Around The Arts

LOS ANGELES -- Tennis sensation Serena Williams has gone Hollywood with a guest spot Wednesday night as a kindergarten teacher on ABC's "My Wife and Kids." \n"I've never considered tennis as my only outlet," the world's top-ranked player told the Los Angeles Times, adding that she performed as a child in plays written by her sister, Venus. \n"I've always liked doing different things when I was younger. I just never really liked focusing on tennis. I do see myself as a crossover." \nSerena and Venus have won four Grand Slam titles apiece, and Serena has won the past three majors. \nBut Serena also has been working with acting coaches, and signed on with agent Jill Smoller at the William Morris Agency, which also represents "My Wife and Kids" star Damon Wayans. \nThe 21-year-old Williams, whose family lives in Florida, is living part-time in California. \nOn the "My Wife and Kids" episode, her kindergarten teacher confronts series co-star Tisha Campbell-Martin's character, accusing her of being too strict with children in a school play. Wayans helped her with the scene by drawing on her experience as an athlete, Williams said. \n"He said, 'Like when you're on the court, you're reacting to her.' That's how it has to be. You just have to keep reacting," she said. \n"I've had lots of (acting) opportunities. It's just that other career that I have -- that other small career that's putting a hindrance on my acting," she said with a smile. \nWilliams isn't giving up tennis, of course. She's competing in the WTA Championships, which start next week in Los Angeles. \nREYKJAVIK, Iceland -- The mother of pop singer Bjork has ended a hunger strike against a plan to develop the Icelandic highlands. \nHildur Runa Hauksdottir said Tuesday that she began eating again on Sunday evening. She began her fast Oct. 7 to try to persuade Pittsburgh-based Alcoa Inc. to pull out of the plan to build an aluminum smelter and hydroelectric plant in the wilderness area. \nEnvironmentalists say the $3 billion project will ruin the area above Vatnajokull glacier. \nThe state-owned power company plans to build 11 dams to create a 22-square-mile reservoir, which will provide the hydroelectric power for the smelter at Reydarfjordur on the coast. \nAlcoa spokesman Wade Hughes has said the firm was committed to sustainable industrial development and had a good track record on conservation. \nHauksdottir, 56, said she quit because she was satisfied that her message was having a global impact. \n"Americans, Europeans, people in the Far East, have all contacted me asking how they can help, how they can stop this," Hauksdottir said. \n"I thank them for their support and I urge them to keep track by reading the campaign Web site. But a lot more work needs to be done -- time is running out." \nHauksdottir lost more than 14 pounds during her protest, surviving on Icelandic herbal tea and homeopathic tonics. \nBjork arrived in Iceland Sunday -- the 36-year-old singer's first visit since she gave birth to her daughter earlier this month. \nLONDON -- Actor Liam Neeson said he was nervous when he received a royal honor from Queen Elizabeth II. \n"I've not been so nervous since I met Muhammad Ali," said the 50-year-old actor, who received his Order of the British Empire, or OBE, from the queen Tuesday at Buckingham Palace. \n"I really was weak-kneed," he said after the ceremony. "She asked me if the award was for theater or films, and I said I thought it was for both. She said, `That's nice'." \nNeeson was an amateur boxer during his school days. He met Ali, his idol, at London's Dorchester Hotel in 1981. \nNeeson's actress-wife, Natasha Richardson, didn't attend the ceremony, remaining at the couple's New York home to look after their two young sons. \n"I've got a green card and I'm a resident alien in New York," said the Northern Ireland-born actor, who got his break in acting at the Lyric Theater in Belfast. \n"It's been famine and feast," said Neeson, who was nominated for an Oscar for his role in 1993's "Schindler's List." "Now, I get a lot of scripts to choose from." \nNeeson's films also include "Michael Collins" and "Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace." \nLOS ANGELES -- Fox canceled producer David E. Kelley's new law office drama "girls club" after just two airings because of low ratings. \nThe drama about three female lawyers in San Francisco debuted last week and finished 82nd out of 131 rated programs, according to Nielsen Media Research. The Monday night show lost nearly 1 million viewers this week and gave up more than half the audience that tuned in for Kelley's "Boston Public," which preceded it. \nKelley is best known for shows such as ABC's "The Practice" and Fox's "Ally McBeal." He had another program called "Snoops" that was canceled by ABC after less than a season three years ago. \n"While I am disappointed that the show did not succeed, I remain proud of the entire cast and crew of 'girls club,"' Kelley said in a statement. \nFox will air a rerun of "Boston Public" next week and specials throughout November to fill the slot. \n"Girls club" starred Gretchen Mol, Kathleen Robertson and Chyler Leigh as three Stanford Law graduates who get jobs at a corporate law firm. It joins ABC's "That Was Then" as the second show this fall that didn't make it to its third episode.