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

MOVIES

AFI’s Inaugural Bash: Hollywood may be filled with “Friends of Bill,” but not all of them will be attending the actual inaugural ceremonies in Washington Monday. Some will be watching Bill Clinton’s second swearing-in on big-screen TVs at a party at Washington’s Planet Hollywood that is being hosted by L.A.’s American Film Institute. The AFI threw a similar bash for Clinton’s first inaugural in 1993, and while the guest list is still being finalized for this year’s event, the first one drew a slew of filmdom’s elite, including Anjelica Huston, Robert De Niro, Lauren Bacall, Geena Davis, Martin Scorsese, Sarah Jessica Parker and Neil Simon.

TELEVISION

Off the Set, On the Set: An angry Ellen DeGeneres outed herself in a different way Thursday, by walking off the set of her ABC series when she found out the program would go off the air for an eight-week period starting in March. Sources say the comedian learned of the move--which will make room to try out a new comedy starring Arsenio Hall--through the industry grapevine before being notified by the network. DeGeneres eventually returned, however, and Disney Television, which produces the Wednesday night show, said that a new episode of “Ellen” was expected to be taped Friday night as scheduled. DeGeneres’ publicist had no comment Friday.

STAGE

Maybe Next Year: “Whistle Down the Wind,” the new Andrew Lloyd Webber musical that opened in Washington last month, will not be eligible for this year’s Tony Awards. The production, which has drawn mixed reviews from critics, has postponed its Broadway opening from April to June to allow the show’s creative team time to make some changes in the book and score. The show will now begin performances at New York’s Martin Beck Theater on June 3, too late for this year’s Tony contest. A spokesman for the show said that in addition to allowing for some alterations, the delay would solve a scheduling problem for director Harold Prince, who is also directing “Candide,” which opens on Broadway April 29.

POP/ROCK

Sounds Like Scalpers’ Heaven: It looks as if the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences will have to move its Grammy Awards to Dodger Stadium before the public will be able to buy any tickets. Because of the show’s elaborate staging and ticket demand from within the music industry, only about 1,200 fans will join 10,800 industry insiders when the trophies are handed out Feb. 26 at New York’s Madison Square Garden. And they’ll only be there as winners of TV and radio promotional giveaways. “As ridiculous as it sounds, we’ll still probably have a waiting list among our members,” said academy President Michael Greene, who had hoped to offer as many as 4,000 tickets to the public when he announced last March that seating capacity would be doubled by moving the ceremony from its former homes, including the Shrine Auditorium, to an arena setting.

Smashing Up Their Contract: Chicago rock superstars Smashing Pumpkins have filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Chrysalis Music, seeking to void their four-album contract with the company. The band, which received seven Grammy nominations this week, alleges in its Los Angeles Superior Court suit that it entered into a 32-song publishing deal with Chrysalis in 1992. But after delivering four albums with twice that many songs, the band was informed by Chrysalis that it still owed the company one more album. There is speculation in the music industry that Smashing Pumpkins could ultimately wind up inking a new deal with upstart Twism Music Publishing, an affiliate of Trauma Records that is run by Tom Sturges, a former Chrysalis executive with close ties to the Pumpkins.

Go-Go’s Dispute: Drummer Gina Schock, a former member of the Go-Go’s, has filed suit against the band, claiming she hasn’t received income from album sales since 1986. Shock’s L.A. Superior Court lawsuit also individually names guitarist Charlotte Caffey, with whom Schock claims she signed a contract in 1982 entitling her to a percentage of income received by Caffey stemming from their musical compositions. The Go-Go’s broke up amid personality conflicts in 1985. Caffey’s spokeswoman could not be reached immediately for comment.

QUICK TAKES

Performance artist Karen Finley has rescheduled her UCLA Center for the Performing Arts performance of “The American Chestnut” for April 18 at the Veterans Wadsworth Theater. Finley was originally scheduled for early November but canceled when she came down with a viral infection. . . . . . . Tom Selleck will reprise his guest-starring role on NBC’s “Friends” as Monica’s (Courteney Cox) former boyfriend, Richard, for one episode only on Jan. 30. . . . Former “Mike & Maty” host Michael Burger will take over for Chuck Woolery as co-host of the Family Channel’s weekday show “Home & Family,” when the program starts its second season on Monday. . . . Singer Brandy Norwood, star of the UPN sitcom “Moesha,” is about to take on a third career--as a college student. She starts classes at Malibu’s Pepperdine University next week.