Morning Report - News from Aug. 24, 2002

TELEVISION

‘Doc’ Yes, ‘Buffy’ No, Says Watchdog Group

TV, in many quarters, is getting racier--and the Parents Television Council, a conservative watchdog group, isn’t pleased.

Though it had high praise for the Pax TV drama “Doc,” starring singer Billy Ray Cyrus, the organization lashed into a host of shows in its annual report on prime-time programming--most notably UPN’s “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” which, it said, had even more graphic depiction of sex and violence than the previous year.

Other series drawing pans from the group: CBS’ “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” (portrayals of incest and sadomasochism) and the WB sitcom “Off Centre” (discussions of three-way sex and porn).

On a more positive note, the group lauded the networks for an overall increase in family-friendly programming and the messages found in six new shows, including “The Bernie Mac Show,” “Smallville” and “Reba.”

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THE ARTS

$35-Million Bond Sale for Film Archive

Gov. Gray Davis has announced that he will sell $35 million in bonds to help finance the Vine Street Archive Foundation, a nonprofit corporation affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The money will go toward the acquisition, renovation and equipping of an 18,000-square-foot former studio facility in Hollywood that will serve as the new home of the academy’s film archive and provide office space for other Academy Foundation departments.

The archive collection totals more than 45,000 items, including motion picture feature films and shorts and the personal collections of filmmakers such as Alfred Hitchcock, Fred Zinnemann, Sam Peckinpah and John Huston.

Greeks Debate Alexander Carving

The Greek Culture Ministry says it will not allow work to begin in November on a proposed 240-foot-tall image of Alexander the Great to be carved on Mt. Kerdylio in northern Greece, the BBC reports.

The project is the brainchild of a group of Greek Americans, who have provided the bulk of the multimillion-dollar tab. The intent: to bring in tourists, assist the local economy and reinforce the Greek heritage of the onetime King of Macedonia--a historical figure also claimed by the Yugoslav republic of Macedonia.

Though local authorities compare the project to South Dakota’s Mt. Rushmore, others are less enthused. Ecological groups call the project, which also calls for a museum, a restored amphitheater and a parking lot, a case of “environmental megalomania.”

“It’s a monstrosity,” said Dimitris Grammenos, head of the classical antiquities department in Athens. “Projects such as this are appropriate to countries the size of the United States of America but not the delicate Mediterranean landscape.”

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MOVIES

Fine Issued for Noisy Shoot in Pasadena

Producers of NBC’s new fall TV series “American Dreams” will be fined for waking up neighbors with a simulated football game at Pasadena’s Washington Middle School in the wee hours of Saturday morning.

The producers, who paid $9,600 for a permit to film overnight, never notified the city they’d be using amplified sound, said Eric Duyshart, the city’s economic development manager. They’ll probably be fined $1,400, he added.

“American Dreams” is set in early 1960s Philadelphia. Washington Middle School is expected to be a periodic filming location for the show.

“We’re aware of resident concerns, and we’re addressing those concerns,” said Curt King, an NBC Studios spokesman.

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QUICK TAKES

A former Scotland Yard detective has found “Rest on the Flight Into Egypt, “ a $7.6-million painting by Titian that had been stolen from an English estate in 1995, BBC News reports. It was intact but unframed in a plastic carrier bag in the London area.... Jim MacGregor and Mark Neal have replaced Simon Morley and David Friend in the cast of “Puppetry of the Penis” at the Coronet Theatre in L.A..... Oscar-winner Marisa Tomei will star in “Kimberly Akimbo,” David Lindsay-Abaire’s comedy about a woman suffering from a rare condition that causes her to age rapidly, opening at New York City’s Manhattan Theater Club on Feb. 4. The play premiered at South Coast Repertory last year.... Morgan Freeman will star opposite Owen Wilson in Warner Bros.’ “The Big Bounce,” based on Elmore Leonard’s novel about a charming drifter (Wilson) trying to decide if he can trust a powerful local figure (Freeman).... “Miracle at the Mine,” the first documentary on the nine Pennsylvania miners trapped underground for 77 hours last month before being rescued, will air on the Discovery Channel Wednesday at 9 p.m..... Horse racing Hall of Fame jockeys Gary Stevens and Chris McCarron will play--what else?--jockeys in Gary Ross’ “Seabiscuit,” starring Tobey Maguire.... Renny Harlin will direct “Land of Legend,” a 9th century tale of a Danish prince avenging those who sold him into slavery, Variety reports.... Meteorologist George Fischbeck was in fair condition at UCLA Medical Center Friday after undergoing heart valve replacement surgery.