MOVIESCompeting at Cannes: The United States will...

MOVIES

Competing at Cannes: The United States will dominate the competitors’ list at next month’s Cannes Film Festival, with American productions accounting for six of the 24 films entered for the prestigious Golden Palm award in the May 17-28 competition. The American films are Tim Burton’s quirky “Ed Wood,” which recently won Martin Landau an Oscar for his portrayal of Bela Lugosi; James Ivory’s “Jefferson in Paris,” starring Nick Nolte; Jim Jarmusch’s “Dead Man,” a Western with Johnny Depp and Robert Mitchum; John Boorman’s “Beyond Rangoon,” about the 1980s riots in Myanmar, which was formerly called Burma; Larry Clark’s “Kids,” and “Angels and Insects” by Philip Haas. The non-American entries include Nicholas Hytner’s “The Madness of King George” from Britain, and Chinese director Zhang Yimou’s “Shanghai Triad,” starring Gong Li.

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Big Bird to Big Screen: Looks like “Sesame Street” will soon be coming to a theater near you. The show’s producers, Children’s Television Workshop, and the Sony Corp. on Tuesday announced plans to make new feature films, as well as home videos, audiotapes, books and other items based on the long-running PBS series that has made household names out of such characters as Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch. Lisa Henson, president of Sony-owned Columbia Pictures, said the movies will be “innovative, live-action films, featuring the puppets and actors in the television show.”

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High Hopes for ‘Hoop’ Video: Getting snubbed by the Oscar nominating committee may have been the best thing that could have happened to the acclaimed basketball documentary “Hoop Dreams,” which came out on video Tuesday. Thanks to swarms of publicity about the Oscar controversy, New Line shipped 130,000 copies to retailers, a new record for documentaries--and 10,000 more than the deposed champ, Madonna’s “Truth or Dare” (1991).

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Clintons and ‘My Family’: Some of Hollywood’s top Latino stars will be in the nation’s capital on Cinco de Mayo for a screening of New Line Cinema’s upcoming film “My Family” and a reception attended by President Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. The event benefits the National Latino Communications Center, and expected attendees include “My Family” cast members Edward James Olmos, Jimmy Smits, Esai Morales, Jenny Gago and Constance Marie.

OKLAHOMA AFTERMATH

Many Eyes Were Watching: CNN’s coverage of the Oklahoma City bombing and its aftermath helped the cable network post its highest weekly 24-hour ratings ever outside its Gulf War coverage. The network averaged 1.3 million viewing households overall for the week of April 17-23. The network’s ratings crested on Sunday with live coverage of the memorial service.

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Hollywood Relief Efforts: Show business is contributing to relief in the wake of last week’s Oklahoma City bombing. Among several efforts: Century City’s AMC Century 14 Theatres will screen the original 1939 version of MGM’s “The Wizard of Oz” this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 10 a.m. each day, with all proceeds going to the Disaster Relief Fund of Oklahoma City. Tickets are $4.75 for adults and $3.75 for children. . . . The Black Crowes, who were set to perform at the city’s Music Hall next Tuesday, have moved their concert to May 10 and will donate all proceeds from the show to local charities. The band’s label, American Recordings, promises to match the band’s donation. . . . TV talk-show host Geraldo Rivera, who broadcast live from the disaster scene last Thursday and has donated $5,000 to relief efforts himself, raised $188,000 in phoned-in credit card donations during the show, with the amount expected to triple when mailed payments are tabulated. . . . Entertainer Merv Griffin and his Arizona-based greeting card company, Zed, are donating 100,000 greeting cards to third- and fourth-graders at 250 schools across the country, so that the kids can send the cards to victims of the Oklahoma City bombing. . . . “The Big Help,” a public service campaign on cable’s Nickelodeon, has partnered with the Oklahoma City-based group Feed the Children. The station will broadcast announcements encouraging kids to send cards and donations to Oklahoma relief efforts.

ART

‘Cultural Factory’ Funds: Seven years after it was conceived and four years after its public funds were frozen, the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art on Tuesday received $18.6 million in construction funds from the state of Massachusetts. The money--released after $8.6 million in private funds was raised--is the first portion of a $35-million grant from the state. The project, described by Mass MOCA Director Joseph Thompson as “a cultural factory for the 21st Century,” will transform a 14-acre, 28-building industrial site in North Adams into a multidisciplinary forum for visual and performing arts, educational initiatives and new media technologies. The museum will present programs created by a nationwide consortium of arts institutions, including Los Angeles’ Japanese American Cultural and Community Center.