READY OR NOT, THE `BEAT' GOES ON.

Byline: Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

In 1995, Sonny Bono nixed the idea of his ``The Beat Goes On'' book being turned into a two-hour TV movie. Now, ABC is bringing us ``The Beat Goes On,'' the two-hour TV movie.

Some of the late congressman's associates are crying foul. Or, as one put it, ``This is ambulance-chasing of a different kind.''

What beat is really going on? Sonny once had a deal with Universal, which sold the Fox network on the idea of a ``Beat Goes On'' miniseries. When the script came in, neither Sonny nor the network liked it. ``Then, Universal tried to keep the project alive, and asked for an extension on its option with the idea of doing a two-hour telefilm,'' says Sonny's long-time agent, Tony Fantozzi. ``Sonny made it real clear he did not want to proceed, and that he did not believe a TV movie was special enough.''

But ...

``I bought the rights to the book after Sonny's death,'' explains producer Larry Thompson, who adds that he used to be Bono's attorney. He has not talked to Cher. ``I dealt with the estate and with Mary Bono, and Ellen Westeon (``Medusa's Child'') is now writing a new script'' for the ABC movie.

Sounds like Larry's working from an old script, however. Thompson brought us the 1991 ``Lucy & Desi: Before the Laughter'' telepic. That time around, he was working with Lucie Arnaz and Larry Luckinbill on a CBS project, until Lucie withdrew over script considerations, believing the movie would not go forward. She later read in Daily Variety that Thompson had signed to do the movie himself. ``I felt raped,'' said Lucie, who complained that the telepic rendered her parents in a ``surface ... cartoon ... biased'' way.

Thompson's gearing up for a nationwide talent search for Sonny and Cher - just like the one he had for the part of Lucy before signing veteran actress Frances Fisher.

Familiar ground

Alan Arkin says he identifies strongly with the juvenile characters in ``Slums of Beverly Hills,'' the forthcoming Fox Searchlight release in which he plays a father raising three children on the wrong side of the 90210 ZIP code. ``I grew up dirt poor in L.A. and still recall the discomfort, the embarrassment of my family's situation,'' he says. As Murray in the very funny, very moving ``Slums,'' he keeps moving the brood from one seedy apartment to the next on the fringes of Beverly Hills, determined that his children will have the benefit of a Beverly Hills public education. In real life, Arkin beat it out of L.A. when he was 20 and raised his three children in New York, where, he feels, life is not so insular.

Right now, Arkin's on stage off-Broadway in ``Power Play'' with his son Tony, Elaine May and her daughter Jeannie Berlin. The show wraps in early September and then he'll be taking off for a lengthy vacation. ``I haven't been on stage in 30 years,'' says the esteemed actor, ``And I forgot how exhausting it was. A 12-hour day on a movie set is not as difficult as 90 minutes on stage. I need a rest.'' That might be, but one gets the impression that if his son Adam's ``Chicago Hope'' producers beckons, Alan will make himself available. Their pairing on the show last season as father and son earned them both Emmy nominations and Alan says, ``I'd love to guest again, but so far they haven't asked me.''

The big-screen heard

``Eve's Bayou'' star Jurnee Smollett is heading into the recording studio soon. ``I have six record companies that want to sign me,'' says the 12-year-old singer-actress. ``So, my manager, Benny Medina (the man behind Will Smith's rise to fame), is going to have me do a demo.'' Smollett, who'll be a regular on ``Cosby'' this fall, has the capacity to belt out a Lena Horne tune in a manner that rivals the great lady herself, but says they'll gear her music to a younger demographic, natch.

Queen Latifah is getting buzzed as stunning in her forthcoming role in ``Living Out Loud,'' with Holly Hunter and Danny DeVito. The rapper-cum-sitcom star plays a sultry singer who befriends Hunter, and warbles the blues, including jazz legend Billy Strayhorn's ``Lush Life'' and Irving Gordon's ``Be Anything'' - as well as Little Anthony and the Imperials' rock 'n' roll classic, ``Goin' Out of My Head.''

Head trips

Montgomery Clift portrayed Sigmund Freud in the memorable '60s bio-pic - now two new moves are on the way featuring the father of psychiatry: Geisler Roberdeau's ``The White Hotel,'' based on the sensational, surreal, sexual fantasy novel by D.M. Thomas; and ``Hysteria,'' with Sir Ian Holm as Freud, co-starring Helena Bonham Carter.

CAPTION(S):

Photo

Photo: Sonny Bono

Rejected TV movie