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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 10, 1998)
Megaplex’s focus will be blockbusters By Sarah Baker Senior staff writer A new outlet for entertainment in downtown Lincoln so\mds like it should be exciting. In theory, it could lead to more diverse experiences for Lincoln resi dents and the opportunity to take part in a culture enjoyed commonly mother parts of die world. But when it means fewer choic es for everyone and yet another addition to an ever-growing monop oly, it's not exactly cause for lovers of culture to celebrate. Douglas Theatre Co., based out of Lincoln since 1953, proposed a plan Aug. 27 to build a “state of the art” megaplex theater complex smack in the middle of the eclectic, campus-driven culture better known to many as downtown. “Students are going to love it, no ifs, ands or buts,” said Doug Kinney, the dynamics of die Lincoln market agrees. “There are limited prints available “That’s nonsense,” Dixon said in of movies, and a lot of times Lincoln response to the theater’s excuse for not doesn't get them on the first wave playing art films. “Mall because cineplex w e • / \J $ es show k f major hits also currently playing “Cousin Bette,” ‘Next Stop, Wonderland” and “Your Friends and Neighbors” Kenny Evans, the AMC Theaters marketing coordinator for St Louis and Omaha, said the films have had an ‘OK response” in Omaha so far, but in a town with a younger market, litre Lincoln, they have the potential to be very successful. “If (Douglas Theatres) were smart, they would play art films in ^ a college town,” Evans said. “They do very well right near a campus. Students are the people who go h see those films.” | Gwendolyn Foster, UNL If assistant professor of English * i and member of the film depart k ment, said she thought it was p. time to broaden the scope of | Lincoln’s film market “People are starved for good films,” Foster said. “The B average person out there llgp wants to see a good film; it’s w not just a small group of weirdos. The drop-off in mw' quality films in Lincoln is insulting to people’s intelli gence.” Kinney added Douglas Theatres also shies away from art films because of the Mary Riepma Ross Film Theater located on the UNL campus. “We let die Ross have the first choice at those movies,” he said. I'M/ 1UOUOgd 1U1 lAJUglOS i ueaircs. But what students might not love is 4he deliberate selection of big budget movies that will ultimately cross the numerous, homogenous screens for weeks on end. It seems variety is not a considera tion. The proposed megaplex, which is still in the planning stages according to Kinney, will be located on P Street somewhere between 9* and 17*. The structure will have 16 to 20 theaters and should be operating by 2000. It will boast better sound, better seating and better viewing, according to Kinney. Although none of the plans are confirmed, Kinney estimated a movie will start about once every hour in the megaplex, and multiple screens will play the same films simultaneously Kinney said the main reason the proposed megaplex will carry only ma jor motion pictures is because of Evans said there are plenty of independent films that deserve a screen. Unfortunately the Ross Film Theater only has one screen, which it shares with the UNL film department for class use. Evans added he could have named eight art films off the top of his head that could play in Lincoln and be rela tively successful. Nicole Urzedowski, curatorial assistant at the Ross Film Theater, said a theater like this will just add more of the same to the Lincoln market and ultimately will have some impact on the variety of films that show in the city. “The film schedule at die Ross is so limited, and there ate so many inde pendent films that we can’t show,” she Please see MOVIES on 13 ; ' > . :*Vy": > ' • .* . aren’t that big of a market,” he said. “People forget about them by the time we get diem.” He said it wasn’t that Douglas Theatres doesn’t want to play smaller budget or independent films. “People have to understand there are only so many prints of films,” he said. “We always get pushed back and by then it’s just not economically feasi ble.” Professor Wheeler Winston Dixon, chairman of the new University of Nebraska-Lincoln Rim Studies Program, vehemently dis ’1 '* . N because *■ * . they have huge • commercial ad cam paigns that come along with them. They would rather play some thing that is a sure bet, something like ‘Godzilla,’ because they will for sure make money. The general feeling is why play something marginally risky? It’s really regrettable.” In sharp contrast, not all the area megaplex theaters seem to run on Douglas’ same standards. The AMC OakvieW Plaza 24 Theater, located at 3555S. 140* Plaza