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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 6, 1997)
isday • November 6, 1997 Lifestyles inqina in tfiz television weatherman pulls double duty as Northgate musician ain ByMarium Mohiuddin Staff writer ffday at 5 p.m. this man enters the ;rooms of College Station and iian residents. He gives advice and predict the future. He smiles and Imost of College Station laughs lAnordinary local weatherman is tseems to be. rver, lurking underneath can be aeheart of a singer and guitar and layer. Not many cities can boast enaissance man of the ’90s fore- ilielocal weather. french is the chief meteorologist at KBTX Channel 5, but French said his true passion is singing. “Since preschool and elementary I have been fascinated by both the weather and singing,” French said. “I did not have for mal training (in singing), I just enjoy it.” French said his passion for music and meteorology carried on when he came from Beaumont, where he grew up, to A&M. “I came to A&M and was getting a de gree in meteorology, but music kept getting in the way,” French said. “My senior year, with nine hours left to graduate, I dropped out to pursue my singing career. I was sup pose be Class of’76.1 regret not graduating from A&M and getting my degree. I did fin- I ■ RYAN ROGERS/The Battalion inch, the weatherman for KBTX and Class of ’76, shared a stage with Lyle Lovett. ish my degree at Lamar University in Beau mont, but my blood bleeds maroon.” French said when he was attending A&M, he played at many local clubs. “Many of the clubs I used to play for are no longer here,” French said. “I played at Mr. Gatti’s at Northgate. People used to sing there. I also sang at the Aggieland Inn which is now the Ramada Inn, and a club called The Peanut Gallery near south gate.” French said during that time, he had the opportunity of sharing the stage with Lyle Lovett, Class of ’81. “At the basement coffee house, I shared the same stage with Lyle Lovett,” he said. “I never sang with him, but he would sing be fore me, or I before him. “One of the reporters (at KBTX) had in terviewed Lyle, and he [Lovett] had asked how I was doing. It was great that he still re membered me.” French said after he dropped out of A&M, he headed for Nashville to try and be come a star. “I had a good response over there, but I met my wife,” French said. “I stopped singing when I met her. Maybe this shows lack of ambition, but I decided that I want ed to be good at something.” French said when he got married to his wife Beth, he stopped singing, and he turned meteorology. “I finished my degree in 1980, and I set tled down in Beaumont,” he said. “In 1990, I came back to College Station and started working for KBTX. I had one of my dreams come true as a weatherman.” French said he understands that he is considered a local celebrity, and he enjoys people stopping him and saying “hi.” Please see French on Page 6. A Life Less Ordinary adds to director Boyle’s streak A Life Less Ordinary Starring Ewan McGregor and Cameron Diaz Directed by Danny Boyle Rated PG-13 Playing at Post Oak Mall ★★★★ Ihe romantic come dy. It has been a uniquely American invention, with stars such as Clark Gable and Meg Ryan making some of the best films in the genre — until now. A Life Less Ordinary, the new film from the makers of Trainspotting and Shal low Grave, places the roots of this truly American ro mantic comedy some where between the Firth of Forth and Loch Ness. The film stars two of the most hyped actors of the year — Ewan McGre gor, star of the soon to be released Star Wars pre quels, and Cameron Diaz, one of Vanity Fair’s Ac tresses of Tomorrow. A Life Less Ordinary is the most off the wall com edy to come along in years. The plot is a mixture of Oh God! and Bonnie and Cameron Diaz and Ewan McGregor star in A Life Less Ordinary, a romantic comedy from the makers of Trainspotting. Clyde. Divine intervention meets outlaw lovers; let the good times roll. McGregor stars as Robert, a recently fired janitor who aspires to write the Great American trash novel about the love child of Marilyn Monroe and JFK. In a postal worker rage, he storms into his boss’ of fice and accidentally — yes, I said accidentally — takes his boss' daughter, Celine (Diaz), hostage. Also thrown into the story are two angels played by Holly Hunter and one of the most underrated actors in film today, Delroy Lindo {MalcolmX, Ransom). The heavenly emis saries have been given a mission: Make the two fall in love or else they will be forced to live on Earth. Director Danny Boyle proves he is one of the most dynamic directors in the business. Boyle does not allow himself to be trapped by anything as constraining as reality. Like past Boyle films, A Life Less Ordinary borrows heavily from many other famous genres: ’70s anti technology films, Ameri can musicals (the scene with Diaz and McGregor doing karaoke is one of the best of the year) and even classic silent movies with the Keystone Cops. Even cheesy ’80s shots from “Miami Vice” are apparent. 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