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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 26, 1988)
Arts & Entertainment LLJ I l_/ L_1 V_A. _ a _m_^_JL—XJ-.3 John Bruce/Daily Nebraskan Special dinners help residence halls heat monotony By Bryan Peterson Staff Reporter Students in residence halls arc presented with several special din ners each semester. Each residence hall complex has a special dinner forThanksgivingand thcChristmas holiday. Complex residents will be treated to a special Hawaiian dinner Thursday. In February, residents will likely dine on favorite food items of past Olympic competitors during the Winter Olympics. In March, each complex will have its own unique promotional meal. Hanna Hess, food manager of Selleck Quadrangle and Hewitt Training Table, said Selleck resi dents may eat a “Las Vegas Din ner,” although plans arc still tenta tive. Ellen Wagner, food service manager for the Abci-Sandoz com plex, is planning an ethnic dinner in March which will feature foods of Oriental, German, Irish, Swedish and other origins. Douglas Rix, assistant director of housing/food service, said spe cial dinners in residence halls break monotony and develop enthusiasm. Wagner added that this is true for kitchen employees as well as com plex residents. According to past surveys, students want more special dinners. Hess said she works closely with the student government of the resi dence hall, which provides help and input for every special dinner. “We could not do it without them,” she said. The special dinners arc publi cized to hall residents, who can attend free. The dinners arc not advertised to the public, but com plex residents may invite non-resi dents at their own expense. The special dinners require extra preparation in the form of menu planning, testingand soon. Though the extra work may begin days in advance, Hess said, it is not so much hard as labor-intensive. It becomes a labor of love as students apprcci ate the special mood and menu. “We put our heart and soul onto the dinners to make them the best experience possible,” she said. Wagner said her most challeng ing dinner was an outdoor buffalo feed in 1976. Planning began in March, and the dinner was served in September. Although another buf falo feed is unlikely, Wagner said she is always willing to listen to student ideas for special dinners and will try them if possible. Film sets love and ethics against the ’80s By John Coffey Staff Kcportcr “Broadcast News” is a slice of life, love and the evening news from James L. Brooks. Lincoln ilcs best remember the writer/director/produccr as the man who brought “Terms of Endear ment” to town. For many, Debra Winger comes to mind when thinking of that film; there’s little doubt that another young, attractive brunette will be associated with “News” — Holly Hunter. Hunter, while sharing the screen in this picture with such greats as William Hurt and Jack Nicholson, is the person who really lights up the screen. Her only previous starring role was as Mrs. H.I. (“Ed”) MeDonnough in the hilariously funny “Raising Arizona.” Hunter plays Jane Craig, the network’s most talented young news producer, who is married the ’80s way — to her job. Her professional drive is so strong that any romantic relation ship is merely an afterthought. So m uc h a woman on the go, she is always pressed for lime with thatcvcr-prcscnt deadline looming. One of Jane’s opening scenes shows her in the hotel room, phoning the crew to remind them of a meeting, then unplugging the phone and, realizing she has a hall hour until the meeting, bursting into tears. Yes, she even schedules her cry limes. (Incidentally, this hotel scene is probably set in Lincoln, as later the reporter signs off from “Lincoln, Nebraska.” I hope it was the state of Jane ’ s I i fe and not the state of her hotel room that made her cry.) Jane’s best friend is Aaron Altman (Albert Brooks), a brilliant reporter who unquestionably has the brains but lacks the beauty to be a network star. Aaron is aggressive and abrasive in pursuit of the story, but his personal side is just the opposite. He’s sensi tive, funny and massively insecure. “Wouldn’t this be a wonderful world if insecurity and desperation were attractive... if needy were a lum-on?” he asks Jane in a moment of self pitying contemplation. The up-and-coming network star to-be is Tom Grunick, played by William Hurt. This role represents quite a reversal for Hurt, who usually plays a man neat ly frantic with intel ligence (“Children of a Lesser God,” “kissoflhe Spider Woman,’’“Altered Stales”). Tom has the character depth of a swimming pool for newborns. He isn’t well-educated, can’t write and doesn’t understand the news he’s talk ing about. But he looks good. Further more, he’s being groomed as heir to the