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

CLASSICAL MUSIC

The ‘Shine’ Tour: David Helfgott, the real- life Australian pianist portrayed in the critically acclaimed movie “Shine,” will perform in a solo recital at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on March 25--one day after the Academy Awards, in which he’ll likely watch the movie version of his life story compete for several Oscars. The concert is part of a 12-city tour that will mark Helfgott’s North American debut; other dates have not been announced, but the itinerary will include stops in Toronto, New York, Honolulu, Boston, Montreal, Cleveland, San Francisco, Seattle, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Baltimore. The concerts--billed as “The ‘Shine’ Tour”--follow the release of “David Helfgott Plays Rachmaninoff,” the pianist’s new album, which debuted at No. 13 on this week’s SoundScan classical album chart. Although that album focuses on Rachmaninoff’s showstopper Piano Concerto No. 3, which plays a major role in the movie, a spokeswoman for the tour said Helfgott will not perform that number during the upcoming tour. However, he will perform the piece in October at London’s Royal Albert Hall and hopes to return with an orchestra to perform it here at a later date. Tickets for the Music Center performance go on sale Monday at 10 a.m. at the Dorothy Chandler box office and through Ticketmaster.

MOVIES

Broadcast Critics Weigh In: The Broadcast Film Critics have picked the dark comedy “Fargo” as the best film of 1996, with its star, Frances McDormand, taking the group’s best actress honors. Runner-up in the best picture balloting was “The English Patient,” whose Anthony Minghella won the group’s endorsement for both best director and screenplay. The group named Geoffrey Rush (“Shine”) as best actor, Cuba Gooding Jr. (“Jerry Maguire”) as best supporting actor, Joan Allen (“The Crucible”) as best supporting actress, Jonathan Lipnicki (“Jerry Maguire”) as best child performer and Renee Zellweger (“Jerry Maguire”) as “breakout artist of the year.” In addition, France’s “Ridicule” was named best foreign-language film, “When We Were Kings” won for best documentary, and “Fly Away Home” took the prize for best family film. The group also voted its critics’ choice lifetime achievement award to Lauren Bacall.

Literary Honors: USC has announced the nominees for its 1996 Scripter Awards, recognizing “the best realization of a book as a film.” Vying for the award will be “Cold Comfort Farm” (Stella Gibbons, author; Malcolm Bradbury, screenwriter), “Dead Man Walking” (Sister Helen Prejean, author; Tim Robbins, screenwriter), “Emma” (Jane Austen, author; Douglas McGrath, screenwriter), “The English Patient” (Michael Ondaatje, author; Anthony Minghella, screenwriter) and “Portrait of a Lady” (Henry James, author; Laura Jones, screenwriter). The winner will be announced Jan. 7, with the award to be presented during an on-campus dinner Feb. 8. Last year’s winner was Emma Thompson’s screen adaptation of Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility.”

POP/ROCK

No Doubt Holds No. 1: No Doubt’s “Tragic Kingdom” was the nation’s best-selling album for the fourth straight week, becoming the first album to reign that long since Nas’ “It Was Written” last summer. SoundScan reported Thursday that No Doubt’s collection sold about 506,000 copies during the seven-day period that ended Sunday, the fourth-highest single-week total of 1996. Celine Dion’s “Falling Into You,” the No. 2 album, was widely outpaced, with sales of about 330,000 copies. The top-selling single, for the third week in a row, was R. Kelly’s “I Believe I Can Fly,” from the “Space Jam” soundtrack. . . . Meanwhile, the final tally is in, and it should come as no surprise that Alanis Morissette’s “Jagged Little Pill” was the best-selling album of 1996, while Los del Rios’ “Macarena” was the best-selling single. “Jagged Little Pill” (still in the chart’s Top 10 at No. 9 for last week) sold a yearlong total of 7.4 million copies, while “Macarena” sold 3.7 million units.

Little Richard Recognized: Musician Little Richard will receive the American Music Awards’ special award of merit during the 24th annual show, airing Jan. 27 on ABC. Previous recipients of the honor, which recognizes “outstanding contributions to the musical entertainment of the American public,” include Bing Crosby, Irving Berlin, Johnny Cash, Ella Fitzgerald, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, Elvis Presley, Neil Diamond, James Brown and Whitney Houston.

TELEVISION

‘Eerie’ Rebirth on Fox: The Fox Kids Network will air “Eerie, Indiana,” a half-hour action-adventure series that previously aired in prime time on rival network NBC, starting Jan. 18. The 1991 series will run Saturday mornings at 9:30, after the teen hit “Goosebumps.” The show focuses on the vivid imagination of two boys (played by Omri Katz and Justin Shenkarow) who see their hometown as “the center of weirdness for the entire planet.”

QUICK TAKES

CBS News correspondent Paula Zahn gave birth to a son, Austin, at 5:20 a.m. New Year’s Day at a New York hospital. He is the third child for Zahn and her husband, real estate developer Richard Cohen. . . . A Michigan judge has ordered funk musician George Clinton and his family to vacate a 200-acre farm in a dispute over unpaid rent. Clinton, who wears multicolored dreadlocks, oversized diapers and moonwalk boots in performances with his P-Funk All-Stars band, has lived on the farm in Adrian, 90 miles southwest of Detroit, since 1980. Clinton told the judge that he thought the property’s owner, music executive Armen Boladian, was waiving his $8,500 a month rent to make up for $15 million in song royalties Clinton claims Boladian owes him.