Wallace & Gromit Warehouse Goes Up in Smoke

Joy and heartbreak mingled yesterday in Bristol, England, where a fire at Aardman Animations destroyed props from the "Wallace & Gromit" films and other productions hours after the company learned that those animated clay stars were the top money-earners at box offices in the United States over the weekend with "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit." The fire gutted the Aardman warehouse, where sets, props and models from the company's past productions were stored, The Associated Press reported. But Aardman said that sets and props from "The Curse of the Were-Rabbit," the first full-length adventure about the eccentric inventor and his indomitable dog, were not involved. "Today was supposed to be a day of celebration with the news that 'Wallace & Gromit' had gone in at No. 1 at the U.S. box office, but instead our whole history has been wiped out," said Arthur Sheriff, a spokesman for Aardman. But Nick Park, the creator of "Wallace & Gromit," who joined the company in the mid-1980's, said the earthquake in South Asia had helped to put the fire into perspective. "Even though it is a precious and nostalgic collection and valuable to the company, in light of other tragedies, today isn't a big deal," he said. The cause of the fire was being investigated.

Coming From Philip Roth: Regret and Loss

Philip Roth's next novel, "Everyman," will be published in May by Houghton Mifflin, the company announced yesterday. Janet Silver, the publisher of the Houghton Mifflin division that will publish the book, called it "an elegant and deeply moving story of regret and loss in the shocking face of mortality." The last novel from Mr. Roth, "The Plot Against America," spent 16 weeks on the hardcover fiction best-seller list of The New York Times, climbing as high as No. 2. Houghton Mifflin declined to comment on how much of an advance it paid for "Everyman," which it said will be Mr. Roth's 27th book. EDWARD WYATT

'Housewives' Rule

Bree (Marcia Cross) found out she was a suspect in Rex's death, Lynette (Felicity Huffman) felt guilty for working, Gabrielle (Eva Longoria) reconciled with Carlos, and on Sunday "Desperate Housewives" once again led ABC to a ratings victory. In Nielsen's estimates, the comedic soap opera drew 25.69 million viewers. That was down slightly from its two previous episodes this season, but it was the most popular program of the night. "Grey's Anatomy," which followed "Housewives," delivered Sunday's second-largest audience, with 18.45 million. At 8 p.m. on ABC, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" was beaten again in total viewers by CBS's "Cold Case" (14.96 million versus 15.81 million), but among 18-to-49-year-olds the tear-inducing reality show beat the scripted mystery series. Another mystery, CBS's movie of the week, "The Hunt for the B.T.K. Killer," attracted a mediocre audience of 8.63 million. Fox's baseball broadcast of the New York Yankees' nail-biting postseason playoff victory over the Los Angeles Angels put the network in second place over all among total viewers and adults 18 to 49. KATE AURTHUR

Donation for Dance

The New York Choreographic Institute, run by the New York City Ballet, is to announce a gift of $5 million today from the Irene Diamond Fund, which donated $5.5 million in 2000 to create the organization, founded to give ballet choreographers a chance to create without the pressure of subsequent performance. The new donation, as well as other pledges and maturing investments, should bring the institute's endowment to more than $16 million by 2010, said a company spokesman, Robert Daniels. The money will allow the institute to expand its program, which twice yearly allows four choreographers to work with City Ballet dancers or School of American Ballet seniors. A new fellowship program will provide grants of as much as $15,000 to ballet companies in the United States and abroad that are interested in creating the same opportunities. "This should be seen as an encouragement for other organizations to do what we are doing, to do it in their own environment and under their own auspices," said Peter Martins, the director of the New York City Ballet, who conceived of the institute. ROSLYN SULCAS

Brazil's New Theater

Fifty years after Oscar Niemeyer first designed a modernistic music theater for Ibirapuera Park in downtown São Paulo, Brazil, the triangle-shaped, 800-seat auditorium was inaugurated with a concert last week, Reuters reported. The back wall of the stage opens to reveal the park or to allow the spectators to hear concerts from the grass outside. Niemeyer, now 97, who collaborated on the design of the United Nations headquarters and was the architect of the signature buildings in Brasilia, Brazil's capital, gave no reason for not attending the opening but has complained that a walkway in his original plan was eliminated because it violated height restrictions in the park. The park was created in 1954 in celebration of the city's 400th anniversary, but lack of money prevented construction of the auditorium until Telecom Italia provided financing in 2003. ... Designed by Santiago Calatrava, a new 4,000-seat opera house, built of concrete, steel and crushed ceramic, standing 230 feet high and costing more than $145 million, opened on Saturday in Valencia, Spain, nine years after the start of construction, The Guardian of London reported. Esteban Gonzalez Pons, a regional government spokesman, said of the futuristic Reina Sofia Palace of the Arts, "We hope it will become the symbol of the city, like the opera house of Sydney." Other Calatrava projects include the Port Authority's PATH terminal and transportation hub in Lower Manhattan.

Rabbinical Ire for Madonna

The forthcoming Madonna album has come under rabbinical criticism, according to the Israeli daily Maariv, The Associated Press reported. The album, "Confessions on a Dance Floor," to be released on Nov. 15, includes "Isaac," a track about Yitzhak Luria, a 16th-century Jewish mystic and kabbalah scholar. Rabbi Rafael Cohen, who heads a seminary named for Luria, said: "Jewish law forbids using the name of the holy rabbi for profit. Her act is simply unacceptable, and I can only sympathize for her because of the punishment that she is going to receive from the heavens." Madonna's spokeswoman did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment. In recent years, Madonna, reared as a Roman Catholic, has become a follower of kabbalah, a form of Jewish mysticism, and adopted the Hebrew name Esther.

Footnotes

Poems written by Bob Dylan at college and a gilt medallion worn by Jimi Hendrix at his 1967 performance at the Monterey Pop Festival are to be auctioned by Christie's in New York on Nov. 21, Agence France-Presse reported. The sale of rock and pop memorabilia will also include lyrics handwritten on Doors stationery by Jim Morrison and a tom-tom used by Paul McCartney in the 1950's. ... Patti Smith will give a complete live performance of her influential 1975 debut album, "Horses," at the Howard Gilman Opera House at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on Nov. 30. Tickets go on sale on Oct. 24. A portion of the proceeds of the event will benefit Gulf Coast hurricane relief organizations. Information: (718) 636-4100, or www.bam.org. ... Sorry, but Britney Spears's jewel-encrusted bra is no longer for sale to benefit hurricane victims. The Associated Press reported that the bra, offered at auction on eBay, where bidding had reached $47,000, was removed by Ms. Spears because she was concerned that it was being sold as something it was not. Though she wore it for an HBO promotion, she said, she did not wear it during a performance of "... Baby One More Time."