MOVIES - Nov. 1, 1993

Scaring Away the Competition: Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas” was a box-office dream over the Halloween weekend. The Touchstone Pictures’ animated fantasy took in $8.2 million to lead the pack during a generally lackluster film-going period, according to early industry estimates. The movie knocked 20th Century Fox’s “The Beverly Hillbillies” into second place with a gross of $5 million, down from last week’s $7.4 million. In third was “Demolition Man” from Warner Bros., with $4.2 million. Next, TriStar’s gridiron film “Rudy,” with $3.7 million, and, in fifth, Disney’s “Cool Runnings” with $3.6 million. A box-office note: “Gettsyburg,” the very long Civil War movie from New Line, is holding its own--the film grossed just under $1 million in limited release on 250 screens.

TELEVISION

Shop ‘Til You Drop: “Can We Shop?” That’s the name of Joan Rivers’ upcoming show full of home shopping and gossip. Rivers said she’s abandoning her syndicated TV talk show, “The Joan Rivers Show,” in favor of the new program with a new concept. The old show will end its five-year run on Dec. 31; the celebrity-filled, home-shopping hour will begin Jan. 3. The show is a combined effort by Rivers, Tribune Entertainment Co., QVC Network and Regal Communications, a producer of infomercials. Rivers is indeed a home-shopping pro--she’s sold $60 million in jewelry and fashions on QVC since 1990.

She’s Baack: Alleged Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss gives an exclusive interview to CBS’ Connie Chung Thursday at 10 p.m. on “Eye to Eye With Connie Chung.” Chung interviewed Fleiss in Los Angeles on Friday. On the show, Fleiss will talk about her party-girl reputation, how she feels about the criminal charges she faces and her life since her arrest. Fleiss, 27, goes to trial next month.

Stan the Man: KTLA-TV Channel 5 will honor its legendary reporter, Stan Chambers, with a two-hour special looking back at the numerous stories he’s covered during his lengthy tenure. The special airs Dec. 1, 46 years to the day after he joined the station. Chambers’ career highlights include reporting on the 1949 rescue attempt of Kathy Fiscus in San Marino, the first extended coverage of a news story by a Los Angeles station. In addition, he was the first to report on the 1991 beating of motorist Rodney G. King.

Award for Arsenio: Arsenio Hall will receive the first annual “Open Mike” Freedom of Expression Award from the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and the Laugh Factory comedy club for his contributions as an artist and a philanthropist. He’ll be honored at the Hollywood club Nov. 10 with a program featuring performances by comedians Alan Grier, Charles Fleischer, Mark Curry, George Lopez and Carol Siskind. Proceeds will go to the ACLU.

STAGE

‘Christmas Carol’ Goes South: San Diego will finally see Patrick Stewart’s one-man adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” this year, at La Jolla Playhouse’s Mandell Weiss Theatre on Dec. 4 and 5. Stewart, who has been doing the show in the Southland since 1988, has never ventured into San Diego. The show’s other Southland dates: Nov. 20-21 at UC Santa Barbara, Dec. 11-12 at Cerritos Center and Dec. 18-19 at Caltech.

POP/ROCK

Family Show: Kids who went to see Madonna’s “Girlie Show” in Buenos Aires over the weekend had to drag their parents along. On Friday, a judge refused to ban the singer’s two shows entirely, but ruled that children under 13 could only attend the weekend shows if accompanied by an adult. . . . Meanwhile, in Rio de Janeiro, where Madonna and her entourage is expected to arrive today, religious fundamentalists plan protests against what they called the singer’s “sadomasochistic garbage.”

PEOPLE WATCH

New Love: Loni Anderson is moving on. Anderson, whose five-year marriage to Burt Reynolds ended abruptly five months ago, told People magazine she has a new love and he’s Los Angeles attorney Geoffrey Brown. She said she met Brown, 44, in February when she was still married to Reynolds but that their romance is new.

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QUICK TAKES

Larry King has some big guests lined up: Today, King interviews Michael Jordan on CNN’s “Larry King Live” at 6 p.m. Saturday, he talks to former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev on “Larry King Weekend.”. . . Deborah Amos, an award-winning correspondent for National Public Radio who has been based in London for the last 10 years, will join ABC as a correspondent for “Turning Point,” a magazine show set to premiere after the first of the year. . . . There’s a new member of the CBS broadcasting family, courtesy of Harry Smith and Andrea Joyce. Joyce, a CBS Sports host and reporter, gave birth to a son, Grady Thomas, on Thursday. Her husband is a host on “CBS This Morning.”