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

MOVIES & TV

Hiller’s Side: Director and Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences President Arthur Hiller has given his side of the “An Alan Smithee Film” credits controversy, saying he wants his name removed from the upcoming movie because screenwriter/co-producer Joe Eszterhas edited a version that is “radically different” than Hiller’s. Hiller called Eszterhas’ version “an extended ‘Saturday Night Live’ sketch” that contains “more four-letter language” than his own take. “It’s not the film I had agreed to direct or the version that I expected,” Hiller said.

More Miniseries: The Sci-Fi Channel is moving into the miniseries business, starting with “Invasion Earth,” a six-hour co-production with the BBC that’s set to begin production in August. The cable channel also plans a six-hour miniseries version of Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel “Dune” and is working on an original movie based on Rod Serling’s “Playhouse 90” script “This Town Has Turned to Dust.”

CNBC Changes: Cable’s CNBC is pulling its 7 p.m. weeknight repeats of “Late Night With Conan O’Brien” on May 16. On May 19, it will be replaced with “The News With Brian Williams,” an updated version of the newscast that appears an hour earlier on sister channel MSNBC. CNBC, which aims to “expand the CNBC brand further in news and information,” also plans to add a new business news show in the fall.

QUICK TAKES

U2 has added a second Oakland Stadium “PopMart” show with opening band Oasis. Tickets for the June 19 concert go on sale Friday at 9 a.m. . . . William Shatner will host the first of three hourlong TV Guide television specials celebrating history’s best and most popular programs. “TV Guide Looks at Science Fiction” will premiere July 5 on the USA Network, followed by a July 7 showing on the Sci-Fi Channel. Future planned specials are “TV Guide Looks at Christmas” and “TV Guide Looks at Cops.” . . . The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has denied the U.S. government’s petition for a re-hearing of the Nov. 5, 1996, ruling that declared the National Endowment for the Arts’ “decency” requirement unconstitutional. The government now has 90 days to decide whether to petition for a U.S. Supreme Court review. . . . Producer Irwin Winkler (“Rocky,” “The Right Stuff”) is developing “Lush Life,” a movie about jazz great Billy Strayhorn, for Universal Pictures. The story is based on David Hajdu’s best-selling biography that chronicles Strayhorn’s life and 30-year collaboration with Duke Ellington. . . . Mike Myers, currently starring in the film “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery,” will host the 1997 MTV Movie Awards, being held June 7 at the Santa Monica Airport. It will be seen on MTV on June 12.