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

TV & MOVIES

One Court Down, One to Go: The Malibu judge who previously sentenced Robert Downey Jr. to three years in jail for several drug arrests and probation violations ruled Tuesday that the actor, who was granted an early release in August by an appeals court after serving more than a year at Corcoran State Prison, had indeed served enough prison time. Judge Lawrence J. Mira, noting that the proceedings in his courtroom had nothing to do with pending drug charges against Downey stemming from his recent arrest in Palm Springs, also wished the actor good luck. Downey, 35, is scheduled to be arraigned next Wednesday at the Indio courthouse on drug charges comprising two felonies and one misdemeanor, stemming from a Thanksgiving weekend arrest in which police allegedly found small amounts of drugs in his Palm Springs hotel room. His attorney has said Downey will plead not guilty.

Move Over Larry King?: NBC says it has been approached about airing a TV interview show to be hosted by soon-to-be-former President Bill Clinton. NBC spokeswoman Shirley Powell said the pitch was made by Clinton friend Harry Thomason, who produces TV shows with his wife, Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, in a phone call to a representative of NBC’s syndication division. NBC said it was interested but needed to find out more before committing to such a project. “We have no idea what the show is,” Powell said. “We really would have to have a formal pitch before we would move ahead with anything.” A White House spokesman, meanwhile, would say only: “The president’s future plans are not confirmed yet.”

Extortionist Sentenced: An extortionist who threatened to tell the tabloids that comedian Louie Anderson offered him cash for sex was sentenced Monday to 21 months in federal prison. Richard John Gordon, 31, of Mesa, Ariz., was arrested in April after an FBI agent, posing as Anderson’s assistant, delivered a $250,000 check to him. In June, Gordon pleaded guilty to blackmailing Anderson, who hosts the syndicated game show “Family Feud” and voices the Fox children’s show “Life With Louie.”

CLASSICAL MUSIC

Headed to Berlin: Carnegie Hall’s top administrator announced his surprise resignation Tuesday after a stormy two-year tenure, and will take a similar post with the Berlin Philharmonic in his native Germany. Franz Xaver Ohnesorg’s resignation as executive and artistic director of the 109-year-old concert hall takes effect Aug. 31. A search for a successor will begin in January. Ohnesorg, 52, a flutist and former director of the Cologne Philharmonic in Germany, took over at Carnegie Hall in September 1999 after the death of his predecessor, Judith Arron, who had held the position for about a dozen years. During his tenure, he has led a $65-million expansion to convert a former movie theater in the building into a third concert venue. But there’s also been turmoil in recent months. Four senior staff members have left, and a group of employees sent an anonymous letter to news organizations criticizing Ohnesorg for a heavy-handed management style. In October, a swastika was found in his concert box.

QUICK TAKES

Helen Hunt, currently starring in “What Women Want” with Mel Gibson and the upcoming “Cast Away” with Tom Hanks, filed an L.A. Superior Court petition Monday to end her 17-month marriage to actor Hank Azaria, citing irreconcilable differences. The couple have been separated for about six months. . . . Rapper ODB, who has been jailed in Philadelphia since being arrested at a McDonald’s restaurant there on Nov. 27 on warrants from New York and California, is to be returned to New York by the Philadelphia district attorney’s office. The rapper, who faces drug charges in New York, waived extradition during a hearing Tuesday. . . . The first trailer for New Line Cinema’s much-anticipated movie trilogy based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” will begin showing in theaters on Jan. 12 before New Line’s political film “Thirteen Days.” The first film installment--”The Fellowship of the Rings”--is scheduled for release in December 2001. . . . Cable’s Showtime has renewed its first-year Latino drama series, “Resurrection Blvd.,” for a 20-episode second season. However, the network has not renewed two other dramas in their second and third seasons respectively, “Beggars and Choosers” and “Rude Awakening.” . . . The Cash Money Millionaires tour, which features such rappers as Nelly and Juvenile, has canceled its four West Coast dates, including Friday’s concert at the Great Western Forum, due to adverse travel weather on the East Coast, the tour’s promoters announced Tuesday. There are no plans to reschedule the Forum date at this time. Refunds are available at point of purchase.