An Author They Can't Refuse

Look who's been bitten by the screenwriting bug: Pulitzer-winning novelist Michael Chabon will rewrite ''The Amazing Spider-Man,'' the May 2004 sequel to last summer's creepy-crawly blockbuster. ''I'm completely the man for the job,'' says Chabon, who penned an early draft of ''X-Men'' in the mid-'90s and recently adapted his 2000 comic-inspired saga, ''The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay,'' for likely director Sydney Pollack. ''It's my destiny.''

Chabon replaces ''Shanghai Noon'' scribes Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, as well as ''Spider-Man'' writer David Koepp, who drafted his own version of the sequel -- though elements from both stories will spin their way into the new script. Under strict instructions not to reveal plot details, Chabon admits he hadn't seen the $405 million grosser until early September because the trailers frightened his 5-year-old son, Zeke. ''I felt like if I saw it without [Zeke], I'd be betraying him,'' laughs Chabon, 39. Still, the author of the new kids' fantasy Summerland says he won't necessarily tone down the violence. ''I don't feel that's my job,'' he says. ''That's not the audience [Columbia] wants to reach, and I don't blame them.'' Just remember, Michael: With great power...

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