al Friday February 6, 2004 arts.michigandaily.com artseditor@michigandaily.com ARTS 8 Courtesy of ABC NEWS FROM THE TUBE ABC BANKS ON "MILLIONAIRE" After the huge success of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" in 2000, ABC has announced that the once- popular game show will return at the end of the month with the stakes raised. Beginning Feb. 22, the pro- gram, renamed "Super Millionaire," will air on five consecutive nights. Up to $10 million can now be won, and with the benefit of two addition- al lifelines, the show might find life itself again. Regis Philbin will return to host the primetime spectacle. CBS GETS 'SUPER' AUDIENCE Sunday, Super Bowl XXXVIII set a new prime-time television viewing record. Although it did not set the mark for most average viewers, about 144 million people still tuned in to at least part of the championship game, making it the largest audience ever to watch a Super Bowl. According to the Nielsen ratings, 89.6 million Americans watched all four hours of the football spectacular, due to the exciting game, the much-anticipated commercials and the titillating half- time show. BIG STARS ON NBC NEXT WEEK In the middle of February sweeps, NBC will unleash a slew of guest appearances on its primetime pro- grams. According to thefutoncritic.com, Monday night will feature Jean-Claude Vn Damme on "Las Vegas," as he portrays an action star, while Michael J. Fox will appear on "Scrubs" as a doctor the following evening. Jane Seymour and Jay Mohr make guest shots on "Law and Order" and "The West Wing" respectively. The week concludes with Nick Lachey portraying Tom Jones on "American Dreams." "YES, DEAR" RECALLS DAVIS Recalled Calif. governor Gray Davis will make a cameo in the CBS comedy "Yes, Dear" on March 1. In the episode, the politi- cian will portray himself and pick a fight at a basketball game with one of the characters, according to zap2it.com. Following his appear- ance on "The Late Show with David Letterman," this is just the latest attempt by CBS to revitalize Davis's image. Hopefully this cam- paign will be recalled as well. 'SIscO' GONE FOR GOOD ABC has announced that "Karen Sisco" will not return to its prime- time lineup. The program has been on hiatus since November due to low ratings, but was slated to begin film- ing the remainder of its 13-episode commitment this month. According to thefutoncritic.com, executives rejected the scripts for the last three shows and then decided to cancel the Sunday night drama permanently. Look on the bright side, it's another night Regis can be on! By Hussain Rahim Daily Arts Writer Coming off his last film, "Pay- check," a Philip K. Dick adaptation directed by John Woo, the much beleaguered Ben Affleck seemed in good spirits and spoke with The Michigan Daily about his life, future plans and his career. As an admitted science fiction fan, he said he would love to do another film in the genre and also spoke kindly of his experience of working with John Woo. "You'd expect him to be different since his films are so violent, but he's really a sweet guy." When asked of his relationship with Matt Damon, he said, "I'd like to collaborate again with Matt. I'm taking six months off and then Matt and I have a couple of things we've been talking about doing. It's the only way I get to see the guy. I'd like to write a script with him in the mid- dle of this year, and I'd like to direct it. That's the next evolution for me." After doing so many different projects and wearing various hats such as writer ("Good Will Hunt- ing"), Hollywood-blockbuster actor ("Armaggedon," "Pearl Harbor") and producer ("Project: Green- light") categorizes himself as an artist. "Acting is something I want to graduate from, although maybe that's because I never graduated from anything." Since acting is how he first got into the industry, he would like to move on to the other aspects. While reflecting on his early career, Affleck admits he had no early plan laid out about where he wanted to go. Initially, he hoped he could just make a liv- ing acting, since every- one around him said he wouldn't get any work and he would starve. As long as he didn't have to wash dishes and could survive on just acting, he was happy. "I started off with independ- ent movies because that is what I could get and because I liked those kinds of films. I liked Hollywood the reason I didn't sweat the cata- clysmic, disastrous reception of 'Gigli,' I knew I had something real- ly good coming out." With some neg- ative press floating around him it's easy to think that Affleck's attitude could be sour. "(I didn't even reject) 'Gigli;' I made a relationship during that movie that was really important to me, more important than my career and (the film) was a big risk for me. (It) let me know I was still trying different things. And I got to work with Martin Brest who made my favorite movie, 'Midnight Run.' I think I let my relationship Courtesy of Fox become too public in the begin- ning, which allowed it to be mutat- ed and corrupted. But becoming afraid of risk is a fast track to selling your soul." Even with his mega- success, Affleck remains a friendly per- I can see, but I can't act. BEN AFFLECK SPEAKS OUT movies as well, so once I got into those I tried to always move between the two -(by) doing a Kevin Smith movie and then an action film like "Pearl Harbor" for example. Some things turned out more successful than I expected and some turned out less than so." Affleck also spoke of "Jersey Girl," Kevin Smith's next movie. "It was going to be released during March," and called it "easily Kevin Smith's best movie and probably my favorite movie I've ever been in. It's son who is eager to please and leave a smile on the faces of those he encounters. The stumbles in his career and the media glare thrust upon him seem to have done little to faze him and will do little to keep him off the screen inthe near future. Dirty Water fails Dirty South By Hussain Rahim Daily Arts Writer Music REVIEW *1 When you see a follow-up album a tad over six months after an artist's first commercial break- through, and it happens to be labeled as a part two, things aren't looking good. If you know who David Banner is then you already know what you're going to get: The angry, Dirty South scowl, synth- heavy production and scattershot lyrical focus. The role of conflicted thug is the holy grail of hip-hop; mixing volatile street attitude with stoic reflection has been the goal of countless artists. David Banner The mastery of MTA2: this dichotomy is Baptized in what engenders Dirty Water new listeners to Tupac to this day. Universal But Banner is no Tupac, and in the wrong hands it makes for a very schizophrenic and even hypocritical record. As the title suggests, he's trying to examine the struggle of being born into less than stellar conditions and how people strive despite opposition. With songs about stabbing hoes in the face in front of their mama's house and robbing people for Christmas, maybe he gave up. With a track list that moves from "Pop That" to "My Lord," it's not really clear where he's going and after a while its obvious that he really doesn't know either. There is none of the self-conscious fun of Lil' Jon, and Banner's random attempts at brevity don't work. Stretched out to 70 minutes, with 6 6 remixes of "Like a Pimp" and "Air Force Ones" that have been repack- aged for the commercial set, it's just too much. Yet where it matters, in his focus, it's just not enough. INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITY RIGoHT ON CAMPUS! Interested in building your resume while you're still in school? Want to work during Spring/Summer/Fall Semesters? The Michigan Daily will give you the opportunity to gain the following business experiences: * Sell Advertising to Local and National Businesses " Manage your own account Territory " Work in a team-oriented environment " Earn Commission-based pay Please pick up application at THE MICHIGAN DAILY Student Publications Building 420 Maynard Street, 2nd Floor Attention: Pre-Med/Pre-Nursing Students Excellent opportunity to work with doctors in a camp infirmary setting, as a Camp Health Officer.We will pay for the short certification course. Enjoy working in a beautiful Northern Michigan setting. 40 UM Sc Univ. E chool of Music Dance Co. & Various Musical Artists x A hilarious backstage comedy about Russia's transformation from Communism to Capitalism. I UICK"- I