MOVIES - April 19, 1994

‘Piano’s’ Sour Note: Following in the footsteps of Steven Spielberg’s “Schindler’s List,” “The Piano” has drawn objections from foreign censors. The Philippine Movie and Television Review and Classification Board has banned “The Piano” in that country, calling love scenes between stars Holly Hunter and Harvey Keitel pornographic and “unfit for public viewing.” On Monday, director Jane Campion--the second woman ever to be nominated for a best director Oscar--rejected proposed cuts in the film, saying “the scenes in question are handled artistically and tastefully and cannot possibly be deemed to be offensive.” The film board said it would review the ban again Tuesday, after an appeal by the local distributor of the film, which won three Academy Awards including best actress for Hunter. The same film board raised a storm last month by ordering cuts on Spielberg’s “Schindler’s List.” President Fidel Ramos later reversed the ban, however.

*Viewers’ Choice: The Oscars may be long gone, but at least one more awards show is yet to come. Nominees were announced Monday for the 1994 MTV Movie Awards, which will air on the cable channel June 9. Included were picks for such non-Oscar categories as best villain (“The Good Son’s” Macaulay Culkin, “In the Line of Fire’s” John Malkovich, “The Crush’s” Alicia Silverstone, “Demolition Man’s” Wesley Snipes and “Jurassic Park’s” T-Rex), and most desirable male and female (William Baldwin, Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Denzel Washington; Kim Bassinger, Janet Jackson, Demi Moore, Alicia Silverstone and Sharon Stone). Viewers of the music video channel also voted on best song nominees, and in addition to Oscar- winner Bruce Springsteen’s “Streets of Philadelphia” from “Philadelphia,” chose Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart and Sting’s “All for Love” from “The 3 Musketeers,” UB40’s “I Can’t Help Falling in Love” from “Sliver,” The Proclaimers’ “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” from “Benny & Joon,” Celine Dion and Clive Griffin’s “When I Fall in Love” from “Sleepless in Seattle,” and Michael Jackson’s “Will You Be There” from “Free Willy.”

OPERA

Bergonzi’s American Farewell: Noted Italian opera star Carlo Bergonzi performed for two hours before a sell-out crowd at New York’s Carnegie Hall Sunday night in what was billed as his American farewell concert. The crowd rewarded him with 40 minutes of cheering, including standing ovations and stamping feet, and prompted five encores from the 70-year-old tenor. Bergonzi made his Metropolitan Opera House debut as Radames in “Aida” in 1956 and was on the roster there for the last time in the 1988-89 season, singing Edgardo in “Lucia di Lammermoor.” “Tonight is a very, very emotional night,” Bergonzi said after the show. Through a translator, Bergonzi also hinted that he might agree to sing once again in appropriate benefit concerts.

*Domingo Tickets Go to Romanian Brass: A concert by famed tenor Placido Domingo has set off a controversy in Romania, where local media are accusing President Ion Iliescu of hogging the tickets for bureaucratic brass and excluding local opera buffs. The artistic management company Artexim, which is co-organizing Tuesday’s concert at Bucharest’s Palace Hall, says the presidency has bought up nearly a third of 4,100 seats available, and that the rest are shared among the foreign and culture ministries, Romanian television, the state radio company and Bucharest’s Opera house. Iliescu’s cultural adviser admitted Monday that the president had booked “a number of tickets,” but declined to say how many. State-owned Romanian Television, which is organizing the event with Artexim, said Monday: “We will pay Domingo’s concert fee of $250,000 . . . and we will make up for Artexim’s failure to put up tickets for sale at the box office through a live television broadcast of Domingo’s concert.”

TELEVISION

KCOP Cuts Back News Programming: After investing millions in new equipment and personnel on what it calls “Real News,” KCOP Channel 13 has decided to scale back its news operation just 15 months after its debut, at least for now. This past weekend, the station eliminated its hourlong 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday newscasts, and beginning May 16, will cut the 10 weekday newscasts to just half an hour. Station Manager Rick Feldman stressed Monday that KCOP is not cutting back its news budget and hopes to expand its news programming in the future. He expected no layoffs in the news staff in part because the station plans this summer to begin airing a different type of news show at 10:30 p.m. that devotes longer segments to current hot topics. Though Feldman said he is pleased with the walk-around style of the newscast that originates from all parts of KCOP’s fancy new newsroom, he added that it was not enough of a distinction to draw viewers from the other three hourlong newscasts at 10 p.m. Switching to a half-hour will provide a real alternative for viewers at that hour, he said.

*Talk, Talk, Talk: Ten of America’s most opinionated TV talk personalities--including Phil Donahue, Geraldo Rivera, Tom Snyder and Mary Matalin--will swap ideas with viewers during “Talk Back America II,” airing tonight at 6 on cable’s CNBC. The two-hour special will invite viewer dialogue through an 800 number.