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| Entertainment October 1999, Volume 3, No. 2 |
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The road from the woods: the making of The Blair Witch Project
By Brittany B., Entertainment Editor
The haunting black screen. The unearthly silence. And then, the infamous paragraph glows, in white letters on the black screen. "In October of 1994, three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland while shooting a documentary called The Blair Witch Project. This could only mean one thing. You're about to witness the destruction of human strength and the frightening truth about the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland.
Friends and business partners, Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez, wrote, directed, and edited the Blair Witch Project. They held an open casting call for anyone who was remotely interested in one of the three roles. There wasn't any script. Everything had to be improvised. Once one actor was chosen (Joshua Leonard was first), they put him with another actor to see how well they worked together. Next, Michael Williams was chosen and finally, Heather Donahue. They were taught how to work the cameras, and sound equipment, and then, sent into the woods.
The reason the movie appears so shaky is because you are seeing what the actors saw through two hand-held cameras as they ran, bumped, jumped, screamed and fought. The actors used their own names to make it easier on themselves because they would be recording 24 hours a day, for about four days. Heather played the director of the documentary, Josh, the camera man, and Mike, the sound man. They're the only characters in the film (except for the witch).
The actors were sent off hiking, with no idea of what was going to happen ahead of time. The different actors received only suggestions from the directors about their own parts on the day of shooting. They did not see the suggestions for the other two cast members. And to carry the sense of reality to its limits, sometimes Myrick and Sanchez would not give the actors food or water, or directions! At one point, Mike said he was so hungry that he ate a dry leaf. But by then, the actors all felt too involved in the movie to quit.
The Blair Witch Project premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, which features independent movies in the hope that big production companies will pick up their films. Blair Witch was screened at around midnight. Advertisements for the showing were fliers stapled around the town with the word: MISSING and the actor's pictures. Some people left the theatre terrified because they thought the movie was a true story. In less than 24 hours, The Blair Witch Project was purchased by Artisan Pictures for about a million dollars. Since July 30, 1999, the film has grossed over 120 million dollars. This is a first for an independent film made for about $60,000.
This is a really intelligent movie. It's a horror film but there is no gore or real violence. Blair Witch forces the audience to use their imagination. There are no decapitated heads, no unrealistic or bad acting to convey a sense of terror the actors really were scared, you can feel it but it'll probably scare you more than any scary movie made these days. About halfway through the eighty minute film, you begin to really care about the people, instead of not being able to wait for them to disappear. Blair Witch is rated R for language (the actors use a few choice four letter words during their midnight scare), but if your parents don't mind a real good horror movie and you don't either, it's a great film to go and see.
Rating: A
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Is Adam Sandler getting soft?
By Kyle A.
From Billy Madison to Happy Gillmore to The Waterboy and now, Big Daddy. Big Daddy (PG-13) is Adam Sandler's "Best of Times." Recycling the regressive humor of his previous films, it piles on so much sentimentality that you wonder how anyone could have considered this guy a renegade.
Sandler's character, Sonny Koufax, is a voluntarily unemployed law-school graduate who tries to demonstrate his maturity to his exasperated girlfriend (Kristy Swanson) by adopting a 5-year-old boy. Sandler shows off his sensitive side with the boy and shares his anxiety about getting older and gaining weighteven though he still isn't above mocking other people. I think it is a very good movie.
**** out of ten.
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1 Blair Witch Project (R)
2 Sixth Sense (PG 13)
3 Stir of Echoes (R)
4 Stigmata (R)
5 Deep Blue Sea (R)
6 Bowfinger (PG 13)
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MTV awards offered few surprises
By Christa M., Features Editor
To this day, I still have difficulty watching the MTV Music Awards because, much to my disappointment, the pop stars always reign victorious [vs. whom?]. However, I was assigned to give a review and my opinion of the show, so here goes.
The extravaganza was held on 9/9/99 with an opening show starring Smash Mouth and Blink182 (my favorite). The actual award ceremonies began at 7:00 p.m. with an orchestra and chorus doing a lovely rendition of Kid Rock's "Bawitdaba." Chris Rock, the master of ceremony, then rose from out of the crowd in an all white suit and gave his opening monologue, telling the painful truth as only Chris Rock can.
The rest of the show was a blur of music, rock stars, and actors dressed in questionable garments, interspersed with witty comments by Chris Rock. If the fashion police were present they would have had a field day. Some of the more notable outfits included a mermaid type frock worn by Lil Kim, all black attire worn by Fred Durst and Wes Borland, a weird white shirt worn by Ricky Martin, and practically nothing worn by Britney Spears. What a surprise!
The show included appearances by Gavin Rossdale, Susan Sarandon, Madonna, TLC, Backstreet Boys, N'Sync, Limp Bizkit, Puff Daddy, Diana Ross, Korn, Kid Rock, Janet Jackson, Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, Lil Kim, Beastie Boys, Freddie Prinze Jr., Jay Mohr, Heather Locklear, Ricky Martin, Lauryn Hill and Denise Richards, to name a few. In spite of the show's flaws, I give it 3 stars.
