MOVIESMaking a ‘Shockwave’: “Waterworld” screenwriter David Twohy...

MOVIES

Making a ‘Shockwave’: “Waterworld” screenwriter David Twohy will make his big-screen directing debut with Live Entertainment’s “Shockwave,” an estimated $20-million to $25-million alien invasion tale starring Charlie Sheen. Twohy, who also wrote “The Fugitive” and “Terminal Velocity” (which starred Sheen), penned “Shockwave” as well. Sheen will play a renegade scientist who probes the origins of radio waves from outer space and stumbles onto a worldwide alien invasion. Shooting is expected to start Oct. 2; the film is scheduled to be released next summer. Twohy said that “Waterworld” director Kevin Reynolds “is helping me on this film as executive consultant. Kevin read the script and said to me, ‘I’ll be glad to do this as long as you don’t go near water.’ ”

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Musically Inclined?: Woody Allen is thinking in musical-comedy terms for his next project. In a statement, Allen said: “I’m fooling around with the possibility of trying a musical right now . . . and as usual the script and various ideas change from day to day. I may suddenly decide that it’s not a musical but who knows?” The cast includes Alan Alda, Julia Roberts, Judy Davis, Drew Barrymore and Tim Roth, with musical arrangements by Dick Hyman.

POP/ROCK

New Deal for Michael: As rumored, pop star George Michael has signed a new recording deal with DreamWorks SKG, the company formed last October by music mogul David Geffen, former Disney studio boss Jeffrey Katzenberg and film director Steven Spielberg. The singer, who has not released an album since 1990, had been embroiled in a two-year legal battle with Sony. He vowed never to sing again for the Japanese conglomerate, accusing it of “professional slavery.” Michael now will record for DreamWorks in North America and Thorn EMI’s Virgin records for the rest of the world, his publicist said.

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Former Beatles Object to Parody: An attorney for Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and Yoko Ono, widow of John Lennon, threatened to sue Beverly Hills-based Dove Audio over the company’s recent “Live From the Pound: The Beatles” parody. An attorney for Dove, which is known for its quick-to-newsstand books about the O.J. Simpson murder trial, said “. . . we’re disappointed that they didn’t see the satire.” The just-released recording features dogs barking famous Beatles songs. An attorney for the former Beatles and the estate of John Lennon said that the tape is “a violation of statutory and common law protections against trademark infringement.”

ART

Impressionist Works on the Block: More than $30-million worth of Impressionist art from the estate of film producer Joseph H. Hazen will be offered for sale in November at Sotheby’s New York auction house. A forest scene painted by Vincent van Gogh a month before his death in 1890 is expected to bring the top price of $10 million. Other prime paintings include Vasily Kandinsky’s “The Last Judgment” and Fernand Leger’s “The Pipe,” each valued at more than $5 million. Hazen’s interest in art began in Europe during World War II when he was working with Warner Bros. During his Hollywood years, 1944-69, when he and Hal B. Wallis joined forces in an independent film production company, Hazen met actor Edward G. Robinson, whose well-known collection inspired him to start buying art.

TELEVISION

Up and Away: “Budgie the Little Helicopter,” a British animated children’s series based on the Duchess of York’s experiences as a pilot, will join the Fox weekday lineup this fall.

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CNN After O.J.: On the day after the O.J. Simpson case goes to the jury, legal analysts Greta Van Susteren and Roger Cossack will debut as hosts of “Burden of Proof,” to air weekdays at 9:30 a.m. on CNN. “The public’s curiosity with the law has peaked with the O.J. Simpson trial,” noted Bob Furnad, CNN executive vice president, on the creation of the show, “resulting in fascinating discussions not only about the sensationalistic, high-profile murder case but the legal system itself.”

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Kelley’s Corner: “Picket Fences” has found a home on cable. Reruns of David E. Kelley’s Emmy Award-winning CBS drama will be shown on the Fox channel fX during the 1995-96 season. . . . In other fX announcements, the new half-hour series “Lost & Found” will premiere Aug. 19. It’s a weekly show dealing with reunions. “Breakfast Time,” the channel’s weekday morning show hosted by Tom Bergeron and Laurie Hibberd, will air live on the West Coast starting in September.

QUICK TAKES

The musical spoof “Forbidden Hollywood” will begin a run at Chicago’s Apollo Theatre on Sept. 20. . . . David Morse (“St. Elsewhere”) has been cast as an ex-minister in Heather McDonald’s solo play, “An Almost Holy Picture,” to play La Jolla Playhouse Sept. 12-Oct. 15.