The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 34

D2 MONDAY, JANUARY 15, 20017NA los Angeles times' At rge In the Know A LOOK AT THE WEEK AHEAD The Snowy and Showy Allure of Sundance everal snowstorms have already rolled across Park City, Utah, blanketing the nearby resorts in white powder. But come Thursday, the sleepy mountain resort will be bracing for something more scarier than bad weather: independent filmmakers, Hollywood agents and studio marketing executives. The Sundance Film Festival, which runs through Jan. 28, is expected to draw 23,000 people this year, including more than 900 members of the HIGHWAY ONE media. In all, there are 115 feature films being screened along with 55 shorts and 18 projects in the online film festival.

Sundance again will draw its share of celebrities this year, beginning Thursday with the opening-night premiere of director Christine Land's "My First Mister," a love story about a pierced teenager always dressed in black (Leelee Sobieski) and her middle-aged boss (Albert Brooks). LahtL Brooks and Sobieski are all expected to attend. Of course, Sundance wouldn't be Sundance unless restaurants and condos were filled with companies and agents Moore SI T. Ji 1 if looking to make deals with the filmmakers. And, when night falls, crowds are sure to swell the local restaurants such as the River Horse Cafe, Lakota, Grappa, Gamekeeper's Grille and Cicero's.

What would Sundance be without celebrities? Well, aging rocker Mick Jagger, Elizabeth Hurley, Julianne Moore, Patrick Swayze and Forest Whitaker are some of the other celebrities expected to make appearances sometime during the festival Julia Roberts is also scheduled to show up, organizers say, but not to promote one of her own movies. Instead, Roberts wants to show support for her niece, who has made a short film. But what really may have the paparazzi buzzing is the arrival (for the second straight year) of Courtney Love, who stars in "Julie Johnson." You might remember that at last year's festival, Love made headlines when she railed against the wife of a film critic who had taken her picture as she was leaving a restaurant, throwing the camera to the ground. The husband butted in with clenched fist, prepared to duke it out, witnesses said, but then Love's boyfriend broke off the skirmish. Will there be a Round A New With Martin and Aguilera Two of pop's hottest heartthrobs, Ricky Martin and Christina Aguilera, have teamed up for a duet of "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely," a song on Martin's, current "Sound Loaded" album.

The video premieres Tuesday on MTVs "Making the Video" series, but don't look for the record in stores: The song won't be released as a single. Instead, the pulsating track will be added to future press Photos Courtesy Mazda Motor Corp. A blacked-out grille, fog lamps and rear spoiler distinguish the Mazda Protege ES, above. Inside, the top-of-the-line ES shows off a new white-faced Instrument cluster that makes for easier viewing, below, as well as silver accents on the shifter, door panels and center stack. The car also features a more-powerful engine that puts out 130 horsepower.

Mazda's Tweaks ings of "Sound Loaded" (but not to any existing Aguilera album). In the past, that would have forced fans to buy a new copy of the album if they wanted to own the added track in essence, punishing the loyal fans and rewarding latecomers. Martin and his label Columbia Records, have come up with a solution: The track will be available for free downloading at Martin's Web site, unvw.rickymartin.com, only to fans who already own the album. Putting the "Sound Loaded" CD into the computer's CD-ROM drive will register with the Web site and allow users to proceed with Jm Aguilera Pay Off in Protege A competent small sedan gets even better for 2001 with a more youthful look and a boost in performance. 1 the tree download.

(Martin low-tech fans can send a sticker that reads "Including the hits from their copy of the album to "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely," P.O. Box 4000, Carrollton, GA 30117) and they'll be sent a free CD with the new version.) Anyone who hasn't bought "Sound Loaded" will be able to buy the version containing the duet starting in early February. "We don't plan to release it commercially because of these great opportunities to get it to the fans for free," said Columbia spokeswoman Claire Mercuri. Still some in the industry think there's a market for the single alone. "We wish the single was commercially available; we wish there were more singles generally," said Tower Records Southwest territory regional director Bob FeterL "That's what kids want; that's what kids can afford.

