16 The DePaulia.

November 9, 2009

ENTERTAINMENT
African-American crowned Disney Princess
By RACHEL METEA

Graphic courtesy of Kate Sanburn

Cinderella’s glass slipper, Jasmine’s mag-
ic carpet ride and Ariel’s first steps on land
were the Walt Disney princess stories that
captured many young girls’ hearts over ten
years ago. Of the nine Disney princesses,
there has never been an African-American
princess—until now. On Dec. 11, Disney
will introduce in theaters nationwide, their
first African-American princess in “The Jasmine, Arabian Pocahontas, Native Mulan, Chinese Tiana, African
Princess and the Frog.”
(1992) American (1995) (1998) American (2009)
"This is very liberating for black women
and also just women in general," said the
son, a McKinley Park resident and mother said Upchurch. "I think some people have face; it's barbaric, but hey, it's home.”
liason of DePaul's Black Student Union,
of two. “If the princess does in fact have this idealistic way of how they want to be Princess Tiana will be the forth Disney
Demtrius Upchurch, who graduated last
a more independent and stronger character represented. But there are different ways. princess of color, joining Jasmine, Poca-
year. “This is definitely a step forward in
than the princesses in the past, this might We have different facial features, and I hontas and Mulan.
terms of how young girls of African de-
finally be a Disney movie I am not hesitant think it would be unfair to represent any Disney began grouping the Disney prin-
scent look at themselves.”
to take my daughters to see.” person in a certain way.” cesses together in 2000. The Disney prin-
The fairytale's prince is Caucasian,
But even if it seems as though Disney is “There is a lack of diversity of the way cess franchise has grown from $300 mil-
voiced by Brazilian actor Bruno Campos.
making a move in the right direction, view- people of color are portrayed. The more lion in global retail sales at the time of
“Disney wants to sell this movie," said
ers should still be prepared for the possibil- diversity there is, people become less launch and is projected to reach the $5 bil-
Upchurch who said he believes the prin-
ity of disappointment. prone to stereotyping,” said Upchurch. lion mark by Disney Consumer Products.
cess and prince are a biracial couple for
“Animated princesses of color tend to There needs to be more diverse images While the traditional “Princess and the
marketing reasons. “Disney was probably
be more sexualized, more voluptuous and of black people so that people won’t be- Frog” fairy tale took place in a country with
thinking it might be too much to have a
reinforce many racial stereotypes,” said come angry at the particular ways they are a monarchy, Disney changed the tale’s set-
black princess and a black prince because
Speicher. While Speicher said she believes represented. ting to the French Quarter of New Orleans.
it could then be seen as a cartoon for black
it is positive to have an African-American The movie was originally supposed to fea- “I think that it is perfectly acceptable to
people and alienate the movie to a nar-
princess, she will be looking out for these ture Maddy, a black chambermaid working change a story’s setting, especially a fairy
rowed audience,” said Upchurch.
racial stereotypes. for a spoilt, white Southern debutante. The tale so that children are more easily able to
“I think it's positive to have a biracial
“If Princess Tiana is more mature and original storyboard was believed to have relate to the main characters,” said Jack-
couple. Now let's see if they end up togeth-
womanly which leads her to being more been torn up after criticism that Maddy’s son.
er in the end of the movie,” said Barbara
sexually active, then that is playing to character was a subservient role with The “Princess and the Frog” is returning
Speicher, an associate professor of com-
what other Disney movies have done in echoes of slavery. The film was originally to the traditional 2-D, hand drawn style of
munications at DePaul. “That seems to be
the past,” said Speicher. “If that is the case titled, “The Frog Princess,” but changed animation that was once used to illustrate
a theme with biracial couples in animated
then the movie is probably going to be when some interpreted it as a slur. the former Disney princesses.
films; something comes up in the end and
leaving the same impressions on children This is not the first time Disney’s multi- “Assuming Disney has learned from its
they break-up.
that previous ones have left.” cultural movies have been met with racial mistakes, our children are finally going
Disney said Princess Tiana, who is
The movie has received some criticism skepticism. In 1993, Disney’s Aladdin was to have a princess worth idolizing,” said
voiced by Anika Noni Rose, is based on
for being stereotypical to African-Amer- protested from Muslims who said the film Jackson. “If the princess is confident and
the values of self-confidence and indepen-
icans due to characteristics such as Prin- depicted the Middle East as barbaric. The if she is independent, then I think we, as
dence and “is always ready to roll up her
cess Tiana's dialect, wide-hips and wig. opening song, “Arabian Nights,” sang, “I women of color, may finally have some
sleeves and do the hard work that will help
The movie also features a Voodoo priestess come from a land, from a faraway place, positive role models for our girls.”
inspire her community.”
fairy godmother. where the caravan camels roam, where
“Maybe Disney has finally done some-
“The Voodoo is a part of black culture,” they cut off your ear if they don't like your
thing right for a change,” said Selma Jack-

