MOVIESThree for ‘Seven’: New Line’s “Seven,” the...

MOVIES

Three for ‘Seven’: New Line’s “Seven,” the thriller with Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, was first at the box office for the third weekend in a row with $10.5 million. But other than “Seven,” it was a strong weekend for new releases. Warner Bros.’ “Assassins,” starring Sylvester Stallone and Antonio Banderas, took second place its first weekend out with $9.4 million. Hollywood Pictures’ “Dead Presidents,” which opened on Wednesday, was third with $7.8 million. Columbia’s “To Die For” took fourth with $6.5 million its first weekend in wide release. And Universal’s debuting “How to Make an American Quilt” was fifth with $6 million.

POP/ROCK

A Birthday His Way: Frank Sinatra’s upcoming 80th birthday will be celebrated with the release of two albums on Nov. 14. “Sinatra 80th: Live in Concert” will feature a “My Way” duet with Ol’ Blue Eyes and none other than Luciano Pavarotti. The album will also include 14 selections recorded during Sinatra’s various tours. The second collection, “Sinatra 80th: All the Best,” features 40 previously recorded songs from 1953-60, including a new electronic teaming of the voices of Nat King Cole and Sinatra singing “The Christmas Song.” The song was originally recorded by Nat King Cole in 1946; Sinatra’s version was recorded in 1963. . . . Tickets are now on sale for “Sinatra: 80 Years My Way,” a birthday tribute set for Nov. 19 at the Shrine Auditorium, which will be taped to air as an ABC special. Sinatra turns 80 on Dec. 12.

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‘Stone’ for the Stones: Who better to record a cover version of the 1965 Bob Dylan hit “Like a Rolling Stone” than the Rolling Stones? The band will release the song as a single on its upcoming live album “Stripped,” due out next month, Mick Jagger said Friday. What started out as a song sung “for a laugh” on their recent Voodoo Lounge tour became “almost like playing an anthem to ourselves,” Jagger said.

TELEVISION

Bette’s Harlettes: Bette Midler has signed a deal to bring a sitcom based on her back-up singers, known as “The Harlettes,” to CBS next fall. Midler and her partner in the production company All Girl Prods., Bonnie Bruckheimer, will be the executive producers of the show along with its writer, Lisa Amsterdam. The agreement is for 13 episodes; Midler will guest star in the pilot.

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Murder Three and Four: For those “Murder One” fans who missed last week’s episode, the third installment in the ABC series, which follows one murder case, will be rebroadcast on Thursday at 9 p.m. immediately before the newest episode airs at 10 p.m. The fourth episode will mark the first time the series airs in its regular Thursday at 10 p.m. time slot. Show No. 3 was moved up an hour last Tuesday to make room for an ABC News special on the O.J. Simpson verdict, causing many viewers to miss the episode.

DANCE

L.A. Ballet Update: Although the newly reconstituted Los Angeles Ballet has announced no cancellations, sources at the Universal Amphitheatre say the company’s scheduled Dec. 20-30 engagement in George Balanchine’s “Nutcracker” has fallen through. In addition, according to the director of entertainment at the Aladdin Theatre in Las Vegas, that venue is “actively looking to book alternative attractions” for the company’s Dec. 13-17 “Nutcracker” dates there. L.A. Ballet presenters in Denver and Anaheim report no change in their “Nutcracker” plans.

STAGE

Lloyd Webber Probes Accusation: Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber has demanded an explanation of allegations that racism was a factor in casting his musical “Evita” in Zimbabwe, the country’s government-controlled Herald newspaper reported Saturday. Lloyd Webber’s agents reportedly summoned the head of a local theater company to Britain after a black actress alleged discrimination in casting for a run of the musical last month. Angela Mushore, 24, claimed she auditioned for the part of Eva Peron, but was rejected because she is black. She was given the minor role of Peron’s mistress, the only black person in the cast. The show’s director claimed that Mushore’s voice was untrained.

RADIO

Good Timing: After months of preparation unrelated to the racially sensitive O.J. Simpson murder trial, KPCC-FM (89.3) on Wednesday will kick off a nine-week series that suddenly finds itself dealing with a hot topic: How Los Angeles-area residents can get along better. “Shades of L.A.,” airing Wednesdays from 5 to 7 p.m., will examine how institutions such as schools, the courts, business, government and the media are dealing with a populace that includes so many different races, cultures and languages. KPCC’s Larry Mantle hosts.