The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 100

F2 FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2(K)I LOS ANGELES TIMES Morning Report ARTS AND ENTERTAINMF-NT REPORTS FROM THE TIMES, NEWS SERVICES AND Tl IE NA TION'S PRESS. TELEVISION KTTV Tops Local Emmy Nominees Pox-owned KTTV-TV scored a leading 22 nominations Thursday for the 53rd annual I. Area Emmy Awards, while KCAI. came in second with 18. Among other local broadcast stations, KCOP garnered 12 nominations, KCBS and KNBC each drew seven, KTIA had six, and KABC landed four nominations.

Local PBS outlet KCET earned eight nominations, and Fox Sports Net had five. Among the categories, KCAI. took two of three nominations in both live breaking news coverage (the other nomination went to Spanish-language station KVEA) and hard news reporting (KIT took the third spot); KCBS scored double nods for investigative reporting, joining fellow nominees KCAI, KCOP and KNBC, and KCOP and KT1 drew nomina- S77 rrrrff Jjpy -J ill "QSa 4LV i iz zKfp -y EGON ENDRENVI Class, Er Court, Assignments Aspiring knight Heath Ledger, on horseback, charges into a jousting match before a raucous crowd in the adventure "A Knight's Tale." 'Knight Tale Surely They Joust Pairing medieval times with a rock soundtrack works well, but it doesn't go far enough. A judge ordered four Kentucky teenagers to each read 12 classic novels and write biweekly book reports as punishment for their "stupid and incredibly dangerous" stunt of trying to jump over a moving car. The judge also ordered the boys to watch only nightly news programs on television for six Political Gold Mine NBC's political drama "The West Wing" has the wealthiest audience of any prime-time network series, according to a new study.

It's the only show where viewers have an average household income of $70,000 or more, according to the New York ad-buying agency TN Media. That's key for advertisers, who seek out affluent audiences. NBC's over- ART Picasso Bidding Turns Cold tany brings some needed spirit to the proceedings, and to his role of herald, which Helgeland has amusingly reimagined as someone who does Vegas-style crowd warmup, proclaiming Ulrich to be "the lance that thrilled Trance, the man who gave them hell at I.a Ro-chelle." After the addition of a fetching blacksmith named Kate (Laura Eraser), Team Ulrich is doing so well that it's time to bring in the spurious romantic complications. William spies the fair Jocelyn (Shannyn Sossamon) and is so smitten he follows her into a cathedral on his horse, which even in the 14th century was a major no-no. He considers her "the most beautiful woman in Christendom," and when he's cautioned about aiming too high, he gallantly replies, "If there's another way to aim, I don't know it." Truly, love is grand.

Also in love with Jocelyn in his own dark, scheming way is the overly aristocratic Count Adhemar (the ever-villainous Rufus Sewell). A champion jouster who looks in his black armor like a Porsche on horseback, Adhemar has never been unhorsed and, in a touch Martha Stewart would appreciate, favors a lance with a tiny clenched fist on the end. Even in jousting, it's the little things that count. While no one wants to say a bad word about romance, the love plot here has several notable problems, starling with the way its very presence feels like a marketing sop to female audiences calculated to turn "A Knight's Tale" from a guy men on horses repeatedly rushing each other at lull speed is not unendingly fascinating. Yet the film's attempt to vary the pace and provide a noticeable dose of romance as a plot alternative turns out to he more tedious than even the jousting.

One person who loves jousting with a passion is William 'Thatcher (Heath Ledger). But because of the narrow, unhip way the world was run in the 14th century, a lot ol the fun stuff, including jousting, was reserved for the nobility. What a drag. Then the knight William serves conveniently dies, and he sneaks into a tournament wearing a corpse's armor and walks away with the prize. As much an anachronism as the music, William has the very modern belief that a man can reinvent himself, change his stars, so to speak.

"I'm not going to spend my life being nothing," he insists, looking more like a pouty surfer than a pile-driving knight. "I've wailed my whole life for this." Fortunately for William and his buddies, they almost immediately run across Geoffrey Chaucer (Peter Bettany). Yes, that Geoffrey Chaucer, already a writer but in his pre- "Canterbury Tales" years and stark-naked because of a weakness for gambling and a knack for losing. Chaucer's abilities, it turns out, include forging the patents of nobility that William will need to turn himself into the fictional Ulrich von i.ichtenstein of Gelderland and be allowed to compete. Bet By KENNETH TURAN IIM1S I It CHI I IC As advertised, "A Knight's Tale" does try to rock you.

The problem is, it doesn't rock you nearly enough. Having come up with a surprisingly serviceable gimmick, writer-director Brian Helgeland is unaccountably parsimonious with it, leaving his film to mark time in ways it's not really qualified to do. Helgeland's idea was to marry a medieval action romance set in 14th century Europe with modem rock music and have the characters accept this as completely natural. So fans at a jousting tournament break into Queen's "We Will Rock You," attendees at a fancy ball dance to David Bowie's "Golden Years," and crowds in London appreciate Thin Tizzy's The Boys Are Back in Town." This kind of playful, high-spirited anachronism is amusing enough, but there's not a lot of it, especially lor a film that's 2 hours and 12 minutes long. While the soundtrack-driven "Driven" has more than 30 songs on its credits, "A Knight's I ale" has 10, not enough for a production that needs more than what amounts to musical window dressing.

