OPTIMIST THE
FRIDAY November 2, 2007 Vol. 96, No. 19 1 sections, 8 pages www.acuoptimist.com
The film you won’t see at this year’s FilmFest
It’s that time already
Provisional no more
Social club members officially welcomed new members Wednesday, page 4
The Optimist examines a student film ACU deems too inappropriate for FilmFest, page 6
ACU men’s basketball team begins practice and exhibition play, page 8
Eyeing the judges
Def Poetry Jam could still come to campus By Rachel Davis Opinion Editor
Courtesy of AUNDREA HEARN
ACU alumna Aundrea Hearn (’92) works in Atlanta, Ga., for the advertising agency JWT after spending time in the radio and film businesses.
Aundrea Hearn By Jared Fields Editor-in-Chief COURTESY OF Randy Brewer
At right, Randy Brewer (’93) stands next to Carrie Underwood and director Roman White after winning an Academy of Country Music award for the video, “Before He Cheats.”
Randy Brewer By Kelsi Peace Managing Editor
This year has been a year of firsts for alumnus Randy Brewer, (’93). In 2007, his work as a producer earned him the longest No. 1 running video in Country Music Television history and the first country music video nominated for an MTV Music Video Award, to name just a few firsts. “It is really neat to have those opportunities and to be blessed with that kind of recognition,” Brewer said. “For me, you do that, you win an award and it’s exciting. And then it’s like, ‘What can we do next? What’s something else we can conquer?’” Brewer knows about taking the next step — since graduating from ACU, he worked in Los Angeles on commercial projects and produced videos at a company in Nashville, Tenn., before founding his own production company, Revolution Pictures, in 1997. “It kind of just happened,” Brewer said. “It was a God thing. I can dream bigger, having my own company. I don’t have any walls from somebody saying, ‘No, you can’t do that.’ It’s definitely more exciting; you have more freedom.” Brewer’s Nashville-based company has garnered 18 Telly Awards, five Emmys, two Billboard Magazine Awards, a Dove Award,
a BDA Gold Award and MTV’s Indie Music Video of the Year. Brewer has worked with Kelly Clarkson, Sara Evans, Carrie Underwood and Mat Kearney, who premiered Brewer’s video on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy. “Working with the American Idols, that was really cool for me,” Brewer said. Before adding Clarkson and Underwood as his clients, Brewer said he aimed to shoot videos for Christian artists Michael W. Smith or Steven Curtis Chapman. He still hasn’t, but a transition into the country music arena found him working with Underwood, first on “Jesus Take the Wheel,” and more recently on “Before He Cheats,” which is now up for Video of the Year and a CMA award. The video also earned Revolution Pictures an MTV music video award nomination, which Brewer said he is most excited about. “‘Before He Cheats’ has been very good to See
BREWER page 3
Since graduating from ACU in 1992, Aundrea Hearn has worked in radio, film and advertising, but not because she didn’t enjoy previous jobs. Living in Atlanta, Ga., where she grew up, Hearn works as a copywriter for the advertising agency JWT. She currently works exclusively on JWT’s account with Ford. Hearn said she enjoys her job, but doesn’t know how much longer she’ll be there. “I usually get bored pretty quickly,” Hearn said. “After a while my ADD kicks in, so I need to do something different.” Before her job with JWT, Hearn worked on other clients’ campaigns, such as Home Depot, UPS, Blockbuster, eHarmony.com and others. Aside from her job with JWT, Hearn is also working with her cousin on organizing a charity concert in Nashville, Tenn.
The concert, “What a Pair!” pits artists together in duos singing show tunes to benefit breast cancer research. After ACU, Hearn began her professional career in Atlanta, working at a radio station. But after two years, Hearn decided to try another path and moved to Los Angeles with ACU graduates Craig and Leslie Barnett who let Hearn stay in their guest room. Hearn got a job as a production assistant at Dreamworks. One of her jobs involved organizing Steven Spielberg’s rolodex. The task took a month and a half and had perks like celebrities leaving contact information on her answering machine. Going from ACU to Atlanta to Los Angeles, Hearn said she experienced some initial culture shock after arriving in Hollywood. Hearn said she knew nothing about film and was thrown in to her job like a kid learning to swim. “It was a really great education there to learn from the ground up,” Hearn said. “And they allow you to do that there.” Her hands-on experience led Hearn to work with other award-winning directors and See
HEARN page 3
Cali Lewis and Neal Campbell By Daniel Johnson Sports Editor
COURTESY OF NEAL CAMPBELL
Cali Lewis and husband Neal Campbell started the podcast “GeekBriefTV” in November 2005 and have now reached over 1 million Internet viewers.
