The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 11, 2002, Page 7, Image 7
PHOTO COURTESY OF MGM
Jonathon Cross, far left, played by Chris Klein, rallies his team in “Rollerball.”
Rollerball
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6
like an accident, and, of course,
the whole incident is covered up
and the ratings skyrocket.
It’s a tough game outside the
ring too. The players are enslaved
to Petrovich. He gives them cars
and an enormous paycheck, and
they give him their blood and
service to the game.
The staged acts of violence
become greater and greater. The
final game is so corrupted that
the green light is given to kill the
star of rollerball, Jonathon,
played by Chris Klein. One by one
the players quit the game. Urged
on by the fans, Jonathon starts a
riot, and the executives are killed
inside the stadium. The ending is
unrealistically violent and
unnecessary.
What’s the No. 1 reason to see
this movie? Klein.
I honestly think his acting will
win him some prestigious
awards one day. LL Cool J as
Jonathon’s best friend, Marcus
Ridley, has a good part in the
uproar against the executives,
but the character could have
been played by anyone. LL Cool J
does nothing to hurt the movie. If
anything, he sells the movie with
his presence, but not by his
acting.
Rebecca Romijn-Stamos’
character, Aurora, slowly adds
heart to the movie without the
viewer even noticing.
By the end of the movie, the
little things she did get inside of
you and hurt you a little until the
final uproar against authority,
when she had the entire theater
cheering at more than one
occasion. Klein, the young star of
movies such as “Here on Earth”
and “American Pie,” adds more
to this movie than can be written
in the script.
If you have to see this movie,
I’d suggest putting it off for a
couple of months and saving a
couple of bucks by renting it.
Comments on this story?E-mail
gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com
Handpicked
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6
much more evolved then the
normal excuse for rock ‘n’ roll.
It’s hard to highlight specific
entertainers off of an album like
this because it’s impossible to give
justice to all of them. However,
some of the other standouts include
Lapdog, the new project from
former Toad the Wet Sprocket
guitarist/songwriter Todd Nichols,
performing “Perfect You” in a
near-perfect example of
underground rhythm and rock.
Also, “Fake ID” by Tom’s House
is a great mixture of a post-80s
influence with the guitar licks and
a lyrical involvement that we see
today.
And finally, for a great change of
pace, there are few better then
Chapel Hill’s Sankofa, a band that
seems to constantly reinvent its
hip-hop origins and is wonderfully
showcased in their single “Would
You Still.”
All in all, this is a CD that is
begging to be explored.
With a price tag under $5 and
an eclectic mix of some of this
state’s hottest talent, there
should be few reasons to skip
Handpicked’s initial release.
Comments on this story?E-mail
gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com
Letters
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5
is still prevalent in the public
schools. These are all much
bigger issues than a flag on a
State House.
However, by me pointing
out these problems, that
probably makes me a “racist”
in the mind of Sutton.
The NAACP and Sutton
apparently aren’t happy with
the desired result taking
down the flag has had.
So what is their solution?
Boycotting the travel
industry and setting up
informational booths along
the state’s highway welcome
centers. Brilliant. Deny tax
revenue to the state so there
will be less money to donate
to the social ills of the state’s
citizens.
Not all African-Americans
think alike, just like no one
group thinks alike.
Some are better able to see
what the real problems are,
while others look tor the
simple solution, such as
boycotting a BBQ sauce in a
school newspaper.
DOUG SKLENKA
1991 ECONOMICS ALUMNUS
Doubts abound about
group’s legitimacy
After reading the latest
editorial on the newly formed
League for Alternative
Minorities, I feel that it’s my
responsibility, as the Student
Senate’s liaison for BGLA, to
set the record straight.
First, Rod Scott-Padilla,
one of the founders of LAM,
used to be a member of BGLA.
During his membership, he
never brought his concerns of
minority affairs to the group.
This is the main reason why
no changes were made within
the BGLA and why the
organization was caught
totally off guard by the
formation of this “league.”
Likewise, I am not
surprised that Scott-Padilla,
or anyone in LAM, has yet to
come to BGLA and explain to
the group their intentions as
they said they would.
Scott-Padilla has
consistently said the LAM is
not a student group affiliated
with USC, but he continues to
use The Gamecock, a student
publication, as a media outlet. ^
If Scott-Padilla wants to be an
independent group, as he so
claims, then his media
alternative is The State
newspaper.
Scott-Padilla also assured
me that his organization was
backed by several outside
organizations, but has yet to
show anyone actual
documentation of this.
The only document I have
seen is a sheet of paper signed
by “Senior Advisor, Rod
Scott,” a position he
appointed himself to in an
organization he created.
Because of this, I have
serious doubts regarding the '
LAM’s legitimacy and
validity.
While I have always
strongly advocated the
importance of minority issues
within any community, Scott
Padilla could have better
served his purpose by
working with BGLA instead
of silently keeping his
concerns bottled up and then
getting frustrated when no
action was taken.
It is important in every
organization that each
member understands that
they have a right and
responsibility to bring their
concerns to the group. It is
this way, and only this way,
that progress can truly be
made.
ZACHERY SCOTT
FIRST-YEAR POLITICAL SCIENCE
STUDENT
Ticket distribution
not new problem
Tripp Hopper hit the nail
on the head in his letter about
basketball ticket distribution
and seating.
This problem has existed
for a very long time.
Sometime during 1988-92, as a
student, I met with George
Felton, King Dixon and the
ticket manager at the time
about this exact issue. No
changes.
Ticket distribution has
long been a farce.
It should be general
admission for students. That
way, those who want the
lower seats can simply get to
the arena when the gates
open.
It will be interesting to see
if anyone listens now.
STEVE THOMPSON
1992 MARKETING ALUMNUS
- *
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McClendon
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5
woman doesn’t even tell a
friend, much less a police
officer. However, society can
change the way it treats
violence against women. We
can start by examining
women’s experiences.
On Feb. 16,17 or 18, go see
“The Vagina Monologues” in
the Russell House Theatre.
You’ll see more than 30
passionate women (including
myself) perform an amazing
play that explores what
happens to women’s vaginas
all over the world and how
women fee!about their
vaginas.
You’ll never think of
vaginas in the same way.
Regardless of whether you
have a vagina, I hope you’11
help end violence against
women.
Then someday, Feb. 14 can
be V-Day: Victory over
Violence Day.
McClendon is a third-year
pharmacy student. Statistics
courtesy of the V-Day
organization and the S.C.
Coalition against Domestic
Violence and Sexual Assault.
BRIEFLY
“Collateral Damage”
tops box office
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Arnold |
Schwarzenegger as an avenging
firefighter hunting terrorists
proved a solid attraction, though
not quite a must-see movie.
Schwarzenegger’s "Collateral
Damage,” delayed four months
because of the Sept. 11 terrorist at
tacks, opened as the top weekend
movie with $15.2 million in ticket
sales, according to studio esti
mates Sunday.
It was Schwarzenegger’s first No.
1 opening since "Batman & Robin”
in 1997, but the receipts were so-so
compared with that film’s $42.9 mil
lion debut or the $31.8 million pre
miere of "Terminator 2: Judgment
Day” in 1991.
The family flick "Big Fat Liar,”
starring Frankie Muniz of
"Malcolm in the Middle” as a teen
out to prove a Hollywood produc
er stole his movie idea, debuted in
second place with $11.7 million.
A m/1 fhn (•nwinlm ‘’DnilAy'Bol 1 ”
starring Chris Klein, LL Cool J
and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos,
opened at No. 3 with $9 million.
The box office was down over
all, with the top 12 movies gross
ing $83.8 million, a 22 percent drop
from the same weekend last year.
But that was the weekend
“’Hannibal” debuted with a whop
ping $58 million.
“Zoolander” banned
in Singapore
SINGAPORE (AP) - Censors on
Friday banned the movie
‘’Zoolander,” an American come
dy about a self-absorbed male
model who’s brainwashed into as
, sassinating the prime minister of
Malaysia.
The action comedy, which co
median Ben Stiller stars in, di
rected and co-wrote, was banned
for “’controversial elements,”
Singapore’s Board of Film
Censors said in a news release.
In the film, which opened in the
United States in September and
was scheduled to open here next
week, vapid male model Derek
Zoolander is brainwashed into
killing the prime minister of
Malaysia for threatening the fash
ion industry with a plan to raise
the minimum wage for labor in
his country.
The decision to block the film’
release was made in view of "cor
troversial elements gathered fron
feedback,” the news release sail
without elaborating. The board r(
voked the film’s certificate for re
lease it had issued earlier.
In neighboring Malaysia, m
theater has even attempted ti
bring in "Zoolander,” so there’
been no need for a censors’ re
view. But a bootleg version of th
film is available there, and a ju
nior party in the governing coali
tion has urged police to cracl
down and seize all copies.
Producer to be
honored for 9/11
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The pro
ducer of last fall’s star-studdei
telethon to benefit Sept. 11 victim
will be honored at the Producer;
Guild of America awards March 2
The guild announce!
Thursday it will present it
Visionary Award to Joel Gallen
who oversaw "America: t
Tribute to Heroes” on Sept. 21, tin
telethon that featured Juli:
Roberts, Tom Hanks, Georgi
Clooney, Muhammad Ali am
dozens more celebrities. Thi
award goes to producers whosi
work demonstrates a "unique o:
uplifting quality.”
The event was the "most im
portant, exhilarating and ex
hausting producing experience o
my career,” Gallen said. "It wa
also the ultimate in teamworl
from the talent to the crew to thi
networks involved.”
Gallen is a past vice presiden
of production for MTV and madi
his directing debut last year witl
"Not Another Teen Movie.”
Garden raises public
safety concerns
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - When i
opened to rave reviews it
December, one of the new Kimme
Center for the Performing Arts
most talked-about features was it:
rooftop garden.
But now the garden is usual
ly off-limits because of security
concerns.
"Throngs of people are diffi
cult to control,” said Leslie Ann:
Miller, interim president of th<
Regional Performing Arts Center
the group that runs the Kimme
s Center. "We are letting people up
as part of tours. We are renting it
1 for private parties. We’re learn
1 ing how to operate the building
and we’re being cautious.”
The garden, which is sur
rounded by a glass railing, sits
) atop a theater inside the Kimmel
) Center, 85 feet above an indoor
> plaza.
"It’s a matter of public safety,”
; said Willard G. Rouse III, devel
oper and Kimmel Center chair
man.
i ‘ ’The cost of having guards up
there is prohibitive,” Rouse said.
"You cannot put children up there
without supervision.”
Besides concerns about the
rooftop garden, some patrons
have complained that railings in
the center’s orchestra hall,
I Verizon Hall, are too short and
s make them nervous.
; Project architect Sandra
McKee said the railings meet nec
t essary code requirements. On the
s rooftop, the railings are 42 inches
, high. In Verizon Hall, they are 26
. inches high.
Soul Train nominees
i announced
LOS ANGELES (AP)-Alicia
Keys had a leading four nomina
tions for the 16th annual Soul
Train Music Awards, while fellow
soul songstresses India.Arie and
' Aaliyah had three each.
; Veteran R&B singers the Isley
; Brothers, making a comeback
i more than 42 years after their first
hit single "Shout,” also gathered
three nominations Thursday,
f Keys is up for six Grammys
i for the album "Songs in A Minor,”
while India.Arie has seven
Grammy nominations for her de
but album "Acoustic Soul.”
Aaliyah, who died in a plane crash
last August at age 22, has one nom
ination. The Grammy Awards will
be given out Feb. 27.
Keys and Aaliyah each had
two wins at last month’s
American Music Awards.
; The Soul Train awards honor
rhythm & blues, soul, hip-hop, rap
and gospel performances.
Winners will be announced
March 20 at the Los Angeles
Memorial Sports Arena, and will
be taped for syndicated television
broadcast. Nominees were an
nounced at the Paramount
Pictures lot in Hollywood.
-I- I