50 years later and Dylan's still got it

By JASON SHOUGH a break from the first energetic run. “Rollin’ And Tumblin’”
Senior Writer led off a second up-beat set and was eventually toned down
by “Po’ Boy,” another quirky ballad of “Love and Theft.”
America’s pre-eminent living poet of record has an un- Dylan has long since shirked any allegiance to the way
shakeable reverence for the Classic Rock show. After fifty- his songs are sung on the records. In concert he sang most
odd years of touring, Bob Dylan is still playing summer of the lyrics rapidly and in front of the beat, rather than
concerts at minor-league ballparks, writing and recording allowing his well-known melodies to expand through
albums (he has released two this year) and packing concert the phrase.
halls three nights at a time. Since “Time Out of Mind” was released in 1998,
The little things demonstrate his mastery of the art form. his vocal quality has been on a rapid decline while his
For instance, unlike almost every other musical act out lyrics are arguably as cunning and meaningful as ever.
there, Dylan starts his show precisely at the time written on This illustrates the great paradox of a Bob Dylan show.
the ticket. While struck by the presence and the vast lyrical wis-
At 7:30pm on Friday Oct. 30, many stragglers, who ap- dom of America’s foremost poetic populist, the audience
parently weren’t used to such punctuality, were still buying finds it nearly impossible to make out a single word
drinks on the ground floor of the Aragon Ballroom when he’s singing.
they heard the first chords ring out. Surprised, most of them The show’s brilliant dynamics were capped off at
forwent the booze in favor of the blues and ran up the stairs 9:15 by the melodramatic “Ballad of a Thin Man”.
to the already crowded stage area. Dylan and his band reappeared onstage for three more
Dylan opened the show with an inspired version of tunes: “Like a Rolling Stone,” “Jolene,” and “All
“Leopard-Skin Pill-box Hat” and followed up with “The Along the Watchtower.”
Man in Me,” another peppy tune featured in the opening While encores have become a highly staged and hokey
credits of the cult-classic film “The Big Lebowski.” It was convention of the rock concert, Dylan carried the gait of
difficult at first to distinguish Dylan from the rest of “His a genuine-born performer so well that it seemed like he
Band” of darkly clothed and dimly lit musicians. Instead of could have played for another two hours. After all, he barely
standing front and center, he was tucked away on the right touched an instrument and he sang with such effortless en-
side behind a small keyboard wearing his patented black nui that he must have had the energy left.
suit and Spanish-style fedora. But with dignity and unparalleled suave, Bob
One of the best aspects of Friday’s show was how Dylan Dylan and His Band emerged from their stations,
constantly ‘changed it up.’ The balance between faster, took a bow, and exited the stage to cap off their
slower, and straight-up blues songs was excellent. “Sugar second night in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood.
Baby,” a ballad from the album “Love and Theft,” provided They had to save something for Saturday.
Graphic courtesy of Samantha Schroeder
 Entertainment. November 9, 2009. The DePaulia 17

This is it for Michael Jackson

By STEVE PRIES

On June 25, 2009 the internet almost crashed. Not just

one website, the entire internet. The drug-related death of
Michael Jackson wasn’t just devastating to the music in-
dustry, but to the entire world. Sure people will choose to
remember the controversies that encompassed Michael’s
career, like the “adventures” at Neverland Ranch, the
ghoulish complexion, the decision to hang his baby over a
balcony, and the fact that at any given moment, the object
on his face that resembled a nose could fall off.
“This Is It,” a documentary showing the rehearsals for
his sold-out 50 concert performance in London, dissolved
those memories and reminded us that Michael was some-
thing entirely of his own, the “King of Pop.”
At the time of filming, Michael was a 50-year-old man
who could not have weighed more than 90 pounds. “This
is it,” Jackson told his fans in London as he announced
his farewell tour, “This is the final curtain call.” From the
information that surfaced after his death, my expectations
were not very high for this film. I was wrong.
This documentary was nothing as I envisioned it would
be. Jackson wasn’t the sick and drug-dependant man the Photo couresty of Associated Press
media depicted him as, he was a man whose love for his
music and his fans prevented him from showing any signs Just several days before his death, pop star Michael Jackson (center) rehearses at the
of aging. Staples Center in Los Angeles.
From the beginning, Michael proved that he has no
bones in his body as he displayed his supernatural dancing sounded the same as it always has, but needed four backup of all ages acted as the concert audience as they clapped
ability. At age 50, he could still get from point A to point singers and did have pre-recorded songs played for a few after every song, screamed at Michael’s gravity defying
B without his feet leaving the floor. He was surrounded others. This was not disappointing in the least as he clearly dance moves, laughed at every crotch grab, sang along to
by dancers half his age and yet, the fluidity of his moves wanted this show to be perfect for the fans. This allowed “Billie Jean” and “Thriller” among others, and cried un-
and the ease in which he danced still made him the best the audience to take away a new perspective of the actual controllably at the conclusion. I’m not kidding, people
out there. Director Kenny Ortega, Michael, and the staff, Michael. He was not just another arrogant pop-star. He were really crying. As people consoled each other, it be-
had designed a stage that was other-worldly. From 3-D was humble, patient, demanding, and a perfectionist. He came evident that Michael Jackson’s profound impact on
scenes, fireworks, fire, and the ever changing stage set-up, cared about everyone involved with the rehearsals includ- the world hasn’t diminished since his death.
“This Is It,” would have made the concert and unforget- ing: the band, backup dancers, technicians, director, and The “King of Pop” is now dead. The show he rehearsed
table experience. choreographers. He wanted this to be a once in a lifetime so hard for never took place. Besides the creepy stories,
While the documentary shows the “hits” that Michael experience. “This Is It” is the last chance people have to see the true
would have performed, his voice was the only aspect of Going to see this movie was a sample of how going to Michael. The two-week showing will come and go, but
the performance that needed assistance. Michael’s voice the concert would have felt. In the sold-out theater, people Michael’s music will live forever.

