a 0 S 14B - The Michigan Daily Weekend Magazine - Thursday, March 26, 1998 - - - - - - - - - - - The Michigan DaiIy Week Jews MoToWN HITS 40 Detroit's Motown Museum preserves the hist( Costner plays the 'Game'; Martin drums for RE.M. Film/Television ga Kevin Costner, fresh off his astounding critical and popular suc- cess in "The Postman," is looking to expand his film horizons, as he has signed on to do yet another movie about baseball. The star of "Field of Dreams" and "Bull Durham" is scheduled to start filming on "For Love Of The Game" (the eponymous game being baseball), the story of a down-and-out pitcher who reflects on his life during a perfect game. "For The Love Of The Game" is based on the novel of the same name, written by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Shaara, who is best- known for his Civil War epic, "The Killer Angels." V And now we come to the Leonardo DiCaprio portion of the entertainment news. In case anyone didn't notice, DiCaprio was promi- nently absent from the Oscar crowd Monday night. In response to his Best Actor snub, DiCaprio boycotted the event. His agent said, "He's not planning on attending because he feels it would take away from every- one else's moment." So much for supporting your fellow cast mem- bers. In other news, DiCaprio has recently taken a part on the produc- tion of "As I Lay Dying," an adapta- tion of the William Faulkner novel, starring Jack Nicholson and Sean - Penn. Because of its quality screen- play and talented cast, DiCaprio reportedly turned down a number of other, more lucrative offers to take this role. V Be afraid. Be very afraid. Jerry Springer, whose scourge-of-televi- sion talk show continues to gain popular support, is going to the movies. Following in the footsteps of Howard Stern, Springer has signed a $2 million movie deal. Why anyone would want to watch his film autobi- ography is still a mystery, but it will be directed by Steve Sabler. It's hard to believe that residents of Cincinnati gave Springer any real power by electing him mayor of their fine city. / Let the mourning begin - for George Clooney's career, that is. The actor, who has met with both critical and popular success on NBC's "ER," has confirmed that next year will be his last on the Thursday-night medical drama. He is hoping to move on to greater things in film, but if "Batman and Robin" and "The Peacemaker" are at all representative of his best work, let's hope that he reconsiders quit- ting his job as television's most pop- ular pediatrician. Music / R.E.M is set to play its first live performance ever without the services of drummer Bill Berry at this summer's Tibetan Freedom Concert in Washington, D.C. The concert, set to feature Beck and U2, among others, will kick off on June 13. Former Screaming Trees drum- mer Barrett Martin will most likely replace Berry for the one-off gig, and it also is in the realm of possi- bility that Martin will officially join the band following its next release. Martin is currently recording new material with the remaining mem- bers of R.E.M - Michael Stipe, Mike Mills and Peter Buck - for a new album slated for release in late October. Some 40 songs have already been demoed for the as-yet- untitled release. Buck recently spoke to Addicted To Noise about the current studio sessions and the changes in the sound of the next album. "It's not like a rock band this time around, it's something else, but I don't know what it is," Buck said. The guitarist also said that Scott McCaughey, who helped out on 1995's "Monster" Tour, will con- tribute keyboards to the new album, which has a bit more of a jazz tinge, reminiscent of the world-music sound of Buck's side band Tuatara. The experimental side of the band is likely to be more evident on this new material than on any other R.E.M release. Buck said that on one track, all the percussion instruments were thrown into a duffel bag and then dropped onto the floor while a piano bench was simultaneously slammed on the ground. "That's the percussion for that song, it sounds great. You couldn't pay 10 people to make that sound." R.E.M has hinted at kicking off a world tour at the beginning of next year, scheduled to start in Australia in January and moving into the United Kingdom in spring. V Sean "Puffy" Combs testified in front of a New York courtroom on Monday in a $48 million lawsuit against the state of New York. The suit was filed by the families of four of the nine people who were crushed to death following a riot at a concert that Combs promoted, at the City College of New York in December 1991. Although not an actual defendant in the case, Combs was on the stand for approximately 10 minutes attempting to explain his role in the matter. "I was the promoter of the event," Combs said, "and I'm sorry for being the promoter of the event and anything that I could have had to do with this tragedy. I have no prob- lem with that and never ran from that. It's a tragic event and my heart goes out to the family." The case is expected to be finished by late this afternoon. - Compiled by Daily Film Editor Joshua Pederson and Daily Music Editor Brian Cohen. The Associated Press and Entertainment Weekly contributed to this report. By Chris Cousin Daily Arts Writer A short cruise off 1-96 down West Grand Boulevard in Detroit leads to a blue-and-white, two-story treasure. A sign reading "Hitsville U.S.A." over- hangs a large bay window of the small residential home that once was the home of the music phenomenon known as Motown. Founded in 1985, the Motown Historical Museum now resides in this home, which housed Motown founder Berry Gordy. It also was the studio where artists such as the Jackson 5, Diana Ross and Stevie Wonder record- ed their numerous hit songs. Celebrating the years Motown Records was based in Detroit, 1959 to 1972, the museum offers a look back at the peo- ple and the magic of "the Motown Sound" that took the nation by storm. The musical journey begins as visi- tors walk through the front door and wander down a hall where artists' rendi- tions of Michael Jackson, The Supremes and Smokey Robinson adorn the wall. An introductory video chroni- cles Berry Gordy's childhood and his rise to producing genius as Motown cat- apulted into the music scene. Watching Nelson Mandela recite the Marvin Gaye lyric, "Brother, brother there is far too many of you dead," creates a chill- ing feeling as one begins to recognize Motown's impact on the world. 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