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Rena Sofer excited to star in ‘Coupling’ I BY FRAZIER MOORE THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK — Say, Rena Sofer! How do you feel starring in “Coupling,” the racy new sitcom that has reveled in publicity (and gotten a good scolding) since NBC announced it last spring? “Great!” replies Sofer with a big smile. “Eighteen years in this business, and I’m finally on the show that everybody’s talking about. Fine! Talk about us! Thank you!” Like Susan, her character on “Coupling” (Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. EDT), Sofer is playful but straight-talking. Independent? Sure, “but not afraid to get into re lationships,” she says, noting witl^ a laugh “I’ve been married twice” — in May she wed director Sanford Bookstaver — “so obvi ously I’m not afraid of that.” Sofer is a brunette with porce lain skin and incandescent blue eyes. Beauty is an asset for a com edy about six thirtyish singles uni fied by mix-and-match sex and randy repartee. The show stars Colin Ferguson, Jay Harrington, Christopher Moynihan, Lindsay Price and Sonya Walger as well as Sofer, who says she was thrilled to get the call that a role for her might be available: She al ■ ——— ready was a big fan of the origi . nal British “Coupling,” watching it devotedly on BBC America. “When they said ‘You’re audi tioning,’ my thoughts just ran wild: ‘Who am I gonna play? Is it Sally or Jane or Susan? Susan? Yeah, that works.’” It might work great for Sofer, 34, after years of jobs that never quite launched her: a short stay on “Just Shoot Me”; six episodes on “Ed”; at least one pilot that didn’t get picked up; the final sea son of “Melrose Place”; “Oh Grow Up,” a Fox sitcom that quickly bit the dust in 1999. She was a regular on the day time drama “Loving,” then spent six years on “General Hospital” (where she met co-star Wally Kurth, who became her first hus band and the father, of her daugh ter, now 7). Hers is a lengthy list of credits for a New Jersey schoolgirl who strayed into show business because “I had absolutely no direction.” The daughter of an Orthodox rabbi, Sofer claims that at 15, “I was gangly, hadn’t blossomed and had really low self-esteem.” Even so, she caught the eye of a model ing scout while hanging out with friends at a shop in Greenwich Village. Sofer concluded after two weeks that modeling didn’t suit her. Then she decided to give act ing a whirl. Though Sofer didn’t land a role right away, “interest in me was huge,” she says proudly. “I would get callbacks. I’d be testing for soap operas.” But even then, she was no ham. Instead, she was hooked on what she saw as a game of chance with increasingly favorable odds. “It was like when you play the lottery and you get two numbers, then four numbers, then five num bers, and you think, ‘I can’t stop playing, I’m almost at six!”’ Will she win the lottery with “Coupling”? Despite its hitting the jackpot with media attention, the series premiered last month to reviews that were like 0-for-6 lottery tick ets. Many critics called “Coupling” unfunny while some went further, chiding it as taste less, crass and “maniacally pread olescent-minded. ” “One of them said, ‘None of these people are funny, and none of these people are sexy,’” Sofer ac knowledges. “We were like, ‘Whoa! That’s not just mean. That’s MEAN!”’ But on “Coupling,” the bantt seldom rises above Susan’s quip that “a woman’s breasts are on a journey, and her feet are the des tination.” Directions: Just across the Gervais St. Bridge - Left at Second light I Rappers 50 Cent, Nelly, Lil’ Kim win big at The Source awards MIAMI (AP) — Rapper 50 Cent won three major awards, includ ing album of the year, and Nelly and Lil’ Kim also took home tro phies at The Source Hip-Hop Music Awards. 50 Cent’s al bum “Get Rich or Die Tryin’” won album of the year, while his hit song “In Da Club” 50 Cent earned him the award for single of the year for a male solo artist. 50 Cent, who also earned the break through artist of the year award, was not present at the show. Nelly was hon ored as male Ne||y artist of the year, while Lil’ Kim, who tied with Jay-Z for the most nominations with five, won fe male artist of the year and earned female single of - the year for “The Jump Off.” Among . the stars on hand to watch, present and perform -1 were Nelly, Lil’ Kim, LL Cool J, Lil Kim Trina, Ja Rule, Fat Joe and Trick Daddy. Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz won two awards — artist of the year for a group and video of the year. Sean Paul won in the dance hall reggae category for “Dutty Rock.” The show will air Nov. 11 on BET. ' I The Source awards The following are winners announced at the show. Other winners will be announced later: ALBUM OF THE YEAR: 50 Cent, “Get Rich or DieTryin’.” ARTIST OF THE YEAR, MALE: Nelly. ARTIST OF THE YEAR, FEMALE: Lil’ Kim. ARTIST OF THE YEAR, GROUP: Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz. SINGLE OF THE YEAR, MALE: 50 Cent, “In Da Club.” SINGLE OF THE YEAR, GROUP: Clipse, “Grindin’.” SINGLE OF THE YEAR, COLLABORATION: Bone Crusher featuring!! and Killer Mike, “Never Scared.” R&B-RAP COLLABORATION OF THE YEAR: Ja Rule featuring Bobby Brown, ‘Thug Lovin’." VIDEO OF THE YEAR: Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz featuring Mystikal and Krayzie Bone, “I Don’t Give a F—.” PRODUCER OF THE YEAR: The Neptunes. DANCEHALL REGGAE ALBUM OF THE YEAR: Sean Paul, “Dutty Rock.” BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST OF THE YEAR: 50 Cent SINGLE OF THE YEAR, FEMALE: Lil’ Kim, "The Jump Off.” R&B ARTIST OF THE YEAR, FEMALE: Aaliyah. FAT TAPE SONG OF THE YEAR: Scarface featuring Jay-Z and Beanie Sigel, “Guess Who’s Back.” TRENDSETTER OF THE YEAR: Baby aka Birdman. INDEPENDENTALBUM OFTHE YEAR: Comnega, “The True Meaning." LIVE PERFORMER OF THE YEAR: Busta Rhymes. LYRICIST OF THE YEAR: Jay Z. PIONEER AWARD: Kurtis Blow. DJ OF THE YEAR AWARD: Jam Master Jay. cnn’T wait to SEE THAT mOUIE? DOn'T. Get MOVIES IN MINUTES™ with Movielink. Just visit college.movielink.com and pick from our library of new and classic movies. Dowload and start watching the movie in minutes. There's no subscription fee and no late fees. All students get 50% OFF their first download, and 25% OFF the rest I_! C0lLE6E.m0UIELinK.C0m I S¥|MEjj£:>|> Free Quiznos" Philly Cheesesteak Sub -.'S? with every rental* Movielink" £ 2003 Movieimk. llC. "limited time offer. Terms and conditions apply. See college.movtelmk.com for detafk, -r Is it too early for sniper movie? BY BEN NUCKOLS 'THE ASSOCIATED DRESS BALTIMORE — Less than a year after the arrests of John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo, the first movie about the shootings that terrorized the suburbs and ex urbs of the nation’s capital is here. “D.C. Sniper: 23 Days of Fear,” which premieres 9 p.m. EDT Friday on USA, was admittedly rushed through production to be finished while the shooting spree was still fresh in people’s minds. (Also keeping it fresh in their minds: Tuesday’s scheduled start of Muhammad’s trial.) Following books about the sniper probe by Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose and two Washington Post reporters, this relatively even handed docudrama doesn’t reveal much. And while it’s nearly impossible to replicate the feeling of waking up every morning wondering if there’s going to be another shoot ing, the movie does capture both the pervasive anxiety of the region and the stunning randomness of the attacks. “The main question would be, ‘Is it too early?’ And my answer to that is, ‘This is America. We move on very fast,’” says Charles S. Dutton, who stars as Moose. “I didn’t want to do anything ex ploitative or disrespectful to the victims’ families, and I don’t think this is.” Not only does Dutton bear a passing resemblance to Moose, he also has ties to the area. A Baltimore native, he lives on ' farm in Howard Count. Montgomery’s neighbor to the north. “I was physically here during just about all the shootings, and those guys were captured maybe 15 miles from my place,” Dutton says by phone from his home. * '.SEAL.5J HI I I __ Sandman CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9 first but gradually shapes into one of the strongest stories here. Although there are a few miss es, most notably “Fifteen Portrt of Despair,” “Endless Nights gives us what we’ve been waiting for since 1996: more Dream, more Death and more Neil Gaiman. Gaiman’s best work has always been done in the world of the Endless, and this collection will satisfy hard-core fans and new ini tiates alike. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com Franken CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9 “Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them” is a superb work of po litical satire that is truly worth" of the stellar sales that it has t joyed since its release. But readers beware. For those who have been longing for a criti cism of the “liberal bias” myth and conservatives willing to chal lenge their belief system, “Lies” is required reading. Those un willing to step out of their politi cal comfort zone, however, need not apply. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditorCiihotmailcom