nursday, march 11, 2004
entertainment
the university daily kansan
5B
'The Office'actor to guest star on spy drama'Alias'
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Ricky Gervais made TV viewers guffaw over The Office. He had Hollywood giggling when he accepted Golden Globe honors for his sitcom as casually as if he was picking up groceries.
On the set of Alias recently, it was Gervais the comedian and small-scale sitcom star laughing at the oh-so-serious, big-budget American spy drama production.
Gervais guest stars as a bad-guy bomb expert in Sunday's episode, airing 8 p.m. on ABC.
"It's so like the opposite to *The Office*. It's $2 million an episode as opposed to $200,000 an episode. There's special effects."
there's stunts," he said, recalling the experience.
the experience.
"All that pressure, it's like being in school when you can't laugh in assembly. It's all so expensive and all so important that I think it's the child in me," he said.
sack.
The result: "I was laughing at all the serious faces. Every time they looked at me in a serious way, I died laughing," he said of the cast that includes Jennifer Garner and Victor Garber.
The unlikely scenario was the result of Alias creator J.J. Abrams' admiration for The Office. Abrams contacted him and sent tapes to Gervais in London, who liked what he saw and agreed to appear.
need to appeal
"It's the first thing I've done
that I didn't write myself, so it was sort of a baptism of fire," he said of his role as bomb pro Daniel Ryan. (As befitting an espionage series, further details were withheld by Gervais and ABC.)
HOROSCOPES
There were long hours, the nuisance of hitting marks for precise camera shots and 12-hour days with maybe two hours of filming.
of timing:
With The Office, the schedule was kept to a more civilized eight or 10 hours, with nearly all of that spent acting.
spent during. The BBC sitcom, airing on BBC America (9 p.m. Thursday) and being adapted for NBC, is a "mockumentary" about a sales team for a paper supply company and smug middle manager David Brent.
Today's Birthday (March 11)
Today's Birthday (March 11).
You can greatly expand your area of influence this year, much to your delight. This assignment won't always be easy, but you'll end up with a lot more room to play, so it's worth the trouble.
Aries (March 21-April 19) Today is a 4.
Aries is not usually the person chosen for a spy mission. You're more often the fighter pilot, but even then, stealth is a plus.
Taurus (April 20-May 20) Today is an 8.
It's OK to talk indirectly, through friends, if you need to get back in touch. That's also a good way to meet a new person with whom you have much in common.
Gemini (May 21-June 21) Today is a 5.
It may feel like you are working too hard to get relatively little. That's an illusion. Actually, you're building a solid reputation among people who really count.
Cancer (June 22-July 22) Today is a 10.
There are a few rules you've set
for yourself in your relationships. Don't be shy about telling the other person exactly what they are, and sticking to them.
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) Today is a 5.
Don't let yourself be pushed into doing something that isn't good for you. A win-win arrangement is possible, even though it takes compromise.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Today is an 8.
You or your partner are liable to have a brilliant insight, and soon. It could be something you're working on together. Keep brainstorming.
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) Today is a 5.
Although you like to be uninhibited, your incomelow the rules precisely. You'll reap great rewards if you don't complain.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) Today is a 10.
Your intuition is right on target, especially where romance is concerned. The commitments that you make now will last, so choose your words carefully.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) Today is a 5.
It's easier to talk about your feelings now, though you'd usually rather have your wisdom teeth pulled. It's a pretty good day for that, too.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Today is an 8.
Information received through the grapevine can help you decide what to do. A friend who won't ask for favors could need one. It's OK to investigate.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb.18) Today is a4.
This is about as low as it gets for a while. By tomorrow, your attitude will start perking up, and so will your aptitude.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) Today is a 10.
Playing by the rules may inhibit some people, but you should know by now how enormously freeing it can be. Your family brings you strength, love and honor, and you take the same back to them.
TODAY'S PUZZLE
Crossword
ACROSS
1 State gambling
6 That girl's
10 Prepare for a fight
14 Lawyer's document
15 Toledo's lake
16 One Chaplin
17 Dilbert's creator
19 This and that
20 Buffalo bunches
21 Buffalo skaters
23 Turkey neighbor
26 "Nothing could be ___."
27 Brought up
28 Yukon river
31 Lawn tool
32 Queeg's ship
33 Govt. financial grp.
34 Care for
35 Brings down the house?
36 Payment voucher
37 Yokohama OK
38 Sonora cash
39 Shipping box
40 Open-air
42 Decanter?
43 Ancient region of Asia Minor
44 In a fatigued manner
45 Sporty scarves
47 Timeworn
48 Twixt 12 and 20
49 Towel material
54 Actress Russo
55 Eye defect: suff.
56 Flood protection
57 Bohemian
58 Male sheep
59 Pizzey and Gray
DOWN
1 Some wts.
2 "The Lord of the Rings" baddie
3 Juan's uncle
4 On a leash
5 More frequently
6 Ibsen's Gaber
7 Periods
8 Periphery
03/11/04
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 | | | | | 15 | | | | 16 | | | |
17 | | | | | 18 | | | | 19 | | |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
20 21 22 | | | | | | | | | | |
23 24 25 | | | | | | 26 | | | | | |
27 | | | | | | 28 | | | | | 29 30 |
31 | | | | | 32 | | | | | 33 | |
34 | | | | 35 | | | | | 36 | |
37 | | | 38 | | | | 39 | | | |
40 | | 41 | | | | 42 | | | | |
| :--- | :--- | 43 | | | 44 | | | | | | |
45 46 | | | | | 47 | | | | | |
48 | | | | 49 50 | | | | 51 52 53 |
54 | | | | 55 | | | 56 | | | |
57 | | | | 58 | | | 59 | | | |
© 2004 Tribune Media Services, Inc.
All rights reserved.
9 Hearings
10 Wept
11 Name associated with an almanac
12 Pot builder
13 Cheers
13 Dry as a desert
22 Comic Meara
23 Singer Franklin
24 Distribution do-over
25 "The __ Seven"
26 Takes to the air
28 Hummer's instrument
29 Actor Harvey
30 Luncheonette
32 Co-conspirator of Brutus
35 Circuit controller
36 More hard-hearted
38 Cloely confined
39 Boat of wicker and skins
Solutions
---
41 Andy or Mickey
42 Like an evergreen woods
44 " _ Bulba"
45 Gillette razor
46 Clairvoyant
47 Fedora feature
50 Eco-unit
51 Prefix meaning egg
52 Half a score
53 Masculine characters
CUT IT OUT!
Campus coupons coming soon to a Kansan near you
GALLERY WALK
Tour and discuss Conflicting Memories with exhibited artists:
Michael Krueger
Associate Professor
Art & Design
Tanya Hartman Associate Professor Art & Design
TONIGHT at 5 pm
This program is presented in part by the Kansas Arts Commission, a state agency, and the National Enrollment for the Arts, a federal agency.
**SPENCER MUSEUM OF ART**
1301 Mississippi Street, Lawrence
785-864-4710 www.ku.edu/~sma
Kress Gallery, Spencer Museum of Art
SPENCER MUSEUM OF ART