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Bring a blanket and pillow to 20th Century Caberat
By Kelly M.
Last week I saw The Best of the 20th Century Cabaret at the Pheasant Run dinner theater in St. Charles, Illinois. It wasn't very exciting. The cast sang and danced to a song from each decade. By the time we got to the 80's and 90's, all the songs were massacred so badly I had to cover my ears. This guy in his fifties sang a Ricky Martin song. Most of the people there were between the ages of sixty and one-hundred and fifty! All the kids were in this neat pool across the way from the theatre. If you do go to see 20th Century Cabaret, I suggest that you bring your bathing suit and a grandparent. (They probably will like it.) Tickets are $25 each. Just call 1-630-584-6500.
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Blue Streak is a comedy starring Martin Lawrence as a jewel thief who hides a priceless diamond in an air duct in a construction site to keep it safe until he can retrieve it. Little does he know that while he is in prison, the air duct floods and the diamond is pushed into a different part of the construction project. When he is released from prison two years later, he discovers that the construction site where he had hidden the diamond is now the Los Angeles Police Department Station.
What follows after Martin Lawrence's character discovers this is both funny and action-packed. How he deals with getting the diamond from a police station makes way for a lot of stupid stunts. The movie isn't too long and is guaranteed to hold you in suspense.
Blue Streak (PG-13)
***
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One of the many new thrillers this season is Sixth Sense (PG-13). It stars Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osmet. The movie is about a little boy and his mom, and a child psychologist and his wife. Haley (the little boy) has a problem. He sees dead people. His mom is worried because Haley isn't telling her that he sees them, but she know something is wrong.
So Bruce Willis (the psychologist) finds out about this boy. He starts to follow him after school. Haley does not want to tell Bruce Willis about what he sees. But Haley keeps seeing more and more dead people. It gets so bad that he goes to the hospital and finally he tells Bruce. Bruce tries to help him. Bruce tells him that he should help the dead people by finishing things for them. Haley starts getting better. But I don't want to tell you the ending, it's a surprise. I would rate this movie a 3, it was O.K.
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"No, I don't want no scrub. A scrub is a guy that can't get no love from me, hangin' on the passenger's side of his best friends ride, trying to holla at me." Okay, I don't know one person who hasn't heard of them. They're T-boz, Left Eye, and Chili, or TLC. LaFace Records released TLC's latest album "FANMAIL" on February 23, 1999. If you like rap/R&B music, then TLC - FANMAIL might be the album for you!
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To Venus and Back - Total Tori: a CD review
By Brittany B.,Entertainment Editor
For fans of Tori Amos, her new CD, To Venus and Back, offers two sides of Tori, literally. It's two CDsa studio album of all new songs ("Orbiting") and a live CD ("Still Orbiting") recorded during her tour to promote From the Choirgirl Hotel, her last studio album.
Tori's distinctive voice and lyrics cannot be confused with anyone else's. On the live album, she purrs and growls in and out of her singing and pounds her piano keys with rage on certain songs, and then lightly tickles the ivories on some others. Call it musical mood swings at it's best.
The studio CD, "Orbiting," is very techno, and has strange echoes and sounds, not my idea of her best songs. It sounds as though she lost track of her piano and decided to return to her disco roots. One song, "Datura," sounds as though she made a list off all the flowers, plants, and trees in her garden and decided to chant them. Maybe she should go and look for that piano.
To Venus and Back:
Still Orbiting- A
Orbiting- B-
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The MTV Video Music Awards
Compiled by Victor R.
Best dance video - Ricky Martin
Best group video - TLC
Best new artist - Eminem
Best rap video - Jay-Z
Best female video - Lauryn Hill
Best rock video - Korn
Best break through video - Fat Boy Slim
Best video from a film - Madonna
Best pop video - Ricky Martin
Best male video - Will Smith
Best director - Fat Boy Slim
Best hip hop video - Beasty Boys
Viewer choice award -Backstreet Boys
Best video of the year - Lauryn Hill
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1 Brian McKnight - Back at One
2 Monicah - Angel of Mine
3 Limp Bizkit - Nookie
4 Mariah Carey - Heartbreaker
5 Lauryn Hill - Dowap That Thing
6 Will Smith - Miami
7 Brandy - Almost Doesn't Count
8 Lou Bega - Mambo Number 5
9 Puff Daddy - Enemy Number 1
10 Blink182 - What's My Age Again
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Spirit won't disappoint Jewel's fans
By Kelley H.
Jewel Kilcher dreamed of being a singer when she was a little girl. Many people have dreams when they're young, but most of them don't come true. In Jewel's case, however, it did. Her first CD, Pieces of You, came out in early 1997. Recently she came out with a second CD, Spirit.
Jewel had a long resting period between her first and second CD's, so when her Spirit appeared, her fans were surprised and happy. There are thirteen songs on the CD. The song that became the number one hit is "Hands." There are some other songs that are great, including "Deep Water," "Fat Boy," and "Kiss the Flame." If you don't have Spirit, get it. I have it it's a great second effort for Jewel.
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