MOVIESSuperficial Gains: The Directors Guild of America...

MOVIES

Superficial Gains: The Directors Guild of America released a report Friday showing that women and ethnic minority guild members continue to suffer from underemployment in Hollywood. In its annual report, the DGA said the percentage of total days worked by female directors rose slightly from 7% to 9% between 1993 and 1994, while minorities showed a gain from 4% to 5%. The DGA report also covers unit production managers as well as first and second assistant directors. Those categories also saw mostly superficial gains. The total workdays of women unit production managers increased from 12% to 13% while minorities went from 2% to 4%. The percentage of total workdays for female first assistant directors climbed from 15% to 16%, while minorities stayed the same--9%. The percentage of total workdays for female second assistant directors increased from 36% to 39%, while those for minorities rose from 10% to 12%. Guild President Gene Reynolds said that while he is gratified that the numbers “demonstrate some progress,” he is still “greatly concerned that the directorial talents of our minority and women members are still not receiving a fair hearing in the employment marketplace.”

TELEVISION

Late-Night Survival Tactics: Capt. Scott O’Grady is sparking a bit of a late-night TV talk-show war. Last week, CBS’s “Late Show” announced that O’Grady would appear as a guest of David Letterman. On Friday, there were reports that O’Grady was booked to make an appearance on NBC’s “Tonight Show” with Jay Leno. Yet, Dick Guttman, a spokesman for Leno’s show, said that O’Grady’s visit was unconfirmed as of Friday. A spokeswoman from the Letterman camp said that her show spoke to O’Grady last week and he said it was the only late-night show he wanted to appear on. There is, however, still no date set for O’Grady’s visit with Letterman. “But we’re confident he’ll keep his commitment to us,” the spokeswoman said. “We never intended for this to be a competitive thing.”

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Starfleet Promotion: Speaking of captains, Commander Benjamin Sisko, played by Avery Brooks, will be promoted from Starfleet commander to the venerable rank of captain on the season finale of “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” airing on KCOP Channel 13 Wednesday. He’ll join a list of esteemed captains, including James T. Kirk, Jean-Luc Picard and Kathryn Janeway. But life doesn’t get easier once Sisko has his captain’s pin--on the season finale he confronts a Changeling saboteur on board his ship, the Defiant.

LEGAL FILE

Busted . . . Again: Tupac Shakur has been confined to his cell in Dannemora, N.Y., for 23 hours a day after a prison guard caught a whiff of marijuana near the cell. The rap star, who turns 24 today, is serving 1 1/2 to 4 1/2 years behind bars for sexually abusing a woman in a New York City hotel room. A Corrections Department spokesman said Friday that Shakur flunked a urine test May 25 after a guard smelled the marijuana. Shakur was given 60 days of constant confinement except for one hour a day; he also lost two months of good time and such privileges as use of the commissary.

POP/ROCK

Selena’s Single: The English-language song Selena had dreamed would make her a crossover star is causing a sensation on Texas radio 2 1/2 months after the slaying of the Tejano music queen. “We played it 25 times the first day,” said the program director for a San Antonio Top 40 station Friday, one day after “I Could Fall in Love” was released to radio stations nationwide. In Los Angeles, KPWR-FM (106.7) music director Bruce St. James said the station played it a handful of times Thursday and was receiving requests for it Friday. It was the first time the English-language dance- and rap-oriented station has played Selena and initial response has been highly positive. “Sounds like a hit,” St. James said. The single, on the album “Dreaming of You,” which was put together by Selena’s family after her death, will hit stores June 26. The album will be released July 18.

QUICK TAKES

Except for occasional limited releases of house seats, all tickets to “Master Class,” which closes July 1 at the Mark Taper Forum, have been sold. Terrence McNally’s play is the first sellout at the Taper since “Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992” in 1993. . . . Winston Groom, the author of “Forrest Gump,” has withdrawn his threats to sue Paramount over profits from the movie version of his book. Groom settled with Paramount, but he would not disclose the size of the settlement. He recently signed a deal with the studio for the movie rights to a Gump sequel. . . . Amy Grant’s surgery for retinal detachment was successful. The singer plans to resume her tour on July 20 in Philadelphia. . . . Quincy Jones will receive the UCLA Medal, the university’s highest honor, for his contributions to American music and pop culture today. Jones will also deliver the keynote address to the graduates of UCLA’s School of the Arts and Architecture. . . . A range fire swept through ABC newscaster Sam Donaldson’s ranch in Pichacho, N.M., Friday, charring grass and burning fence posts. The blaze on the 11,000-acre ranch was part of a lightning-sparked fire.