Nebraskan | ^ :
Thursday, Novambar 4,1993
UPC works to rope in more than country acts
By Anne Steyer
Senior Rtoortw__
For years, UNL students have complained
that big concerts don’t come to Lincoln—but
when they do, unless it’s country music, no
one attends.
At least that’s how the members of the
University Program Council see the situation.
“People complain we never get anything
big, but when we do, nobody goes,” UPC
President Gary Doyle said.
Doyle said UPC’s recent Midnight Oil con
cert was an example of the problem.
Travis Fox, UPC event director, said roughly
2,000 people attended the Midnight Oil con
cert.
“Obviously, we were hoping for a sell-out
show, but we didn’t know what to expect,”
Fox said. “Everyone expected the show to sell
better than it did.”
Doyle said when he started working on
UPC three years ago, complaints about con
iced programming abounded.
“Even sitting in Memorial Stadium, people
would be saying ‘why don’t we get conceds
here?”’
It is possible to use Memorial Stadium for
major conced events, Doyle said, but the catch
is finding an entedainer on tour who is a big
enough draw to sell enough tickets.
U2 would have been a big enough draw,
Doyle said, but UNL didn’t have a shot at the
band’s Zoo TV tour.
1 “Ames had already proved itself,” he said.
“We weren’t even in contention then.”
But things are improving, he said. If U2
was to go on tour this year, UNL would “be
more in the running.”
Other improvements include simply the
numbers of shows booked in Lincoln. In the
past, UPC set out to bring in one or two major
events a year. This semester alone, UPC has
booked four major concerts in Lincoln.
“As far as country goes, we’ve done that
really well,” he said. “I can guarantee next
semester we’ll have a least two big country
performers.”
Country isn’t the only type of music stu
-44
People complain we never
get anything big, but when
we do, nobody goes.
— Doyle
president, UPC
-ft —
dents talk about seeing, Doyle said, but it’s the
only type of concert that brings in a lot of
ticket sales.
“We want to meet as many needs as possi
ble on the campus,” he said. “But it’s very
disappointing when we’re putting a lot of time
See UPC on 10
Movies & Pizza delivers food and fun to Lincolnites
By Paula Lavigne
Staff Reporter_
Entertainment and eating are al
most synonymous events in Ameri
can culture. One Lincoln establish
ment has grasped that concept and is
working to deliver it to the public.
Movies & Pizza, 27th and O
streets, allows customers to rent a
movie and order a pizza with a single
phone call. The pizza and movie is
then delivered anywhere within the
Lincoln area.
Tyson Cyriacks, co-owner of Mov
ies & Pizza, said he first contemplat
ed the idea of movie rentals and piz
za delivery about five years ago.
“1 feel the two go together really
well,” he said. “You can rent a mov
ie and order a pizza. It's like killing
two birds with one stone.”
The concept works well because
people have busy schedules and they
appreciate the convenience, he said.
“Basically, you can get both a
movie and pizza at the same time,”
Cyriacks said. “It’s at a good central
location for people to return their
movies, too.”
Cyriacks said his business also of
fered good economics.
“No one else in Lincoln delivers
movies.” he said, “And our movie
prices aren’t any higher than theirs.”
New releases cost $2.99, other
movies range from 88 cents to $1.29.
Rental are due back the next day.
Membership is free.
Most video store customers like
to browse before picking their mov
ie. Movies and Pizza customers, how
ever, usually have a specific film in
mind when they call, Cyriacks said.
“People call a lot for new releas
es,” he said. “If they don’t know ex
actly what they want, we’ll ask them
if they’re looking for a comedy, ac
tion, drama, or whatever and go from
there. We have about 800 movies to
choose from.”
Enough of ‘Free Willy,’ Lincoln needs some real movies
I've seen “Dazed and Confused,” the
new film by Richard Linklater — writer/
director of “Slacker," the cult film of a
couple of years back.
It was a pretty good flick. Set in 1976 on
the last day of school, it’s a nostalgic look
back by an artist too young to have seen
high school kids of the time as anything but
ultra-cool.
It’s a movie filled to overflowing with
cool kids with clear complexions and hip
hair who smoke grass all evening and drink
beer by the trunkload, literally.
They never get too drunk to drive, they
never set sick and, the cool ones at least,
never throw up.
. It’s a film that’s been eagerly awaited by
some people — mostly fans of the original
“Slacker. It’s hard to be hip without screen
ing this pic.
But as conspicuous as the absence of
pimples on the “teen” actors’ faces is the
absence of this film from Lincoln theaters.
1 saw it, but I drove to Omaha to do it—
it’s just not here.
Frank Rhodes is the film buyer for Dou
glas Theaters for Lincoln and Omaha.
“Right now we’re really not sure when
or even if that movie will come to Lin
coln,” he said.
Maybe “Dazed" isn’t that important a
film. After all, it’s not making money hand
over fist in other, larger markets.
But its absence is a symptom of a larger
condition. Many films never come to Lin
coln, and many more come late.
What ever happened to “Kalifomla”?
Movie posters in Lincoln near its relaease
date declared it was “Coming Soon.”
Similar signs declared the imminence of
“Three Hearts,” an eagerly awaited film in
the gay community for its portrayal of a
homosexual relationship in a positive light.
Neither of these films will ever come to
Lincoln.
And other films have received late or
inadequate showings.
“Hellraiser 3,” though very successful at
the box office shortly after its release, came
to Lincoln four months late to play at the
Starship.
Rhodes said the problem had to do with
what he called “platforming.”
“A film company buys, say, 300 prints
of a film for the whole country. They’re
trying to keep their own costs down,” he
said.
“They open the film in the bigger cities
at upscale theaters. After the initial run of
three weeks or so, the copies are made
available to smaller markets.”
That’s where Lincoln comes in, appar
ently.
After the initial run, many companies
drop all advertising for the film, he said.
• Sometimes he is not contacted at all
about certain films, “Kalifomia” and “Three
of Hearts" for example, he said.
Maybe that’s just the shakes of living in
the Midwest.
But for those of us who love films, a /
little more aggress i' e approach by the pow
ers that buy them ft *r us might be in order.
Sure you’ll make more money keeping
“Free Willy” on the screen an extra week.
But at the cost of the good will of some of
us who’d pay to see the art films, the small
films and films by independent companies.
— Mark Baldridge
Kiley Timperiey/DN
Tyson Cyriacks is a part owner of Movies and Pizza, a new business at 27th and O streets that delivers pizza and movies to your
door.
Customers don’t have to order
their movie over the phone, he said.
They are welcome to come in and
check out the selection.
“At times you do know exactly
what you want, other times you
don’t/ he said. “Some people like to
be able to look around, but it’s also
nice not to have to leave your room.”
Customers don’t have to order both
a movie and a pizza, Cyriacks said.
Movies & Pizza does offer the basic
movie rental service and regular piz
za carryout. A minimum purchase of
$6.00 is required on all pizza orders,
$10.00 for deliveries.
After about a month of operation,
Cyriacks said the concept seemed to
be working.
“It looks as if a lot of people like
the idea of both services,” he said.
“About 80 percent of the people who
order a pizza rent a movie.”
-4*
You can rent a movie and order a pizza. It’s like
killing two birds with one stone.
— Cyriacks
co-owner, Movies & Pizza
-ft —
Besides the double delivery. Mov
ies & Pizza is also very serious about
the quality of the pizza, Cyriacks said.
All pizzas are made from scratch,
and the restaurant has homemade spe
ciality crusts. Pizza prices range from
$7.99 for a small to $11.99 for a
large.
