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

MOVIES

Stone Responds to ‘Nixon’ Critics: Oliver Stone responded Thursday to criticism of his movie “Nixon” from the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda by proposing that the library organize and host a symposium with Nixon partisans and critics, as well as journalists, historians and Stone himself as participants for an “open-minded discussion of Mr. Nixon--the good and the bad.” In a letter to John Taylor, director of the Nixon Library & Birthplace, Stone also asked that the library work to disclose unreleased Nixon tapes to “let the man speak for himself,” charging that “with so much of the historical record hidden from view, it leaves all of us . . . little choice but to speculate.” Taylor replied in writing to Stone’s letter on Thursday, telling the film director that he is already working with New York’s Center for the Study of the Presidency on a possible nonpartisan conference on movies and recent American history, and that Stone would indeed be included in such an event. Taylor also told Stone that as a co-executor of Nixon’s estate, he is “as hopeful as you” that litigation preventing disclosure of unreleased Nixon White House materials will be brought to a close.

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Film Fest Notes: Actress Susan Sarandon (“Dead Man Walking,” “Lorenzo’s Oil”), director Stanley Donen (“Singin’ in the Rain,” “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers”), composer Marvin Hamlisch (“The Way We Were”) and choreographer Michael Kidd (“The Band Wagon”) will be honored Saturday night as part of the Nortel Palm Springs International Film Festival, which begins today and runs through Jan. 21. Other special events planned for the festival include a Saturday evening reunion of “B” horror film director Ed Wood’s famed troupe of actors, including Maila “Vampira” Nurmi, Loretta King, Dolores Fuller, Gregory Walcott and Paul “Kelton the Cop” Marco. The group will gather for what is believed to be the world premiere of the late Wood’s first film, “Crossroads of Laredo,” a 1947, 22-minute short.

TELEVISION

One More Year: Bryant Gumbel has agreed to remain with NBC News’ “Today” show for one more year, marking his 15th year on the morning news program. Having anchored “Today” longer than anyone in the show’s 44-year history, Gumbel indicated that next year would indeed be his last, saying, “15 years is a long time in one place, and the world’s too exciting to enjoy from just one vantage point.” But NBC News President Andrew Lack said that the network was proposing “a number of other projects . . . that I hope will keep [Gumbel] at NBC News for the next 15 years.” Gumbel, 47, began his TV career in Los Angeles in 1972 as a sportscaster for KNBC-TV Channel 4.

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Talking Shop: Talk-show hosts Geraldo Rivera and Mark Wahlberg said they are taking their programs into new, more responsible directions in light of the recent controversy over the exploitative nature of talk shows. Rivera said he will junk his current syndicated show “Geraldo” to replace it with a more “substantive and news-oriented” show in the fall to be titled “The Geraldo Rivera Show.” Wahlberg, one of the few survivors of this year’s crop of new talk hosts, also announced that his show would become more news-oriented and feature more remote segments.

POP/ROCK

Carey Finishes 1995 in No. 1 Spot: Mariah Carey’s “Daydream” was the nation’s top-selling album for the third consecutive week, selling about 414,000 copies during the seven-day period ending Dec. 31, according to SoundScan. Runners-up: the “Waiting to Exhale” soundtrack (390,000 copies), Alanis Morissette’s “Jagged Little Pill” (300,000) and Garth Brooks’ “Fresh Horses” (235,000). Hootie & the Blowfish’s “Cracked Rear View” sold another 225,000 copies last week, pushing its year-leading total to just past the 7-million mark. The Beatles’ two-disc “Anthology 1” sold 171,000 more copies, meaning it has sold nearly 3 million copies since its release in late November.

QUICK TAKES

DreamWorks Records delivered its first single to American radio stations Wednesday--a George Michael release called “Jesus to a Child.” The single, which will be available in stores Feb. 6 in advance of an upcoming album by Michael, is the pop star’s first new recording in nearly three years. . . . Bruce Springsteen has chosen “60 Minutes” for what is being billed as his first extensive network television interview. For the interview, which is expected to air in the next month, the rocker gave correspondent Ed Bradley a tour of his hometown haunts on the Boardwalk in Asbury Park, N.J. . . . Postmaster General Marvin Runyon unveiled a James Dean stamp at New York’s Planet Hollywood on Wednesday. The stamp, which follows 1995’s best-selling Marilyn Monroe stamp as the second edition in the Postal Service’s “Legends of Hollywood” series, depicts a somber Dean with his trademark tousled hair and sideburns. Dean was killed in a 1955 car wreck at age 24. . . . Songstress Vanessa Williams (“Kiss of the Spider Woman,” “Bye Bye Birdie”) will sing the national anthem at Super Bowl XXX, on Jan. 28 at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.