_ " Photo Courtesy of October Films
ROBERT DUVALL and Farrah Fawcett star in the independent film “The Apostle.” Duvall also directed the film.
Indie films flood Ross schedule
By Barb Churchill
Assignment Reporter
Dan Ladely has news: The Mary
Riepma Ross Film Theater
winter/spring 1998 schedule has
something for everyone - even stu
dents.
“This is probably one of the best
seasons because we have some more
popular films, some which will
draw big audiences, some more eso
teric films and a visit from a film
maker, Forrest Murray,” said Ladely,
the theater’s director.
1 The importance of the Murray
visit cannot be overestimated,
Ladely said, because the University
of Nebraska-Lincoln has never had
a producer here before, only direc
tors and actors.
“Many students don’t realize
how much a producer does and how
he is a key element to a film,”
Ladely said.
In addition to the Murray visit,
the Mary Riepma Ross Film Theater
has many independent and foreign
films that have never played in
Lincoln, and a few other special
events.
Some of the highlights include:
■ “Career Girls” by Mike Leigh
(“Secrets and Lies”), which shows
on Jan. 25, is a film that Ladely says
is one of the funniest films of the
year. He described it as a sort of lat
ter-day cross between “Working
Girl” and “Pretty Woman.” This
film may be the most appealing to
UNL students.
■ “An Evening with Weldon
Kees: Word and Image,” takes place
on Feb. 5. Kees, originally from
Beatrice, was a poet, painter and
filmmaker. Kees reached his cre
ative zenith in the mid-1950s, short
ly before his death. “An Evening”
will present his poetry, some of his
experimental films and his paint
ings. >.
■ “Fire,” by Deepa Mehta, will
be screened on Feb. 8. Ladely said
this film highlights the treatment of
women in caste-driven India and the
effects of the influence of Western
culture on India’s highly traditional
one.
■ “Shall We Dance?,” Masayuki
Suo’s award-winning comedy, opens
on Feb. 12.
■ “License to Kill” by Arthur
Dong, opens on Feb. 26. Ladely said
“License to Kill” is “a very impor
tant documentary and a fascinating,
compelling film.”
■ “Contempt,” the 1963 film by
Jean-Luc Godard, plays March 5
and 6.
■ “The Apostle” by Robert
Duvall, is a film Ladely said to look
for in this year’s Academy Awards.
The film opens on March 19. Duvall
is a highly regarded actor with many
outstanding films to his credit
(“Colors,” “The Godfather”). Some
other well-known cast members
appearing in this flim iftchide Billy
Bob Thornton (“Sling Blade”), June
Carter Cash and Farrah Fawcett.
■ The 25th Annual Student
Academy Awards, which will run
April 9-12, is a free introduction to
(potentially) great filmmakers. This
competition is open to any college
student enrolled in a filmmaking
course. Winners receive cash prizes
and are taken to Hollywood, where
they get to spend a week in major
film studios and get a chance to ’
make contacts. The contest has been
a gateway to the future for past win
ners, including Robert Zemeckis
and Spike Lee.
“Students need to look at our
spring schedule, because if they do,
they will find at least one film that
they’ll like,” Ladely said. “We have
some very entertaining and fascinat
ing offerings, and we would urge all
students to give us at least one try.” '
__ Photo Courtesy of Miramax Films
MASAYUKI SUO’S award-winning film “Shall We Dance?” stars (from left to
right) Reiko Kusamara, Yn Tokui, Hiromasa Taguchi and Kofi Yakusyo.
Man Riepma Ross Film Schedule
Winter-Spring 1998
Feb.S "''”^^ T,.
Feb. 12-15, Feb. 19-21
lUSSiS iSSBIi
Feb. 26- March 1
March 8
IBfallf >
March 19-22,26-29
;■ m7
April 5
WMHlMiMr *XvT
WaaorKJfl Aprii 30-May 3, May 7-10
Iowa band hopes Lincoln
By Bret Schulte
Senior Reporter
Iowa sure as hell isn’t heaven to
most, but it is to the rural guitar god
Dave Deibler of House of Large Sizes,
the Cedar Falls, Iowa, band that calls an
old, drafty farmhouse home.
