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

TELEVISION

KTTV Tops Local Emmy Nominees

Fox-owned KTTV-TV scored a leading 22 nominations Thursday for the 53rd annual L.A. Area Emmy Awards, while KCAL came in second with 18. Among other local broadcast stations, KCOP garnered 12 nominations, KCBS and KNBC each drew seven, KTLA had six, and KABC landed four nominations. Local PBS outlet KCET earned eight nominations, and Fox Sports Net had five. Among the categories, KCAL took two of three nominations in both live breaking news coverage (the other nomination went to Spanish-language station KVEA) and hard news reporting (KTTV took the third spot); KCBS scored double nods for investigative reporting, joining fellow nominees KCAL, KCOP and KNBC, and KCOP and KTTV drew nominations for best news special. Meanwhile, KTTV’s Frances Bernardy and KTLA’s Stephanie E. Medina were nominated for best news director. The L.A. Area Emmys--covering 34 categories--will be handed out June 23 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.

Class, Er Court, Assignments

A judge ordered four Kentucky teenagers to each read 12 classic novels and write biweekly book reports as punishment for their “stupid and incredibly dangerous” stunt of trying to jump over a moving car. The judge also ordered the boys to watch only nightly news programs on television for six months. Police had said the MTV stunt show “Jackass” inspired the teens, although the cable music channel said it has never aired a stunt in which someone gets hit by a car. The boys, ages 16 and 17, maintained they were copying no one. One boy broke his leg and ankle in attempting the stunt.

Political Gold Mine for Advertisers

NBC’s political drama “The West Wing” has the wealthiest audience of any prime-time network series, according to a new study. It’s the only show where viewers have an average household income of $70,000 or more, according to the New York ad-buying agency TN Media. That’s key for advertisers, who seek out affluent audiences. NBC’s overall audience had the highest average income among the networks, at $63,300 (ABC averaged $58,500, CBS $57,700 and Fox $54,000). “ER,” “Frasier,” “The Practice,” “NYPD Blue,” and “60 Minutes” also have higher-than-average income viewers, while UPN’s “WWF Smackdown!” was among those with the poorest audience.

ART

Picasso Bidding Turns Cold

The headliner in Christie’s New York auction of Impressionist and modern art Wednesday night failed to find a buyer. Pablo Picasso’s 1923 neoclassical portrait of his first wife, Olga, was expected to bring around $30 million, but bidding stopped at $24 million and the painting went back to its seller. A waterlilies painting by Claude Monet commanded the top price of $9.9 million in a sale that racked up $83.4 million--well below the predicted range of $116 million to $150 million.

POP / ROCK

Will Wedding Bells Be Ringing?

British papers Thursday quoted Paul McCartney as saying there was a good chance he would wed his girlfriend Heather Mills. “I may get married again, but that is a decision we will make in private and only then will we make it public,” McCartney reportedly said while in France for the Cannes Film Festival. “I can say here and now we are not engaged but there is a good chance I will get married in the future.” McCartney, 58, and Mills, 33, began dating in 1999, 18 months after McCartney’s wife of 30 years, Linda, died of breast cancer.

Fan Fallout From Rap Rivalry

The road manager for the rap group Insane Clown Posse was arrested on misdemeanor assault and battery charges in Nebraska this week for allegedly choking an audience member. The alleged victim, Thomas P. Goonan, 23, told police he held up a T-shirt featuring rival Detroit rapper Eminem and threw candy M&M;’s at the stage before the manager, William B. Dail, 27, took Goonan outside the concert, threw him against a fence and choked him until he passed out. Police said Goonan’s throat and neck were red. Last month, Eminem pleaded no contest in Michigan to a felony weapons charge stemming from a confrontation with Insane Clown Posse associates.

QUICK TAKES

Museum of Modern Art officials broke ground in New York Thursday on a $650-million expansion that will double the museum’s space. MOMA has already raised $500 million for the project, featuring a new building designed by Japanese architect Yoshi Taniguchi. . . . Rap mogul Sean “P. Diddy” Combs is reportedly in final negotiations to play a condemned murderer in the Lions’ Gate film “Monster’s Ball,” opposite Halle Berry and Billy Bob Thornton. . . . NBC is making some summer schedule changes, moving the game show “Weakest Link” to Mondays at 9 p.m. starting May 21, and putting the comedy “Three Sisters” into the Thursday, 8:30 p.m. post-”Friends” slot starting May 24.