Arts & Entertainment
The Daily Campus
Monday, March 7, 2011 •
5
FILM
Eckhart, Rodriguez talk about ‘Battle: Los Angeles’ By CHASE WADE Associate A&E Editor cdwade@smu.edu
Stemming from the successes of “Paranormal Activity,” and last year’s surprise hit “District 9,” the new alien filled blockbuster “Battle: Los Angeles,” follows a group of marines caught in the middle of an unexpected alien attack in America’s most diverse city. As the conditions of the alien attack grow worse, it takes everything the small squadron has just to survive. Playing two of the marines in the movie are action movie veterans Aaron Eckhart and Michelle Rodriguez. “What I love about this movies is that it is filmed in documentary style,” Eckhart said. “It has a realistic war feel to it, but instead of people, we happen to be fighting aliens.” Playing two tough marines forced to work together to survive, Eckhart and Rodriguez went through a grueling routine of workouts and exercises in preparation for the film. From being
at the shooting range, to running two miles a day, the two actors were pushed to their physical limits. “Basically, we went to boot camp,” Eckhart said. “We learned weapons backward and forward and both got into really good shape.” His co-star, Rodriguez, was no stranger to the gym as well. “I hate running, so getting up to run two miles a day was pretty hardcore,” Rodriguez said. “Let’s just say those abs I had in my last movie ‘Machete’ were from the training for this film.” As one of Hollywood’s most recognizable female action stars, Michelle Rodriguez is used to playing nitty-gritty female roles. As for her part in “Battle: Los Angeles,” the actress describes why she chose to join the cast. “Love stories are always so boring to me,” Rodriguez said. “I’m attracted to playing the strong female, I like projecting strength. It’s not my fault that every time someone writes a script
Photo Courtesy of Sony Pictures
A Marine platoon faces off against an alien invasion in Los Angeles in Columbia Pictures’ action thriller “Battle: Los Angeles.”
for a tough female, I gravitate towards it.” As an action movie, “Battle: Los Angeles” features a variety of stunts and setups that can sometimes be
harming to the actor. In Eckhart’s case, one stunt left him in a cast. “We were filming one scene and I fell about seven feet off of a rock and broke my arm,” Eckhart said.
Initially in “Battle: Los Angeles,” Eckhart and Rodriguez’ characters are displaced from one another, as part of separate units. However, it is when Rodriguez’s entire unit is missing that she finds Eckhart’s group of marines, from there, the two actors must work together to save Los Angeles. “Michelle is a great addition to this movie,” Eckhart said. “She brings a woman’s perspective to the piece and she really knows her weapons. Michelle has got great energy and is amazing at doing action movies.” Knowing her weapons are correct in the movie, Rodriguez gets to handle and shoot a variety of different artillery. “There were some weapons in this movie that were pretty new to me,” Rodriguez said. “I got to shoot a 50 caliber, and even though it was blank, that sucker had a lot of stuff behind it. At one point, I learned how to take apart and put together a gun with a pen. I love guns.” “Battle: Los
Angeles’” latest production stills show the iconic city ravaged in flames I destruction, Eckhart reflect on how we would react if the gruesome scenario was ever to come true. “If something like this happened in real life,” Eckhart said, “the event would be completely mind numbing.” While Eckhart may be at a loss for words, his co-star Rodriguez has a more precise plan. “Not that I think something like this would ever happen,” Rodriguez said. “But if it did, the first thing I would do would be to run to my local police station and do my best to try and help out.” With all of the guns, explosions, aliens and destructed cities that any moviegoer would ever want, “Battle: Los Angeles” open in theatres nationwide, this Frida. “The film is very entertaining,” Eckhart said. “Basically, it’s a kick-ass alien movie.”
THEATER
‘Out of the Loop’ fringe festival delivers through weekend By LAUREN SMART
Arts & Entertainment Editor lsmart@smu.edu
“Beauty Shop Stories” are trite, touching Faye Lane’s show “Beauty Shop Stories” has been getting a lot of attention from the local media and it seems that the easiest explanation for this is that Texans love homecoming stories. Right after the platinum blonde greets the audience, she explains that she has not always been the writer and performer living in New York City and that deep down she is always the overweight Rhonda Faye Gunnels who grew up in her mother’s beauty shop. She relates stories of these days in the shop and all the regulars who would dish out wisdom as though they were all her grandmothers. This southern wisdom is the main subject of her monologues and songs, but is mixed in with tales of being teased for being fat and songs about the different foods that made her that way. In fact, there are three words that she overuses throughout the performance: ‘moon pies,’ ‘fat’ and of course ‘y’all.’
The songs in her show are trite, yet endearing although when she puts on a recreation of her bedazzled string bean costume from elementary school it is adorable. Her stories seemed to strike a vein with the audience at Out of the Loop with their heartwarming morals and comforting southern sentimentalities. Besides, who can resist the daughter who returns to her family after time away in the big city?
