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

TV & MOVIES

Spinning Gold: The Golden Globe Awards continued its ratings success on NBC, with 22.5 million people watching the telecast at any given time Sunday, based on preliminary estimates. Though not as strong as 1999 numbers, the viewership reflects a slight increase over last year and was enough to easily win the night. The results also represented the highest rating for any awards show since the Oscars last March.

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‘Wonder Boys’ Honor: In yet another pre-Oscar kudos, “Wonder Boys,” starring Michael Douglas as a self-destructing college professor, received USC’s Scripter Award on Monday. The honor, which went to novelist Michael Chabon and screenwriter Steven Kloves, is given annually to the best adaptation of a book on film. Previous winners include “The Hurricane,” “L.A. Confidential” and “Sense and Sensibility.” . . . Also on Monday, the Broadcast Film Critics Assn. named Golden Globe winner “Gladiator” as the best picture of 2000.

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Revamped ‘Men, Women’: Cybill Shepherd is out as host of the syndicated relationships show “Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus,” and will be replaced by a five-person team including “Loveline’s” Dr. Drew Pinsky, comedian Rondell Sheridan and TV personality Christina Ferrare. The revamped version of the show--which airs weekdays at 10 a.m. on KNBC--will premiere Feb. 1 with more focus on “the male/female dynamic,” producers said. The additional new hosts are Miami radio host Bo Griffin and centerfold model Sam Phillips. Shepherd had hosted the show since its premiere in October.

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Berlin Lineup: Ridley Scott’s “Hannibal,” a newly scored version of Fritz Lang’s 1926 silent classic “Metropolis,” Mike Nichols’ “Wit” (starring Emma Thompson) and Jean-Jacques Annaud’s “Enemy at the Gates” (the opening night film) are among 16 world premieres scheduled for the 51st Berlin International Film Festival, to be held Feb. 7-18. Twenty-four features and 11 short films will vie for the festival’s top prize, the Golden Bear. The closing night film: A restored print of Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey.”

POP/ROCK

Polar Prize Winners: Pop composer Burt Bacharach, experimental music pioneer Karlheinz Stockhausen and synthesizer inventor Robert Moog will receive the 2001 Polar Music Prize from King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden at a May 14 gala in Stockholm. This is the 10th year for the prestigious prize, given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Music and created by the late Stig Anderson, the original producer, manager and lyricist of the Swedish pop group Abba. Last year’s honors went to Bob Dylan and violinist Isaac Stern, with Bruce Springsteen, Ray Charles, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Joni Mitchell and Dizzy Gillespie among other past winners.

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Let It Stand: The Supreme Court refused Monday to get involved in pop singer Michael Bolton’s long-running battle to avoid a $5.4-million judgment for allegedly stealing a 1960s Isley Brothers tune for his 1991 hit “Love Is a Wonderful Thing.” The court, without comment, let stand a federal appeals court ruling that Bolton must pay. Bolton has denied lifting his song from the 1966 Isley Brothers release of the same name, and testified at a 1994 trial that he had never heard of the earlier song.

ART

Lost in Philippine Coup: Twenty-seven paintings by celebrated American folk artist Grandma Moses disappeared from Manila’s Malacanang Palace over the weekend during the chaotic ouster of Philippine President Joseph Estrada. The Times of London reports that the paintings--together with several Italian Renaissance sculptures and Chinese furniture of carved jade, all of which was acquired by former First Lady Imelda Marcos--were nowhere to be found when aides to Estrada’s successor, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, began preparations to move into the presidential palace. The collection is one of the few valuable assets that disgraced former President Ferdinand Marcos had not attempted to plunder at the time of his 1986 ouster. Arroyo’s chief of staff said it is not known whether the multimillion-dollar collection was stolen or taken by mistake when Estrada, faced with a military coup, suddenly resigned the presidency on Saturday and made a hasty exit from the palace.

QUICK TAKES

The promoters of U2’s North American tour said Monday that no more shows will be added in Southern California. The band’s four local dates--April 17 at the San Diego Sports Arena and April 23, 24 and 26 at the Arrowhead Pond--are all sold out. . . . DC Comics superheroes, including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, the Flash, Hawkgirl and Martian Manhunter, will reunite in “Justice League,” a new animated Warner Bros. series set to premiere in the fall on cable’s Cartoon Network. The cartoon crime fighters previously united for the 1973-85 ABC series “Super Friends.” . . . The cast of “Friends,” each of whom is receiving an estimated $44 million over this season and next, will hand over the nominal additional fees they’re earning for two February sweeps specials to members of the “Friends” crew. The specials--in which the cast introduces highlights from the sitcom’s past seasons--are part of NBC’s strategy to hold onto Thursday nights against CBS’ forthcoming “Survivor: The Australian Outback.” . . . Several inaugural-related sketches and an appearance by Janet Reno helped this weekend’s “Saturday Night Live” score its highest overnight ratings since a May 1999 episode featuring Monica Lewinsky and Ricky Martin. Meanwhile, “SNL” regular Molly Shannon, whose recent film credits include “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” is leaving the NBC program after the Feb. 17 show.