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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 24, 2000)
Friday, Mu Big Evi JThe edge of reality he students stay and tai l m - \wieCon31 invades Texas AGGIELIFE Iriday, March 24. 2000 THE BATTALION Page 3 evond ggieCondl A&M with special guests Harlin Ellison y Terry Prachett BY JUAN LOYA The Battalion n eclectic collection of activities is ap proaching Aggieland this week — namely AggieCon31, MSC Cepheid Variable’s an- ilial science fiction, fantasy and horror convention. “We include everything from literature to comic woks, television to movies,” said Michael Crocker, lirector of AggieCon and a senior English major. While last year’s convention had media person alities, such as Ted Raimi (“Xena,” “Hercules”) and Nigel Bennett (Harrison Bergeron), as guests, this It their platforms year’s AggieCon has more literary-theme. The guests of honor include writers Terry Pratchett and Harlan Ellison. Ellison, writer of sev eral award-winning short stories and novels, will be attending AggieCon for the third time. In addition to the standard discussion and auto graph sessions, EIJison will participate in a Texas Cage Match, which varies significantly from the standard question-and-answer session. “We got the name [Texas Cage Match] of the panel from professional wrestling, which some my officers are aficionados of,” Crocker said. “The Texas Cage Match is a panel discussion whatever topic happens to crop up at the time,” Crocker said. "It will be styled in such a way that Harlan Ellison will be on the panel for the full time, while the rest of the panel will consist of whatev er other guest decides to sit and discuss the topic with him.” “Anyone who watches ‘Politically Incorrect’ on aregular basis wall recognize Harlan Ellison,” said Stephanie Smith, public relations director for Ag gieCon and a recent Texas A&M Graduate. “He’s frequent guest, and they like to invite him back lecausehe’s such a forceful personality.” Ellison and Pratchett are two of sci-fi/fantasy’s ms campus. fCsenbujLgg estnameS) anc j t ] ie j r wor | < j s w jdely read by au diences beyond the genre. event as/argaasGreek■ “Harlan Ellison has been called the Lewis Car ry list. Rosenbuschffiia css students’changiea ns. ou’re w alking across ice the lighting is realb! over to Commons, are)® ome and pickup your pin lent government?No.& e to? Yes,” RosenW 1 got to equip thatofei ill know this is where)® e a problem, an issue ora n we need to follow up» back to them letting then re mg done on the issue.” student body presidentmis to effectively relay .) University decision n usch said, a real power of students icsn't come intheabilit) cal power is the people .. ipected thatJiave the a nicate and the breadth o' really influence theadffi of the 20th century by the L.A. Post, and Terry ratchett was recently revealed [by the British Book iral greeks put on every yalrack] to be the most popular English author ever, ated ahead of [J.R.R.] Tolkien, [Charles] Dickens, ind [William] Shakespeare,” Crocker said. In Britain, Pratchett is the decade’s best-selling living fiction author, with more than 10.5 million ales during the 1990’s. In addition to writing the popular Discworld series, he collaborated with award-winning writer Neil Gaiman on the novel Good Omens, which is being made into a film by (lirector Terry Gilliam (12 Monkeys, Fear and loathing in Las Vegas). and SBSLC are on a mi runs that other organizai icy Greek Olympiad gross imed at black greeks cks are the only onesws icnting these mles, ate and that there migtik iding on the nature oft 1 y depends on the chartf s a similar event and lit 1 tat doesn’t exist.” lisa primarily white aiii npiad],” I lodge said, a scheduling concenif ety and security sed us to reevaluate tlief’ i happened on the saiuel ivate parties, dents at this school, we* and unless you havetlic 1 ng served,” he said, om having these partiel ; and that the openpait)l 1 organizations to mainta* npus with quality pro# Sci-fi and fantasy artists are also well repre sented at this year’s convention. Among them is Tim Bradstreet, whose work has been seen in com ic books such as “Vampire: the Masquerade” and “The Crow: City of Angels.” And as ever, AggieCon offers a wide variety of panels and events to participate in. “1 feel we have at least something for everyone,” Crocker said. “We are having a police equipment demonstration on Saturday, a children’s reading by one of our guests. Also, many of the panels with our author guests deal with writing fiction [and some times non-fiction] in