All Dressed Up and Two Places to Go

Honchos in the television industry will be stepping out on Wednesday night, but just exactly where they will be stepping is another matter. Two high-profile events--one celebrating the positive side of television and the other exploring the negative side--will be taking place simultaneously. The Museum of Television and Radio will be holding the opening ceremony for its annual William S. Paley Television Festival, and a star-studded crowd is expected, including cast members and producers from some of the shows being honored this year, including “Party of Five,” “Friends,” “Star Trek: Voyager” and “Cybill.” At the same time, other prominent producers and politicians will be at a V-chip debate, sponsored by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. A discussion of the upcoming television rating system and its ramifications on the industry will take place at the Academy Plaza Theater. Ratings advocates such as Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) and Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), along with Jack Valenti, president of the Motion Picture Assn. of America, will participate in a panel along with outspoken ratings foes such as “NYPD Blue” producer Steven Bochco and William Blinn, chairman of the Caucus of Producers, Writers and Directors. Although there has been a bit of a feud between the Museum of Television and Radio and the TV Academy, the conflict of the two events is purely coincidental, say executives with the two organizations.

Whatever Happened to Jennifer Tilly?

It doesn’t take a Hollywood insider to figure out that an Oscar nomination can translate to more and better offers and an improved career. But with some categories, that shot in the arm has been--at best--slow to happen, or--at worst--nonexistent. Though nominated for an Academy Award in 1995 for her supporting role as the whiny mob mistress and wannabe actress in “Bullets Over Broadway,” and the recipient of widespread critical praise for that role, Jennifer Tilly has not been visible on-screen much since the Woody Allen film opened in 1994. She had a small role in “House Arrest” earlier this year and has two movies opening Friday, one of them the decidedly low-profile, independent “Bird of Prey,” with Richard Chamberlain, Lesley Anne Warren and David Carradine. The other film is Gramercy Pictures’ provocative, R-rated “Bound,” in which Tilly stars as the mistress of a mobster who teams up romantically and criminally with an ex-con played by Gina Gershon (“steamy sex,” says Roger Ebert). Things are looking up for the dark-haired actress, however. Tilly will be seen next year in the Jim Carrey comedy “Liar, Liar,” as well as in “The Wrong Guy,” starring Dave Foley.

What? Our Trees Aren’t Good Enough?

Although Joyce Kilmer wrote that only God can make a tree, there will be a grove of man-made sequoias when the Pina Bausch Tantztheater Wuppertal performs the American premiere of “Nur Du” (Only You) at UC Berkeley on Thursday. Because the giant imitation redwoods weigh over eight tons, transporting them from Germany will cost the six American tour presenters nearly $50,000 more than originally budgeted--and, to complete the illusion, some 2,300 gallons of forest leaves are being raked up locally for the U.S. engagements. “Nur Du” arrives at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on Oct. 10 for four performances, the first time full-frontal male nudity will be seen in that 32-year-old culture palace. Other innovations include an onstage whale, a bosom-painting scene and tiny paper houses destroyed each night by fire and earthquake. The first of Bausch’s celebrated dance-theater epics to be created outside Europe, “Nur Du” takes its inspiration from visits early this year by Bausch and Co. to the presenting cities, which also include Tempe, Ariz., and Austin, Texas. A work-in-progress version premiered in Wuppertal in May: “Americanisms and reminiscences of California permeate the work,” said a review in a Frankfurt newspaper. Will we recognize ourselves when the Bausch company dances it in situ? Stay tuned.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Crank Up Your Amps

For more than a decade now, the music industry has looked each spring to the South by Southwest convention in Austin, Texas, and each fall to the CMJ Convention in New York as its major showcases for new and fast-rising talent. Los Angeles, meanwhile, has been unsuccessful in mounting a similar festival. Organizers hope to change that starting this week when the F Musicfest debuts with three nights of concerts Thursday-Saturday at more than a dozen clubs in Hollywood and West Hollywood. Actually an expanded version of the Concrete Marketing firm’s annual Foundations Forum confab, the event will feature showcases by more than 180 acts, including Tool, Vernon Reid, Primitive Radio Gods, Marilyn Manson, Motorhead and Spain. “If any town has got a musical heritage worth boasting about and a musical scene worth a festival like this, it’s L.A.,” says Concrete President Bob Chiappardi. “Why something like this was not done in the past made me wonder, ‘Why not?’ Maybe after it’s over, I’ll say, ‘OK, now I know why.’ But we’re taking that shot.” Danny Goodwin, vice president of A&R; at Virgin Records, counts himself among the festival’s supporters. “If you’re a band that lives in Los Angeles, you invariably can get a gig if you’re any good at all,” he says. “But for an out-of-town band--and there are [several dozen] in the lineup--this is a rare opportunity.”