MOVIES - Feb. 19, 1996

Defending Creative Rights: The stars turned out in force Friday to honor Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese for his “support of artists’ rights and in protecting film from alteration.” Sharon Stone, Winona Ryder, Tom Selleck, James Woods and Steven Spielberg were on hand to pay homage to the director of “Raging Bull” and “Casino” at a black-tie dinner in Century City. The event was sponsored by the Artists Rights Foundation, a group of film industry professionals interested in defending their artistic rights against digital technology that could alter movies for political or commercial purposes. At the event, Scorsese expressed concern that the movies of today could be manipulated for underhanded purposes by future generations. The foundation is in favor of exerting greater control over movies by wresting away the copyright powers of the studios so that the creative forces can still have a say in what happens to their films.

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A Bear for Kazan: Director Elia Kazan, 87, received an honorary Golden Bear award Sunday at the Berlin Film Festival for his life’s work. Kazan attributed his legendary status as a filmmaker to his willingness to confront American political issues. “I was the first to deal with many difficult subjects in the United States. I read the papers very carefully. I get much of my inspiration from them,” he said upon receiving the honor. Kazan’s films include “Gentleman’s Agreement,” “On the Waterfront,” “East of Eden” and “America, America.”

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Gotta Dance: Jamie King, the host of MTV’s “The Grind,” has been named choreographer of the 68th annual Academy Awards show on March 25 by the show’s producer, Quincy Jones. King, who is 24, will be the youngest choreographer in the history of the Oscars. Despite his tender age, he has worked with an array of stars including Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Madonna, Vanessa Williams, Diana Ross and the artist formerly known as Prince.