6B T Michigan Daily WeekeniMagazine -T1Ursdayjbruary 20;:1997

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The Michigam ly Weekeni 1A



State of the Arts

1 Entertainment News
New Edition's DeVoe arrested;
Thunnan joins several projects

BAcON, BACON,
EVERYWHERE

MUSIC
V After a year of virtual hibernation,
Supergrass has finished work on its sec-
ond album, "In It For the Money" (due
May 6), according to publicity reports.
Perhaps as a sign of the band's pleasure
with the finished product, the group
abandoned the working title, "Second
Album Syndrome,' for the more appro-
priate title previously mentioned. The
12-song effort will get its stateside debut
on March 14 when the band plays a
showcase at the annual South By
Southwest festival in Austin, Texas. The
first single will be "Cheapskate."
Singer/guitarist Gaz Coombes says the
new album isn't that different from its
million-selling debut, "I Should Coco,"
except the songs are "generally bigger,"
the sound is "broader" and there's the

"odd three-minute pop song" and a few
acoustic pieces.
/ Pennywise is finishing up work
on its new album, "Full Circle" (due
April 22), its first release since the sui-
cide of founding member Jason
Thirsk last year. The 14-song effort
was produced by the band and Eddie
Ashworgh (of Sublime) and features a
new version of "Bro Hymn," a song
that appeared on the band's first, self-
titled Epitaph full-length. That album
was written by former bassist Thirsk
about some friends of his who had
died, the band's publicist reported.
Pennywise has signed up for its second
tour of duty on the Warped tour this
summer, alongside bands like Blink
182, Millencolin, Royal Crown Revue
and the Deftones.

~ New Edition member Ronnie
DeVoe was arrested early Feb. 17
after police were called to the
Louisville, Kent., hotel where the
band was staying amidst reports that
a drunken man was wandering the
halls. When police arrived at around
4:15 a.m., they spotted DeVoe in a
hallway and told him to return to his
room, according to the Associated
Press. But the former Bell Biv DeVoe
member allegedly refused and called
for two of his posse to back him up.
The trio then was arrested on various
charges of resisting arrest and
assault. This isn't the first trouble the
New Edition tour has run into. The
tour, which one member has
described as "pure hell," has seen the
members have failing to appear
together in public several times in
recent weeks.
FILM
V Holy Summer Blockbuster
Batman! According to Variety, the
fourth installment of the "Batman"
series will premiere in theaters this
weekend with most Warner Brothers
releases. With Chris O'Donnell
reprising his role as the Boy Wonder,
George Clooney filling out the
Batcape, Arnold Schwarzenegger

Though New Edition has reunited, it has not always been a happy reunion.

What's new in
the crazy world of
arts this week?
Translation: Oh,
where, oh where
shall this column
take me? Well ...
Oscar nominations
are out, and despite
some surprises
Jennifer Petinski (Billy Bob
DAly Arts dilt-0 Thorton of
- "Slingblade"), I
have nothing substantial to complain
about. After all, Madonna or "Evita"
just didn't make out too well. On the
baby front, Michael Jackson is a daddy.
Yet, if I start on that one, I'll never be
able to stop.
Therefore, I leave arts news to rest
this week. I interrupt my normal, bitchy
commentary for some good, almost
mindless, pre-midterm, innocent fun.
Instead, how about some bacon, for
your reading pleasure?
Kevin Bacon, that is.
A couple of weeks ago, my house-
mates and I stumbled upon a new craze.
Faced with hours and hours of home-
work, we did what any college students
would do - ignored it. Instead, we con-
vened in the "family room" for some
good, innocent fun in the form of a game
called "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon"
Well, if you haven't heard of it, then
you very well may be living under a
rock. But who am I to judge?
Not that I'm some psycho who is
obsessed with Kevin Bacon. Nope, I do
not admit to being a Kevin Bacon fan,
although I am a damn big fan of the

