Morning Report - News from Nov. 12, 1999

MOVIES

Honoring ‘Private Ryan’: The U.S. Navy invited Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks aboard the USS Normandy on Veterans Day Thursday to bestow its highest civilian honor on the director and actor for their work on “Saving Private Ryan.” The 1998 film about World War II “dramatically increased the American public’s awareness and appreciation of the sacrifices made by U.S. veterans during the Battle of Normandy,” the Navy said in a statement. The USS Normandy, which is docked at Port Everglades, south of downtown Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was named for the bloody battle in which Allied forces landed in France on D-day, June 6, 1944, to begin advancing on Germany. The Normandy landing opens the movie. “That invasion saved the world. If you saw ‘Private Ryan,’ you know how many people paid the price,” Navy Undersecretary Jerry Hultin said before he presented the director and actor the Distinguished Public Service Award.

SAG Lauds Poitier: Oscar winner Sidney Poitier has been named recipient of the Screen Actors Guild’s 1999 Lifetime Achievement Award, it was announced Thursday. “Screen Actors Guild is proud to recognize Sidney Poitier, a major feature film star for over four decades,” said outgoing SAG President Richard Masur. “[His] body of work is significant not only because of its sheer acting brilliance, but because much of it forced America into examining racial prejudice.” Cited by SAG are “Lilies of the Field” (1963), for which Poitier won an Oscar, “The Defiant Ones,” “To Sir, With Love,” “In the Heat of the Night” and “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.” SAG also praised Poitier’s work to help children and civil rights. As the 36th recipient of the SAG honor, Poitier will be feted during the telecast of the sixth annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on March 12.

ART

Picasso Draws at Christie’s: Picasso’s portraits of two of his mistresses commanded the top prices at a highly successful round of big-ticket art auctions this week in New York. An unidentified bidder paid $45.1 million for “Nude on a Black Armchair,” a 1932 likeness of Marie-Therese Walter, Tuesday night at Christie’s. The following evening at Sotheby’s, another anonymous collector snagged “Woman Seated in a Garden,” a 1938 Cubist painting of Dora Maar, for $49.5 million, the second-highest auction price ever paid for a Picasso after “Pierrette’s Wedding,” which was sold for $51.6 million in 1989, at the peak of the art market. The portrait of Maar was the highlight of a $70.3-million sale of the collection of Eleanore and Daniel Saidenberg, Picasso’s American dealers for more than 20 years.

Rubins Commissioned: Los Angeles artist and UCLA professor Nancy Rubins has been awarded a $600,000 commission for a sculpture adjacent to the San Diego Convention Center. The work--a massive arch made of approximately 60 densely clustered fiberglass boats supported on both ends by steel armatures--will rise to a height of 102 feet and span the roadway in front of the convention center. Rubins’ sculpture is scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2001.

ATTRACTIONS

Big Slide: There’s going to be a new roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain, the Valencia amusement park announced Thursday. Goliath, a towering classic-style steel ride with a 255-foot drop and speeds of up to 85 mph, is scheduled to open in February and will be the 13th coaster at the amusement park. Currently under construction, Goliath won’t have loops or upside-down turns, but is billed by park officials as a thrill with 4,500 feet of curves, a smoke-filled tunnel and several near-vertical drops.

TELEVISION

Ratings Report: The debut week of CBS’ “The Early Show” got a 17% increase in viewers (to 3.16 million on average) over the season average of its predecessor, “CBS This Morning.” Its rivals, however, showed increases as well: ABC’s second-place “Good Morning America” was up 11% (to 4.5 million), and NBC’s leading “Today” show jumped 16% (to 6.63 million). . . . Meanwhile, MTV’s “The Real World” scored record ratings for the finale of its latest edition Tuesday. An estimated 5.4 million people tuned in, an 80% increase from a year ago. . . . Wednesday’s live episode of “The Drew Carey Show” delivered the ABC comedy’s biggest audience since March 1998, with more than 19 million people watching. The boost is due in part to continued high ratings for “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” which lead into “Drew.”