Arts & Entertainment
Sheldon Film Theater
Movies present alternatives to Lincolnites
By Michael Stock
Staff Reporter
The Sheldon Film Theater’s Film
Series offers unique opportunities that
appeal to both the mainstream movie
fan and the more esoteric.
The films that are shown at Shel
don would not come to Lincoln under
normal circumstances.
“They are marginally commercial
films. They would probably show in
commercial art houses in major met
ropolitan cities, but Lincoln doesn’t
have an equivalent,” said Dan Ladely,
curator of the film theater.
Many of the films shown are first
release foreign films or domestic films
not released by larger film studios.
Although the films do not draw the
often enormous crowds that the com
mercial theaters do, the Sheldon Thea
ter docs draw sizable crowds.
Business “varies a lot from film to
film,” Ladely said.
Some of the most popular films
shown this year included the anima
tion festivals, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
and “Longtime Companion,” Ladely
said.
Many of the movies shown at the
Sheldon have received some media
attention. Films mentioned or recog
nized for merit in national magazines
or on national television tend to be
the films that draw the large crowds.
“The films that are best attended
are the ones that have made the na
tional news,” Ladely said.
Many of the films shown at the
Sheldon, however, arc not receiving
attention in the national media. Ladely
said that it is harder to draw a crowd
for these films.
“Those arc the kind of films that
people come to who arc really hard
UL_ ^ ^
core . . . film-buffs, and are really
interested in film as an art form. This
is the audience that we mainly serve,”
Ladely said.
Films shown at the Sheldon go
through a selection process. Ladely
and his staff put together a list of a
dozen films, including reviews from
previous viewings of the film, for
each of the three programs of films—
fall, winter/spring and summer.
This list is sent to an advisory
committee, which responds by sug
gesting which films have artistic merit
and which are expected to draw a
good attendance. Ladely uses the
information from this committee to
make the ultimate decision about which
i i
Hyonae Blankenship/Daily Nabraakan
films will be shown.
Other factors also enter into the
final decision of the choice of films to
be shown. One of the most significant
factors is which films are available.
Sometimes distributors will not
make films available in a community
ihe size of Lincoln. Many times, Ladely
said, there simply aren’t enough prints
of the film, and distributors want prints
available in larger cities first.
This delay in distribution can cause
problems for smaller theaters, like
the Sheldon’s.
“We have to get them (the films)
here, for the most part, before they
come out on home video, because
that usually means that it really cuts
down on attendance,” Ladely said.
Most films shown at the Sheldon
are rented from specialized film dis
tributors in New York and Los Ange
les, focusing on first-release foreign
films and American independent films.
Nationally renewed interest in
censorship affects the Sheldon’s film
program less than most of the com
mercial theaters.
“Usually, we don’t make our deci
sions based on ratings, unlike some of
the commercial theaters might do.
We pick our films with other criteria
— mainly artistic merit. The rating
system doesn’t really affect us too
much,” Ladely said.
Only about half of the films shown
at the Sheldon carry any type of rat
ing.
The ratings system is entirely vol
untary, and it costs money for
filmmakers to have their film rated.
This keeps many films with the smaller
budgets from obtaining a rating.
“It’s up to every individual dis
tributor to decide if they want their
film rated or not — and some of them
just can’t afford it. So they just don’t
bother,” Ladely said.
Recent price increases haven’t
affected attendance.
Ladely said the ticket price was
increased to “keep our prices concur
rent” with the commercial theaters.
See SHELDON on 8
Music, comedians, mind control
make Walpurgisnacht festive
By Matt Larsen
Staff Reporter
A medley of entertainment trans
formed the Nebraska Union into fes
tival grounds for the 17th annual
Walpurgisnacht celebration on Fri
day night.
Lincoln area folk dancers opened
the University of Ncbraska-Lincoln’s
Walpurgisnacht festival before a crowd
of about 140. The first Union Ball
room event started at 8 p.m., when the
Lincoln East Choir opened for UNL’s
Scarlet and Cream Singers. Joe Rezac,
a junior actuarial science major, called
the singers’ show a spirited perform
ance.
“There was a lot of variety in the
Scarlet and Cream show,” Rezac said.
“The crowd was really enthusiastic
about their performance.”
When the Blues Brothers took the
stage at 9:30 p.m., the ballroom was
filled to capacity. Kevin Brown, a
freshman business major, said he
enjoyed the brass and style of the
Blues Brothers.
“Those guys were really entertain
ing,” Brown said. “For a while there I
thought John Bclushi came back to
life and was performing in front of
me. It’s obvious they have seen the
movie a few hundred times.”
After the Blues Brothers, hypno
tist Edwin L. Baron took over the
Ballroom for a display of mind con
trol. Union Festivals Committee
members Tim Eschclman and Na
talie Thompson said the show thrilled
the crowd.
“It was a great show. There were a
lot of people there,” Eschelman said.
“It was absolutely hilarious.”