‘The Lesson’ keeps good pace Second Thought Theatre’s festival entry is “The Lesson” by Eugene Ionesco and although this absurdist play is not a safe choice, the production is smartly accomplished. This play requires great performances, which it receives from Anastasia Munoz as the student, David Lugo as the professor and Abigail Herring as Marie. And it requires a director who can communicate Ionesco’s messages of failed ideologies and the struggles of human communication, which Mac Lower accomplishes for the most part. The pacing of the opening is quick
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and creepy and as Munoz goes into a trance, she gracefully swings her arms and legs in a spacey manner, while Lugo paces madly around the room. “I have a toothache” she cries relentlessly, while he chatters on about Neo-Spanish versus Spanish and knives. It’s a creepy comment on human nature and serves as a reminder that STT is one of the more professional companies in this festival. The final performance of this piece is Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
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“The Great White Way” goes belly up A campy musical inside of a campy musical? Not sure why Cordes & Parr Productions thought this was a smart move for his Out of the Loop festival entry, but it’s safe to say this is one of the festival’s biggest flops. “The Great White Way” is a fulllength musical about a struggling theater company mounting a production of a musical that appears to be based on “Jaws.” The main love story of the musical takes place in the costume shop between the washed-up writer John Worth and the aspiring
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By Michael Mepham
singer Estrella Proxima. Both claim to have given up their respective arts until meeting one another and John decides to write Estrella a musical. That’s the basic plot, besides the incoherent addition of a muse-like ghost. The characters are in a bad musical working for a bad musical and attempting to write what we can only guess will be another bad musical. If every actor in this show were having as much fun as Michael Gasparro in the role of the Great White Shark or were as talented as Darius Anthony Robinson in the role of Tinker Bell, the lovable gay who runs the costume shop, this campy musical might become some sort of cult classic in the tread of “Rocky Horror Picture Show” or “The Room.” But David Parr’s book and lyrics struggle to create solid characters or songs that are anything beyond hokey. When Estrella sings about being attacked while hitchhiking, the audience is forced to decipher what she is singing about, and later the show’s blonde bimbo Sandy Beach sings an irrelevant song about gnats being heartless. Rebecca Cordes’ music
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03/07/11
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is adequate, but doesn’t add enough momentum to keep this musical on its feet. Estrella declares in the first act that she doesn’t like musicals and by the second act, the audience understands her sentiment. “The Great White Way” performs this Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
Dance troupe demonstrates feminine strength The power of the human body, particularly that of the female, was highlighted in Muscle Memory Dance’s addition to the weekend. Muscle Memory has been participating in Out of the Loop for several years and they choose to tell the stories of women who face struggles that break them down. It’s always intriguing to see dancers tell stories without words and this performance had some captivating moments. It seemed though that the dancers were to a great extent focused on perpetual motion and displays of strength rather than having full control and grace.
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ACROSS 1 Pet adoption ctr. 5 Like drive-thru orders 9 Cash alternative 14 Come __ end: conclude 15 Most eligible for the draft 16 Popular branch of yoga 17 Small-time 19 Have __ with: talk to 20 Like strictly religious Jews 21 Invite to enter 22 Fawn’s mother 23 Family folk 24 Simple to apply, in adspeak 25 Approx. leaving hour 26 Some Ga. Tech grads 27 Pass along softly, as a secret 29 Coin flip call: Abbr. 30 Yuletide spiced ales 31 Numero after siete 34 Fellows 35 Stage group 36 Occur together 39 ’60s atty. general who served under his brother 41 Elephants, e.g. 42 End of a giggle 43 Angel dust, briefly 46 Completely stump 47 “May __ excused?” 48 Significant period 49 Handy bags 50 Rodin or Michelangelo 52 Evita’s married name 53 Fortunate one 54 Put on a coat? 55 Color of suede shoes, in song 56 __-Seltzer 57 Hockey disks 58 Dines 59 Mouth off to
FTP Comedy Night Cap “Inside the Loop” is a fun way to end a night at the festival. This improv group is focused on taking Dallas to task with their festival performances. Their first performance was Friday at 10 p.m. and most of their sketches kept the audience in stitches. They perform again this upcoming Friday and Saturday, March 12 at 10 p.m. Tickets are $10, but students can purchase them for $5 on Friday and receive their first beer free.
Dallas Poetry Slam The other late night event was a spoken word competition known as the Dallas Poetry Slam. This energetic event asked poets from across the metroplex to compete for the randomly-chosen judges in the audience. If you get a chance to catch this group around town, it’s something you don’t want to miss. For more information visit dallaspoetryslam.com For other updates throughout the second week of the festival, check out smudailycampus.com.
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DOWN 1 Walked decisively 2 Christie sleuth Hercule 3 On a slant 4 Pharaoh’s cross 5 Hot alcoholic drinks 6 Burger toppers 7 Group with thirtysomethings, briefly 8 “Mighty” tree 9 Vehicle’s framework 10 Wham-O footbag 11 Addis Ababa’s country 12 Television watcher’s choices 13 Kit __ bar 18 Teamed, as oxen 21 Massage reactions 24 McGregor of “Moulin Rouge!” 28 Q-U connection 29 Cheap dance hall 30 Like small laddies 31 Halloween mo. 32 “Undersea World” explorer Jacques 33 Momentous
3/7/11 Friday’s Puzzle Solved
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34 Warehouse gds. 37 Joins, as stones in a wall 38 Colored part of the eye 39 Expresses stern disapproval of 40 Touchy-__ 42 Diaphragm spasm that may be cured by holding one’s breath
43 “Downtown” singer Clark 44 Onion soup holders 45 Hooded coats 50 “Star Trek” helmsman 51 Palmtop computers: Abbr. 52 Very quietly, to Beethoven 53 Scale abbr.
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