network’s anchor (a cameo by Jack Nicholson). The classic romantic triangle be tween the three comprises one of the movie’s main themes. It’s easy to be drawn in There’s a healthy balance between the three characters with no one outdoing another in their love pursuits. To this classic triangle add the 1980s perspective that the charac ters are married to their jobs. It is their love of work that influences their romantic quests. The second main theme involves journalistic integrity and ethics. Aaron represents the old-school Edward R. Murrow approach to news, always striving for the truth, always trying to do the right thing. Tom, on the other hand, is the new-fangled approach to a news program that real izes ratings are the bottom line and a pretty face sells. (Imagine someone from “Entertainment Tonight” an choring the “CBS Evening News.”) Jane is Plain Jane American, caught in the middle of the networks’ dilemma: Should they program integrity or rat ings? The answer from the news division president’s point of view is easy. During an emergency report on a Middle East crisis that needs to go on the air immediately, the president chooses Tom to anchor the report over Jane’s objections that it should be Aaron, who has impeccable knowl edge of foreign affairs. During the report a great shot from behind the anchor’s desk shows Tom anchoring, with Jane some 20 feet above in the control room force-feeding him infor mation through an car-plug. Like a master puppeteer, Jane knows just what string to pull to command a flawless performance. By being fed by little bit, he’ll lower our standards where it really counts... flash over substance.” It takes the integrity ques tion from the frying pan and throws it into the fire. Before seeing this movie, I made the mistake of reading every review I could get my hands on. It’s an inevi table problem in the Midwest — things arc big on the coasts, garnering mounds of media, and eventually the trend makes it to Nebraska. “Broad cast News” came out a couple of weeks later here than in the larger Eastern markets. If you listened to everything you’ve read or seen about “Broadcast News” you might be slightly disappointed. Not that the movie’s not good, butcould even God live up to His advance billing? the right questions, comments and pronunciations, Tom, while not understanding a word he’s saying, comes off his network anchoring debut looking brilliant. And Aaron, who is brilliant, gives a network anchoring performance cut from the laughing stock. The heal of the bright lights overcome him and he sweats profusely. All the smarts inside his head can't reverse the fact that on the outside of his head he looks very dumb. In one of the film’s most critical scenes die two themes merge. Jane tries to come to grips with her feelings for Tom. Aaron tries to come to terms with his feelings for Jane. Tom, who’s not in the scene, is accused by Aaron of being the Anti-Cronkite. “And bit Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox (From left) Holly Hunter, William Hurt and Albert Brooks in ’‘Broadcast News.” Movie series to open with Bakshi fantasy Movies ranging from the naive fantasy of Steven Spielberg’s “E.T.” to the naive realism of Penel ope Sphccris’ “Decline of Western Civilization” will be included in the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Spring Film Series, sponsored by the Student Programming Organi zation. Tickets arc $2 general admis sion; $1.50 for UNO faculty, staff, students and alumni with ID; and $1.50 for seniorcitizensandchildrcn under 12 years old. The films will be shown in UNO’s Eppley Audito rium Friday s and Saturdays at 7 and 9:30 p.m., and Sundays at 4:30 and 7 p.m. un reo. a-/, tsaipn oaKsm s animated fantasy “Heavy Metal” will be shown. The six-segment anthology weaves together Bakshi’s rotoscoped animation; music by Blue Oyster Cult, Devo and Black Sabbath; and imaginative stories encompassing science fic tion, sword and sorcery, humor and sex. “Decline of Western Civiliza tion,” a film by Los Angeles undcr § round filmmaker Penelope phecris, will be shown Feb. 19-21. Made in 1981, “Decline’' documents the L.A. punk scene of the early ’80s. The film balances perform ance footage of bands such as X, The Germs, Black Flag, Catholic Disci pline, Fear and the Circle Jerks, and includes interviews with band members, club owners and fans. Steven Spielberg’s loving hom age to the innocent charms and magic of movie-making, “E.T.,” will be shown Feb. 26-28. March 4-6, “I Was a Teenage Zombie” will be shown. The plot of this 1987 release concerns a boy who was “young, reckless and in love” and then became “dead, young, reckless and in love.” The sound track for the film includes music by the Violent Femmes, Del Fuegos, Dbs, Dream Syndicate and the Smithereens.