MOVIESNew Marketing Tack: In what the studio...

MOVIES

New Marketing Tack: In what the studio is billing as a “marketing first,” 20th Century Fox is offering a “money-back guarantee” to lure moviegoers to its John Hughes remake of the Christmas classic “Miracle on 34th Street.” For all showings of the movie today through Sunday, Fox will refund the ticket price for any viewer who is not “delighted” by the film. Unsatisfied patrons need merely send in their ticket stubs and a self-addressed stamped envelope to: 20th Century Fox, P.O. Box 900, Beverly Hills, Calif. 90213, Attn: Miracle. Fox President Bill Mechanic said the offer shows the studio’s “confidence and faith” in the movie. No doubt it’s also aimed at boosting the film’s box office--”Miracle” opened in eighth place on the box-office chart last weekend with an anemic take of $2.8 million.

POP/ROCK

The Defense Rests: The defense team for rapper Tupac Shakur and his road manager, Charles Fuller, the two accused of sexually assaulting a young woman in a New York hotel room last year, rested its case Tuesday without calling the men to testify. Shakur’s attorney contends the woman’s encounter with the men was consensual and that she became jealous and went into a rage after seeing Shakur with another woman. On Monday, a woman identifying herself as Shakur’s former publicist testified in the New York courtroom that she heard the alleged victim accuse the rapper of cheating on her and vow, “This is not the last time you’re going to hear from me.” The case is expected to go to the jury next week.

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Crosby Update: Musician David Crosby remained hospitalized in critical but stable condition Tuesday after undergoing a successful liver transplant Sunday at UCLA Medical Center. Crosby, 53, who was on the organ donor waiting list for 39 days, received the liver of a 31-year-old Southern California man who was declared brain dead after a traffic accident. Crosby is expected to remain hospitalized for several weeks, but his band, Crosby, Stills & Nash, will receive the 1994 Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Songwriters during a Dec. 9 ceremony at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre.

TELEVISION

Letterman Prevails: Jay Leno ventured into David Letterman’s home turf Monday night but didn’t make a dent in the ratings gap, according to Nielsen figures available Tuesday from 32 major TV markets. Beginning a week of telecasts from New York, Leno’s “The Tonight Show” on NBC attracted 15% of the available viewers while Letterman’s “Late Show” on CBS drew 19%.

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CBS News: Despite denials last week from CBS News president Eric Ober, CBS executives this week are considering turning Connie Chung’s weekly newsmagazine, “Eye to Eye,” into a series of specials, thus making more room on the schedule for prime-time dramas, network sources say. The newsmagazine has done poorly in the ratings since CBS moved it into the killer Thursday night time slot opposite NBC’s hospital drama, “ER.” The producers of CBS’ rival hospital drama, “Chicago Hope,” meanwhile, are said to want a better time slot for their series, now airing Thursdays at 9 p.m., and there has been some speculation at the network that Dan Rather’s Wednesday night newsmagazine, “48 Hours,” might be moved to accommodate “Chicago Hope.” But sources say that a change in Chung’s show is more likely than moving Rather. A change in “Eye to Eye” could come as early as January, although officially, CBS says no decision has been made.

THE ARTS

Sales Record: “Sunset Boulevard” has set another record. The musical brought in more than $1.4 million on Friday, the day after its Broadway opening, setting a high mark for ticket sales on any single day in Broadway history. The previous record-holder was “Beauty and the Beast,” which brought in nearly $1.3 million on June 13, the day after the Tony Awards telecast. But Disney’s “Beast” achieved its record with a top ticket price of $65 compared to $70 for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Sunset.”

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From LACMA to Atlanta: Michael E. Shapiro, who resigned as director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in August of 1993, after less than a year at the helm, has been appointed director of museum programs and chief curator at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. Effective Jan. 9, Shapiro will oversee the curatorial, education, exhibitions, publications and collections management departments at the High Museum, whose facilities, operations and staff are roughly one-fourth the size of LACMA’s. He will also work with Director Ned Rifkin to build the permanent collection.