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

THEATER

Vocal Cord Problems for Lane

Sunday is expected to be Nathan Lane’s first day back in the Tony Award-winning “The Producers,” from which he’s been on sick leave since Tuesday.

The culprit: a polyp on his left vocal cord that requires complete vocal rest.

The star has missed more than a dozen performances because of vocal problems since the musical opened on Broadway in April.

And, in the wake of the recent announcement of a new record-setting $480 ticket, a sale date has not yet been set. Intended to take the profits out of the hands of scalpers and put them in the coffers of producers, the move has triggered angry letters to newspapers and Internet postings.

One of the more humorous responses: “Forbidden Broadway,” an off-Broadway satire of the Great White Way, has announced it would offer one ticket a night at $481.

MOVIES

Floating an Idea for a New Studio

Is New York about to have a battle of film studio projects on old Navy yards?

In a bid to lure back interior filming and post-production work, one group has been working for more than two years to develop $120 million worth of sound stages and other facilities at the former Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Now a group, including actor Danny Aiello and producer Ken Lipper--a former New York City deputy mayor--is talking with city officials about creating a studio on the 35-acre Staten Island Navy Yard, which was abandoned by the Navy in 1994.

“We promised 5,500 jobs to an area that’s deprived,” Aiello said.

“It’s huge--like Universal!”

Robert De Niro and Miramax’s Harvey Weinstein have also floated studio projects in recent years, so New York officials have learned to be cautious about such talk.

Still, two officials confirmed negotiations with Aiello’s group, and one said that there would be at least “a temporary agreement to show [if] the site is viable.”

Moving on With Military Thrillers

Hollywood’s post-Sept. 11 skittishness about military themes seems to have subsided.

Buoyed by what the studio calls strong screening results, 20th Century Fox has moved “Behind Enemy Lines” to Nov. 30 from the film’s previous date of Jan. 18, 2002.

Directed by John Moore, it stars Owen Wilson as a reconnaissance pilot shot down in Bosnia after he photographs mass graves, and Gene Hackman as the officer determined to get his man out of harm’s way.

Fox’s decision follows Sony’s move earlier this week to open another military thriller, “Black Hawk Down,” into an Oscar-qualifying release Dec. 28.

13 Animated Films Have Oscar Hopes

A week ago, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences had yet to receive any submissions for its new feature-length animated film category, prompting some in Hollywood to wonder if there would be enough entries to warrant nominations this year.

But when Thursday’s 5 p.m. deadline had passed, a total of 13 films had been entered. If most are ruled eligible, it could set up one of the more intriguing Oscar races.

Among the submissions: DreamWorks’ “Shrek,” Disney’s “Monsters, Inc.,” Paramount’s “Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius,” Sony’s “Final Fantasy” and Warner Bros.’ “Osmosis Jones,” which is part animation and part live-action.

The executive committee of the short films and feature animation branch will now rule on eligibility, with the academy’s 40-member board of governors having the final say.

Three nominees will then be announced Feb. 11.

TELEVISION

Stars to Give Voice to ‘Liberty Kids’

Dustin Hoffman, Ben Stiller and Whoopi Goldberg have signed on as the voices of American Revolutionary characters in “Liberty Kids,” a new 40-part animated series about the war for independence.

It is due to premiere on Memorial Day next year.

Produced by DIC Entertainment for PBS, it tells the story through the eyes of an American boy, a French boy and a British girl who work in the print shop of Benjamin Franklin--portrayed by veteran news anchor Walter Cronkite.

QUICK TAKES

Luther Vandross has added a second night at Universal Amphitheatre on Nov. 24. Tickets go on sale Monday.... MTV next week will unveil “Bangin’ the Charts,” a weekly series airing Fridays at 5 p.m. with stories and information pegged to music industry sales charts.... Gil Scott Heron, musician, poet and civil rights activist, has been sentenced to between one and three years in prison by a New York State judge for failing to take advantage of several opportunities to kick a drug habit for which he’d been arrested several times....Rex Adams, a professor of business administration at Duke University and a longtime executive with Mobil Corp., has been elected chairman of the PBS Board of Directors.