Proving that it's a "SpiceWorld" after all, the Spice Girls' first film
debuts today. Setting their sights on world domination, the Girls
are chronicled as they prepare for their first major concert. The
comedy also stars Richard E. Grant as their uptight manager and
includes guest appearances by Elton John, Roger Moore and some
really big shoes. Opens today at Briarwood & Showcase.
Friday
January 23, 1998
5
Oily 'Phantoms' creates huge mess
By Gerard Cohen-Vrignaud
Daily Arts Writer
Petroleum - is it really the innocu-
ous substance that's been running our
cars and buses or is it something much
more devious, insinuating, and, dare I
say, scary'?
That's what Dean Koontz would
have you believe in his latest novel-
turned-movie, "Phantoms."
Two photogenic sisters return to
the sleepy little burg of Snowfield
for a month of relaxation and female
bonding. Jenny (Joanna Going) has
spirited away younger sister Lisa
(Rose McGowan) from Los Angeles
to a place where little sis' will final-
ly be safe and free from their abu-
sive/alcoholic mother (is there any
other kind in
SARA STILLMAN/Daily
Pearl Ahnen read from her book, "Balancing Act," on Tuesday at Shaman Drum.
.Ahn en balncS Act'
as Bryce transports the solution to the
oil problem, the dog probably deserves
the bone for having the most worth-
while part.
Another problem with the film is
that it is shot with very little light.
Take any scene in the movie and
there will be a purposely dark part of
the screen. What is supposed to
come off as sinister instead shows
ineptness, since no one knows what's
happening.
For a sci-fi movie, the special
effects are surprisingly ordinary. The
oil often looks like a squid reject or a
big blob.
In addition, the explanation for the
disappearance is not exactly terrify-
ing. There is no sense of evil to the
oil. It could just as
l I E W well be the stuff
with which one
hantoms makes salad dress-
ing rather than a
*1 vile villain.
howcase & State As a Hollywood
action movie.
"Phantoms" provides the audience
with enough one-liners to sate the
e
Pearl Kastran Ahnen
Balancing Act
Legna Press
Pearl Ahnen is the author of the
recently published collection of short
stories and poems, "Balancing Act"
0 The collection is a collaboration of
her works from past years. Each story
delves into the world of a different
character - a whole, complete charac-
ter. Like an actress, Ahnen takes on the
role of these characters, and she
becomes them. Through this she is able
to create a character as familiar as one's
neighbor, sister, father and even one-
self. Ahnen is a regional writer and
*some of her stories take place in Ann
Arbor. This only furthers the sensation
that these characters are real people that
one has come across at some point.
Each character, by simply living his
or her life, teaches the reader an impor-
tant lesson and tells an intriguing tale.
The topics covered in these stories
include coping with the loss of a loved
one, the transformation into woman-
hood under the close scrutiny of a
man's eye, and dealing with the horrible
memories of war. Ahnen is able to get
into the minds of women, children, and
men alike. In doing so, she evokes
extremely powerful emotions that cause
a reader to laugh, and cry, out loud.
This book has a universal appeal
because Ahnen presents people of all
ages, ethnic background and gender.
See AHNEN, Page 9
Hollywood
movies?).
But some-
thing is very
wrong in
town ...
where have
RE1V
P
Opens today at S
"Phantoms"' Ben Affleck and Liev Schreiber should audition for "Fargo Il."
most insane movie watcher. For exam- Who is to blame for this movie?
ple, "It's the devil come out from hell Dean Koontz, himself. Seeking to
tonight, he wants to dance with us" improve his movie record, Koontz
Anyone looking for a carefully executive produced and wrote his later
drawn character movie will be sorely est film adaptation. The result: a disas-
disappointed. Yet even the typical hor- ter on the scale of the Exxon Valdez ;
ror fans will find "Phantoms" flaccid with oil everywhere and no one tq
and vapid. clean up the mess.
Concert creates a diverse
musical talent Collage
the people gone? The housekeeper is
found dead in the kitchen with apple
pie filling boiling on the stove.
Equally dead are two bakers, decap-
itated heads ovenbaked to perfection
and hands still left where they were
once kneading the dough.
Sound scary? Ludicrous is more
like it. The heads, hands and dead bod-
ies all look like gag gifts for sopho-
moric pranks.
