FEATURES 'A Time to Kill' Composer: Racial Film Challenge to Score Will This Be Mark Curry's Last Season? Ted Danson No Hit with Nation's TV Critics Basinger Bends Reality Neil Simon's Passion For Writing Continues For Immediate Release on Entertainment Drive Released by Beck/Smith 'A Time to Kill' Composer: Racial Film Challenge to Score Hollywood -- July 22, 1996 -- Joel Schumacher's "A Time to Kill," based on the John Grisham novel, is a poignant exploration of America's race issue through the trial of a black man who kills the two white men who raped his daughter. Hot young composer Elliot Goldenthal says scoring the Matthew McConaughey/Sandra Bullock/Samuel L. Jackson starrer was "a challenge." He explains, "In composing music for a serious courtroom drama -- and something that is as emotionally wrought with all the complex American feelings about race -- one had to be very careful." Goldenthal, who scored such high profile films as "Interview with the Vampire," "Batman Forever" and "Heat," worked with gospel greats Andrae Crouch and Cissy Houston on the soundtrack. He says working with Whitney's mom Cissy proved a breeze, thanks to the woman's singing prowess. "I recorded Cissy in New York. It was very comforting to know I could just go there and say Listen Mrs. Houston, if you could please just sing four takes, that's all I need.' I just chose the best of the four takes, what I felt was strongest." He notes, " I'm very proud of the way it turned out." Goldenthal got to see an advance screening of "A Time to Kill" with a group of industryites in L.A.. "It seems to be a jaded type of audience out here, but the movie was stunning and the audience was with every breath." Indeed, "A Time to Kill" is a definite Oscar contender, featuring stellar performances by Samuel L. Jackson, Sandra Bullock and the latest hot hunk Matthew McConaughey -- who certainly lives up to the hype in this film. Will This Be Mark Curry's Last Season? Hollywood -- July 24, 1996 -- "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper" star Mark Curry returned to the studio last week to start shooting what may be the last season for the ABC sitcom. The show isn't coming back until midseason and Curry isn't exactly ecstatic that the show has only been picked up for 13 episodes. But since that 13 will bring "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper" up to the 100 episodes necessary for syndication, he's taking it all in stride. "I try to live one day at a time and I'm trying to do the best I can...you never know hat happens in the future. If this is the last season I'm going to make these the best 13 shows I can. I'm going out a winner." When the show ended last season, Curry and Holly Robinson's characters had become engaged. He says in addition to dealing with their new relationship there are "other issues we're going to deal with...We're going to go through me getting another job and I wanted to explore other serious issues like maybe dealing with violence with the kids," says Curry, whose HBO comedy special "Mark Curry: The Other Side" airs on HBO August 17. He adds, "I also want to do an episode with little kids...like a Kindergarten Cop' kind of thing." Ted Danson No Hit with Nation's TV Critics Hollywood -- July 23, 1996 -- It's going to be interesting to see how Ted Danson fares with his TV comeback in "Ink." The CBS series, in which the former "Cheers" star will star with his wife Mary Steenburgen this fall, frankly underwhelmed the nation's TV critics who have been meeting at The Ritz Carlton Hotel in Pasadena, Ca. this month. Beyond that, Danson didn't prove to be a favorite with some of the writers. Overheard after the "Ink" press conference: "Mary Steenburgen is adorable -- shame she had to marry such a pompous jerk." Whatever, Danson is going for a more natural look than he did on "Cheers." Gone is the toupee covering the pate of his head, and when someone asked him why, he responded, "You come to terms with losing your hair. When you're 37, losing it can be pretty rough. But it's not a problem for me now. When I look in the mirror I look terrific, and when I turn my back to you, you're the one who's got a problem having to look at it." (His bald spot). He is also wearing glasses these days. He tried to get along without them, "But I couldn't see -- and wearing eyeglasses in the pilot caused a glare." Now he's got contacts. How do he and she like working together? She says, "I wanted to kill him yesterday. Sometimes he drives me nuts." She adds, "He gives me notes about my overacting," she says. He admits, "I tend to be judgmental." Are they competitive? She says, "We shot two episodes and were already talking about who had the funnier lines." Basinger Bends Reality Hollywood -- July 25, 1996 -- Talk about bending reality. Moviegoers will see Kim Basinger playing a 1952 actress who makes her living as a Veronica Lake look-alike when the currently-lensing "L.A. Confidential" hits screens. Filmmaker Chris Carter reports that Kim was intrigued by the movie's treatment of celebrity. "That look, specifically that hairstyle - it's both a trademark and a mask to some degree, and a trap," comments Carter, referring to the famous peek-a-boo hairdo that Lake and the character played by Basinger share. "Any time a performer has one kind of thing they're very successful with, they have to deal with the down side of it -- being pigeonholed and not allowed to change. Kim has had the same kind of thing during her career, I'm sure. That's why there was an appeal to playing a character who is dealing with it." Carter says he's been getting along famously with the actress, who's had some highly-publicized clashes with behind-the-scenes talents on movies in the past. "I've had good luck. I've worked with other actors or actresses about whom people say: Gee -- hard to work with. But I haven't had a problem. I love actors and what they do. And I really believe you have to take people as they are to you and forget about the things you hear," says the director, whose credits include Meryl Streep's "The River Wild." He adds, "I think in showbusiness, that's especially true." The adaptation of James Ellroy's classic crime novel, "L.A. Confidential" stars an ensemble cast that also includes Danny DeVito, Kevin Spacey, James Cromwell, and David Strathairn. Carter says he's been especially gratified by the supportive attitude and input he's gotten from DeVito and Spacey, both of whom are directors in their own right. "Danny's been absolutely great," says Carter. He adds that when he first met with DeVito about playing the editor of the fictitious Hush-Hush Magazine, "he asked me, Do you see this as a sleazy guy?' I said, No. I see him as an innovator, a man who is enthusiastic about what he's doing -- the Christopher Columbus of tabloid journalism.' And Danny said, I love it! You mean he thinks, I'm out there telling the truth!' I said, Exactly!'" Neil Simon's Passion For Writing Continues Hollywood -- July 26, 1996 -- Neil Simon, as busy today at age 69 as he ever seemed to be, explains, "I like to write -- I'm lucky that I still like to write." Not that there's not a difference between now and way back when. "It's a different kind of passion than I felt in the beginning. Then, writing was more worrisome for me, and any little success that came was so appreciated. I could stop now -- but I like the challenge." He must, because he's writing a new play, rewriting several of his vintage works for the big screen and the small, and has just finished volume one of his memoirs. When it's mentioned that critics have noted that his most recent plays -- "Jake's Women," the musical version of "The Goodbye Girl," "Laughter on the 23rd Floor" and "London Suite" were not long- running successes -- he responds, "I think critics are getting spoiled about how long plays are going to run. I have no complaints." Simon's looking forward to the broadcast of the NBC-TV adaptation of his "London Suite" with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Kelsey Grammer, Jonathan Silverman and Michael Richards . Look for it to open the network season in September. Copyright (c) 1996 Beck/Smith Ent.