MORNING REPORT - News from Aug. 19, 2000

FILM

Who Will Play Harry? Muggles take note. On Monday, Warner Bros. will officially disclose the child actor who will play the coveted title role in the film version of J.K. Rowling’s best-selling book “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” A studio spokeswoman said Friday that the choice will be posted on the official https://harrypotter.warnerbros.com Internet Web site Monday at 8 a.m. In Britain, word is that 13-year-old Londoner Gabriel Thomson has been tapped to play Harry, and that’s echoed by the entertainment gossip Web site Aint-it-cool-news. Thomson was last seen as young Pip in a BBC adaptation of “Great Expectations” and as Pinocchio in New Line Cinema’s 1999 production of “The New Adventures of Pinocchio.” The studio spokeswoman declined to comment on the report. The casting decision is being made by director Chris Columbus and producer David Heyman.

PEOPLE

Dark Horse: Roseanne declared her candidacy for president Thursday night at the Shadow convention. Appearing on a panel that critiqued Al Gore’s acceptance speech, the actress and comedian said that she would run on a “women’s ticket” because neither of the major political parties is doing anything for women. Her platform: Make war illegal; provide free plastic surgery on demand; and support genetic engineering that would make men more docile but give them larger sex organs. That got her laughs from the packed auditorium at Patriotic Hall in downtown Los Angeles, where just minutes before she’d been loudly booed for saying she doesn’t vote.

LEGAL FILES

Shakur Lawsuits Settled: Competing lawsuits by the family of slain rap star Tupac Shakur and the family of another man shot to death two years later have ended with a settlement for an undisclosed amount. Shakur died in Las Vegas after shots were fired into a car he was riding in on Sept. 13, 1996. At the time, he was facing an assault lawsuit brought by Orlando Anderson. Following Shakur’s death, his family countersued Anderson for wrongful death, alleging he was involved in the Las Vegas shooting. Anderson was shot to death May 29, 1998. His estate claimed that only hours before Anderson was killed, his attorney was told he would receive a $78,000 settlement from Shakur’s estate. When no money was paid, a breach of contract suit was filed on behalf of Anderson’s family. A. Ammar Kharouf, an attorney for the Shakur family, confirmed Thursday that a settlement had been reached and the lawsuit was dismissed July 27. Kharouf and Anderson family attorney Renee L. Campbell would not disclose the amount.

RADIO

Shadow Convention Repeats: KPFK-FM (90.7) will rebroadcast its coverage of the Shadow convention from Patriotic Hall as well as its broadcast of the Nation magazine’s “What’s Missing, What Matters” town hall meeting held at the Leo Baeck Temple this Sunday. The town hall meeting, from 9 a.m. to noon, features Jesse Jackson Jr., Tom Hayden, Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.), Gore Vidal, Lani Guinier and Barbara Ehrenreich. The highlights of Shadow convention coverage will air 1-5:30 p.m.

THE ARTS

Stroman to Stage ‘Raquin’: Noted director-choreographer Susan Stroman, who won a Tony Award for “Contact” and a nomination for “The Music Man,” will workshop a musical version of “Therese Raquin”--Emile Zola’s tale of an adulterous love affair that leads to murder and betrayal--in collaboration with pop crooner-pianist Harry Connick Jr. and writer David Thompson (“Steel Pier”). Press agent Philip Rinaldi confirmed that a staging of “Therese Raquin” will take place Sept. 18 at the Lincoln Center Theater. The production is Connick’s first as a composer-lyricist for the theater.

QUICK TAKES

Foreigner’s concert Sunday at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center has been postponed. Refunds are available at point of purchase, but promoters hope to announce a rescheduled date soon. . . . KTLA-TV reporter Lynette Romero has been named co-anchor of “News at Ten.” She will join Hal Fishman on the 10 p.m. news program beginning Monday. . . . Walt Disney Home Video and Disney DVD will release “The Hunchback of Notre Dame II” and “Lady & the Tramp II: Scamp’s Adventure” in the spring of 2001. . . . According to Nielsen Media Research, the No. 1 show in L.A. on Thursday following Al Gore’s speech was UPN’s “WWF Smackdown!,” seen in more than 350,000 homes. . . . In a brief open letter published in the Village Voice and Time Out New York this week, celebrities Robert Rauschenberg, Art Spiegelman, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese and many others offered their support to strikers at the Museum of Modern Art who have been out of work for more than three months. The letter requested the public to respect the picket line in front of the museum. MoMA lawyer Robert Batterman said the letter stems from a false assumption that the museum has refused to negotiate.