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DWWILDLIFE
Arizona Daily Wildcat
B section
In search of Calvin’s dad
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Justyn Dillingham Arts Editor 520•621•3106 arts@wildcat.arizona.edu
By Justyn Dillingham Arizona Daily Wildcat
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Inside Chris Rock’s hair odyssey page b INSIDE Something sweet: We rate candy page b ‘Astro Boy’ a blast from past page b dailywildcat.com/wildlife
wednesday, october ,
It was the kind of opportunity everyone dreams of. Lee Salem, the president of Universal Press Syndicate, had just gotten a call from Steven Spielberg’s office. Spielberg wanted to talk to Universal Press Syndicate about making a movie out of its most successful property, “Calvin and Hobbes.” So Salem placed a call to Calvin’s creator, Bill Watterson, in Cleveland, Ohio. Salem remembers Watterson’s response with a mixture of awe and bemusement. “Why would I want to talk to Steven Spielberg?”Watterson said. He refused to talk to the multimillionaire director — not once, but twice. He also turned down an offer from George Lucas. He had no desire to turn over his creation to anyone else, no matter who it was. For anyone who loved “Calvin and Hobbes,” it’s a relief to have our sense of Watterson’s fiercely high principles confirmed by anecdotes like this. As some of us have always sensed, Calvin’s
dad — the cranky, bikefrom the cartoonriding Luddite who hated ist, through Wattertechnology and told Calvin son’s former editor, that their disastrous famwere also the last: ily vacations “would build “Why is he doing character” — more often this? Who cares?” than not spoke for his creUnfortunately, ator, who even looked a bit “Looking for Callike him. vin and Hobbes” But it’s not really a surdoesn’t amount to prise.“Calvin and Hobbes” much more than a mattered to its millions of rambling account of readers not merely because Martell’s efforts to of the wacky hi-jinks or dredge up enough brilliant art, but because it information about Photo courtesy of decomicshop.nl felt real and powerful in a “Calvin and Hobway that no other comic strip bes” to write a book — save“Peanuts,”at its best — did. I still about it. Although he knows where remember where I was when I learned Watterson lives, he doesn’t want to that it was coming to an end. It felt like knock on his door because that would someone had just told me there wasn’t be rude. Understandable. But without going to be any more pizza, ever. that kind of drama, or the insight that When freelance music journalist a Watterson interview might have proNevin Martell set out to write a book vided, the book never comes to life. about his favorite comic strip, he had The biggest coup Martell scores is an the vague idea that he might get to talk CALVIN, page B6 to Watterson. The first words he got
Halloween costumes: the DIY way By Ada Dieke Arizona Daily Wildcat
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hat goes into making a fantastic Halloween costume? Some costumes are poorly constructed and at times can barely hold out through the night. So just in time for this year’s Halloween, fashion design students from the The Art Institute of Tucson gave their input on how to construct a Halloween costume. “I like to make Halloween costumes,” said Shawn Halstead, first-year fashion design student at the Art Institute. In the past, he’s made his own top hats, Cookie Monster costume (which his mom now likes to wear for Halloween) and a Popeye mask made of chicken wire and insulation foam. This year, Halstead is making Elvis jumpsuits for himself and his wife. Second-year fashion design student Sara Selby will be making a costume for her 4-year-old son. “Your easiest bet is to go to the local fabric store,” she said, to get the right fabric at a low cost. But what is the right fabric? Dustin Beaver, a third-year fashion design student, recommends knit fabrics like your average tshirt, woven fabrics like a buttondown shirt or chiffon. He said they are typically cheaper and provide versatility in construction. “If a pattern tells you to use knit, then use knit,” Selby said. “Knits are harder to sew because it stretches.” Some costumes can get elaborate. For top quality, what are the best types of fabrics to use for an involved costume like, say, Dracula? “Cotton is a good base for a Dracula costume,” Selby said.“It’s easy to dye if you can’t get the fabric you want.” Usually, Halloween night gets fairly cold, so it would be best to be equipped with a costume that protects you from the elements. “Mixed blends such as fleece would be recommended for going outside,” Beaver said. Selby said you can make a Li’l Bo Peep costume simply by cutting off the sleeves of a top purchased from a thrift store and then re-sewing frilly sleeves cut at a diagonal or bias to avoid fraying threads. All three students recommended an easy trick for making a skirt. Pick COSTUMES, page B3
This ‘Alice in Wonderland’ costume was designed by Shawn Halstead, a firt-year fashion design sophomore at the Art Institute of Tucson.
Timothy Galaz/Arizona Daily Wildcat
The scariest moments on film Halloween isn’t Halloween without scary movies. But let’s be honest: Most of them are a pretty sorry lot. The Daily Wildcat arts desk is proud to bring you its personal lists of the scariest movies ever. 1. “The Lord of the Rings” (1978): While the story itself is nothing to cause alarm (though Gollum is pretty freaky), the combination of cheesy, exaggerated animation and shrieking, sepia-toned, superimposed actors to stand in for the armies of orc and man allowed this late ’70s trip to sufficiently addle my pubescent brain. 2. “The Shining” (1980): Being trapped
in a musty old manor with Jack Nicholson is a horror in itself, but add in some of the most iconic freaky imagery in film history (the ghoulish twins, the blood-flood elevator, the random guy in the bear suit doling out sexual favors to poltergeists) and this movie becomes an unforgettable haunter. 3. “The Others” (2001): It goes without saying that British children are the stuff of nightmares, but British children who play with ghosts are just a horror and a half, and the clever twist ending only amplifies the creep factor. 4. “The Ring” (2002): Speaking of freaky imagery, this film’s death-inducing videotape is one of the creepiest
minutes of insufferable student-film impressionism imaginable. The movie itself is forgettable, but that tape will stick with you through the night. 5. “The Mothman Prophecies” (2002): The brilliance of this film is in the fact that nothing scary actually happens; director Mark Pellington plays off of audience fears and superstitions as tension rises towards a catastrophic conclusion that may or may not be the work of something paranormal. As with any urban legend, the film only offers further questions, not answers. — Brandon Specktor MOVIES, page B8
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