Arts and entertainment reports from The Times, national and international news services and the nation’s press.

MOVIES

And They’re Off! The Oscar countdown begins in earnest today when nomination ballots are mailed to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences’ 5,173 voting members. This year, 248 feature-length films are eligible for consideration, down from 255 last year.

‘English Patient’ Reading: Fans of “The English Patient” will want to head to Borders Books and Music in Westwood tonight at 7:30 to meet Michael Ondaatje, author of the original book, and Anthony Minghella, the movie’s director and screenwriter. Ondaatje will read an excerpt from his novel, and Minghella will discuss adapting the book for the screen. Both will also take questions from the audience and sign copies of the book and screenplay.

TELEVISION

Coming Up Rosie: “The Rosie O’Donnell Show” is coming to Los Angeles. Daytime’s newest queen of talk will hold court at Universal Studios on Feb. 17-21 and 24-26, in the first road trip for the program, which is normally taped in New York. Close to 1,000 seats will be available for each show, but producers have yet to settle on a way to distribute tickets. Likewise, O’Donnell’s guests for the stand are still to be announced.

Calling All Warriors: Looking for somewhere to go when you’re all dressed up in your sabers and breastplates? Well, the “First Official ‘Hercules’ & ‘Xena’ Convention,” celebrating the syndicated action dramas “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys” and “Xena: Warrior Princess,” takes place this weekend at the Burbank Hilton Hotel, with “Hercules” star Kevin Sorbo appearing Saturday and “Xena” star Lucy Lawless appearing Sunday. The convention will run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days; admission is $18 a day.

LEGAL FILE

Off the Hook: Oasis singer Liam Gallagher, 24, escaped prosecution for cocaine possession Tuesday when London police instead simply warned him not to repeat the offense. A police spokesman said the rock star had received no special treatment, calling it common practice for first-time drug offenders who admit the offense to be merely cautioned. Gallagher, who has garnered a reputation as the bad boy of British rock, was arrested Nov. 9 after celebrating Oasis’ victory the previous evening at a British music awards ceremony.

Liz Not Liable: A federal judge has thrown out a September jury verdict holding Elizabeth Taylor personally liable for more than $600,000 in damages to actress Cicely Tyson in a contract dispute over the 1993 New York stage production “The Corn Is Green.” After critics panned the show, Tyson was fired for taking a night off to attend a Washington tribute to her then-husband, Miles Davis. She sued the production company, Zev Bufman Entertainment Inc., for wrongful termination and also named Taylor, who was affiliated with the company. But Taylor testified that she believed she was lending no more than her name to the production and undertook no financial risk in conjunction with it.

STAGE

Geffen Gets ‘By Jeeves’: The Geffen Playhouse in Westwood will present “By Jeeves,” the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Alan Ayckbourn musical based on P.G. Wodehouse characters, importing the American premiere production that recently played the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Conn. The run is slated for March 12 to April 6, with previews beginning March 4.

Coming to Long Beach: International City Theatre’s first full season in the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center’s Center Theater will include D.L. Coburn’s “The Gin Game” (March 14 to April 6), the Kander and Ebb revue “The World Goes ‘Round” (June 27 to July 20) and Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons” (Sept. 5-28). Because of union rules governing the size of venues in relation to pay scales, the company will use only 190 of the theater’s 862 seats.

RADIO

Beatle Daily: In the first local radio format change of the new year, all-news KNNS-AM (1260) has changed its call letters back to KGIL-AM and will be playing Beatles songs “until people tell us to stop,” said Saul Levine, the station’s president and general manager. Levine, who also runs classical station KKGO-FM (105.1) and the all-news KNNZ-AM (540) in Costa Mesa, adds that there is a “dynamite new format in the wings” for KGIL--whose call letters go back 50 years--that is likely to incorporate the Beatles. KNNS, which began Sept. 1, 1994, failed in the ratings, Levine said, drawing just 80,000 listeners a week among the 3 million who tune in to news. Nevertheless, Levine said, he is “toying with the idea” of doing yet another all-news format on a brand new frequency--1650 AM--by spring.

QUICK TAKES

Prominent Chicago blues singer-guitarist Frank “Son” Seals, 54, was in serious condition at a Chicago hospital Tuesday after suffering a gunshot wound to his jaw on Sunday. Police on Monday charged his wife, Johnnie Seals, 60, with aggravated battery, saying she shot her husband during a quarrel at their South Side home. . . . “Space Jam,” the movie teaming of basketball star Michael Jordan and cartoon hero Bugs Bunny, will be released March 11 on Warner Home Video. The suggested retail price will be $23. . . . Triple Grammy nominee Beck will perform this weekend on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” hosted by actor Kevin Spacey. . . . Porno for Pyros is scheduled to perform a benefit concert at the Whisky on Thursday, with proceeds going to the band’s guitarist, Peter DiStefano, who is battling cancer. The show starts at 9 p.m. with opener Horny Toad!