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Features

FEATURES

Its time for Oscar

It’s a good thing statuettes can’t have egos. On Sunday, the red carpet will be unfurled, the media will swarm and Hollywood’s stars will arrive in limousines and gaudy clothes - all for the sake of a 13-and-a-half-inch tall, 8-pound man named Oscar. And when the 73rd Annual Academy Awards are televised live from the 6,000-seat Shrine Civic Auditorium in Los Angeles, much of the world will be watching and betting on which film director, actor or producer will take home the next award. Up for the coveted Best Picture award are “Chocolat,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “Erin Brockovich,” “Gladiator” and “Traffic.” “I think best film is tough,” said Bill Vincent, an English professor and co-director of the Film Studies Program.

FEATURES

Weekend Guide

FRIDAY: David Mallett will perform at 8 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 855 Grove St., for the Ten Pound Fiddle concert series.

FEATURES

Student represents Hollywood on campus

Dan Julian
March 23, 2001

While many MSU students spend their free time sleeping or relaxing in front of the television, Ian Wallace partakes in another kind of recreation.Wallace is the Michigan College Marketing Representative for urban music.“My duties are to get contacts at all college radio stations, college newspapers, media and television shows to try to get reviews and make sure our artists are getting enough airplay and publicity,” he said.The supply chain management junior hopes to be involved in the record industry someday and sees his current status as a good segue into the profession.“I’m leaning toward the music industry and this has really changed my focus,” he said.

FEATURES

SN staff members choose Oscar favorites

Despite the daily grind that comes along with being a State News employee, a few staff members still had time to offer-up their opinions about who should and shouldn’t take home an Oscar on Sunday. S’News employees who work the artsy E.L.

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Directors come to E.L. for festival

Vince Estes
March 22, 2001

This weekend, a number of directors will be coming from across the nation to follow their babies to the East Lansing Film Festival and talk about them with audiences. “The goal of the film festival is to bring in quality films and quality people that have something to share,” festival Director Jennifer White said. Molly Lynch and Eva Sollberger used to be best friends.

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U grad creates film that walks fine line between fantasy and organ donations

Vince Estes
March 22, 2001

ometimes, unfinished projects will sit on shelves for years, forgotten. Other times, they’re just waiting until the time is right. That was the case with Michigan native Matt Perry, who left his short film “Heartbeat” incomplete when he moved to Sacramento, Calif., in 1995. “I was thinking of a short film I wanted to do - I was listening to the radio and heard something about heart transplants - what a perfect drama,” Perry said.

FEATURES

East Lansing Film Festival

Vince Estes
March 22, 2001

As soon as one festival is over, work on the next one begins. So when three-year East Lansing Film Festival founder and director Susan Woods announced she would be spending a year in the Netherlands, she needed a replacement. “She had asked me to take over while she was gone and I didn’t say ‘yes’ for a long time - for months and months and months,” said Jennifer White, director of this year’s festival, which begins today. “I finally did, so once I started knowing I was going to be the director, I just paid attention and took over a lot of work last year.

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U.P. highlighted in Daniels film

Dan Julian
March 22, 2001

If there is only one movie you go see at the East Lansing Film Festival, let it be the movie that defines diehard hunters in Michigan.“Escanaba in Da Moonlight” is the hilarious tale of four deer hunters and one DNR park ranger who explore the superstitions and importance of bagging a buck in the Upper Peninsula.The film, written and directed by Michigan native Jeff Daniels, exposes some of the obsessions that haunt many deer hunters - such as eating the same sort of food on every journey to ensure success in the woods of Escanaba, the immediate belief of UFO sightings and abductions and the fear of DNR rangers (who are more powerful than God during deer camp).The flick has many hilarious attributes to it, including the voices of the men glazed with a “Yooper” accent.

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Rats invades E.L. cinema

Karalee Miller
March 22, 2001

Getting past the in-your-face title of this film is only half the battle - it’s the disturbing and surprisingly emotional footage that will have audiences squirming in their seats for more than an hour, and wanting to take action once the final credits roll across the screen.

