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

MOVIES

The Eternal ‘God’: The late George Burns, who died in March just weeks after his 100th birthday, is returning to the big screen--via voice impersonations and computer re-creations. The movie, tentatively titled “The Best Man,” will again feature the “Oh, God” star--who once said he’d never retire--playing God. Longtime Burns manager Irving Fein said production on the film is slated to begin in January, and Burns’ estate will be paid $20,000 for every minute the cigar-smoking one appears on screen. . . . Meanwhile, public previews of items from Burns’ estate, which will be auctioned off by Sotheby’s on Thursday (with the proceeds going to charity), conclude at the Beverly Hills auction house today.

POP/ROCK

Chamberlin Plea: Former Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, fired after police said he had injected heroin with keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin on the night of the latter’s overdose death, pleaded guilty in New York on Tuesday to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct. Chamberlin, 32, was arrested the day after Melvoin’s death and charged with misdemeanor drug possession, which carried a penalty of up to a year in jail. As a result of Tuesday’s plea, Chamberlin’s court records will be sealed if he successfully completes a rehabilitation program by December (he’s been in treatment since soon after his arrest). If he fails, he will serve 15 days in jail.

A Country Union: Country singers Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, who have been traversing the country together with their “Spontaneous Combustion” tour, were married Sunday. The couple squeezed in the nuptials at McGraw’s hometown church in Rayville, La., before joining a celebrity softball tournament.

TELEVISION

Real Street Duty: “Homicide: Life on the Street” stars Richard Belzer and Clark Johnson got a taste of real police work when the two actors--who play detectives on the NBC series--caused a suspected shoplifter to surrender his goods. Belzer and Johnson were in the midst of filming on a Baltimore set Monday, standing with guns drawn over another actor portraying a murder suspect and lying spread-eagled on the street, when the fleeing unnamed suspect saw them, police said. He dropped about $100 of Polaroid film believed to have been stolen from a nearby pharmacy, and raised his hands over his head. The actors looked at each other not knowing what to do, but real police handling security for the production stepped in and made the arrest. In a similar incident last spring, a purse-snatch suspect who ran onto a “Homicide” set also was arrested by city police providing security.

KCBS Staff Assured: Anchors and reporters at KCBS-TV Channel 2 can relax--at least for now--station executives said Tuesday. John Culliton, the station’s vice president and general manager, said there will be no purge of talent like there was at CBS’ WCBS-TV in New York last week, when seven on-air personalities were fired. Culliton said: “Nothing like that will happen here. It is unrelated.” Staffers were fearful following the action at WCBS, which was part of a cost-cutting move by CBS’ parent company Westinghouse. KCBS last March pink-slipped several station and news employee, including anchor Jerry Dunphy and consumer reporter David Horowitz. The station last week also let go veteran weatherman Maclovio Perez. . . . In another development, KCBS and its sister radio station KNX-AM (1070) donated $10,000 to the reward set up by law enforcement officials for the capture of the culprits behind a series of more than 200 freeway attacks that have shattered windows of motorists.

More Debates: Bill Clinton and Bob Dole will address viewers about “key issues facing the nation” during a series of five pre-election segments on prime-time’s “Dateline NBC,” starting with the Oct. 18 broadcast. In each taped segment, the presidential candidates will respond to a question posed by a “Dateline” anchor. The answers--limited to a minute-and-a-half--will air unedited and back-to-back (a coin toss will determine who answers first).

QUICK TAKES

Michael Jackson’s world tour has run into another road block--a Malaysian council has rejected the pop star’s proposed Oct. 27 concert there, saying it could not be sure that Jackson would conform to the predominantly Muslim nation’s rules of conduct, including restrictions on performers’ attire. . . . The late singer-songwriter Michael Callen dominated the first Gay/Lesbian American Music Awards in New York Sunday night, winning four awards--including best album and male artist--for his posthumous release “Legacy.” Other winners included singer Melissa Etheridge, named best female artist. . . . The financially strapped Circle Repertory Company, a 27-year-old off-Broadway theater group perhaps best known for developing playwright Lanford Wilson, has gone out of business, according to New York reports.