Dog eat dog ... The Heidelberg is throwing The Dog Slam, but promise poetry will be slung, not canines. 8 p.m. $4. *michigandaily.com/arts R TS TUESDAY JANUARY 14, 2002 5 Promising 'Imagine That' showcases Azaria and Brook, forced laughs By Rohith Thumati For the Daily NBC's "Imagine That" is the latest star vehicle to hit the air - an Imagine That NBC tonight at 8 ominous portent for this show, seeing as every other sitcom featuring an established star made for this season has already been canceled, (Jason Alexander's "The Bob Patter- son Show," anyone?). Also, "Imagine That" being a mid- season replacement, which are usually shows that the network execs deemed were not as good as the shows that debuted (and cancelled) in October, does not bode well. However, unlike other shows, "Imagine" features someone who has actual comedic tal- their characters well and already seem to have a decent chemistry as a couple. The only other writer who gets significant time during the first episode is Kenny Fleck, played by Josh Malina, who is like a slightly cooler ver- sion of the character Malina played on "Sports Night." Hopefully the other two writers, David Pressman's Kooshman ("Stargate") and Suzy Nakamura's Rina Oh ("Timecode") will get flushed out as the season goes on - so far they are just there to fill up space. Receiving more time during the premiere is Barb Thompson, the show's neurotic producer who detests her own mother, played by Katey Sagal ("Married ... With Children"). One of the plot lines of the first show is how Barb steals an idea (hopefully not a recurring theme - bosses who take credit for their employee's ideas isn't exactly a new idea) of Josh's about a doing a sketch featuring an Italian 'wiseguy' therapist. The idea for this, which probably explains the title of the show, comes to Josh when he and his wife go to see a marriage counselor, and Josh imagines his therapist as a stereotypical Italian mobster. In the form of eye-candy, there's former Play- boy Playmate Julia Shultz ("Rush Hour 2"), play- ing another stereotype as Tabitha Applethorpe, Kenny and Josh's attractive but not too bright assistant. It is unlikely that her character will progress much beyond that of "office hottie," though. The premiere is fairly well written, although the laughs are considerably forced in the begin- ning (if only real people laughed when the canned laughter does; those in TV business would be so happy). It remains to be seen, how- ever, if they'll take one-note characters like Tabitha and Barb and make them multi-dimen- sional. A show with plotlines based on a few stereotypes and marital problems sounds too much like every other sitcom that gets cancelled with less than a season on the air. America at it's finest. Inset: Author Schlosser. ast Food' author visits U for reading ent: Hank Azaria, renowned for his work on "The Simpsons" and "Tuesdays With Morrie." Of course, he's also infamous for his failures ("Godzilla," "Mystery Men," his marriage to Helen Hunt). How does this show rate amongst the rest of Azaria's body of work as well as the rest of the television landscape? For a midseason replacement, this show is rather promising. Azaria plays Josh Miller, a writer on a sketch comedy television show, who's having marital troubles with his super-driven prosecutor wife Wendy (Jayne Brook, "Chicago Hope").. Both Azaria and Brook seem to know By Laura LoGerfo Daily Arts Writer t ,VLJI Lte VI 10 Apu's come out to play. Cardiac arrest claims life of Blow' By Andy Taylor-Fabe Daily Film Editor director Ted Demme Lynch thinking about Pabst Blue Ribbon. .Director Lynch to head jury at Cannes By Lyle Henretty Daily Arts Editor It's been a good year -for David Lynch. The "Twin Peaks" director/scribe debuted his most lauded, interesting work in years with the neo-noir nightmarescape "Mul- holland Drive." The film will be re- released in order to generate more Oscar-buzz later this year. On top of this, he has just been named Presi- dent of the Jury at the 55th annual film festival in Cannes. "Drive" has recently been named Best Film of 2001 by the New York Film Critics Circle, and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association has named Lynch Best Director. Lynch, famous for such varied films as "Blue Velvet," "Dune" and "The Straight Story" will bring his less- than-mainstream views to the inter- national festival. "I will do my best," Lynch told the official festival website, "to help con- tinue the festivals great tradition of spotlighting and celebrating world cinema through friendly competi- tion." The "friendly competition," though, becomes fierce when it *comes the the festival's highest