It seems like the record companies think, "Why let them buy a single when we can get them to buy full-length But I think the singles business fuels the CD business; I don't think it's in lieu of album sales." Compiled by Times Staff Writers By LARRY SAAVEDRA SPECIAL TO THE TIMES here, a there A little more legrc pinch of perfon and a slice of style: Put them I legroom performance Put them cutting-edge together and Loving Her New Career Options NEW YORK" 'From Scorsese to Soderbergh in 30 That's how I'd love the headline to run on this story!" Courtney Love said rather tentatively during our chat the other day. I opened my talk with her by saying, "You know, I've always thought you should have a big film career I'm not going to pretend I 'get all your music" She responded, 'Yes, I've always thought so too. And now, I think It might happen. Liz, don't let any actor ever teD you agents don't matter. They do!" A month ago, Love switched to teams at Untitled Entertainment and United Talent Agency, headed by Jason Weinberg, Nick Stevens, Blair Belcher and others, who have apparently and suddenly changed the course of her career.

got tired of being queen of the She just landed "24 Hours," a Warner Bros, thriller produced by Mark Canton. Then there's "Welcome to Collinwood," an ensemble flick produced by Steven Soderbergh and directed by An improved (read: stiffer) steering-shaft mounts and torsion bar within the steering box, the result is noticeably more responsive handling. In that regard, the ES model's standard 16-inch wheels and P19550R16 tires are ideal shoes for a compact car in tight-comering situations. For 2001, the ES retains Mazda's "Triple-H" body construction, which is designed to enhance protection in the event of side impact or rollover. Additional safety features include new front seat-belt pre-tensioners with force limiters, a rear lower child-seat anchor and optional front-seat side air bags.

We made good use of the ES' standard four-wheel disc brakes on several occasions. Anti-lock brakes are optional and come with Mazda's EBD that's electronic brake-force distribution, a system that adjusts braking according to vehicle load. The five-speed manual ES puts up decent fuel-economy numbers: 25 miles per gallon in the city and 31 mpg on the highway, as rated by the Environmental Protection Agency. (The numbers work out to 2530 for the 2.0-liter with four-speed automatic transmission.) The Protege has undergone a face lift across the lineup for 2001 in the form of an integrated grille with mesh inserts; restyled hood, front fenders and fascia; and a new headlamp treatment Fog lights, a small rear spoiler and a black-chrome grille distinguish the top-of-the-line ES from the LX and DX Building further on the Protege lineup, Mazda plans to unveil the all-new MP3 coupe and an "urban-activity" Sport Wagon later in the year. The MP3 will be geared to the youth market featuring factory-designed tuner components and aftermarket-influ-enced body treatments from Racing Beat of Anaheim.

The Sport Wagon will incorporate similar sporty body and suspension enhancements in a five-door platform. Until then, the ES is the Protege to watch, a nimble challenger to the Civic and Focus, which remain best in class. The lower-priced Protege trim packages may save you a few dollars upfront but we think the ES offers a more enthusiastic drive all around. We test-drove the new Protege model line during its North American launch in San Diego. The day took us through tony coastal enclaves, where compact sedans may be viewed as a bit plebeian; to quaint inland villages such as Julian, where home-style apple pie draws the crowds; and onward to the hustle and bustle of metropolitan living, where the Protege should fit in quite nicely.

What we found after spending most of our seat time in a five-speed manual version of the new 2.0-liter ES is that this car offers a lot for the money. Once aboard, the driver is treated to white-faced instrument gauges that make for easier viewing and a mono-' chromatic black interior with silver accents on the shifter, door panels and center stack. The ES is the only trim line to offer these features and, as subtle as they are, they make a nice impression. Commuters will benefit from larger, thoughtfully placed cup holders, as well as a 6040-split folding rear seat that adds a locking feature as standard equipment on all models. The modular AM-FM stereo comes with a CD player as standard on the upper-end models.

