Millennium Shows Proving a Tough Sell

As the countdown to 2000 winds into its final month, the concert industry seems to be suffering from an early New Year’s Eve hangover. After scrambling for much of the year to line up marquee names for “event” shows (translation: expensive tickets), promoters are wondering what will happen if they throw a party and nobody comes. Ticket sales for dozens of Dec. 31 concerts have been tepid, and many worry that what was initially looked at as a historic payday may end up as a bad investment covered in confetti. Some are already cutting their losses. Last week, Jewel canceled her hometown show in Anchorage after selling only 1,000 of the 8,000 seats (although the singer’s camp cited possible Y2K bug problems as the cancellation motive), and in New York the pricey “Celebration 2000” gala featuring Andrea Bocelli, Aretha Franklin and Sting appears in jeopardy, with organizers offering refunds on $2,500 seats as they look to move the event to a smaller venue with lower prices. Earlier this month, Creed, coming off a No. 1 debut for its new album, also dashed plans for a show in Florida. In Los Angeles, the Staples Center show featuring the Eagles, Jackson Browne and Linda Ronstadt has had sluggish sales for the $1,000 best seats, and even Jimmy Buffett--typically among the sure-bets for sellouts--has room for more at his nine-hour blowout at the Universal Amphitheatre, where ducats range from $500 to $1,500. “It comes down to the fact that the industry may have overestimated how many people want to pay premium prices--and I mean really premium prices--to see shows on that night,” says Gary Bongiovanni, editor of Pollstar, the concert industry trade. “It may be that the hoopla surrounding going out on that night is also more a product of media hype than an actual appetite by the public.” So are there any success stories among the shows? “Barbra Streisand,” Bongiovanni says. “She’s just added another show [at the MGM Grand Resort and Casino] in Las Vegas and seems like the only one who isn’t just limping along with sales.”

UPN ‘Treks’ to a Successful Sweeps End

CBS and NBC rolled out big-budget miniseries for the rating sweeps, but smaller networks have to be a bit more creative. As a result, UPN hands this Wednesday’s lineup--on the final night of the four-week survey period--over to its signature franchise, “Star Trek.” An homage titled “Ultimate Trek: Star Trek’s Greatest Moments,” featuring Jason Alexander--a true “Trek” aficionado--will mix clips and outtakes with the onetime “Seinfeld” co-star dressing up like Capt. Kirk and pursuing his own mission. The special is followed by a bit of stunt casting, with “Star Trek: The Next Generation’s” Marina Sirtis (Counselor Deanna Troi, for the uninitiated) guest starring on UPN’s current entry in the franchise, “Star Trek: Voyager.” ABC is obviously the big winner this sweeps, thanks to “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” but UPN has its own success story, having achieved significant gains versus its dismal ratings performance a year ago due primarily to “WWF Smackdown!” The network’s “Star Trek” night, meanwhile, will wrestle with this season’s first invasion of holiday specials, including CBS’ perennial “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” as well as NBC’s “Christmas in Rockefeller Center” and “Garth Brooks & the Magic of Christmas.”

Looking for the Meaning of ‘Machismo’

Ever wondered where the idea of “machismo” originated? Well, Daphna Kastner, writer-director and lead actress of “Spanish Fly,” had a heck of time trying to find out. The Miramax film, which opens Wednesday, is set in Spain, where Kastner’s young journalist character, Zoe, sets off to write a book on the “myth of machismo.” The idea for the story came naturally. “I thought, ‘What would I do a movie about if I went to Spain?’ And I just thought--sex. It was kind of an obvious conclusion.” Relying on her translator, it turns out, was an adventure in itself. “He would fight with the people I was interviewing,” said Kastner, who based one of the films’ characters in the film on her translator. “And he would say things like ‘the bikini brought down [Spain’s dictator Francisco] Franco’ or ‘a Spanish man talking to a woman about sex is bound to lie--it’s his patriotic duty.’ ” The film, which co-stars Martin Donovan (“Opposite of Sex”) and opens at the Mann Westwood, is a romantic comedy focusing on the emotional and sexual gulf that exists between men and women. Zoe travels from Madrid to the south of Spain in Andalusia, where the drama of gypsy culture and flamenco-singing men ignite her passions. “It’s like a ‘Sex and the City’ goes to Spain,” said the 30-something writer. As in the popular HBO series, Kastner’s film delves into the confusing state of today’s male-female relationships and finds that sexual liberation presents its own challenges. So, did the young heroine find an answer to her query? “My conclusion is, the more I know, the more I know how little I know,” she said.

--Compiled by Times Staff Writers