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

MOVIES

‘Fantasia’ Goes Imax: “Fantasia 2000”--Disney’s long-awaited update of the popular 1940 film--will be released in 100 Imax theaters worldwide on Jan. 1 for an exclusive four-month run. That will follow orchestral premieres in five cities--beginning Dec. 17 at New York’s Carnegie Hall and concluding with a New Year’s Eve gala at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium--in which the Philharmonia Orchestra of London and conductor James Levine will do live performances of the film’s classical score while the movie plays on a big screen (additional performances by the 120-piece orchestra are scheduled for London, Paris and Tokyo). “ ‘Fantasia 2000’ is a labor of love which expands upon a bold experiment in sight and sound that was started over six decades ago by my Uncle Walt and my father,” Disney Vice Chairman Roy E. Disney said, noting that 1,199 animators and artists worked on the revisions, which include six new animated segments and interstitials and three returning favorites. However, Disney gave no date for when the film would hit regular screens, saying: “Don’t look for it in your local cineplex [any time soon].”

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DGA’s Documentary Picks: Matthew Diamond, whose “Dancemaker” was nominated for a documentary Oscar on Tuesday, has also won praise from the Directors Guild of America, which has nominated him for outstanding directorial achievement in documentary. Other nominees are Jerry Blumenthal, Peter Gilbert and Gordon Quinn for “Vietnam: Long Time Coming”; Susan Lacy for PBS’ “Leonard Bernstein: Reaching for the Note”; Nigel Noble for PBS’ “Great Performances” edition of “Porgy and Bess: An American Voice” and Kyra Thompson for TBS’ cable production “Dying to Tell the Story.” Winners will be announced March 6.

TELEVISION

Will Oprah Step Down?: Oprah Winfrey is once again saying she’s ready to exit the talk-show biz. “I am all talked out,” she told the London Sunday Times. “My contract has two years left, then I am getting out of such shows because I feel they are going to burn themselves out.” Calling his show a “vulgarity circus,” Winfrey pointed to competitor Jerry Springer for bringing down the state of talk shows, predicting: “We will see sexual intercourse on television, and I would not be surprised if one person actually kills another [during a show]. . . . Can public taste keep on sinking? Yes, it can. I have to get out.” Winfrey, however, talked about hanging up her hosting mike once before, only to later sign her current contract extension. “The Oprah Winfrey Show’s” only response to the London interview is a brief statement saying that Winfrey is “fully committed . . . through the year 2002” and that “no announcements” will be made beyond that date.

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‘Hope’s’ Surgery Came First: Tonight’s “Chicago Hope” takes on a ripped-from-the-headlines story line in which Mark Harmon’s character, Dr. Jack McNeil, performs a hand transplant. The episode airs just two weeks after the same groundbreaking surgery was performed for the first time in the United States. Coincidence? Harmon filmed his scenes on Jan. 22, three days before the real surgery took place in Louisville, Ky. However, the CBS show’s producers had been consulting for two months with Dr. Warren Breidenbach, the leader of the Louisville surgical team, who provided suggestions to ensure the episode’s accuracy prior to actually performing the 14 1/2-hour surgery himself.

PERFORMING ARTS

Cerritos Season Additions: Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts has scheduled “Laughter and Reflection With Carol Burnett--A Conversation With Carol Where the Audience Asks the Questions,” an “up-close and personal evening” with Burnett, on May 6. Other additions to Cerritos’ 1999 schedule include a May 16 L.A. Chamber Orchestra concert presentation of the Dr. Seuss books “Green Eggs & Ham” and “Gertrude McFuzz.”

ART

Ultimate Web Resource: The 34-volume Dictionary of Art, a monumental publishing effort released in 1996, is now on the World Wide Web. The Grove Dictionary of Art Online contains the entire, 30-million-word text--in 41,000 articles written by 6,802 scholars--along with 750 maps, diagrams and drawings. Many pictures in the book are not available but the missing images can be seen by linking to Internet picture libraries and museum collections. The dictionary’s electronic version (at https://www.groveart.com) offers the advantage of updates--to be made quarterly at first, then on a monthly basis.

POP/ROCK

Pond Business Booming: The Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim took in more money from concerts than any other West Coast arena in 1998, according to Performance magazine. The Pond grossed $12 million from 27 concerts, ranking fourth nationally behind two New York venues--Madison Square Garden and Nassau Coliseum--and Boston’s FleetCenter. Another trade magazine, Pollstar, named the Pond one of six finalists for venue of the year.

QUICK TAKES

Nominees Lauryn Hill, Alanis Morissette and Vince Gill join Madonna and Ricky Martin on the list of performers for the Feb. 24 Grammy Awards, airing on CBS. . . . Fox has renewed “Beverly Hills, 90210” for a 10th season.