For while there's no reason to doubt "A Knight's Tale's" claim that "in medieval times a sport arose, embraced by noble and peasant fans alike," there turn out to be reasons why jousting hasn't survived to the 21st century with its popularity intact. In truth, unless the sight of shattered lances excites vou, armored 'Wingspan': at AtAS Fox Broadcasting Emmy lions for best news special. Meanwhile, KTTV's Frances Ber-nardy and KTI-A's Stephanie E. Medina were nominated for best news director. The Area Emmys -covering 34 categorieswill be handed out June at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.

months. Police had said the MTV stunt show "Jackass" inspired the teens, although the cable music channel said it has never aired a stunt in which someone gets hit by a car. The boys, ages IS and 17, maintained they were copying no one. One boy broke his leg and ankle in attempting the stunt. for Advertisers all audience had the highest average income among the networks, at $63,300 (ABC averaged $58,500, CBS $57,700 and l'ox "ER," "Frasier, I'he Practice," "NYPD Blue," and "60 Minutes" also have higher-than-average income viewers, while UPN's "WWF Smack-down!" was among those with the poorest audience.

at S24 million and the painting went back to its seller. A water-lilies painting by Claude Monet commanded the top price of $9.9 million in a sale that racked up $83.4 million well below the predicted range of $1 16 million to $150 million. Rp Rinaina? in France for the Cannes Film Festival. "I can say here and now we are not engaged but there is a good chance I will get married in the future." McCartney. 58, and Mills, 33, began dating in 1999.

18 months after McCartney's wife of 30 years, Linda, died of breast cancer. Rap Rivalry fore the manager, William B. Dail, 27, took (ioonan outside the concert, threw him against a fence and choked him until he passed out. Police said Goonan's throat and neck were red. Last month, Eminem pleaded no contest in Michigan to a felony weapons charge stemming from a confrontation with Insane Clown Posse associates.

in the Lions Gale film "Monster's Ball," opposite Halle Berry and Billy Bob Thornton. NBC is making some summer schedule changes, moving the game show "Weakest Link" to Mondays at 9 p.m. starting May 21. and putting the comedy "Three Sisters" into the Thursday. 8:30 p.m.

post-'Triends" slot starting Mav 24. -SHAUNASNOW 3 SCOn HUMBERT Patty Duke Sally's nurse-daughter on the series, accepted the "ER" award. Tierney will soon fly to Vancouver to shoot Insomnia" with Pacino and Robin Williams. And this just in: Publisher Rupert Murdoch and his wife. Wendy, were keeping what was a happy secret.

No longer! They expect a little Murdoch in the future. 19 i 4 fj LmmsM I Liu The headliner in Christie's New York auction of Impressionist and modem art Wednesday night failed to find a buyer. Pablo Picasso's 1923 neoclassical portrait of his first wife, Olga, was expected to bring around $30 million, but bidding stopped POP ROCK Will WpHHina RpIIc British papers Thursday quoted Paul McCartney as saying there was a good chance lie would wed his girlfriend Heather Mills. "I may get married again, but that is a decision we will make in private and only then will we make it public," McCartney reportedly said while Fan Fallout From The road manager for the rap group Insane Clown Posse was arrested on misdemeanor assault and battery charges in Nebraska this week for allegedly choking an audience member. The alleged victim, Thomas P.

Goonan, 23, told police he held up a T-shirt featuring rival Detroit rapper Eminem and threw candy at the stage be- QUICK TAKES Museum of Modern Art officials broke ground in New York Thursday on a $650-million expansion that will double the museum's space. MOMA has already raised $500 million for the project, featuring a new building designed by Japanese architect Yoshi Taniguchi. Rap mogul Sean Diddy" Combs is reportedly in final negotiations to play a condemned murderer Intimate Look at Paul movie into a date-night favorite. It might have worked, too, but for the weak performances by the nominal lovebirds. Ledger was more forceful and more effective as Mel Gibson's son in The Patriot," and though it wouldn't be chivalrous to criticize Sossamon, it's enough to say she's a complete beginner whose work here does not exactly whet your appetite for more.

More of a problem is that writer-director Helgeland, whose previous credits include co-writing the "LA. Confidential" screenplay and writing and directing the ultra-violent "Payback," has as much feel for romantic material as Barbara Cartland would have had for The Godfather." Whenever "A Knight's Tale" trusts itself to do without its rock music, it's making a mistake in judgment. MPA rating: PG-13, for action violence, some nudity and brief sex-related dialogue. Times guidelines: lots of broken lances. 'A Knight's Tale' Heath Ledger William Mark Addy Roland Rufus Sewell Count Adhemar Paul Betlany Chaucer Shannyn Sossamon locelyn AlanTudyk Wal laura Fraser Kace An Iscapc ArtistsiTincstkind production, released In Columbia Pictures.

