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

POP/ROCK

Nominations ‘Come’ Easy: Canadian country music crossover star Shania Twain led all artists with five nominations for the 26th annual American Music Awards, which were announced Monday. Among her nominations, Twain, whose album “Come on Over” has been at or near the top of the pop and country charts for close to a year, was cited as a favorite pop-rock female artist (she vies for the award with Celine Dion and Brandy) and for favorite pop-rock album (up against Dion’s “Let’s Talk About Love” and Will Smith’s “Big Willie Style”). American Music Award nominations are based initially on sales and airplay and then narrowed to the final list of nominees and the eventual winners through the results of a nationwide poll of 20,000 music buyers. The awards--televised on ABC--will be given Jan. 11 at the Shrine Auditorium. Other nominees this year include: Eric Clapton, Puff Daddy and Smith for favorite pop-rock male artist; K-Ci & JoJo, Brian McKnight and Smith for top soul-R&B; album; Garth Brooks, George Strait and Twain in the country album category; and Green Day, Pearl Jam and Third Eye Blind for favorite alternative artist.

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Smaller Unity Festival: A Dec. 4 event billed as the largest hip-hop show ever just got a lot smaller. The Hip-Hop Unity Festival--which has been troubled by lagging ticket sales and meager marketing--has been moved from the 80,000-seat L.A. Memorial Coliseum to the adjacent 17,000-seat Sports Arena. Promoters Edgewater Entertainment said the primary reason for the move was to avoid “possible inclement weather,” although officials did confirm that ticket sales thus far have fallen far short of expectations. The six-hour show’s lineup includes Shaquille O’Neal, DMX, Kurupt, Ice-T, Run-DMC, KRS-One and Warren G, and is organized as a tribute to slain rappers Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G.

MOVIES

English Nuptials: “Titanic” star Kate Winslet married assistant film director Jim Threapleton Sunday in a quiet ceremony at her family’s local church in Reading, England. A reception followed at a 17th century pub, where a four-piece Irish fiddle band played the tune from the “Titanic” scene in which Winslet’s character dances a jig. The bride, who called the nuptials “the most amazing day of our lives,” wore a cream-colored, Edwardian-style Givenchy gown studded with pearls and also sported a pearl pendant on her forehead. Actress Emma Thompson was among the 150 guests. Winslet, 23, and Threapleton, 25, met last year on the set of the forthcoming film “Hideous Kinky.”

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Can the Pig Read, Too?: MovieFone Inc. will donate 50 cents for every ticket it sells to “Babe: Pig in the City” to the children’s literacy organization Reading Is Fundamental. The donation will cover tickets sold through the company’s 777-FILM phone service as well as through its Internet site (https://www.movielink.com). The “Babe” sequel opens nationwide Wednesday.

TELEVISION

Sunday Ratings: CBS’ Sunday segment on Dr. Jack Kervorkian--including footage of an assisted suicide--delivered “60 Minutes’ ” largest audience since its March interview with Kathleen Willey, with an estimated 22.6 million viewers, according to preliminary Nielsen ratings. CBS also did well with its “Hallmark Hall of Fame” movie, “Saint Maybe” (nearly 21 million viewers), against strong competition from ABC’s remake of “Rear Window,” starring Christopher Reeve (19 million).

QUICK TAKES

Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston will perform together for the first time on Wednesday’s “Oprah Winfrey Show,” singing their new duet from the forthcoming movie “Prince of Egypt.” . . . Speaking of Carey, she’s been added to the list of performers for the 1998 Billboard Music Awards, along with Bette Midler, Laurynn Hill and Semisonic. Previously announced performers for the awards, airing Dec. 7 on Fox, include Madonna, Hole, Natalie Imbruglia, Shania Twain and the Backstreet Boys. . . . A federal appeals court has upheld a preliminary injunction barring Sony Pictures Entertainment from developing its own James Bond films. The decision paves the way for MGM’s lawsuit against Sony to go to trial next February in Los Angeles. MGM claims it has exclusive film rights to the Bond franchise. . . . Diane Sawyer’s in-depth interview with independent counsel Kenneth Starr, conducted Saturday in Washington, airs Wednesday on ABC’s “20/20.” . . . NBC will air a prime-time special, “ ‘Saturday Night Live’ Goes Commercial, Volume Two,” featuring a compilation of the show’s commercial spoofs, on Saturday at 10 p.m. The first commercials special aired in 1991. . . . Cher will be at the Borders bookstore on Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade at 7:30 tonight to sign copies of her new album, “Believe,” and her new book, “The First Time.”