ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT REPORTS FROM THE TIMES, NEWS SERVICES AND THE NATION’S PRESS.

MOVIES

No on ‘Hannibal’: Jodie Foster has decided not to reprise her Oscar-winning role as FBI agent Clarice Starling in “Hannibal,” the sequel to the 1991 best picture winner, “The Silence of the Lambs.” Her spokeswoman said Foster has opted instead to begin work this spring directing Claire Danes--who is taking a year off from her studies at Yale--in a 1930s circus picture called “Flora Plum.” Foster marks the third “Silence of the Lambs” Oscar winner to opt out of the sequel, following director Jonathan Demme and screenwriter Ted Tally. A spokeswoman for Anthony Hopkins, who also won an Oscar for “Silence,” had no comment Tuesday on whether the actor would return in the sequel’s title role. Producer Dino De Laurentiis, who had hoped to begin filming “Hannibal” in the spring, paid a reported $9 million for the film rights to author Thomas Harris’ sequel, the highest price ever paid for a book-to-screen adaptation. Ridley Scott (“Alien,” “Thelma & Louise”) is attached as the sequel’s director.

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‘Anna’ Banned in Thailand: Foster’s current film, “Anna and the King,” meanwhile, got the official word from Thai censors on Tuesday that it is being banned in Thailand “because it makes jokes and insults the institution of our monarchy and distorts the facts.” Police Maj. Gen. Prakard Satamarn, chairman of the Thai censorship board, added that the group felt the movie--set in Thailand--would “have a negative impact on the feelings of the people, who love their king.” The ban had been widely expected, since Thai film authorities had refused to allow the movie to be shot there (it was filmed in Malaysia instead). A Fox spokesman said: “There are historical sensibilities which they have detailed, and we are sympathetic to those. But we think anyone who has seen the film would in no way find it a mockery of the royal family.” The most famous adaptation of English teacher Anna Leonowens’ memoirs, the 1956 Yul Brynner musical, “The King and I,” has been banned in Thailand for decades.

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Almodovar Film Leads Spanish Field: Pedro Almodovar’s “All About My Mother” has dominated Spain’s Goya cinema awards field by garnering 14 nominations, including best picture and director. The movie--already chosen by several American critics groups as the year’s best foreign picture--is Spain’s candidate for the Academy Awards’ foreign-language film competition. Goya winners will be announced Jan. 29.

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Still Together: Movie star couple Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones are still “very much together,” contrary to British reports that their romance may have hit a snag, the actor’s spokesman said late Monday. Allen Burry dismissed reports that the Welsh actress had returned home for Christmas alone and was no longer wearing a diamond ring that Douglas had bought her. “First of all, this ring is hers--he never bought her a ring. She has had it for years,” the L.A.-based Burry said. “And secondly, they are very much together. There has been no rift.” He added that Douglas and Zeta-Jones, who have been dating since earlier this year but have denied they are engaged, are presently together in the United States.

ART

Local Support: The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has received a $1-million grant from the S. Mark Taper Foundation to support “Made in California: 1900-2000,” a landmark exhibition addressing the relationship between the arts and California’s evolving image over the past century. The exhibition, expected to feature about 750 artworks in a wide range of media, will be on view at LACMA from October 2000 through February 2001.

TELEVISION

Sanchez Joins Chambers at 10: Lauren Sanchez, formerly an anchor-reporter for the Fox Sports Network’s “Fox Sports Tonight,” has joined KCOP-TV as co-anchor of the station’s 10 p.m. newscast, paired with Rick Chambers, who recently relocated from KNBC. Sanchez replaces Tawny Little, who left KCOP in early December.

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Crier’s Slot: Catherine Crier’s new legal news program, “Crier Today,” premieres Jan. 10 on Court TV, airing weekdays at 10 a.m. Guests slated for the initial weeks of the program, which will offer topical commentary and analysis on topics such as the death penalty, the 1st Amendment and celebrities running for office, include Jerry Springer, Larry Flynt, Sen. Orrin Hatch and Al Franken.

POP/ROCK

All in the (Zappa) Family: Diva Zappa, the late Frank Zappa’s daughter, released her first single to radio stations on Tuesday with a little help from some well-placed friends. Second Lady Tipper Gore, who is a friend of Zappa’s mother, Gail, played drums and sang backup on “When the Ball Drops.” Also singing backup were Kristen Gore, the vice president’s daughter, and singer Lisa Loeb, who is the girlfriend of Zappa’s brother, Dweezil. Diva, 20, wrote the words for “When the Ball Drops,” which she described as “basically . . . about my hunt for someone to make out with for the millennium,” while Dweezil wrote the music. The song was recorded in a studio their father built in his Los Angeles home.