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

FILM

A Woman’s World . . . Not

A study of the top-grossing films of 2000 found that the “celluloid ceiling” remains remarkably low in the Hollywood movie business, with women holding only 17% of above-the-line jobs from producers and directors to writers, cinematographers and editors. The study, conducted by San Diego State University, analyzed behind-the-camera employment of 2,462 individuals working on 222 films and found that although there was a notable gain in the number of women directors--from 5% in 1999 to 11% last year--the percentage of women producers declined from 27% to 24% and the number of female cinematographers dropped from 4% to 2%. In other categories, women were 16% of all executive producers, up from 15% in 1999; 14% of writers, up from 12% in the previous year; and 19% of editors, up from 18%. By genre, women working behind the camera were most prevalent on romantic comedies, comedy-dramas and animated features, and least prevalent on action and sci-fi films. Call it “business as usual,” said Martha M. Lauzen, the communications professor at San Diego State who conducts the survey annually.

Quinn Remembered Tonight

The cast of the musical “Selena” and the Ricardo Montalban Nosotros Foundation will pay tribute to actor Anthony Quinn tonight in a candlelight procession immediately following the 8 p.m. performance of “Selena.” A procession will leave the Doolittle Theater, 1615 N. Vine St., Hollywood, at about 10:30 p.m. and will go half a block along the Hollywood Walk of Fame to Quinn’s star, on the corner of Hollywood and Vine. The Mexican-Irish Academy Award-winning actor, whose portrayals of such characters as Zorba the Greek and artist Paul Gauguin made him larger than life to millions of moviegoers, died Sunday in Boston at age 86.

THE ARTS

Real-Life Alice in Auctionland

A collection of books, photographs and papers belonging to the girl who inspired “Alice in Wonderland,” Alice Liddell, raised more than $2.8 million Wednesday at a Sotheby’s auction in London. The well-preserved collection was put up for sale by the Alice Family Trust. It included a scrapbook of photographs that “Alice in Wonderland” author Lewis Carroll took of Alice and her sisters, and Alice’s personal copy of the “Wonderland” story. The book, an early version of Carroll’s masterwork called “Alice’s Adventures Under Ground,” was given to Liddell by the author himself.

TELEVISION

The Kitchen Stadium Is King

Forget about Mario and Emeril and Ming: The Iron Chefs were king last weekend as “Iron Chef Weekend,” which aired June 1-3, earned the Food Network its highest viewership numbers ever, with 8.4 million people tuning in. On Thursday, Food Network executives announced a multimillion-dollar deal with Fuji Television Network Inc. to acquire 26 hours of the original “Iron Chef” series, with three options to pick up more installments later. The newly acquired programs, which are prequels to what is being shown now and have not yet been seen on the Food Network, will be shown in the fall.

LEGAL FILE

The Driver, the Thief and the Picasso

In what sounds like a bad Hollywood script, a judge has ordered the former driver for movie producer Peter Guber to stand trial in the alleged theft of a Pablo Picasso drawing and other valuables from Guber’s estate. Superior Court Judge Keith Groneman on Wednesday ruled there was enough evidence to bind over Sammie Archer III for trial. The 35-year-old Los Angeles man, also known as Tony Hargain, was held in lieu of $480,000 bail. Archer is to appear in court June 20 on charges of grand theft by embezzlement, receiving stolen property and burglary. Beverly Hills police stopped Archer when he allegedly tried to sell “Faune,” a 1937 ink on paper drawing, at a May 3 auction. Police say he walked into Christie’s auction house, identified himself as “Tony” and expressed interest in selling the Picasso. A Christie’s specialist became suspicious when Archer described the painting, determined that “Tony” knew nothing about Picasso and checked a stolen art directory in the back of the office, police said. The artwork disappeared from Guber’s West Los Angeles home last December.

QUICK TAKES

Whoopi Goldberg will return to her comedy roots this summer and tour live for the first time in more than 10 years. The tour begins June 19 at the Cal Poly Performing Arts Center in San Luis Obispo and continues through August. No L.A. dates are planned. . . . CNN has settled a lawsuit brought by the second of two former producers fired for their role in reporting a 1998 story that accused the U.S. military of using nerve gas on Vietnam War-era defectors. CNN later retracted the story. Terms of the settlement with Jack Smith were not disclosed Thursday.