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

POP/ROCK

Puffed Up: Rap producer-turned-performer Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs dominated the American Music Awards nominations announced Thursday, garnering five nods including favorite male pop artist, best soul/R&B; album (for “No Way Out”) and favorite rap/hip-hop artist. Second with three nominations apiece were the British quintet the Spice Girls and the Wallflowers, featuring lead singer Jakob Dylan. Those two groups will go head-to-head in three pop/rock categories: favorite group (vying with U2), new artist (competing against Matchbox 20) and album (where the Spice Girls’ “Spice” and the Wallflowers’ “Bringing Down the Horse” go up against Jewel’s “Pieces of You” and Matchbox 20’s “Yourself or Someone Like You”). The winners will be announced Jan. 26 when the awards--hosted by comedian Drew Carey--air on ABC.

Motley Mess: Motley Crue band members Tommy Lee and Nikki Sixx were arrested on misdemeanor assault charges after allegedly knocking over a security guard at a concert in Phoenix Wednesday night. According to police, Lee urged fans onto the stage following the show, and he and Sixx then tackled security guard Kenneth Chambers when he tried to hold eager audience members back. Management at America West Arena, where the concert was held, said the rush to the stage caused $15,000 in damage to chairs. A spokesman for the band’s record label, Elektra, had no comment.

Cyber Concerts: A 6 p.m. performance tonight by the alternative band Smash Mouth will kick off the House of Blues’ annual “12 Days of Christmas” Internet programming at https://www.liveconcerts.com. Different artists will perform each night through Dec. 23, with the schedule including John Fogerty on Monday, Soul Coughing on Tuesday, Third Eye Blind on Dec. 19 and the Cure on Dec. 20 (all at 6 p.m.). . . . Another holiday concert Internet series, “A Fistful of Christmas,” will run nightly from Monday through Dec. 19 on https://www.rocktropolis.com. Programming will include repeats of the year’s most popular Internet concerts, including Motley Crue (Monday at 4 p.m.), David Bowie (Tuesday at 4 p.m.) and Patti Smith (Dec. 19 at 5 p.m.). . . . Also on the Rocktropolis site, the band Aerosmith will give its first concert cybercast, today at 4 p.m. The performance will be preceded by a 30-minute online chat with band members.

MOVIES

Palm Springs Fest Lineup: The ninth annual Nortel Palm Springs International Film Festival has announced its 1998 lineup, with a total of 105 films from 38 countries to be screened from Jan. 8 to 19. Scheduled are 41 American premieres and eight world premieres. Thirteen films submitted for foreign-language Academy Award consideration--from nations including Argentina, Brazil, Poland, Austria and Yugoslavia--will also be screened.

TELEVISION

Latino Awards on ABC: ABC--which faces a boycott called by a Latino media advocacy group--has agreed to broadcast the renamed American Latino Media Arts Awards as a TV special next summer. Formerly called the Bravo Awards, the honors are presented to movies and TV shows by the National Council of La Raza. The boycott was proposed in April by the National Hispanic Media Coalition, based on charges that ABC and its owner, Disney, have a poor Latino hiring record. Last year’s awards aired on Fox.

Move Over, ‘Xena’: NBC is planning a TV movie revival of “Wonder Woman” that could be the basis for a new prime-time series. The production company, Warner Bros. Television, will hold an international search next month seeking someone to play Diana Prince, a Greek mythology professor who moonlights as the venerable superheroine. Deborah Joy LeVine, who created “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,” is the producer. The original “Wonder Woman” series, starring Lynda Carter, aired from 1976-79, first on ABC, then on CBS.

QUICK TAKES

Former “Cheers” stars Ted Danson and Kirstie Alley will rekindle their on-screen romance when Danson guests as Alley’s love interest on her NBC series, “Veronica’s Closet.” The episode, which films next week, is slated to be broadcast in February. . . . Gilbert Cates will be back as Oscar producer this year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Thursday. It will be Cates’ eighth time at the show’s helm, tying a record held by Howard W. Koch. . . . Elton John gave a check Wednesday for $33 million--the first installment of royalties from his No. 1 song “Candle in the Wind 1997”--to Princess Diana’s memorial fund. John presented the check to Diana’s sister, Sarah McCorquodale, at Kensington Palace, which was the princess’ London home. . . . Police in Rock Hill, S.C., have ceased their investigation into sexual assault allegations against actor Edward James Olmos, after his accuser withdrew her complaint. In a joint statement, both sides called the incident “a misunderstanding between two adults,” but would not elaborate. . . . Authorities have been searching for the 60-year-old brother of musician David Crosby since a friend found a suicide note from Ethan Crosby in a remote cabin in Northern California on Nov. 29. Ethan Crosby was last seen Nov. 5, Siskiyou County sheriff’s deputies said.