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. - I