The 2.0-liter inline-4 ES engine, available as an option on the LX, puts out 130 horsepower. The seemingly insignificant 8-horsepower increase in grunt over that of last year's 1.8-liter engine nonetheless offers more assurance on the open road when passing power is needed most Shifting from first through fifth gear proves smooth and compliant and the ES delivers enough low-end power and torque to get all of its 2,638 pounds around town with a fair amount of agility. In terms of acceleration, the ES feels on par with the new four-door Ford Focus nothing exceptional but fun to drive just the same. As tuck would have it, we stumbled across enough bad asphalt during our test drive to give the ES a good workout The verdict: The suspension absorbed most of the road shock that would have sent lesser compact sedans into a suspension oscillation seizure (a fancy way of saying a bad case of the shakes). The very capable suspension features MacPherson struts up front twin-trapezoidal-link design and coil springs in back and large stabilizer ban front and rear.

Power rack-and-pinion steering comes standard. With Mazda's newly entry-level vehicles don't have to be tasteless reminders of the frugal 70s. The progressive thinking behind the 2001 Honda Civic and the trendy European-styled Ford Focus exemplifies the calculated moves manufacturers are taking in outfitting compact cars with higher-end accouterments. Roomier interiors, bolder exterior styling, better performance" and premium safety features have become the norm, rather than the exception, in the crowded market segment Underscoring the need to satisfy a more sophisticated consumer, Mazda Motor Protege sedan for 2001 has been freshened inside and out and tweaked to improve its already competent ride and handling, all while remaining priced to fit the typical pocketbook. Tracing its heritage in North America back to 1977, the Protege was introduced on our shores as the GLC three-door hatchback, later to become known as the 323.

In 1990, Mazda unleashed the Protege sedan, and it has since evolved into a competitive runabout, one of many that are helping define the future of smaller cars in the VS. Four 2001 Protege models are heading to showrooms by spring: the 1.6-liter LX and DX and the 2.0-liter ES and LX Prices range from $12,795 for the base-model DX to about $18,000 for a fully loaded ES. The Protege platform shares many of its desirable traits with such notable 2001 compact sedans as the Nissan Sentra and Toyota Corolla. But this Mazda especially the top-of-the-line ES offers a surprisingly more youthful look and sportier ride that set it apart from earlier Proteges we've driven. If not so much the refinements that Mazda has made within its OptiSpace interior layout although the new center console design, restyted instrument cluster and other treatments are welcome.

The real news is in the Protege's pleasant road manners the car's ability to make driver and passengers fed like taking another spin around the block. Just as we did. Love thony and Joe Russo, with Luis Guzman, Isaiah Washington, Jennifer Esposito and Billy Crudup. But the movie that has Love on fire is the Martin Scorsese-produced, Scott Elliott-directed "Hello, Suckers!" It's about the gaudy, bawdy life of 1920s nightclub queen Texas Guinan. An odd choice for the grunge goddess? You don't know your Courtney Love.

This woman not only has her finger on the pulse of every new movie, trend and music transition, but she a font of knowledge about film stars and world-class celebrities of the past "This is going to be a fabulous, old-fashioned, Barbra Streisand tour-de-force musical type of thing. Everything but the kitchen sink shell go from brassy to teary and back. I'll wear amazing clothes, and I'm already looking into all these great songs, like 1 Don't and studying the choreography of the time." The script tor "Hello. Suckers!" requires two scenes between a young Guinan and that grand sex symbol of a severely corseted era, Lillian RusseH For the Record Reservation Bomber The reservation number for "Aaron," Aaron Almanza's musical revue opening Friday at Ventura Court Theatre in Studio City, is (626) 286-2081 An incorrect number ran in Sunday's Calendar..