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

TELEVISION

Greenfield Show Pulled for ‘Crossfire’ Reruns

Jeff Greenfield’s CNN talk show, “Greenfield at Large,” which premiered in June, has succumbed to low ratings. In a wry online message, the host laid the blame squarely on his viewers, who failed to enlist support for the program.

“If you’re wondering why we’re being canceled, please bear in mind that it’s entirely your fault,” Greenfield wrote. “You heard us. If only you had gotten millions of people to watch us, we’d be moving into Larry King’s office even now.”

In the end, however, he offered absolution: “We forgive you. After all, we enjoyed your company and your feedback,” Greenfield said.

The last show was seen Friday. It’s been replaced in the 8 p.m. slot by reruns of “Crossfire,” CNN said. Greenfield will continue to appear on “Inside Politics” and to contribute essays and analysis.

Canadian Shoots: First ‘Pasadena,’ Now This

The problem of runaway movie and TV production is in the spotlight again this week, with NBC announcing that the movie “L.A. Law: Return to Justice” has begun shooting--in Vancouver.

The film is only the latest Southern California-centric project to be shot in Canada, where tax breaks and the currency exchange rate make production less expensive. The Fox series “Pasadena” was also filmed in Vancouver.

The “L.A. Law” reunion project, which brings together most of the original cast except for Jimmy Smits, is scheduled to air during the May rating sweeps.

MOVIES

Oscar Omission Lights Political Fuse in Italy

Italy didn’t take well to the absence of Nanni Moretti’s “My Son’s Room” from the list of Oscar nominees vying for the best foreign language film. According to Variety, the omission has polarized the division between the country’s center-right political establishment, led by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, and its mostly left-wing film industry.

Moretti, whose film won the Palme d’Or at last year’s Cannes International Film Festival, has been a particular target as a vocal spokesman for the left.

“Moretti excluded from the Oscars? Inevitable,” said Vittorio Sgarbi, undersecretary for the ministry of culture. “They realized that as an artist he’s worthless; he’s an impotent director.”

Certain Italian directors with a right-wing bent have also taken potshots at the film. “Moretti’s film is a bad movie that has nothing to say to Americans,” said Franco Zefferelli. Added Lina Wertmuller: “I don’t like Moretti’s films and he could never have been an Oscar candidate because Americans also like another type of cinema.”

Insurance Problems Put ‘Gosford’ in Jeopardy

“Gosford Park,” which racked up seven Academy Award nominations--including one for best picture--nearly didn’t make it to the screen.

Because director Robert Altman is 76 years old, Variety reports, it was prohibitively expensive to line up insurance for him given the film’s $19.8 million budget. Not until the producers found a standby of stature could the project move ahead. The fellow’s identity has now been revealed. Director Stephen Frears (“My Beautiful Launderette”) was ready to take the reins should anything go awry, the trade paper says.

Brosnan Injured in Line of Duty on Bond Film

Pierce Brosnan injured his knee while shooting a water scene on the British set of the untitled James Bond film and is out of action for about two weeks, E! Online News reports.

Though producers declined to provide details about the injury, they said it is not expected to affect the November release date for the film--the 20th in the series and the fourth in which Brosnan has starred.

THEATER

London Premiere Part of Gershwin Windfall

The 1983 Broadway musical “My One and Only” is about to premiere in London. And that’s only a small part of the activity feeding the Gershwin estate.

In an age short on new melody and long on nostalgia, material created by George and Ira Gershwin continues to generate between $5 million and $10 million a year, London’s Telegraph reports. “Rhapsody in Blue” is the biggest earner and “I Got Rhythm” the most recorded. Playwright Wendy Wasserstein is working on a live musical version of “An American in Paris,” and artists ranging from Sting to Diana Krall are lining up to sing Gershwin tunes.

Not every project that comes its way is given the go-ahead, however. Marc Gershwin, son of the third Gershwin brother, Arthur, and Leopold Godowsky III, son of Frances--the only Gershwin sister--shot down a South African staging of “Porgy and Bess” during the apartheid era (“We wouldn’t allow it on principle”) and an all-white Finnish “Porgy” (“They wrote and said, ‘But Mr. Gershwin, the problem is we have no black actors in Finland’”).

QUICK TAKES

Roger Deakins received the feature film award from the American Society of Cinematographers for his black-and-white photography in “The Man Who Wasn’t There” Sunday night at the Century Plaza Hotel.... Marlo Thomas and F. Murray Abraham have been cast to portray Jacqueline Susann and her husband, Irving Mansfield, in “Paper Doll,” a play based on the life of the “Valley of the Dolls” author, tentatively due to open at Broadway’s Cort Theater in April.

Elaine Dutka