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

MOVIES

Singing for Babs: Which singers received perfectionist Barbra Streisand’s seal of approval to join her on the soundtrack for her upcoming film, “The Mirror Has Two Faces”? Only one, pop star Richard Marx, who gained his biggest popularity with ballads released in the 1980s. Marx has written and recorded “The Power Inside of Me,” the film’s only song not featuring Streisand’s vocals.

Action!: “An Alan Smithee Film,” Joe Eszterhas’ documentary-style satire of the movie biz, is set to begin filming in Los Angeles on Nov. 14, but with only one of the original stars--Sylvester Stallone--still attached. Replacing Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis are comedian Whoopi Goldberg and martial arts star Jackie Chan, playing themselves in a fictitious action movie. Arthur Hiller (“Love Story”) will direct.

‘Spy’ Script Secrets?: Three writers have sued “Naked Gun” star Leslie Nielsen, claiming that he stole their script for his recent movie “Spy Hard.” Gary Rom and John and Christopher Chalk claim in their Los Angeles Federal Court lawsuit that Nielsen took his ideas from their “Rook Roberts,” a comedy about a “little off” private eye who solves a crime while becoming comically involved with characters from famous movies. The three say that they pitched “Rook Roberts” to Nielsen in meetings at his home and at a restaurant, leaving him a copy of the screenplay in 1993. A Nielsen spokesman could not be reached for comment.

TV & RADIO

Go Rosie: In a rare vote of confidence for a new show, Warner Bros. Domestic Television has extended its hit syndicated talk program, “The Rosie O’Donnell Show,” through the 1999-2000 season. Warner Bros. said that the 4-month-old series has posted the highest ratings of any talk show debuting in the ‘90s. The show is also getting hefty raises from local stations that air it. In Los Angeles, for instance, KNBC-TV Channel 4 will reportedly raise its pay to around $160,000 per week in 1998-99, up from $25,000 a week for the first two years.

‘Murder,’ Nielsen Wrote: The second-season premiere of “Murder One” attracted a modest 12% of viewers at 9 p.m. Thursday, running fourth in its time period behind NBC’s “Seinfeld” and “Suddenly Susan,” a two-hour “Diagnosis Murder” on CBS and Fox playoff baseball coverage. On the plus side, ABC is experiencing some improvement Thursdays, as “Murder’s” lead-in, “High Incident,” also drew 12% of the audience, its best rating yet. NBC still dominates Thursday, albeit with “Suddenly Susan” dropping 15% off “Seinfeld’s” rating to capture 29% of viewers. That’s still enough to make the Brooke Shields comedy TV’s highest-rated new program. . . . Meanwhile, ABC has picked up nine additional episodes of its new comedy “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch,” extending the Melissa Joan Hart series through the season.

Second Unity Conference: Radio station KKBT-FM (92.3) on Sunday will host “Blacks and Jews: Building Unity,” the second of three open forums aimed at promoting unity among different ethnic groups. Scheduled panelists for the event, to be held from 8 to 11 a.m. at Farmers Market, include L.A. NAACP President Geraldine R. Washington, City Councilman Mike Feuer and Rabbi Gary Greenebaum of the American Jewish Committee.

POP/ROCK

Everybody Must Get Paid: More proof, in case you needed it, that the ‘60s really are dead comes from Canada, where Bob Dylan’s protest song, “The Times They Are a Changin’ ” is being used in a TV commercial--for the Bank of Montreal, which began running the ads last week. Some of Dylan’s Canadian fans are dismayed that the 1963 anti-establishment anthem is being used to promote one of the country’s biggest banks and have been calling in to a Toronto-based morning show to protest. A Dylan spokesman--noting that another icon of ‘60s rock, the Rolling Stones, allowed their song “Start Me Up” to launch Microsoft’s Windows ’95 campaign--compared the Canadian controversy to earlier complaints that Dylan had “sold out” when he first changed from acoustic to electric guitar, when he first appeared on television and when he first played in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. The spokesman also noted that this is not the first time Dylan’s music has been used in a commercial. “The Times They Are a Changin’ ” was performed by Richie Havens in an accounting firm advertisement aired in the United States.

QUICK TAKES

Violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg has canceled her Wednesday and Thursday Orange County Performing Arts Center appearances with the Pacific Symphony, because she didn’t want her Thursday performance to be broadcast on radio station KUSC-FM (91.5) and its affiliates, according to an orchestra representative. She will be replaced by Mark Kaplan, who appeared with the orchestra in 1992. . . . Black Entertainment Television correspondent Jason C. Hill debuted Friday as the new anchor of Black Entertainment Television’s “BET News.” Hill replaced Ed Gordon, who rose to national fame for his interview with O.J. Simpson. Gordon now works for cable’s CNBC. . . . ABC News will produce a weekly half-hour science series for cable’s Discovery Channel, with ABC correspondents covering the week’s breaking science, nature and technology stories. The series is scheduled to start in April. . . . “Melrose Place” star Heather Locklear will host the 1996 “VH1 Fashion Awards” airing Oct. 25.