4 Page 8 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, March 29, 1989 Me & Jed Continued from Page 7 Hollywood and found ourselves this bush, which ain't no more than a horseshoe's throw away from where the stars get out of their fancy cars for the Oscar show. "Eddie's comin', I just know he is," Jed says. "Uh-huh," I say.. "Say, why do you reckon they have four thousand cops swarmin' around here?" Jed says. "Safety purposes," I tell him. "In case Rambo doesn't win, he's gonna be pretty pissed and might whip out his Uzi andhurt some people." "Oh," Jed says. The first limo pulls up and some guy starts talking into some bullhorn or somethin'. Ladies and gentlemen, nominee for Best Actress... Glenn Close! "Who the hell is she?" Jed says. "Ah, uh..." More limos pull up. Meryl Streep! Frances McDormand! Max von Sydow! Martin Landau!... Jed is lookin' a might unhappy. He pulls the string wrapped around his finger and still finds the carrot on the other end. Roger Rabbit still ain't come to take a bite. "I don't get it," Jed finally says. "Charlene done tell me the five most popular movies last year were Com- ing to America, the Rabbit movie, Big, the Bruce Willis deal and Cock- tail. Now, I've been lookin' real hard and I don't see no - Omigosh." Tom Hanks! Signorney Weaver! Jed can't believe it, so he stands up to get a closer look - and that's when one of L.A.'s finest sees him and grabs him and throws him in an unmarked van. When they come back for me, I start yelling as loud as I could, "I LIKE BULL DURHAM ! I LIKE ROGER RABBIT ! I LIKE DIE HARD ! I LIKE COCKTAIL! I LOVED TIE NAKED GUN ! I IS NOT AN IDGIT!" But no one listen to me. And now I is in jail with Jed. This is a stoopid town they got here. These Oscar people bring Doritos to the party but they never open the bag. Nominee gains power of choice BY MARK SHAIMAN AND TONY SILBER MISSISSIPPI Burning has been nominated for seven Academy Awards. One of those nominations is for a cinematic newcomer who has been overwhelmed by her immediate success. Her first role was in Blood Simple, in which she co-starred, followed by a smaller role in Raising Arizona. But things have gotten bigger and better for Frances McDormand because her third film role in Mississippi Burning has won her acclaim and exposure. When we spoke to McDormand in January, the nominations had not yet been released, but the film was certainly involved in a storm of controversy. Many criticized the film's alleged distortion of facts as well as its unfavorable treatment of Blacks. McDor- rnand defended the film and tried to clarify the contro- versy. "I think the movie that (Alan) Parker made is a good movie," she said. "We never claimed to be mak- ing a documentary." She addressed the issue of contro- versy cautiously, adding "this is not fact, and if people want a better representation, they should go to a doc- umentary like Eyes on the Prize." Frances McDormand was first approached by direc- tor Alan Parker who was begining to assemble his Mississippi Burning cast. "When I first read the script, I had trouble with it. As far as Gene (Hackman) and I were concerned, that attraction that's built into the story was gratuitous to the relationship. So when I read the script, I had prob- lems with the ending. I felt it was a compromise to what the filmmaking community thought an audience expected." She questioned the nature of the relationship between her Mrs. Pell character and Hackman's Agent Anderson: "The scene where she gives him the information about her husband and where the bodies were buried - the first script I read they slept together and then she told him. The second time I read it, she tells him and then they sleep together. The third time... she tells him and they fall to the floor in a passionate embrace. By the time we did it, we even thought the kiss was wrong but (Alan) Parker felt it was necessary." Nonetheless, Mississippi Burning was a rewarding and educational experience for McDormand, and she has vivid memories of particular moments in the pic- ture: "The most powerful, visual image in the movie... is the very first shot of the two water fountains on the wall, clear demarcation - colored and white. Within white, southern America, (Mrs. Pell) thinks she has this relationship with Mary, the lady that does her laundry, but the fact is she can't go to a restaurant with her, she can't go over her house." When asked about the possibility of being nomi- nated for an Academy Award, she was hesitant, but hopeful that this role could open up a prosperous act- ing career for her and give her the opportunity to choose her own genres in which to work. With her nomination sewn up, she has achieved her desire to have "the choice to do a totally frivolous comedy as