MOVIESMourning Rabin: The Los Angeles leg of...

MOVIES

Mourning Rabin: The Los Angeles leg of the bi-coastal 12th Israel Film Festival, which was to begin Tuesday at Laemmle’s Monica 4-Plex, has been postponed because of mourning for assassinated Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. The two-week festival was to have featured 30 films and a special opening-night tribute to Israeli actress Gila Almagor. New dates have not yet been scheduled. . . . Meanwhile, Israeli Consul General Yoram Ben Ze’ev will be on radio station KCRW-FM (89.9) from noon to 1 p.m. today, taking viewer calls in the aftermath of Rabin’s death. A related edition of “Which Way, L.A.?” will follow.

ART

Speaking Out: Painter and California resident David Hockney, during a visit to his native Britain, Tuesday attacked British “censorship,” saying politicians and police are cultural Philistines who never listen to artists. In a rare news conference at London’s Royal Academy of Arts, Hockney lashed out over the case of an architect questioned by police about nude photos he took of the 7-year-old daughter of his partner, a leading television newscaster. “People wanting to take photos of people is a very common thing, part of an old deep desire to depict,” Hockney said. “I have a picture here in my pocket of a little girl who is about 14. She is in a very provocative pose with a dog. If I describe this to Scotland Yard, they would probably start coming over right now.” With a flourish, Hockney then produced a postcard of a 1790 painting, “Girl With a Dog” by French artist Fragonard. An exhibition scheduled to open at the Royal Academy on Thursday features Hockney’s nude drawings of his male lovers.

TV/RADIO

L.A. Ratings, Night 1: Looks like David Letterman’s Los Angeles road trip will boost his sagging ratings, especially here in the City of Angels. According to early figures, Letterman drew nearly twice as many Los Angeles viewers Monday night as in recent weeks, garnering an estimated 21% share of the available audience, as opposed to rival Jay Leno’s 20% (in the last five weeks, Letterman’s overnight ratings share had drooped to between 9% and 12% in Los Angeles). Nationally, early figures from 33 of the nation’s biggest viewing markets were much closer, but Letterman still landed on top, with a 16% audience share as opposed to Leno’s 15% share. NBC, however, pointed out that Letterman’s national viewership was still down considerably from the same overnight ratings for his last L.A. trip, in May of 1994, when Letterman had a commanding 21% share as opposed to Leno’s 13% share. Meanwhile, Letterman, who continues his Los Angeles stand through Friday, will move over to the interviewee chair, when he guests with Tom Snyder on tonight’s “Late Late Show,” which follows Letterman’s own “Late Show” on CBS.

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Stern Sales: Shock jock Howard Stern’s new book, “Miss America,” which has already angered officials of the Miss America pageant who are upset over the title, went on sale Tuesday at West Hollywood’s Book Soup, where it was greeted by buyers lined up around the block. Gary Pierson, a store manager, said the sale was “one of the bigger things” to happen at his store, but noted that it didn’t compare to the first-day sales of “Madonna’s sex book.” Nearly 650 copies of Stern’s book had been sold by 1 p.m. Tuesday. National release of the book is scheduled for next week.

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New Sunday Night Offering: “What’s So Funny?” a new half-hour show described as a comedy digest spotlighting the past week’s “funniest moments in entertainment,” will premiere Dec. 3 on Fox. The show, hosted by Nick Bakay (“In Living Color,” “The Dennis Miller Show”), will fill the Sunday 9:30 p.m. slot vacated by the recently canceled sitcom “Misery Loves Company.”

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M.T.M. Wants Out: Mary Tyler Moore has told her producers that she wants to vacate the editor’s office of CBS’ low-rated new series “New York News.” “I made the decision to try to extricate myself from it,” Moore told USA Today, noting that her character, whom she described as a “tough” decision-maker, is too one-sided. The program continues to slide in the ratings, but Moore insisted she is “by no means deserting a sinking ship. I would be thrilled to stay on, no matter how long the fight.” Executive producer Ian Sander said he and Moore “continue to be in discussion.”

QUICK TAKES

A Florida judge has thrown out criminal charges against Hole singer Courtney Love, saying that two teen-agers who claim she slugged them when she dove into the audience during an Orlando, Fla., performance weren’t exposed to any more violence than could be reasonably expected at an alternative rock concert. . . . The film doesn’t open until Nov. 22, but the Walt Disney Co. has already taken in more than $1 million in advance ticket sales (72,500 sold at $15-$30) for “Totally Toy Story,” a fun-house attraction and screening of the upcoming “Toy Story” movie at Hollywood’s El Capitan Theatre, running through Jan. 1. . . . “Showgirls” will be released on MGM/UA Home Video on Dec. 26, in both the original NC-17 format and a special edited version.