Congress’ first spent funds of year for bowling
Not many people know Luria Petrucci by her real name. Luria’s digital name, Cali Lewis, is a different story. Cali is the host of GeekBriefTV, a themed podcast that broadcasts tips and discusses computer trends to up to 1 million Internet viewers. Lewis and her husband Neal Campbell are among the many high-profile FilmFest
By Kelsi Peace Managing Editor
The Students’ Association Congress spent the first of its $4,000 discretionary fund on free bowling and charity at Wednesday’s meeting. Senior senator Alaina Bearden and junior senator Kelline Linton presented a bill for free bowling two days a week from 7 to 10 p.m. in the campus bowling alley. “It’s just [for] ACU students, and that’s because they give us the mon-
Department of Journalism and Mass Communication
Judges for the 2007 show and are best known for inventing the popular podcast. The couple discovered podcasting in 2005 after hearing former MTV VJ Adam Curry discuss the Internet broadcasting medium on a National Public Radio discussion. “He was being interviewed on NPR, so we just started soaking up the information and realized this was something we wanted to do.” Lewis said.
Campbell and Lewis said they laid out a basic idea for GeekBriefTV in November 2005 and released their first show on the Internet during the winter. “We had never done anything before, so we bought our first video camera, just learned and did it,” Lewis said. Lewis, the podcast’s producer and host, takes on the
ey,” Linton said. The senators said Joel Swedlund, McGlothlin Campus Center manager, approved the plan and reduced the price for SA. Free student bowling for the rest of the semester will cost $600, a price that will cover operating costs but will not yield any profit for the university, executive treasurer Kevan Kirksey said. Congress passed the bill with 38 See
See
CAMPBELL page 3
The hit TV show “Def Poetry Jam” may be coming to ACU, if budgetary problems can be resolved to bring the members here. “Def Poetry Jam” is a show that airs on HBO Fridays at 12:00 a.m. and is a “poetry performance initiative,” said co-founder Bruce George. “What we would like to achieve is to make poetry more palatable to the youth,” George said. “It’s a way for them to cry out, to be creative. We want to bring the poets forth and bring them out of the closet, so to speak.” The show received the Peabody award from HBO, and the Broadway version of the show won a Tony award. Several celebrities, including Dave Chappelle, Benjamin Bratt and rapper Mos Def have been on the show. Now in its sixth season, the show began in 2001 just after the Sept. 11 attacks. “We were a little nervous about if the world was ready for poetry [after Sept. 11],” George said. “But it turned out the world was in a very reflective state, and that worked well to our advantage.” Students’ Association president Matt Worthington said the main problem with getting “Def Poetry Jam” on campus is lack of funding. “Since enrollment numbers were lower than projected, budgets for every department had to be cut,” Worthington said. “The English Department wanted to bring them in but couldn’t on their own because of the budget cuts.” However, students have come together and shown the administration how much they want the group to come to campus. Over 800 students signed a petition to bring “Def Poetry Jam” to ACU. “That’s about 20 percent of the student body,” Worthington said. “It’s a testimony that they can’t ignore.” Worthington said another concern about “Def Poetry Jam” coming is that at ACU, the slam poetry genre is a bit foreign to most, and some administrators have expressed concerns with the nature of slam poetry. However, most are open to the group coming to campus, and the group is fine with monitoring its content. “I told them they had to understand that ACU is a
See
POETRY page 3 KATIE GAGER CHIEF
PHOTOGRAPHER
Students’ Association vice president Daniel Paul Watkins, president Matt Worthington and chief development officer Matt Greenberg discuss a bill Wednesday.
CONGRESS page 3
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