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

TV & MOVIES

John Denver Biopic: CBS is planning a two-hour TV movie on the life of the late John Denver to air later this season. The movie, from Granada Entertainment USA, will star Chad Lowe in the title role, with “Sex and the City” star Kristin Davis playing Denver’s first wife, Annie Martell, who inspired Denver’s No. 1 hit “Annie’s Song.” “Take Me Home: The John Denver Story” will be adapted from the late singer’s 1994 autobiography, “Take Me Home.” Denver died in a self-piloted plane crash in 1997.

Ally, Ally Everywhere: Still can’t get enough of “Ally McBeal,” even with Fox’s new half-hour reedited program “Ally” and a recently released series “guide” book? Well, Calista Flockhart and company are now headed to home video, with the first “Ally McBeal” tapes scheduled to arrive in stores Jan. 11. Keyed to Valentine’s Day, the initial release features six relationship-themed episodes, split into three volumes. Episodes include the series pilot, the “Dancing Baby” installment and the episode in which Ally and Georgia square off in a kick-boxing match.

Take a Number: Nora Ephron is set to direct “Numbers,” a feature film about a 1980 Pennsylvania Lottery drawing that was fixed with the number 666. A lottery district manager and the announcer of the televised drawing were sent to prison for their role in the affair, which paid out a then-record $3.8 million. John Travolta is reported to be considering a starring role in the film, which a Pennsylvania Lottery spokeswoman said would be “sort of a humorous look at the lottery.”

POP/ROCK

Springsteen’s Set No. 2: If fans from Sunday’s and Monday’s Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band concerts at Staples Center were comparing notes Tuesday, they might think they had seen different shows--and they did, at least, in terms of song selection. Springsteen is known for changing the set list from night to night, but the changes from Sunday to Monday were more radical than usual. He did 10 songs Monday that weren’t in Sunday’s 24-song set. The new tunes in Monday’s 24-song set: “The Ties That Bind,” “Trapped,” “Darlington County,” “Factory,” “Point Blank,” “Where the Bands Are,” “Jungleland,” “Cadillac Ranch,” “Hungry Heart” and “Spirit in the Night.”

QUICK TAKES

NBC won last week’s prime-time race with an average 15.6 million viewers, its most-watched week since Michael Jordan’s final NBA basketball championship series appearance in June 1998. Both NBC and Fox received a ratings boost from the baseball playoffs. . . . In the wake of a generally warm critical reception for Sunday night’s HBO special, “Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm,” the comedian-writer is now in talks with HBO about creating a series in which he would star. David, co-creator of “Seinfeld,” played a version of himself (a comedian returning to stand-up comedy) in the special. . . . Twenty-six-year-old keyboardist Eric Lewis won the Thelonious Monk International Piano Competition in Washington on Sunday night. Additional finalists, in descending order, were Orrin Evans, 24; Jacob Sacks, 22, and Sam Yahel, 28. . . . A portion of proceeds from the “Woodstock 99” double CD and video, which arrived in stores Tuesday, will be used to support a national hotline for rape victims, (800) 656-HOPE, operated by RAINN, the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network. Eight rapes are alleged to have occurred during the July music festival. . . . A U.S. District Court judge has thrown out Milton Berle’s lawsuit against Century 21 Real Estate Corp. and Out! magazine. Berle had sought $6 million, alleging he was defamed when the magazine ran a photo of the comedian in a Carmen Miranda get-up--including a fruit headdress, women’s jewelry and makeup--as part of an ad for Century 21. . . . Comedian Dan Castellaneta, best known as the voice of Homer Simpson, will record the final two performances of his one-man stage show, “Where Did Vincent Van Gogh?,” for a live CD to be released next year. The shows are tonight and next Wednesday at L.A.’s Acme Comedy Theatre.