Five rock docs that go inside the

An animated version of the late DJ-AM is shown in the video game, “DJ Hero.”
“DJ Hero” scratches the vinyl right
By Billy O'Keefe
MCT Wire Service
It's been only four years since
“Guitar Hero” first took the
planet by storm, but an over-
saturation of incremental se-
quels, offshoots and competi-
tors' products has made it feel
at least twice as long.
How nice, then, that “DJ
Hero” has the gall not only to
freshen up the landscape, but
do so with greater concern for
achieving its vision than trying
to please everybody the way its
spiritual predecessors so often
have.
“Hero” shares structural simi-
larities to its guitar-based cous-
ins, and during the first tutorial
lesson, it appears to be the same
old game with a new controller
and soundtrack.
But then different tracks call
for you to scratch the vinyl on
the controller – sometimes in-
discriminately, but other times
quickly and precisely in very
Image courtesy of Associated Press
specific directions. Then the
path of track bends, and you
need to slide the cross-fader
dial to follow the track – some-
times for a bridge, other times
for a single beat and back. An
effects dial allows for some
freestyling, a euphoria button
activates the game's version of
star power, and certain portions
of songs have you banging the
red button.
When “Hero” is cruising at
full speed – tossing different ar-
rangements of notes and tracks
your way while you scramble
to quickly but precisely man-
age all the different buttons
and dials during a frantic four-
song set with no break between
tracks – it's an exhilarating, ex-
citing challenge that transcends
“Guitar Hero’s” simpler casual
leanings. The game ships with
five difficulty settings, and the
easier ones make “Hero” as
much of a casual party game as
any of its rhythmic contempo-
raries.
Whether the turntable justi-
fies “Hero’s” inflated price is a
matter of personal taste, but for
whatever it’s worth, it’s a sturdy
and elegant piece of hardware.
Lefties can rearrange the button
layout to suit their orientation,
and all the parts feel made to
last. Some will find the cross-
fade slider looser than they’d
like, but that looseness comes
in handy once you have made
acquaintance with the layout
and need to navigate it without
hesitation.
“Hero” includes support for
two-player, two-turntable local
and online play, and in a nice
nod to interoperability, also al-
lows a second player to jam
along with a guitar controller.
The soundtrack draws its ma-
terial from 102 songs, which
means some songs are used
multiple times, but the sheer
technique employed in con-
structing these mixes makes
that mostly a non-issue.
lives of iconic music-makers
As “This Is It” shows, the greatest musicians also
tend to be the greatest mysteries. Here are five other
rock documentaries that pulled back the curtain on
the lives of iconic performers and surprised us with
their insight and backstage access.
By CHRISTOPHER KELLY
MCT Wire Service
Madonna: “Truth or Dare” (1991)
What might easily have turned into a shallow, slick concert movie
proves to be a surprisingly intimate study of a performer whose iden-
tity is as fluid as her dance moves.
“Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing” (2006)
It doesn't matter whether you love or hate them for their anti-George
W. Bush rant in 2003. This doc offers a compelling look at media spin
and image control in an age where YouTube can instantly expose ev-
erything you say to the world.
“Let's Get Lost” (1988)
Directed by photographer Bruce Weber, this visually ravishing portrait
of jazzman Chet Baker is one of the best movies you've never seen.
“Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin' Down a
Dream” (2007)
Director Peter Bogdanovich (“The Last Picture Show”) tells you ev-
erything you ever wanted to know and more (the film runs four hours)
about the all-American rockers.
“Metallica: Some Kind of Monster.” (2004)
Accompanying the legendary band as it tries to sort through its prob-
lems in therapy, this unwieldy, often very funny movie makes you see
the metal heads as never before.
 18 The DePaulia. November 9, 2009

Matthew Santos
Matthew Santos sat down with The DePaulia
to discuss his true talent and passion, music
By ELIZABETH MURPHY who have remained true to themselves. He ul-
timately wants to make music that he as well as
others will love. Even though he considers his
People often say they had a moment in their life music “soulful rock,” he wants to create music

