The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 17

THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR- B-2 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1992 stroke, is deliberate. Which raises some questions. Why did Mannheimer paint three works so large they wouldn't fit In the second-floor Pacers FROM WIRE REPORTS BY DAVID S. POWELL 1 THE MAKING OF A PRESIDENT British sculptor Stuart Williamson puts the finishing touches on a clay likeness of President-elect Bill Clinton at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in London. Once completed, the bust will be cast in wax, painted and prepared for exhibit Visitors to the famed museum will have to wait a bit to see the figure of the Yanks' new leader, though.

It won't go on display until Clinton is inaugurated in January. People John, Taupin make history in new deal Elton John and Bernie Taupin, the songwrlting team responsible for such hits as Sad Songs and Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me, signed a publishing contract Wednes Elton John day worth about $39 million. Warner-Chappell Music, the world's largest music publishing firm with 900,000 songs, obtained the rights to the British duo's post-1974 catalog, plus songs from John's next six albums. 'They are the contemporary Rodgers Hammerstein," said Les Bider, chairman and chief executive officer of Los Angeles-based Warner-Chappell. The estimated $39 million.

12-year agreement included the largest cash advance in music publishing history, he said, although the amount wasn't disclosed. Wednesday's announcement came as John was wrapping up work on the video for his new single. The Last Song a video he considers historic because It marks the first time an artist of his stature has addressed AIDS with the voice of a gay man. "I definitely wanted someone gay to direct this video," said John, who has been candid about his own homosexuality since publication of a revealing Interview In Rolling Stone last March. "I want people who see it to be touched.

If they have any bigotry or fear, I hope this can help overcome them and encourage compassion." John found his gay director in the young American filmmaker Gus Van Sant of Drugstore Cowboy and My Private Idaho fame, whose video of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' single. The Bridge, was a nominee on MTV for last year's top video award. And John's AIDS activism isn't stopping with the video. On Nov. 18, he'll appear at an all-star AIDS charity show in Los Angeles organized by Taupin.

Clint Continued from Page 1 in life it's easier for me to find the levity than the gravity." It's no wonder. His first two records. KiUin' Time (1989) and Put Yourself in My Shoes (1990). both sold more than 2 million copies. His current album.

The Hard Way, seems destined to do as well. In just four years, he's already had seven No. 1 singles. Success foregone conclusion Black says he always believed that sooner or later he would make It in the music business. "If I died at 60 and I hadn't, then it's just because I hadn't been around long enough," he says.

"I Just knew or else I would have gone and done something else. I would have joined the Air Force if I didn't think I was going to make it in this business." Black knew he had made it, he says, when ZZ Top's manager, Bill Ham, offered to manage him. (They are no longer together.) "All I needed was that break Fault Continued from Page 1 guages and can reasonably translate 30 he returned to de Forest. Sloman corrected Hawaiian dialogue in Honeymoon in Vegas and pondered court-martial law for A Few Good Men, which opens next month. Much of his time is spent on so-called errors and omissions, making sure some details aren't so real they might cause a lawsuit.

While working on Mr. Saturday Night, starring Billy Crystal as a stand-up comic, Sloman verified that a fictional television sponsor, Coleman Tobacco, was not the name of an existing company. He also guards against the tiniest anachronisms. In the script for the forthcoming Needful Things, based on a Stephen King novel, a number of newspaper headlines are described using the correct dates on which certain disasters occurred. His catch? "If It's a morning paper, the actual date should be the day after," he says slyly.

Sloman has no idea which of the many quibbles in his script reports have been heeded until he COMPILED TTTTTn mount Communications and her former producing partner. Jaffe-Lansing productions, formed In 1983, made such films as Black Ratn, The Accused, Fatal Attraction and Racing With the Moon. The two also produced the new film School Ties', a moderate box-office disappointment. Lansing was the first woman to head a studio's movie division when she was appointed as Fox's production chief in 1980. She will become the first female studio chief since Dawn Steel, who resigned as president of Columbia Pictures In January 1990.

