Section B · Page 8
The University Daily Kansan
NEW LEAP FITNESS
Family Center
2500 W. 6th & 841-6200
'Wednesday, June 24, 1998
- Cardiovascular Machin*
* Free Weights*
* Resistance Training*
* Child Care*
- Cardio-Kick Boxing
* Group Fitness Classes
* Massage Therapy
Ice Cream! Bowling!
The UDK has teamed up with two local businesses to give you coupons when you place a four or more line classified ad and run it for at least two weeks.
Coupons include:
Nylas & Maddy'
Lawrence, Kansas
To place a classified,stop by 119 Stauffer-Flint or call 864-4358.
X-Files: The Movie is out there
Series translates strangely well to film version
By Jeromy M. Dohorty
Kansan movie critic
If Oliver Stone had directed Close Encounters of the Third Kind, he probably would have come up with something like the big-screen version of The X-Files.
Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Mulder (David Duchovny) make life-and-death decisions while investigating the bombing of a Dallas office building in The X-Files. Contributed Photo.
This movie is to conspiracy nuts what *Jurassic Park* was to dinosaur freaks. Gray-haired white guys, black helicopters and government cover-ups are all here to provoke that little militia member inside all of us.
Series creator Chris Carter has written a movie that will engross even those who have never watched a single episode. Unlike some of the Star Trek flicks, newcomers to this saga of Scully and Mulder (including this critic) will not feel like a babe lost in the woods. Carter accomplishes this by getting right into the action, gradually allowing us to learn more about the heroes along the way. FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), once the trackers of unexplained paranormal activity, have been transferred to the Dallas office. In an unsettling evocation of the Oklahoma City bombing, someone threatens to torch a federal building with 10 gallons of liquid explosive. Mulder and Scully take a closer look. Could the bombing instead have been a ploy to hide evidence of an extraterrestrial plague that could make the Ebola virus seem like a case of the sniffles?
Guided by director Rob Bowman, who has helmed a couple dozen of the series' episodes, our heroes dash across the globe Indiana Jones-style from Texas to Washington to Antarctica. They encounter several series regulars, such as Cigarette Smoking Man (William B. Davis) and Well Manicured Man (John Neville), and meet new characters, such as Dr. Alvin Kurtzwell (Martin Landau), who claims to have the inside track on the conspiracy. Armin Mueller-Stahl from Shine also clocks in for a creepy bit as the apparent mastermind
behind the plot. Anderson and Duchovny, whether dodging swarms of bees or low-flying black helicopters, provide the emotional center lacking from this summer's blockbusters. Scully is the brains of the team while Mulder provides the passion for the truth. We can sense the strength of their unspoken bond and how each would suffer without the other.
One has to wonder who is the movie's intended audience. Regular fans will likely balk at the movie for not cutting deep enough into the mythology.
X-FILES
Kansan Rating: *** out of *****
Running time: 2 hours
Rated PG-13 for some intense violence and gore
Yet mainstream moviegoers, who in recent years have gleefully gobbled up cinematic garbage like Independence Day, could find this brand of character- and idea-driven drama too much to handle. Whatever the case, The X-Files is the first popcorn movie this summer truly to deliver the goods.
KU alum reveals secrets of X-Files
By Warisa Chulindra
Kansan staff writer
The University of Kansas has a tie to the recently released X-Files - The Movie.
Ward Russell, a 1968 KU theater alumnus, was the movie's director of photography.
Russell returned to Lawrence during the movie's opening weekend. He attended a matinee Sunday afternoon at Southwind 12 Theaters, 34th and Iowa.
The KU department of theatre and film and the Lawrence Film Commission held a post-movie reception in Russell's honor at the Varsity Theatre, 1015 Massachusetts St. John Tibbetts, assistant professor of theatre and film, moderated the event, and clips of Russell's work were shown. Russell has been director of photography for such movies as The Last Boy Scout and Days of Thunder, as well as more than 300 commercials.
"I came to the reception because I'm a double major in film," said Emily Smith, Houston junior. "I loved hearing him talk about cinematography."
Questions from the audience focused on cinematography and the cast of The X-Files.
An aspiring film student asked Russell what being a director of photography involved.
Russell said that directors of photography supervised images and lighting and hired the lighting and grip crews.
When asked how he became involved with the movie, Russell said, "I was the last person interviewed for the job."
Russell said that he was hired six weeks before the shooting of X-Files -- The Movie began. The interview was at 10 a.m. on a Friday morning, and Russell was hired four hours later and went to work Monday morning. A typical workday lasted 12 to 14 hours.
Before working with the movie, Russell said he had never seen an entire episode of The X-Files.
That quickly changed. Russell had to watch stacks of tapes of past episodes before the movie began filming.
When asked what he thought of series creator Chris Carter, Russell
described him as a deep man who spoke quietly.
"He is The X-Files," Russell said. "The man keeps his thumb on everything. He's a control freak."
Audience members also were curious about Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny, who play FBI agents Dana Scully and Fox Mulder in the film.
To the amusement of the audience, Russell responded as a cinematographer. He revealed his efforts to detract attention from Anderson's petite frame by using the proper camera box, and said he used a long lens on Duchovny so his nose wouldn't appear so big.
"I love the whole movie," Russell said. "One of these days I'll actually listen to it."
If your coffee cup were ever to be empty,we'd fire the server.
That's why our servers leave the pot at the table. (You can also get a bottomless plate at our breakfast buffet)
1511 W.23RD St.
841-5588
Buffet Times:
Mon-Fri 7 a.m.-1 p.m.
Sat-Sun 7 a.m.-2 p.m.
Abdiana
FUTONS*SOFAS*OCCASIONAL TABLES
1023 MASS
843-8222
MON-SAT 10-7
SUN 12-5
STEEL FRAME $159*
(AVAILABLE IN WHITE OR BLACK)
QUEEN BI-FOLD (BLACK FINISH) $169*
CATINASTYLE FULL $229*
FOUND YOUR APARTMENT,
NOW COME GET YOUR FURNITURE!
*ALL PRICES INCLUDE FRAME AND STANDARD FUTON
Your Prescription For
WORK! KELLY SERVICES
- $7/hr, base salary
plus bonuses
* Flexible schedules
* Vacation and holiday pay
- to find position
• Fun and exciting environment
• Growth and advancement opportunities
• Sprint employment after 60 days*
Call Kelly* today!
785-749-2782
*Based upon performance