Photo courtesy of Matthew Santos Music Company

when they realized exactly what they wanted to do,
but Matthew Santos’ story is slightly more dramatic
than everyone else’s. After dropping out of school,
Santos was on a trip to Alaska. He realized there
were only two things he truly missed: his bed and
his music.
Santos was originally interested in becoming a
comic book artist or an animator, but while in vi-
sual arts school, his passion for music truly blos-
somed. To him, music seemed more relevant. So
he chose to come to Columbia College in Chicago
to study music and has become one of the Windy
City’s emerging stars.
Santos uses music as more than just a way of
entertaining others, he uses it as a tool to explore
deeper into his emotions. He considers music an
explorative process. Even though he mostly finds
himself writing about love and personal relation-
ships, his song “Days Like This” is about a happy
homeless man that he encountered.
“He was happier than anyone on the street, and
the street was his home,” said Santos. Santos also
writes heavily about musicians’ struggles with am-
bition and feeling the need to make compromises.
Compromising himself is something that Santos
greatly fears, and he admires independent artists
that transcends the word “genre.”
For being considered an up-and-coming
star, Santos has already had a #10 hit single
on the Billboard charts: “Superstar” with
Lupe Fiasco. When he met Lupe, Santos
didn’t consider himself to have a passion
for hip-hop, but he found Lupe to be extremely
well-versed. Even though hip-hop is not the di-
rection Santos plans on heading, he can still ap-
preciate Lupe’s original style.
Santos and his band members have a new al-
bum coming out in early 2010, and when asked
about reviews on this upcoming album, Santos said
he’s always curious to read them. He knows that
artists are bound to get the good with the bad.
Santos is giving Chicago a preview of his al-
bum, and will be performing Dec. 4th at Lincoln
Hall (located at 2424 N. Lincoln Ave.) At this con-
cert, Santos will perform every song off of the new
album, and for the $20 cover, guests will receive
an advanced copy of the new songs. Santos hopes
this will be his biggest Chicago show to date, and
he wants people to feel that after his show, they’ve
seen the best show of their life.

Atwood performs at Merle Reskin

By CHRISTINE GALLAGHER
She has spunk, she commands an audience, and
her voice is alto in range and even toned. Margaret
Atwood positively twinkled from behind a music
stand and a microphone Friday at the Merle Reskin
Theater during the last U.S. dramatic reading of her
thirteenth novel “The Year Of The Flood.”
Com-
bining musical, spoken and dramatic elements, it
was a hybrid of a church service, sermon and Broad-
way musical.
DePaul choir students and faculty performed
in the production to a receptive audience.
Atwood
said she likes watching the different interpretations
of the script because it's always a surprise for her
as a spectator, even though she performs the narra-
tive voice. Atwood gave no guidelines as to how the
script should be interpreted. "It is what they've made
it," she said.
 two covers.
The idea for the choir and actors progressed or-
ganically as the novel took shape, with poems dot-
ted through the story. Phoebe Larmore, Atwood's
literary agent since 1971, was reading the manu-
script and started channeling the characters through
her partner Orville Stoeber, a musician. According
to the tour website, Stoeber wrote a total of fourteen
hymns in three weeks, seven of which were per-
formed during the dramatic reading.
 And if you ask Atwood what she hopes the audi-
"We hope we can create a theater production,"
she said with regard to a full script production of
the novel. Atwood is looking into the idea with
ICM Film agency in Los Angeles, CA. Her liter-
ary agent did not allow additional disclosure of the
details.
Before the book launched, Atwood learned
how to use a blog for the tour website.
Atwood uploads and edits all the photos for the
blog in addition to posting regularly during the
tour.
While she was speaking about the various me-
diums through which the tour is being delivered,
Atwood instructed me to make a pledge. "Put your
right hand over your heart and pledge," she said. I
was instructed to drink only a certain blend of or-
ganic coffee as part of the environmental goal of the
tour, which is described in detail on her tour web-
site.

Whether the message of “The Year Of The
Flood” is a dystopian look at the future through the
eyes of God's Gardeners, an eco survivalist group,
or gene spliced animals, glowing green rabbits, run-
ning rampant on earth, Atwood thinks books are
comforting because the story is contained between
"If it got out it would be a lot less comforting."
Atwood certainly knows how to tell a story, but she
will not give you all the answers. Most likely, she
will ask another question. In this case, she asked me:
"What happens next?" If you're Atwood you keep
writing. If you're a student hoping to pursue a career
in writing, Atwood recommends that you read-and-
read-and-read and write-and-write-and-write.

ence took away from the performance, she said sim-
ply ìWeird. The performance was weird, but it was
also wonderfully Atwood, she embodied the story in
her delightful, witty and thought-provoking manner.

