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This Week in USC History 1999 - Officials receive a proposal for a Safe Ride pro gram that would transport students to and from Five Points. I Urban Legends II: Final Cut An exclusive interview with director J ohn Ottman by Meredith Davis The Gamecock he sequel to the immensely popular 1998 “Urban Legend” premieres today, and director John Ottman, along with fans of the first movie, is highly anticipating the reception of college audiences. “Urban Legends II” takes place on a film school’s campus, with three of the main characters vying for a chance to make it to Hollywood through the prominence of winning the illustri ous Hitchcock Award for best thesis film. Amy (Jennifer Mor rison), Travis (Matthew Davis) and Graham (Joseph Lawrence) are these three characters, two of whom are Hollywood rook ies; the third, a well-known name of the past looking to re claim his piace in the pop culture community. Lawrence’s previous work on “Gimme a Break,” “Blossom” and “Brotherly Love” did not phase Ottman; in fact, the direc tor was not familiar with Lawrence’s past. “I never watched TV and never saw his shows,” Ottman said. Nevertheless, Ottman said he was completely impressed with Lawrence’s audition and that he was so perfect for the part, the director felt he got the absolute best actor to play Graham. As for his status as a familiar face to twenty-somethings, Ottman said it might draw more people to the film, and that they, too, would respect quality acting from Lawrence. “He aced the role completely,” Ottman said. The director raved about the chemistry of his other charac ters, mostly newcomers, and the qualities they add to the sequel. | “My two leads are just fantastic,” Ottman said. “Matt had done absolutely nothing before this, and he showed the most growth. He has an amazing screen presence, and Jennifer has those sort of movie star qualities.” About the inexperience and unrecognizable faces of his ac tors, Ottman said it gave his cast more of a chance to create the movie out of their own hard work and not rely only on their star power. For example, in “Urban Legend,” Joshua Jackson from “Daw son’s Creek” turned on his car to hear the show’s theme song. This, in addition to the mockery made of “Noxema Girl” Re becca Gayheart’s vast commercial-making experiences, focused attention on the actors’ professional pasts, thus reducing the cred ibility of their character’s in the film. Ottman said he didn’t want his film to have outside influ ences, but instead be an entity in and of itself. “We brought humor in a little more oiganically, not through the baggage of the actor. With a fresh cast, we are able to have a lot more fun, making the film well-defined and colorful,” he said. The cast and crew of “Final Cut” sought to give the film more of a thriller feel by utilizing the essence of the unique screen play in every instance. Ottman said the idea of the Hitchcock Award competition gave him and his team the opportunity to add flair to the sequel, thus differentiating it from other typical horror flicks about teens. “This film is a teen honor version of my favorite film, ‘Alien,’” Ottman said. “It’s a little more sophisticated than the first one.” Ottman said he focused on montage scenes in the movie to make it more suspenseful and artistic. “I saw the film-within-a-film as an opportunity to make it fun. By having all these different scenes, it was a great oppor OTTMAN see page 8 i— -i_m Photos Special to The Gamecock Top: (From left to right) Vanessa(Eva Mendes), GrahamfJoseph Lawrence), Toby(Anson Mount) and Amy(Jennifer Morrison) are shocked to learn of the suspicious death of a fellow film student. Bottom: Urban Legends director, John Ottman Cockfest to celebrate USC with music, comedy n ❖Chi Omega with Tau Kappa Epsilon ❖Kappa Delta with Sigma Chi ❖Delta Delta Delta * with Kappa Sigma ❖Alpha Delta Pi with Delta Tau Delta ❖Delta Gamma with Lambda Chi Alpha ❖Alpha Chi Omega i ’ ‘"S with Pi Kappa Phi by