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

KMEX Strike? With their labor contract due to expire at midnight Thursday, about 120 broadcast employees and technicians at KMEX Channel 34 prepared to strike today. KMEX is the flagship station of the country’s largest Spanish-language television network, Univision. Among the demands by members of the local National Assn. of Broadcast Employees and Technicians are paid lunches and higher salaries. NABET representative Paula Olsen said KMEX management has brought in technicians from Univision affiliates in case a strike takes place. She said the station has also changed the access codes of certain rooms in the technical area. KMEX would not confirm or deny those claims, saying only that it will continue to bargain in good faith.

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Making News: Larry Perret, former news director of KCBS Channel 2, has been appointed news director of KCOP Channel 13. Perret, whose appointment is effective immediately, replaces Steve Cohen, who was promoted to president and general manager of KTVX-TV in Salt Lake City, a sister station of KCOP. Perret, who left KCBS last year as part of a management shift, established that station’s “Special Assignment” investigating unit.

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‘Millionaire’ Rolls On: Rosie O’Donnell’s visit to “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’s” hot seat yielded the program’s highest rating yet, as viewing has built for the celebrity editions. Nielsen estimates that more than 36 million people watched “Millionaire” Wednesday, which translated into bad news for Fox’s two-hour finale of “Party of Five” (6.5 million viewers) and CBS’ “Academy of Country Music Awards” (14.1 million), which slipped to a record low. “Party” did see its audience grow about 20% after the ABC quiz show ended. For the second straight night, “Millionaire” topped the combined rating for the five competing broadcast networks in its time slot.

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Latino Casting Call: A fall launch is planned for a Latino Internet casting service. CastnetLatino.com will target Latino entertainers, producers, directors, casting directors, managers and members of the fashion industry. The site is a collaboration by the National Assn. for the Advancement of Latino People and the Latino organization NOSOTROS, and it is incorporated into Castnet.com, which was launched in 1996.

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Stooges Stuff: Fresh off the ratings success of the ABC biopic “The Three Stooges,” Comedy III Productions is trying to jump-start a prime-time Stooge series using the stop-motion animation seen in “The PJs” on Fox. Comedy III, owned by C3 Entertainment, which holds rights to all Three Stooges product, has joined with a production team (Chiodo Bros. Productions) and writers (an outfit called the Membrains) in shopping the project to networks.

MUSIC

Controversial Concert: A music festival scheduled tonight at the University of Maryland has touched off protests from Asian American activist groups over the booking of the group the Bloodhound Gang. The student government-funded show in College Park, Md., has inspired debates and sit-ins over the group’s 1997 song “Yellow Fever,” which includes such lyrics as “I ride my slant-eyed slope like a brand-new Kawasaki” and a chorus that uses other derogatory language. While the group’s label, Geffen Records, declined comment, show organizers on campus have defended the group as a satirical act and pointed to its commercial success. The group’s novelty hit “The Bad Touch”--which features the chorus, “You and me baby ain’t nothing but mammals, so let’s do it like they do on the Discovery Channel”--has pushed its album “Hooray for Boobies” to No. 19 on the nation’s album chart this week and helped it surpass 654,000 copies sold since its February release. The Bloodhound Gang is performing at the Palace on May 23.

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Benefit Screening: The concert film “Jeff Buckley--Live in Chicago” will be screened Monday at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood in a benefit for the Sweet Relief organization, which provides financial assistance to musicians in need. Buckley’s performance at the Cabaret Metro was filmed in 1995, two years before the singer-songwriter died in an accidental drowning. A DVD and VHS version of the film will be released Tuesday, as will a new live album, “Jeff Buckley--Mystery White Boy.” Tickets for the Monday event are $15 for the screening only and $35 for the screening and a reception. Ticket information is available at (310) 641-8932 or at https://www.ticketweb.com.

QUICK TAKES

The Dixie Chicks have added a second concert at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim. Tickets for the June 19 date go on sale Saturday. . . . “The Price Is Right” host Bob Barker, 76, is scheduled to undergo minor surgery next Friday for a knee problem.