Stop being polite
and start getting
Real
“The Real World”
season 24 casting
call
By CAITLIN CHARRON
Hundreds of young adults stood in line
exuding how they could stop being polite
and start being real at the 24th season of
“The Real World” casting call, held at
State Restaurant and Cafe, at 935 W. Web-
ster Avenue.
Pinning and primping their 20-page ap-
plication, hopefuls ranging from 18-24
stood in the crisp weather anticipating how
to prove to the casting team that they could
be one of the seven roommates picked to
live, work together for five months and
have their lives taped.
For seven hours, Real World’s casting
directors shuffled around groups of 10
within State Bar with hopes to meet a gem
amongst the 500 contestant hopefuls that
showed up.
Each contestant was required to fill out
an application, which questioned even
their darkest secret. They were continually
reminded by Damen Furberg, Real World
Season 23 featured eight strangers (pictured) living and working in Cancun.
casting director, and his staff to just be
yourself.
“I think the number one thing that we
look for is for the people to be charismat-
ic,” Furberg said, “and to have a big, inter-
esting personality.”
From 500, only 20 will be flown out
to New York to have a longer on camera
interview. For those 20, the odds fall in
their favor of becoming one of the seven
chosen.
“A lot more people are picked from
casting calls,” Furberg said. “If you show
up to a casting call, it demonstrates that
they’re serious about it, and It takes more
to do that than to send an email. For what-
ever reason, those are the people who do
better.”
Casting this season has proven to be
more difficult than before. The casting
team has decided to search for five unique
personal traits. They are specifically look-
ing for individuals who are physically
challenged, have issues with weight, are-
Entertainment. November 9, 2009. The DePaulia 19
Photo courtesy of Bunim-Murray Productions
dealing with the effects of a natural disas-
ter, are attendeding home school, and have
deep conviction for a cause or social issue
are the specific traits the group hopes to
find.
“There are specific stories we are out
reaching, but we really just want the best
people we can find,” Furberg said.
The hunger of the limelight was pres-
ent in hopefuls with each readjusting when
comparing themselves to one another. The
desire to stand out made some do hand
stands, start chants and others drive 289
miles just go get a second chance.
Darren Hansen, 21, was one of these peo-
ple.Hansen was present at the 22nd season
casting call in New York after only apply-
ing as a joke.
“I was looking at grad schools, got bit by
the Real World bug and took it is a sign,”
said Hansen, “That’s why I’m back.”
As a senior costume makeup and hair
design major at Webbs University in St.
Louis, he would be willing to take a semes-
ter off just to feel be in the limelight that he
almost grasped.
The Real World has given young adult
viewers and the casts for the past 17 years
an undeniable influence. Some cast mem-
bers affected generations by promoting a
cause.
One of these cast members was Pe-
dro from the cast of the Real World: San
Francisco, who brought a face and voice to
the HIV virus. Others have launched suc-
cessful acting careers such as Jamie Chung
from The Real World: San Diego, who ap-
peared alongside Rumer Willis in the film,
“Sorority Row.”
As casting directors begin to narrow
down the possible show’s cast, DePaul stu-
dents who do have a willingness to share
their life and story with the world should
now be putting their best foot forward.
“It’s obviously part of why we are hav-
ing a casting call around Lincoln Park,”
said Furberg.
20 The DePaulia. November 9, 2009

