FIRST OFF . . .

In a move to “raise the industry’s consciousness of his gifts to film,” according to actor and longtime friend Bud Cort, there will be a memorial tribute to the late director Hal Ashby at noon today at the Directors Guild of America in Hollywood. Cort, who is serving as a coordinator for the tribute, said Thursday that some of Ashby’s notable colleagues--Warren Beatty, Shirley MacLaine, Jeff and Beau Bridges, Randy Quaid, Melinda Dillon, Bruce Dern and others--will be on hand for the tribute. Scheduled to speak of Ashby--who died Tuesday in Malibu at age 59--and his contribution to film are actors Sean Penn, Timothy Hutton, Harry Dean Stanton and Carol Kane, and producer Jerry Hellman. Several clips from Ashby’s work will also be screened during the tribute. Cort said the guild auditorium was fairly well booked up already, and that seating for fans of Ashby’s work will be limited.