Arts and entertainment reports from The Times, national and international news services and the nation’s press.

POP/ROCK

MTV’s ‘Ray of Light’: Madonna dominated the MTV Video Music Awards Thursday, winning video of the year for “Ray of Light.” Her work nabbed another five awards along the way including four more for “Ray of Light” (best female video, direction, choreography, editing) and one for “Frozen” (best special effects). Meanwhile, Will Smith (best male video and best rap video), Prodigy (best dance video and breakthrough video) and Aerosmith (best rock video, best video from a film) picked up two awards apiece, with Prodigy’s honors coming for the video to the controversial song “Smack My Bitch Up.” Other winners included videos by the Backstreet Boys (group video), Green Day (alternative music video), Natalie Imbruglia (best new artist in a video), Wyclef Jean featuring Refugee All Stars (best R&B; video), Bjork (art direction) and Fiona Apple (cinematography).

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U2’s Greatest Hits: U2’s greatest hits package, “U2 The Best of 1980-1990,” is set for release on Island Records Nov. 3. The 14-track double CD (to be offered the first week only with a bonus 15-track CD of U2’s 1980s B-sides), will include such songs as “Pride (In the Name of Love),” “New Year’s Day,” “With or Without You,” “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and “Where the Streets Have No Name.” The album will also include one previously unreleased song, “Sweetest Thing,” which was originally intended for the 1980s album “The Joshua Tree.”

TELEVISION

Magic’s Stern Words: Earvin “Magic” Johnson finally got to take some shots at his harshest critic, Howard Stern, who had relentlessly blasted the former basketball legend’s recently canceled talk show, “The Magic Hour.” In an appearance Wednesday on NBC’s “Tonight Show With Jay Leno,” Johnson called Stern’s new CBS show, “The Howard Stern Radio Show,” “the worst show in the history of TV.” While Leno enthusiastically applauded, Johnson addressed the camera and said, “Howard Stern, your show is the worst. The absolute worst ever on TV. Get him out of there! I cannot wait until they cancel him because I’m going to go on his radio show and dog him right to his face.” Stern’s show has been struggling in the ratings since its debut last month against “Saturday Night Live” and has been dropped by three CBS affiliates because of its content. The shock jock was on vacation and was unavailable for comment.

PERFORMING ARTS

Royal Opera Woes: London’s troubled Royal Opera House, facing a steep deficit and criticism over its management practices, has announced plans to discontinue all Royal Opera performances and most Royal Ballet performances for a year, and then reopen with lower ticket prices. (The actual Royal Opera House building in Covent Garden is closed for refurbishment, but the companies had been performing in other theaters around the country.) A recent government report on the opera house--which has teetered on the brink of insolvency in recent years--had called for the reduced ticket prices as a way to overcome the elitist image of opera and ballet. Other plans announced Wednesday call for a “significant reduction” in the venue’s staff, and a reduced number of performances and new productions for the reopened theater’s first full season (starting in December 1999).

QUICK TAKES

The annual AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival will kick off its 10-day run Oct. 22 with the U.S. premiere of Miramax Films’ “Life Is Beautiful (La Vita E Bella)” at Mann’s Chinese Theater. The film, written and directed by Roberto Benigni, won the Grand Jury Prize at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival and picked up the best picture award at Italy’s version of the Oscars. . . . The Fox network has placed a full-season order for its Thursday night news program, “Fox Files,” which debuted in July. The network notes that the program’s ratings make it “the youngest-skewing news program on prime-time television.” . . . “The X-Files” movie is due on 20th Century Fox Home Video on Oct. 13, and the “Armageddon” video is slated for release Nov. 13 on Buena Vista Home Entertainment. . . . “Titanic” Oscar winner James Cameron has decided to venture into television, having signed a deal with Emmy-winning producer Charles “Chic” Eglee (“St. Elsewhere,” “Moonlighting”) to produce episodic television. However, there’s no word yet on any specific projects for the pair. . . . The two-part drama “The Cider House Rules,” currently appearing at the Mark Taper Forum, will be produced in New York in February by the off-Broadway Atlantic Theater Company.