MORNING REPORT - News from Dec. 5, 2000

MOVIES & TV

Golden Bear: Actor Kirk Douglas will receive the Berlin International Film Festival’s prestigious Golden Bear for Lifetime Achievement on Feb. 16. Festival Director Moritz de Hadeln said that Douglas “unmistakably embodies the quintessence of the pioneering spirit and typical American individualism” and that “beyond his screen work, [he] has been extremely committed to social issues and America’s democratic ideals.” Previous recipients of the honor include Jeanne Moreau, Shirley MacLaine, Catherine Deneuve, Jack Lemmon and James Stewart.

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Industry Tips: Faced with heightened industry scrutiny from Washington lawmakers, the nonprofit Entertainment Industries Council is e-mailing Hollywood executives a “Firearm Depiction Tip-Sheet” urging more realistic portrayals of gun violence and its consequences in films and on TV. The suggestions--such as “emphasizing the emotional consequences for the shooter, such as feelings of guilt, remorse and personal angst”--came from a recently convened discussion of writers, directors and producers brainstorming for alternatives to traditional “shoot ‘em up” scenes, said EIC President Brian Dyak.

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Comics Showcase: NBC will provide a testing ground for new talent when it premieres a one-hour, Friday late-night comedy performance show Jan. 5 in the 1:35 a.m. time slot following “Late Night With Conan O’Brien.” The program--which does not yet have a title--will replace the comedy and music video series “Friday Night,” which will air its final edition Dec. 29. The new weekly show, featuring five up-and-coming comedians per episode, will be taped at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood.

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Internet Film Festival: The second annual Yahoo! Internet Life Online Film Festival is scheduled for March 21-22 at the Hollywood Athletic Club and the Directors Guild of America. The festival showcases on- and off-line filmmakers in addition to hosting seminars and workshops for Internet movie makers. Film submissions will be accepted through Jan. 15 at https://www.yilfilmfestival.com.

POP/ROCK

It’s Been Two Decades: Yoko Ono will do a live Web chat on Wednesday at 11 a.m. at https://www.abcnews.com to mark the 20th anniversary Friday of John Lennon’s shooting death. Meanwhile, public memorial remembrances will be held on both coasts Friday night, including an L.A. gathering beginning at 7 at Lennon’s Hollywood Walk of Fame Star at 1750 N. Vine St. The New York event will be held at Strawberry Fields in Central Park. Both groups plan to simultaneously light a large “peace flame candle” to commemorate the time of Lennon’s passing, 8:23 p.m. Pacific time.

QUICK TAKES

The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, which will announce its year-end awards on Wednesday in one of the first precursors to the upcoming Oscar race, will give its 2000 Career Achievement Award to actress Ellen Burstyn, who appeared this year in “Requiem for a Dream” and “The Yards,” as well as “The Exorcist’s” re-release. . . . The late “Mambo King” Tito Puente will be honored posthumously for his charity work tonight when he receives a 2000 Heroes Award from the recording academy’s New York Chapter. Additional hero honorees include musicians B.B. King and Diana Ross, actress-singer Bernadette Peters and music producer Phil Ramone. . . . The Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena today will open three newly configured galleries to be permanently dedicated to Chinese ceramics. The galleries, occupying about a third of the museum’s exhibition space, will house approximately 300 pieces spanning more than 2,000 years. . . . In a bid for Oscar nominations, Warner Bros. will re-release Clint Eastwood’s “Space Cowboys” in theaters on Dec. 22. . . . Director Rob Minkoff (“Stuart Little”) has signed a deal with Columbia Pictures that includes the sequel “Stuart Little 2,” scheduled for release in 2002. . . . Producer-director Ivan Reitman (“Animal House,” “Kindergarten Cop”) was inducted Monday into Video Business magazine’s Video Hall of Fame. . . . Actor James Cromwell (“Babe”) will guest in four episodes of “ER” early next year, playing an ailing bishop. . . . Bruce Springsteen, who recently wrote a song about the 1999 police slaying of a West African immigrant, received a Humanitarian Community Service Award from New Jersey’s NAACP chapter Sunday. . . . KCBS General Manager John Severino says no decision has been made yet on whether morning anchor Sophia Choi will continue to do the station’s weather reports or if a new weather reporter will be hired. Choi has been doing double duty since the departure of Steve Rambo, whose contract was not renewed at the end of October.

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Quotable: “Yes, I feel angry, that’s true. To be reduced to this insignificant version of myself is overpowering. . . . Music is my main comfort now. But it is difficult to know that all the keys are there to be played, and I can’t play them.” --Actor Dudley Moore, 65, in a BBC interview about his battle with a rare brain disorder, supranuclear palsy.