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Conspiracy?
Stone's'JFK aims to answer
questions about assassination
ByJORGE CARREON
Daily Forty-Niner, California State U., Long Beach
It all began with the crack of a rifle.
Now, almost three decades later, the wounds of John F.
Kennedy's assassination have fissured again. Doubt contin-
ues to cloud the circumstances leading to Kennedy's assassi-
nation in Dallas. And leave it to director Oliver Stone to take
on the second-most debilitating event of the '60s by telling
the tale ofa differentwar in "JFK."
A recent Gallup poll showed 73 percent of Americans
sampled in 1991 do not believe that Lee Harvey Oswald, the
man to whom Kennedy's death is attributed, acted alone. It
is this nagging doubt that drew Stone to explore the myths
and truths about Kennedy.
"His murder marked the end of a dream, the end of a
concept of idealism that I associate with my youth," Stone
said. "I think we should all go back now and try to
understand what went wrong in 1963 and if we can begin to
understand the consequences of that day in November, it
will shape the rest of our lives."
While making "Born on the Fourth ofJuly," Stone came
across the book "On the Trail of the Assassins," which refutes
the findings of the Warren Commission's report in 1964. An
intrigued Stone used the book, by a New Orleans district
attorney named Jim Garrison, as a launching pad for "JFK."
Stone designed the film to be a "hell of a thriller," he said.
"I think we're trying to create an alternative myth to the
Warren Commission, to kind of explore the true meaning of
the shooting in Dealey Plaza, what the murder of John
Kennedy meant to his country, why he was killed," Stone said.
Stone put together the Kennedy puzzle with as many
interesting pieces as possible, essentially reopening the case
and enlisting the aid of forensics and autopsy teams. Experts
on the Warren Commission also were called on, and a few
witnesses to the actual crime lent their testimony. In effect,
Stone's film actually is a celluloid piece of revisionist history.
"Maybe the public learned some of it in one spot or
another," Stone said. "But they never seemed to get it all at one
Kevin Costner finds himself in the middle of a mystery.
time. But you know, I'm a dramatist. You do take dramatic
license, hopefullynotviolating thespiritofthe truth."
The most crucial element facing "JFK" is credibility. Stone
is adamant that the main facts presented in the film are
accurate and have not been subjected to dramatic license.
His screenplay illuminates - not fabricates - the contra-
dictions of the Warren Commission report, he said.
All those involved with the Kennedy investigation were
part of a dangerous game - a game Garrison was
determined to play to the end, despite strong-armed tactics
that jeopardized his career and family. ButJFK is not really
his story. Garrison, portrayed by Kevin Costner, is more of a
catalyst for the maelstrom.
Garrison was "a very powerful man," Stone said. "Because
he was saying some things that are dangerous, he was written
up as a lunatic.... He represents the best of the American
traditions, which are honesty and a search for the truth."
But "JFK" is not really about reopening wounds. Like
Stone's acclaimed ventures into Vietnam, "JFK" is about
healing cultural wounds.
"There was a fiction that occurred in the 1960s and we
have to get back and solve it ... We can still get some truth
out of this thing," Stone said. "Until we come to a conclusion
on the Kennedy killing, some kind of the truth, some kind of
exorcism, America will never be real."
No way? Way!
A 'Wayne's World' movie
ByANDREW F. WALTON
TheEmory Wheel, Emory U.
It's not difficult to name a TV series adapted from a
movie. "M*A*S*H" was done well, "Parenthood" is
another, less impressive exam-
ple. But small-screen entertain- Y
ment adapted to motion pic-
tures is a much rarer commod-
ity. "Beverly Hills 90210, The
Movie"? I think not.
On the other hand, "The
Twilight Zone," which made
the transition well, is a likely OP ARAMONT
point of origin for a film open-
ing this month. You can almost Movie stars? Not!
hear Rod Serling: "Picture two
metalhead teenagers on what seems to be a garden-
variety public access cable show. But things here are not
what they appear. You have just crossed over
into...Wayne's World."
Yup. Wayne's World. Wayne Campbell and Garth
Algar (Mike Meyers and Dana Carvey), the most
engaging idiots on "Saturday Night Live" since Mr. Bill,
are set to burst onto the screen in the greatest special
effects thriller since Terminator 2... NOT!
