FIRST OFF . . .

Director-producers Steven Spielberg and George Lucas are to testify on artists’ rights before the U.S. Senate Judiciary subcommittee on patents, copyrights and trademarks, it was announced Thursday. The March 3 hearing--scheduled by subcommittee chairman Sen. Dennis DeConcini (D-Ariz.)--is on legislation to make American copyright laws conform with the 100-year-old international copyright standards of the Berne Convention. “Film makers and other artists create works that should be allowed to stand or fall on their own, without the intrusion of so-called technological advancements such as the colorization and time compression of films,” Spielberg said in a statement released by the Directors Guild of America. Spielberg will be making his second trip to Capitol Hill to discuss the issue; this will be Lucas’ first.