Newsday (Suffolk Edition) from Melville, New York • 12

A12 The latest entertainment news 'and more mfTir-iTrwsTff? The Thriller Is Gone If Michael Jackson had that sinking feeling recently it wasn't just from this roller coaster ride in Cologne Germany The culprit could be his new album which is going downhil really fast "Blood on the Dance Roar" debuted at No 24 on the album chart when it was released May 20 It sank to No 43 in its second week and Is now at No 65 A spokesman for the King of Pop blamed radio stations and MTV for not giving his new music a chance fans would return if the music were good enough said Melinda Newman an editor at Billboard Fun And Games AtE3 By Joseph Gelmis STAFF WRITER Atlanta love all these games on 12-foot screens and the gut-rocking sound this complete sensory says JC Here a circus the biggest eye candy spectacle in the The 25-year-old Harvard grad author of a witty and insightful new book about the history and cultural impact of video and computer games is among 1200 reporters and upwards of 60000 game-makers and retailers who will be attending the third annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) E3 outgrew the Los Angeles Convention Center by its second year and is now being held in larger quarters the equivalent of 35 football fields at the World Congress Center and Georgia Dome Today through Saturday more than 400 exhibitors will be demonstrating 1500 games and multimedia CD-ROMs new accessories and dozens of online gaming sites NBC anchor Tom Brokaw is the AP Photo PEOPLE iff' -''w HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON NAOMI CAMPBELL Report: Model Overdosed Arts Cuts A Republican proposal to slash funding for the National Endowment for the Arts from (995 million to $10 million just enough to shut down is and will hurt private support of the arts Hillary Rodham Clinton said yesterday On Tuesday a House Appropriations subcommittee voted 6-5 along party lines to cut the funding you think of our rich cultural resources such a severe cut will also result in decreased support from the private the first lady said Despite her statements that she just had a bad reaction to an antibiotic and alcohol supermodel Naomi Campbell had to have her stomach pumped to prevent her from lapsing into a coma after ingesting too many tranquilizers according to the Canary Islands newspaper La Provincia citing a leaked police report The paper reported Campbell had to be rushed to a hospital early Sunday morning after swallowing 20 tablets of the anti-depressant Alprazolan Although life was never in danger the amount of tranquilizers ingested could have thrown her into a coma the report said Curtains for Circle in the Square keynote speaker Among the Hollywood contingent attending E3 is Jeffrey Katzenberg who revitalized animation division during his tenure as president Katzenberg is now an owner along with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen of the newest Hollywood studio DreamWorks SKG With Katzenberg is DreamWorks Interactive president Glenn Entis says Entis everybody you want to attract the press buyers competitors and the talent are here Showing your games at E3 is the equivalent of putting a commercial on the Super Since last E3 several dozen game-makers and electronic publishers have merged downsized or vanished among them interactive divisions of Hollywood studios run by Viacom and Time Warner Nonetheless says Entis underlying game business is stronger than ever and the mood of those returning to E3 is more upbeat than it was mat year The PlayStation and Nintendo 64 are now in millions of homes A dozen Nintendo 64 games have already shipped and there are about fifty on tap Some are really good As for PlayStation an amazing number of high-quality titles coming out Those who nuke good games for those machines will make a lot of artists and not to pay a tax said Mosher who said he regretted that the new subscribers might feel burned by the closing would be tragic the hope that whatever our successors do they will understand the potential of that audience theaters just run their course no shame in that but this one of says Mosher proved the public would respond to serious drama there given half a Patrick Pacheco is a frequent contributor to Newsday Lincoln Center and Edgar Rosen-blum were recruited to save the theater and attracted 20000 new subscribers by offering $10 tickets The last two productions at the Circle were successes starring A1 Par cino and the British import which was nominated for three Tony awards But the tax problem doomed the reorganization according to Mosher who along with Rosenbhim resigned Tuesday and corporations want to contribute until they could be assured that their money was going to By Patrick Pacheco In the end taxes delivered the final blow to the nonprofit Circle in the Square Theatre says the people who tried to lift from bankruptcy the venerable institution that had presented both classics and new work for the past 46 years The board of directors Tuesday evening voted unanimously to suspend operations Circle in the Square declared bankruptcy in August citing debts of $15 million and a tax claim of almost $2 million Gregory Mosher formerly of A Revolutionary Competition TKEWUIRE V- SWITCHES LEADS Mel Gorham the star of upcoming Thursday night sitcom has been dropped from the show which was developed specifically for her That role an aspiring actress working as a waitress will now be taken by Constance Marie whose credits include and the film The sitcom set at a funky Manhattan diner will air in the coveted 8:30 pm slot between and Sources at NBC said the parting was and that producers were interested in making the sitcom more of a trueensemble show -c in -p -f tvl' I t0 iV1 i NEWSDAY THURSDAY JUNE IB 1997 explained that he created the contest because songwriters take a back seat" to those who perform their compositions He said he dedicated the contest to Lennon a singer-songwriter I have very few heroes and one of The contest is open to anyone Prizes will be awarded to 120 songwriters in a dozen categories including rock folk and rap The top songs will be released on two separate albums For more information call 800-932-0001 ext 693 or visit the Web site I hi ft 'li ft- Tv ii I 'i- Aft £'i CkI-1 By Letta Tayler STAFF WHITER Beatlemania migrated Tuesday night from Strawberry Fields to Chelsea Piers where rockers and rappers including Joan Osborne Lauryn Hill of the Fugees and Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest celebrated the launch of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest The contest is the brainchild of David Sonenberg the rock and rap manager who this year shared an Oscar for producing the documentary We Were As he dashed from guest to guest at Pier 59 Studio Sonenberg i fc glHtCO iff 0- -w'feW iCafk Nj If John Lennon during Ms days as a Baade mi a if Tjp WJfK.