Fall Movie Preview

FOR LOVE OF THE GAME

STARRING Kevin COSTNER, Kelly PRESTON, John C. REILLY, Jena MALONE DIRECTED by Sam RAIMI

[BUZZ-O-METER] 7 WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL? Costner in a baseball cap.

One thing you can say about ol' Kev: When the guy suits up in a baseball uniform, it's hard to find a fella more likable...or bankable. After going two-for-two with Bull Durham and Field of Dreams, Costner looks to keep his hit streak alive with this $50 million Walter Mittyish baseball flick -- which may very well wind up being the last time he steps on the diamond. ''I had to throw 80 miles an hour every day for something like 20 days,'' says the aching star. ''My arm hasn't recovered -- it's traumatized from throwing so much. I'm not kidding. It's really bad.'' Costner plays Detroit Tigers hurler Billy Chapel, a onetime all-star who's now in the twilight of his career. His team's in last place. He's just found out he's about to get traded. And the love of his life (Preston) is about to leave him. With all of this bad news, he steps onto the mound in Yankee Stadium, and over the course of what turns out to be a perfect game, he flashes back on his life and replays its pivotal moments. ''What I love about it is, it's not cliche at all,'' says Costner. ''It's really a relationship movie that just happens to be set against the world of baseball.'' While Costner may seem like a natural for the part, it's a change-up for director Raimi, who's best known for his over-caffeinated horror works such as the Evil Dead movies. In fact, Raimi had to lobby for the gig before last year's A Simple Plan proved to Hollywood that he could succeed outside of genre films. According to Costner, producer Armyan Bernstein approached Raimi to direct Arnold Schwarzenegger's End of Days. But the baseball-obsessed Raimi told Bernstein that the film he really wanted to direct was For Love of the Game, which would require the okay of its star. ''I was sure Kevin had never heard of me,'' says Raimi, ''but he flew me to the set of Message in a Bottle on his private jet to discuss it, which is pretty intimidating. After we met, I honestly didn't think he was interested in me, but I guess he must have liked the other directors he met with even less.'' (Sept. 17)

MUMFORD

STARRING Loren DEAN, Alfre WOODARD, Hope DAVIS, David PAYMER, Jane ADAMS, Mary McDONNELL, Ted DANSON, Jason LEE, Martin SHORT, Pruitt Taylor VINCE, Robert STACK DIRECTED BY Lawrence KASDAN

[BUZZ-O-METER] 4 WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL? The master of ensemble angst goes to see the psychologist.

Before he wrote Mumford, a modest com-edy along the lines of The Big Chill and The Accidental Tourist, Kasdan spent a year trying to pitch the antithesis of Mumford: a thrill ride that hinged on big stars, a deluge of F/X, and a Texas-size budget. ''I don't know what I was thinking,'' he muses now. ''I thought, 'This process is terrible. This is not how I've done my best work or how I've had the most fun.''' So Kasdan gave up and got back to his roots; within weeks he'd banged out Mumford, about a mysterious psychologist who rolls into a bucolic hamlet and proceeds to cure everyone of their neurotic ills. ''This story just sort of leapt out,'' he says. ''It was something I could make for a reasonable price, it was very personal, and it had to do with where my life was at, because it's about second chances.'' He gave the lead role to Dean, a relatively unknown actor who'd had small parts in Gattaca and Enemy of the State, because ''I wanted someone who the audience didn't know anything about,'' says Kasdan. Dean's psychologist ''has an answer for everyone's lives,'' says Davis (Next Stop Wonderland), who plays a chronically fatigued patient. ''He really listens to people, and he tells them the truth.'' Shot amid the vineyards of California's Sonoma County, the production sounds like a cure-all itself. ''It was like a huge vacation,'' Davis sighs. ''There are spas and mineral baths everywhere. We all just kind of soaked and ate grapes.'' What won't be so easy is marketing a film bereft of big stars or a high-concept hook. ''Larry's films all revolve around the subtle connections between people,'' Davis offers. ''But it's not easy to put into words.'' (Sept. 24)