Have chess board, will travel (to jail) Forget Fischer and Spassky. Chess-lover Louis Taylor locked a librarian In a contest of wills, and FILE PHOTO Clint Black will perform at Market Square Arena on Friday. "The more profound side of things always comes in (during the songwrlting process) and says, 'Eh, that ain't strong enough. Great idea, but that's not strong And Black is a stickler when it comes to strong songs: "Whenev turns out the sexes were rigidly segregated.) Turkish and Persian art in the "Harem" file was used to design the boudoir in which Dracula's three brides seduce a solicitor's clerk, played by Keanu Reeves. For initial inspiration, costume designer Eiko requested pictures of insects, erotic flowers, African masks, dragons and human sperm.

While many of the striking, Symbolist costumes are clearly fanciful, Nazarian and her staff exhaustively authenticated hundreds of background details for the film, many visible (or audible) only briefly. "Basically, you're a treasure hunter," she says. Looking for labels When the prop department was creating a bottle of wine for Dracula to serve, her assistant drove to a wine library to get examples of old Romanian labels. To compose letters of correspondence from a law firm to the count, Nazarian examined 19th-century contracts and substantiated her legalese with British lawyers. She also wrote many background voiceovers.

such as an announcement at Victoria Station, first checking 1897 train routes. Sir Henry Irving, the stage actor gallery? Was he In fact shooting for better wall space? It is not without some Irony that Mannheimer paintings now hang in the Banc One lobby, replacing works by Jeffrey Rubin, an artist he ripped apart when reviewing. The BerkshireMannheimer show also Includes sketches by both artists which they made courtside. "It was so Incredibly exciting," says Berkshire. He would become so engrossed that he'd Just lay down his pencil to watch.

"Besides, basketball players don't make good models; they don't hold still." So how has the experience affected his game? Berkshire is serious as he replies that it has been beyond illus-trational and has brought an Intensity to his work "a heightening of drama," he says. fare play Josie Bayt, co-owner of Amlcl's Italian Restaurant, said Mann-heimer's art work reminded her of an antipasto salad. She saw a pepperonl or was that a tomato? In the basketball; and the yellow stuff around Detlef Schrempf head looked Just like cheese, said the Downtown restaurauteur. So, would she hang this salad on her wall? "No," said Bayt. "It is much too beautiful to eat, er hang," she mocked.

When handed a poster, Herb Anderson asked, "Which is the top?" Anderson owns the Southside eatery Mona's Dell, and he gathered some companions around him. Not her taste, said his daughter, Lisa Anderson. "It Is sort of weird," she said. "It doesn't do anything for me," said Steve Stacey, a kitchen worker. A vengeful smile crossed his face as he said, "It lacks atmosphere." "It Is a striking expression of color and movement," critiqued Richard Cottance, chefowner of Panache In Zionsville.

So does this restaurateur, whose business rated four tines from Mannheimer, know any- thing about art? "I'd like to think I do," he said. years, children learn effectively through emulation. "Barney is warm and nurturing, and children can relate to that. He's non-Judgmental. He -helps kids cope with life and things in their world.

He empow- ers them." Cloe sees two main attractions for children: 'They love to sing. And this is one of the few chil- dren's shows I can think of with almost no adults only children. I This world clearly belongs to them." Anyone who's ever checked out an early Barney video will notice that world has changed slightly in the move to public television. Bar- ney has traded a slightly ominous voice and appearance (a Tyranno- saurus Rex-like head) for Bob West's friendly voice and the cud- dly, expressive face topping a 30- pound costume worn by actor Da- vid Joyner. Rifkin believes Barney Friends is not given enough credit for its educational aspect.

Each episode emphasizes language development, physical activity and social interaction, with the theme of each episode revolving around using one's imagination to solve problems. A short talk to the viewers at episode's end, Barney Says, emphasizes the concepts presented that day and reinforces the big dino's image as a (to borrow a Barney-ism) "super-de-duper" sensitive guy. "Remember, I love you," he tells viewers. (Barney's closing theme is also a veritable love fest: "I love you You love meWe're a happy familyWith a great big hugAnd a kiss from me to youWon't you say you love me Saved from extinction "Imagination, play and social dialogue are important concepts for children," says Rifkin. "Many adults who look at this show sometimes aren't thinking enough like a child to appreciate it." That seemed to be the case when the financially strapped PBS announced it was not going to renew the show.

