Quest for Camelot.” A Warner Bros. spokesman said Reeve’s voice “will infuse the ideal qualities of energy, power and warmth into King Arthur.”

No one’s going to come unless they’re dragged

United Artists has a new plan for one of its flops, the Elizabeth Berkley stinker “Showgirls” - turning it into a cult classic, a la “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” starting with a series of midnight screenings in Los Angeles. A flyer suggests that fans should feel free to “shout out your favorite quotes, dress as your favorite showgirl, act out your favorite scene, come in drag.”

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The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Compiled by staff writer Rick Bonino