At this point, good-looking
Sheriff Bryce (Ben Affleck) pops up
to protect the quivering, fleshy
females. What follows is the discov-
ery of more dead bodies and odd
occurrences. including an attack by
an enraged killer butterfly.
Timothy Flyte (Peter O'"oole)
enters the picture as the National
Enquirer-type expert on strange disap-
pearances. The impossible mission
with which he is charged: pointing out
the obvious. Why yes, there is a prob-
lem, something is happening, Flyte
amazingly reveals.
An hour of the film passes by before
we are introduced to the bad guy. It's
not your typically monster or ghost
from the past, though. It's oil with a
God complex. That's right, the slick
substance that dwells beneath our feet
has the agenda from hell. It wants
Flyte to spread the gospel about its
godliness (what an ego!).
So what if it's all powerful, pipes in
Sheriff Bryce, trying to cheer up the
terrified troops. The pitchy petrole-
um's cockiness will play into the hands
of the good guys, he suggests.
Almost every scene in this movie is
without tension and so stupid that it
makes one want to laugh.
Perhaps the only truly frightening
scene occurs when Bryce is followed
by a creepy canine. Staring ominously
By Gerard Cohen-Vrignaud
Daily Arts Witer
What do you when you've written more than 60
books and sold more than 200 million copies of your
work worldwide? Just keep doing the same thing,
because you know you've got it right.
That's what novelist/screenwriter Dean Koontz has
done, perfecting the genre of horror novels that has
become his trademark. But he doesn't like to apply the
label "horror" to his writing.
"I don't like to use the word horror' with my work,"
Dean Koontz said. "What it really contains is a con-
temporary setting with a science fiction story. My
books tend to be a mix of thriller, love story and com-
edy. I think Phantoms' has been able to maintain some
of those aspects"
"Phantoms,"his latest novel to be adapted for the big
screen, is the story of the myste-
rious disappearance of a town's N T
inhabitants. Peter O'Toole, Rose
McGowan and Ben Affleck starA
in the film, for which Koontz
wrote the screenplay and execu-AUthOr/
tive produced.
it s A- ,story 'i ato ncr
By Allison Adler
For the Daily
Spotlighting the musical diversity and
talent of the School of Music, the annu-
al Collage Concert shines with a variety
of short works, from soloists to large
orchestras, from the renaissance period
to the present.
With the wide range of music, the
concert is meant to provide something
for everyone. Because all of the per-
formers are current students at the
University, and the conductors are facul-
ety members, the University has taken
pride in this collage for 21 years.
"The concert has no particular focus,"
David Aderente, Production Manager of
the Collage Concert, said. "It represents
many different peri-
Koontz proves horrifyingly prolific
"The University Choir and the
University Chamber Choir will join
forces in singing Ron Nelson's "Ring
Out Wild Bells, led by conductor Sandra
Snow," Music first-year student, Lindsay
Shipps said. "Being a voice performance
major, I am thrilled to have to opportuni-
ty to perform this selection in the School
of Music's tradition of the Collage
Concert"
The program is presented in conjunc-
tion with the Annual Mid-West
Conference on school, vocal and instru-
mental music. For 53 years, the confer-
ence has drawn in music educators from
all across the midwest. It opened last
night with performances by the
University's Men's Glee Club and
i
r
him control over production. His involvement in the
making of "Phantoms" has finally given him satisfac-
tion.
"I'm very happy with how the movie turned out,"
Koontz said. "I was involved in every aspect of the
film. The movie is pretty close to the book since I
wrote the screenplay. For this project, I had to sign off
on every page of the scripts and any changes the film-
makers wanted to make."
Koontz's readers appreciate his prolific writing.
Averaging a book a year means that Koontz farns never
have long to wait for more of his work. Devoted would
probably characterize the nature of the author's many
fans. Koontz receives more than 12,000 letters each
year from admirers.
"I get letters from kids as young as I11 "Koontz said.
"Just the other day, I heard from a 92-year-old couple
who said they had read all of my
E RV I E w books and were planning to live
to be 100 years old just so that
Dean Koontz they could read my next eight
novels."
Screenwriter of Koontz is a perfectionist at
"Phantoms" heart. He writes one page at a
time, revising each page at least
40 times and moving only when he is satisfied that it
meets his standard.
"When I first started writing, I used to outline a
book" Koontz said. "I quickly dumped that approach.
