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MOVIE REVIEW SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK Jamie Foxx plays blind musical icon Ray Charles in the film ‘Ray.’ Charles died recently at at 73, and is remembered for his tumultuous life and his unique blend of sounds in his music. ‘Ray spotlights singers struggles and triumphs “Ray" ★★★★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆ By LESLIE DENNIS THE GAMECOCK Coming out less than six months after Ray Charles’s death, the biopic “Ray” is a touching tribute and honest retelling of the life and songs of one of America’s great musical innovators. The film, directed by Taylor Hackford (“An Officer and a Gentleman,” “Proof of Life”), beautifully depicts the highs and lows of the icon’s tumultuous career. Beginning in 1948, “Ray” opens with an 18-year-old Ray Robinson making his way to Seatde for a job in a band. Ray begins his career as a piano player in a couple of forgettable groups that attempt to swindle him out of his deserved earnings. Between the two bands, his manager tells him to drop the Robinson from his name and use his middle name, Charles. Ray picks up the name and a heroin habit. When Ray is offered a contract with Atlantic Records by Ahmet Ertegun (Curtis Armstrong), he can’t seem to find his niche in the music industry, sounding too much like Nat “King” Cole and other popular musicians of the’ time. But with the help of Ertegun, Ray slowly finds his own unique sound by fusing jazz, R&B, gospel and even country into his tunes. As Ray’s career begins to take off, he meets Della Bea (Kerry Washington) and fells head over heels in love with her. Once they get married, Bea becomes pregnant almost immediately, and Ray goes on the road full time. Bea finds Ray’s drug kit and confronts him with it before he leaves for another gig. When he returns for the birth of their first son, Ray Jr., Bea tells the new father to leave what happens on the road (the drugs and the women) out of their house. As the movie chronicles Ray’s two adulterous relationships with Mary Ann Fisher (Aunjaune Ellis) and Margie Hendrix (Regina King), his illegitimate child with Margie, his drug addiction and his arrests, it does not offer an apology nor attempt to rush through these events. Instead the film asks the viewers to ponder a profound question about morality and art: Would Ray have been as great of a musician if he had not been with these women (most of his songs are written from these relationships) or had not taken the drugs (he claimed drugs never affected his work because he could always record in one take, and he never missed a show)? The film also highlights Ray’s accomplishments, which included winning numerous Grammy awards, being the first musician to refuse to play in a Jim Crowe state in the 1960s and setting a standard in the business world for musicians. But the real success of the film lies in the performance of Jamie Foxx. Foxx, who proved himself a serious actor in “Ali” and was exceptional in this year’s “Collateral,” encompasses Ray’s extraordinary personality and immerses himself in the role. Playing all the piano parts in the film and wearing prosthetics for 14 hours a day to appear blind, Foxx transforms himself, his voice and his movements to not only mimic, but become Ray. Foxx even has Ray’s signature move of clasping his hands to his elbows down pat. With original recordings of Ray Charles and the amazingly real performance by Foxx, “Ray” is not only a stellar musical biopic, but also an inspirational story of human strength and ability. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockfeatnres@gwm.se. edu Your shirts measures up on lazy office days ■ Casual work days are never an excuse for office sloppiness There are those mornings when you know the boss won’t be in the office or that there are no important clients or community leaders who’ll be showing up for meetings, and you don’t necessarily feel the need to don your customary coat and tie. In this case, your dress shirt will be the most easily noticed aspect of your outfit — provided you don’t open the KEVIN FELLNER FOURTH-YEAR ENGLISH STUDENT collar to reveal the seven or eight ggld necklaces you wear at any given time. And the design is again your call as to what the occasion might be. Multi-colored narrow stripes have made a comeback, as well as diagonal pinstripes, but for office wear I’d stick with solid colors or light checks. Just please remember to tuck it in and button it correctly — and that includes the sleeves, unless you roll yours to the elbow. Sizing is where the shirt becomes a hassle, but it shouldn’t be intimidating. Ladies, listen up, too, because holiday sales are approaching, and we’re tired of opening a shirt box every year to find some lame-ass sweater because you’re not sneaky enough to find out all of our measurements. Take the time to check that tag this year.'" The largest and most important number on the shirt’s tag will be the collar size. The average man is maybe a 16” or 17”, but that can vary. When measuring your neck, make sure you can turn your head both directions without having the measuring tape choking you. The next two hyphenated numbers will be the chest and sleeve sizes. Now I know you probably want to get an extra small chest size to tighten the shirt around your bulging pectorals, but remember to practice some decorum as you are going to be wearing the shirt to work. Don’t think that you’ll score extra points with the new intern either, as most office romances are destined to fail. Make sure your sleeves are long enough to at least cover your wristwatch completely and preferably long enough to extend 1/2 inch past your coat’s sleeve. If you went to your high school prom, you should probably already know your measurements. In addition to measurements, there is also the question of design. Breast pockets are classic but seem to be fading, possibly because they only serve the purpose of holding your calculator and astronaut pen. French cuffs are distinguished but require