Arts and entertainment reports from The Times, national and international news services and the nation’s press.

PEOPLE WATCH

Luck of the Irish?: Marlon Brando is thinking of seeking Irish citizenship. The 71-year-old actor, who is shooting the film “Divine Rapture” in the County Cork village of Ballycotton, told reporters he hoped to formalize moves toward an application before leaving the country next month. Brando said he felt an overwhelming “rush of emotion” on arriving in Ireland earlier this month, the Irish Independent reported Friday. “I have never felt at home really in the places I’ve been,” said the reclusive star, whose great-grandfather, Myles O’Gahan, was born in Dublin.

*

Les Paul Recovering: Guitar legend Les Paul should recover from a collapse that kept him from attending a weekend celebration of his 80th birthday in Nashville, his manager said. The inventor of the electric guitar complained of chest pains and shortness of breath as a limousine prepared to pick him up from his home in Mahwah, N.J., for a flight to Nashville. Paul was resting at home under a doctor’s care. “This is not a life-threatening condition,” said his manager of 30 years, Harold Stern, who did not know Paul’s diagnosis or whether he would have to be hospitalized.

*

Hagman’s Condition: Actor Larry Hagman, who has suffered from chronic liver disease for years, has a tumor on his liver and may require a transplant. Hagman, 63, said he will make a decision on his treatment by the middle of next week. The former “Dallas” star, who drank heavily for years, was diagnosed in 1992 with cirrhosis of the liver. Hagman’s publicist would not comment Friday on whether the tumor is cancerous.

*

No Fiction: Writer-director Quentin Tarantino will oversee Rolling Thunder, a “specialty label” under Miramax Films, Miramax co-chairmen Harvey and Bob Weinstein said. Rolling Thunder will release up to four films a year, with 25% of its profits going to film preservation. Tarantino, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of “Pulp Fiction,” will select movies from three sources: obscure films that did not receive U.S. distribution, new films from undiscovered talent, and vintage films. The first acquisition is “Chungking Express” from Hong Kong director Wong Kar-Wai.

*

Going, Going . . . His Way: Looking for a golf cart that says “Ol’ Blue Eyes” on one side and “Lady Blue Eyes” on the other? In that case, make plans to attend the Frank Sinatra auction at Christie’s in New York. Sinatra is selling off items from the Palm Springs house he and his wife, Barbara, recently sold. Paintings, Faberge collectibles and a 1976 Jaguar also will be offered at the Dec. 1 auction. The golf cart is expected to sell for $4,000 to $6,000.

TV & RADIO

R.E.M. Live on Radio: R.E.M.’s “Monster” tour is coming to radio. KSCA-FM (101.9) will broadcast the group’s London concert live at 3 p.m. on July 30. The syndicator, Westwood One Entertainment, also is distributing two programs about R.E.M. in preparation for the London performance, featuring interviews with the band members and their music. KSCA will air those from 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday and July 23.

*

Looking Back: “Hiroshima: Why the Bomb Was Dropped,” a 90-minute installment of the periodic ABC series “Peter Jennings Reporting,” will be the first of several upcoming programs to reflect on the decision to use atomic weapons. The documentary will air July 27 at 9:30 p.m.

*

New Producer: Barbara Corday, a former president of Columbia Pictures TV, has been named executive producer of “George & Alana,” a new weekday talk show premiering in September on KCAL.

MOVIES

‘Brady’ Redux: It’s the second story of a family named Brady. . . . A sequel to “The Brady Bunch Movie,” which has pulled in $46.5 million at the domestic box office, has been approved by Paramount Pictures. The cast of the original comedy will return.

LITERATURE

Notes for Sale: Unpublished notes by the late Irish playwright Samuel Beckett are to be auctioned in London this month. Sotheby’s auctioneers expect $239,500 to $399,200 to be paid for roughly 100 pages of Beckett’s handwritten notes in a notebook dedicated “for Tara MacGowran [daughter of actor Jack MacGowran] with love from Sam, Paris June 1965.” The works include an early autographed working draft of Beckett’s “Fin de Partie” (“Endgame”) in the original French; “From an Abandoned Work,” part of an English version of his play “Molloy,” and a short dialogue from “En Attendant Godot” (“Waiting for Godot”). Beckett died in 1994 at 83.

QUICK TAKES

The man involved in the car accident that killed actor James Dean 40 years ago has died of lung cancer. Donald Turnupseed, who died at his home Thursday in Tulare, was 63. . . . Tom Arnold, a co-star in the 20th Century Fox film “Nine Months,” has signed a two-picture deal with the studio. . . . Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly will reprise their roles as New York cops in a pair of “Cagney & Lacey” TV movies that have completed production for CBS.