TELEVISIONHBO Takes On New York: Cher and...

TELEVISION

HBO Takes On New York: Cher and Laurence Fishburne are set to direct their first films for HBO NYC Productions, a new New York-based movie division at the cable network that is replacing the former HBO Showcase. The movie unit, described by HBO Wednesday as a forum for “a new and different strand of movies that will take risks in terms of content, form and execution,” already has six projects in various stages of production, including “If These Walls Could Talk,” starring Demi Moore and director Cher in a tale of three women dealing with unexpected pregnancies in different political climates from the 1950s through 1990s. Other confirmed films include “Mistrial,” about a homicide detective who takes a courtroom hostage when a jury acquits a cop-killer, starring Bill Pullman and Robert Loggia; “Subway Stories,” a collection of short films about New York’s underground by directors including Jonathan Demme (“Silence of the Lambs”); and “Terror,” based on the actual FBI investigation into the World Trade Center bombing. HBO NYC projects in development include “Miss Evers’ Boys,” about the controversial Tuskeegee syphilis experiment, starring and directed by Fishburne.

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Leno to Go to the Super Bowl: Jay Leno will once again take his “Tonight Show” on the road, this time to Phoenix for two pre-Super Bowl telecasts, Jan. 25 and 26, from the Phoenix Symphony Hall. The shows will include taped comedy sketches with key players as well as live remotes from the Super Bowl site. “The Tonight Show” and the Jan. 28 Super Bowl both air on NBC.

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Moyers Back at NBC: Veteran TV journalist Bill Moyers will soon be returning to NBC following a medical leave that lasted through most of 1995. NBC News President Andrew Lack said Tuesday that Moyers will be providing commentary on “NBC Nightly News” but on a less frequent basis than the two or three nights a week that had once been envisioned. Moyers, who has been battling heart problems, also will participate in NBC’s election-year coverage, including some specials, Lack said.

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A Date With Emmy: The 48th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards will take place Sept. 8 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium for broadcast that same night on ABC. Nominations will be announced July 18.

MOVIES

Offending Oscar: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Arthur Hiller has asked the Walt Disney Co. to cease running ads for “Toy Story” that broke a major Oscar taboo--depicting the golden statuette before the awards, or even the nominations, are bestowed. In the ad, which ran in Hollywood trade publications last week, three green plastic soldiers are hoisting Oscar’s base. Only the statue’s legs are visible, with its torso and head off the page. According to academy rules, the golden prize can be depicted in a movie ad only if that film has actually won an Oscar. An academy spokesman said that Disney officials have apologized to the academy and said the ad would not appear again. Sanctions for academy rules violations can include reducing the number of Oscar tickets allocated to offending studios.

ART

A Precious Find: In an ancient tomb deep inside Lion Mountain in eastern China, archeologists have found the body of a king wearing garments made of 4,000 pieces of extremely thin jade plaques sewn together with gold thread. China’s official Xinhua News Agency, which called the find “the finest and most precious shroud ever excavated in the world,” said the shroud was decorated with gold flowers and had a gold belt with four large gold buttons, each with a design of two bears threatening a galloping horse. The 2,170-year-old tomb of Prince Liu Wu, the third king of the state of Chu in the Western Han dynasty (206 BC to AD 24), was found nearly 400 feet inside the mountain on the outskirts of Xuzhou, a city in eastern Jiangsu province.

PERFORMING ARTS

Theater Revival: The 862-seat Long Beach Center Theater, at the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, will briefly come back to theatrical life March 1-10 with six performances of International City Theatre’s production of “Tapestry,” a revue of Carole King music that played International City’s 99-seat facility last summer. In recent years, Center Theater has been used primarily by trade shows and conventions.

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Two Homes by the Bay: San Francisco Opera’s 74th season will be split between two venues because of the $70-million seismic retrofitting and renovations to the War Memorial Opera House that began earlier this month. In the Sept. 6-Feb. 3, 1996-97 season, the company will give 72 performances (one more than 1995-96) in San Francisco’s Bill Graham Civic Auditorium and the nearby Orpheum Theatre. New productions of Borodin’s “Prince Igor,” Wagner’s “Lohengrin,” Bizet’s “Carmen,” Offenbach’s “Contes d’Hoffmann,” Strauss’ “Salome” and Verdi’s “Aida” are planned, as well as company premieres of Thomas’ “Hamlet” and Stewart Wallace’s “Harvey Milk,” and a revival of Rossini’s “Barbiere di Siviglia.” The company is scheduled to return to War Memorial Opera House for its 75th season.