The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 47

Sffie JPfiiktrelpftia Inquirer Muhammad Ali rang the bell to open trading on Wall Street. Page 12. Ann Landers 12 Comics 14 Newsmakers 12 Radio Highlights 11 Television 12 SECTION SATURDAY, JANUARY 1, 2000 www.philly.com Y2Kinetic New Year's resolutions aren't just for exercise newbies. Here are some ideas for taking your program to the next level. By Lisa Liddane KNIGHT RIDDER NEWS SERVICE ew Year's fitness-related resolutions need not be limited to people beginning an exercise program.

This is a good time for those of us who al aside time to help him start, even if it's as simple as going for a walk around the block with him one weekend. Strengthen my core my abs and my back with a variety of exercises at least three times a week, because I know that doing so will enhance my enjoyment of other activities. Remember to keep it simple. Get enough sleep. Cross-train to challenge my body.

Be wary of taking supplements I know little about. I will gather information on these supplements and read the science thoroughly before I decide to take one. Spend at least one less hour watching a sport and devote that time to playing one instead. I will eat one more piece of fruit and substitute one low-fat vegetable dish in my nutritional meal every day. Be more sportsmanlike on the court, whether it's playing basketball or hockey.

Spend five minutes stretching. Encourage not harass one sedentary person I care about to be physically active. I will offer to help and set more-challenging terrain. Participate in an athletic event. Not get on the scale.

I will remember that weight is not an accurate measurement of body fat and lean muscle. If I want to track my progress in losing body fat and gaining lean muscle, I will have a body-fat analysis done periodically by a qualified exercise physiologist at a health club. Add 30 minutes more of exercise once a week in January, then add another half-hour in February and so on until I've met the rough equivalent of 30 minutes of vigorous exercise daily every week. Wear exercise clothes and shoes that fit properly and are comfortable. Be religious about putting on sunscreen when I'm playing a sport or exercising under the sun.

Drink a lot of water regularly. jr- 1 i SIS" if ft A J. i a i ready work out or participate in a sport regularly to reassess our goals and performance. The resolutions we make need to be realistic. They cannot be so grand that we're immediately setting ourselves up for failure.

Remember that once we have accomplished a goal in the middle of the year, we can always set a higher one. The best resolutions are simple ones. I've listed ideas culled from my interviews in the last year with exercise physiologists, kinesiologists, group-exercise instructors and personal trainers. I will: Be careful not to overtrain if I'm a zealous athlete. I'm going to give my body time to rest, knowing that I'll be able to recharge my batteries and still maintain performance.

Be patient about recovering if I get injured. I will listen to my body if I feel pain and not ignore these warning signs of possible injury. I will see a sports-medicine specialist if the pain does not go away to get a diagnosis, and avoid exacerbating the injury. Try a new class or a new activity. If I take up a sport, I will take lessons to learn the skills correctly at the outset.

Climb, run or ride the next level of 5 Siitflllll Resolving to spend time stretching can pay dividends in injuries avoided. It's important to keep your resolutions realistic you can always upgrade them later, M' MATTHEW BRAHANA i Associated PfSsSf if" 'if I Walnut back to Barrymores, thanks to new appeals process A name that seems sure to stick with moviegoers W.j, mJL. 1 M. Mickey Mouse, in the 1 940 version. Only that segment was retained from the original.

New 'a feast for the opens on hnax screens Philip Seymour Hoffman as he appears in "Magnolia," which opens next Friday. The versatile Hoffman plays a compassionate nurse. i' tuff i. By Clifford A. Ridley INQUIRER THEATER CRITIC Upon further review, the Walnut Street Theatre is back in the Barrymore Awards.

Early last month, after its current production of Phantom failed to qualify for the 1999-2000 awards process, the area's largest producing theater withdrew from the annual program, administered by the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia. But this week, following negotiations that produced a new, temporary appeals process that made Phantom eligible, the Walnut withdrew its withdrawal. "We're happy, they've decided to participate," said Gloria A. Guldager, executive director of the program honoring the work of area professional theaters. "We'd rather err on the side of inclusion rather than exclusion." Bernard Havard, the Walnut's producing artistic director, sounded a similarly conciliatory note.