Nationally, executives at TV stations across the country protested, pointing out that Barney Is watched by as many as 80 per- cent of the 2- to 5-year-old set in -some cities. PBS soon relented, gave the producers a $1 .75 million grant and ordered 20 more episodes. The Lyons GroupDLM Inc. and Connecticut Public Television recoup remaining production costs through the sale of merchandise. "At some point, PBS will begin to receive its share of the mer- chandizing profits," says Rifkin.

"But we're still millions away from that." EZZF ASSOCIATED PRESS was checked out In handcuffs. The 41 -year-old unemployed graphics artist ignored a "No Board Games" order posted by his hometown library in New Ro-chelle, N.Y., and was arrested. Taylor, who was charged with trespassing, said he feels he's been rooked. The library says It's a pawn in the whole affair. "Chess Is not a more equal board game than any other board game," said Dr.

LaRuth Gray, president of New Rochelle Public Library's board of trustees. "Mr. Taylor understands very well the rules of the library," she said. A YEAR OLDER I Actor-singer Roy Rogers is 81. I Singer Art Garfunkel is 51.

Actress Tatum O'Neal is 29. er I put my name in the top right-hand corner of my rough draft and call it finished, I believe it's a hit or I'm not finished with It." Aggressively pursuing career He's already inked his names to enough songs for his next album, which he plans to record In January. Until then, he'll be on the road with 10 musicians, a $250,000 stage set with dual video screens and elaborate lighting to augment the music. Between shows, he plans to write more songs, give more Interviews and continue to do everything he can to boost his career. "You have to be aggressive in order to be able to do what I do and do it the way I do it," Black says.

"I enjoy the luxuries of a great touring staff and a great band. I need to work a lot In order to keep those people around. "And I also need to share myself in interviews in order to keep the interest in the people. You can't take anybody or anything for granted in this business. And I've always considered this a business.

I can't just be an artist. And nobody can do some of the things I have to do for my career." whom Bram Stoker managed, was honored in a London Street scene with a sandwich board advertising him as Hamlet, a part Nazarian confirmed he had played. A perfectly detailed universe, it would seem. Almost. After searching out which fruits a London vendor might sell, Nazarian arrived on the set one day and screamed when she saw a cart full of historically incorrect avocados and eggplant.

"You provide the information, but can't get too involved after you've done your job," she says philosophically. "You'd go nuts." Sunrise The Features Department is responsible for the content of this section, from feature stories and entertainment reviews to columns and the comics. Call us with your suggestions, questions or story ideas, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday to Friday. Features Editor Dennis Royalty 633-1194 Assistant Features Editor Ruth Holladay 633-9405 Toll free (800)669-7827 "'xv i rr Continued from Page 1 ly recognize themselves.

Mannheimer'8 approach Mannheimer has taken a fragmented, collage-type of approach one that Is much like a comic book, which colncidentally many of the players enjoy reading. Each painting tells a story Person to Person, Chuck Person's Inner tug-of-war, and Cat's Cradle, the strange tightrope of his own making that Reggie Miller walks. In another painting, Pacers president Donnle Walsh is held In a player's palm. The players' big, brash hands help empower the paintings; they also serve as a design element to help hold together compositions rife with the conflict of superher-oes who play hard on and off the court. Every aspect of the paintings, Including every brush Turnabout is Local restaurant owners take a stab at critiquing reviewer's art work.

STAR STAFF REPORT The Indianapolis Star has turned the tables on restaurant critic Steve Mannheimer. We went to local restaurateurs and asked some who have been critiqued recently by Mannheimer to criticize his art work. "My dream has come true," said Gino Pizzl, owner of Mezza Luna. Sitting in his Broad Ripple restaurant, Pizzl didn't want to be rushed as he surveyed Mann-heimer's Big and Little, a painting reproduced on a poster publicizing the Indiana Pacers in Art exhibit at the National Art Museum of Sport. "I want to savor this," said Pizzl.

