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Frank Sinatra's strong, tender voice represented the 20th American century. His death on May 14, 1998, ended a one-of-a-kind career starting in the 1940s. His displayed vulnerability attracted women while his verve and toughness appealed to men.

Whenever we hear some celebrity complaining about the high cost of fortune and fame, we can't help thinking, Sit down. Shut up. There's more where you came from. It's nearly [...]

After 40 years, 'The Crucible' hits the screen. High concept: sizzling sex in old Salem. Here's how a classic went Hollywood but kept its virtue. AS IT TURNS OUT, ARTHUR [...]

ALICIA SILVERSTONE is feeling just an eensy, weensy bit misunderstood. Everybody thinks she's so damn cute. It's driving her nuts. Maybe they've seen her hit movie 'Clueless,' in which she [...]

Culture: Will the digiteers democratize the arts? Is the elitist genius a dinosaur? And how can we know the hacker from the hack? If ai - artificial intelligence - says [...]

Movies scheduled for release in 1999 that target the teenage market are characterized by indiscriminate sex, drug use, and the lack of parental figures. Such movies include 'Cruel Intentions,' 'American Pie,' and 'Go.' They are much more explicit than such previous teenage films as 'Rebel Without a Cause,' 'Fast Times at Ridgemont High,' 'The Breakfast Club,' and 'Heathers.' Some motion picture professionals decry the cinematic licentiousness while others argue the movies are a legitimate portrayal of teenage life.

Once again, here's the world's earliest summer-movie preview. Meet 1998. THE SUMMER IS OVER AND FALL is upon us. We can deny that fact, or we can embrace it. Frankly, [...]

Sly, Arnold and Harrison will all be in their 50s by summer--geez, these guns are heavy--and a new generation wants to muscle in. Get ready for a fight. THE JET'S [...]

This summer, studios bring out their blockbusters and engage in the most macho round of one-upmanship ever. With $1.5 billion in budgets at stake, everybody's asking ... IT CAME TO [...]

John Cusack is a lovable hit man in 'Grosse Pointe Blank.' A Gen-X icon, he's half as famous as he ought to be but twice as famous as he'd like. [...]

Face it. The summer-movie season is basically over, and it's barely August. So here's what Hollywood plans for the dog days of 1997. THIS IS A SUMMER-MOVIE PREview. No, it's [...]

Reports on the development of the movie 'Dinosaur' by the Walt Disney Co. and reviews its use of computer graphics. Disney's competition with partner Pixar which is responsible for 'Toy Story' and other computer-designed cartoons; The future of computer aided film production.

Focuses on the Home Box Office (HBO) cable television network program, `The Sopranos,' a middle-class mob drama. Profile of major characters; Reasons for the show's success; Authenticity of story lines; How the show was written in 1995 and offered to major television networks; Concern about stereotypes in the United States.

Discusses the retirement of cartoonist Charles M. Schulz, and the subsequent end of the run of his comic strip 'Peanuts.' Health reasons for Schulz's retirement; Biographical information about Schulz and history of the comic strip; Discussion of the humor and serious themes in 'Peanuts' and why it is beloved by both children and adults.

Interviews five screenwriters about the motion picture industry, their movies, and awards such as the Golden Globes. Warren Beatty and the film `Bulworth'; Tom Stoppard and `Shakespeare in Love'; Robert Rodat and `Saving Private Ryan'; Don Roos and `The Opposite Sex'; Roberto Benigni and `Life Is Beautiful.'

Presents the top fifty CD-ROMs for children available in late 1998, as judged by `Newsweek.' Software for preschoolers including Elmo's Reading: Preschool & Kindergarten from Creative Wonders; Software for young children including Fisher-Price Ready for School: Kindergarten from Knowledge Adventure; Software for preteens including Thinkin' Science Zap! from Edmark; Software for high schoolers; Family software; Games; Pricing; Contact information.

Features Katie Couric, co-anchor of the United States television program `Today.' Her appealing qualities; The death of her husband, Jay Monahan, from colon cancer; The `Today' show format; Suggestion of the amount of Couric's salary; Her skill as a broadcaster; Comments from Couric, friends, and colleagues.

Profiles Australian pianist David Helfgott, whose life was portrayed in the motion picture `Shine.' His musical prowess; His health; His personality; His popularity in light of the release of `Shine'; Comments from Helfgott.

Discusses the reunion in 1995 of Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr of the music group, the Beatles. The death of band member John Lennon in 1980; The making of two new Beatles' songs in 1995 with Lennon singing lead; The long wait for a reunion; The television documentary, `The Beatles Anthology'; EMI Records releasing compact discs of the Beatles' studio outtakes; The Beatles' longtime company, Apple Corps. INSET: Yesterday...and today (timeline).

Comments on Winterset, Iowa, which has become the site of `Bridges of Madison County' mania. The movie, starring Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood; Plot of the film.

Caitlin Macy's debut novel, 'The Fundamentals of Play,' is a marvel--a thrillingly intelligent, witty and tragic look at love and class in Manhattan. With hilariously authentic details of postcollegiate life [...]

John Woo almost died of an infection at the age of 3. The doctor told Woo's father that he should have another kid, that there was no hope for this [...]

Just before this year's Cannes Film Festival opened, NEWSWEEK invited four directors to L'Ermitage Hotel, in Los Angeles, for a frank discussion of movies, mobs, money and red carpets. The [...]

In the Toronto airport last October, Hugh Jackman stood nervously in front of a bored, tight-lipped Customs officer, trying to explain why he should be let into the country without [...]