Kelly Hamilton The Gamecock Cockfest, an annual Homecom ing event, will begin at 7 p.m. tonight at Williams-Brice Stadium. Adam Musgrave, the Cockfest chair, said that a diverse line-up of skits, com edy, and music will be make it an en tertaining show. “This a like a big pep rally for the entire community, and there has been as lot of support, especially this year,” Musgrave said. “People are really excited since the football team is having such a good season so far,” Musgrave said. As the show starts, the theme from “2001” will play to get every one into a spirited mood. Following performances by the cheerleaders and the USC band, comedian Robert Kel ly will take the stage. Kelly, a native of Boston who has appeared on MTV and Comedy Central, travels across the country doing stand-up comedy. “He will be kind of like our m.c.,” said Musgrave. “He’ll be introduc ing the judges and the other per formers.” Then, the skits will begin. Freshman Lindsey Perry of Al pha Delta Pi said that she is excited about being in a skit. “We’ll be do ing a take-off of a game show. There’s shagging, cheering and a lot of en ergy in our skit.,” Perry said. “We did really good at the try outs, so I think we have a good chance. This will be my first Cock fest, so I’m not sure what to ex pect. But I think it will be a lot of fun,” Perry said. “I think it looks good. We’ve worked hard on it,” said freshman Molly Walker, also of Alpha Delta Pi. Judging for the skits will be based on presentation, spirit, creativity/orig inality and adherence to theme. The judges are a divergent mix of pro fessionals and members of the com munity. They are Donald Wood, a jour nalist for The State newspaper, De lores W. Keith, a WLTX-19 TV news anchor, Andriana Oliveras from Mul ticultural Student Affairs, Rose Vel la and Pat Vella from Columbia, and Ken Aucoin, the WIS-TV meteorol ogist. The first place group will receive 300 points, second place will get 200, and 100 points will go to the third place finishers. Up to 200 participa tion points will be awarded, so soror ity and fraternity members are en couraged to come out and show their support. These points will be based on the percentage of members of each group that attend this event. Tick COCKFEST seepages f What’s Happening Friday. September 22 Billy G's, The Pondering, 9:30, 21+, No cover Dave Brockie Experience, Feat. Members of Gwar Decision's Bar & Grille, Karaoke, 21+, Starts around 9pm. •Elbow Room, The Toasters, 11 p.m., 21+ 18 $10 Hemingway’s, Mojo Blue, 9:30,21 +, $2 Hunter-Gatherer, The Verna Cannon, 11:30,$2 Cover, Jeff Liberty, 21+, No Cover Jammin' Java, Ryan Wade, 9 p.m., All ages, $2 cover Jillian's, 3-D Monday, 8 p.m. 21+, $5 Lucy & Earl's Danielle Howie & the Tantrums Palomino Club, DJ Don "Big Gun" McGeehan, 7 p.m. $5 Cover for under 21/$4 Cover for 21+ Saturday, September 22 Decision's Bar & Grille, Jackson's Girl, 9:30,21+, No Cover Billy G's, Atlantic Coastline, 9:30,21 +, No Cover New Brookland Tavern, Estrella 20/20 Elbow Room Jupiter Coyote, 11 p.m., 18+with ID, $10 Hemingway's Elliot and the Untouch ables, 9:30,21+, No Cover Icy’s Resturant and Sports Bar Low Fat Ninjas, 9:30 p.m., 21+, No Cover Jillian's Jef Chandler, 9 p.m., 21+, $5 Lucy and Earl's Passage: Munson Sum mer and Zack Gobble The Palomino Club DJ Don "Big Gun" McGeehan, $5 Cover for under 21/$4 Cover for 21+ Monterrey Jack's Ryan Monroe, Josh Roberts, and Josh Riffle of Captain Easy. 10:30,21+, $4 Cover Sunday, September 23 Decision's Bar & Grille Blues Jam with Brainstorm, 9:30 p.m., 21+, No Cover Fubar Villanova Junction, Gauge, Pawn shop Monterrey Jack’s LaToya & Greg Acoustic, 10:30 p.m., 21+, $4 cover SALA Events Sept. 25 Spanish Conversation Group 6 p.m. Russell House Grand Marketplace Sept. 27 Study Abroad Opportunities in Latin America 7 p.m. Russell House 203 International Programs will present a va riety of study abroad opportunities for students interested in studying in the Latin Americas. Sept. 28 SALA meeting 7:30 p.m. Russell House 203