88 -he Michigan Daily Wee ii Magazine -- Thursd September 4, 1997 4
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The Michig*3aily Weeken'U Magazin4- Thursday. September 497 - 138
to Television Feature
Networks aim to gain viewers with diverse fall television lineup
I-BFilm Feature
Independent '3 Days' gives reprieve from summer failures
LOS ANGELES (AP) - He's a big-
city, crime-busting priest who questions
authority, hangs with hip gay angels,
gives counsel to single parents and
knows alien abductees but hasn't per-
sonally spacewalked.
Just joking: "Father 'Hood" won't be
on television this coming season. But
the above elements, separately or in var-
ious combinations, will be at the heart
of many of the 1997-98 TV series.
Dramas represent a hefty chunk of
the 36 new series bowing on the six
broadcast networks, with crime shows
leading the pack. Spiritual themes also
predominate - certain to be deemed
signs of rising millennial fever.
Private detectives, police detectives,
police psychologists, FBI agents, patrol
officers, sci-fi lawmen and crusading
federal prosecutors will be keeping our
TV neighborhoods safe and jails full.
There are two men of the cloth arriv-
ing to handle spiritual needs. Domestic
help comes in the form of a genie, a
teen angel and an alien nanny.
Sitcom tradition has its day with
shows about families, lovers and ex-
lovers. Many of the parents will be dads
coping on their own, the couples will be
wildly mismatched and the exes obvi-
ously meant for each other.
Through it all, a growing number of
gay and lesbian characters - 30,
See FALL TV, Page 168
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By Jula Shh
Daily Film Editor
SAN JOSE - In an age, when
Hollywood is churning out movies like
an impersonal factory, large-budget
films with big stars, fiery explosions
and complex special effects run amuck.
Studios often overlook quality projects
in order to take on movies that will
guarantee profits, with no regard to
whetherthe product is a top-grade pro-
ject or a shiny piece of crap.
As studios spit out movies like
machines, more and more acclaim has
been given to talented filmmakers who
have created quality, low-budget inde -
pendent films. Films such as Kevin
Smith's "Clerks" and Jon Favreau's
"Swingers" have taken the nation by
storm, winning a stronger following
than money-making bombs like
"Batman and Robin" or "Striptease.'
As film production becomes more of
a detached labor process; independent
filmmaking upholds the tradition of.
movie creation as a sophisticated art
whose process and final product are
equally savored. One ideal example of
independent filmmaking at its finest is
director M. David Lee Ill and his pro-
ductions.
On a lazy Sunday morning in
Northern California, at the height of
summer with the sun beaming down on
a community not yet out of bed, Lee
and his crew were hard at work filming
at Cafi Leviticus in downtown San
Jose. As the gang worked diligently on.
a drama titled "3 Days ... 3Hours ... 3
Minutes ... 3 Seconds," The Michigan
Daily was invited to watch the process.
"3 Days" is a realistic drama about a
part of the world that no one wants to
see. Randy (Michael Kinsella) is an
intelligent, aspiring writer working as a
male escort to support himself and his
junkie girlfriend Lex (Renee Smith).
Life for this couple is painful and gritty,
filled with drugs, casual sex and decep-
tion. As the two live within the dark
shadows of society, they dream of
escaping this hell and creating better
lives for themselves.
"The whole premise about this film
for us is that (all of us are) about.a pay-.
check away from being homeless,
streetwise, having to do what (we) need
to do to get to the next day," said Lee,:
who previously worked on a thriller
titled "1-900."
Amy Lee, who plays Randy's friend
Leslie, said, "What we see in the film is
that these people aren't losers. They're
real people with feelings, with talents,
with ambitions. I mean, Rand not
happy being a prostitute. He wants to do
other stuff, but he didn't have a lot of
chances and he doesn't have anyone to
fall back on. So he's doing what he can
to support himself."
Kinsella also provided insight into
his character. "I think Randy is pretty
introverted. He's one of those dreamers
who wonders. But he's caught up in a
bad set of circumstances right now."
The actor continued, "It's kind of a
hardening of the heart the further he
progresses, but he's scared of losing his
humanity, and he doesn't want to
See 3 DAYS, Page 208
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