Arts is Entertainment ,T RESTAURAN MID-EASTERN, CHALDEAN & AMERICAN • Lambchops • Lamb Shish Kabob • White Fish Curry • Tabouleh • Hommus • Vegetarian Entrees • Fresh Catch • Chicken Shawarma • Etc. • Fresh Juice Bar • Cocktails and Wine 6123 HAGGERTY RD. OUST N. OF MAPLE) BLOOMFIELD AVENUE SHOPS WEST BLOOMFIELD SUZANNE CHESSLER (248) 668-1800 Special to the Jewish News n .,„ 27060 EVERGREEN (AT 11 MILE & EVERGREEN) LATHRUP LANDING LATHRUP VILLAGE (248) 559-9099 COUPON GOOD AT BOTH LOCATIONS •50""/o OFF Lunch or Dinner I With purchase of a second lunch or dinner entree of equal or greater value I • Dine In Only in • 1Coupon Per Couple' • Not Valid With other Offers • Expires 12/31/2001 Catering For All Occasions PRIYA INDIAN CUISINE ****Detroit Free Press "I can't wait to go back!" -Molly Abraham, Oakland Press From mild to hot, enjoy India's Southern, Northern and Tandoori Cuisines NOW IN TWO LOCATIONS! PRIYA IN FARMINGTON HILLS 36600 Grand River (West of Drake) eritage — religious and ancestral — entered into the development of the made-for-TV baseball movie 61*, which was filmed last sum- mer at Detroit's Tiger Stadium. Screenwriter Hank Steinberg, who wrote the drama about Yankee sluggers Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle, decided he wanted to be a writer while studying in Israel and traces his love for the sport to his late grandfather, Herman Schucart, a semiprofessional player in St. Louis. "This movie is about two great char- acters, a friendship and a rivalry," says Steinberg, 30, who had fun working with director Billy Crystal, a Yankee fan as devoted as the screenwriter. "It's funny and dramatic, and it's got great action moments. I think parents can breathe a sigh of relief with this film because nothing about it is exploitive, and I think that will be refreshing to people." The film, which will debut at 9 p.m. April 28 on HBO, takes its title from the year and the goal of the two leg- endary players. In 1961, they tried to surpass Babe Ruth's record of hitting 60 home runs in one season. The asterisk in the title refers to the symbol attached by former baseball commissioner Ford Frick. By the time Maris beat the single-season home run record, the American League had expanded to a 162-game schedule, up from the 154 games played in Ruth's day. Frick ruled there would have to be a distinctive mark to show it had taken Maris more games to break Ruth's record, but the qualifier was lifted in 199-1. Barry Pepper of Saving Private Ryan stars as Roger Maris, and Thomas Jane of Deep Blue Sea takes the Mickey Mantle role. "This is my first film [to be pro- duced], and I was just awestruck by how much has to go right to make a great movie," Steinberg says. "61* can touch audiences of any age, generation or gender." Steinberg, who grew up in New York State, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1991 as an English major and went to Los Angeles to try to make it as a screen- writer. Although he found production jobs on feature films, including The Man Who Captured Eichmann, he also supported himself by waiting tables and doing office temping — always writing in his free time. After a friend helped him find an agent five years ago, Steinberg has been working steadily. "I did a lot of research on Roger and Mickey," Steinberg says. "I read every book about them, and I interviewed Yankee ball players. All the major events in the film are accurate, and everything about the sport is well documented. Sometimes I had to consolidate and MEETING & BANQUET FACILITIES 248 615 7700 ORIGINAL PRIYA IN TROY 72 West Maple (at Livernois Rd.) OPEN DAILY FOR LUNCH & DINNER , , 1 Coupon good at either PRIYA 1 1 1 restaurant through owEvoi. : $10 OFF DINNER FOR TWO : I Lunch buffet & take-out excluded 1 CELEBRATION CONNECTION DIRECTORY 4/27 2001 68 in our Classified Sectiv! Barry Pepper as Roger Maris and Thomas Jane as Mickey Mantle in Billy Crystal's "61*." take certain liberties with dialogue." While there is nothing outright Jewish in the film, there are some characters whose Jewish identities are implied. That comes across through Richard Masur and Peter Jacobson, who play sportswrit- ers Milt Kahn and Artie Green. "They're not real people," Steinberg explains. "They're amalgamized from several real sports writers of the time. There were so many. There were 25 sports writers covering the Yankees on a daily basis back then." When Steinberg was in Detroit for the filming, he had little chance to see the city. He and Crystal did steal some time to get to Comerica Park, where they were introduced to Tiger legend Al Kaline. "61 already has started to change my career," Steinberg says. "I've become in demand, and it's pretty wild walking around New York and seeing my name up on the billboards. It's also a blast from the past as I [get calls] from people I haven't heard from in five or 10 years." Steinberg, who is single and enjoys playing softball as a favorite leisure activ- ity, is working on two new scripts for cable TV. One is about the rivalry between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, and the other is a biography of Robert Kennedy. "My primary goal is to write some- thing that touches people and makes them feel something or look at some- thing in a different way," the screen- writer says. "Our two main characters in 61* are in their 20s, and they're not the most touchy-feely guys or the most self- aware, attuned guys. "They do have tremendous emotional depth, but they also have difficulty com- municating it. To me, that's what's inter- esting about them and [often] about humanity." ❑ 6/* will debut at 9 p.m. Saturday, April 28, on HBO. Other play dates are May 1 (8:30 p.m.), 6 (11:15 p.m.), 10 (8:30 p.m.), 14 (8 p.m.) and 18 (mid- night). The debut is part of "Baseball Heroes Weekend" offered in conjunction with Cinemax's debut of the docu- mentary The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg, developed by former Detroiter Aviva Kempner and to be broadcast at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, April 29. Before Maris and Mantle, Greenberg came closest to breaking Ruth's record with 58 home runs in 1938.