Grace Under Pressure Ten years ago, 5,000 people did the exercise routine called Pilates. The number now is 5 million in America alone. But what is it, exactly? By Yahlin [...]

For someone who hates reporters, Leonardo DiCaprio has certainly made their lives easy. There's always another bar fight, a public make-out session or a night out prowling with his gang, [...]

When Da Chen came to America at 23, he brought $30 and a bamboo flute with him, and tried to leave all his memories behind. He ultimately landed a job [...]

In the next century you're going to have better sex than you've ever had before. You won't have a single sexual fantasy that will go unfulfilled. If it's as obvious [...]

Mavis Leno, wife of Jay, doesn't play the celebrity game. You don't see her working the tables at Mortons or schmoozing at Vanity Fair's Oscar party. But late last year [...]

Amy Brenneman, 35, spent most of her 20s trying to prove that she wasn't anything like her mother. Frederica Brenneman, a superior-court judge in Hartford, Conn., is a formidable person--one [...]

So you think you're a trivia whiz? Step up to the plate, smarty-pants. Name, if you can, five of the eight Republican vice presidents elected from the time of Abraham […]

We've been hearing a lot about a crisis in masculinity lately. Now we can see it from a boy's point of view in 'Thumbsucker,' a dark and clever new novel [...]

Aaron Sorkin actually thinks he has writer's block. The creator of 'Sports Night' and 'The West Wing' has already tossed off 11 scripts for both shows this season. But on [...]

Jane Shapiro's hilarious, nasty new novel is about a woman who marries a very clumsy man. Dennis is sweet, overzealous and devoted as a dog, but he can't walk into [...]

We'll tell you what we really, really don't want: both Geri Halliwell and the remaining Spice Girls are set to rehash her salty break with the group in print by [...]

People in the classical-music world are always griping about the death of serious music, but Joshua Bell is actually doing something about it. The violinist has delved into unconventional new [...]

Melissa Bank has a lot to live up to--or to live down, depending on how you look at it. She got $275,000 for 'The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing'--her [...]

Focuses on two fall 1999 television series, NBC's `The West Wing' and Fox's `Action.' United States politics on `The West Wing'; The motion picture and television industries in `Action; Production and direction; Actors; Reviews.

Focuses on the motion picture `Shakespeare in Love.' The romantic comedy winning three Golden Globe awards; Expectations that the movie will be nominated for the Academy Awards; Amount that the film has grossed in nine weeks of limited release in the United States; Shakespeare the Bard as an icon of popular culture; Occurrence of a Shakespeare renaissance in the Hollywood movie industry in California; Concern that Shakespeare could become a film franchise like the `Friday the 13th' movies.

Profiles character actor Edward Norton. His reluctance to talk about himself, except as an actor; His ability to disappear into a role and change with each film in which he appears; His roles in `Primal Fear,' `Everyone Says I Love You,' `The People vs. Larry Flynt,' and `Rounders'; His role in `American History X,' scheduled for release in November 1998; The rewards of acting; Other projects in which he is involved.

Focuses on the cross over trend in popular and classical music. Popular music singer Michael Bolton's music recording of arias; Vanessa-Mae, a classical musician doing a mix with popular music; The market for classical albums; Classical musicians who are crossing over; The projects of Yo-Yo Ma; Comments from Ma.

Discusses techno music in the United States. Why the music industry has turned its attention to techno culture; Promoter Gerry Gerrard's role in helping techno become mainstream in 1997; Techno acts, including the Chemical Brothers and the group Underworld; Suggested compact discs, including `Richard D. James Album,' by Aphex Twin, `In Sides,' by Orbital, `Homework,' by Daft Punk, and `Pearl's Girl,' by Underworld.

Discusses the making of the motion picture `Mission: Impossible,' directed by Brian De Palma and starring Tom Cruise. `Mission: Impossible' as the first movie ever produced by Cruise; Writers who worked on the script; The plot; Reasons why it took three years to make the movie; Use of computer graphics and special effects in the motion picture; Hopes that the movie will be a big box-office draw in the summer of 1996.

Looks at the books and movies which take place in Las Vegas, Nevada. The book, `Casino,' by Nicholas Pileggi; John Gregory Dunne's book, `Vegas'; The films, `Get Shorty,' `Showgirls,' and `Leaving Las Vegas'; Other books and films.

Profiles artist William Steig, 87, who has succeeded in two careers as innovative cartoonist and as children's book author. Why he says his most recent book, `Grown-Ups Get to Do All the Driving,' is not for kids; Why he is so successful with children; His wife, sculptor and writer Jeanne Steig; Biographical information.

This article focuses on television's currently most successful producers, including Aaron Sorkin and John Wells. Relevant points include Sorkin's hit series 'The West Wing' and 'Sports Night,' and his competitors such as Aaron Spelling, David E. Kelley, Steven Bochco, and Chris Carter.

Yes, you could be next week's hot new actor. But look out. Your career might be over before you can fill your swimming pool. BY YAHLIN CHANG TALK TO ANYONE [...]

Infamous prodigy Elizabeth Wurtzel caught the wave with `Prozac Nation.' Now she's back with `Bitch,' a rousing defense of female rage. The famously depressed Elizabeth Wurtzel arrives late for lunch [...]

It's a noisy, fume-choked July afternoon in midtown Manhattan. Tempers are flaring in the crushing traffic and stifling heat of West 34th Street. But inside the Source of Life Center, [...]