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

MOVIES

New Line for Nava: Filmmaker Gregory Nava and his El Norte Productions have been signed by New Line Cinema to a two-year production deal, under which the director of “Selena” will produce an unspecified number of movies with Latino themes. Nava told Daily Variety that El Norte intends to make movies that have “universal stories and crossover appeal.” He will write and direct some of them, and produce others as a vehicle to bring new talent into the industry. Among the projects Nava is developing are a contemporary border drama that he’s writing for actress Jennifer Lopez; an adaptation of Victor E. Villasenor’s generational novel, “Rain of Gold”; and a movie about a baseball team from Monterey, Mexico. On Sunday night, Nava’s movie “El Norte” (1984) will be screened at the Sundance Film Festival.

Partners in Horror: Producer Joel Silver (“Lethal Weapon,” “Die Hard”) and director Robert Zemeckis (“Forrest Gump,” “Back to the Future”) have formed Dark Castle Entertainment, a new film company that will focus on mid-budget horror pictures. The company’s first project is “House on Haunted Hill,” an update of the 1958 Vincent Price movie.

Orson Welles’ Daughter Sues: Orson Welles’ daughter is suing Universal Studios over a reedited, re-released version of the director’s 1958 masterpiece “Touch of Evil.” In a lawsuit filed Wednesday, Beatrice Welles said the project is falsely advertised as being edited the way the late Welles wanted it done. She said the release damages his reputation. The thriller about corruption and decadence in a Texas border town flopped in its original release after studio executives made changes while Welles was on another project. Beatrice Welles wants to stop the new version from being released on home video. The lawsuit does not ask for damages. Universal spokeswoman Iris Gelt declined comment.

AWARDS

NAACP Honors Belafonte: Entertainer Harry Belafonte will receive the Chairman’s Award for “special achievement in the pursuit of social justice and community service” at the 30th annual NAACP Image Awards, airing March 4 on Fox. Among his achievements, Belafonte, a current UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, was a cultural advisor to the Peace Corps, a member of the board of directors of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and chaired the New York State Martin Luther King Jr. Commission.

Publicists Tap TV Trio: Marcy Carsey, Tom Werner and Caryn Mandabach, partners in Carsey-Werner Productions, will share the 1999 Television Showmanship Award at the 36th annual Publicists Guild of America Award luncheon March 19 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. They are being recognized for “the exceptional impact their production company continues to have on television through such programs as ‘3rd Rock From the Sun,’ ‘Cosby’ and ‘That 70’s Show,’ ” said publicist Henri Bollinger.

Carey Wins Praise: Drew Carey, star of ABC’s “The Drew Carey Show,” has been chosen to receive TV Guide’s first annual Editors’ Award. It will be presented Feb. 1 in ceremonies on Fox. The editors praised Carey’s “affable brand of every-guy humor, sense of invention and irreverence, and ingenious, well-staged song-and-dance numbers.”

TELEVISION

New Roles: KCET-TV has named Mare Mazur as vice president of program development, scheduling and acquisition, replacing award-winning producer and longtime station executive Blaine Baggett (“The Astronomers,” “The Great War”), who leaves at the end of January. He will become executive manager of communications for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Mazur, head of the station’s national productions since 1997, spearheaded such productions as “Merry Christmas, George Bailey” and the upcoming “Prince Edward’s Mississippi Odyssey.” She comes from the arena of commercial television, having been a development executive at NBC and CBS.

ART

Getty-UCLA Master’s Program: In a joint venture that will establish a unique American graduate program, the J. Paul Getty Trust and UCLA are creating a master’s degree in the conservation of archeological and ethnographic materials. Scheduled to begin in 2002, the three-year program will cover cultural and legal issues as well as science, anthropology, archeology and field projects. First-year courses will be taught at UCLA. The Getty’s staff will supervise technical training for second-year students in laboratories at the Getty Villa in Malibu, which is being renovated as a museum and study center for antiquities. The third year will be devoted to internships on archeological digs or in museums.

QUICK TAKES

New York-based cabaret singer Bobby Short will celebrate his 75th birthday year with Los Angeles concerts Feb. 16-21 at the Catalina Bar & Grill. He’ll be accompanied by an eight-piece band instead of his usual trio. . . . The National Assn. of Broadcasters has chosen the late Wolfman Jack as the 1999 radio inductee into the Broadcasting Hall of Fame. His widow, Lou Lamb Smith, will accept the award on April 20 during ceremonies in Las Vegas. . . . Tom Schnabel, longtime KCRW-FM (89.9) music programmer and host of the weekend show “Cafe L.A.,” signs copies of his book, “Rhythm Planet: The Great World of Music Makers,” at Borders Books in Pasadena tonight at 8. . . . Academy Award-winning composer Bill Conti (“The Right Stuff”) will return to the Oscar podium as musical director for the 71st Academy Awards on March 21. This will be his 14th time leading the Oscar band. . . . Charlie Sheen, wanting to be taken seriously and perhaps change his bad-boy image, has put out the word that he is now Charles Sheen.