Learning plays out in Jazz Ensemble
DePaul offers a hands-on approach to studying music
By NICOLE NICHOLSON
With the city as its classroom,
DePaul offers its students a num-
ber of opportunities to take part in
experiential learning. Perhaps the
student group that emphasizes this
experiential learning the most is
the DePaul Jazz Ensemble. Led by
music director and Professor Bob
Lark, the ensemble is taking Chi-
cago’s jazz scene by storm. Hav-
ing already recorded a 2- CD album
coming out in January and playing
at the Jazz Showcase in November,
the ensemble stays busy and em-
bedded in the city.
As you walk through the halls of
the School of Music any Monday,
Wednesday, or Friday, chances are
your ears are awash by smooth, rich
brass notes that echo throughout the
building from room 103. Practic-
ing in the lower floor of the School
of Music, the halls of the building
are engulfed with blaring trumpet
and bubbly saxophone notes from
the 18 young men that make up the
ensemble. As the guys lightheart-
edly joke with one another they
start to set up practice for the many
performances they have throughout
the year.
One of their most important
shows is coming up in mid- No-
vember at the Jazz Showcase where
they will be performing with Tim
Reese, a former classmate of Lark’s
and popular New York saxophon-
ist for the Rolling Stones. As the
guys practice one of their songs for
the performance, a familiar tune
enters into the ear and images of
the Rolling Stones playing “Miss
You” flashes before their eyes. For
the performance, Reese compiled
a number of songs from the Roll-
ing Stones and altered them to fit a
jazz ensemble. Playing from Nov.
19-22, the ensemble will be most-
ly playing these jazz renditions of
the songs from the Rolling Stones.
Set up by Lark, the ensemble has
a number of chances to showcase
their talent in the city.
“Professor Lark sets up all of the
performances we have throughout
the year. He’s been with DePaul
for a long time and he’s just great,”
stated Alex Beltran, a saxophonist
and graduate student in the ensem-
ble.
Their performance in the Jazz
Showcase with Reese is not the
only big event coming up for the
ensemble; they are also preparing
to release a 2-CD album in January
that they recently recorded.For the
album, the ensemble helped record
songs that were written by Stan
Kenton Orchestra in the ‘60s.
“It was arranged by original
members of the Stan Kenton Or-
chestra for the ensemble to record a
handful of songs for the ‘60s, ‘70s,
and ‘80s that were played by the
band live, but never recorded,” said
Lark.
One of the songs that will be fea-
tured on the album, “Boracho,” is a
lively and upbeat track that features
a solo saxophone part, like a lot of
the songs they perform. The scat-
tered solo parts they have through-
out the songs they perform allow
for the listener to see how talented
Entertainment. November 9, 2009. The DePaulia 21
“I'm Dreaming of a
these musicians really are, and tal- Green Christmas”
ent is what all of the members of
the ensemble posses.
Being a member of the ensemble
encourages a holiday
is an amazing accomplishment and
usually only the musicians who
season with more
play at a high level are accepted.
“We have to be able to read mu- meaning
sic at an exceptional level and im-
provise over chord changes on a By ELIZABETH CHERNEFF ited to decor; additionally,
‘standard’ typically from the Great Getty includes tasty recipes
MCT Wire Service
American Songbook. The auditions for maple walnut cookies,
also usually involve ‘sight reading,’ This month, Anna Getty roasted pumpkin seeds and
which means playing a piece of brings readers a unique specialties like the seven
music we have never seen before, holiday gift guide featuring layers of sin bars (featuring
and trying to play it perfectly with a different kind of green. A chocolate, pecans, coconut
musicality the first time. The music chef, writer, television per- and dried fruit).
school is so well known and draws sonality and environmental Photos of these tasty treats
such talented students that any of advocate, Getty's first book and colorful decorations
the musicians in all three jazz bands “I'm Dreaming of a Green make this set of eco-friendly
already play at high level,” states Christmas” encourages how-tos an excel-
Beltran. gift givers not to lent gift idea
It’s clear by the way the ensemble abandon their (the book also
performs and plays together that eco-friendly is printed
they are hardworking and talented ways this on post-
bunch that love what they do. With holiday consumer
toes tapping and heads bobbing season. w a s t e
to the bass beat of the drums and With an recycled
cello, members of the ensemble are introduc- paper).
in their element as they practice and tion high- F r o m
improve upon their talents as musi- lighting “The the baked
cians. It’s that talent and skill that Ten Easiest goods and
takes the ensemble around the city Things You Can presents to tree
in performance and achievements. Do to Save Energy Dur- ornaments, Getty's
The ensemble will be performing ing the Holidays,” this green lesson is to indulge in gifts,
Nov. 11 at 8 pm with two other stu- guide is filled with sugges- decorations and recipes that
dent ensembles, the jazz workshop tions from decorating pine- “use less and mean more.”
and the jazz orchestra, at the Stu- cone and nut wreaths to And supporting the envi-
dent Center. The performance is lighting up Christmas trees ronmental cause is just one
not only a free showcase of amaz- with LED light bulb strings. more reason to feel jovial
ing brass talents, but also a drive And her tips aren't lim- this holiday season.
for the St. Vincent DePaul’s Food Graphic courtesy of MCT Wire Service
Pantry.
22 The DePaulia. November 9, 2009

Photo couresty of Associated Press

Above: Philip Seymour Hoffman, center, and Nick Frost, right, are shown
in a scene from “Pirate Radio.”
Left: Tom Sturridge, background left, and Rhys fans are shown in a scene
Photo couresty of Associated Press from “Pirate Radio.”

“Pirate Radio” rocks the boat

By CHRIS OSTERNDORF
Richard Curtis, director of “Love Actu-
ally” and writer of “Four Weddings and a
Funeral,” has created a movie that is pure-
ly enjoyable to watch—“Pirate Radio” (or
“The Boat that Rocked,” as it was origi-
nally titled when it was released in Great
Britain.)
The film stars Philip Seymour Hoffman
as a radio DJ who, with the help of an as-
sortment of other rock-enthusiasts with lax
morals, broadcasts rock music from a sta-
tion called Radio Rock on a giant ship off
Europe’s North Sea.
Among others, highlights of the support-
ing cast include Nick Frost of “Hot Fuzz”
and “Shaun of the Dead,” Rhys Darby
who is best known as idiot manager Mur-
ray on “Flight of the Conchords” and the
always excellent Bill Nighy who, as the
elder statesman, presides over this crew of
deviants. Emma Thompson also makes a
hilarious cameo as a sexy older woman.
Hoffman is the star of the movie, and
he seems to be enjoying getting back to
some of his character actor roots in this
film rather than the more serious, dramatic
roles he’s played of late. His performance
particularly reminded me of the one he
gave in “Almost Famous.”
However, newcomer Tom Surridge who
plays Young Carl is the movie’s true pro-
tagonist. This is it’s first problem. Surridge
is simply so charming that I have a hard
time buying him as the outsider he’s sup-
posed to be.
The other major problem is that the
movie has a subplot involving Ken-
neth Branagh as a politician determined
to bring down all pirate radio stations.
Branagh plays the character to a tee, but
the whole subplot just feels unnecessary.
It’s basically trying to add a layer of drama
or conflict just for the sake of taking the
story off the boat for a minute.
But trust me—the boat is where you want
to be. Once again, Curtis has made a mov-
ie involving a large cast of characters, and
the interlocking trials and tribulations of
the Radio Rock crew are what make this
movie. “Pirate Radio” has moments that
are sad, moments that are funny and if
you can overlook its few glaring flaws, it’s
worth coming aboard for.