Deibler, the chief songwriter of the
band and husband to bassist Barb
• Schilf, pulls material from his lifetime
Ibwa residence.
Sound corny?
“I know it’s kind of sad that it’s
something of a gimmick,” Deibler said.
“You know, ‘They are singing about
Iowa,’ but I’ve always liked bands that
stay rooted in one place. I can’t help
(writing about Iowa). It’s a compulsion.”
House of Large Sizes isn’t a cow
punk band, however. Its blend of essen
tial pure-rock elements like The Who,
Minutemen, AC/DC and an assortment
of other arena and punk-rocbinfluences
is heavy on old-school hooks and shout
along choruses.
Sunday’s show at Duffy’s Tavern,
1412 O St., supports the band’s first
release on the What Are Records? label
out of Boulder; Colo.
“The last record was on a major
label, and we gave it our Midwestern
one-chance-at-a-label thing,” Deibler
said.
' Success in rock isn’t always mea
sured on the same scale, and for Deibler,
being carried on a major label doesn’t
guarantee quality.
“You can’t define your big chance
by the size of a corporation,” he said.
“For the most part I enjoyed die album
and work.”
Many critics agree, hailing “Glass
Cockpit” as the finest release by HOLS
to date, chock-full of splendid hard-rock
candy, boosted vocals by Schilf, and
old-fashioned guitar work reminiscent
ofThe Who.
“The response to this album has
been good and is selling equally as bad
as the last,” Deibler said.
Like local act and personal friends
Mercy Rule, HOLS ’ experience with a
major label was trying for the band, but
resulted in a widely applauded come
back album and tour.
“When I see a band that breaks up
when they didn’t get a major label deal,
I say ‘good riddance,’” Deibler said.
“Business is important but it shouldn’t
be an overriding factor.”
The group has never relied on hand
outs. Formed in 1986, HOLS rapidly
earned feme in the Midwest for its trac
tor-pull rock delivery and earnest,
down-home lyrics. r
However, its appeal is not limited to
the com belt The group has toured the
United States several times, hitting New
York, Chicago and San Francisco. None U
of which impressed Deibler, whose dis
••-;—
I can’t help
(writing about Iowa).
It’s a compulsion."
Dave Deibleh
guitarist
daiafor large, cultural centers isn’t typi
cal of most rockers.
“When I’m here,” he said, speaking
from his farm house, “I don’t have to
think about where I’m at. It’s in my
Mood.
“People in the Midwest badmouth it
a lot Everybody thinks San Francisco is
cool and Iowa is not,” he continued.
“AndI don’t like being in San Francisco
a lot. It’s foreign to me.”
Although HOLS relies heavily on
its Iowa pride schtick, DeiWer’s only life
experiences with farming were a few
grade school field trips.
Instead be spent his time picking at a
guitar and listening to whatever be could
get his hands on. For Deibler, music
guitar lessons,” he said.^IjiM^tuck
" ” ..
mainstream artists and pushing the
boundaries of his own musical explo
ration.
After listening to Bob Dylan, Elvis
Costello and the Sex Pistols, Deibler
discovered punk.
“The Midwestern Dunk revolution
Large Sizes is a longtime Lincoln
favorite, having played at Duffy’s as
recently as September to a full house
and receiving regular play on campus
station KRNU-FM (90.3).
Sunday’s show begins around 9:30
pjn. and has a $5 cover.
As the band prepares for its
appearance at the South By
Southwest Media Festival in Austin,
Texas, this year, Deibler said, the
heavy recent touring is “calisthenics"
for the band.
Get to the g^m.
■
HOUSE OF LARGE SIZES, an Iowa band wftha stroigl oHow^nij
will porfona Sonday night at Daffy’s Tavern, 1412 0 St. The b
loft to rh ht)Marfc Mann, Barb ScMH and Have DoiMor. 1