ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT REPORTS FROM THE TIMES, NEWS SERVICES AND THE NATION’S PRESS.

ART

Dodging Controversy?: Graham Beal, the former L.A. County Museum of Art chief who is now director of the Detroit Institute of Arts, has shelved an exhibition of contemporary art there that was to include potentially offensive works with religious and sexual themes. The show, “Art Until Now,” was to have opened last Wednesday with the first of a series of 12-week installations exploring the course of 20th century art. “I felt strongly I could not defend a couple of the pieces,” said Beal, who took the Detroit post only seven weeks ago and did not see the exhibition until Thursday. The show had been accepted by the Detroit museum two years ago. A museum spokesman, meanwhile, said Beal had decided to “postpone” the show so he could review it and discuss it with the artists. Among works to have been featured in the show: a vial of urine from Andres Serrano’s highly controversial photograph “Piss Christ”; a piece called “Bathtub Jesus” featuring a doll wearing a condom; and a video of British artist Tracey Emin in a menstruation ritual. The postponement follows a highly publicized controversy over a Brooklyn Museum of Art exhibition featuring provocative works by British artists. While at LACMA, Beal refused to book that particular exhibition. The move also comes while the Detroit museum is in the midst of a $320-million fund-raising campaign, but Beal said fund-raising wasn’t a factor in his decision.

TV & RADIO

Drudgery: With tongue firmly in cheek, cyber-journalist Matt Drudge on his weekly ABC Radio show Sunday night praised Fox-TV for its coverage of the conflict that led to his parting ways with the network last week. Responding to a caller’s comment, Drudge commended Fox’s Brit Hume for showing a photo of a fetus undergoing microsurgery in a story about “this guy who wanted to talk about abortion.” The “guy” in question was Drudge, whom Fox executives had banned from using the same photo to launch an anti-abortion commentary on his former weekend TV program. “Bravo to Fox News for showing that picture,” he said sarcastically in the first hour of his radio show, which airs here Sundays from 10 p.m. to midnight on KABC-AM (790).

POP/ROCK

Christmas Lineup: Beck, Bush, Oasis, Fiona Apple, Tori Amos and the Foo Fighters are among those on the lineup for KROQ-FM’s 10th annual Almost Acoustic Christmas concert, to be held Dec. 11 at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim. The rest of the lineup, announced by the radio station Monday: Blink 182, Save Ferris, 311 and Powerman 5000. Ticket information will be announced closer to the show’s date.

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Heart Disease Felled Tornados Member: Texas musician Doug Sahm’s death last week was caused by arterioscleriotic cardiovascular disease, a form of heart disease, the New Mexico medical investigator’s office said Monday. Sahm, a key player in the Sir Douglas Quintet in the 1960s and the Texas Tornados in the 1990s, was found dead in a Taos, N.M., hotel room on Thursday. He was 58. Funeral services are set for today in Sahm’s hometown, San Antonio.

MOVIES

The Force Is With Them: “Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace” will return to theaters for one week beginning Dec. 3, with 100% of proceeds from the encore release going to charity. The film is slated to play in approximately 350 cities in the United States and Canada; theater owners have selected 177 charitable groups that will reap the benefits. The holiday charity release is a joint effort between Lucasfilm, 20th Century Fox and local theater owners.

QUICK TAKES

Fox has renewed its Tuesday comedy “That ‘70s Show,” which had already been picked up for the rest of this season, for an additional two years. The show has been a rare high point in the struggling network’s ratings this season. . . . “Ally McBeal” co-star Lucy Liu has signed to star with Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz in Columbia Pictures’ upcoming movie version of the ‘70s TV series “Charlie’s Angels,” slated for a November 2000 release. . . . Enrique Iglesias, whose debut English album, “Enrique,” hits stores today, will perform live and greet fans tonight at 6 at the Virgin Mega Store on Sunset Boulevard. . . . CBS’ latest sequel to “Sarah, Plain & Tall” drew an estimated audience of 20.3 million Sunday, while the NBC movie “Y2K” scared up a solid 16.7 million viewers. The movies split along demographic lines, with “Y2K” scoring the second-highest rating among adults age 18 to 49 for a TV movie this season, while roughly two-thirds of the “Sarah” audience was over 50. . . . Jason Alexander has signed an agreement with 20th Century Fox Television to develop a new sitcom in which he would star. No network, writer or concept is as yet attached to the project, which isn’t expected to premiere until 2001. Another “Seinfeld” alumnus, Michael Richards, is preparing a new comedy series for NBC. . . . A record 47 countries have submitted movies for best foreign language film consideration for this year’s Oscars, with Bhutan, Nepal and Tadjikistan making submissions for the first time. . . . Jewel has canceled her scheduled New Year’s Eve concert in her home state of Alaska, citing, among other things, worries over possible Y2K problems. But some Alaskans say the real problem with the Anchorage show was jacked-up ticket prices. Only about 1,000 of the 8,000 available seats--priced from $65 to $99--had been sold since going on sale Oct. 16. . . . In an apparent homage to ABC’s popular “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” game show, TV Land will dip into its library to air four episodes of the 1950s anthology series “The Millionaire” on Wednesday from 5 to 7 p.m., under the heading “Who Wants to See ‘The Millionaire?’ ”