Quick Takes: Stanford plans museum

Having been given a prized collection of contemporary American art earlier this year, Stanford University on Wednesday announced plans for a new $30.5-million museum to house it.

New York-based Ennead Architects will design a 30,000-square-foot building devoted to the Anderson Collection — 121 works by 86 artists collected by the Bay Area family of Harry and Mary Margaret Anderson, including Jackson Pollock’s 1947 “Lucifer,” Willem de Kooning’s mid-1950s “Woman Standing — Pink,” and pieces by Ellsworth Kelly, Mark Rothko and Franz Kline, among others.

Plans call for a late 2014 opening.

Ennead (which changed its name from Polshek Partnership in 2010) also is the architect for Stanford’s Bing Concert Hall, an 844-seat, $112-million venue that’s under construction and scheduled to open in 2013. The firm’s projects include the Newseum in Washington, D.C., and Bill Clinton’s presidential library in Little Rock, Ark.

—Mike Boehm

What the Obamas watch

President Obama says he’s a fan of two cable TV shows: HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire” and Showtime’s “Homeland.”

First Lady Michelle Obama and their daughters, 13-year-old Malia and 10-year-old Sasha, enjoy watching ABC’s “Modern Family.”

The president and first lady talked to People magazine about life in the White House, including such topics as Facebook, school assignments and favorite TV shows and reading habits.

—Associated Press

From ‘Law’ to ‘True Blood’

HBO says “Law & Order” veteran Chris Meloni will be sinking his teeth into a role on the vampire drama “True Blood.”

The network confirmed Wednesday that Meloni will join the popular series as an ancient, powerful vampire who controls the fate of the show’s major characters.

The series’ fifth season is expected to air next summer. Its stars include Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer.

Meloni recently ended a 12-year run on NBC’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” where he played Det. Elliot Stabler.

—Associated Press

Paris Jackson wants to act

Michael Jackson’s daughter says she was inspired to be an actress after seeing her father in the film “Moonwalker.”

“My dad was in the movie ‘Moonwalker,’ and I knew he could sing really well, but I didn’t know he could act,” Paris Jackson told talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, according to a transcript of the episode that is scheduled to air Thursday. “I saw that, and I said, ‘Wow, I want to be just like him.’”

The film featuring Jackson’s signature dance move and other videos was released in 1988.

Paris said her father encouraged her and did improvisation sessions to develop her skills. The 13-year-old has been cast alongside Larry King in a film based on a new children’s book, “Lundon’s Bridge and the Three Keys,” which is in early stages of development.

She said her father protected her and her two brothers from the media by, for example, placing them in masks or dressing them in costumes when they were in public. She said she initially did not understand the masks’ necessity but came to realize that they were for her and her brothers’ protection.

She said no one recognized her when she began attending school after her father’s death in June 2009.

“I was like, yes, I have a chance to be normal,” she said.

—Associated Press

Eagles, Petty set for Jazz Fest

The Eagles, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, the Foo Fighters and John Mayer are among the headliners to perform at next year’s New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

It will be the first year that the Eagles and Tom Petty play Jazz Fest, the outdoor music event that features hundreds of Louisiana artists in such genres as jazz, gospel, rhythm and blues, Cajun and zydeco. The festival is accented by national acts that in 2012 will include the Zac Brown Band, Herbie Hancock, My Morning Jacket, Bonnie Raitt, Al Green, Jill Scott and Florence & the Machine.

In all, hundreds of acts will perform on roughly a dozen stages over two weekends from April 27 to May 6.

—Associated Press

Finally

Kids fare: “Octonauts,” a 2-year-old British cartoon series aimed at preschoolers, will join the Disney Channel lineup Jan. 9. The show follows the underwater adventures of three characters.

KNBC exit: Jennifer Bjorklund, a reporter and anchor at KNBC-TV Channel 4 since 2000, has left the station. Executives said her contract had expired and was not renewed.