Director Brian I Iclgt'land. Producers 'I odd lllack. lim Van Hellim. Brian Helgeland. Screenplay Brian Helgeland.

Cincmatographcr Rocjard (ireatrex. liditor Kevin Stilt. Costumes Caroline Harris. Music Carter Hunvcll. Production design Tony Burrough.

Art director John Mill. Set decorators Dominic Smilhers, liti Zucek. Running time: 2 hours. 12 minutes. In general release.

McCartney MPL Communications says, he coped because of wife Linda. nel would change so much that there were seven different Wings lineups in less than a decide. With the band, McCartney kept the hits coming, from "Band on the Run" and "Live and Let Die" to "Silly Ixive Songs." The tunes didn't assert the savage self-examination or boldness of I.en-non's solo work yet there is in the music the sort of soothing warmth that McCartney found in his family life. By the end of the 70s, McCartney realized that he no longer needed Wings. He had proven to himself that he could stand on his own musically.

All he really needed was Linda and his family. It was a love story that would continue for another 18 years. Maybe will someday pull aside the curtain on those ears as well "Wingspan iiirs at .9 tonight on ABC. Documentary reveals trauma of Beatles' breakup and explores close link between his personal life and music Liz Smith A Fighter Is Honored ing. When I did get up, I wouldn't shave or bother with anything.

I'd reach for the whiskey and that was a path that was not going to be a good one. I was going downhill. If 1 had to do that on my own, I'm not sure I would have got out of it, but very luckily your mom was there to steer me in a good direction." The connection between his personal life and his music is immediately underscored by the playing of "Maybe I'm Amazed," a love song to Linda in 1970 that stressed the rock star's dependence on her. One of its key lines: "Maybe I'm amazed at the way I really need you." Another reason the documentary is so revealing is that McCartney over the years has remained private even while in the public eye. Even if he brought Linda on stage and into the studio with him.

the couple lived quietly with their four children (one from Linda's former marriage) in remote areas of southern England and in Scotland. If John l.ennnn bared his soul in his music and in his interviews. McCartney drew a curtain. In "Wingspan," however. McCartney pushes aside that cur-lain.

The ex-Beatle traces how he met Linda, a rock photographer and daughter of wealthy New York attorney lee Eastman, at a club in Ton-don in 1967, and how their courtship progressed. He also reminds us of the resentment of Linda by many young female Beatles fans. 'To make things worse in their eves, she was an American divorcee. Especially intriguing in "Wing-span" is the way McCartney operates so much on instinct. Considering he was the most powerful figure in nick, you'd think he'd relv Television Review Bv ROBERT HILBURN POP MUSK CKI I There's a moment in the Paul McCartney documentary that airs tonight on ABC when the program's hostess asks the ex-Beatle what inspired him to write "My Love," a Top 10 single around the world in the early '70s.

McCartney smiles and replies to the interviewer, who is his daughter. Mary: "Well, your mummy. It was a love song to her Linda McCartneyl." The sweetness of the scene and others like it is what makes "Wing-span" such a surprising and endearing entry in the overcrowded world of pop documentaries. Just when you thought Mil's "Behind the Music" had reduced every rock story to a cliche and that there wasn't anything more you needed to know about any of the Beatles, "Wingspan" is as intimate and inviting as McCartney's most melodic songs. One reason is that the two-hour program is largely a family affair-even directed by McCartney's son-in-law.

Alistair Donald. The program offers lots of home movie footage and a generous amount of concert shots, but its heart revolves around McCartney reminiscing about putting his life together after the traumatic breakup of the Beatles in 1970. At the center of that reflection is his wife. Linda, who died of breast cancer in 199H. "I was very insecure, very para noid.

very out of work, very useless," McCartney says in the documentary, describing the weeks after the Beatles split "1 wouldn't get up in the morn After the Beatles, Paul McCartney on a battery of advisors to plot strategy after the Beatles split. But there was no master plan. McCartney knew that he didn't want to be a solo artist, so he decided to start another band. The easiest thing would have been to assemble an all-star supergroup, but he rejected the idea. One reason-unexplored in the documentaryis that he didn't want to set himself up for the kind of conflicts that he experienced in the Beatles.

He wanted to be the one in charge this time. The only person he really needed in Wings was Linda, whose role as a keyboardist and backing vocalist in the band opened her to more attack because she had no background in music. From a distance, it looked like she was forcing herself on the band. In fact. McCartney wanted the comfort of her In his side.

I he other person Patty Duke came back to I A. to be honored by the Didi Ilirsch Community Mental Health Center. She didn't stay long, but the actress who won the Oscar for playing the child Helen Keller says she still battles with mental health. "But not with the same intensity prior to being diagnosed and the lithium Duke adds. She now lives in Ilayden, Idaho, population 11.000.

She and her husband, firefighter Mike Pierce, have been there for 10 years. This event also honored the TV show "ER" at the Regent Beverly Wilshire. Duke tells a tale about running into Sally Field, who just finished playing a mentally ill patient on "ER." "I tapped Sally on the shoulder, identified myself and told her. You got it. That's what it's Sallv squealed and hugged me." Maura Tlerney.

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