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- 4 W^ 1 , fame oul | with musk j < t By David Baker *1 Film Critic 3 In September 1978, director Alan .1 Parker was virtually unknown, his only, claim to fame being a disastrous 1976 film called Bugsy Malone. Bugsy was a low-budget musical about gangsters and their molls, and the oldest person in the cast was 13. Paramount Pictures didn't bother to release it in most parts of the country. In October 1978, Parker's second film, a low-budget prison picture called Midnight Express, was released. It was subsequently nominated for six Academy Awards and ran up a domestic boxoffice gross in excess of $20 < million. Suddenly, Alan Parker was hot and in the ensuing battle u:~ n/m** ?* ? iui ma sci vices, ivivjrivi wun uui wun : a script called Hot Lunch, a i musical about eight talented ! students who attend the High I School for Performing Arts in New ] York. 1 MGM gave Parker $8 million to i work with (more than three times A. IIS Ifiii ? jHE v?. /I ' r? m - j aMtiurua rrancescm (C Dreams c Editor's note: A few months back our local Public Television station, E TV channel 35, premiered a stunning sci-fi film adaptation of Ursula K. LeGuin's The Lathe of Heaven. All of us here at the entertainment dp ah woro ecstatic the following morning. Gamecock Film Critic. David Baker, wondered how the film would have been on an unlimited budget, like so many big Hollywood eittraypgaruas. Big bucks or not, The btifhe of Heaven remains one of the most stylish and imaginative sci-fi films this editor has seen, and one he ctin recommend without reservation. When Ursula K. Le Guin, the popular novelist,Uioet and science < < , . tion writer, V ap-:{. p oached in 1977 about adapting' he/* futuristic novel The Lathe of Heaven into a two-hour movie for television, she was skeptical about the success of such a venture. She j as' "How can you film dr ' e narrative and images?" | finMlv tfnt hor j Dwv *?V? answer "he Lathe of Heaven, public ^vision's , first major made-f( evision film, returns to S C. Monday, June 16 at 8 onCh. ;> The I 'leaven is a chilling and mys* set at the end of the 20th ce> about a man plagued hv own haunting dreams t y change the * A in A BlJLJB. J dance a the budget of Midnight Express) and complete artistic control. One of the first things Parker did was hire a cast of unknowns and another was change the title to Fame. A year has passed since production began and the finished picture opens here on June 20, the o. ? ? rJ?.. 41 4 ml. _ i-? - r, . same uay nicti i ne umpire sirines Back, Roughcut and Brubaker arrive in town. Hopefully, Fame will be able to weather the competition those films are bound to give it, because it's easily the most exciting, enlightening and entertaining movie of the bunch. Parker's eight no-name stars have come through with flying colors (there's not a sinele bad npr ? 0? ? r formance in the film) and Parker's staging, both of the musical numbers and of the dramatic scenes, is never less than extraordinary. At 134 minutes, the picture is about 20 minutes too long, but other than that, it has no najor fault. The film is divided cleanly into M -nnviViVnn-ASnF W?:::>I::X jj^fc ^fes xrv^^ want enter) displays her eloquent be ire real it face of reality ? past, present aric future. Bruce Davison, Kevii f!nnw,iv ?nH Maraorol Aiinmi ? " ? .. v? j v*iiv4 i?iwi ^ui vi nvci y di t featured in the production. Originally published in 1971, Th< Lathe of Heaven is the first of Ms Le Guin's novels to be dramatize< on film. Since much of her writinj and descriptive passages depen< on the imagination of the reader Ms. Le Guin's greatest challengi bhbb^B^B|B^ ' BBB?' : .-jiffiaS^K - -flR>. HM'^HH P^ppp'i: ? ^y&?|aH^^^^Bij|i^^3M&ttHrj i Bl Conway looms ove . '*> - A '. '* ' '. 1/ \ % A H X X * X ;s V *.TVrt A PViat -I-a ?. A jl v? > v/ nd drama five sections, beginning with the students' auditons and going through each year of school until graduation. From year to year, Parker shows us how friendships and allegiances change, how new students arrive as old ones are kicked out because they lack the proper talent and motivation, and how each of the protagonists continually perfects his or her chosen craft (acting, sing, dancing, or a combination thereof). By the time graduation rolls around, it's hard to believe we're watchine - - o the same kinds whose auditions went so comically awry in the film's opening section. Parker and scenarist Christopher Gore have also included several scenes dealing with the kids' private lives and how each confronts the problems that come his or her way. These scenes work fine in most cases ? how Doris (Maureen Teefy) breaks free from her pushy mother with the help of The Rocky Horror See 'Fame, 'page 9 i//et style in 'Fame' i'Lathe' 1 in adapting the script was to i translate her novel for the ? television screen without sacrificing its integrity. ? George Orr, portrayed by Bruce Davison, is the story's troubled J dreamer. Whenever he has an I "effective dream," reality has 1 been directly affected when he , awakens. In an attempt to rid 2 See 'Lathe,' page 9 *?miiii yjl ^Hb^^wx^^h&^HSHIB'^' :-::^BB^9SSw^Sa?S9w^SHn - - - J rV-^;' -^ --.^-Vi-ii\>av? : "I r Davison in 'Lathe' *H*.*AP tests ft Ss .' /V/ .