April 14, 2005

Arts, Briefly

rtists Rally to a Defense

More than 50 artists, including Cindy Sherman, Sol LeWitt and Kiki Smith, have donated works to be auctioned on Sunday in New York by the legal defense fund of the Critical Art Ensemble, an arts collective, the group announced yesterday. With Wallace Shawn as the master of ceremonies, the auction will raise money for the legal defense of Steven Kurtz, a founding member who was indicted last June on charges of mail fraud and wire fraud. After an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Joint Terrorism Task Force, Mr. Kurtz, an assistant professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo who has used biological agents in his politically charged artworks, and Robert Ferrell, a University of Pittsburgh scientist, both face as much as 20 years in prison for illegally obtaining such materials. In a telephone interview, Gregg Bordowitz, an associate professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a member of the C.A.E. Legal Defense Fund, said: "The Critical Art Ensemble is openly critical of the government and industry. I can only assume this is about ideas." The viewing and silent auction will be held at Paula Cooper Gallery in Chelsea from 2 to 8 p.m., with a live auction from 5 to 7. JOEL TOPCIK

Britney Expects

The gossips were right. Britney Spears is pregnant. In a posting on her Web site, Ms. Spears, 23, who married the dancer Kevin Federline in September, confirmed what Britney watchers have been saying: "The time has finally come to share our wonderful news that we are expecting our first child together." No other details were announced, but Reuters noted that the couple recently signed a deal to star in a reality series that will document their courtship and wedding and now, presumably, Ms. Spears' pregnancy. The first episode is expected to be broadcast before the end of next month.

Pavarotti Regrets

The tenor Luciano Pavarotti, who underwent neck surgery last month to repair two vertebrae, has rescheduled two concerts in England, the BBC reported. A performance that was to take place on June 11 in Reading has been postponed until July 1, and a concert planned for July 9 at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire has been delayed until July 8, 2006. Mr. Pavarotti is, however, in Kiev, Ukraine, as part of a farewell tour. His spokeswoman, Terri Robson, said the surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York was "routine and regular." She added, "His doctors reported that he recovered very quickly from his operation and have now advised that the second and final stage of this procedure must take place at the beginning of June 2005."

Pop Charts

Despite steadily declining sales each week since its release, 50 Cent's "Massacre" (Interscope) has been invincible at the top of the Billboard album charts; last week, its sixth since it went on sale, the album sold 165,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. That figure would have landed the album in the middle of the Top 10 during a healthy sales season, but things are not looking good for 2005 so far. Overall sales are down 9 percent from last year at this time, at 155 million units, according to Billboard. Last week, only one album besides "The Massacre" sold more than 100,000 copies, the usual benchmark for a strong period: Faith Evans's "First Lady" (Capitol) sold 157,000 copies, reaching No. 2. Beck's "Guero" (Geffen) slid to No. 3 on a 50 percent sales drop, "Now That's What I Call Music!" Vol. 18 is at No. 4, and 112's "Pleasure and Pain" (Def Soul) also dropped about 50 percent to reach No. 5. Music industry speculators expect this week to be slow as well. BEN SISARIO

Honored for Toughness

Bruce Willis has been awarded France's highest cultural honor. Mr. Willis, 50, was formally inducted yesterday into the French Order of Arts and Letters. The French culture minister, Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, said the award paid tribute to an actor whose work "epitomizes the strength of American cinema, the power of the emotions that he invites us to share on the world's screens, and the sturdy personalities of his legendary characters." Mr. Willis, 50, who was in France to promote his latest movie, "Hostage," said that the honor "proves that film has no borders and that we all belong to the same artistic community." Mr. Donnedieu de Vabres said that the actor's roles could not be reduced to a simple struggle between good and evil, yet he added, "You really have killed a lot of bad guys." JOHN TAGLIABUE

More Honors

Merv Griffin, whose creations include "Jeopardy!" and "Wheel of Fortune," will be honored by the Museum of Television & Radio at its gala at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on May 26.

Hitler in Israel

The Oscar-nominated German film that depicts that portrays Hitler as a diabolical leader with a human side is to be released in Israel after it was overwhelmingly approved by a test audience last week, Reuters reported. The film "The Downfall" ("Der Untergang"), starring Bruno Ganz, was picked up for distribution by Nurit Shani, owner of the Lev theater chain. She said 91 percent of the viewers at a test screening approved it.

Fox Rules Tuesday Roost

Among the big three networks, only CBS has any luck holding up against Fox's Tuesday lineup of "American Idol" and "House." CBS's "NCIS" at 8 p.m. and "The Amazing Race" at 9 p.m. managed to draw audiences of 13.32 million and 13.05 million, respectively, to ensure a second-place finish for the night in Nielsen's estimates. ABC, which was a distant No. 3 on Tuesday, is being overwhelmed by Fox's combination of "American Idol" (25.01 million) and "House" (18.03 million). Three of ABC's sitcoms broadcast during that time - "My Wife and Kids," "George Lopez" and "According to Jim" - scored season-low ratings, and the fourth, "Rodney," also fared poorly. NBC doesn't even try at 8 p.m. against "Idol." As it has done for months, on Tuesday night it broadcast reruns to fill the time: "Will & Grace" (3.89 million) and "Scrubs" (3.55 million), and placed fourth in households. KATE AURTHUR

Footnotes

Willie Nelson will be joined by Bob Dylan when he returns to Fort Worth for his annual Fourth of July picnic performance, The Associated Press reported. ... "Dame Edna: Back With a Vengeance," starring Barry Humphries as the self-proclaimed gigastar, will end its run at the Music Box Theater on May 1 after 17 previews and 163 regular performances.