Morning Report - News from May 6, 1999

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Classical Glass Ceiling Shattered: Three female violinists were lauded in New York Wednesday as winners of the Avery Fisher Prize for excellence in classical music, the first women to be honored in the prize’s 25-year history. Sarah Chang, 18; Pamela Frank, 31; and Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, 38, all Americans, will each receive a $50,000 cash award. The absence of female recipients had become an issue, said Deborah Borda, executive director of the New York Philharmonic and a member of the Avery Fisher Artist Program. Previous recipients have included cellist Yo-Yo Ma, pianist Andre Watts and clarinetist Richard Stoltzman.

Pop Chart: “Ryde or Die” by the rap outfit Ruff Ryders debuts at No. 1 on the nation’s album chart this week with 263,000 copies sold, according to SoundScan. The group is joined in the Top 5 by releases from (in descending order) TLC, Nas, Shania Twain and Britney Spears. The No. 1 single for the second straight week is “Livin’ La Vida Loca” by Ricky Martin.

A Two-Hour Kodak Moment: Eastman Kodak wants to do with pictures what THX has done with sound by certifying movie houses with Kodak ScreenCheck, starting this weekend at four Southland movie theaters. Noting that the average movie screen is about half as bright as it should be, Kodak executives said they will send out employees to assure that screens are clean and projectors equipped with fresh bulbs. Pointing out that it takes up to 1 million hours of labor to produce a film, one Hollywood special-effects supervisor said: “It hurts my feelings that the two hours people spend watching it aren’t taken as seriously.” The program, unveiled Wednesday, will be heralded with new trailers preceding features at Avco Cinema Westwood, Beverly Connection, Sherman Oaks Cinema 7 and the Hollywood Galaxy.

Extended Laugh Track: For the first time, Comedy Central will air a two-hour block of original programming every Monday through Thursday from 10 p.m. to midnight, starting June 14. In addition to returning series such as “South Park,” “The Daily Show” and “Dr. Katz,” the cable channel will premiere the largest batch of new series in the network’s history, including the already announced “The Man Show” (with “Loveline” host Adam Carolla and former KROQ-FM personality Jimmy Kimmel), “Strangers With Candy” (described as “a twist on . . . the classic after-school specials”), the action show “Frank Leaves for the Orient” and the game show “Comedy Central’s Vs.”

QUICK TAKES

Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment began production this week on the Flintstones prequel “Viva Rock Vegas,” scheduled for release next summer. “The Full Monty’s” Mark Addy stars as Fred Flintstone, with Stephen Baldwin as Barney, Kristen Johnston as Wilma and Jane Krakowski as Betty. . . . Columbia TriStar Television holds an open casting call at Venice’s Muscle Beach at 1 p.m. today for “sexy and athletic” men and women to play “Warriors” on the forthcoming syndicated series “BattleDome.” Tae Bo guru Billy Blanks, a consultant on the show, will preside over stunt-fighting and other athletic tests. . . . Godfather of Soul James Brown will follow David Bowie’s lead by issuing bonds that will pay interest from his song royalties, his agent said, adding that the bond issue will allow Brown to “enjoy financial freedom without having to sell off any part of a musical catalog that has taken a lifetime to create.” Bond broker David Pullman, who handled Bowie’s $55-million bond transaction in 1997, wouldn’t confirm reports that Brown will collect $35 million to $55 million from the deal. . . . Everclear, Jeff Beck and Social Distortion singer Mike Ness have been added to the lineup for Woodstock ‘99, taking place July 23-25 in Upstate New York.