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

MOVIES

‘Apes’ Extras File Class-Action Suit

Hundreds of extras who appeared in Tim Burton’s 2001 “Planet of the Apes” remake allege they were exposed to a carcinogenic powder used by special-effects crews to create a “dust storm,” according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court.

In the proposed class-action complaint, plaintiff Jeffrey Clark is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages on behalf of those who were allegedly exposed to “approximately 80,000 pounds of ‘Fuller’s Earth’ powder containing a lung irritant and the known carcinogen crystalline silica for eight hours a day during the shoot.” Since then, it said, the $8-an-hour extras have continued to suffer “irritation, both acute and chronic, to the lungs and respiratory system.”

The studio could not be reached for comment.

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Cruise Lobbies for Scientologists

U.S. Embassy officials confirmed Wednesday that Tom Cruise, a vocal advocate of the Church of Scientology, met with U.S. ambassador to Germany Dan Coats last week, asking that he support the group in its fight with the German government.

The actor was in the country promoting his latest film, “Vanilla Sky,” with co-star Penelope Cruz.

Germany refuses to recognize Scientology as a church, contending that it masquerades as a religion to make money. Scientologists are banned from holding government jobs in some parts of the country, and the group was placed under official public scrutiny in 1997.

In the January issue of Vanity Fair, Cruise credited his 13-year devotion to Scientology with helping him deal with dyslexia and his estrangement from his late father. The church, which claims 8 million members worldwide, has denounced German treatment of its 30,000 adherents in that country, as has the U.S. government.

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THE ARTS

Gallery Showcases Famous Ad Campaigns

When G. Ray Hawkins was looking for a show to open his gallery, which he just moved from Santa Monica to West Hollywood, he opted to showcase the work of Howard Zieff--the New York City ad icon-turned-film director whose work had never been exhibited.

Hawkins, in fact, had never heard of the man before December, when a customer offered to trade his Zieff collection for some 19th century prints. He was intrigued by Zieff’s stills for “You Don’t Have to Be Jewish to Love Levy’s [Rye Bread]” and, even more, by Zieff’s campaign for the New York Daily News from the 1950s that adorned bus stops and subway stations.

“Each has a complete story, with a setup and a punch line,” Hawkins notes. “A shoeshine man is about to grab a customer’s white bucks with his stained hand as he leans in to read the newspaper. Howard was the top guy in advertising in the 1950s, someone who introduced humor into advertising. But since his photography is known more in New York, I feel like this is buried treasure.”

Artists Management Group founder Michael Ovitz, actors Paula Prentiss and Richard Benjamin, director Carl Franklin and producer Mark Johnson were among the more than 400 at the opening-night bash, paying their respects to Zieff, who headed west after his famed Alka-Seltzer “Spicy Meatball” commercials to direct movies such as “Private Benjamin” and “House Calls.”

The exhibition, “The Genius and Wit of Howard Zieff,” runs at the gallery, at the corner of Crescent Heights and Beverly boulevards, until March 9.

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TELEVISION

Kidnapping Mirrors ‘West Wing’ Plot

Next week’s episode of “The West Wing” includes a plot line that involves the abduction of a reporter in the Congo, mirroring the recent kidnapping of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in Pakistan.

A spokesman for the show stressed that the plot line was conceived and produced long before the Pearl story broke and that the producers expressed their best hopes for Pearl and his family. NBC promoted the story line following Wednesday’s episode.

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LaJolla SummerFest Sets Salonen Premiere

Los Angeles Philharmonic music director Esa-Pekka Salonen and fellow composers John Harbison and John Adams will be in residence at the La Jolla Chamber Music Society’s SummerFest 2002 Festival, set for July 31-Aug. 18.

Highlights of the series will include the world premieres of a solo violin work by Salonen and a piano quartet by Harbison. Works by John Adams include the original septet version of “Shaker Loops” and an opening-night presentation of his “Road Movies” with violinist Leila Josefowicz. Festival artistic director Cho-Liang Lin will be the soloist in Salonen’s violin work.

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QUICK TAKES

Representatives of Jason Alexander and Martin Short said that neither actor has been approached about starring in a Los Angeles production of “The Producers,” despite a report by columnist Liz Smith that “the ink is all but dry” on their contracts. “The ink is invisible,” said Short’s manager, Bernie Brillstein.... Blues singer Koko Taylor, 66, was in fair condition Wednesday after undergoing an angioplasty Tuesday in a Chicago hospital. She’s expected to be released this week.

Elaine Dutka