MORNING REPORT - News from Sept. 6, 2000

POP/ROCK

Holy Mass, Cuban-Style: Bassist Israel “Cachao” Lopez and film star Andy Garcia will lead the premiere of “Mambo Mass,” a project using a variety of traditional Cuban music styles to celebrate the Catholic Holy Mass, on Friday at 8 p.m. at Saint Vincent Church in downtown Los Angeles (corner of Adams Boulevard and Figueroa Street). Garcia will act as director of the bilingual Mass, to be conducted by Bishop Gabino Zavala, with Lopez serving as principal performer (along with his band) and trumpeter Arturo Sandoval appearing as special guest star. Tickets are free, available through radio stations KPFK-FM (90.7) and KXLU-FM (88.9), but the collection from the mass will go toward Echo Park’s Jose Marti Plaza project, honoring the Cuban freedom fighter.

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Beatles Memories: A new book by the three surviving Beatles seeks to put an end to questions over the group’s demise, saying it was definitely John Lennon who called it quits first, leaving to record with Yoko Ono. Paul McCartney, who some believe spurred the breakup, simply made the public announcement of the split several months later in 1970, McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr recall in the first published excerpts of “The Beatles Anthology,” scheduled to hit stores in October.

TELEVISION

‘Big Brother’ Bashing: More than 13,000 people have signed an online petition to express anger about CBS’ “Big Brother” and a campaign waged by the wife of one contestant, George, to oust another, Brittany, whom she deemed her husband’s principal competition in claiming the show’s $500,000 grand prize. Viewers select who leaves the program by dialing a 900 number; George’s wife went on a radio station in the couple’s Illinois hometown urging listeners to vote in George’s favor. Another online site is urging upset fans to write CBS and the Federal Communications Commission complaining about unfair game-show practices. CBS has said the calls were not enough to influence the outcome. Frustrated by the lack of tension within the house, meanwhile, “Brother’s” producers are offering $20,000 to one of the six remaining “house guests” to leave voluntarily, freeing them to introduce a new “cast member” on the show, which is scheduled to run through Sept. 30.

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BET Premieres: Veteran news anchor Ed Gordon will return to cable’s Black Entertainment Television on Monday with “BET News With Ed Gordon,” an 11 p.m. weekday program being billed as “Black America’s only half-hour daily newsmagazine.” The new show will be paired with the returning interview program “BET Tonight With Tavis Smiley,” at 11:30 p.m. Gordon’s old BET show, “Conversation With Ed Gordon,” will also return to the network, as a quarterly news and public-affairs special. Also premiering on BET on Monday, meanwhile, will be three new weekday music programs originating from the network’s new New York studios: “AMBET,” featuring music videos, news and gossip (9-10 a.m.), and the video countdown shows “BET: INY” (1-2 p.m.) and “106 & Park” (11:30-1 p.m. and 6-7:30 p.m.).

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Latina Unity: One of the benefits of working on diverse television shows is that actors of color get to collaborate on projects. Today the cast of Showtime’s Latino-themed boxing drama, “Resurrection Blvd.,” will film a party scene starring three well-known Latinas who have never worked together before. Joining permanent cast member Elizabeth Pena are guest stars Maria Conchita Alonso and Rita Moreno. Moreno plays Pena’s mother and Alonso plays an old high school flame who renews a romance with the show’s patriarch, played by Tony Plana. The scene is scheduled to air in January.

QUICK TAKES

“Will & Grace” star Debra Messing, who’s nominated for best actress in a comedy at this weekend’s Emmy Awards, married actor-screenwriter Daniel Zelman Sunday in a private outdoor ceremony north of Santa Barbara. . . . Universal Pictures has announced plans to re-release Steven Spielberg’s “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial”--complete with some new footage and computer-generated enhancements--in theaters in March 2002 to celebrate the film’s 20th anniversary. . . . A man accused of terrorizing Brooke Shields since 1985 pleaded no contest Tuesday to stalking and making terrorist threats, and was ordered to stay away from the actress for 10 years. Mark Ronald Bailey, 42, was also sentenced to five years’ probation and twice-weekly counseling sessions. . . . ABC is launching a nationwide talent search for a 6- to 10-year-old singer-dancer to play a young Shirley Temple for an upcoming TV movie, “Child Star: The Shirley Temple Story.” Los Angeles auditions will take place Sept. 16 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank. . . . John Gray’s best-selling relationship tome “Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus” is being turned into a musical theater revue, with the premiere set for Sept. 28 at Las Vegas’ Flamingo Hotel.