Re-released album brings so

much more to the speakers
By TJ HORANSKY
In case you missed one the best albums
of 2009, there is still hope for you. Pop-
punk/hardcore titans A Day to Remember
have re-released “Homesick,” but this
time the album includes a bunch of bonus
material and artwork. In addition to the
album itself, every lucky fan will receive
two bonus acoustic tracks, a live DVD and
extra album work including band photos
and fan tattoos. This package of goodies
is a must-have for at least any half-hearted
A Day to Remember fan. The DVD con-
tains an entire hour and a half of behind
the scenes camera time with band, hilari-
ous studio footage, a complete live perfor-
mance in Switzerland and music videos.
Score! For those of you who have some-
how not heard this band or this album,
your chance to redeem yourself is here.
Now, go get your breakdown on.
 23 The DePaulia. November 9, 2009

“The Men Who Stare at Goats” don't do much else

By RENE RODRIGUEZ
MCT Wire Service
“More of this is true than
you would believe,” warns a
title card at the start of “The
Men Who Stare at Goats,”
although the ever-reliable “I
know this sounds crazy, but
...” would have worked just
as well.
Based on the nonfiction
book by Jon Ronson, whose
Web site describes him as a
journalist and a humorist, the
movie claims that the U.S.
military developed a secret
cadre in the 1980s code-
named “Jedi warriors” (Ron-
ald Reagan sure loved “Star
Wars.”) The soldiers were
trained to hone their psy-
chic and paranormal skills
in order to read minds, walk
through walls and turn invis-
ible when caught in a tight
squeeze.
“We will be the first super-
power to develop superpow-
ers!” exclaims Bill Django
(Jeff Bridges), the lieutenant
in charge of this “New Earth
Army.” Django is a Vietnam
veteran who was wounded in
battle, returned home, disap-
peared for six years into the
New Age demimonde – lots
of nudist beaches, commu-
nal hot tubs and LSD parties
– and emerged convinced
that peace and love, not vio-
lence, were the key to win-
ning wars.
Directed by Grant Hes-
lov and written by Peter
Straughan, “The Men Who
Stare at Goats” uses flash-
backs to chart the creation
of Django’s super soldiers,
whose idea of boot camp in-
cludes dancing to Billy Idol,
walking on hot coals, driv-
ing through obstacle courses
while blindfolded and lots
and lots of yoga. The film's
main story is set in 2003
Iraq, where Ann Arbor news-
paper reporter Bob Wilton
Photo courtesy of Associated Press
(Ewan McGregor) has come
to report on the war. Bob
meets Lyn Cassady (George
Clooney), who was once
Django's star pupil and who
still believes he possesses
Jedi powers, such as the
ability to stop goats’ hearts
with a gaze or the fearsome
“sparkly eyes” technique,
which, in one of the film's
most amusing moments, Lyn
demonstrates to Bob.
Much of “The Men Who
Stare at Goats” is indeed
amusing, although mostly
in a mild, setting-the-stage
kind of way, and your smiles
eventually turn to yawns.
Photo courtesy of Associated Press
Once the movie has estab-
lished its roster of loony
characters (including Kevin
Spacey as a dark Jedi who
is jealous of everyone else's
powers), the script doesn't
give them anything to do.
Pretty much nothing happens
in Iraq: Everything’s just one
gag after another, and a shot
of Lyn and Bob wandering
the desert reminds you of
those old Bob Hope-Bing
Crosby “Road” pictures (or
perhaps a more sophisticated
version of a Chris Farley-
David Spade comedy). Ex-
cept even they eventually got
somewhere.
Above: George Cloo-
ney, left, and Kevin
Spacey are shown in
a scene from, “The
Men Who Stare At
Goats.”
Right: In “The Men
Who Stare At Goats,”
George Clooney (pic-
tured) stars as Lyn
Cassady, who be-
lieves he posseses
Jedi powers.
McGregor clearly rel-
ishes the opportunity to act
in a real movie after a post-
“Star Wars” string of duds,
although his casting here
feels primarily like a stunt to
help all the Jedi jokes pay off
more. Clooney is better– no
one can say this superstar is
not willing to make fun of
himself – and Bridges deftly
channels his shaggy “Big
Lebowski” persona. But to
what end? “The Men Who
Stare at Goats” is a premise
in wait for a movie – the pi-
lot episode for a TV series
that got canceled before it
got cooking.
“Goats” director and
Clooney go way back
By ROBERT W.
BUTLER
MCT Wire Service
Nearly 20 years ago
Grant Heslov met fel-
low struggling actor
George Clooney at an
audition. Clooney was
too poor to purchase
a set of head shots, so
Heslov lent him the
money.
It was the beginning
of a long friendship.
Heslov has since pro-
duced Clooney's “Good
Night, and Good Luck”
and “Leatherheads”
and now makes his fea-
ture directing debut in
“The Men Who Stare at
Goats,” which opened
Friday.
Of his pal he said: “It's
a testament to George as
an actor that he's willing
to put himself out there
with risky performanc-
es. Look at 'O Brother
...' where he was willing
to be flat-out silly and
ridiculous. In 'Goats” he
plays it much straighter,
at least on the surface.
Underneath, though,
you can see all this
Graphic courtesy of MCT Wire Service
craziness spilling out.
That's a pretty ballsy
performance.”
Heslov said he had to
know when to go for a
laugh and when to back
off.
“That was the trick,
knowing how far we
could push it. My man-
tra was that everything
had to be played very
straight. The subject
matter is already so far
out there that if you
push it to go for laughs,
it will all fall apart.”
“It helped that so
much of the movie is
based on real people
and events. Jon Ronson,
who wrote the book,
was the model for Ewan
McGregor's character.
George's character, and
Kevin Spacey's, are
composites of several
real-life people. But
Jeff Bridges plays a
military man who really
existed.”
Currently Heslov and
Clooney are in Italy
filming “The Ameri-
can,” about a hit man
hiding out in that coun-
try.

