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Friday, March 8, 1991 / University Daily Kansan
Arts and Entertainment
KU provides Hollywood with talented artists
KU graduate Gregg Binklev does a Barnev Fife Jr. impersonation.
Barney Fife Jr. can be seen on night program
Kansan staff writer
By Nedra Beth Randolph
Gregg Binkley, KU graduate,
always knew he wanted to be a star.
"in the back of my mind, I always felt I would go into show business," he said. "I just didn't know I would have the guts to do it."
Binkey has the guts. He plays Barney Fife Jr. on the late night ABC talk show, "Into the Night Starring Rick Dees." The character is an actor of deputy sheriff Barney Fife from "The Andy Griffith Show."
After graduating from the University of Kansas in 1969 with a degree in advertising, Binkley packed up his bagings and moved to Hollywood, Calif.
"At the time it just felt right," he said. "It's just something that I felt compelled to do. I did the theater in high school, but I got away from it at KU and didn't do as much until I came back with myself 10 years as a trial period."
Bill Mills, Lawrence resident and Binkley's drama coach at Washburn Rural High School in Topeka, said Binkley was the type of student that a drama teacher knew would make it big.
"I knew he was going to be in the entertainment business somehow — TV, movies or theater — because he was sotaled. Mills said. "He did not have a File character in high school, and he used to crack people up with it."
After moving out West, Binkley answered a newspaper advertisement from Ed Debevec's restaurant for waiters who could act as characters from the 1950s. Binkley's Barney Fife imitation came in handy.
It was that character that led
Binkley to his current job when Barney Fife caught the eye of Rick Dess, who is the restaurant to see an Elvis impersonator.
"It's amazing how well-known this character is in the business," Binkley said. "There's even talk of Barney Fife's own show."
In the meantime, Binkley appears daily on the Rick Dees' show as "chief of security."
He said he perceived his work as a
Binkley said that he missed his hometown of Topeka but that he was not sorry he moved to Hollywood.
tribute to Don Knott and the character he made famous on "The Andy Griffith Show."
"People respect me coming from Kansas," he said. "It's actually an asset. I obviously having a good time here, but hopefully I can move back to Kansas someday and season tickets to Kansas basketball."
By David Small Special to the Kansan
Film studio founder has fond memories of KU
California-based Trimark Pictures is releasing "Warlock" today in Lawrence, a place of fond memoir and humor. (The founder and KU graduate, Mark Arnay)
"My years at KU were probably the best of my life," said Amin, who earned a BA in economics from the university. "I really liked the campus and the people."
Amin, who is originally from Iran but attended high school in the United States, said one experience at the University — running for president of the student body in 1972 and pursuing a career path. A second place finalist her career resulted in politics' loss and the entertainment industry's gain.
Vidmark Entertainment, founded by Amin in 1984, is the parent company of Trimark and is a distributor of home video releases. Trimark is a relatively new company — "Warlock" is its first theatrical release.
Amin, who is chairperson of the
board of the two companies, said that his companies were spending a lot more time on their scripts than other independent film companies.
Described by Amin as an actionadventure movie, "Warlock" stars Julian Sands ("A Room With a View," "Arachnophobia") and Lori Singer ("Fame" and "Footloose"). It is a supernatural tale of a disciple of Satan (Sands) from the 17th century who is transported to Los Angeles in the '90s. Giles Redfern (Richard E. Grant.) is a witch hunter who follows the Warlock into the future and enlists the help of present-day L.A. resident, Kassandra (Singer). Together they attempt to stop the Warlock from accomplishing his evil intentions.
The $12 million project has grosses $5 million from its release in limite areas. This weekend the film opens i all theaters nationwide.
"We are a small independent studio competing with the majors." Aimin said. "So far we consider the film's numbers a success."
Amin said he estimated that the film would bring in about $10 million at the box office. This does not include future home video profits or money to be made from a sequel, for which talks are already under way.
And what is next for Amin and Trimark?
Already in production, "Into the Sun" is the story of a young actor who follows an Air Force pilot around to learn the ins and outs of being a 'Top Golf'-type for an upcoming film role, a similar premise to the Michael J. Fox and James Wood film, "Hard Way," but from the air
Amin said a lot of thought went into the selection of Trimark's first films. He said special attention is paid to the marketability of a movie project, that is why his company has only sent two films into production.
