All the Latest in the Entertainment Industry

Kevin Costner Joins THE BIG LEAGUEScolor>size>
LOS ANGELES - When it comes to baseball movies and actors portraying ballplayers, announcer Vin Scully has seen them all. And he says Kevin Costner finally got it right. He can actually play the game. Scully, who has been the voice of the Dodgers for 50 years, said neither Gary Cooper, who played Lou Gehrig in the 1942 "Pride of the Yankees," nor William Bendix, who starred in the 1948 "Babe Ruth Story," was believable. He wasn't too sure about Costner in "Bull Durham" or "Field of Dreams" either. But after "For the Love of the Game," Scully said Costner "might be the best." (AP)

CARTER ISN'T SLOWING DOWNcolor>size>
ATLANTA - Jimmy Carter says he has little time for getting
old. The former president turns 75 on Oct. 1. Following a black-tie birthday bash near his home in Plains, he plans trips to England, Switzerland and Norway next month to raise money for his Carter Center. Earlier this year, he and his wife, Rosalynn, monitored elections in Nigeria and Indonesia. Last month,President Clinton awarded both of them the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. "We have already begun to cut back some," he said. "One of the nice things about having been president is Rosalynn and I can choose what items on a very long menu we want to undertake. If we don't want to do something, we just say no." (AP)

SOPHIA LOREN: THE AGELESS DIVAcolor>size>

ROME - Italian film star Sophia Loren quietly
turned 65 Monday, declaring that being a diva was a job just
like any other and giving no hint of retirement. Loren, a living
symbol of modern Italian culture, has outlived many of Italy's
post-war film personalities, among them directors Federico
Fellini and Vittorio De Sica and actor Marcello Mastroianni, who
was her leading man in many movies. (REUTERS)

GEORGE MICHAEL LETS HIMSELF GOcolor>size>

LONDON - Britain's tabloids had a field day
Saturday when British pop idol George Michael kept a deal to
give them exclusive interviews, admitting he had not made love
to a woman for a decade and saying he wanted to have sex with Tom Cruise -- and his wife, Nicole Kidman. Michael, who had
agreed to answer anything the tabloids asked in exchange for
"compassionate coverage" of a forthcoming initiative to raise
money for the world's destitute, also admitted he was being sued
for $20 million by the U.S. policeman who arrested him for
masturbating in public last year. (REUTERS)

DAVE MATTHEWS CAN BE PLAYED ONLINEcolor>size>

HOLLYWOOD - In a promotion being billed as the
first time that music from a major artist will be sold
exclusively on the Internet, fans will be able to downloa live
tunes from the Dave Matthews Band later this month. A $1 million
campaign spearheaded by BMG Entertainment, Liquid Audio and PBS
will center around the Sept. 29 airing of a Matthews concert on
PBS' "In The Spotlight" special. The downloads will become
available on the same day. The show will highlight the band's
Sept. 11 concert at the Continental Air Arena in East
Rutherford, N.J. (VARIETY)