MORNING REPORT - News from April 18, 2000

TELEVISION

Teaching Kids Sign Language: Nickelodeon’s “Blue’s Clues” is aiming to teach preschoolers the basics of American Sign Language through a series of educational interstitial segments featuring actress Marlee Matlin and “Blue’s Clues” host Steve Burns. In each segment, they’ll use sign language to communicate and teach the viewer some basic words and phrases. The segments will premiere April 24 in conjunction with a new episode of “Blue’s Clues” that will also focus on the world of sign language. Nickelodeon said the effort will kick off an ongoing campaign to integrate American Sign Language into all future episodes of the series. “The goal,” the network said, “is to teach preschoolers various forms of visual and symbolic communication such as signs, gestures and ASL--presenting them with new skills to express themselves.”

Tube Notes: NBC has scheduled its Kennedy wives miniseries, “Jackie, Ethel, Joan: The Women of Camelot,” for Nov. 5 and 6, just before the 2000 presidential election. . . . Naomi and Wynonna Judd will celebrate their singing reunion with a CBS TV special, “The Judds Reunion: Power to Change,” on May 17. The third famous Judd, Wynonna’s actress sister, Ashley, will also appear on the program. . . . “Cheaters,” an HBO movie starring Jena Malone, Jeff Daniels and Paul Sorvino and based on a real cheating scandal at the 1995 Illinois state Academic Decathlon, premieres May 20 on the pay cable channel. . . . Whoopi Goldberg will host a May 10 CBS special, “Here’s to You, Charlie Brown: 50 Great Years!” Before his death this year, “Peanuts” creator Charles M. Schulz worked on the special, which honors his cartoon character’s 50th anniversary and is the 46th original CBS “Peanuts” special.

MOVIES

Disney Revisits Silent Era: Walt Disney Pictures will screen a restored version of the 1924 silent classic “Peter Pan” on April 29 at Hollywood’s El Capitan Theatre, accompanied by house organist Dennis James playing the original score on the theater’s 2,500-pipe “Mighty Wurlitzer” organ. The program will also feature Disney’s 1924 silent cartoon short “Alice’s Wild West Show” and a discussion with the original “Alice,” actress Virginia Davis McGhee, hosted by film critic Leonard Maltin. Tickets are $12.

MTV’s Film Picks: Oscar-winner “American Beauty” has a shot for at least one more prize: It’s a best-picture contender--along with “The Sixth Sense,” “American Pie,” “The Matrix” and “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me”--for the 2000 MTV Movie Awards, airing on the cable channel June 8. “Austin Powers” and “The Matrix” are the apparent front-runners this time around, with six nominations apiece, to “Beauty’s” two. Other multiple nominees: “Cruel Intentions” (five), “American Pie” and “Sixth Sense” (four each), and “Big Daddy” and “Star Wars: Episode 1 The Phantom Menace” (three each). Sarah Jessica Parker will host the awards, which will be taped June 3 in Culver City.

ART

Skirball Shifts: Nancy M. Berman, who directed the Skirball Museum for 28 years, is stepping down to become the museum’s director emeritus/curator-at-large, effective next Monday. Adele Lander Burke, who has been at the museum since 1984 and is currently director of museum administration and education, will succeed Berman, overseeing all aspects of the Skirball’s museum exhibitions and education programs. The museum’s new Winnick American Family Heritage Hall--which is to feature educational exhibits and programs for families--is slated to open in 2002.

POP/ROCK

Safe Sex Message: Pop star and former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, a U.N. goodwill ambassador who has sparked controversy and criticism from the Roman Catholic church by calling for safe sex to stem the world’s population explosion, was heckled by protesters Saturday at a youth summit in London. Halliwell--greeted by demonstrators waving “Geri Is a Puppet on a String” signs--was nonetheless unrepentant in a hard-hitting speech about the values of condoms and birth control, saying of the protesters: “Everyone is allowed to have their opinion. . . . That is what young people are about.” Youngsters from 52 countries attended the two-day U.N. summit.

QUICK TAKES

“Survivor,” CBS’ much-promoted weekly, hourlong summer reality-adventure series, will premiere May 31, airing in the 8 p.m. Wednesday time slot. . . . Perennial Emmy bridesmaid Susan Lucci--who finally won the coveted lead actress trophy last year for her work on “All My Children”--will host the 27th annual Daytime Emmy Awards, airing May 19 on ABC. . . . Bill Cosby receives the USC School of Cinema-Television’s Steven J. Ross/Time Warner Award today, honoring those who “have distinctively advanced the modern media industry as well as our culture.” . . . Will Smith picked up three awards and Adam Sandler and Rosie O’Donnell--the event’s host--were both double winners at Nickelodeon’s Kids Choice Awards over the weekend. Additional honorees included the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez and Melissa Joan Hart. . . . Speaking of Spears, the singer will join the ranks of the Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, Sting and Garth Brooks when she does double duty as both host and musical performer on the May 13 edition of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.” NBC is touting the program as Spears’ “network television acting debut.”