TELEVISIONGoodman Plays Louisiana Legend: “Roseanne� star John...

TELEVISION

Goodman Plays Louisiana Legend: “Roseanne� star John Goodman will play Huey Long in a TNT cable movie about the populist governor and U.S. senator. The film about Long, who was assassinated in 1935, is being written by “Peyton Place� producer Paul Monash, who also wrote an Emmy-winning screenplay about Josef Stalin. “Huey Long� will air sometime in 1994, TNT said. Filming is expected to begin in the Baton Rouge, La., area this spring after production on “Roseanne� wraps for the season.

Corbin to Return in a Cast: A broken foot won’t keep Barry Corbin off the set of “Northern Exposure.� The actor, who plays ex-astronaut Maurice Minnifield in the CBS series, plans to return to work in Roslyn, Wash., next week. He was injured two weeks ago when a horse fell on him at his ranch and is still recovering from surgery to repair a broken foot and ankle. With the actor’s leg in a cast, Minnifield is “going to be a little bit hampered, a little bit physically challenged,� Corbin told Seattle’s KIRO-TV. But producers haven’t been specific about changes in his role, he said.

ARTS

American Import Sets French Record: A show of French Impressionist masterpieces borrowed from an American foundation has become the most popular art exhibition in French history. The national museums agency says that about 1.5 million people visited Paris’ Musee d’Orsay between Sept. 8 and Sunday to see 72 paintings from the collection of the late Albert Barnes, who purchased the works seven decades ago. Barnes, who died in 1951, set up a private art foundation in 1925 and stipulated that his collection never leave its home in Merion, Pa. But badly needed renovations forced the foundation to lend the paintings to raise $8 million, and the works have been since shown in Washington, Philadelphia, Paris and Tokyo. The Barnes exhibition topped the previous French record of 1.2 million visitors for the six-month 1967 show of ancient Egyptian treasures at the Louvre Museum.

POP/ROCK

No Divisiveness Needed, John Says: Pop singer Elton John responded Tuesday to criticism from Los Angeles’ AIDS Healthcare Foundation stemming from his Atlanta-based Elton John AIDS Foundation’s decision to hold a Los Angeles fund-raiser on Oscar night, the same night as the Los Angeles group’s annual fund-raiser. “At this time, the last thing the AIDS community needs is divisiveness,� said John, who was accused of trying to “steal the thunder� of the local group’s fund-raising efforts. In a statement, John’s foundation noted that “instead of detracting from AHF’s efforts, we choose to believe that we are supplementing their efforts in helping to raise funds and awareness for the AIDS crisis.� The group also said it “in no way could detract from AHF’s longtime supporters� since its exclusive party is limited to 150 invited guests.

Pickett Starts His Jail Sentence: Soul singer Wilson Pickett is just another inmate in New Jersey’s Bergen County Jail. “Contrary to his popularity as a singer, he’s just another number here,� said Sheriff Jack Terhune. “He will be treated like everyone else.� On Monday, Pickett began serving a yearlong sentence for drunken driving and assault by an auto for striking a pedestrian in 1992. As part of his sentence, he completed an in-patient alcohol rehabilitation program before reporting to jail. Pickett, known for such songs as “In the Midnight Hour� and “Mustang Sally,� has a previous drunken driving conviction.

MOVIES

More Oscar Contenders This Year: A total of 247 feature-length films meet the eligibility requirements for 1993 Academy Award consideration--nine more than in 1992, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Tuesday. A list of all eligible features will be sent with the Academy Award ballots, which are to be mailed to members on Friday. Nominations for the 66th annual Academy Awards, to be presented March 21, will be announced Feb. 9.

Native American Films to Be Screened: Seven films, among them “Waterborne: Gift of the Indian Canoe,� “Women in the Shadows,� “A Matter of Respect� and “The Spirit of the Mask,� will be shown at the 11th Annual Native American Film Festival, Jan. 15 and 16 at the Southwest Museum in Highland Park. The films focus on such subjects as tribal customs, alcoholism and racism. . . . Programming announcements are expected soon for the Ninth Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival, planned this year for March 4 through 13.

QUICK TAKES

A Florida judge has set Jan. 26 as the hearing date to determine whether Burt Reynolds will be ordered to pay temporary alimony to estranged wife Loni Anderson. Both stars are expected to appear at the hearing. . . . Sylvester Stallone, Sharon Stone, James Woods and Eric Roberts will star in “The Specialist,� an action thriller for Warner Bros. Pictures that is scheduled to begin production in mid-February. . . . Academy Award-winning filmmaker Arnold Kopelson (“Platoon,� “Falling Down,� “The Fugitive�) will be honored March 10 as Producer of the Year at the annual NATO/ShoWest ’94 film industry convention in Las Vegas.