honor, the Palme de' Or. Past win- ners, such as "Barton Fink," "Pulp Fiction" and "Dancer in the Dark" went on to broad critical and finan- cial success. Many independent domestic and foriegn movies are showcased and picked up for American distribution during Cannes. Big-budget films also debut, hoping to generate box office gold through good word-of-mouth. Major film companies vie for the Ted Demme, film and television director, died Sunday from unknown causes after playing a celebrity basketball game at the Crossroads School in Santa Moni- ca, California. He was 37 years old. Paramedics rushed Demme to the UCLA Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Although he died of a cardiac arrest, the exact cause of death has not yet been determined. According to Lieu- tenant Cheryl MacWillie of the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office. Demme most recently directed "Blow" (2001), starring Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz. The film is a glamourized but gritty and tragic biography of George Jung, the man who had a large hand in establishing the cocaine market in the United States in the 1970's. In 1999, Demme directed "Life" with Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence, as well as the short- lived and highly underrated televi- sion series "Action," starring Jay Mohr. He also directed "Beautiful Girls" (1996), starring Timothy Hutton, Matt Dillon, Mira Sorvino, Uma Thurman and Michael Rappa- port. This comedy concerns a piano player (Hutton) who comes dhome to his small hometown to face his past and his friends, most of whom are having serious crises with their love lives. This surpris- ingly poignant and well-written film was also one of the first appearances of Natalie Portman, who had made her first appear- ances in "Heat" and "The Profes- sional" (1995, 1994). In 1994, Demme directed the hilarious and dysfunctional "The Ref" with Dennis Leary, Kevin Spacey and Judy Davis. This film about a holiday season kidnapping and a family from Hell is one of the funniest Christmas movies ever, and illustrates Spacey's comic proficiency before he dove in with "American Beauty." Demme also directed Dennis Leary's comedy specials, "Lock 'N Load" and the now legendary "No Cure for Cancer," a powder-keg of sardonic, biting comedy and indig- na'nt anger that is a staple of home video viewing. The Golden Arches of McDonald's enjoy such ubiquity that the restaurant has earned a familiar nickname, Mickey D's, an innocuous title more appropriate for an uncle than for a corporate behe- moth. Yesterday evening, crowds of Ann Arborites listened attentively to a reading of "Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal," a brutally honest critique of the massive fast Eric food industry, by Schlosser its author, Eric Borders Schlosser. The hardcover edition Jan. 14, 2002 of "Fast Food Nation" leapt onto the New York Times bestsellers list last year and demanded reader response. Mr. Schlosser reveals what lurks behind the burgers and fries we consume without thought but by impulse. As we drive through unfamiliar landscapes or feel frazzled at the end of a long day, we turn to the Golden Arches to satisfy our immediate hunger for food and for comfort just as Pavlov's dogs began drooling at the bell's ring. But our instincts lead us to take for granted what we greedily devour; although the meal may be quick, fast, and dirty, what costs do such a meal exact that remain hidden but hold such dire consequences for millions of Ameri- cans? This engrossing and often grotesque account not only grabs the reader's inter- est immediately and refuses to let go but also provides crucial evidence for the responsibilities fast food industries have traditionally shirked in favor of their bot- tom line. Mr. Schlosser leads the audience through training for McDonald's employees, where the corporation instructs "we cannot trust people who are nonconformists, we will make [them] conformists... in a hurry." We tour flavor factories that produce the "french fry" taste, and slaughterhouses where migrant workers receive worse treatment than the cows they kill, and the cows they butcher are often dismembered while still alive. We discover four-year-olds participating in "pajama parties" where kids stay awake late with marketing executives to divulge the toys and foods that would attract them to Mickey D's. Schlosser was surprised and pleased by the popularity of "Fast Food Nation," his first book. "At first, no one wanted to publish the book, it wasn't obvious there would be a significant readership," Mr. Schlosser recalled. Once published, the first few readings on his publicity tour were