NEW MEDIAInteractive Premiere: Approximately 20 million users...

NEW MEDIA

Interactive Premiere: Approximately 20 million users of the World Wide Web will be able to access an interactive world premiere today of Universal Pictures’ Ivan Reitman film “Junior,” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. The presentation, which will incorporate exclusive video footage and messages from the film’s stars, will be the first installment of a new entertainment-oriented site called “Universal V/IP” (short for Visual/Interactive Previews), designed to give users “behind-the-scenes access to the complete experience of movie-making.” Universal V/IP and the “Junior” interactive premiere can be accessed through “MCA/Universal Cyberwalk,” located at https://www.mca.com. “Junior” opens nationwide on Nov. 23.

THE ARTS

MoMA’s New Director: New York’s Museum of Modern Art has named Glenn D. Lowry, director of the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, as the museum’s next director, ending a 14-month search that began when Richard E. Oldenburg announced plans to retire. While at the Canadian gallery, Lowry is credited with completing a $58-million renovation and expansion, as well as placing added emphasis on modern and contemporary art. Lowry’s previous positions include curator of Near Eastern art at the Smithsonian’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and Freer Gallery of Art. Lowry, 40, will take the MoMA post on July 1.

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Meanwhile, on This Coast: Stephanie Barron, a curator of 20th-Century art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art who is serving as coordinator of curatorial affairs during the museum’s search for a director, will succeed Maurice Tuchman as head of the 20th-Century art department. Tuchman will become the department’s senior curator emeritus on Dec. 1. Meanwhile, LACMA President William A. Mingst has confirmed rumors that Evan Maurer, director of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, will not be the museum’s next director. “Evan was an excellent candidate, but by mutual consent we have agreed not to go forward,” Mingst said. Maurer was widely believed to be the leading contender for the position, which has been vacant for more than a year.

TV & RADIO

Wallace Reprimanded: CBS News President Eric Ober has reprimanded Mike Wallace and “60 Minutes” producer Bob Anderson for surreptitiously taping an interview with a free-lance writer without her knowledge. The writer, Karon Haller, chatted with Wallace about a story she had covered, but did not want to do an on-camera interview. However, the discussion, was secretly recorded by tiny hidden cameras, one of which was secreted in the drapes. The monitor was placed next door in Morley Safer’s office. “The surreptitious taping was a violation of CBS News standards,” Ober said. “It was a violation of journalistic ethics. They used very, very poor judgment.”

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KLOS Rocks Its Personnel: Rock station KLOS-FM (95.5), moving to combat a ratings decline over the past year, fired two veteran deejays Thursday. The dismissal of Bob Coburn from the 10 a.m.-2 p.m. slot and Joe Benson from the 6-10 p.m. job follows on the heels of the Oct. 24 firing of Gino Michelini from the 2-6 p.m. show. Replacements for all three are expected to be named today. The station said the changes are part of an effort to reach a younger audience.

LEGAL FILE

‘Doggystyle’ Suit: Two rap musicians have sued Time Warner-affiliated Interscope Records, Death Row Records co-owner Marion (Suge) Knight and others, claiming that portions of one of the duo’s songs appeared without their permission on rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg’s hit album “Doggystyle.” Rappers Joseph Williams and Lawrence Parker, known as “Just-Ice” and “KRS-One,” respectively, claim in the Los Angeles lawsuit that parts of “Moshitup,” which appeared on Williams’ album “Kool & Deadly (Justicizm),” were included in Snoop’s song “Serial Killa.” Snoop was not named in the federal complaint.

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Cleared for ‘Passage’: A Santa Monica Superior Court judge has refused to bar New Line Cinema from releasing the upcoming Susan Sarandon movie “Safe Passage,” despite a producer’s claims he was denied credit for helping to create the film. Dan Lupowitz, who says he served as executive producer for seven months, asked for the injunction pending the outcome of his breach of contract lawsuit against New Line. On Wednesday, Judge Alan Haber sided with New Line, saying that Lupowitz had not established that he had “any implied contract” with New Line.

QUICK TAKES

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has disqualified Kryzsztof Kieslowski’s acclaimed film, “Red” from competing for Switzerland in the foreign film Oscar category. Academy executive director Bruce Davis said Thursday that the decision was based on the “artistic control rule” and that not enough of those in “creative control” of the film were of Swiss descent. However, Kieslowski’s film “White,” submitted by Poland, is eligible for the Oscars. . . . Due to high ticket demand, the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers have added nine performances to their Dec. 13-18 “Live on Stage” dates at Universal Amphitheatre. The new dates are Dec. 20-22, with three shows each day. . . . World-champion heavyweight boxer George Foreman hosts NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” on Dec. 17. The musical guest that night will be Hole, the band fronted by Courtney Love.