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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 23, 1991)
Zucker Continued from Page 9 derful about that.” Also with David and Abrahams, Zucker wrote and directed “Airplane,” “Police Squad!,” “Kentucky Fried Movie” and “Top Secret” and di rected “Ruthless People.” The Zuckers’ moviemaking con tinued — in 1986, they formed Zucker Brothers Productions. Zucker said his relationship with David has been an important part of his career. Although the brothers many times disagree on an approach, they’re civil about it. “We’re not rolling around on the floor about it, like we did when we were kids,” he said. The brothers may have different approaches, but their similar sense of comedy has aided their working rela tionship, he said. “We definitely have a similar sense of humor,” Zucker said. “We have since we were kids. We have differ ent interests in and out of the movies, but we connect on our sense of hu mor. Our comedies reflect that.” Zucker has two movies to be re leased this summer: “Naked Gun 2 1/ 2:The Smell of Fear,” on which he served as co-executive producer, and “Lame Ducks,” on which he served as a producer. He worked with David on both. “Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear” continues the story of Lt. Frank Drebin, the irreverent cop of the 1988 comedy “The Naked Gun: From the files of Police Squad!” “Lame Ducks” is a “chaotic con temporary comedy” in the tradition of the Marx Brothers and The Three Stooges, Zucker said. The film tells the story of three oddballs who unex pectedly meet when a wealthy woman enlists their help to fulfill her late husband’s dream of founding a ballet company. Both films allow Zucker’s love for slapstick comedy to shine through. Zucker said he has always enjoyed “the zaniness of it, the surprise of it.” Although most of Zucker’s films have been comedies, he also directed the serious, ethereal “Ghost,” nomi nated fora 1991 Academy Award for Best Picture. But even the solemn “Ghost,” about the murder of a stockbroker and his quest to keep his artist girlfriend safe from the person that murdered him, was infused with characteristic Zucker comedy. This was especially apparent in the character of Oda Mae Brown (Whoopi Goldberg), the offbeat psy chic who helps the murdered Sam Wheat (Patrick Swayze) protect his girlfriend, Molly Jensen (Demi Moore). Goldberg’s moments of breezy, audi ence-oriented humor in the midst of death added to the film’s wide ap peal. Zucker said that he was “looking for a good movie” when the opportu nity to do “Ghost” came along. “I wasn’t looking for a comedy or a drama, or whatever,” he said. “I was just looking for a good movie.” Zucker said that “Ghost” was a new experience for him. It was Zucker’s first drama and the first film he’d made without David. “I was familiar with the job,” he said. “But I think the important thing for the director to do is to really love the script and have a vision — that was something I had in ‘Ghost.’ I really loved ‘Ghost,’ and I under stood it. It was a challenge.” Zucker said that although he thought the film had a shot at “being big,” its grosses were beyond his expectations. The film grossed more than S203 million in 1990 alone. “We (Zucker and ‘Ghost’ screen writer Bruce Joel Rubin) crossed our fingers and held our breath when it was released,” he said. “But it wasn ’t a huge surprise to us when it was successful.” Zucker was reluctant to name a favorite movie, but when pressed, said that “Ghost” was his most satis fying project. “Ghost was wonderful,” he said. “Airplane” also was very satisfying “because it was the first film and because no one expected anything from it.” Directing is Zucker’s favorite part of moviemaking. Although it is a “grueling” job at times, he said the rewards outweigh the demands. “The diversity of filmmaking appeals to me,” he said. “Unlike other professions, you’re not doing the same thing every day. ... If I had to pick one (aspect), directing, because di recting is the most diverse of all_ There s a little bit of everything in it. “And I enjoy shaping movies.” _nggggim Presenting “The Five Heartbeats" (left to right): Michael Wright (Eddie), Leon (J.T.), Robert Townsend (Duck), Harry J. Lennix (Dresser) and Tico Weils (Choirboy). Townsend co-wrote, directed and was executive producer of the musical comedy-drama. Heartbeat Continued from Page 9 The movie is best when it just allows the audience to watch with out teeling manipulated. 1 ne good scenes, like those when the Heart beats perform, are good primarily because they’re filled with fun and not with gimmicks. So “The Five Heartbeats” is a run, gooa-iooKing movie mai is hollow at points and thus is only slightly recommendable. “The Five Heartbeats” is play ing at the Cinema 1 & 2, 201 N. 13th St. Etiquette Continued from Page 9 Bill Maltas. 4. Realize that for some classes, students have to write a critique or report on a performance. They have to take notes. When doing this, take a small notebook, take sketchy notes and don’t flip pages during a quiet moment in the performance. 