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

MOVIES & TV

Arnett to Stay at CNN: CNN correspondent Peter Arnett will keep his job, despite being reprimanded for a retracted report that the U.S. military used nerve gas during the Vietnam War. Arnett met with CNN executives Wednesday, after which CNN News Group Chairman Tom Johnson issued a brief statement saying: “Peter Arnett’s reprimand stands. No further personnel actions are planned.” Arnett, a Pulitzer Prize winner, has maintained that he was brought in late on the story to ask on-camera, scripted questions of people already interviewed extensively by other staffers. Two producers were fired earlier and another quit over the story.

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‘Lolita’ Headed to Theaters: Adrian Lyne’s controversial movie “Lolita,” which is set to premiere Aug. 2 on cable’s Showtime, has finally found a theatrical distributor. Initial U.S. rights went to Showtime after many movie studios balked at the subject matter of the film, an adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov’s classic novel about a middle-aged college professor (played by Jeremy Irons) who falls for the underage Lolita (Dominique Swain). But Samuel Goldwyn Films has now signed on, with plans for a full-scale theatrical release beginning Sept. 25. Jeff Lipsky, Goldwyn’s head of marketing and distribution, said that his company had been “in and out of negotiations” on the film for “over a year.” “I’m deliriously happy” to have the film, Lipsky said. “It happens to be Adrian Lyne’s best film and perhaps the best tragic love story of the last 10 years.” “Lolita” will also have an Academy Award-qualifying run, July 22-28 at the Landmark Cecchi Gori Fine Arts Theater in Beverly Hills.

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Chappelle vs. Fox: Comic Dave Chappelle has accused the Fox network of racism for seeking to integrate white cast members into a sitcom he was developing for the network. Chappelle and producer Peter Tolan aired their charges in the trade paper Daily Variety, saying they walked away from the project after Fox suggested replacing some black supporting characters with white actors to broaden its appeal. Fox, which previously has expressed a desire to integrate casting in its comedies, called the accusation of racism “disturbing and upsetting.” Meanwhile, sources have indicated that Fox was less than thrilled with the Chappelle pilot.

THE ARTS

Nam June Paik Honored: New York-based video artist Nam June Paik has won Japan’s prestigious Kyoto Prize for lifetime achievement in the “creative arts and moral sciences.” The $350,000 prize, presented annually by the Inamori Foundation, recognizes individuals who “have made significant contributions to the betterment of humanity.” Previous recipients have included artist Roy Lichtenstein, director Akira Kurosawa, architect Renzo Piano and composer John Cage.

POP/ROCK

National Museum for Sinatra Archive?: The Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution are working with Bob Dole and other Washington types on developing a National Music Museum and Center in the nation’s capitol. The effort, the subject of a yearlong feasibility study, is inspired by the late Frank Sinatra’s wish to make his archives available to the American people. The singer’s daughter, Nancy, was among those announcing the study and an accompanying fund-raising drive Wednesday.

QUICK TAKES

Comedian Sandra Bernhard, 42, has joined the ranks of Hollywood’s single moms, having delivered a girl, Cicely Yasin, on Saturday in Los Angeles. The father has not been named. Bernhard’s HBO special, “I’m Still Here Damn It,” premieres Friday night at midnight. . . . Singer Sinead O’Connor has signed a long-term contract with Atlantic Records (she previously recorded on EMI, which ceased its U.S. operations last fall). Her first Atlantic release is due in 1999. . . . ABC’s “Good Morning America” will air an outdoor concert featuring singer Roger Daltry of the Who performing in New York’s Central Park, on Friday at 7:30 a.m. Daltry--along with the British Rock Symphony--will perform classic rock songs including the Rolling Stones’ “Ruby Tuesday,” Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall” and the Beatles’ “Norwegian Wood.”