What I like to do now is get a premise, it can be fairly
simple, and then get a character. Then, I let the charac-
ter drive the story:"
According to Koontz, he starts writing his stories at
7:30 am. and stops at dinnertime. What drives him to
get up so early and work so long when financial and
professional success are firmly in his grasp?
"This is what I love to do," Koontz said. "At this
point, the money doesn't matter. Writing helps keep
me off the streets and out of trouble with the cops."
It's the story of a town doctor
who comes back to find that the whole population of
his town has disappeared," Koontz said. "It ties in to
Mayan archeological evidence that shows 600,000
Mayans disappeared overnight. There have been these
kinds of disappearance stories throughout human his-
tory. For example: how did the dinosaurs disappear?"
Koontz's books have been popular fodder for film-
makers in the past, with many television and theatrical
adaptations to date. Koontz's Hollywood success does
not stop him from being critical of the movies based on
his novels. He will be the first to admit that his previ-
ous works have been badly botched when transferred
to film.
Koontz now refuses movie offers which do not give
,,R
ods and is very P,
eclectic" l C
The concert will \C®'I
include perfor-
mances by the
U n iv e rs i tTickets
University 4-6 p.m.
Symphony Band,
the University Choir and University
Chamber Choir, University Jazz
Ensemble, Digital Musical Ensemble
and solo and group presentations from
the musical theatre department and the
jazz and contemporary improvisation
department.
The concert opens with "La
Tregenda," performed by the University
;.Symphony Band and conducted by
James R. Tapia. Other pieces, including
"Toccata in F Major" "Ring Out Wild
Bells," and "I Feel Pretty," from "West
Side Story," have been rehearsed, played
and evaluated in performances through-
out the past semester.
The staff has been working diligently
in putting together the Collage Concert
since September, Aderente said.
REViIEW
lage Concert
Tonight at 8:15
Hill Auditorium
must be picked up from
today at Hill Auditorium
Michigan State
University's Men's
Glee Club. The
Collage Concert
falls in the middle
of the four-day
conference, and
although it began
.:
as a form of entertainment for those
attending the conference, it is now open
to all University students to provide
them with a taste of the range of musical
styles within the School of Music.
"The Collage Concert is the brain-
child of former professor of conducting
Gustav Meier," said Music publicist
Jeffrey Chase "It is a conglomerate of a
lot of musical variety.:
According to Chase the concert has
been extremely well received in the past'
and they are expecting yet another good
turnout is expected this year, Chase said.
The Collage Concert sheds light on
the musical excellence of those enrolled
in the University's School of Music,
through an entertaining and broad-based
performance.
Read the Daily. Recycle the Daily.
-
The University of Michigan
School of Music
Friday, January 23
Collage Concert
"The Concert with Something for Everyone"
(free general admission tickets required and may be obtained
at the Hill Auditorium Box Office from 4-6 p.m. on 1-23-98)
Hill Auditorium, 8:15 p.m.
Sunday, January 25
Faculty/Guest Recital
Marilyn Mason, University Organist
Lorna Young Hildebrandt, soprano
" Magnificats for organ and voice by
Guilain, LeClerc and Dandrieu
Blanche Anderson Moore Hall, E. V. Moore Bldg., 4 p.m.
Monday, January 26
Vocal Arts Lab
Voice students perform vocal repertory
Britton Recital Hall, E. V. Moore Bldg., 6:45 p.m.
Guest Recital
Cameron Smith, piano
Britton Recital Hall, E. V. Moore Bldg., 8:30 p.m.
Tuesday, January 27
Mozart Birthday Concert
littleorch@umich (the new UM chamber orchestra)
Kenneth Kiesler, conductor
Marilyn Mason, organ
Xiang Gao, violin
" 3 Kirchensonaten for Organ and Strings, K. 336, 144, 329
Why
. ,Y
Forget
the norm.
Wait no
longer.
i
4'
°
HAL Computer Systems serves as Fujitsu's principal
development center. The Microprocessor Division
designs high-performance 64-Bit Microprocessors. The
Scalable Server Division designs high-performance NT
interconnect technology and interconnect system
management software.
We're looking for talented EE's, CE's, and CS's to join
our dynamic organization. We have openings for New
Grads and Co-ops. If you've got the desire to break
out from the norm, then HAL is the place to begin
your career.
We will be on campus January 28th for an information
session in the EECS building, Room 1200 and
January 29th conducting interviews at the
Engineering Career Resource Center.
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I