POP/ROCKGrateful Dead Watch: Grateful Dead albums and...

POP/ROCK

Grateful Dead Watch: Grateful Dead albums and solo projects thus far available only through the group’s own Grateful Dead Records will now be distributed by Arista Records in a deal that was finalized shortly before the Aug. 9 death of guitarist Jerry Garcia. The arrangement kicks off Sept. 26 with the previously unreleased “Hundred Year Hall”--a two-CD live set recorded in Germany in 1972--and will cover 19 catalogue albums, including the mid-’70s recordings “Wake of the Flood,” “Mars Hotel” and “Blues for Allah.” Also to be distributed by Arista are two archival “From the Vaults” live releases, three Garcia solo albums and guitarist Bob Weir’s 1972 album “Ace.” . . . Four Deadheads are suing for injuries suffered when a deck collapsed at a campground after a July 6 Grateful Dead concert in suburban St. Louis. The lawsuits each seek more than $25,000 for negligence and personal injury from defendants Pinewoods Enterprise Inc., owner of the Pinewoods Camping and Fishing Park, and promoter Douglas Bledsoe.

MOVIES

Video News: Quentin Tarantino’s celebrated film “Pulp Fiction” has set a record for the largest video rental advance orders ever, with 715,000 units pre-booked by U.S. video outlets, according to Buena Vista Home Video. The previous record-holders were Kevin Costner’s “Dances With Wolves” and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “Terminator 2,” which each had about 700,000 advance U.S. orders. The “Pulp Fiction” video, which Buena Vista is issuing as a rental only, will arrive in stores Sept. 12. Individual retailers will have the option of selling their rental copies, with an expected price of about $100 for new tapes. Buena Vista will also offer a consumer rebate program for the sale of “previously viewed” cassettes. . . . In other video news, Warner Home Video, as expected, has announced that it will release “Batman Forever!,” starring Val Kilmer, Chris O’Donnell, Tommy Lee Jones, Nicole Kidman and Jim Carrey, on Oct. 31. The Halloween release--to be accompanied by a $25-million marketing campaign--will have a suggested retail price of $19.96.

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Celebrating Selena: The planned theatrical movie about the life of slain tejano singer Selena will be “a celebration of her life, not her death,” co-producer Robert Katz said Tuesday, noting that “it is not our intent to get into [her slaying] at all.” The movie, which will be filmed in Texas starting early next year, will be written and directed by Gregory Nava (“El Norte,” “Mi Familia”) and produced by Katz and his partner Moctesuma Esparza (“Gettysburg,” TNT’s “The Cisco Kid”). Although the story line is still to be developed, Katz said the companion soundtrack for the film, scheduled for release next August, will include previously unreleased material from the late singer. An international casting call will be held to select the actress who will portray Selena.

RADIO

Stern’s Second Scribe Job: Radio shock jock Howard Stern is to bare more in a new book that his publisher, HarperCollins, said details the true, darker side of the radio host who has passionate hates and wild nights of cybersex. The as-yet untitled $25 book, to reach stores Nov. 14 as the follow-up to his 1993 bestseller, “Private Parts,” also details for the first time Stern’s battle with mental illness and a nervous breakdown he suffered, editor Judith Regan said.

ART

Culver City Changes: By a unanimous vote, Culver City’s five-member City Council on Monday night approved a hotly contested proposal for revision of its “1% for art” ordinance. Before, 1% of the building cost of construction within the city had to be set aside for the public acquisition of art; the revision, requested by developer Frederick Smith and architect Eric Own Moss, will now excuse developers from paying the extra fee if the architecture of the building is deemed satisfactory. To qualify, a new building must meet criteria established by the city’s Arts Commission, including proof that its architect has been “recognized by the art world in shows, museums and publications” and that “the underlying concept” of the building design “is more than merely utilitarian.”

QUICK TAKES

Actor Larry Hagman, who underwent a 15-hour, lifesaving liver transplant operation last week, was moved from intensive care into a regular room at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Tuesday and his medical condition was upgraded from serious to fair. . . . New York-based impressionist and stand-up comedian Darrell Hammond will join NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” this season. In addition, Molly Shannon, a featured player from last season, moves up to the regular cast. Meanwhile, guitarist G.E. Smith, who has headed the “SNL” house band since 1986, has been fired from the show amid efforts to revamp the franchise for the coming season. Smith, who was briefly married to the late Gilda Radner, will be replaced by two returning band members: saxophonist Lenny Picket and pianist Cheryl Hardwick. . . . Poet-rocker Patti Smith has added a Sept. 8 spoken word show at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano. Her other local dates include Sept. 6 at Belly Up in Solana Beach and Sept. 7 at the Promenade Outdoor Amphitheatre in Long Beach.