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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 13, 1996)
Musical tells traditional tale of Christmas MUSIK from page 15 voice, and Bill Shomos, assistant pro fessor of voice and opera, are also in the performance. Greg Tallman serves Abendmusik as the stage director for “The Nativ ity.” He was professor of opera at UNL from 1980 to 1985, and considers this performance a homecoming since re turning to Lincoln a year and a half ago. The seven-scene musical is easy to follow, even if people are not into clas sical music, Buss said. Tallman said “The Nativity” fea tures a multi-media feast. “The music’s beautiful, the orchestra’s beautiful, there are excel lent soloists with beautiful costumes and lighting,” Tallman said. “It’s a feast for all the senses. Also, it’s a very beau tiful kind of a spiritual experience for this time of year.” Tickets are still available for both performances of “The Nativity” and can be obtained by calling 476-9933. They will also be sold at the door start ing at 6:30 the night of the concert. Tickets cost $9 for students and 518 for adults. 1 Abendmusik will also hold a New Year’s Eve celebration on Dec. 31 at 9 p.m. The Plymouth Brass will play jazz, Dixieland, pops and other music. Ticket for this performance may also be obtained by calling 476-9933. Hollywood stars accuse China of censoring Dalai Lama movie BEIJING (AP) — Hollywood stars have condemned China for try ing to block a movie about the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, accusing Beijing of attempt ing to “impose worldwide censor ship.” Barbra Streisand, Paul Newman, Susan Sarandon and Oliver Stone were among 41 celebrities who signed a letter sent this week to Chinese Ambassador Li Daoyu in Washington. China has told the Walt Disney Co. it opposes plans to distribute “Kundun,” a new film about the Dalai Lama, whom China accuses of trying to split Tibet from China. China annexed the Himalayan re gion in 1951. China’s objections were consid ered a veiled threat that Beijing would block Disney’s plans to ex pand in the Chinese market if the company did not scrap the film. Last month, Disney said it would go ahead with the movifi. The celebrities’ letter, released by Human Rights Watch-Asia, ac cused China of trying “to impose M The Chinese government and Chinese officials have never put any kind of pressure on Disney Shen Guofang spokesman for Chinese government worldwide censorship on any artis tic production that does not meet with official approval.” Government spokesman Shen Guofang said Thursday the letter’s authors did not understand China’s views or its film industry. “The Chinese government and Chinese officials have never put any kind of pressure on Disney. We just hope Disney can carry out even bet ter cooperation with relevant Chi nese elements,” he said. Shen also added that in China, “there is no system of film censor ship. China produces many films ■i every year without any censorship problems.” The letter — also signed by Bernardo Bertolucci, Jonathan Demme, Richard Dreyfuss, Spike Lee and others — listed a dozen Chinese government attempts in recent years to ban films or prevent filmmakers from working. China prevented Stone from making a movie about Mao Tse tung in China in 1993 and banned the Academy Award-winning Chi nese movie “Farewell, My Concu bine” in 1994 until substantial cuts were made. Disney’s No. 2 executive resigns DISNEY from page 16_ that there is a position for Ovitz at this Japanese consumer electronics and en tertainment company. The Journal said Ovitz also met earlier this week with Viacom Inc. Chairman Sumner Redstone and left people at Viacom with the impression he was looking for another job. Eisner has been chairman and chief executive of Burbank-based Disney since 1984, building on its theme park and family-movie base to create a worldwide powerhouse in film and television production, home video, broadcasting, sports, resorts and con sumer products. Before joining Disney, Ovitz had been mentioned as a candidate to run Universal Studios Inc. when Canada’s Seagram Co. took it over from Japan’s Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. At Creative Artists Agency, which he helped build into Hollywood’s top talent agency, Ovitz was known as Hollywood’s pre-eminent packager of movies. But he was much more than just a top talent agent, serving as an advertising consultant for Coca-Cola Co. and an adviser to foreign compa nies looking to invest in entertainment. Those deals included Sony’s pur chase of Columbia Pictures Entertain ment from Coca-Cola, which turned out disastrously. Two years ago, Sony took a $3.2 billion hit to earnings stem ming from writeoffs at the studio. . .1 y I A GIFT that remembers ...by helping others to live When you lose someone dear to you-or when a special person has a birthday, quits smoking, or has some other occasion to celebrate-memorial gifts or tribute gifts made for them to your Lung Association help prevent lung disease and improve the care of those suffering from it. t AMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION* of Nebraska 7101 Newport Ave., #303 Omaha, NE 68152 1-800-LUNG-USA _/ ' - •' c| ’ 7;. ■ •. imf i. - . :i L‘ ;$■" ■; yl