And what role does Amin play once the crew starts shooting the film?
"I usually go on the set the first few days," he said. "After that, I let them make the movie."
REVIEWS
'Warlock' is the first release of Trimark Pictures Studio, which was founded by KU graduate Mark Amin.
Depravity in life of Jim Morrison is focus of new movie
By Kristine Curley Special to the Kansan
It all started four months ago when I was thumbing through a magazine while on vacation. I began looking at a series of pictures that I thought had been taken of the writhing '60s god of excess, Jim Morrison. Upon closer inspection, however, I found that it wasn't this poetic parasuer of Dionysian truth, but rather an actor, Val Kilmer, who was to portray Morrison in a coming film on the volatile singer and his group The Doors.
As almost as soon as news of the making of this movie began to surface, people began to voice objections, saying that no one could portray Morrison. My expectations that director Oliver Stone would avoid reducing the story to nothing more than a Hollywood film with no supporting cast, full, trivializing the work of this rock genius, began to wane as this media hype began
What Stone has managed to fish out of the mire of accounts, writings, poetry and testimonials for his film "The Doors" is a look at the Lizard King's fantasies, fears, sexual liaisons and addictive excesses. Stone takes us on a visionary journey into Morrison's own world of introspective dreams and cryptic writings.
Stone enlist the acting of Val Kilmer to dramatize Morrison. Kilmer tackles this chameleon-like character with determination and conviction. He's not Jim Morrison. No one, no matter how well they trained, could emulate the sense of sex and self-love that the character onstage and off. Kilmer does manage toMorrison's dark side, however, as well as his poetic license that brought the people around him to the point of hysteria.
Many people have criticized this movie because it focuses on Morrison's drug abuse, drinking and bizarre escapes. But isn't this what adds to the dark and mysterious nature that is Jim Morrison? It is sad that his life was cut short at age 27, and his addiction to
MOVIES
these vices surely speeded up his death, if not caused it. But for Stone not to have shown Morrison's bad as well as good habits would be a discredit to Stone as a director and an insult for those who knew anything about Morrison's life.
Morrison did not make music on his own, and the remainder of The Doors — Ray Manzarek (Kyle MacLachlan), John Densmore (Kyle Dillon), and Robby Krieger (Frank Whaley) are portrayed in the film as a significant force in the music of the band. We find it was guitarist Robby Krieger who led "Fire," but it is clearly evident that without the sensuous wailing of Morrison, the music loses its effect.
Morrison was more than a showman, and no one believed that more than Pamela
Courson, Morrison's girlfriend, played by Meg Ryan. She saw Jim in a different light, as the poet he was, not the rock star everyone wanted him to be. Klimer and Ryan play out their love affair in the tragic but tender nature in which Courson and Morrison existed.
In his depiction of Morrison, Stone offers glimpses into Morrison's thoughts and dramatizes his poetry. Morrison's insistence that his body was inhabited by the souls of Native Americans is a haunting presence in Stone's film and lends itself to a more personal look at the introspective singer in black leather pants.
For those who have never heard of Jim Morrison or never listened to a Doors song, this movie, while worth seeing, will lose much of its effectiveness. For those who have some knowledge of this '60s icon of darkness and his band, this movie should open their minds to a reverence for this poet locked inside a rock singer's body.
Oliver Stone's film opens closed Doors
LOS ANGELES - For more than two decades, Oliver Stone has been obsessed with Jim Morrison, an early casualty of the rock revolution.
The result of that obsession is "The Doors," a big-scale movie that relives the music scene of the 1960s, reanimating its raw passions.
It's easy to see why Stone was attracted to Morrison, lead singer of The Doors and author of the group's poetic lyrics. Morrison's work is often compared against the hypocrisy of a stair society.
Stone also has a mystical side, and his films have thunderously attacked the excesses of wartime ("Salvador," "Platoon") finance ("Wall Street"), biggy radio ("Band Radio") and governmental bureaucracy ("Born on the Fourth of July").
Both men had a self-destructive side. Morrison's indulgence in booze and dope contributed to his death at age 27 in 1971. Stone also went through a period of addiction, but he conquered it to become one of Hollywood's most productive filmmakers.
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