MOVIESNewman’s Own Award: If Paul Newman wins...

MOVIES

Newman’s Own Award: If Paul Newman wins an Academy Award next month, his Oscar will have a Silver Bear for company. Newman won the trophy for best actor Monday at the Berlin International Film Festival for his portrayal of a nearly over-the-hill construction worker in “Nobody’s Fool.” The veteran actor will be in contention for the Academy Award March 27 for the same role, but competition will be a lot tougher since none of his fellow Oscar nominees were entered in the German festival. Among other winners at the Berlin festival: best film--”L’Appat” (Fresh Bait) by French director Bertrand Tavernier, an anti-Hollywood tale of young killers driven by too many violent films; best actress--Josephine Siao for her portrayal of the daughter-in-law of a Hong Kong man afflicted by Alzheimer’s disease in “Xiatian de Xue,” (Summer Snow); best director--American Richard Linklater for “Before Sunrise,” the story of a young American (Ethan Hawke) and a French woman (Julie Delpy) who meet on a train from Budapest and spend a day and night together in Vienna. Festival retrospectives were devoted to silent film star Buster Keaton and to veteran French actor Alain Delon, who received a Golden Bear award for career achievement.

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‘Hoop Dreams’ Protest: Paul Newman, along with Danny DeVito and other stars, will be listed at the top of a petition that Fine Line Features will run in Wednesday’s Hollywood trade papers to urge the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to investigate its nomination process for documentary films. A furor was set off last week over the failure of Fine Line’s acclaimed “Hoop Dreams” to get a nomination. “It’s important that we not take away any honor that has been accorded the five nominees,” said Mitch Goldman, Fine Line’s president of marketing and distribution, on Monday, “but the exclusion of ‘Hoop Dreams’ in that category is still puzzling to us and we’d like to know how that happens.” Fine Line was recruiting petition signers Monday and trade-paper readers will be asked to add their names. Goldman said he doesn’t expect reconsideration of the nominating process for this year but he hopes the academy will find a way to recognize “Hoop Dreams” on Oscar night.

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‘Hoop Dreams’ Epilogue: William Gates, one of the two Chicago basketball prodigies profiled in “Hoop Dreams,” is finishing his basketball career at Marquette University, where he has been reduced to averaging 11 minutes a game. At 23, Gates is married, has a daughter and a son is due in April. He expects to graduate with a communications degree in December and, even though his NBA chances seem to have evaporated, still expresses a love for the game he dreamed of playing professionally. “Sometimes, that’s the only thing you have to live for, your dream. For me, basketball was my sole guidance to get out of Cabrini,” he said of Cabrini Green, the decaying Chicago housing project where he grew up. “I may not make it to the NBA, but I still got out.” Arthur Agee, the other player in “Hoop Dreams,” is a senior playing basketball at Arkansas State.

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Burton’s ‘Hamlet’ Returns: A recently discovered and re-mastered filmed version of the late Richard Burton’s portrayal of “Hamlet” on Broadway in 1964 will premiere in London April 28 as the finale of a yearlong Shakespeare festival. Los Angeles-based producer-director Paul Brownstein obtained the rare footage from Burton’s widow, Sally, and supervised the restoration of the negative and soundtrack. The play, directed by Sir John Gielgud and presented as a final run-though in rehearsal clothes, was sold out for its 17-week run. Brownstein said negotiations are in progress for other showings in London and on Broadway.

RADIO

More Things Considered: National Public Radio will expand its popular evening newsmagazine, “All Things Considered,” from 90 minutes to two hours beginning in June. Plans call for an increase in domestic coverage, including reporting trips throughout the country by the show’s hosts, as well as more pieces by independent radio producers. NPR said the changes, which come on the eve of “All Things Considered’s” 25th anniversary, are the result of requests from member NPR stations.

POP MUSIC

Down in New Orleans: Ray Charles, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell and Pete Seeger were announced as headliners for the 1995 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. The four--with Gladys Knight, Wilson Pickett, B. B. King, Chuck Berry, Marva Wright, the Neville Brothers and Peter, Paul and Mary--will be among an estimated 4,000 performers. The event runs April 28-30 and May 4-7. Musicians and dancers from around the world will share the festival’s 11 stages and tents with performers from across the United States. The annual performance, held on the infield of the New Orleans Fairgrounds racetrack, also showcases Louisiana’s varied musical styles.

LAST WORD

“I am completely a goofball nerd.”

--Uma Thurman, 24, Oscar nominee for best supporting actress for her role in “Pulp Fiction,” describing herself to Time magazine.