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

MOVIES

Jail Time for Slater: Just one day after fellow actor Robert Downey Jr. was sentenced to six months for drug problems (see story, F1), actor Christian Slater was sentenced to 90 days in jail Tuesday for getting into a drug-induced brawl. Slater, 28, was also ordered to spend an additional three months in a residential drug treatment program. The sentence was part of a plea bargain stemming from an Aug. 11 incident in which Slater was charged with attacking several people, including a police officer, during a brawl at a posh Westside condominium. Slater must report to jail by Jan. 10.

Oscar Race Begins: “L.A. Confidential” was named the year’s best picture on Tuesday by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, the first critics’ organization to weigh in on the leading films of 1997. “L.A. Confidential’s” Curtis Hanson was named best director. Jack Nicholson was named best actor for the upcoming “As Good as It Gets,” while his co-star, Greg Kinnear, was named best supporting actor. Helena Bonham Carter was voted best actress for “The Wings of the Dove” and Anne Heche was named best supporting actress for “Donnie Brasco” and the upcoming “Wag the Dog.” The cast of “The Sweet Hereafter” was named best acting ensemble. Japan’s “Shall We Dance?” was voted the best foreign film. The New York-based board, founded in 1909, is a nonprofit organization whose membership includes retired film teachers, film students, Broadway producers and former film critics.

POP/ROCK

Going Their Own Ways, Again: The well-received Fleetwood Mac reunion is over, Reprise Records confirmed Tuesday. Although the reunion, launched last May, had produced a hit album (“The Dance”) and the year’s fifth-highest grossing concert tour, singer-pianist Christine McVie has opted not to continue with the rigors of touring, so her “Rumours”-era band mates--Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie--will not press on without her. The lucrative tour--which reportedly grossed $36.3 million in 44 shows--officially wound up Nov. 30 in Landover, Md., but additional shows had been expected.

Health Concerns: The music’s over from KROQ-FM’s Almost Acoustic Christmas shows of last weekend, but the chatter continues--particularly regarding the backstage behavior of Jane’s Addiction. KROQ deejay Jed “the Fish” Gould stated on the air Saturday that he was “deeply concerned for the health of one or more” band members and told listeners that “you should be, too, unless you’re one of those sickos that thinks death is cool.” The radio veteran, long outspoken about his own former drug addiction, was asked by station management not to elaborate on his on-air statement. Jane’s Addiction spokeswoman Heidi Robinson said Tuesday that Jed’s statement was too “vague” to respond to.

THE ARTS

NEA Appointment: Rep. Nita Lowey, a liberal Democrat from New York, was appointed Monday to the board of directors of the National Endowment for the Arts. A new law mandates that six members of Congress--four Republicans and two Democrats--serve on the NEA’s board of directors. Lowey, called “a leading advocate for the arts in Congress” by House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, is the first to be named. The politicians will help review grant applications but will not vote on them.

MOMA Expansion: New York’s Museum of Modern Art has selected an expansion design that will double the size of the museum’s galleries. The design, by little-known Tokyo architect Yoshio Taniguchi, is a collage of stark glass and black slate forms that is in keeping with the museum’s Modernist traditions. Many familiar elements from the old museum will be restored, including the original Goodwin and Stone facade and the Philip Johnson-designed sculpture garden. A new lobby will extend through the block-wide site, while the museum’s main entry will be moved from 53rd to 54th Street. Although Taniguchi, 60, studied architecture at Harvard, he has never built in the United States. Construction is planned to begin within two to three years, but no budget has been announced.

Taper Change: “Gross Indecency,” Moises Kaufman’s play about Oscar Wilde on trial, will run Feb. 19-March 29 at the Mark Taper Forum, replacing Anthony Clarvoe’s “Ambition Facing West,” for which the Taper had not yet found a director. “Ambition” had earlier replaced Ellen McLaughlin’s “Tongue of a Bird” in that slot. “Ambition” and “Tongue” are now scheduled for next season.

TELEVISION

‘People’s’ Choices: NBC’s “ER,” ABC’s “NYPD Blue” and Fox’s “The X-Files” will vie for top dramatic series, while NBC’s “Frasier” and “Seinfeld” and ABC’s “Home Improvement” will jockey for comedy series honors during the 24th annual People’s Choice Awards, airing Jan. 11 on CBS. The nominees--culled from a nationwide Gallup poll--also include Fox’s “Ally McBeal,” ABC’s “Dharma & Greg” and NBC’s “Veronica’s Closet” for favorite new comedy.

QUICK TAKES

Citing stiff competition, 20th Century Fox has decided not to release its upcoming film version of Charles Dickens’ “Great Expectations,” in two theaters as scheduled on Dec. 31. Instead, the film will open Jan. 30, taking it out of consideration for this year’s Oscars. . . . Mick Jagger--on tour in Atlanta with the Rolling Stones--missed the birth of his fourth child with model Jerry Hall, Gabriel Luke Beauregard Jagger, born in London early Tuesday.