in Omaha, recently began showing so called art films at its megaplex. Among “Armageddon” and “Lethal Weapon 4,” Oakview 24 is ________ __ ByZachTrexler Staff writer Terri Jo Dahlquist’s phone keeps ringing and ringing. As the music coordinator for MoJava Caffe, at 48th and St Paul streets, Dahlquist gets calls from local and national musicians looking for a gig at the Lincoln coffee shop. MoJava, >riuch specializes in bagel sandwiches mid fine coffees, hosts weekly Friday concerts for acoustic folk, blues and jazz artists. And don’t expect to see first-time performers at the small yet comfortable atmosphere of MoJava, Dahlquist said. “We’ve built quite a reputation (at MoJavaX so the bands that play are not beginners,” she boasted After experiencing considerable ; 3 success with live music, Dahlquist is looking to expand the live music schedule to include Saturday nights, which would accommodate an over flow of bands and artists Who want a gig “I’ve gotten calls from Massachusetts and South Dakota from people who want to play here,” she said. All performers who play at MoJava are songwriters, and all of the music is original and acoustic.But you won’t always hear just slow, folk-type rock. “We recently had a bhiegrass band in, and people were clapping along and even dancing,” Dahlquist said. “It was a lot of fun.” Like the bands, the usual audience attending MoJava’s shows is anything but typical, she said. “I’ve seen a wide variety of people «— -——: I’ve gotten calls from Massachusetts and South Dakota from people who want to play here. Terri Jo Dahlquist music coordinator for MoJava Cafe at the shows. There’s college-age kids, but here’s also some older people who are regulars, too. MoJava doesn’t charge admission for concerts. But musicians accept tips, and many bring compact discs and tapes to sell. “There are lots of other places in Lincoln for live alternative music, and other the shows, but there aren't many for folk music,” Dahlquist said. Only M & N Sandwich Shop has a similar live acoustic atmosphere, die said. “But we have a non-smoking envi ronment, which a lot of die customers like,” she said.Tables are outside the caf6 to accommodate smokers who want to go out and have a break, she said. > *7 -A- . ; After the demise of the infa mous Camper Van Beethoven, it looked like frontman David Lowery (singer, songwriter and guitarist) had permanently left the building. Then came his new band, Cracker - and it was good. But with the last album, “The Golden Age,” it looked like Lowery was, once again, running out of steam. Enter “Gentleman’s Blues.” “Gentleman’s Blues” is, by far, Cracker’s most consistent record. It’s a sprawling tale of southwestern glory and loss, and plays like a mod em Western. From its yellowed whiskey-bot tle album cover to the moody song titles, this is first and foremost a blues record - and everything else besides. While it’s impossible to deny the strong country influence on Cracker’s music, here it is more powerful than any of the band’s pre vious records. However, Lowery’s voice and his lyrics keep this from being a true “country” record, even if it plays like one. What realty helps “Gentleman’s Blues” more than anything else is Cracker functioning as a band now, rather than just a vehicle for Lowery. Of the album’s 16 listed songs, Lowery wrote only five by himself. Of die remaining 11, six were co-written with guitarist Johnny Hickman, three are by Hickman, and two were permed by Lowery, Hickman and bassist Bob Rupe. This cohesiveness is plain from the opening of “The Good Life” all the way to the closing of the hidden track that finishes die 70-minute disc. The addition of keyboardist Kenny Margolis also helps give the band a bit more variety to liven things up. n The album can basically be bro ken up into two types of tracks: active and passive. The passive songs, such as “Janies River” and “Lullabye,” exude a very quiet calm about them, lingering with usually only sparse bits of guitar, a drum beat in the background and keyboards general ly composing the majority of the sound. The active songs, such as “The Good Life” and “Star” really go the whole nine yards, with the eneigy Camper Van Beethoven was known for. They rush headlong, like cow boys on horses trying to run with the stampede. Musically, the band is aft the top of its game, and lyrically Lowery is back in form. Who else can write the lyrics “My face in magazines/The lesbian James Dean/! got all I ever wanted” and give it some semblance of meaning? Only one tiling sticks out like a sore thumb, and that Is the track “I Want Out of the Circus,” which just seems awkward with its twisted car nival music, hut the occasional wiki burr can be overlooked when you’ve got music this good. - CtiffHicks I--- -*