general.” Guest author Thomas W. Knowles, in addition to the writing several western novels, recently wrote They Rode For The Lone Star, a book detail ing the history of the Texas Rangers. He is partici pating in three panels, including “Writing as a Ca reer” and “Weird Wild West”. Also on the panel agenda are discussions such as “Star Wars: Same Old Hype?” and “Wicca 101.” Pratchett leads the panel “Humor in Writing” on Friday. “Terry is known for his humor in his work,” Crocker said. “Everything he writes has an almost tongue-in-cheek style to it. He will be discussing how he accomplishes this feel from book to book and has maintained it through over 30 books in publication.” Smith said there have been few changes made to this year’s Aggiecon program. “There are a few more discussion panels than last year, generally Q&A sessions between guests and the audience,” Smith said. “In past years we’ve had large events or demonstrations that took up more time — we held a wedding last year on Fri day afternoon — so this year we have a bit more time for our regular panel sessions.” Though there are no vows being exchanged this year, there are still plenty of special events taking place, including a costume contest on Saturday evening, a masquerade ball (with D.1 Radio Free Oz) and a Saturday performance of The Rocky Hor ror Picture Show. AggieCon is also sponsoring a charity auction benefiting Scotty’s House, a non-profit child advo cacy center in Bryan-College Station. Last year’s AggieCon raised more than $2,100 and the convention’s sponsors hope to surpass that amount this year. AggieCon runs through Sunday, and the events taking place are many. Additional information on the convention is available at http://cepheid.tamu.edu/aggiecon. Romeo Must Die Starring Jet Li and Russell Wong Directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak Chief Photo Editor toto Editor ecek, Graphics Editor ina, Graphics Editor Night News Editor hoff. Radio Producer Ton, Web Editor , Science & Technolog}’ While extremely entertaining and packed with amazing action scenes, Romeo Must Die falls short of what it could have been — an action classic. Featuring Hong Kong action sensa tion Jet Li in his first American, lead ing role, this movie is full of beautiful ly choreographed fight scenes. However, the script for this story does do justice to Li’s acting talents. Han (Li) is an ex-cop who breaks ; of a Hong Kong prison when he n? learns of his brother’s death in Ameri ca. Han travels to America where he ei Ruenes, Eric Andraosjeffi#! finds himself in the middle of a war be tween his father and a gangster played by Delroy Lindo. Though the premise has great po tential, it is obvious that the screen writers lost track of the human element of the story by introducing a slew of side stories that go nowhere. The cinematography by Andrzej Bartkowiak, in his directorial debut, makes the story take a back seat. Bartkowiak infuses the action scenes with great energy, using rapid-fire edit- mgand a barrage of constantly moving Jcamera shots. 'ages, Bradley Atchison, lallie Turner, Patric Schneider,!' h 0’ Farrell, Melissa Sackett,®' rson, Richard Horne, David SpsO® ill, & Sean Gillespie, istant: Cristina Padron; BethAI#-- arrie Bennett, Marc Grether.Kitf*; elissa Mancie, Jamie Morris SIW* it: Non! Sridhara; Whitney SW* 'an Locker, Almudena Alba,CW 1 ' tt. Brent Barkley. oioGV - Scott Jenkins & Vola*! 1 n the Division of Student Haft in phone: 845-3313; Far: attalion. For campus, local, and in 015 Reed McDonald, andift**"' ip a single copy of The Battato^ emesterand $17.50 forthesm'*'- Jet Li finds himself outgunned Romeo Must Die. all and spring semesters and #' as A&M University. Periodicals^ eed McDonald Buildin^IeiasA’^ However, having viewed what Li is capable of in some of his Hong Kong films, one almost wishes that Bartkowiak would have let Li’s amaz ing acrobatics propel the fight scenes rather than relying on flashy camera tricks. But one camera trick that does work well in the film is similar to the tech nique used by David O. Russell in Three Kings. In the middle of a fight scene, the picture suddenly cuts to a digital image of a person’s skeleton and then shows a bone being broken as it is hit. Russell did nearly the same thing by showing the bullets actually entering the body and lodging in various organs in Three Kings. In both films, this clever shot heightens the fight’s intensity. One just gets the feeling while watching this that everyone involved sold the film a little slrort. The movie looks great, but rather than being a lean hour and a half, it tries to pretend it has some elements of dra ma and was stretched out to two hours — making the audience feel that a lot of that time was wasted. It is obvious that the director and producers intended this to just be an en tertaining popcorn-fare, and that is ex actly what it is. The action is fast and furious and there it a lot of it — fights occur about once every 10 minutes or so. Unfortunately, Romeo Must Die teeters on the brink of greatness but falls short of the goal. (Grade: C+) — Matt McCormick DION Celine Dion sings at LPGA golf tour PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (AP) — Celine Dion came out of retirement long enough to sing five songs for fellow golf enthusiasts. “I’m nervous. 1 haven’t trained,’’ she told about 1,000 people at tending a dinner Wednesday night for the LPGA Nabisco Championship tournament. She and husband Rene Angelil played in the event earlier in the day. Dion’s performance at the Palm Springs Convention Center was her first since a farewell concert on New Year’s Eve in Montreal. She began a two-year hiatus in January. Dion, 31, has a new look — a su per-short blond haircut. Singing to pre-recorded music, she did a version of Frank Sinatra’s “All The Way,” with Sinatra’s voice accompanying her. 1/atef will open Cannes festival PARIS (AP) — Vate/, starring Ger ard Depardieu and Uma Thurman, will open the Cannes Film Festival this year, organizers said Thursday. The film,-a period movie in English about the Duke of Conde’s valet, was made by British director Roland Joffe and will have its world premiere May 10. It isn’t up for competition. Joffe’s film The Mission took the coveted Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1986. French actress Virginie Ledoyen, who starred with Leonardo DiCaprio in The Beach, will be the master of ceremonies. Also on Cannes’ first night, French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard RUBEN DELUNA/The Battalion People in the News will present a 12 minute film essay that recounts the 20th century through his eyes. Alex Trebek sued by airline security TORRANCE, Calif. (AP) — An air line security employee has filed a law suit against Alex Trebek over an al leged flap last year at Los Angeles International Airport. Marlene Andrade, 31, of Flawthorne, claims that the 59-year- old “Jeopardy!" game show host tried to get an oversized bag past her Unit ed Airlines security gate last May. She contends that Trebek be came upset when she asked him to put the bag on a conveyor belt that has a metal guard at its mouth to cheek bag sizes. Trebek lifted the metal template as if he had the same privileges as airline employees, and slammed it on her hand when she intervened, Andrade said in papers filed Monday in Superior Court. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages. Trebek had no comment. Speilberg starts new film Website LOS ANGELES (AP) — Calling all filmmakers: Steven Spielberg and Ron Flo ward want to see your work. The directors are launching a short-film Website this spring called Pop.com and said Wednesday they plan an Internet movie showcase, Popfest. The films that earn the best grades from Internet users will be reviewed by HARRELSON SPIELBERG Pop.com’s partners, including Spielberg, his DreamWorks co-founders Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen, Ron Howard and Brian Grazer. Some of the filmmakers could be offered production deals with Dream Works, Imagine or Pop.com. Film makers can submit movies up to 30 minutes long. Harrelson denied state court appeal FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Woody Harrelson’s mari juana possession case is back to a county court now after losing a state Supreme Court appeal. Harrelson plant ed four hemp seeds in 1996, know ing he would be arrested, so he could challenge a Kentucky law outlawing possession of any part of the cannabis plant. Through three different courts, Harrelson has argued the statute is unconstitutional because it doesn’t distinguish between marijuana and hemp, which contains only minute amounts of THC. The state's high court ruled Thurs day there’s no difference between the two. “The mere fact that hemp may contain less THC than marijuana is of no consequence,” Justice Donald Wintersheimer wrote. The misdemeanor carries a po tential fine and little possibility for jail time. Harrelson, 38, has invested in a hemp clothing company and touts hemp’s potential for saving trees. He has argued that if paper manufac turers used hemp instead of trees to make paper, there would be no need to cut down the nation’s forests.