THE I5ATTALK]
mam
Aggielife
The Battalion
Page 3 • Friday, October 24, 2003
»estos causes
;e alarm
estos was found in
3mic Building earlier ft
but Les Swick, diretij
acilities at the Ml
:al Plant, said thereisn
for concern,
^novation project on ft
floor of the build
ed asbestos materia
le and adhesive be':
ad from the floor,
not unusual that
ials might
tos material,” Swicksa:
floor is a solid
old adhesive musts
3d from it. The at
then be treated ■;
tos because it coti
ie airborne, Swicksaic
e safe and prevent an
mts, Swick said the rent'
area was enclose:
/vere posted and rents
orkers donned masks:
t them from harnf.
als.
re was nothing tobew
bout," Swick said, In
saying ‘asbestos at
end to scare people,
k said asbestos is or
m when the material:
led, because tl
ies airborne.
>X
nued from page
rps of Cadets
I his career as an artis
when he was trying!
ends meet during to
n ore year,
tailed off making
and prints,” he <
to gain recognition
ps. After that, my arlani
ng began to develop.”
;on said the gallery aii
are aiming to serve asi
rk for the preservationdf
; culture.
dents are having to mi
maintain the A&M ir-
she said. “Benjanj 1 !
focuses on captifi.
irit of Aggidand ml
alizing our traditions.'
it coordinator Abbe;
Class of 2003, said tilt
/ill introduce the gallei
tural center for student
want students to bnn
.rents and friends to om
because so
and College Station’s oil'
be seen here,” she said,
an said the free event
lude food, refreshment
musicians.
ors
ued from page 1
id students want g
and individual at
id wards said. “Hoi
is recruit better sl»
Inch makes this a
ty.”
said he foresees the l»
mpleting its analysis i
mansion plan early i
004.
le task force appro*
i, the University wi
iward establishing f«
ollege,” he said.
lLION
Hhief
lay during the fall and spring se*
iversity holidays and exam peril#
17840. POSTMASTER: Send atli®
an,TO 77843-1111.
M University in the Division of $ti#
Reed McDonald Building, News#
ite: http://www.tliebattalion.net
lorsement by The Battalion. Fori#
dvertising.call 845-0569. AdveiW
onday through Friday. Fax: 845-26®
4 student to pick upasinglecfif
$60 per school year, $30 for He lit
>e by Visa, MasterCard, Discow, f
hould wear a favorite
iorts jacket and tie.
; should wear their
n will be provided by
and 2004
Reality for president
Proposed political reality show mirrors real-life Hollywood politics, producer says
By Glenn Garvin
KRT CAMPUS
If California’s recent gubernatorial recall elec
tion struck you as alarmingly like an episode of
“American Idol,” brace yourself: A Hollywood pro
ducer is pitching a show called “American
Candidate" on which lOO contestants vie to become
a “people’s candidate” for president next year.
Several broadcast executives say they expect
“American Candidate” to land somewhere on televi
sion next year. The show’s producer, R.J. Cutler,
says it’s inevitable: “Politics and television live at
the same intersection. There’s no news in that.”
The idea of choosing an American president on a
game show might seem like a scene trimmed from
the bitter TV satire “Network.” But as the 2004 pres
idential campaign approaches, it’s getting harder to
tell television fantasy from political fact:
TV sets click on all over Washington, D.C.,
Sunday nights as the starstruck city tunes in to
watch itself on HBO’s “K Street,” an insider drama
about sleazy lobbyists in which saber-toothed spin-
masters James Carville and Mary Matalin play
themselves. “Holy (bleep), are people watching the
thing!” exclaims CNN “Crossfire” combatant
Tucker Carlson, a confirmed addict.
NBC’s White House policy-opera “The West
Wing,” widely believed to be headed for a Nielsen-
ratings recall last season, just won its fourth straight
best-drama Emmy, and its ratings are stronger than
ever.
A malaprop-spouting President Bush has been a
character on episodes of two different sitcoms,
NBC’s “Whoopi” and ABC’s “The George Lopez
Show,” this fall, touching off heated, and hilarious,
arguments among the characters on both shows.
“Any time you do that sort of humor, it’s a bit risky,”
concedes “Whoopi” producer Larry Wilmore. “But
why not be a little daring? Who knows, you might
get slapped on the nose, or people might love it.”
Nowhere was the flicker between image and
reality more confusing than the California recall
election, fought out on late-night talk shows right to
the bitter end, when the defeated Gray Davis used
David Letterman’s show to offer a Top 10 list of sar
castic suggestions to victor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
(“No. 8: “Listen to your constituents — except
Michael Jackson.”)
The recall election didn’t just SEEM like a TV
show: it WAS a TV show: The Game Show
Network’s “Who Wants to Be Governor of
California?” in which five dozen of the real candi
dates competed for viewer votes to win a $21,000
campaign contribution. Winner: Pom actress Mary
Carey, who promised to tax breast implants.
The idea that his program, however whimsical,
might be helping to turn U.S. elections into
“American Idol” doesn’t concern Game Show
Network president Rich Cronin: “Watch these
debates between the Democratic presidential candi
dates. Afterward, the pundits talk about who won,
who lost, who said something stupid, who showed
talent. It’s really very much like 'American Idol.’”
Dismissive, too, is Cutler, the veteran documen
tary-maker behind “American Candidate.” Concerns
about the malign influence of television on politics,
he says, should be focused in a different direction.
“You have these very powerful cable news net
works. If one or more of those news channels have
a political agenda, is that a good thing? Is that a dan
gerous thing?” he argues. “I worry far less about the
subject of politics as entertainment.”
Entertainment TV’s interest in politics is nothing
new _ the networks have been staging dramas and
sitcoms in Washington and other political settings
for more than four decades. The results have ranged
from the ludicrous (NBC’s 1978 “Grandpa Goes To
Washington”) to the downright bizarre (UPN’s 1998
“The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer,” in which a
black butler counseled a sex-crazed Abraham
Lincoln).
“There’s this two-way thing between Hollywood
and Washington, because both of them know that
what they do is a show,” says Diana McLellan, a vet
eran Washington gossip columnist and author of
“The Girls,” a history of lesbian society in
Hollywood. “Each of them has this little knot of
respect for the other. It is truly pathetic.”
Until “The West Wing,” the mutual infatuation
had never produced successful offspring; TV shows
set in Washington have been shunned by both view
ers and critics. Most have followed the same pattern,
derived from the 1939 James Stewart film “Mr.
Smith Goes To Washington”: A truthful common
man goes to Washington and fights the deceitful
special interests.
“I think there has been an attitude on
^our Entertainment
tines
ent Superstores w 3M
LOOK FOR
REDUCED PRICES
ONlOOOsOF used hues
Previously Viewed
ON SALE
& get 2nd FREE*
Of eaual or lesser value. Hundreds of titles to choose from. Good through 10/25/03.
Photo courtesy of • KRT CAMPUS
California Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger introduces President George W. Bush to a crowd of Republican sup
porters in San Bernadino, Calif, last week.
Hollywood’s part, in dealing with Washington and
politics, that people wanted to see their politicians _
or their government _ in a certain reverential way,”
says Stuart Stevens, a Republican political consult
ant and co-producer of “K Street.”
Its “cinema verite” style is bolstered by the use of
real-life Washington figures, from senators like
Orrin Hatch and Barbara Boxer to think-tank
mavens like Kenneth Adelman, playing themselves,
using mostly unscripted dialogue. The resulting col
lision of styles and cultures has produced some real
Kodak moments.
In a scene where political consultant Paul Begala
was supposed to be helping Democratic presidential
candidate Howard Dean prepare for a debate,
Begala warned him not to make personal attacks on
one of the other candidates, “or he’ll (bleep) you
like a tied dog.” Gasped a shocked Dean: “Paul, I
don’t think you can say that on HBO.”
Slow-moving and sometimes indecipherable in
its inside-baseball approach to politics, “K Street” is
the lowest-rated drama in years on HBO’s power
house Sunday-night lineup.
But the Washington Post runs a regular George
Clooney sighting feature reporting the whereabouts
of “K Street’s” executive producer, and the high-
octane political newsletter The Hotline has Your “K
Street” Summary listing the latest power players to
land cameos appearances on the show. Even jour
nalists like Washington Post media writer Howard
Kurtz and Time columnist Joe Klein have gone
panting after roles.
The show’s conquest of Capitol Hill appalls
some. “We in Washington are very self-important
people, and the people you see in 'K Street’ are par
ticularly self-important,” jeers Kim Hume, the
Washington bureau chief of Fox News. “It’s a little
cabal of Washington insiders who live for this stuff.
From my perspective, it’s a ridiculous way to spend
your time.”
PhilSA, MSC Film Society, MSC ACE, and MSC Aggie Nights present...
J N A A M
THE DEBUT a October 24th
@ 8:00pm
MSC 201
Director and
Writer of film
will be present
for help call 845-1515
fllms.tamii.edu
Serving Texas A&M Aggies Since 1982
979-6 9 3- 9 664
112 Holleman Drive* College Station, TX
WWW
cccreationso
n 1