TELEVISIONA New Dawn: This morning is not...

TELEVISION

A New Dawn: This morning is not just any morning at “CBS This Morning”--it’s the morning for the launch of the show’s new format. The third-ranked morning show will introduce a new studio, a live studio audience and--its producer hopes--a different kind of morning television. “This program will be so different that I’ll be able to compete on a playing field that I’m creating instead of one that I can’t compete on,” said Jim Murphy, the show’s executive producer. The first hour of the new “CBS This Morning” will have news segments, anchored by Jane Robelot, with longer segments for interviews by co-anchors Paula Zahn and Harry Smith, and reports by weatherman Mark McEwen. The second hour will be devoted to in-depth exploration of a single issue or interviews with a single personality--today’s guest will be Colin Powell. Bill Cosby visits the show on Tuesday.

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More O.J. Fallout: Cable’s Turner Classic Movies has canceled its scheduled Oct. 29 airing of D.W. Griffith’s “The Birth of a Nation,” fearing that the controversial 1915 film’s racial stereotypes and near glorification of the Ku Klux Klan movement might inflame “heightened racial tensions” in the wake of the O.J. Simpson trial. In the movie’s place, TCM will air Orson Welles’ “Citizen Kane” at 4 p.m., followed by the documentary “With Orson Welles: Stories from a Life in Film”. . . . Star, the tabloid that printed exclusive photos of Simpson’s homecoming, announced in Tarrytown, N.Y., that it has filed a $1.1-million federal copyright infringement suit against Disney-owned KCAL-TV Channel 9, alleging the station aired its photos without permission.

MOVIES

The Numbers Game: “Seven,” the psychological thriller from New Line, has dominated at the box office for the fourth weekend in a row. The film took the top spot with $9 million during what was a slow weekend for moviegoing. Warner Bros.’ “Assassins” came in second place with $5.8 million. Hollywood Pictures’ gritty film “Dead Presidents” tied for third with Universal’s significantly softer “How to Make an American Quilt” with $4.5 million apiece. Several movies were in close competition: “Jade,” the thriller from Paramount, took in $4.4 million its opening weekend for fifth place. Columbia’s “To Die For” tied with Hollywood Pictures’ new release “The Scarlet Letter,” which opened to poor reviews, with $4.2 million each. Final figures will be released today.

KUDOS

Dance On: The second Annual L.A. Dance Awards, designed to honor the work of choreographers in feature films, were held Sunday at the Century Club in Century City. The big award of the night, outstanding choreographic achievement in motion pictures, went to choreographer Jerry Evans for “The Mask.” Bill and Jacqui Landrum won for choreographic achievement in commercials for a Discover card spot. Jack Cole was given an award for lifetime achievement. The awards were co-sponsored by the L.A. Dance Foundation and the Media Choreographers Council.

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Film Teachers Honors: Actor Rod Steiger will be honored with the Jean Renoir Award for Lifetime Achievement tonight by the Los Angeles Film Teachers Assn. John Goodman will present the award at the Sportsmen’s Lodge in Studio City. Steiger won an Academy Award for “In the Heat of the Night” in 1967. At the same event, Emmy-winning TV writer Abby Mann will receive the Edward R. Murrow Responsibility in Television Award, which will be presented by Maximilian Schell.

ART

From MOCA to LACMA: Los Angeles art collector and financier Eli Broad, who is a founding trustee of the Museum of Contemporary Art and only two weeks ago donated $1 million to MOCA for the display of its permanent collection, was elected as a new director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Although Broad has been identified with MOCA since it was founded in 1979, he rotated off that institution’s board of trustees in 1993.

QUICK TAKES

Pamela Anderson Lee was expected to be released from St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica on Sunday. The 28-year-old “Baywatch” star was hospitalized Friday suffering from what was described as flu-like symptoms, but a hospital spokeswoman said the actress is pregnant. Lee, who is married to Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee, suffered a miscarriage earlier this year. . . . Just two months after a liver transplant, Larry Hagman says he’s ready to start acting and directing again. “We’ve been talking about doing a movie of ‘Dallas,’ the reunion,” Hagman said in an interview to air tonight on “Entertainment Tonight.” Hagman, 64, said he does not know who his liver donor was. “I sure do thank him or her. It’s a perfect liver, though, because it sure has attached well and taken off.”