5. At a concert, no matter how catchy or rhythmic the work is, NEVER, EVER tap your feet. This distracting for both the performers and the audience. Getting students to participate in the arts is one of the goals of a liberal ans university and UNL is no differ ent in this goal. Students should take advantage of the arts opportunities open to them, but not at the expense of the enjoyment of others. Bluerunners Continued from Page 9 in the way of aural reprieve in the rest of the album. The Bluerunners don’t demonstrate the kind of musicianship needed to make this record a winner. Their drummer probably wasn’t even needed, as a rhythm machine program on a cheap Casio keyboard would have sufficed to cover the kind of simple, unchanging beat they arc so fond of. Every song is a thinly disguised re hash of the last, and you really only need to listen to a quarter of the songs on the album to know whai The Blu crunncrs are about. Frankly, this album was a disap pointment. It promised much in the First few cuts and then contented it self with churning out the same sound on all of the other tracks. It seems that The Bluerunners haven’t yet realized the difference between consistency of style and cheap repetition. This alburn is worth a listen if you don’t have to pay for it, but musically it is a flawed endeavor. They just don’t have the variety to keep a lis tener’s attention. Instead, one just hopes for the end. The Bluerunners need to mature musically and stylisti cally if they hope to be successful. Slack truths revealed Mythic ‘Bob’ exalted in ‘Tales’ By Bryan Peterson Staff Reporter Three-Fisted Tales of “Bob” Reverend Ivan Stana, ed. Fireside Books (Simon and Schuster) Somewhere in the dark and dank bowels of Dallas, The Church of the SubGenius still calls out to listeners over AM radio and through back page ads in obscure magazines. The teachings of pipe-smoking holy man and all-around big guy “Bob” Dobbs were collected in “The Book of the SubGenius,” a boggling me lange of graphics, rants, conspiracy theories and 1950s clip-art collages that spreads the message of Slack. Not only Slack, but cattle mutila tions, “pyrollatulation,” “excrcmcdi tation” and the “prcscripturcs” arc all explained, or at least they arc dis cussed. Now, perhaps to further confuse initiates, Fireside Books has unleashed “Three-Fisted Talcs of ‘Bob’: Short Stories in the SubGenius Mylhos,” a collection of 27 pieces celebrating the mythic “Bob” Dobbs in prose, dramatic and artistic form. The pages arc dotted with die names of familiar figures from all over the underground. From cyberpunk circles, Lewis Shiner and John Shirley come forth with stories, two of the best in the collection. Conspiracy aficionado Robert Anton Wilson gives a taste of his twisted webof reasoning, a taste vivid enough to leave the reader wondering whether there just might be some - it Where else could one hope to discover that ‘pinks’ is a corruption of the Sub Genius term ‘Pink Boys, ’ a reference to any sheeplike status quo normalcy dupe, living in terror of making his or her own decisions.. -f t - thing to it all after all. DEVO vocalist Mark Molh ersbaugh brings both words and pic tures, and long-umc undergrounder William S. Burroughs has reprinted a caustic piece of his criticism. Elsewhere among the talcs arc all manner of revelations about “Bob” and his past, the impending “Xist” takeover and a description of “Bob”’s meeting with “God,” in which “Bob’ must pass a 20-question quiz to get his Prophet’s License renewed. It goes something like this: “A fish is to water as the mind is to ...?” “Um... information?” “No. Falsehood. One wrong. What do all the evils in the world have in common?” “They’re all necessary ones.” “Correct. And who commits them?” “Everyone?” “No. Everyone else. Two wrong.” And so it goes, ending in a self referential tangle that makes reading the rest of the book seem rather moot. Bui rejoice, brethren and sistrcn: “Bob” passed the quiz. The final and almost-longest of these tales, ‘“Bob’ and the Oxygen Wars,” is also one of the most engag ing in the collection. In this combination of fiction and conspiracy, the reader is told The Real Story on free energy sources, the use of liquid electricity in fitting forest fires, and the use of ol^gcn therapy in curing almost any disease. In fact, the secrets revealed in this book are too numerous and too valu able to reveal in their entirety. Verily, the reader of this review should avail him-/hcrsclf of the opportunity to discover the truths known only to “Bob." Lo, some background history and terminology may be beneficial and can be found in “The Book of the SubGcnius.” Where else could one hope to dis cover that “pinks" is a corruption of the SubGcnius term “Pink Boys," a reference to “any sheeplike status quo normalcy dupe, living in terror of making his or her own decisions, usually possessed of an unusually ‘blank’ physical expression, charac terized by mental temerity masked by physical self-assurance?" Buy now, and learn about Zom bies for “Bob," The Conspiracy and its Dupes, False Slack, and the prog eny of human-Yeti matings before it is too late! “Act like a dumbshit and they’ll tre?t you like an equal." -“Bob,” from the Economicon (4:18)