(the movie)
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Omaha
feature
to open
By Gerry Beftz
Senior Reporter
Dan Mirvish made a movie with only
$40,000.
Not just a 20-minute or 30-minute
short-subject movie, but a bonafide 85
minute feature entitled “Omaha: the
movie,” which opens at the Plaza 4 The
atres today.
“Omaha: the movie” was Mirvish’s
thesis film for his work at the University
of Southern California. Choosing to do a
full-length feature film had both good
and bad outcomes, the Omaha native
said.
“At USC, everybody was doing a 20
minute thesis,” he said, “but that also
means that when you’re finished, the
school owns the rights to that piece of
work.
“If you want to own the rights to your
work, you do a feature, but that means
that USC won’t let you use their equip
ment or facilities, and you have to raise
all of the money yourself. But you pay a
lower tuition.”
There were other advantages to being
a student filmmaker, he said, including
free food from Runza and Godfathers,
fresh cookies everyday from Mirvish’s
> mom when the crew was filming in Omaha
and a couple of free cameras to film the
movie.
“Panavision and Paramount took pity
on me,” he said.
Much of the movie was filmed in
Nebraska, and some of Mirvish’s high
school friends had parts. The initial film
ing had its challenges, however. A scene
in Mirvish’s film takes place in Alliance
at Carhenge.
“We filmed the scenes at Carhenge
first, and the footage accidentally got
destroyed in the lab.
“Fortunately we had negative insur
ance, but it was funny because they actu
ally sent a guy out to verify that we were
making a movie in Nebraska.”
Reshooting the scene caused a snail
flub in the film’s continuity, he said.
“Ifyou watch closely, one minute it’s
all sunshine,” he said, “and the next
minute, it gets cold and overcast.”
See OMAHA on 13
Omaha native makes good, kooky film
By Gerry Beltz
Rim Critic
“Omaha: the movie” has it all: car chases,
romance, haircuts, telemarketing and Iowan
kickboxers.
No, this is not a joke.
Omaha native Dan Mirvish wrote, pro
duced, and directed “omaha: the movie,” a
film that teeters on the edge of reality.
Simon (Hughston W alkmshaw of Omaha)
has had it with technology, and runs off to a
foreign land.
He returns to Omaha a year later with a
fresh outlook on life. As a new Buddhist, he
feels that he has learned how to deal with
himself, with life and with his beyond-dys
functional family that is transfixed by a
“COPS’Mike TV show called “FEDS.”
He also hooks up with his old girlfriend
Gina (Jill Anderson, also of Omaha), who is
a permanent student at the local community
college and an expert in Tae Kwon Do.
To get money, Simon takes a stab at
telemarketing, but it has disastrous results.
The Facts
Film: “omaha: the movie”
Stars: Hughston Walkinshaw, Jill
Anderson, Dick Mueller
Director: Dan Mirvish
Rating: unrated
Grade: B+
Five Words: Independent film weaves
bizarre tale.
Gina points out that some prayer stones he is
chewing on might be emeralds, and this all
leads to a climactic battle at Carhenge be
tween our heroes Gina and Simon and two
Columbians who have been ordered to steal
the jewels.
Yes, this is a comedy, and quite a hilari
ous one at that.
Mirvish captures a great deal ofhumanity
with “omaha: the movie,” both the good and
bad sides. Almost every character is a carica
ture — something beyond what reality al
ready holds.
The telemarketing scene is especially hi
larious, as is the scene where Gina gives him
a haircut.
The two Columbian men, Jorge (Frankie
Bee) and Gustavo (Christopher M. Dukes)
also bring great fits of laughter not just from
their actions, but from the subtitles used in
their scenes.
Instead of the typical subtitles added in
later, the translations were written on strips
of white paper and held up into the scene by
a mysterious hand (usually the director’s).
Nebraskans will recognize a few faces in
“omaha: the movie,” including Governor
Ben Nelson, Douglas County Sheriff Rich
ard Roth, and Omaha Mayor P.J. Morgan in
full leather on a Harley-Davidson.
Well-shot, well-acted and well-done in
general, “omaha: the movie” is a movie
worth seeing.
Bands relieve finals blues
I
From Staff Reports
With finals approaching, students may
be looking for some ways to relieve their
stress. One way is to go to the local bars to
check out some bands.
This weekend, numerous bands will play
in the capital city. The Hurricane, 1118 0
St., brings back Punkinhead tonight. The
Kind will take the stage Saturday.
Wisconsin’s Alien Harvest and
Lincoln’s own Overman play
Knickerbockers, 901 O St., tonight. Sat
urday, Town Crier from Omaha and
Soterian Frolic take the stage.
Le Cafe Shakes, 1418 O St., will feature
six bands Saturday night including XXY,
Cherry Crush, Solid State and the Catholics.
Billy Bacon and the Forbidden Pigs will
play the Zoo Bar, 136 N. 14th St., tonight
and Saturday.
The Royal Grove, 340 W. Comhusker
Highway, hosts Looker tonight and Satur
day.
Barrel of laughs in Omaha
From Staff Reports
The hilarious comedy team of Peanut,
Walter and Jose Jalapeno on a Stick will be
appearing at the Civic Auditorium Music
Hall in Omaha tonight.
Oh yeah, Jeff Dunham will be there too.
Dunham’s comedy and voice-throwing
abilities are known worldwide. He is the
only person to have won the prestigious
“Ventriloquist of the Year” Award twice,
and he has appeared on “The Tonight Show”
more than any other ventriloquist in history.
In fact, Dunham is one of the few come
dians who was invited over to Johnny
Carson’s couch on his first visit.
And Dunham has recently been nomi- ‘
nated as “Comedian of the Y ear” for the 29th
TNN Music City News Country Awards.
In addition to all this prestige, he’s a very
funny guy.
Dunham has come a long way since he
presented an oral book report at the age of 7
through a toy Mortimer Snerd puppet.
His continuing string of sold out night
club engagements and comedy concerts
across the country (numbering more than
250 a year) and his multiple TV appearances
show he is one of the most popular comedi
ans of our time.
Tickets for the 8 p.m. performance are
$19 and can be purchased at the door.