Morning Report - News from Oct. 5, 2002

TELEVISION

‘Presidio Med’ Regroups in Danner’s Absence

Blythe Danner, a co-star on the new CBS drama “Presidio Med,” will be taking a leave from the series, requiring the producers to shoot around her character.

Danner’s husband, producer Bruce Paltrow, died Wednesday while on a trip in Italy with the couple’s daughter, Gwyneth Paltrow.

The medical series features an ensemble cast that includes Dana Delany and Anna Deavere Smith. Those characters’ story lines likely will be expanded to offset Danner’s absence. A spokeswoman for Warner Bros. Television, which produces the show, said the producers were working to accommodate Danner’s schedule.

‘Saturday Night Live’ Juggles Cast Members

There will be two new cast members when NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” launches its 28th season at 11:35 tonight. Fred Armisen and Will Forte will replace Will Ferrell and Ana Gasteyer, longtime cast members who’ve left the show.

Armisen has appeared on NBC’s “Late Night With Conan O’Brien” and HBO’s music show “Reverb.” Forte comes from the Los Angeles improv outfit the Groundlings, as have “SNL” cast members Jimmy Fallon, Chris Kattan, Chris Parnell and Maya Rudolph.

MSNBC Has Slated ‘Countdown: Iraq’

MSNBC confirmed Friday that it will launch a program devoted exclusively to covering developments in the debate over whether the U.S. should go to war with Iraq.

Beginning Monday, the hourlong “Countdown: Iraq” will air weekdays at 4 p.m., replacing “Nachman,” which will move to the 2 p.m. hour. That show is hosted by MSNBC’s editor in chief, Jerry Nachman.

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THE ARTS

Smoke and Fog Effects Worry Artists’ Guild

Worried that its members’ health is at risk, the American Guild of Musical Artists will try to convince opera and ballet productions to adopt new policies about the use of smoke and fog on stage.

As part of future contract negotiations, Back Stage reports, the union will seek to require producers to use only dry ice or steam to generate fog and smoke, and to give guild members at least two weeks’ advance notice that such stage effects will be used.

Alan Gordon, national executive director of the guild, said the policy is needed because of concerns that performers and musicians are damaging their health by being exposed to the amount and type of smoke and fog used on stage. Actors’ Equity Assn. already has an agreement in place with the League of American Theatres and Producers on this issue.

Orchestra Money Woes Know No Borders

The financial woes besetting classical music groups continue.

The Cleveland Orchestra, which had a $1.3-million deficit last season, has canceled its five-concert Chamber Music Series and will reduce salaries for some senior staff, including 10% cuts for music director Franz Welser-Most and executive director Thomas Morris, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Meanwhile, Canada’s CFCN-TV reports that musicians at the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra have offered to take a 12.3% pay cut to help make up for a $1.1-million deficit there.

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QUICK TAKES

Julia Roberts has begun work on her next film, “Mona Lisa Smile,” in which she plays a college art teacher whose students are played by Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles and Maggie Gyllenhaal.... Showtime has ordered a second season of its sci-fi series “Jeremiah” and is adding Sean Astin to the cast, along with returning stars Luke Perry and Malcolm-Jamal Warner.... Andrew Lloyd Webber will be back on Broadway in spring 2004--but as a producer, not a composer, of “Bombay Dreams,” a musical now running in London.... Singer Jerry Vale has canceled a Nov. 22 appearance at the Cerritos Center because he is recovering from a stroke. Ticket holders can see comedian Bob Newhart and singer Tierney Sutton on that date instead or return their tickets to the box office for a refund.... Bono, the globe-trotting, conscience-tugging singer with the Irish rock group U2, is the most powerful man in music, according to a poll of music industry figures by Q magazine. Doug Morris, chairman and chief executive officer of Universal Music Group, is second, and rapper Eminem is third.... Reflecting the CBS show’s hit status, “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” producers have given raises to series stars William Petersen ($225,000-$250,000 per episode) and Marg Helgenberger ($150,000), according to the Hollywood Reporter.... Adam Sandler’s production company, Happy Madison, will produce a comedy for the WB about a recent college graduate who becomes mayor of his hometown while still living with his parents, Daily Variety reports. Adam Resnick is the writer.... Monday’s debate between California gubernatorial candidates Gray Davis and Bill Simon will be broadcast live at noon on KTLA-TV and on tape at 11 p.m. on KCET-TV. On radio, KCRW-FM (89.9) also will air it live.