sparsely attended, but by the end, bookstores he visited depleted their inventory to meet the requests of hordes of customers. The national attention now drawn to the book gives Mr. Schlosser hope that the injustices of the fast food industry may be alleviated, if not corrected with- in five or 10 years. I asked what a typi- cal student could do to fight the sprawling tentacles of fast food chains. He reasoned that one need "not be pure- ly greedy or just live a life of total mon- klike abstinence... [but] I'm betting where we are right now, there's a deli and there's a pizza place, and there's a sandwich shop that serves food that's inexpensive and not made by a national chain." Schlosser explained that citizens express their opinions with their votes, we can convey our collective disap- proval through our stomachs, by refus- ing to patronize corporations that manipulate us virtually from birth to "covet" what they peddle. I avoid the word "food" when describing the prod- uct the chains sell, since so much of the meat used in hamburgers is tainted with salmonella, a bacterium introduced to food through animal fecal matter. When we refer to a Mickey D's hamburger as shit, we tell more truth than we realize. These horror stories even apply to the ground beef you find at the local Kroger, and surely, as Mr. Schlosser points out, "even if you don't but a loved one does consume hamburger, then it affects you." Despite the outrage his book inspires, Mr. Schlosser offers reason for opti- mism, "Sales [at McDonald's and other fast food chains] were flat in the year 2000 in the United States, and not good in the year 2001. They basically have run out of places to open in this coun- try...mad cow disease in Europe and Japan has really made people think about food differently, and they're really questioning the system of agriculture and distribution now." Demme with Penelope Cruz. His other directing credits include "Who's the Man?" (1993) and "Monument Ave." (1999). Demme also directed several episodes of the television drama "Homocide: Flife on the Streets" as well as "Robert Altman's Gun." He was one of the producers of the 1998 thriller "Rounders," starring Matt Damon, Edward Norton and John Malkovich. , Original SOundtrack gives new life to early Gibson classic By Jeff Dickerson Daily Arts Editor Mel Gibson has in his 20 years in the film business established himself as one of Hollywood's leading Mad Max Special Edition DVD MGM men. The Australian native has played such memorable roles as William Wallace in the 1995 Best Picture winner "Braveheart" and Martin Riggs in the "Lethal Weapon" biracial buddy franchise. It was in 1979 when Gibson went from drama school grad to interna- tional star. "Mad Max" gained international acclaim for its innovative car chas- their friend with the frightening moniker. As events unfold, Max's occupation and personal life collide head on, aided by massive explosions and classy Aussie violence. Director George Miller was in medical school when he picked up his first movie camera. Shortly there- after he decided to drop the doctor routine and become a film director, resulting in a most unconven- tional filmography. Since "Mad Max," his first feature length film, Miller has gone on to direct "Lorenzo's Oil," the brilliant box office bust "Babe: Pig in the City," as well as the "Mad Max" sequels "The Road Warrior" and "Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome." Made for a mere $400,000, "Mad Max" is one of the most profitable films in motion picture history. The relentless low budget action film grossed over $100 million worldwide. It held the highest profit-to-cost ratio for nearly 20 years, until "The Blair Witch Project" phenomenon hit teens s across America in 1999. MGM has finally released an ade- quate version of the influential film .r.on DVD. In previous releases, the original audio track was replaced by a dubbed track with American actors, as studio heads were worried the Australian accents would be too problematic for American viewers. For the first time, Mel Gibson's es and unique cinematography. The Australian film, quickly established itself as a quin- tessential post-apocalyptic action film. Stunt dri- vers sped upwards of 150 mph to produce authentic sequences for the film. The crew includ- ed professional motorcycle racers and an expan- sive cast of stunt men, ensuring the most genuine recreations of speed possible. In the not too distant future, Gibson stars as Max Rockatansky, a police officer in the Main Force Patrol (MFP). Max is a family man, with a loving wife and young son. After a hard day at the office slaying glam rock biker badies, Max comes I..