Wayne and Garth, two fictitious headbangers with a
public access cable show in Aurora, Ill., have been a hit
since first appearing on SNL in 1989. The film's
makers promise to show more of the characters than in
the show's sketches. "Much of the fun of doing the film
is that the full range of Garth's character has never
been seen before," Carvey said.
Meyers promises viewers they'll see the upstairs, a
treat since the sketches so far take place in a basement.
Rob Lowe plays TV exec Benjamin Kane, a visionary
who promises our heros a shot at the big time and
discovers they aren't family-oriented after all. Also
appearing are noted babes Donna Dixon, Tia Carrere
and Lara Flynn Boyle from "Twin Peaks."
Transvision Vamp:,
The agony of being
At the movies: A roundup of films playing across the country
By STEPHEN THOMPSON
Daily Cardinal, U. of Wisconsin
The early days of a semester are always a
joyful occasion: a time of renewal, and a time
when relaxation and entertainment become
the primary focus of our daily lives. What's
that? Classes, you ask? Don't kid yourself -
it'll be 14 weeks before you even start to take
those seriously. So scrape together some of
your spare financial aid (or tell Mom and
Dad you need more money for books) and
head on down to your local theater to catch
some of the latest releases.
Until the End of the World - With some
movies, you can summarize the plot in one
sentence, i.e, "Two cops on the edge uncover
a big scandal and shoot lots of people."
Others are like Wim Wender's "Until the
End of the World." This one stars William
Hurt as a globe-trotting inventor who fetches
himself a heap o' trouble - and romance -
when he swipes some dough from a beautiful
woman (Solveig Dommartin). Filmed in
eight countries and four continents, the film
lives up to its billing as "the ultimate road
movie" and "a metaphor for mankind's
search for salvation." And as if that weren't
enough, there's a really cool soundtrack, too.
Rush - StarringJason Patric and Jennifer
Jason Leigh as street-wise cops on the edge, (read: destroy) its culture. See it.
"Rush" is the story of how straight-laced folk Shining Through - Adventure! Romance!
can be drawn into the seedyunderbelly of the Intrigue! It's all here in this action drama set in
drug world. Bring a 1940 Nazi Germany.
date! Melanie Griffith and
Noises Off - Michael Douglas star
Hmmmm. Where have as the good guys who
I heard this one face great odds to con-
before? "Noises Off" is spire against wicked
the story of the wacky Nazi scum. One thing
misadventures of the Nazis have always been
cast and crew of a good for is they make
touring British sex really great villains. It's
farce. There's an aging always a satisfying con-
leading lady, her lover, COURTESY OF MGM clusion when they get
a high-strung director, their comeuppance,
an inept leading man.... Rush: Highs and lows of undercover cs whether in the form of
Why didn't they just come right out and call their faces melting ("Raidersof the Lost Ark")
it "Soapdish 2"? Stars of this wacky, zany or being mercilessly thrashed in gubernatorial
comedy include Carol Burnett, Michael elections.
Caine and John Ritter. Love Potion #9 - I'll take a chance with
At Play in the Fields of the Lord - Director this one, the story of Diane and Paul, two
Hector Babenco ("Kiss of the Spider insecure singles who stumble across an
Woman"), producer Saul Zaentz ("One Flew aphrodisiac. As I look into this flick's future,
Over the Cuckoo's Nest," "Amadeus") and I see "Love Potion #9" appearing on
actors Tom Berenger and John Lithgow Showtime at 3 a.m., sandwiched between
represent only some of the talent in this "Casual Sex?" and "H.O.T.S." Oh, call me
visually stunning picture. "At Play" tells the crazy, but I'm thinking that Diane and Paul
story of the conflict between a native Brazilian are going to fall in love at the end and live
tribe and those who want to "modernize" happily ever after. A possible redeeming
characteristic: it's written by Dale Launer,
who wrote the terrific comedies "Ruthless
People" and "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels."
The Last Boy Scout - One thing I find
disappointing about the current crop of
releases is the lack of films that feature
lovingly detailed slow motion shots of spurt-
ing gunshot wounds. It's a dying art. But at
least the viewing public can take solace (sort
of) in "The Last Boy Scout," starring Bruce
Willis and Damon Wayans as down-and-out
macho renegades on the edge. There's
blood, sweat and testosterone by the gallons
in this cop-buddy action flick produced by
Joel Silver, who did other cop-buddy action
flicks like the now-classic "Hudson Hawk."
