Can the Group 112 Make It to No. 1?

Will vocal group 112 give rap mogul Sean “Puffy” Combs, acquitted recently of bribery and weapons charges, further reason to celebrate this week? It looks that way. “Part III,” the Atlanta-based quartet’s appropriately titled third album for Combs’ Bad Boy Entertainment label, is on its way toward a debut in the upper reaches of the nation’s album chart--possibly even No. 1--when SoundScan releases this week’s sales results on Wednesday. “We expect it to finish in the Top 5, although I don’t know if it will get to No. 1 for us,” says Scott Levin of the Musicland/Sam Goody chain. Wherehouse Entertainment senior pop buyer Bob Bell says “Part III” is shaping up as that chain’s top seller of the week, and another major retailer is projecting first-week national sales of 240,000 copies, exceeding the mark set by Shaggy’s “Hotshot” when it claimed the top spot last week. Says Levin: “I think this album will be a huge step forward” for 112, which has sold 2.6 million copies of previous albums “112” and “Room 112” and 3.2 million singles, according to SoundScan. “It’s Over Now,” the first single from “Part III,” recently spent two weeks as the nation’s best-selling single by selling about 200,000 copies in five weeks. “One other thing is that [112’s album] will have some life--it won’t just be up and down the chart,” Levin says. “So many things that get released these days are truly one-hit wonders. . . . I don’t believe 112 will hit that category.” In that respect, 112’s latest should follow that of another recent Bad Boy success, “It Was All a Dream,” by female pop vocal group Dream, which has sold 610,000 copies in the two months since it was released and sits at No. 22 on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums chart this week.

Poogy Delivers Best of Israeli Films

As a younger man, Meir Fenigstein was known as Poogy, the drummer who performed with a rock group called Kaveret that was as popular in Israel as the Beatles. Half a million people turned out for their 1984 concert in Tel Aviv and, as recently as three years ago, 44,000 tickets were sold when the group staged a reunion. But Poogy, who now resides in Los Angeles, long ago took up another calling: staging film festivals. For nearly two decades, Fenigstein has held Israeli film festivals in cities across the United States, showcasing for American audiences the best movies being produced by Israel’s small but productive film community. On Tuesday, the 17th Israel Film Festival, dubbed IsraFest, kicks off at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood with a gala premiere of Joseph Cedar’s “Time of Favor,” which won six awards at Israel’s version of the Oscars. Two of the film’s stars--Avi Akni and Tinkerbell--are scheduled to attend, and Israeli author, playwright and filmmaker Ephraim Kishon will receive a lifetime visionary award. Kishon was the first Israeli nominated for an Academy Award for best foreign-language film for “Sallah” in 1963. At the same event, Fox Studios Co-Chairman Tom Rothman will receive a lifetime achievement award. The festival will run through April 5, with films screening at the Music Hall in Beverly Hills and the Town Center in Encino. On Thursday night, the festival will present an evening with Kishon, recounting his life, discussing his writings and showing film clips at the Zanuck Theater on the 20th Century Fox lot in Century City. “The Israeli film industry is not so large now, but I think that will change very soon,” Fenigstein said, noting that a recent tax enacted by Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, will funnel $40 million a year into the industry. “Right now, there are about 10 to 12 movies being made a year,” he said. “Maybe that will grow to 15 very soon. The industry is growing. There are now more directors and screenwriters. In a couple of years, I think, there will be a major change in the Israel film industry.” Tickets: $25 if purchased in advance. Information: (877) 966-5566.

CBS Laces Up for Final Four

While widely heralded as one of the best sporting events of the year from a fan perspective, the NCAA basketball tournament has been fading as a ratings draw, which makes this Saturday’s “Final Four” and next Monday’s championship game all the more significant. Ratings for last year’s Final Four slipped 10% from 1999--to about 15.2 million viewers--and nearly 20% versus 1998. This is far from academic for CBS, which has made an enormous investment in college athletics, with basketball as its premiere attraction. In 1999, the network agreed to pay $6 billion for exclusive rights to the tournament and other NCAA championship events over an 11-year span, beginning in 2003. College basketball has traditionally offered the older-skewing network a rare venue for reaching young male viewers--an especially elusive group--and promoting CBS shows to that audience. The irony this year is that it’s actually one of CBS’ prime-time series, “Survivor: The Australian Outback,” that could help jump-start ratings for the Final Four. CBS is reaching nearly 30 million viewers each Thursday with “Survivor,” many of them the young people the network would love to see tuning in this weekend.

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Compiled by Times staff writers