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

POP/ROCK

Leading the Pack: Vince Gill looks to be the man at this year’s Country Music Assn. Awards, to be broadcast from Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry House Oct. 2 on CBS. Gill--who has already won more CMA Awards than any other artist in history and was previously announced as host of this year’s show--led the field when nominations were announced Tuesday with seven nods, including entertainer of the year; male vocalist; best album (for “High Lonesome Sound”); best single, song and music video (all for “Go Rest High on That Mountain”) and best “vocal event” (for his “I Will Always Love You” duet with Dolly Parton). Racking up five nominations each were George Strait and the duo Brooks & Dunn, who will vie with Gill for entertainer of the year along with Garth Brooks and Alan Jackson. Among the other nominees, current sales queen LeAnn Rimes picked up two nominations--for the Horizon Award and single of the year (“Blue”)--to become, at 13, the youngest artist ever nominated for a CMA Award.

MOVIES/VIDEO

‘Late Show’ on Big Screen: David Letterman is taking his “Late Show” to the movies. The late-night TV host has filmed a 90-second short called “ ‘The Late Show’s’ Kids on Film” that will be shown along with movie trailers in 9,000 theaters across the country for six weeks starting Thursday. “Late Show” executive producer Rob Burnett said the piece--sponsored by Coke--is similar to remotes seen on Letterman’s CBS show and will feature Dave clowning around with a group of kids.

Mission Over: Tom Cruise has dropped his $60-million lawsuit against Bunte magazine after the German publication issued a formal apology for an article that had claimed the actor was sterile. “Bunte has been informed that Tom Cruise is not infertile and that his sperm count is completely normal. Bunte has no reason to believe anything else,” the Burda publishing house said in a statement issued Monday night. Cruise, who had rejected earlier settlement offers from the magazine, said he decided to drop the lawsuit because of a recent plane crash that killed the chairman of Bunte magazine, his second in command and two Bunte pilots. The magazine, which admitted a “significant portion” of the article was incorrect and said that the story’s writer will never work for the publication again, will print its retraction and apology on the cover and in the interior of its Aug. 17 issue.

More ‘Mission’: Speaking of Cruise, look to be deluged with “Mission: Impossible” promos when Paramount Pictures Home Video releases the movie on Nov. 12. Although the company won’t divulge any figures, Paramount says the video’s marketing campaign will be the biggest in its history--even bigger than the Tom Hanks Oscar winner “Forrest Gump.” Among the promotions, videos of three of Cruise’s past Paramount films--”Top Gun,” “Days of Thunder” and “The Firm”--will be offered for $5.99 each for a limited time. There is no suggested retail price for “Mission: Impossible,” but expect it to sell for $15 and up.

JAZZ

Torme Recuperating: Singer Mel Torme suffered a mild stroke last Thursday at his Beverly Hills home. Torme, 70, experienced dizziness after working at a Burbank studio on a recording honoring Ella Fitzgerald. The veteran jazz performer’s spokesman said Tuesday that Torme is currently in a Los Angeles area hospital for tests, but doctors are hoping for a complete and speedy recovery. Torme was replaced last Friday at the JVC Jazz Festival in Newport, R.I., by Vic Damone. The Los Angeles Philharmonic said it has no plans to alter Torme’s scheduled appearance at the Hollywood Bowl on Sept. 18.

TELEVISION

End of an Era: Bob Schieffer will end his record 20-year tenure as anchor of the Saturday edition of “CBS Evening News” when he signs off after an Aug. 24 broadcast from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Schieffer, 59, will continue to anchor and moderate CBS News’ Sunday morning program “Face the Nation” and to serve as chief Washington correspondent. He will also remain a substitute anchor for “CBS Evening News With Dan Rather.” Paula Zahn will start as regular anchor of the Saturday “CBS Evening News” on Sept. 14.

QUICK TAKES

Whoopi Goldberg’s $35-million movie “Theodore Rex,” which bypassed theaters after receiving poor responses from test audiences, gets its TV premiere on Nov. 28 on cable’s TNT. The movie--featuring Goldberg as a detective who teams up with a dinosaur--came out on video in late June. . . . Actor Gabriel Byrne (“The Usual Suspects”) will join the list of actors-turned-directors when he produces and directs “Doctor’s Wife,” with filming to take place in Belfast, Paris and the south of France this spring or early summer. The Phoenix Pictures movie is based on a novel by Brian Moore about a woman’s extramarital affair. It has not yet been decided if Byrne will also star in the film. . . . TV talk-show host Wally George, 64, is recuperating at his Sherman Oaks home this week after undergoing surgery to remove a potentially fatal blood clot that had been pressing against his brain. George said he believes the clot was caused by a fall he took last week when he tumbled down metal steps.