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

TELEVISION

NBC’s Censorship Backlash: NBC--the lone network that has refused to participate in an expanded, content-based ratings system because it views the system as an attempt by outsiders to control programming--is being accused of its own form of censorship. The network has refused to air an episode of its talk show “Leeza” that focuses on the ratings system. One participant said several parents interviewed on the show--which taped in May--strongly backed a more content-specific system. “I think [NBC executives are] practicing censorship themselves,” said Joanne Cantor, a communications professor at the University of Wisconsin who was interviewed on the “Leeza” episode. Cantor said she was told the show would air two weeks after it was taped. NBC spokeswoman Beth Comstock denied the show was shelved because of the network’s fight against the new ratings system, which will add warnings about sex, violence and bad language. Instead, she said, NBC refuses to air programs when questions are raised about taste, balance or accuracy. Comstock wouldn’t say which category the “Leeza” segment fell into, but noted that past “Leeza” episodes about surrogate motherhood, lingerie and the game Dungeons and Dragons also were not aired. Executives at “Leeza,” which is produced by Paramount, refused to comment.

Fox News: Five years after pulling out of the late-night talk arena following the failed “Chevy Chase Show” in 1993, Fox may be preparing to take the plunge again. Fox programming head Peter Roth told television writers gathering in Pasadena Thursday that the network is planning to air a new late-night show by the fall of 1998. One possibility, Roth said, is a show hosted by former basketball star Magic Johnson that is being developed by 20th Television. Next month, Fox-owned stations, including KTTV-TV Channel 11, will start broadcasting “The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show” in late night, but that series is syndicated, rather than the network’s own fare. . . . In other Fox news Thursday, Fox President David Hill called network news “a dinosaur” and said that Fox would most likely never have a national newscast like the other three networks. Instead, he said, more resources would be put in news operations at the network’s owned-and-operated stations.

PEOPLE WATCH

Lay Off Their Love Lives: Married couple Bruce Willis and Demi Moore and magician David Copperfield are using the courts to strike back against published reports about their private lives. Willis and Moore on Thursday filed a $5-million claim against the Star tabloid for a story saying their marriage is on the rocks and have also filed suit against an Australian magazine, New Idea, over similar articles. Willis said: “We are not filing this lawsuit for financial gain but to protect our reputation.” Copperfield, meanwhile, has filed a $30-million suit against the French magazine Paris Match over a July article he says falsely claimed he paid fiancee Claudia Schiffer to pretend that she is romantically involved with him. The publications did not immediately respond.

POP/ROCK

Soulful Lady: Critical favorite Erykah Badu, who will join Chaka Khan and MTV’s Bill Bellamy as a host of the 1997 Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards, on Thursday topped the show’s nominations list when her debut CD, “Baduizm,” garnered her nominations in five of the nine categories, including best R&B;/soul album and song of the year (for “On & On”). The awards, which air Sept. 5 on KTLA-TV Channel 5, will include special honors for Janet Jackson and Queen Latifah, who will receive the Lena Horne Award for outstanding career achievements and the Aretha Franklin Entertainer of the Year Award, respectively.

STAGE

Playhouse Offerings: The Pasadena Playhouse has announced its 1998 winter-spring season. Sheldon Epps will stage Tom Stoppard’s “The Real Thing” (Jan. 18-Feb. 22), as he recently did at San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre, as well as John Henry Redwood’s “The Old Settler” (May 17-June 21), which is set in 1940s Harlem. Between those two productions will be a revival of the revue “Blame It on the Movies (The Reel Music of Hollywood)” (March 22-April 26), directed by David Galligan, who co-conceived it with Ron Abel and Billy Barnes for a 1988 production at the Coast Playhouse. Meanwhile, Jo Anne Worley will star in Pasadena’s previously announced “Moon Over Buffalo” (Sept. 21-Oct. 26).

Dennehy’s ‘Galileo’ Turn: Brian Dennehy will star in the title role of Bertolt Brecht’s “Galileo” in a reading Wednesday at the Coronet Theatre, marking the 50th anniversary of the play’s world premiere at the same theater. Tickets are $10, and proceeds will benefit Playwrights’ Kitchen Ensemble, the theater’s resident company. The play will feature a new translation by Adrian Hall and James Schevill; Lincoln Center dramaturge Anne Cattaneo will direct.

QUICK TAKES

NBC News made it official Thursday by announcing, as expected, that Tom Brokaw has signed a five-year deal to continue as anchor and managing editor of “NBC Nightly News.” He will also continue to contribute to “Dateline NBC” and programs on NBC’s cable outlet, MSNBC. Sources estimate Brokaw’s salary at $7 million a year. . . . The Los Angeles Music Center’s Unified Fund has met its $9-million 1996-97 fund-raising goal. Funds provide support for the center’s resident performing arts companies and educational programs. . . . “Star Trek: The Next Generation” star Patrick Stewart, whose big-screen movie, “Masterminds,” opens Aug. 22, will hold an online chat tonight at 6 at https://et.msn.com.