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

MOVIES

Century Mark: The American Film Institute will announce plans Wednesday for its celebration of the 100th anniversary of American movies, including the naming of “the 100 greatest American movies of all time.” The AFI’s list--determined by a panel of more than 1,500 film industry leaders--will be unveiled during a three-hour CBS special this spring, as well as on 10 hourlong specials on cable’s TNT.

TELEVISION

Clergy Weigh In: ABC’s “Nothing Sacred”--which was picked up for the full season Monday despite ranking only 98th out of 104 series on ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox--got a second vote of confidence when 117 Catholic priests, nuns and bishops signed a full-page advertisement in this week’s edition of the trade publication Advertising Age, asking sponsors to continue with the show. The signatories--which include 26 Los Angeles area priests and another four from San Diego--were responding to an advertiser boycott by the Catholic League that resulted in several major advertisers withdrawing from the program earlier in the season. The ad says that the boycotters, who object to the show’s portrayal of a young priest who wrestles with such hot-button issues as celibacy and abortion, “do not speak for most American Catholics. They do not speak for us. We believe ‘Nothing Sacred’ has wit, intelligence and compassion and can serve as a positive vehicle for discourse.”

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Continuously ‘Mad’: NBC will air a 22-minute, break-free episode of “Mad About You” on Dec. 16. In an unusual move for series TV, the episode--which deals with Paul (Paul Reiser) and Jamie’s (Helen Hunt) continuing efforts to deal with a crying baby Buchman--was filmed in a single take with only one camera and plays out in real time. The episode itself will air without commercial breaks, but it will be preceded and followed by ads.

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Kids as Filmmakers: Cable’s Nickelodeon has announced plans for a half-hour special being billed as “the first kids’ film festival on television.” Called “The Short Films by Short People Film Festival,” the Dec. 21 program will feature eight shorts developed and produced by kids through Nickelodeon’s Creative Lab program. According to Amy Friedman, executive producer of the Creative Lab: “The program brings kids’ unique visions and voices to our air through their stories and puts them in the creative driver’s seat. . . . What results is a point of view that [adult filmmakers] couldn’t have expected or written ourselves.”

POP/ROCK

Singing for Hillary: Natalie Cole will headline “The Second Concert of Hope,” a benefit for the National Center of Addiction and Substance Abuse, on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the Wiltern Theater. First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton will be honored at the event, which will be televised on CBS in December. Also scheduled to perform are Kenny G, En Vogue, Wynonna, Tim McGraw, and Kirk Franklin and the Family. Honorary event chairs include former presidents George Bush, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan, plus Lady Bird Johnson. Tickets are $35-$2,000.

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It’s a Rap: No Limit Records rapper and company founder Master P says he will resign as a solo rapper after the release of his forthcoming album, “The Last Don,” because he wants to be taken more seriously as a CEO. “It has been a struggle with the media to see me as the businessman that I set myself up to be, [only] to be labeled as a gangsta rapper,” he said. “I believe I can make a difference in the film and music business.” The New Orleans-based P, whose real name is Percy Miller, has made a notable rise from selling records out of his car in the Bay Area to being a one-man conglomerate, selling 200,000 copies of his self-financed straight-to-video movie, “I’m Bout It,” in addition to 1.1 million copies of his chart-topping album, “Ghetto D.”

STAGE

Casts Unite: Cast members from three hit shows--”Ragtime,” “Rent” and “Phantom of the Opera”--will unite for “When Casts Collide,” a World AIDS Day benefit for various AIDS charities. Malcolm Gets of TV’s “Caroline in the City” is set to host the event Dec. 1 at the Shubert Theatre. Billed as “a musical celebration of life, love and hope,” the concert will feature music from various Broadway productions. Tickets are $35, $50, $75 and $250.

QUICK TAKES

Although the hit film is still in theaters, 20th Century Fox will release “Soul Food” on home video on Jan. 13, for a suggested $19.98. It’s the same quick-turnaround strategy Fox used with its previous hit, “Waiting to Exhale.” . . . “Baywatch” star David Hasselhoff has signed to continue as star and executive producer of the syndicated show through the year 2000. . . . Bob Dylan’s five shows at the 900-capacity El Rey Theatre, Dec. 16-20, sold out within hours of going on sale Saturday. Unconfirmed reports say separate big-name opening acts have been lined up for each night. . . . Fox has started production on “Disaster at the Mall,” a thriller being billed as the network’s “most ambitious original television movie” ever. Rob Estes, Shannon Sturges and David Soul star in the story of a flood at a multilevel shopping mall in Colorado. . . . A former executive assistant has sued Montel Williams for sexual harassment, claiming the talk-show host ridiculed the homosexual employee over his sexual orientation and subjected him to “sexually offensive conduct.” A spokeswoman for Williams said he “vehemently denied” the charges made by Ernesto Medina, who worked for Williams in 1994-95.