Darnell Martin

It all started with a box of Tide. "I remember when I was a kid, watching Tide commercials on my grandmother's TV because we didn't have one of our own," Darnell Martin says, New York and memory mixing in her voice. "It was the perfect kitchen, very clean, everyone was dressed up, like nothing I'd ever seen, and I wondered why my house, my family wasn't on TV too." With "I Like It Like That," her debut film, writer-director Martin has changed all that.

Debut films, and debut directors, tend to arrive and fade away with a depressing frequency, but "I Like It Like That" and writer-director Darnell Martin are going to be around for a while. Lively, assured and practically vibrating with color and excitement, "I Like It Like That" marks the emergence of a passionate new film voice.

Debut films, and debut directors, tend to arrive and fade away with a depressing frequency, but "I Like It Like That" and writer-director Darnell Martin are going to be around for a while. Lively, assured and practically vibrating with color and excitement, "I Like It Like That" marks the emergence of a passionate new film voice.

It all started with a box of Tide. "I remember when I was a kid, watching Tide commercials on my grandmother's TV because we didn't have one of our own," Darnell Martin says, New York and memory mixing in her voice. "It was the perfect kitchen, very clean, everyone was dressed up, like nothing I'd ever seen, and I wondered why my house, my family wasn't on TV too." With "I Like It Like That," her debut film, writer-director Martin has changed all that.

Willie Laffitte threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Darnell Martin with 11 seconds remaining in the game to lift Manual Arts to a stunning 14-13 upset of Dorsey at Manual Arts. Dorsey took a 13-7 lead in the fourth quarter when Roderick Brown threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Pete Friday, but the Dons missed the extra point with 9:40 remaining. Brian Beckom scored Manual Arts' first touchdown on a 12-yard run.

Defying conventional wisdom, parting with their fellow critics' groups and perhaps changing the complexion of the Oscar race, the New York Film Critics Circle Thursday selected "Quiz Show," Robert Redford's character-based examination of the '50s television scandals, as the best picture of 1994. "Pulp Fiction," which many had expected to win the top prize, took two awards: best director and best screenplay, both for Quentin Tarantino.

"Home Improvement's" favorite son, Jonathan Taylor, Thomas stars alongside Chevy Chase and Farrah Fawcett in last year's Man of the House (Sunday, 7 p.m. Disney). Thomas stars as a boy who tries to sabotage his mother's attempt to remarry. For ages 6 and up. * In recognition of Black History Month, Nick News Special Edition: Stories From the Dream (Sunday, 8 p.m. Nickelodeon) offers a look at African American history and its promise for the future.

If you have gone outside at all in the last few weeks, you have likely seen the peerless face of Halle Berry magnified manyfold, looking down at you from one billboard or another announcing the Oprah Winfrey-produced adaptation of Zora Neale Hurston's "Their Eyes Were Watching God," airing Sunday on ABC. First published in 1937, forgotten, and rediscovered in the '70s, the novel has multiple concerns.

Nine former employees of the Magic Johnson Theater have been convicted of stealing an estimated $144,000 in illegal ticket sales during a one-year period, prosecutors said Tuesday. Allison Albertha Lammey, 31, a manager at the theater, was the latest employee to be convicted when she pleaded no contest Monday to one count of theft. A Superior Court judge sentenced her to 40 hours of community service, ordered her to pay $500 in restitution and placed her on a year of summary probation.

A look at the selected nonleague games Friday night in the City and Southern sections. SOUTHERN SECTION SCORE: * Los Alamitos (2): 38 * Washington: 7 SYNOPSIS: Phil Cruz gained 115 yards in 18 carries and scored four touchdowns tolead the Griffins (2-0) over Washington (0-2) at Cerritos College. SCORE: * Westlake (6): 52 * Ventura: 26 SYNOPSIS: Scott Spruill completed 13 of 24 passes for 289 yards and three touchdowns as Westlake (2-0) rolled up 540 yards of offense at Ventura (0-2).

When 1,100 independent filmmakers and guests gather Saturday in a Santa Monica beach tent for the 10th annual Independent Spirit Awards, they'll be celebrating a roller-coaster decade that has taken them from near-disaster to unparalleled prosperity. Sponsored by the Independent Features Project/West, the Spirit Awards mirror the tumultuous recent history of non-studio filmmaking.

The line between the Hollywood mainstream and the independent film community continues to blur with yesterday's announcement of the nominations for the 10th annual Independent Spirit Awards at the Hollywood Athletic Club.