MOVIESSettlement Confirmed: The on-again, off-again settlement between...

MOVIES

Settlement Confirmed: The on-again, off-again settlement between actress Kim Basinger and Main Line Pictures Inc. over her refusal to appear in “Boxing Helena” was on again Monday, according to a Basinger spokesperson. Details of the settlement were not disclosed. A week ago, Basinger denied that a settlement had been reached after one was announced by a Main Line attorney. The settlement, approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, follows an $8.1-million jury trial award to Main Line in 1993, which was thrown out on appeal. Main Line producer Carl Mazzocone claimed he had difficulty selling his film after Basinger backed out of the starring role because she objected to nude scenes and to the role’s characterization. The Basinger spokesperson also pointed out that Superior Court Judge Judith Chirlin was reprimanded by the state Commission on Judicial Performance for her conduct surrounding the original trial and that she was not involved in bringing about the settlement. A spokesperson for Main Line could not be reached immediately for comment.

*

‘Honor’ Accepted: Joe Eszterhas, the writer of “Basic Instinct” and “Showgirls,” made a rare appearance Sunday when he showed up to accept the Sour Apple Award, given for the last 55 years by the Hollywood Women’s Press Club to the celebrity deemed least newsworthy or to those who “believe their own publicity.” Zsa Zsa Gabor is believed to be the only other winner to have accepted the award in person, while such luminaries as Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra, Madonna and Howard Stern stayed away from the dubious honor. The shaggy-haired Eszterhas appeared at the Beverly Hills Hotel luncheon and happily recited some of the most negative reviews for his steamy screenplays, winning appreciative applause. Receiving the more coveted Golden Apple Awards were Sandra Bullock and Denzel Washington for female and male star of the year, and Courteney Cox and Antonio Banderas for discoveries of the year. Veteran producer-director George Sidney was given the Louella O. Parsons Award for the individual who best represents Hollywood to the world.

TELEVISION

O’Connor Joining ‘Party’: Carroll O’Connor, five-time Emmy Award winner and inductee to the Television Hall of Fame, will begin a recurring role on the dramatic series “Party of Five,” on the Fox Network on Jan. 31. O’Connor, who first became a star with his portrayal of self-righteous working-class bigot Archie Bunker in the legendary television comedy series “All in the Family,” will play an estranged grandfather who returns to San Francisco to discover that his daughter and her husband have passed away, leaving behind his five grandchildren that he never knew existed. O’Connor most recently starred in and was executive producer, head writer and frequent director in the long-running series “In the Heat of the Night.”

POP/ROCK

Jackson Recovering: Michael Jackson, hospitalized after collapsing last Wednesday while rehearsing in New York for a since-postponed HBO concert special, is scheduled to be released today from Beth Israel Medical Center North Division, according to a hospital statement. The 37-year-old pop star was transferred Monday from the medical center’s intensive-care unit to a private room. His condition continued to be listed as stable and improving.

AWARDS

Time for Bravos: The Bravo Awards, sometimes called the “Latino Oscars,” were handed out Saturday by the National Council of La Raza at the Los Angeles Theatre in a taped event that will air on Fox Dec. 28. Winners included: Gregory Nava, director of “Mi Familia,” for outstanding film; “Dreaming of You” by the late Selena, for outstanding album (accepted by her father, Abraham Quintanilla); “Sesame Street,” outstanding TV show (accepted by Michael Loman, producer); actor Jacob Vargas of “Mi Familia” for emerging artist of the year; and actor Ricardo Montalban for lifetime achievement. Hosts were “NYPD Blue’s” Jimmy Smits and Jennifer Lopez of “Money Train.”

STAGE

Gordone Memorial: A memorial service for Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Charles Gordone will be held today at 7:30 p.m. in the Gene Autry Museum of Western Heritage in Griffith Park. Gordone, 70, who died of cancer Nov. 17, was the first African American playwright to win a Pulitzer, an honor he received for the play “No Place to Be Somebody.” An expert on western lore and a faculty member at Texas A&M;, he is being eulogized at services in New York City, San Francisco and in the Texas Panhandle.

QUICK TAKES

“Plaza Sesamo,” the Spanish-language version of “Sesame Street,” which has been airing on KMEX and KCET in Los Angeles as well as in Dallas and Miami, went national Monday on all 11 Univision Network stations. . . . “ER” star George Clooney has accepted a $3-million deal to star in Steven Spielberg’s first movie from the DreamWorks SKG factory. Clooney delayed plans to appear in Universal Pictures’ “The Green Hornet” so that he can take on “The Peacemakers,” a Spielberg thriller about nuclear arms smuggling from the former Soviet Union.