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

POP/ROCK

Sibling Helps Salvage Aaliyah’s Last Movie

After months of speculation that the death of singer Aaliyah might affect “The Queen of the Damned,” her family told Time magazine that she’ll still be seen as Akasha, the 600-year-old vampire in the Warner Bros. movie--thanks to her brother Rashad, who will overdub her final bits of dialogue.

Though Aaliyah had completed all of her scenes when she died in a plane crash in August, some of her lines needed to be redone because the Egyptian accent of her character was, at times, difficult to understand. Her older brother, according to the family, speaks in the same smooth, serene tones as his sister

This move is not unprecedented. When James Dean died in an auto accident in 1955, his friend Nick Adams recorded a few lines of his dialogue to complete “Giant.” And when Oliver Reed died before filming his last scenes in “Gladiator,” director Ridley Scott used special effects to superimpose his face onto another actor’s body.

“The Queen of the Damned,” directed by Michael Rymer, is based on the third novel in Anne Rice’s “Vampire Chronicles” series and is set for a February release.

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RADIO

Hip-Hop Suspension Draws Protesters

In mid-December, an agreement was reached between the Pacifica Radio Network and the irate supporters and dissident board members who had filed three lawsuits regarding the network’s management. Still, as the new interim national board of directors prepares to meet Saturday, tensions are simmering on the local front.

On Friday morning, about 75 protesters gathered in front of KPFK-FM’s (90.7) North Hollywood headquarters to demonstrate against the recent suspension of “Seditious Beats,” a weekly, late-night hip-hop show hosted by community organizer Fidel Rodriguez.

David Fertig, who represents Southern California on the interim national board, suggests the suspension is emblematic of a larger issue. One hundred fifty staff and volunteers have been dismissed from KPFK in the last eight or nine years, he alleges--many of them Latino, African American and Asian. It is a claim that KPFK general manager Mark Schubb disputes.

“‘Seditious Beats’ was a good show, an important one that raised cultural and political awareness,” he told The Times. “There are now very few programs featuring people of color on KPFK. What’s left is very monochromatic, monopolitical, bland programming.”

A source at the station says that, far from being a political target, Rodriguez fouled up by showing up late several times and handing the reins to a substitute host when he went on vacation--without informing the program director.

“They talk about the ‘whitening’ of the station,” Schubb says. “But we’re the ones who recruited Rodriguez two years ago and came up with the idea for the program. The contention that we’re trying to get rid of that kind of programming is a complete and fatuous lie--absolutely ridiculous. Find me another station where a host doesn’t show up and gets to keep the show.”

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MOVIES

Corman Signs Deal With L.A. Film School

The 2-year-old Los Angeles Film School, in association with 1st Chance Productions, has struck a deal with Roger Corman’s New Concorde company. Under the terms of the agreement, Corman will produce two films, using film school students and alumni in all positions, and distribute them through his production company.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, participants will not only pitch ideas for the feature films, but also develop financing and marketing plans. They’ll then shoot and edit scenes, used for attracting investors. The packages will be presented not only to school mentors, but also members of the industry and a jury of film professionals.

One spring and one fall project will be selected for the Corman deal, with New Concorde and 1st Chance pitching in about $300,000.

The first project, due to start production in February, will launch the school’s feature film development program--apparently a new model for bridging film education and the industry.

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THEATER

Broadway Promotional Show to Hit the Road

On Jan. 18, the League of American Theatres and Producers is launching “New York Loves America: The Broadway Tour”--the latest move in its continuing effort to draw tourists back to Broadway. The revue, in which five actors and four musicians perform tidbits from current shows, will hit 13 cities--including Los Angeles, on Jan. 31. Cast and venue have yet to be announced.

“We’re sending out the message that New York is alive and well,” said Jed Bernstein, president of the group. “We’re also thanking other cities for the support and attention we’ve received--showing them that, contrary to the way we were perceived 10 years ago, New Yorkers are humble, approachable, grateful.”

In the wake of the World Trade Center attacks, theater attendance fell 75%, Bernstein says. Though it’s now down only 15% from last year, sales for January and February are flat.

“People just aren’t planning--they’re in a ‘can’t think of next week’ mode, which is hard to address as a marketer,” he said. “Because tourists are the ones who buy in advance, we’re launching ‘Season of Savings’ next week. Fifteen or 16 Broadway shows, as well as restaurants, hotels and parking facilities, are offering discounts for the next couple of months.”

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QUICK TAKES

Barry Manilow, suffering from bronchitis, canceled his Friday performance--along with tonight’s and Sunday’s--at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood and is rescheduling them for this Friday to Jan. 6. All tickets will be honored for their respective days. Refunds are available at point of purchase until Friday. At this point, his New Year’s Eve concert at the same venue is still on.... Film producer Steven Bing sued the British tabloid the Mirror in Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday, asking for $10 million in damages for libel, invasion of privacy and infliction of emotion distress. He says he received death threats when the paper printed his business phone number and dubbed him “Bing Laden” because he questioned the paternity of the child carried by former girlfriend Elizabeth Hurley, who contends that he’s the father.... Pianist Garrick Ohlsson will perform an all-Chopin concert at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on Jan. 15 as part of the L.A. Philharmonic’s celebrity recital series. The event replaces the Martha Argerich-Nelson Friere Oct. 15 concert, which was canceled.... NBC has curtailed its run of the reality series “Lost,” opting to air only the one-hour season finale Sunday at 7 p.m., instead of two episodes back to back. “Lost,” from late-night personality Conan O’Brien’s production company, came on the air in September as part of the reality TV craze, but the show’s ratings this month were poor enough to prompt NBC to shorten its originally intended six-episode run.... The Broadway production of “Frankie and Johnnie in the Clair de Lune,” starring Edie Falco and Stanley Tucci as the greasy-spoon lovers, has been pushed back to accommodate Falco’s schedule on HBO’s “The Sopranos.” The show will now open in August at Manhattan’s Neil Simon Theater.... Classical station KMZT-FM (105.1) will air broadcasts of the 2001 Salzburg Music Festival, beginning Jan. 6 from noon to 2 p.m., for 13 consecutive Sundays. Listeners can enter a drawing for a grand prize of two tickets to next summer’s Salzburg Festival.