PHOTO COURTESY OF EPIC RECORDS
Don 'tread this story, or you may uncover Seattle s
latest secret - and then everyone will know Pearliam
By SAM PRESTIANI Peppers drummerJack Irons. Living out his dreams of being
TheDiamondback, U. of Maryland a musician, surfing, and absorbing life along the way was the
plan. But the plan carried doubts. "What do you want to be?
Pearl Jam is the music of reality. A reality which A musician?" Vedder said. "You wanna be paid to be a
singer/lyricist Eddie Vedder admits, "has always had both musician? What a crapshoot! You better just enjoy playing
hands around my neck." Oddly enough, this real, often music. Do it for music. It's the only way. You can't do it in
painful vision, ultimately conveys an unflinching optimism. It your spare time, and it has to mean everything to you."
is an embrace ofliving all that life has to offer, through fervent One day, Irons slid Vedder a tape of three instrumental
melody and aloose, open and organic musicalapproach. tracks recorded by the then-incomplete PearlJam unit. At
"(There's) a mix and balance (between) the words and work that night, Eddie listened to the tunes over and over:
music, which seems to somehow raise it up where it can "It was a beautiful thing, that this music would hypnotize
almost be celebratory.... So now, we've dealt with reality, and me. I would just let it wash over me and keep letting it go."
yet we've somehowkind of escaped it." The next day, while surfing, he came up with lyrics and
The reality PearlJam explores on its debut recording, melodies for the songs. When the group heard the tape with
"Ten," runs the gamut of personal struggle from images of the overdubbed vocals, there was instant band bonding.
homelessness in "Evenflow," the brutality of child neglect or He moved to Seattle, and in less than a week, the group
abuse in "Why Go" and "Jeremy," to had written an album's worth of
the tortured psyche that snaps into material. "We were burning. Balls of
that of a gun-totin' mass murderer in Its a struggle to have good flame meteors hitting the earth. We
"Once." The haunting single, karma in this day and age." just ended up hitting the same
"Alive," deals with incest and the - Eddue Vedder molten pile. I think all five of us
estranged vibes which surface after were coming from really intense
the betrayal, where Vedder's places and struggle," he explained.
languorous, sultry croon overwhelms with its emotional Guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament certainly
shedding. were, having just disbanded up 'n' coming Mother Love
"I think it's a cool balance," Vedder said. "We're talking Bone after the death of singer and friend Andrew Wood.
aboutnegative things, butI think we're dealingwith reallife." The Pearl Jam chemistry kicked in instantly. It reads
Musically, the dual guitar assault acts as a mirror for almost like a fairy tale, which includes recording the songs,
Vedder's vocal ebb and flow. From the riff-heavy, dark performing the music, and bringing the message to a live
passages to the lyrical, acoustic harmonies, a magnetic audience. Vedder thrives on audience communication,
tension is realized not only within the framework of each though he'd like to keep things on a fairly small level for a
track, but within the unified context of the entire disk. The while. He explains, "I've told people at some of the shows,
epic melodies lead the densely textured rhythm play, often especially the small ones, 'Don't tell anybody about this, so
climaxing with volcanic wails. And the fever-pitch intensity we can come play the same place and get off like this again.'"
with which Vedder's soaring voice catapults his words But Epic Records, the corporate powers that be, probably
amidst the dynamic tension of the music works on a sort of will not lay off the promotional campaign for quite some
cosmic, or karmic level. Eddie admits, "It's a struggle to have time, as "Ten" inches past the 100,000 mark and continues
good karma in this day and age." to climb the charts. The group's recent tour with the Chili
But, eventually, good karma does pays off.... Peppers and Smashing Pumpkins on the East Coast (and
Vedder supported himself working as a security guard Nirvana on the West), in addition to being a mammoth
sometimes 60 hours a week, always midnight to 8 a.m., for success, breathed quite a few of Eddie Vedder's dreams into
nearly five years, to play music, surf all day in San Diego and life. Now, like the Chili Peppers, PearlJam is grooving on a
experience the sordid beauty of creation. He developed a level of universal empathy. And Vedder, living his life as he
non-drug, sleep deprivation technique, which at times kept once dreamed, can now be "more committed to the Earth
him going for three or four days without a night's rest. He and what life's really about... be a product of experience...
played basketball on Fridays with former Red Hot Chili reach out and suck in the real thing."
Love Potion #9: The chemistry of attraction.