FIRST OFF . . .

Legal action will be taken against Johannesburg newspapers that advertised director Richard Attenborough’s anti-apartheid film, “Cry Freedom,” even though it was approved for exhibition by South African censors. Klaus von Lieres, attorney general for the district incorporating Johannesburg, said the newspapers will be prosecuted because advertisements last week quoted black leader Steve Biko and liberal white editor Donald Woods, both of whom are banned (meaning they can’t be quoted or published in South Africa). Although the quotes were taken from the film’s script, Von Lieres said the ban still applied. Advertisements appeared in the Johannesburg Star and the Sowetan, the biggest newspaper for black South Africans. “Cry Freedom” is scheduled to open in South Africa in April.