TELEVISIONCBS Buys ‘Doubt’: CBS has acquired the...

TELEVISION

CBS Buys ‘Doubt’: CBS has acquired the rights to Marcia Clark’s bestseller, “Without a Doubt,” for a future two-hour movie. Written by Clark with Teresa Carpenter, “Doubt” tells the former Los Angeles prosecutor’s account of the O.J. Simpson trial. Randy Robinson will serve as executive producer.

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Up a ‘Creek’: Responding to criticism, the WB network announced plans to move one of its new series, the coming-of-age teen drama “Dawson’s Creek,” from 8 to 9 p.m. when the program premieres later this year. Some critics questioned the earlier time period previously announced because of the program’s focus on sexuality. Network officials didn’t specify when the series will make its debut, only that it will be reserved for the later hour. The WB has marketed itself as being a “family-friendly” network in the first hour of prime time. In addition to “Dawson’s Creek,” its midseason lineup includes an action series, “Three,” and new sitcoms starring Shelley Long and “Northern Exposure’s” Cynthia Geary. The network airs locally on KTLA-TV Channel 5.

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PBS News: “Great Performances” will air the documentary “Creating ‘Ragtime’ ” next January. The special, hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, will offer a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process of the acclaimed musical, currently at the Shubert. . . . In other PBS news, Sister Wendy Beckett, the host of the popular “Sister Wendy’s Story of Painting,” is featured in two upcoming PBS fall specials, “The Saints” and “Bill Moyers in Conversation With Sister Wendy.”

MOVIES

Taking No Bull: During a recent screening of “The Locusts,” MGM’s September release about a drifter (Vince Vaughan) who wanders into a Kansas town in the 1950s and is employed as a farmhand by a “coldly seductive” widow (Kate Capshaw), one particularly graphic scene sent shudders through the crowd. According to the Drudge Report, an entertainment-oriented Internet newsletter, footage of a bull being castrated “provoked raw shock and disgust” and caused some viewers to bolt. Gerry Rich, MGM’s marketing chief, said the violence is less actual than implied: “In the torture scene in ‘Reservoir Dogs,’ people were convinced they saw Michael Madsen cut someone’s ear off when the camera cuts to the ceiling,” he said. “In this movie, too, they react to what they expect to see. Those who experienced the Mike Tyson fight saw something infinitely more disturbing and graphic.” Larry Gleason, MGM’s president of worldwide theatrical distribution, calls the reaction overblown, saying: “ ‘Locusts’ deals with incest, suicide--but no one gets upset [about that]. From an audience point of view, you can do anything to a human being--but just don’t hurt an animal.” The movie, Gleason notes, has just been selected for the Venice Film Festival.

AUCTIONS

Mementos From ‘The Greatest’: Christie’s auction house in Beverly Hills will offer a 3,000-piece collection of Muhammad Ali memorabilia on Oct. 19. The sale, believed to be the most comprehensive auction of items from the beloved former boxer, was assembled by Ronnie Paloger, a longtime Ali fan. A portion of auction proceeds will benefit the Muhammad Ali World Healing Project, which promotes world tolerance and unity. Items to be auctioned include a white terry-cloth robe that Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, wore in his 1964 victory over Sonny Liston (estimated to bring $40,000 to $60,000); the white satin trunks Ali wore in his 1974 Zaire bout against George Foreman ($35,000 to $45,000); the official scorecards from Ali’s 1978 fight with Leon Spinks ($40,000 to $60,000); and the six-page, signed letter that Ali sent to the Selective Service in 1966 requesting exemption from the Vietnam War draft as a “minister of religion” (estimate not available).

JAZZ

Lovano Cancels: Jazz tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano is recovering from surgery after having torn a tendon in his knee during a performance on July 18 in Pori, Finland. The surgery, which reattached the tendon, has left Lovano in a full cast for four weeks. The balance of his summer European tour has been canceled, and he will not perform as scheduled at the 90th birthday tribute to Benny Carter at the Hollywood Bowl, Aug. 6. His replacement for that date will be saxophonist-bandleader Buddy Collette. Lovano expects to return to performing at a Sept. 11 concert in New York City.

POP/ROCK

U2 Roadblock: Ireland’s High Court blocked on Monday two concerts by U2 at the Irish Rugby Football Union grounds in Dublin, stating that the events were illegal under planning laws. The court, though, has granted a stay of the order until Wednesday to allow an appeal to the Supreme Court. More than $2.9 million worth of tickets have been sold for the concerts scheduled for late August.

THE ARTS

Bergamot Ruling: In the wake of last week’s court-ordered dissolution of the partnership governing Bergamot Station, art dealers and former partners Wayne Blank and Tom Patchett on Monday reached a tentative agreement for a new operating arrangement to run the popular art complex in Santa Monica. No details were revealed, but the agreement is expected to be finalized Aug. 8 by a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge.