FRIDAY,APRIL 11.2003
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 5A
Student film to star George Clinton
By Lauren Bristow
lbristow@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Imagine this. You're sitting in the backseat of your friend's Pontiac Grand Am and sitting next to you is the godfather of funk music, George Clinton.
Contributed art
Over spring break that dream was reality for independent filmmaker, Dan Ryckert, Olathe freshman.
George Clinton will star in student filmmaker Dan Ryckert's movie Harold. Ryckert, Olathe freshman, asked Clinton to play a godfather figure to Harold's protagonist. Ryckert said the movie will appear on www.studentfilms.com in two to three weeks.
"After his concert, we drove George back to his hotel room." Ryckert said. "He was just standing in the parking lot holding a Styrofoam container of fried chicken he had taken from backstage."
Ryckert used Clinton and his band, the P-Funk All-Stars, for a scene in his upcoming movie. Harold.
In the comedy, Clinton plays a godfather figure to a young Canadian who has come to the United States to be a bounty hunter, Ryckert said.
"It's just one of those moments you don't believe," said Troy Hirsch, Hays freshman.
Hirsch plays the main character in the movie.
Clinton was actually the second choice for the part. Ryckert had written the scene to include singer Ted Nugent but rewrote the script after having no luck casting Nugent, he said.
"Since I couldn't get Ted, I had to think about who my next choice would be," Ryckert said. "I only had to think about it for a few minutes and I started trying to get in touch with George."
Ryckert contacted Clinton's lawyer, who put him in touch with Clinton's creative director. After a week long process, Ryckert was contacted by the tour manager who sent three tickets and backstage passes to Clinton's St. Louis show, Ryckert said.
"I was surprised by how easy the process really was," he said. "Everyone was just so nice and easy to work with."
While standing backstage at the show, Ryckert saw Darius McCray, the actor who played Eddie Winslow on the television series, Family Matters. Ryckert introduced himself and asked McCray to be in the movie, he said. McCray plays one of the
godfather's thugs.
guideline through The movie will be finished and released on the Internet site, www.studentfilms.com, in two to three weeks, Ryckert said.
He is still a little shocked by the experience.
"It was surreal enough to be sitting in the backseat with George." Ryckert said. "But then I have Eddie Winslow from the TV show Family Matters knocking on the car window asking if he's still going to be in my movie."
Edited by Todd Rapp
Speaker says women in male-dominated fields face obstacles
The problems facing women in the engineering and science fields need to be dealt with at the institutional level rather than by changing women, said Sue Rosser.
She said the first step in dealing with problems was recognizing policy barriers.
Rosser, who serves as dean of the Ivan Allen College at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, appeared yesterday as part of the "Understanding the Pipeline" series sponsored by the Hall Center for Humanities and the Policy Research Institute.
Respondents to a survey Rosser conducted of female engineers and scientists said they felt they could do better if the barriers were removed. The concerns for women in those fields included balancing work with family responsibilities and gaining credibility and respectability from peers and administrators.
Jessica Hood
Overseas flights steady, travel agencies say
By Kevin Wiggs
kwigws@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
Overseas travel has not declined because of the war in Iraq, according to local travel agencies.
Beverly Failey, owner of Lawrence Travel Center, 2323 Ridge Ct., said there had been no decrease in international flight requests since coalition forces invaded Iraq last month.
"We're still getting the same number of inquiries," she said. "We've had more questions concerning the war, but I haven't noticed more reluctance."
However, the number of people traveling to the Middle East has significantly declined.
"It's not a hot spot right now," she said. "It's still an option but I haven't noticed a lot of people going. It's mostly just students going home or people on business."
John Novotny, manager of Travellers, 831 Massachusetts St., said the travel industry as a whole had been down since Sept. 11, 2001, but having no terrorist repercussions from the war has been positive.
"The last two years haven't been real solid," he said. "We have had quite a few inquiries for
"Due to the military action, we did see a softening of bookings of transatlantic flights in March and we've seen a steep decline in April," he said. "We're monitoring the situation closely and
anticipate improvement."
this summer. I think people are just waiting to see how things go in Iraq."
"They are expected to go higher but they keep going
John Kennedy, spokesman for Delta Air Lines, said Delta had not seen the same consistency in sales as the local travel agencies. He said Delta had reduced the number of international flights in response to sagging flight sales.
Falley said prices for international flights were generally cheaper in the late winter months and then increased in the summer season. A ticket that may be $900 in the summer can be as low as $500 in the winter.
Ruth Nye, manager of Adventure Travel, 544 Columbia Drive, said this summer's flight prices may be lower because of the war but travelers would have to wait and see how prices are affected.
He said the anticipation was based on ticket prices being at their lowest level in 15 years.
"I'm sure people will take advantage of prices once they are less concerned about the military action," he said.
Nye said someone considering flying overseas, but feeling reluctant, should think hard before buying a ticket.
down," she said. "I don't know what's going to happen. It usually depends on fuel costs and the airlines wait until the last minute to change them."
"If you're concerned, don't go," she said. "You can't get refunds anymore, and trying to change plans will get you all kinds of penalties."
Edited by Ryan Wood
Now Leasing 2 BR Apartments For Fall 2003!
Kentucky Place Apartments
- Furnished apt. available
- Furnished apt, available
- Within walking distance to campus
- fully equipped kitchens including microwaves & dishwashers
- Large walk-in closets
- Private parking
- Laundry facilities on site
- Laundry facilities on site
For more information call
The Center For Community Outreach is now accepting applications for student positions for the 2003-04 school year.
841-1212 or
749-0445
2003-04 CCO Staff Applications Are Out!
Monday-Friday 9:00-5:00
Administrative Staff Positions (May 2003-April 2004):
Two Co-Directors (20 hours/week, paid)
Financial Director (15 hours/week, paid)
Communications Director (15 hours/week, paid)
Two volunteer co-coordinator positions for each of the following programs: Community Resources Engaging in the Arts Through Education (CREATE), Concerned, Active & Aware Students (CAAS), Environmental Action to Revitalize the Heartland (EARTH), GROW Community Garden Project, Hawks for Health, Helping Unite Generations (HUG), Into the Streets Week, The Jubilee Cafe, Lifeline, Mentors In The Lives of Kids (MILK), Music Mentors, Natural Ties, Students Tutoring for Literacy (STL)
Applications are available at 405 Kansas Union. For more information stop by or call (785) 864-4073
Applicants will be considered regardless of education level, race,
national status, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or ethnic origin.
All Applications Due On April 11th.
KU College Republicans present Congressman Jim Ryun
Monday, April 14TH @7:30 PM Pine Room, Kansas Union
EVERYONE IS WELCOME
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