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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 25, 2000)
Friday, February 25,21 AGGIELIFE Friday, February 25, 2000 THE BATTALION Page 3 SS WITH THE BAIT Director John Frankenheimer!\ Q What sort of budget did you have on this picture? It seemed a little smaller, for example, than Ronin. 1 don’t know why you would think it was smaller. We had everything we needed to do this pieture. We didn’t compromise anything. I really never even worry about a budget in a picture be cause so much of the budget in pictures is wasted money. In real ity, any movie you do, you are out there trying to get the most of what you can get out every day. You are struggling to get the shot and get it as quickly as you can. Q How much did you have to work with Ben and Gary to get their great chemistry? OLLANUEVA Thk IUttai.iov nbee 2000 Festi- tck Awareness IFERENCE :U DENTON OVERNMEN! RUDDER TOWER AND MSC LARGEST STUDENT CONFERENCE IN THE NATION FEBRUARY 26-29 TO DISCUSS ISSUES FACING UNIVERSITIES STUDENT GOVERNMENT LEADERS FROM ACROSS THE U.S, INTERVIEW BY MATT MCCORMICK AND KYLE WHITACRE The Battalion John Frankenheimer is one of the last ofhis kind. A feature film director who actually got his start directing live television shows in the’50s, Frankenheimer went on to direct cinematic classics such as Birdman of AIcatraz and The Manc hurian Candidate. After a long run as one of I lollywood’s most successful direc- 1MS, Frankenheimer lost his edge. I le went through a dark period in his life, and many ofhis films Hopped. Then Frankenheimer reemerged with the critically-acclaimed Ronin. Now the 70-year-old director is try ing to regain a firm footing in Tinseltown with release of the upcoming adventure- thriller Reindeer Games, starring Ben Affleck, Gary Sinise and CharlizeTheron. In an interview with the director, Frankenheimer spoke with The Battalion about his career and his new movie. Q What really attracted you to Reindeer Games? They are both good actors. The parts were well written, and that has a lot to do with it. They took off each other quite well. They got along very well; there was not any one-upmanship on this picture. It was a lot of hard work. We rehearsed a lot, so yeah we worked on all those values. I thought maybe we shouldn’t have it [the intro] because I thought it would tip the movie. 1 thought maybe we should just start out in prison. 1 cut the pieture like that first and tested it. I thought, “Be honest with the audience. Show them at the begin ning, that this is not going to be some cute little movie.” I put it; back and I think it works. It puts a spin on the whole movie. Q # Was it a challenge to tell that type of story in this # movie? The main thing I had to do was really make sure of two things. One, I really had to tell the story honestly. I could nev er wink at the audience. It had to be really direct and everything had to be super realistic that this could happen. The real chal lenge in this picture is there was so much subtext in each scene that you have to get. There are so many other things going on with these characters. I loved the script. I read the script, and 1 thought how well writ ten it was, how smart. I thought the characters were terribly well written, well shaped and well fonned. Particularly Ben and Char- lize had characters who changed from beginning to end. I liked the dialogue. 1 thought the dialogue was very good, and 1 liked the humor. 1 thought the humor was wonderful. That's one the reasons 1 cast Ben, and I wanted to get the humor of this thing — ancl [Ben] is able to do that. I liked the whole background—Northern Michigan, the w in ter and the snow. I liked the fact that it was kind of this dirtball American type of guy. It was a real departure from Paris and Nice w hich was where my last movie was. Q • Where did the title Reindeer Games come from? Q In Ronin as well as [Reindeer] Games, there seemed to be a lot of backstabbing going on. Are you at tracted to more of the dark side of your characters? If you talk to Ehren Kruger, the writer, he says he started off with a title and then he wrote a story. 