"I've always been a very strong supporter of the Barrymores," he said. "They're good for Philadelphia theater, and I've kept that principle foremost in mind. I've simply wanted to improve the system where it needs correction." He called the appeals process, for which he'd lobbied for several years, "an important safety valve." The dispute between the Walnut and the Barrymores revolved around the awards' voting process, in which panels of 12 nominators determine which area theater productions are eligible to be visited by a separate panel of 15 judges, who pick the season-ending award winners. For a show to enter the second phase of judging, it must receive seven of the nominators' votes in any category, or nine votes in a combination of categories. Under these criteria, Phantom was excluded from further consideration.

The new appeals process, which bears certain resemblances to that used to challenge officials' decisions in professional football, permits theaters a limited number of appeals (one for every four productions on their season schedules) for shows that flunk the nominating round. If a theater exercises its appeal, the nominators' votes for the show are recounted and, if it has received five votes in any category or seven in several categories, it is considered eligible. To discourage frivolous appeals, however, there's a catch: If the show in question did not receive even thosi reduced num-See WALNUT on. C4 1 I 1 By Martin Booe FOR THE INQUIRER BEVERLY HILLS Suddenly, Philip Seymour Hoffman is everywhere. But don't feel out of- it if his name doesn't trigger instant recognition: The range of characters Hoffman has played is so diverse it's hard to connect the dots.

In 1998's Happiness, he was an obscene phone caller who reached out and touched well, himself, mostly. He was the sweaty-palmed gofer who hit on Mark Wahlberg in Boogie Nights that same year. In the recent Flawess, opposite Robert De Niro, he was a singing drag queen. In Magnolia, which opens next Friday, he's a compassionate private nurse tending the waning Jason Robards. And his brief but powerful turn as a callous preppy in The Talented Mr.

Ripley just earned him a supporting-actor nod from the National Board of Directors. Critics have embraced Hoffman in a collective bear hug, and with his kleptomania-cal penchant for scene stealing, it seems only a matter of time before he's a household name. What's the secret? Lucky is a word Hoffman uses a lot, but gutsy seems more like it. Clearly, the 32-year-old actor has a bloodhound's nose for sniffing out juicy, edgy parts. And being a bachelor helps, he says.

"You should take your time, be picky," Hoffman says laconically. "That's something everybody should do, even when you're not working. "If you don't have kids and you're just some single guy like me I mean I've got a girlfriend now you just have to make choices based on 'this is the time for me to do what I need to not because 'I have to do Because when I have kids or something, I'm going to have to do stuff, so why would I want to do that now?" With that, Hoffman continues foraging ravenously through a table of breads and pastries his handlers have ordered up to his Four Seasons Hotel suite. "I just quit smoking," the husky actor explains, pushing half a muffin into his mouth, though you get the impression his case of the munchies stems in part from a desire to deflect scrutiny. Hoffman knows his profile is about to go from low to incandescent, and he's clearly wary of the repercussions.

So he dresses down, in personal delivery as well as in his attire, which includes glasses with almost nerdishly square gray fBames, a baseball See HOFFMAN on C2 AlI lL.i I 'w In 1998's "Boogie Nights," Hoffman (right) played a gofer hot for the character played by Mark Wahlberg (fourth from right). ft INQUIRER WIRE SERVICES The updated version of Disney's animated classic Fantasia is on the really big screen, but not at a theater near you. Fantasia2000 opened today for a four-month run at 75 large-screen Imax theaters around the world, and advance ticket sales are running strong. But Philadelphians like residents of other big cities 'such as Boston, Cleveland, New Orleans, and Portland, Ore. will have a long drive if they want to see the movie before it opens in regular theaters in late spring.

Most large U.S. cities have an Imax theater, but many such as the Tuttleman Omniverse Theater at the Franklin Institute are at science centers or educational institutions that were unable or unwilling to agree to Disney's insistence that they show nothing but Fantasia2000 for four months. Jeff Guaracino, spokesman for the Franklin Institute, said the museum had several reasons for passing on Fantasia2000. "It conflicted with our commitments to other filmsj' he said. But even if the decks had been clear, "we weren't sure how it fit in with our mission as a science institution." In the past, the museum has shown non-educational films such as Rolling Stones at the MAX in rotation with more traditional fare.

Disney's exclusivity demand precluded that arrangement, Guaracino said. The closest theater to Philadelphia that is screening Fantasia2000 is Manhattan's Sony Theatres at Lincoln Square, where more than in advance tickets liave See FANTASIA on C2 I A 4 TYTT'-'tf-r r-T-r-r t--wwi fttaiiiiiiWBiiwrfftf! Uli In "Flawless," Hoffman plaed a singing drag queen, costarring wiil Robert De Niro. He says he: has been "picky" about his roles..