game.
What's it all about, you under-the-
rock people ask? Basically, it's really
simple: The game, which is outlined in
a book by the same title, assumes that
everyone in Hollywood can be some-
how linked back to Kevin Bacon
through movies, television shows and
other performances in six steps or less.
In short, Bacon has been around. He's
done it (read: acted) with so many peo-
ple in ensemble cast films like
"Flatliners'" "Apollo 13" and "A Few
Good Men" that it's nearly impossible
not to be able to make connections.
OK, so let's try one together: TINA
TURNER.
Answer: Turner was in "Mad Max
Beyond Thunderdome" with Mel
Gibson, who was in "Lethal Weapon 2"
with Joe Pesci, who was in "Diner"
with our main man, Kevin Bacon. And
that's in less than six steps. Aww yeah.
Now do you see the personal reward
involved in the game?
"Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon," the
book, was written by the game's cre-
ators, Craig Fass, Brian Turtle and Mike
Ginelli, college students who concocted
it out of the thin air one lonely night,
while watching a commercial for
Bacon's "The Air Up There."Convinced
that Kevin Bacon was "the center of the
entertainment universe," the three stu-
dents wrote a letter to the "Jon Stewart
Show" about their little invention, and
they were later asked to appear on the
show. The rest, of course, is history.
The book contains, various chapters
aquainting the readers with Bacon's
many films, showing how to link him to

other genres, and' giving chapters of
practice exercises.
Best of all, though, "Six Degrees"
comes complete with an introduction by
Bacon himself who said that "I'm not
very good at (the game), and my playing
is by definition cheating.' Well, no one
ever said he was a smart guy. But who
cares? Even though he's no genius, he is
still the center of a great game.
So why's "Six Degrees of Kevin
Bacon" so exceptional anyway? First of
all, the game is quite challenging. Think
of it this way: If Bacon, after whom the
game is named, can't even get it right,
then imagine the obstacles, and mental
blocks that would stump the rest of us
common folk. Of course, we just may
be smarter than him, but that's a whole
different column. Second, think of all
the skills tested by a game that demands
a vast knowledge of film, pop culture


and so much more.
For example, we can Iii
Mikhail Baryshnikov. I
Baryshnikov was in "W
with Isabella Rossellini,
"Death Becomes Her"
Willis, who was in "Striki
with Sarah Jessica Parker,
"Footloose" with Kevin Ba
possibilities are endless.
Every college student r
Bacon now and then - es
that midterms are appro
Degrees of Kevin Bacon'
procrastination method I
sure know a lot of th
Monopoly, Scrabble and T
put that "Party of Five"
hold; most important, put
books for a few minutes
few minutes will probab
more).

0 , AUT/ F c

chilling out as Mr. Freeze, Uma
Thurman spreading fatal love as
Poison Ivy, Alicia Silverstone
becoming Batgirl and Vivica Fox as
villainess Ms. B. Haven, the film is
sure to be a gigantic event.
~ Do you hear the people sing? You
won't when the latest film version of"Les
Miserables" comes to the screen next
year, sans production numbers. As report-
ed in Variety, Liam Neeson has signed on
to play the tortured Jean Valjean and Uma

Top 10 Things Overheard
Late Night at Panchero's
10. Hey man, you guys got a bathroom?
9. You should oven one of these in
(insert town here).

I

Just Opened

Thurman is in negotiations to play
Fantine, but the casting of the relentless
Inspector Javert has been somewhat of an
ordeal. With both Anthony Hopkins and
Robert DeNiro bowing out, the produc-
ers have set their sights on Oscar golden
boy Geoffrey Rush.
~ Speaking of Uma, the blond god-
dess may portray the famed television
character, Mrs. Emma Peel, in a new
screen version of classic spy series,
"The Avengers," according to
Entertainment Weekly. That "English
Patient" Ralph Fiennes has already
been tapped to play secret agent John
Steed. The spies were originated by
Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg, for-
midable andhfashionable shoes for
jFiennes and Thurman to fill.
/ Do cry for "Evita." As reported
in USA Today, Argentina's Vice
President Carlos Ruckauf has called
for a boycott of the epic musical for
being "clearly offensive" and defam-
ing the memory of Eva Peron.
Ruckauf has also proclaimed that he
has yet to see the film but he based
his opinion on brief video clips. Even
in the face of ignorance, the show
must go on, as "Evita" is rapidly
becoming the most successful
American film in Argentine history.

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