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

MOVIES

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Another Starring Role for Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee is long gone--but his image is being digitally resurrected in a $50-million martial arts film tentatively titled “Dragon Warrior.” The movie will be the first theatrical feature to re-create a character in a major role through computer technology.

Shincine Communications, a major Korean film production company, got clearance from the estate of the kung fu superstar, who died in 1973 at the age of 32. Lee’s widow, Linda Lee Cadwell, and his daughter, Shannon Lee, hold the rights to his name and likeness.

Four years in development, the project will be translated for an English-language production. It will be the company’s debut in the U.S. marketplace.

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TELEVISION

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Things Looking Up on the Great White Way

New Yorkers are returning to Broadway after the Sept. 11 attacks, but tourists--particularly the overseas variety--are still scarce, according to the League of American Theaters and Producers.

Domestic tourist trade is off by 13%, and tickets bought by overseas visitors are less than half what they were a year ago, the group reports. But that has been offset by a 50% increase in theatergoers from New York City and the suburbs.

“We have bounced back strongly in terms of attendance and grosses,” said Jed Bernstein, president of the league. “Of more concern is the lack of advance sales for January and February. This story still has many chapters left to be told.”

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Theatre LA Refuses Chief’s Resignation

Theatre LA President Lee Wochner offered to resign in the wake of the organization’s Ovation Awards ceremony--an event widely perceived as a debacle because of ticketing and production problems at the new Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

While the executive committee, meeting Wednesday, declined his offer, it is drafting a letter of apology that may go out to ticket-holders. Wochner said his group accepted responsibility for Monday’s show, which attracted several hundred more people than in previous years. The Kodak staff, he added, “did everything they could.”

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TELEVISION

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Fox Feasts on Big ‘Mac’; ‘Law’ Handcuffs Brooks

After some disappointing premiere results, Fox received some good news Wednesday.

The new comedy “The Bernie Mac Show” drew strong ratings, finishing second behind NBC’s “The West Wing” at 9 p.m., surpassing a live installment of ABC’s “The Drew Carey Show.” A “Bernie” preview also fared well at 8:30 p.m., with Fox averaging almost 12 million viewers for the hour and posting solid tune-in among the key demographics sought by advertisers.

The news wasn’t as good for Fox’s “Titus,” which slipped almost 30%--to fourth in its half-hour--following “Bernie Mac.” Nor for CBS’ Garth Brooks concert, which averaged 8.4 million viewers, less than half the audience for NBC’s competing “Law & Order.”

The morning-show competition, meanwhile, is heating up as ABC’s “Good Morning America” had its most competitive finish against NBC’s “Today” show since 1996 for the broadcast week ending Nov. 9. ABC drew 5.1 million viewers versus NBC’s 6 million. CBS’ “The Early Show” was far out of the running with 2.8 million.

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King World, Howard Stern Part Company

Howard Stern’s weekly late-night television show, airing locally on KCBS-TV, will end its run Saturday. The decision to terminate the series came from Stern, according to a spokesman for King World, which syndicates the show. The trade paper Variety, however, quotes insiders who maintain that it isn’t as simple as that.

Stern doesn’t fit the bill for the family-friendly fare favored by King World’s Roger King, they point out. The show’s lineup of stations reaches only 50% of the U.S. population, and its ratings have suffered since the show’s August 1998 debut--down 15% from this time last year.

Stern fans can still find him on E! Entertainment’s “The Howard Stern Show,” a nightly cable staple airing at 11 p.m.

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QUICK TAKES

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Harrison Ford will receive the 2002 Cecil B. DeMille Award from the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. at the 59th annual Golden Globe Awards banquet Jan. 20.... Pierce Brosnan is the “sexiest man alive,” according to the edition of People magazine that hits newsstands today. Others on the list include cellist Yo-Yo Ma and actor-comedian Ben Stiller....Kirk Douglas and his son, Michael, plan to appear in their first movie together: “Smack in the Puss,” a black comedy about three generations of a dysfunctional New York family. Michael Douglas’ 23-year-old son, Cameron, also is expected to appear in the project, due to begin filming in February.... A sold-out auction of contemporary art from the collection of television producer Douglas S. Cramer brought a total of $20.7 million Wednesday night at Sotheby’s New York. Jasper Johns’ 1989 painting “Ball of Twine” commanded the top price of $3.7 million.... Three shows that started at La Jolla Playhouse are now slated for Broadway next year: Heather McDonald’s “An Almost Holy Picture” for Feb. 7 in a Roundabout Theatre production starring Kevin Bacon at American Airlines Theatre; “Thoroughly Modern Millie” for April 18 at the Marquis Theatre; and “Dracula, the Musical” for the fall in a theater yet to be set....Feminist Iranian director Tahmineh Milani, released on bail after being arrested by her government for supporting a counter-revolutionary group, will participate in a discussion at UCLA’s James Bridges Theater after a 3 p.m screening today of her latest film, “Two Women.” Admission is free.... The American Assn. of Museums has approved a set of ethical guidelines for working with the business community. Among them: remaining loyal to their missions, controlling the content of business-sponsored programs and avoiding conflicts of interest. Elaine Dutka