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

POP/ROCK

Eminem Takes Probation Rap: Controversial rapper Eminem was sentenced Tuesday to two years’ probation, resolving charges from a confrontation outside a Michigan nightclub last June 4. The Grammy-winning rapper, born Marshall Bruce Mathers III, had faced assault and weapons charges after police said he used an unloaded gun to strike a man. Prosecutors dropped the assault charge in an agreement that led to Eminem’s pleading guilty to a concealed weapon charge, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Eminem made no comments in court Tuesday but afterward told reporters he felt he had been treated fairly. “I’m just glad to get this over with, to get this behind me and spend time with my little girl and making music,” the 28-year-old said. As part of his probation, Eminem must undergo counseling and submit to drug testing. The Detroit rapper also faces weapon charges for a second June 4 showdown that involved a member of the Insane Clown Posse camp, one of Eminem’s rap-world rivals.

TV & MOVIES

Dobbs Back to CNN: Lou Dobbs, who left CNN almost two years ago in a dispute over his plans to start an Internet company, will return on May 14 to his longtime anchor chair at CNN’s “Moneyline,” which has been challenged in the ratings lately by rival CNBC. CNN said it is discussing other “high profile” West Coast assignments for Willow Bay, who has been anchoring the show solo since the recent departure of Stuart Varney. Meanwhile, Dobbs, who said his return was partly the result of CNN parent Time Warner’s acquisition by AOL, will return only in an editorial capacity, with no “formal management role,” despite his previous experience as president of financial network CNNfn, said CNN News Group President Philip Kent. Dobbs, who anchored “Moneyline” for 19 years, will also be the lead business anchor and contribute to the development of CNNfn, soon to be renamed CNN Money. Separately, CNN anchor Greta Van Susteren, who just got a high-profile talk show, is in discussions about possible jobs at rival NBC News and cable channel MSNBC, according to an NBC News executive.

‘L&O;’ Case Closing: Angie Harmon is the latest actor set to exit through “Law & Order’s” revolving cast door. Harmon, who plays prosecutor Abbie Carmichael on the long-running NBC drama, has asked to be released early from her contract, reportedly to focus on feature films. Carey Lowell and Jill Hennessy previously left the same role on the series. Harmon, in her third season on “L&O;,” will stay put until a replacement is cast and may appear in six episodes for next fall that are slated to be shot in May and June in anticipation of possible writers’ or actors’ strikes. Harmon, 28, plans to wed New York Giants cornerback Jason Sehorn in June.

It Worked For De Niro: Marlon Brando, in what’s being described as his first “flat-out comic role,” has agreed to star alongside Shawn and Marlon Wayans in Dimension Films’ “Scary Movie 2.” Brando will play a priest who performs a supernatural exorcism in the film sequel, which is being directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans. A July 4 release is scheduled.

Series-to-Series Combat: CBS has sued Fox over the latter’s new staged, unscripted series “Boot Camp,” claiming that it steals from CBS’ ratings champ “Survivor.” “Aside from its military setting, the premise and format of ‘Boot Camp’ are virtually identical to ‘Survivor,’ ” alleges the suit filed on behalf of CBS and “Survivor” producer Mark Burnett. In a statement Tuesday, Fox called the shows “very different” and the lawsuit “frivolous.”

THE ARTS

Pasadena Playhouse Boost: Mare Winningham and Dennis Christopher will star in the local premiere of Warren Leight’s Tony-winning “Side Man,” opening May 13 at Pasadena Playhouse. Peter Erskine has composed an original score for the jazz-oriented production. The playhouse also has announced the largest private donation in its history: $2 million from retired Vons Cos. CEO Roger E. Stangeland and his wife Lilah. The Stangelands will give the theater $500,000 over the next four years for general operations and leave a $1.5-million estate gift to be used to help start an endowment fund for the playhouse.

Arts Budget Proposals: The budget released to Congress Tuesday by President Bush contains a slight increase for the National Endowment for the Arts but no increase for core grant programs at the Institute for Museum and Library Services, which supports education, access and preservation programs at those institutions. The National Endowment for the Arts got a proposed $105.2 million for fiscal 2002, up from its current $104.76 million, which had been readjusted in January from an original $105 million. The museum and libraries agency, meanwhile, got a proposed boost of $125,000 for federal staffing costs. The fiscal 2002 request for the Office of Museum Services is $24.9 million, and the request for the Office of Library Services is $168.1 million.

QUICK TAKES

Angela Lansbury will reprise her Jessica Fletcher role in a new “Murder, She Wrote” movie scheduled to air May 23 on CBS. . . . Fox has renewed its Saturday night sketch comedy show, “Mad TV,” for two additional seasons. The show is in its sixth year. . . . St. Martin’s Press has purchased the North American rights to the upcoming unauthorized Madonna biography by Andrew Morton (“Diana: Her True Story”). A November release is planned. . . . Walt Disney Pictures has moved up the release date for its 10th anniversary Imax showings of “Beauty and the Beast” to Jan. 1, 2002. A newly animated song sequence, “Human Again,” will be added for the film’s giant-screen release. . . . The family of the late TV producer and talk show host David Susskind has donated his extensive personal collection of videotapes to the USC School of Cinema-Television library.