“He had about 20 people on stage
for a concentration test,” Thompson
said. “About 10 of the people were
hypnotized and did some funny stuff.”
Closing out the evening were the
comic anticsof Ron Osborne and Jcnt
Monk, sponsored by the University
Program Council’s Best of the Rest
Committee. As the “spokescomedian”
for Kingsbury non-alcoholic beer,
Monk gave away T-shirts, frisbccs
and hats to crowd members.
Along with the various live enter
tainment, several promotional booths
were set up for Domino’s Pizza, Mary
Kay Cosmetics, Opulence Hair Care,
Subway Sandwiches and Grisanti’s
Casual Italian Restaurant.
Murphy’s love of music
! wins Zoo Bar audience
By Robert Richardson
Senior Reporter
When Malt Murphy opened his
show at the Zoo Bar, 136 N. 14th
St., no one ready knew what song
the band was playing.
But the audience could tell they
were involved in a blues jam, as
Murphy took umc to showcase every
man on stage.
“They’re seasoned,” he said.
For the first several songs,
Murphy took a back scat while he
blended in with the band. Their
music was a loud mix of heavy
bass and drums that connected with
a light piano and saxophone.
Murphy was just adding milk to
the cereal as he warmed up his six
string and got it ready to bum.
“I might come in here with a
different set of musicians and sound
altogetherdifferent,” Murphy said.
“Blending is the name of the game.”
Murphy performed an amalga
mation with the song “Kansas City.”
He may have been the only singer
but the harmony created on stage
with his guitar, his voice and his
band reached exotic heights some
where above the rafters.
About halfway through their first
set, Murphy called out singer David
“Lefne” Foster. Foster looked nor
mal, but his Joe Cocker voice and
Blues Brothers attitude — comple
mented by Murphy’s boys — was
an outstanding combination.
Foster rocked the audience with
See ZOO on 8
Hanna haunted by his solitude at the cinema
There comes a time in everyone’s
life when they want to see a movie
alone.
Maybe they need quiet time to be
with themselves and wallow in the
self-love only solitude can bring.
Maybe they want to absorb the mean
ing of the film without the interfer
ence of another person. Or maybe
they’re simply loo embarrassed to
ask anyone to go see the Rambo movie
they so loudly derided in their poetry
class as a senseless glorification of
violence.
Whatever the inspiration, there are
simply times when you end up seeing
a movie all by your lonesome. I re
cently went to sec a movie alone, and
I have some personal insights I want
to share.
Initially, it’s important to note that
no matter how much you insist that
you want to sec a movie alone, most
people will assume you’re just a big
loser who couldn’t find someone to
go with you.
And even as you vehemently as
sure yourself that you are attending
this movie alone by choice, there’s a
nagging little voice in your head
reminding you that everyone is look
ing at you with pity.
“Don’t kid yourself, Jim. You don’t
want to see this movie alone so you
can get closer to your inner soul. You
juslcan’t find anyone togo with you.’’
But temporarily, another voice
prevails.
“No! You arc here alone by choice.
You are going to spend some quality
time with Jim. This is time for self
realization, self-actualization and self
love.’’
Actually, it’s more like self-flag
ellation.
Your initial confrontation is at the
Hanna
ticket counter. You defiantly walk up
to the perky high school part-timer
and declare your intentions.
“One for ‘Slumber Party Slaugh
ter’, please.” You surprise yourself at
the timidity in your voice.
“What?” queries the sprightly spike
haired sophomore. “Did you say one?”
Out of the corner of your eye, you
see those waiting in the lobby turn to
look at the poor sap who’s seeing a
movie alone.
“Yes,” you say, trying to sound
defiant. “Just one and one alone.”
Perhaps you search your brain for
a possible explanation of your soli
tude.
“I’m meeting someone here.”
“My date just died in a car acci
dent.”
“I’m seeing it for a class.”
But no. You insist to yourself that
you arc not ashamed to sec a movie
alone. You plunk down your money
and proudly walk away with your
ticket.
As you approach the concession
counter, you begin lo realize that you’ve
made a major ti m ing error. What were
you thinking? If you’re going id sec a
movie alone, why did you come to the
7 p.m. showing on a Saturday night?
That’s right, the lobby is filled
with happy, romantic couples out on
a weekend date. They wear their to
getherness on their forehead like a
neon sign.
“We arc a couple, and we arc very
much in love. We just finished an
amorous candlelight dinner and after
this movie, wc’rc going home to make
beautiful love Til dawn,” their neon
sign silently flashes.
The few- couples who saw' you
buying your ticket alone begin to
murmur quietly to one another. Their
eyes try to sneak a few looks at you,
but their midwestern upbringings
remind them that it’s not polite to
stare at those who arc different. Should
you happen to make eye contact with
them, they instantly will look away.
Still, you’re certain that this is
what you want to do. You know that
if you wanted a date, you could get
one. You are here alone by choice.
At the concession stand, the jovial
gel-headed junior greets you with the
sales pitch her manager requires her
See HANNA on 8