Seeing him enjoying the rare opportunity to stick a fork In the critic, you could Imagine Mann-heimer's ratings (a one-tine fork for poor to excellent's four-tine) dancing in Pizzi's head. "I'd give it half of a paintbrush," he said. Barney Continued from Page 1 that spills over to other shows." Barney merchandise books, backpacks, clothes, toys moves quickly off the shelves at area stores such as J.C. Penney. Since first appearing opposite Sandy Duncan in the 1988 video Barney the Backyard Gang, this musical reptile has sold more than 2.3 million videos.

But most adults still scratch their heads at the concept of Barney Friends: A toy dinosaur comes to roly-poly life in every show and leads a group of ethnically and demographically mixed children through such songs as Old McDonald Had A Farm and Ain't It Great to Be Crazy. Not at all slick Even Oscar the Grouch seems sophisticated by comparison. "Before I ever saw the show, I heard other program directors saying, skeptically, 'There's some guy In a big purple dinosaur costume who dances remembers Cloe, an early supporter of Barney. "I felt that way, too, but then I took it home and tested it on my 3-year-old. And he was mesmerized." Larry Rlfkin knows the reaction all too well.

The executive vice president of programming for Connecticut Public Television discovered a future star by accident in 1991, when he rented a Barney the Backyard Gang video for his 4-year-old daughter, Leora, at a store near their home. The Barney videos were the brainchild of Sheryl Leach, a Texas mother and former teacher with a master's degree in education. Her son Patrick was bored by home videos, and she felt preschoolers needed interactive, educational videos. Although she had no production experience, she teamed "up with Kathy Parker and Dennis DeShazer as the Lyons Group DLM Inc. to make the Barney the Backyard Gang series in Allen, Texas.

Leora Rifkin watched the video Barney's Day at the Beach over and over again and never tired of it. Knowing that officials at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and PBS were looking for new children's shows, her father brought Barney to their attention. Empowering kids Why do kids love Barney? "Children love watching children, and these characters are not wallpaper we get to know their personalities," Rifkin says during a phone interview. "In their early Paramount names TartikofiTs successor Sherry Lansing, producer of the Oscar-winning The Accused and the former production chief at 20th Century-Fox, has been named the new Paramount Pic- tnrps Ktnrfln Lansing chief, the studio announced Wednesday. She replaces Brandon Tartikoff, who resigned last week to spend time with his ailing daughter.

Lansing will assume the newly created title of chairman of the Motion Picture Group of Paramount Pictures. She will report to Stanley Jaffe, president of Para- solid management to get me to a label and an agency," Black says. "I really wanted to just do my Job, and I knew if I had somebody who would handle the business for me that I could do my job and do it well." Stickler during songwrlting What sets Black apart from his contemporaries Is that he writes all his songs, most with partner Hayden Nicholas. Even if they're not autobiographical, the lyrics typically express universal sentiments. As Black sings on Something to Cry About: "You think you've got something to cry aboutI'll give you something to cry about." The song started with that line, which parents sometimes say to their children, but evolved into lyrics about heartache.

"It seemed like a great idea, but the more profound side of things always takes over," Black says. "It's just like We Tell Ourselves (the new record's first single). We wanted to go with people telling themselves things, and the most profound way we talk to ourselves is between our hearts and our minds. is in the audience, which brings up an occupational hazard: "My wife hates to go to movies with me because I pick them apart." Like Sloman, Anahid Nazarian, once an aspiring flutist, brings to her job diverse interests, combined with a passion for detail and dogged persistence. A love of reading (history, detective stories) led her to library school.

Nazarian was interning at a Hollywood library 12 years ago when Francis Ford Coppola hired her to catalog his own collection. The 'Dracula' detail "Every picture you work on is like a past life," says Nazarian, now research director for Coppola's company, American Zoetrope. She operates out of Coppola's library, In a 100-year-old carriage house at the director's Napa Valley vineyards. Nazarian immersed herself in the 19th century to research Coppola's forthcoming Bram Stoker's Dracula, creating more than 200 clip flies stuffed with illustrations and articles on topics as diverse as early typewriters and syphilis. A casting director reached for the "AsylumsInmates" file when he wanted to know if men and women were housed together in Victorian insane asylums.

(It.