Gish Prize Goes to Sellars

Peter Sellars, the theater and opera director, has been chosen to receive the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, according to a report Saturday on Playbill.com. The awards ceremony will be held on Sept. 29 at the Hudson Theater in New York. The Gish Prize, now in its 12th year, recognizes innovators in the arts with $250,000 and a silver medallion. Previous recipients include Ingmar Bergman, Bob Dylan, Ornette Coleman and Isabel Allende. Mr. Sellars said in a statement: "In these times in America, I am very moved and grateful that the Gish Prize has chosen to support diversity, controversy, complexity, and nonconformity."

'Nine Lives' Has a Golden Leopard

The American film "Nine Lives" won the top prize, the Golden Leopard, at the 58th Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland on Saturday. The film, directed by Rodrigo Garcia, follows the lives of nine women played by, among others, Glenn Close, Holly Hunter, Sissy Spacek and Kathy Bates. The respected cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, who served as the jury head, praised the film's direction, and the ensemble won a collective award for best female performance, Agence France-Presse reported. The 10-day festival, known as the "smallest of the big festivals," also honored films from Turkey, Germany and Iran with Silver Leopards. ... A film about British-born Muslims who threaten to detonate a bomb at a London restaurant will have its premiere at the Montreal World Film Festival on Aug. 27, BBC News reported Friday. "Red Mercury," which stars Pete Postlethwaite, Stockard Channing and Ron Silver, explores the roots of Muslim extremism in Britain.

Keillor Uncensored

Two weeks after a Lexington, Ky., public radio station dropped it over concerns that its content could incur indecency fines, "The Writer's Almanac" returns today to the station's broadcast lineup, The Lexington Herald-Leader reported on Saturday. The five-minute program, in which the writer and radio host Garrison Keillor presents a roundup on this-day-in-literary-history, was removed from WUKY's morning schedule on Aug. 1 because of concerns that the word "breast" and the phrase "get high" in the program's poetic recitations might be considered indecent. In a Herald-Leader article published on Friday, the general manager of the University of Kentucky station, Tom Godell, said of Mr. Keillor, "It's not that he's behaving like Howard Stern, but the F.C.C. has been so inconsistent, we don't know where we stand." The cancellation initially prompted few complaints, but a deluge from listeners on Friday apparently persuaded the station to reverse its decision that afternoon.

Tolkien Trilogy at 50

Aston University, in Birmingham, England, was transformed into Middle Earth this weekend as hundreds converged for "Tolkien 2005," a conference-convention commemorating the 50th anniversary of J. R. R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, the final installment of which was published in 1955. The four-day gathering, which ends today, was organized by the Tolkien Society and involved a more scholarly program than the science fiction and fantasy conventions typically devoted to merchandising and playing dress-up. Even so, The Guardian reported Saturday, revelers in capes and feathered caps were on hand for Elvish sing-alongs and hobbit dancing.

A Beatles' Stones Cover

Not to be overshadowed by the return of the indestructible Rolling Stones, the Beatles will make another comeback of their own - with the Stones' music. The Independent newspaper in London reported yesterday that never-before-seen footage of George Harrison and Ringo Starr performing "Jumpin' Jack Flash" was unearthed recently from the archive of the Beatles' company, Apple. The informal performance, which includes Eric Clapton and Leon Russell, was captured during rehearsals for the Harrison-organized benefit, "The Concert for Bangladesh," at Madison Square Garden in 1971. The footage will be included on a DVD of the Bangladesh concert, to be released in October.

'Over There' Levels Off

After a ratings fall in its second week, from an average of 4.1 million viewers watching the premiere to an audience of 2.6 million for the second episode, FX's Iraq war drama, "Over There," seems to have stabilized. Its third episode drew an estimated average of 2.51 million, according to Nielsen Media Research. Elsewhere on advertiser-supported cable, during the week that ended on Aug. 7, "The Closer" on TNT delivered its best ratings since its June premiere. The police drama, in which Kyra Sedgwick plays a detective who is also a compulsive eater, brought in 6.13 million viewers and was the most-watched show of the week. TNT, as it often is, was No. 1 in prime time over all, this time tying with USA and Nick at Nite in total viewers for the week. USA's top show was "Monk," with 5.38 million viewers, while Nick at Nite had only one show in the top 20, an Aug. 1 rerun of "Full House" that drew 3.38 million. KATE AURTHUR

An R-Rated Box Office

Two of the four films that opened in wide release this weekend were at the top of the box office chart, playing moderately well among audiences seeking revenge or horror. The R-rated "Four Brothers" (Paramount), directed by John Singleton and starring Mark Wahlberg as one of four adopted siblings who seek revenge for their mother's murder, opened at No. 1 with $20.7 million. "The Skeleton Key" (Universal), a horror film starring Kate Hudson, Gena Rowlands and John Hurt, opened at No. 2 with an estimated $15.8 million. Two R-rated holdovers dropped to No. 3 and 4 after leading last weekend's returns: "The Dukes of Hazzard" (Warner Bros.) took in $13 million in estimated ticket sales, and "Wedding Crashers" (New Line), in the top five for its fifth week, collected $12 million in receipts. The R-rated comedy "Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo" (Sony), directed by Mike Bigelow and starring Rob Schneider and Eddie Griffin, opened at No. 5 with $9.4 million, according to studio estimates. CATHERINE BILLEY

A 'Garage' for TV

Steven Van Zandt, the E Street Band guitarist and "Sopranos" cast member, told Billboard.com last week that he is planning a televised version of his popular radio show, "Little Steven's Underground Garage." The show, for which Mr. Van Zandt serves as host and programmer, is a weekly celebration of old and new garage rock that can be heard on more than 130 stations. He described the television project as a "more surreal" take on the radio show, "a little more craziness than just a camera sitting there" in the studio, and expects to begin broadcasting early next year, though no channel was mentioned.