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

TV & MOVIES

‘Belly’ Talk: Magic Johnson spoke out for the first time Wednesday about his Baldwin Hills theater complex’s decision not to show the urban film “Belly,” saying he fears gang violence. “I’m in gang territory already,” he told the online service Electronic Urban Report. “If violence would have broken out at my theater, the story would have been front page.” Johnson denied that the decision contradicts his usual support of blacks and black businesses, saying: “If someone else makes a film like that, I’ll make the same decision. . . . There are going to be black films I don’t show and white films I don’t show.” “Belly” director Hype Williams has called the move a form of censorship and called it “incredibly cynical to stereotype the film’s audience by assuming they will act disruptively and even violently.” The movie is about two childhood friends who grow up on the streets of New York.

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Little Election News: The recent election was apparently a big turnoff news-wise as the Big Three networks’ evening newscasts produced only 72 election-related stories this fall, down 73% from the 268 stories produced during the last midterm campaign in 1994, the Center for Media and Public Affairs said Tuesday. The Monica Lewinsky story, Hurricane Georges and John Glenn’s return to space all received more attention during the campaign than the elections, which the study’s leader called “evidence of the trend away from old-fashioned political news.”

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Sam Rubin Suspended: KTLA-TV entertainment reporter Sam Rubin is in the midst of a one-week suspension, having been removed from his daily duties on “The KTLA Morning News” because he failed to heed repeated warnings concerning his practice of making on-air jokes and comments about station executives and management decisions, sources said. Station officials said Wednesday that Rubin was missing from the broadcast because of “an employment matter,” but would be back on the air on Monday, where he is “a valued member of the morning news team.”

QUICK TAKES

Remember the “Seinfeld” episode when George had to care for an injured squirrel? Now Jason Alexander will hunt for a squirrel (and moose) when he plays Boris Badenov in the live-action film version of “Rocky and Bullwinkle.” . . . NBC has pulled “Trinity,” the new drama from “ER” producer John Wells, for the rest of the November sweeps, inserting “Law & Order” reruns in its place. The series, which has aired only four times, is not officially canceled, but its status remains uncertain. . . . CBS has ordered a full season of the new Monday night drama “L.A. Doctors” as well as additional episodes of the Wednesday Faith Ford sitcom “Maggie Winters.” . . . “Star Trek: Voyager” star Kate Mulgrew chats online tonight at 6:30 (at https://www.startrek.com). Mulgrew will also be featured next Thursday night at a public “Conversation With . . .” event at the Four Seasons Hotel hosted by the group Women of Los Angeles. . . . Christine Baranski has joined the cast of Reprise! Broadway’s Best in Concert’s “Sweeney Todd,” opening March 12 at the Ahmanson Theatre. . . . Sylvester Stallone’s stock as an art collector rose this week when an 1882 William Adolphe Bouguereau painting he offered for sale at Sotheby’s fetched more than $2.6 million, setting a new record for the artist’s work.