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

MOVIES

Eszterhas Pulls Out of ‘Stand’: Joe Eszterhas, who sold New Line Cinema a four-page outline of the film “One Night Stand” for $4 million, has now asked that his screenwriter and producer credits be removed from the movie. The film, which stars Wesley Snipes and Nastassja Kinski as two people whose lives are up-ended by a brief romantic fling, isn’t due for release until sometime next year. But after reading a final shooting script by director Mike Figgis, Eszterhas said it would be “dishonest” for him to keep his name on the film. “I am not doing this because I dislike his screenplay,” Eszterhas said of Figgis, who earned two Oscar nominations for “Leaving Las Vegas.” “Mike has written a ground-breaking script. I am removing my credits, quite simply, because the final screenplay isn’t mine--it’s Mike Figgis’.” New Line would not comment on Eszterhas’ request. It is customary for a film studio to submit a writer’s credits to the Writers Guild of America, which makes the final decision on credit issues.

POP/ROCK

Smashing Video Wins: The Smashing Pumpkins squashed the competition at the “MTV Video Music Awards” in New York Wednesday night, taking home seven awards including video of the year for “Tonight, Tonight.” The Pumpkins--whose other honors included best alternative music video (for “1979”), and best direction, art direction, special effects, cinematography and breakthrough video (all for “Tonight, Tonight”)--lost out on only one award for which they were nominated: best editing, which went to Alanis Morissette’s “Ironic.” In all, Morissette snagged three trophies (the others were for best female video and best new artist), as did rapper Coolio, who won for best dance video (“1,2,3,4”), best rap video and best video from a film (“Gangsta’s Paradise” from “Dangerous Minds”). Other winners were Beck’s “Where It’s At” (best male video), the Foo Fighters’ “Big Me” (best group video), the Fugees’ “Killing Me Softly” (best R&B; video) and Bjork’s “It’s Oh So Quiet” (best choreography).

TELEVISION

Actor Shot: Actor Brandon Call, who plays son J.T. Lambert on ABC’s “Step by Step,” was shot in both arms following an apparent traffic dispute in the Mid-City area of Los Angeles, police said Wednesday. Call, 19, was taken to UCLA Medical Center in satisfactory condition following the incident, which occurred about 6:15 p.m. Tuesday. Police said Call was westbound on Venice Boulevard near La Cienega Boulevard when he saw a dark blue Datsun 280Z following him. In his attempt to evade the pursuers, the actor mistakenly turned into a cul-de-sac, police said, and while he was making a U-turn, the driver of the 280Z stepped out of his car and fired several rounds at Call from a handgun. After the shooting, Call drove himself to the LAPD’s Pacific Station and was then taken to the hospital. The suspects, described as a man and a woman about 20 years of age, remained at large Wednesday.

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No ‘Late Show’ Breaks: CBS’ “Late Show With David Letterman” will try something different on Sept. 20 when it airs an entire show without traditional commercial breaks. Although the hourlong show will recognize four paid sponsors--the first to sign on is Anheuser-Busch--in what executive producer Rob Burnett called an as-yet undetermined “funny creative way,” going without standard ads will allow an additional 16 minutes of programming. “[Filling the extra time] creates all kinds of problems for us,” Burnett said. “And I think the American public will enjoy watching the panic.” Scheduled guests include Drew Barrymore and Pearl Jam.

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More Series Changes: Another new series has undergone a behind-the-scenes shift prior to its premiere. David Jacobs, producer of “Knots Landing” and “Homefront,” has been brought in to oversee the CBS drama “Moloney,” which stars Peter Strauss as a police psychologist. Producer Stephen Kronish, whose credits include “Wiseguy” and “The Commish,” has left the show and a new pilot episode has been shot, but the network said the series will still be ready for its Sept. 17 premiere in the Thursday 9 p.m. time slot.

THE ARTS

Kennedy Center Honors: Country singer Johnny Cash, 64; Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Edward Albee, 68; actor Jack Lemmon, 81; saxophone player and composer Benny Carter, 89; and ballet dancer and former George Balanchine partner Maria Tallchief, 81, were named Wednesday as this year’s Kennedy Center Honorees. The five will be feted for their lifetime contributions to the nation’s culture at a White House reception and at a gala at Washington’s Kennedy Center, both on Dec. 8. The gala, to be attended by the President and Mrs. Clinton, will be taped for later broadcast on CBS.

QUICK TAKES

The Fox News Channel will launch on cable Oct. 7. The new channel will include 10-minute newscasts twice an hour, as well as full-length programming. . . . Oprah Winfrey’s 11th season started off with a bang on Tuesday when she drew an estimated 6.3 million viewers for her John F. Kennedy Jr. interview, according to overnight Nielsen ratings from the country’s biggest markets. Those numbers marked “Oprah’s” best ratings of any season premiere show. In Los Angeles, Winfrey drew an estimated 539,000 viewing households. . . . Paul McCartney says his wife, Linda McCartney, 53, has made a full recovery after undergoing surgery for breast cancer in December and that doctors are “amazingly pleased with her.” The couple have been silent on the subject since she had a lump removed, but decided to break their silence this week after a British news report suggested that Linda McCartney was still seriously ill.