OSCAR WATCHSpringsteen, Young Join Lineup: Bruce Springsteen...

OSCAR WATCH

Springsteen, Young Join Lineup: Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young have signed on to perform the Oscar-nominated songs they wrote and sang for the movie “Philadelphia” on the Academy Awards telecast March 21. Springsteen’s “Streets of Philadelphia,” which opens the AIDS-related drama starring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington, won a Golden Globe Award last month as best original song from a movie. Young’s ethereal title song closes the film. Producers of the Oscar show are still negotiating for live performances by the artists who recorded the other best original song nominees: Janet Jackson (“Again” from “Poetic Justice”), Harry Connick Jr. (“A Wink and a Smile” from “Sleepless in Seattle”) and the duo of Dolly Parton and James Ingram (“The Day I Fall in Love” from “Beethoven’s 2nd”).

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Dancing for the Audiences: This year’s Oscar telecast will feature something different--appearances by principal dancers from eight of the world’s leading dance companies, including the Paris Opera Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, Central Ballet of China, Dance Theatre of Harlem, New York’s Garth Fagan Dance, Les Ballets Africains of the Republic of Guinea, Shanghai Ballet Troupe and the Nacionale Ballet De Cuba.

TELEVISION

Roberts ‘Reprimanded’: “ABC World News Tonight” correspondent Cokie Roberts and executive producer Rick Kaplan were “reprimanded” Monday for making it appear as if Roberts were reporting from Capitol Hill on Jan. 26 when in fact she was broadcasting from a nearby studio with a projection of the Capitol behind her. Roberts, a respected Washington journalist who recently received a lucrative new four-year contract from ABC News, on Monday said only that she had “made a mistake,” but a memo from ABC News Vice President Richard Wald said the ruse was “serious because it misled our audience.” The decision came about when Kaplan wanted Roberts to report live from Capitol Hill about reaction to President Clinton’s State of the Union Address the night before. But Roberts apparently didn’t have time for the location shoot since she was speaking at a National Press Foundation dinner later that evening. News executives have stressed that “World News Tonight” anchor Jennings was not involved in the decision in any way.

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Support for ‘Against the Grain’: More than 125,000 cards and letters have been sent to NBC and the producers of its canceled series “Against the Grain,” producer Dave Johnson said, many from people who say they normally do not watch programming on the major broadcast networks. NBC announced the cancellation of the Friday night series about a Texas high school football coach (John Terry) and his family last month, but Johnson, who on Tuesday embarked on a media campaign to save the show, hopes to prompt the network to try reruns on a different night. In case that approach fails, Johnson is shopping his show to other networks.

POP/ROCK

Eagles Reunion Getting Closer: The long-discussed Eagles reunion tour moved one step closer to reality with sources close to the band saying that trial rehearsals for a possible summer concert tour could begin within a week. The speculation was boosted when Don Henley, Glenn Frey and Joe Walsh performed several Eagles songs together on Sunday in Aspen during a benefit for the Grassroots Aspen Experience, an organization that brings underprivileged urban children to the ski resort. The group broke up after a history of internal feuds in 1981. Giant Records chairman Irving Azoff, the former Eagles manager who would oversee a reunion, would not comment on the plans.

QUICK TAKES

“Traps,” a new drama series starring George C. Scott, Dan Cortese and Bill Nunn, premieres Thursday at 10 p.m. on CBS. The series about grandfather/grandson homicide detectives also features Piper Laurie and Lindsay Crouse in recurring guest-starring roles. . . . Miramax Films confirmed Tuesday that producer Jan Chapman, whose film “The Piano” is nominated for eight Oscars including best picture, has signed a one-year, first-look development deal with the studio. No specific projects are tied in to the deal. . . . Oskar Eustis, associate artistic director of the Mark Taper Forum and co-director of the Taper’s award-winning “Angels in America,” is leaving Los Angeles to become artistic director of Trinity Repertory Company in Providence, R.I.