that you buy cufflinks, which could be a costly expense for the mundane ambiance of your office. Button-down collars work well without a tie, while pointed collars help to accentuate the tie’s protrusion from the neck. But a pointed collar with the top button of the shirt left open makes it look like your neck has sprouted wings. The choices of material are equally complex. The best overall quality and durability is still 100 percent cotton with a high thread count. Clothiers come out all the time with synthetic blends hailed as stain-resistant or wrinkle-free, but these claims tend to not be true all of the time, while the fabric itself is often too tight or too loose. Cotton still offers the best versatility. With dry-cleaning and regular starch, a good cotton shirt can last a lifetime and hold its form. I think overall you get what you pay for. I’m not saying you have to buy a $ 100 shirt, but you save up to buy a few nice “lazy day” shirts that don’t call for a suit. After all, you work hard, and you’ve earned the right to look good. Judge blocks removal of Jackson prosecutor By LINDA DEUTSCH THE ASSOCIATED PRESS I SANTA MARIA, Calif.' — A judge on Thursday rejected a defense effort to remove the district attorney in the Michael Jackson child molestation case on the grounds that the pop star had been the victim of an overzealous prosecution. Judge Rodney Melville said the law is clear that the only way he could remove District Attorney Tom Sneddon and his office is “if a conflict existed where the defendant could not receive a fair trial.” He said no such conflict existed. “I believe he has not been excessively zealous and has not threatened the integrity of the case to this point,” the judge said of the prosecutor. Jackson’s lawyer, Thomas Mesereau Jr., said Sneddon and his office had spent more money pursuing Jackson than they had on the cases of serial killers, showing that they had lost perspective. He said the prosecutors are so caught up in the case that Sneddon misrepresented to grand jurors the potential motivation of the boy’s family in accusing Jackson. “They are too emotionally invested in getting a case against the celebrity,” Mesereau said. “They are blinded by zeal, blinded by emotion.” He also cited Sneddon’s personal role in investigating the Jackson case as well as his performance at a news conference announcing the singer’s arrest in which he cracked jokes with the media. Prosecutors said they had no personal agenda in pursuing the case. The defense had wanted Sneddon’s office removed and the state attorney general’s office to take over. - . ' ---——-■ Underdog ‘Bard’s Tale’ keeps singing its happy, satiric tune By TAMARA CHUANG KRT CAMPUS NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — After two years of working late nights, brainstorming medieval jokes and scoring the voice talent of actor Cary Elwes, game developers at inXile entertainment learned that their very first video game was going up against expected blockbuster “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.” No worries. The 20-person company, much like its comedic “Bard’s Tale” game in stores last week, maintained a cheeky spirit about the timing. “If you’re going to buy a game, you’re probably going to buy Grand Theft Auto. But if you’re going to buy two, buy ours,” said Brian Fargo, president and founder of the Newport Beach game developer. The Bard’s Tale, a role-playing game set in Medieval Scotland, has won rave reviews for poking fun at video game cliches and providing plenty of distractions, such as beer guzzling drunks, cow tipping and busty barmaids, i But the attention splashed on this two year-old startup isn’t just for its mix of musical, comedy and adventure. It’s because the game comes from the mad genius mind of Fargo, an industry veteran who started Interplay Entertainment in Orange County in 1983. “Back then, it was all about content. You didn’t have anything except the writing and humor to focus on,” said John Davison, editor in chief for Official PlayStation Magazine, which gave the game 4.5 stars out of 5. “Now, it’s come full circle. (Fargo) has taken the principles of story line and combined them with (graphics' and technology).” Fargo, 41, who left Interplay two years ago, handpicked a team of artists and developers, hiring from Interplay and Blizzard Entertainment in Irvine, Calif. For funding, Fargo pre-sold the rights to reproduce the game overseas. He threw in the rest from his own bank account. Then, the private company set up auup ui <111 uiu i/diirv and created the game nearly from scratch — the original was one of Interplay’s early games, spawning two sequels and selling more than 1 million copies. Deadline? Whenever the team was done. “If I had done this at Interplay, there would have been too many preconceived notions,” said Fargo, imagining that pieces like the ode to beer scene would get nixed. “This was completely fresh.” Even with the critical acclaim, the Bard’s Tale is considered an underdog. Reviewers don’t expect it to sell well against the sequels to Grand Theft Auto and Halo, though sales could improve after the holidays, when the $50 price tag gets lowered. Regardless, the content and humor in Bard’s Tale could become a reference point in video game history, Davison said. “A lot of games are preoccupied with pushing technology and making a statement on tech side. Bard’s Tale is very content oriented. Rather than putting time and money into making the game look good, they used off-the shelf tools (to do the job). It worked,” he said. “It’s a decent looking game. And it’s showing that you can go and get these tools and put the emphasis on something ♦ Please see BARD, page 7 J ■ ■ ■ ,■ KRT CAMPUS Brian Fargo, founder of InExile Entertainment, at his Newport Beach, Cali., office, with a cardboard cut-out of the star of his new game, The Bard’s Tale.’ V'.nvl felp1 Saturday Nov. 6 § Russell House Room 322 ^ 1-6 pm W *A $10 tote bag ■ gets you in, W and then you can W fill it to the brim u: <~£yT vmm i Nov. 5 2004 “The Incredibles” I