*'.' J ss. SpotMghts 1 / Summer theatre season opens i The 1980 USC Summer ReDertorv Theatre season nnens .Innp ir with George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, followed by Arthur Miller's Death I of a Salesman, Preston Jones' Lu Ann Hampton Laverty Oberlander, I and Chris and Les Reynolds' children's show, Dr. Vanilla and the Short Tall-Tales. Death of a Salesman will play June 25-29; Lu Ann Hampton Laverty Oberlander, July 2-6; and Dr. Vanilla and the Short Tall-Tales, July 2326 and July 30 Aug. 2. The productions will run Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8 and Sundays at 3. Dr. Vanilla will also run at 10:30 a.m. Beginning July 9, the first three productons will be performed in "rolling rep" each week untl Aug. 3. Admission is $3 50 for tho nuhlir ?9 Bft fnr I ISP fannltv anH staff, military and senior citizens, and $1.50 for USC students. For information and reservations, call 777-2551 between noon and 5 p.m. weekdays. 'Rush' for sororities begins The Panhellenic Association of sororities at USC will hold registration for sorority rush now through July 11 from 12:15-1:15 each weekday. The registration in the Russell House Ballroom will be held in conjunction with summer freshman orientation. Late registration will be Aug. 27-29 from 10-4 on the Russell House patio. Registration to rush the 10 Panhellenic sororities is open to any USC female student, including incoming freshmen. The fall rush, the period when sororities officially open their membership to recruit new members, will be Sept. 3-13 when prospective members may attend meetings of each sorority. Students must be registered by the Panhellenic Associaton to participate in fall rush. The registration fee is $5. For information, contact the Panhellenic Office, Box 80065, USC, Columbia, S.C. 29208, 777-5117. S USC professor awarded Dr. Elmer Louis Amma, professor of chemistry at the University of South Carolina, has been awarded the 1980 Sone Award by the American Chemical Society. The award, one of the most prestigious in the field of chemistry is given annually by the Carolina-Piedmont Section of the American Chemical Society to an outstanding chemist in the southeast. Dr. Amma received a plaque and a $1,000 check. A nationally known research chemist, Amma is the author or coauthor of more than 100 papers on x-ray crystallography. His work in the area of abnormal hemoglobins will likely be used in the future to alleviate sickle cell disease, a blood disorder affecting many blacks. Throughout his academic career, Amma has received more than $500,000 in grant support for his research, much of which has focused on the chemical bonding process of molecules. ! A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Amma won the Russell Award for Research in Science and Engineering at USC in 1970. He is a member of the American Chemical Society, the American Physical Society, the American Crystallographic Association, the American Association for (hp AHvnnrpmpnt nf on/I A n : - ? y,t uviviivv unu iu^ niilCl 1V-?11 lllSllllHC 1)1 ^llt'IlIISlS. 1 Woody sends sculpture skyward Howard Woody, a professor of art at (JSC launched a major sky sculpture June 7 in Washington, I). C. during the environmental art exhibition of the 11th International Sculpture Conference, sponsored by the International Sculpture Center at Princeton University. The exhibition, "Placements and Performance: Works for Washington," contained earth, water, sky, laser and performance works rontrihutoH tn tho fnnfnmnon ? ?u vuiuvi v-iivv. ujr el 1 LIS is dV.1 1>SS IIIC UlllltJU I and around the world, including noted artists Rockne Krebs, Robert I Morris and Vera Simons. j Woody's contribution, "Tri-Striped Barricade," was made of metalized polyester film. It was launched on the mall between the National Art Gallery and the Hirshhorn Museum, floating over the city for several hours at an altitude of 4,000 to 7,000 feet. Chosen as the leading sky sculpture expert, Woody participated in the conference with major artists and new talents in the environmental art field. He also present a demonstration on materials and sky sculpture techniques. Woody originated and developed his art form in the late 1960s. He has given more than 130 presentations internationally, exhibiting in Canada, England, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Austria and many American cities. This year, the USC artist has launched sky sculptures at events in Richmond, Va., New Orleans and at Eastern Ilinois University. He is a frequent lecturer and article writer on sky sculpture. j 'Music-in-the -park' Bluegrass, classical and ia7.7 mn?ir? ^ ...;u j v-1/nv.v.i 1.0 win uc pi'CijtJIlieU OUl" doors on the USC historic Horseshoe this summer in a musical series, Musical Flavors, sponsored by the USC Cultural Series. 1 The three programs, each open free to the public and beginning at 6:30 in front of McKissick Museums, will feature talent from across the state in an informal "music-in-the-park" setting. The Carolina Rebels bluegrass band will perform tomorrow, June 12. Tfoe live-member band has performed at state festivals, benefit parties and night clubs. The Palmetto State Cloggers, under the direction of Pam Collins, will perform with the Carolina Rebels. The group has traveled across the United States and is planning a European tour to perform in folk festivals. The Charleston Symphony Orchestra string quartet will present a concert Sunday, June 22. The performers, all principal olavers in th<> I o^.M^uuiiy s cumeraia orcnestra, are Sarh Johnson and Heinaldo Couto, I violin, Mark Cedel, viola, and Carol Beyer, cello. The quartet recently I finished its first season series at the Dock Street Theatre in Charleston. I The quartet plans a program of light concert music for the outdooor | event. I In keeping with the series' theme, ice cream and lemonade will bei I sold at each performance. Audiences should bring blankets or folding! 1 chairs for seating. 1