opposed to a socially significant drama. It's all about choice." Picks Continued from Page 7 Edwards contends, "Close might have the inside track because for the past few years she has continually given excellent performances. Unlike Streep, Close has not yet been hon- ored with an award and thus the Academy might decide she's due to win." The next category may throw a wrench in the works because the Oscars are so predictable as to al- ways have one category that is a toss up. This time it is the Best Supporting Actor. Four of the five chosen are first time nominees. So will it be Kevin Kline for a comedy? Or Dean Stockwell for a comedy? Or Martin Landau, because he's been around forever? Or River Phoenix, at his young age? Or Alec Guinness, at his old age? Alec, Alec, Alec! The key words are "old age." Not that we have any- thing against Sir Alec - he is un- questionably one of the greatest ac- tors of this or any other time. But he'll get the Oscar because he's old. There is no reason to go on about those souls and films that should have been nominated but weren't because we all agree that Jeremy Irons and Dead Ringers, Stephen Frears, Wings of Desire, and various other names and titles have been ig- nored. But what can you expect? Too much, and that's the problem with the Oscars! I w Take a look into the future. Compufair '89 Thursday and Friday, in the Union Films raise lesbian, gay male issues E __________________________________________ DROP IN C 00007 -ON BY MARK SHAIMAN F OR those of you who want to avoid the hoopla of tonight's Oscar ceremonies, and the whole structure of Hollywood films in general, there is a perfect alternative. Tonight marks the start of the first ever Michigan International Lesbian and Gay Male Film Festival, a presenta- tion of diverse films dealing with a subject that Tinseltown tends to avoid. The works shown in this se- ries are more important socially than almost anything that will come away with one of those little gold statuettes by the end of the night, and deserve attention as such. The Fest begins tonight with two films about the most pressing prob- lem facing the gay male community - AIDS. This disease which domi- nated the newscasts of a year ago has fallen to the back pages of the tabloids today, but the problem is no less significant as shown in the films tonight. First is A Death in the Family, a documentary accounting which fo- cuses on Andrew Boyd, the fourth person in New Zealand to die of OPEN HOUSE Albert Terrace Apts. 1700 Geddes AIDS. This will be followed by A Virus Has No Morals, the outra- geous product of Germany's Rosa von Praunheim who is known as the "enfant terrible of gay filmmakers." This off-beat, unconventional treat- ment of the delicate subject matter includes scenes such as nurses rolling dice to see which AIDS pa- tient will die next of AIDS. Still, this black comedy brings many peo- ple's worst fear into daylight. This double feature is just the first of the six nights in the Lesbian and Gay Male Film Festival which is presenting more than a dozen full- length and short films altogether over the next two weeks. Other highlights include the Ann Arbor premiere of Virgin Machine, about a journalist researching romantic love, and two gay classics by world- renowned film director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. The Film Fest provides a unique opportunity to see films of a nature rarely dealt with in cinema, but with enough support from the Ann Arbor area, this will hopefully become an annual event. I 761-1717 THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2- 10 p.m. A DEATH IN THE FAMILY will be shown tonight at 7 p.m. and A VIRUS HAS NO MORALS at 9:20 p.m. at Nat Sci Auditorium. Tickets are $2.50. Sunday and Monday, April 2 and 3: Riffs, a theater and blues cabaret, the 2nd annual spring benefit for Performance Network, is seeking 6-8 actors. No prepared monologues neccessary. Auditions are at 408 W. Washington St., Sun., Apr. 2 at 2 p.m. and Mon. Apr. 3 at 7 p.m. Auditions and Opportunities ap- pears Wednesdays on the Michigan Daily's arts page. If you have any auditions or theater-related activities you would like publicized, contact Theater Editor Cherie Curry at 763- 0379. n Everything you've always wanted to know about living and working in New York City... but were too embarrassed to ask!! Fun! Food! Beverages! Information! Sunday April 2 12-4 pm FREE! Get a grip on your future. Getting your hands on an IBM' Personal System/2' is a good way to start facing your future. Especially when a great student discount saves you money. The IBM PS/2' can help you organize your notes, write and revise papers, produce high-quality graphics to make all your work look sharper, and more. And there's a good Iq