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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2000)
lay, NoveiA B/ednesday, November 1,2000 forts to« 'e2002li| ill disco* ion," I , udentsneT their iJ ofBonjii ling ci cisions AGGIE/c/e Page 3 THE BATTALION ould ha' 'OhapperJ dthat ill osed-mint sstat You know Pm bad re denr 'historyi lunge thr piriCLa?; he fact thi irate on ] work, it cess, asses oft le Class Texas A&M film festival showcases the best of the worst in cinematic art By Justin Garrett The Battalion In a society fixated on grand and skillfully created Urns, seldom do less glorious creative endeavors receive equal notice. A sublevel on the scale of greatness, almost ecd. aidf dl attention that schlock, or “B,” films gather is negative; isundcT' except within a certain circle of devoted individuals. For four years Cepheid Variable has sponsored vewithin®chlockfest, a film festival which celebrates typically overlooked films. These are not the special-effect-laden iseopporj Hollywood productions that fail because of anorexic he Bonfc Diots, but films whose budgets would be better placed in s to dec,: he Hands of a homeless man so that he may purchase the brthenei day’s newspaper. The effects and acting in these films are aldecision so awful they can often be confused for intentional ele- , and mo tnents of a creative whole. However, no misunderstand- hadthci: ings should be made regarding the nature of these films — schlock films are truly terrible, iceptioni:] Sidra Roberts, director of Schlockfest and a freshman ilreadybt chemical engineering major, said schlock films make up ;arding B for lack of budget with humor. We have “(They are) the type of movie that is so bad it’s good,” Roberts said. ‘They generally have no-name actors, cheesy special effects and a really awful plot, but they’re funny.” Schlockfest will be a two-day event beginning Nov. 11. On the first day, the festival will delve into the histo ry of schlock and show highlights of previous student submissions. The following day, this year’s student sub- Bontiic, missions will be viewed and ranked according to their )f the frep “schlockiness.” dlytofT The group’s purpose in creating Schlockfest was to e said expand understanding as well as to publicly celebrate the ik we#' merits of this class of film. on thefT Nathan Weston, Cepheid Variable chairman and a se- m. I tlifflf* n i or English major, said the festival celebrates both pro- e gojti fessional and student-made schlock films, gtothepp a showcase for student films,” Weston said. “We l()ns ' I think it’s a good way to spread awareness of this genre "»g®T on campus” all» Cepheid Variable has made arrangements to award lore® omei®! :etini^T !1 thatf vine 1 up re it not udentbot lembers ■k questit f com®' 'ision-n® Lane sail imittee leaders to repf 1 aiming ( ets of sit nembers mitcontfl nitteetot ane , we hart les. We ' t to see ifire to I their vie )uldbe» nittee’s . from tfe with all ieets Bo* i ning d iy ;'Laoi %h\ ur S! ady ■ck ‘cthe com t play* om ; participants for their efforts, although in a festival where the best is truly the worst, winning might-be bittersweet. Mike Miller, assistant director of Schlockfest and a ju nior economics major, explained the awards. “There will probably be three to four awards,” Miller said. “There will be a best of show, the schlockiest, the most original and the cheesiest.” Roberts said there might also be an award for the most humorous as well as the prestigious Carl of Cthulu Award for Schlock Excellence. The Cthulu award is named after a fictional god creat ed by science fiction author H.R Lovecraft, and Cepheid Variable has created a statuette for this award that it feels is truly representative of the film that will receive it. The statue is similar to an Oscar but it holds its decapitated head in its hands. Weston said the statuette shows it is in deed a movie award, but one given to a movie that does not take itself too seriously. Guidelines for film submissions are minimal. The films must be recorded on VHS cassettes and either be classified as horror, fantasy or science fiction. Producers are free to use live-action acting, animation or any other means of creation. Since its beginning four years ago, the festival has received nu merous entries, many of which, Roberts said, were very unique “In past years there have been some really interesting ones,” Roberts said. “There was one year where somebody did Titanic Versus the Red Oc tober where they spliced togeth er film from both of them.” This movie is representative of the type of subtle creativity that attracts peo ple to schlock films. “We wanted to catch the appeal of the ‘it’s so bad it’s good’ feel ing,” Weston safd. “Plus give people on campus the fun of making movies.” Some may ask themselves why they should submit to the cheap and intentionally terrible films created by their fellow students, but these unknowing souls may miss out on the greatness of the terrible in the oxymoronic world of schlock. Weston said that one of the most important elements of schlock is that it allows people to step outside of them selves and see things from a different perspective. “It allows you to take a moment to step back and laugh,” Weston said. “It takes serious issues and shows how ridiculous they can be.” ■ a‘ Te « ■nange* 11 _isroo" ,( ’ k Fo r 6?8. Je coPiT CAMERON DIAZ DREW BARRYMORE LUCY LIU - NOVEiy/ieEK! COLUMBIA PICTURES • • i • • GAAociatio+t ©200(1 COLUMBIA PICTURES INDUSTRIES, INC. ALL RICHTS RESERVED. ■pSi&iesttL f r e s h ] i n k FREE ADVANCE SCREENING TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY @ Rudder Theatre 8 PM Wednesday, November 1 FREE ADMISSION* while passes last INFO?: call SPO 845-1515 httpy/films.tamu.edu * Passes available at Rudder Theatre Box Office or Lobby. Passes required. Seating is limited and not guaranteed. Please arrive early. ID required for admission. Presented in association with MSC Film Society. cUda dsfiaHdobed b BRYANT Clairol- Herbal Essences* sT v A u [ Wrtsjtey* POLAR ICE O K 5i-2^ V vr ' 'ft NETWORK EVENT THEATER® ADRIAN CALCANEO/Thf. Battalion