10 minutes
familiar but most people by now know a little bit of Lo
Truglio's work, whether they realize it or not.
Q: Thanks for joining us Joe. What have you been up to
lately? What's going on?
A: Work-wise, I've been working on a show called “Sons
and an attention-grabber kind. I was really kind of more
into making movies when I was younger and went into
the film department at NYU wanting to concentrate more
on that but ultimately I really liked to perform as well. For
comedy, I kind of fell into... I didn't really watched SNL as

with of Tuscon” and it's a show on FOX about... I play the best
friend of a guy who takes three kids under his wing and
they start paying them because their real dad is in prison...
So I'm in the best friend role. In the next year, I was fortu-
a kid, I read MAD magazine a lot, I liked comedies, you
know, I watched “Caddyshack” but I was more of a horror
guy. I actually wanted to be more of a serious actor. I'm
so glad I haven't become one because that’s no fun when
nate enough to get in a movie with Simon Pegg and Nick you take yourself too seriously. I credit Michael Showalter

Lo Truglio
Radio DePaul sat down
with the actor/ come-
dian to discuss his ca-
By Tony Valdivieso
Upon hearing his name, you may not be sure exactly
which roles Joe Lo Truglio has played or what movies he
has been in. Upon seeing his picture, you are bound to
know who he is.
It may be his scene-stealing performances in “Pineapple
Express,” “Role Models” or “I Love You, Man” that you
recall. It may be his role in Michael Showalter's “Wet, Hot
American Summer” or the part of Deputy Frank Rizzo on
the final season of “Reno 911!” The name may not sound
Frost... a movie called “Paul” and it's coming out probably
next Christmas.
Q: Tell us a little bit about “Paul.”
A: The movie is about... Simon and Nick play these comic
book geeks who, coming from ComiCon, run across an
alien that they pick up. Me and Bill Hader are playing two
FBI agents that are on their case... I'm Gene O'Reilly and
he's Stacy Haggert... I believe that's what we decided on....
It was a great time in Santa, I'll say that. Great group of
people and it's going to be quite a sci-fi comedy movie...
it's going to be pretty great, I think.
Q: You are mostly known for the supporting roles you've
played. Is your role “Paul” any different from your previ-
ous roles?
A: I would say it's between a supporting and a lead... It's
bigger than any role that I've done so far I think...it's as big
if not bigger than [my part in] “Role Models.” You know,
we're chasing them throughout the movie so we keep pop-
ping up. It's certainly a higher profile movie than a few of
the other ones I've done.
Q: How did you get started in comedy?
A: When I was a kid, I would just always be a bit of a ham
for dragging me to the audition for what years later would
become “The State”... I didn't really want to go, I didn't
really want to join a sketch comedy troupe. Showalter was
across the hall from me freshman year at NYU and he kind
of dragged me along... I didn't watch a lot of “Monty Py-
thon” before college. I really kind of fell into it.
Q: Tell us about your experience working on “Reno 911.”
A: It was really amazing... and the easiest job I've ever
had in my life, which is to say, there were no lines to re-
member. You just kind of go in, get the scenario and go
for it... I loved it. Plus, I got to shoot a lot of guns... things
are blowing up and you get to do stunts.‘Oh yeah, I get to
shoot this thing? Great. And then jump over this? Great.
And then roll into this? Alright, strap me in and then drive
down the street while I shoot at this guy? Terrific.’
Q: Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon of “Reno 911” recent-
ly announced a new show on NBC. Are you going to be
involved?
A: At this point, no. Not yet. If they need a hairy Italian
they know who to call [laughs.] They've been really busy...
they're constantly working. Those guys are the most pro-
lific writers that I know, without a doubt.
24 The DePaulia. November 9, 2009