1 le came up with it. Origi nally, the picture was supposed to come out around Dee. 10, but I just plain wasn't ready. When 1 told Bob Weinstein that I couldn’t have the picture ready for Dec. 10, he then felt he had to change the title because he didn’t think that coming out that far after Christ mas that he could use Reindeer Games. We all liked the title. I come from Hollywood. That’s a way of life. I am kidding, and I am not. But, no it is not intentional. I think that it is a part of this kind of genre. Q # Was it a struggle in telling this story to keep from re- # vealing the plot twists too early? Q You decided to film the story in flashback though there was some debate over using this technique. Can you tell us w hy you chose to do that? Ehren Kruger wrote this script so well that I did not have to re ally worry about it. The script was really good. All I had to to do was not try to get cute — not try' to get too smart. I had to tell it See Frankenheimer on Page 4. The Ballet Theater de Bordeaux to perform “Romeo and Juli- RUBEN DELUNA/Tm Battaijos n all over Texas and even) [ of state will be attending: ited seniors ihaf have a\ d mi tied intoA&M, "Haul it we also like to have st- lat have not made up theii where they want to go t( hope this will make tl e easier.” i school students pa ition fee that covers meals and other miscel ders ;rs of the student govern' ions to share their expeft grams and activities wliicl eficial. e delegates here toA&M iey can learn about student lent and take ideas backtt :spective schools,” ting, a host trainer ore finance major, ly Harman, COSGAexet- rector and senior finanK aid the conferenceco# grow and improve even' :ause of the hard work®! erence’s 80 hosts andei| es. SGA ‘99 was the of our organization,” COSGA 2000 is workill »conference surpassestW BY JEFF WOLFSHOHL The Battalion Though known for their famous declarations oflove, "Romeo and Juliet" will not speak their immortal lines at the MSC Opera and Perform- iagArts Society's presentation of Shakespeare’s dassic play but instead demonstrate them through the art of ballet. The lull-length ballet “Romeo and Juliet” will be presented in three acts by the Ballet de L’- Opera de Bordeaux with music by Sergei Trokofiev and choreography by Tilt Harm. Jeremy Byrd, OPAS chair mid a senior psy chology major, said this ballet will be more eas ily accepted because of the subject's familiarity. ‘“Romeo and Mid' is a story more people are familiar with, and most ballets are about sto ries that few people know,” he said. Dr. Paul Parrish, president of the board of di rectors for OPAS and a professor of English, said this is an important program for OPAS. “This is different than the rest of the season for OPAS because it's a full-scale ballet," Parrish said. “This is another example of transformation of a story' intended for the stage,” he said. The ballet is being presented differently than the typical Shakespeare play, but Byrd said it is still easy to follow. “The storyline is the same,” he said. “The only major difference is instead of vocals and speaking lines, it’s all set to dance.” Even though there is alteration of the original version of “Romeo and Juliet,’’ Byrd said Shake speare would have no problem approving of the interpretation. “I would think he would appreciate it being told in different fonns,” he said. Parrish said Shakespeare would be quite comfortable in seeing other artistic renditions. “Shakespeare was very' aware when he wrote the play that it likely would be performed differ ently than how he actually wrote it on the page,” Parrish said. Byrd said that students should try to take ad vantage of this opportunity to see a ballet. “Students can experience an art form that has been around forever,” Byrd sard. “The Ballet Theater de Bordeaux is one of the world renowned ballet groups,” Parrish said. “This brings an assurance of quality.” The troupe was established in 1752 in France and was invited to entertain many dominant fig ures in history. The Emperor Luis Napoleon (Napoleon III) restored the Opera House to bring tlie company under his personal patronage. Vladimir Skouratoff, a dancer of the Bolshoi Ballet, became ballet master for the company in 1970 and restored the company to its great Franee-Russo heritage created in the last centu ry by previous ballet masters. In 1990 the well-respected dancer Paolo Bor- toluzzi was asked to become the artistic director of the company. Bortoluzzi created many new works for the ballet, including “Fonnes,” “The Four Seasons,” and “The Beauty and the Beast,” which have en tered the company’s active repertory. What: Romeo and Juliet When: Friday and Saturday 7:30 p.m., Sunday 2 p.m. ■Hiii m ler Auditorium 'i ‘Wit' W'Vjwi International Week 2000 Relcom* New Mi„ enfliuiii!!! Opening Ceremony: IVISC Flag Room: IVloraday, February 28, 2000 Admission: Free 11:30 zV.IVI. AN ne dy ir tix! 26 eatre ice & : Office) Cultural Display: First Floor of tbe IVISC IVTonday, February 28 2000 — 9:00 A..IV1- to 5:00 P-IV1. Xuesday, February 29, 2000 — 9:00 A^IVI to 4:00 P.1VT. Admission: Free In ter national Buffet: Second Floor of tbe IVISC: Wednesday, IVIarch 1, 2000 7:00 P.IVI to 10:00 P.JVX Admission: $8.00 International Talent Show and Traditional Press Parade: Rudder Auditorium: Friday, IVIarch 3, 2000 — 7:30 P.IV1 to 9:30 P.IVI* Admission: $5.00 International Party and Award Ceremony: IVISC 201: Friday, IVIarch 3, 2000 - 10:00 P. IM. to 1:00 A.IM.* Admission: Free Ira - , -