TELEVISION - May 15, 1995

NBC’s Fall Shows: NBC’s new fall lineup, scheduled for release today, includes six new comedies and one new drama, according to sources. The comedies are: “Caroline in the City,” with Lea Thompson as a New York cartoonist; “Brotherly Love,” starring Joey Lawrence; “Minor Adjustments,” with Rondell Sheridan as a child psychiatrist; “Single Guy,” with Jonathan Silverman as a thirtysomething bachelor; “Home Court,” with Pamela Reed as a family court judge and mother; and “The Pursuit of Happiness,” about a married lawyer with a chaotic life. The drama is “JAG,” about two young Navy lawyers.

MOVIES

High Tide: “Crimson Tide” was way above water at the box office over the weekend. With an opening gross estimated at $18.5 million, the Hollywood Pictures release officially kicked off the summer movie-going season, according to industry insiders. The dueling romantic comedies, 20th Century Fox’s “French Kiss” and Hollywood Pictures’ “While You Were Sleeping,” continued their lovers’ quarrel. The films were neck-and-neck--”Kiss” in second place with $6.3 million and “While You Were Sleeping” in third with $6.1 million. At No. 4, New Line’s “Friday,” with $2.7 million. Miramax’s “The Englishman Who Went Up the Hill but Came Down a Mountain” took fifth with $2.6 million. Goldwyn’s “The Perez Family” had a disappointing opening with $1.1 million.

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Movie Makers: Add “The Rainmaker” to the list of John Grisham best-selling books that make it to the big screen. Grisham, Michael Douglas and producer Steven Reuther (“The Client”) have reached an agreement to co-produce an adaptation of the book, currently the No. 1 bestseller, under their deal with Paramount. The purchase price for the novel is confidential, but a spokesman said it maintains Grisham’s status as the highest paid author in Hollywood. Grisham will write the screenplay, marking the first time he has adapted one of his novels for the screen. “Rainmaker” is about a young lawyer who exposes a corrupt company. No stars are attached to the movie yet. Production is set to begin in 1996.

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Frankenheimer Tribute: Director John Frankenheimer will be honored tonight with a retrospective of his work and a book-signing party to celebrate the publication of “John Frankenheimer: A Conversation With Charles Champlin.” The event, beginning at 7:30 p.m. at the Directors Guild, will include a discussion with Frankenheimer, moderated by director Jeremy Kagan, and a presentation of clips from Frankenheimer’s works, including “The Manchurian Candidate,” “Birdman of Alcatraz” and “Seven Days in May.” After the forum, Champlin, The Times’ arts editor emeritus, and Frankenheimer will sign copies of the book based on Champlin’s interviews with the director. Janet Leigh, Angela Lansbury, Karl Malden, Lloyd Bridges and others who starred in Frankenheimer’s films are set to attend the event, which is open to the public.

POP/ROCK

Hot Tickets: Tickets to Pearl Jam’s concerts June 26 and 27 at San Diego’s Del Mar Fairgrounds sold at lightning speed by phone on Friday night. The first show sold out in 10 minutes, the second in 12 minutes. Another show in Phoenix sold out in 10 minutes. It took a bit longer to sell all of the tickets to an upcoming New Orleans date: 2 1/2 hours.

LEGAL FILE

No Case: A woman’s sexual harassment lawsuit against actor Steven Seagal was thrown out by a judge. A Los Angeles Superior Court judge agreed with Seagal’s lawyers that Cheryl Shuman’s suit was “repetitive and unintelligible and does not allege cognizable legal claims.” The judge dismissed the suit with prejudice, meaning Shuman cannot refile. Shuman claimed she was sexually harassed by Seagal during the making of “On Deadly Ground.”

QUICK TAKES

Perry Farrell, co-founder of Lollapalooza, will answer questions about this summer’s rock extravaganza when he goes on-line tonight at 6:30 p.m. The Lollapalooza ’95 Internet Site address is https://lollapalooza.com . . . Comedian George Lopez will headline an Oklahoma relief benefit show tonight at the Comedy Express in Montclair. . . . Dolly Parton’s TV sitcom “Heavens to Betsy” won’t air after all because of creative problems. The show, which was to star Parton as a Las Vegas lounge singer, was being produced for CBS. . . . Warren Olney’s new TV series, “The 21st Century,” produced by Century Cable for its cable systems, begins airing today. . . . Peter C. Brosius, director of the Mark Taper Forum’s award-winning P.L.A.Y. (Performing for Los Angeles Youth, formerly known as the Improvisational Theatre Project) is leaving to run the Honolulu Theatre for Youth. A replacement hasn’t been named. . . . Warren Cereghino, former news director at KTLA Channel 5, has been hired as executive producer of the United Television News Service, which shares news stories among six TV stations, including KCOP Channel 13, where Cereghino will be based.