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Seminars help explain moviemaking magic

Aaron M. Miller
March 22, 2001

Along with watching a myriad of films at the East Lansing Film Festival, students and community members who attend the four-day festival can also take part in two filmmaking-related seminars.“The entire festival is basically film screenings, but then we do have these couple seminars,” festival Director Jennifer White said.

FEATURES

N Sync may skip Green Bay during summer tour

GREEN BAY, Wis. - Fans of ’N Sync can blame nonfunctioning toilets as one of the reasons the popular boy band won’t perform at Lambeau Field this summer. Promotion Management Inc. announced Monday that ’N Sync will not make Lambeau Field part of its ”2001 Pop Odyssey” stadium tour, despite reports that had listed a Green Bay stop on June 26. Bob Sullivan, PMI’s vice president of venue operations, said construction at the stadium - part of a $295 million renovation to be completed by the 2003 NFL season - caused SFX to look at other options. Two of the biggest worries involved sanitation facilities, because the stadium’s toilets are currently out of service, and keeping a potential crowd of 60,000 away from dangerous construction areas, Sullivan said. Camp Randall Stadium in Madison or the new Miller Park in Milwaukee were said to be under consideration for an ’N Sync date in late June. Costume Designers Guild honors “Brockovich,” “The Grinch.” LOS ANGELES - The racy wardrobe Julia Roberts wore in “Erin Brockovich” helped the film win an award for best costume design from Hollywood’s Costume Designers Guild. “Erin Brockovich” costume designer Jeffrey Kurland won the guild’s honor for contemporary films.

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WEB ONLY GROOVE~Studiotone

Dan Julian
March 21, 2001

Studiotone Digital Radio (ST Records) Local favorites Studiotone know what tones to hit on their latest, “Digital Radio.” “Alien” is blanketed with a strong guitar presence and a solid rhythm section to guide it along, while “Instant Relativity” has a tricky drum line and shows offBrent Nuffer’s amazing voice box. “A Crush” is a guitar-effects based track with strong influences fromSemisonic and even some vocals that lead headway toSteven Malkmus (formerly of Pavement), especially when he reaches some of his higher notes.

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Punk blends sounds with ease

Dan Julian
March 21, 2001

Daft Punk Discovery (Virgin Records) In 1992, an English journalist dubbed the duo of Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem Christo “daft punks,” meaning it as an insult. But ever since, things have been going quite well for the young Parisian boys. The sounds and samples used on their latest record, “Discovery,” vary from Daft Punk’s “Homework” in that they’ve moved out of the strict club route and turned down an avenue in outer space - even their voices are distinctly robotic. Their music sounds like what a dance club on Neptune might sound like - a bit distorted with plenty of samples all held down by a solid dance beat.

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WEB ONLY GROOVE~Further Seems Forever

Dan Julian
March 21, 2001

Further Seems ForeverThe Moon is Down(Tooth and Nail Records) Ahhh...emo rock. This band easily falls into the most overly-used classification in modern rock and roll called “emo” (short for emotional). As if some bands aren’t emotional. Despite this setback, Further Seems Forever put together “The Moon is Down,” a solid album for their debut on Tooth and Nail, featuring a sound almost all their own. Chris Carrabba’s vocals hint at Jawbox andRivers Cuomo of Weezer (especially on “Just Until Sundown”), while the percussion work and uncanny chord progressions hint at greats likeSunny Day Real Estate andFugazi. The beat in“The Bradley” is difficult to find because of the immense and crafty changes and time signatures, while“Snowbirds and Townies” is a melodramatic cradle-rocking snippet that follows the same theme as “Why I like the Robins” by the band “Hum.” The lyrics are open to wide interpretation, which is a nice touch to the record.

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Bands unique sound to rock E.L. stage

Dan Julian
March 20, 2001

Shawn Parker thinks if there’s one band everyone should see in the Lansing area, it is Knee Deep Shag. “I don’t think you get a lot of great live bands in Lansing these days,” said the lead music seller at Barnes and Noble Booksellers in the Lansing Mall, 5132 W.