OM

It's time for high life!
Ghanaian legend Koo Nimo
leads his students in a perfor-
mance at East Quad's Residen-
tial College Auditorium. 8p.m.
michigandaily.com/arts
Ute Lemper
to sing from
I'Puing .,.Kiss'
By Rosemary Metz
Daily Arts Writer
Sultry and sexually provocative, Ute Lemper brings
her uninhibited, musky Cabaret musical style to the
Michigan Theatre on Friday for the University Musical
Society. This concert date was
rescheduled from Lemper's
December date, which was can-
celled due to illness.
Ute Strikingly dramatic, Lemper
Lemper sings the works of Kurt Weill, Nick
Cave, Elvis Costello, Philip Glass
The Michigan Theater and others. She will perform songs
Friday at 8 p.m. from her new album, titled Punish-
ing Kiss, with an accompaniment

ART S

WEDNESDAY
APRIL 11,2001

Writers' strikes could lead
'itO job cuts in entertainment

r
t

of five male musicians. Director
Bruno Fontaine, will also play
piano and keyboards. Bass, flute,
guitar, violin and drums comprise
the rest of the ensemble. This sam-
pling of Lemper's artistic reper-
toire will also mark the 100th centenary of the birth of
Kurt Weill as well as the 50th anniversary of his death.
Born in Munster, Germany, Lemper was educated at
the Dance Academy in Cologne and the Max Reinhardt
Seminary Drama School in Vienna. Her professional
life is full of variety. She has appeared on stage in sev-
eral productions, including the roles of Grizabella and
Bombalurina in "Cats." In "Blue Angel," she appeared
in the signature role of Lola. In film, she has worked
for Robert Altman in "Pret a Porter," and
"Tales from the Crypt."
A woman who can surprise and shock, Ute Lemper's
myriad of other interests include painting and journal-
ism. She has recently published her first book, "Non-
Censure," which is a semi-autobiographical satire
presently available only in Germany and France. She

Courtesy of Deccaciassics.com
"Hey baby ... let me serenade you. In the bedroom. Now."
currently lives in New York with her husband, comedi-
an David Tabatsky, and their two children, Max and
Stella.
Lemper sings music from the Weimar Republic of
pre-World War II Germany. The songs are dark and
politically aware, addressing issues of gender, censor-
ship and sexuality. In 1930s Germany, these songs were
labeled "degenerate art." Yet, these songs with their
themes of lost or broken love, truthfulness and the
defenselessness of the human heart, are as timely today
as they were in pre-WWII days. Her music transcends
any barriers or borders of class, time or politics. How-
ever, with her cabaret songs, Lemper arrives at a full
circle. She told David Mermelstein in a New York
Times interview that she feels an affinity for Nazi-for-
bidden music because, "being German, I feel that this is
really the right music for me to live in."

By Rohith Thumati
Daily Arts Writer
Are you ecstatic with the current
trend of "reality" and game shows?
Do you turn your TV on only for
shows like "Survivor," "Tempta-
tion Island" or "Who Wants to be a
Millionaire?" Well, you might be
as happy as anyone come next sea-
son if the Writers Guild of Ameri-
ca and Screen Actors Guild strike
within the next few months.
The writers' strike can begin as
early as May 1, the day that their
current contract expires. The
writer's strike will immediately be
felt by those who enjoy late night.
television, as a new show must be
written every night.
Jay Leno, David Letterman,
Conan O'Brien, and Craig Kilborn
all rely on large staffs of writers
for the monologues and skits that
they use on their shows. If the
writers strike, these shows have
two options: Only do interviews,
or shut down. Jay Leno has already
said that he would support the
writers by shutting down produc-
tion and have reruns played.
For any late-night show that
attempts to stay on the air, actor
interviews will only last until July
1, when the SAG's contract
expires. After that, a possible
strike will prevent them from pro-
moting their shows and movies.
Besides this, the effect of a pro-
tracted SAG strike would not by
felt for a few months. Most televi-
sion shows will already be in sum-
mer reruns, and the summer
movies were filmed months ago
and are now undergoing post-pro-
duction. Movie studios are current-
ly working overtime to get as much
filming done on as many films as
possible before the end of June.
This means that there will be plen-
ty of movies available for release
well into next year.
A protracted strike will threaten
the next TV season. It takes a lot
of time to put a show on the tube.
Scripts must be written and
reviewed, casts must be put togeth-
er, pilot episodes for new shows
must be shot and approved and
episodes for current series must be

shot months in advance. Although
TV seasons do not get into full
swing until November sweeps
nowadays, if a strike by either
union lasts until August, it could
mean that there may not be any
new episodes of your favorite
shows until December.
An intelligent person may be
wondering why should they care
about a bunch of pampered actors
and writers? The vast membership
of the Writers Guild of America
(WGA) and the SAG are not what
you see on TV or the silver screen.
At any one point, upwards of 80
percent of either union is not
employed in the entertainment
industry. It also takes hundreds of
people to make a two-hour film.
All of those people will be affect-
ed, as will the thousands of people
who help produce television
shows.
This means that millions of dol-
lars in payroll taxes will be lost on
a daily basis. California's economy
-- the largest state economy in the
country - is already being affect-
ed by the turmoil in Silicon Valley
and the energy crunch. With both
WGA and SAG members out of
work, businesses will also be hurt
by lack of sales. This is not lost on
Los Angeles Mayor Richard Rior-
dan who has started pressuring
both the studios and the WGA to
settle.
As was the case with last year's
strike with the commercial actors,
both SAG and the WGA are
unhappy with their residuals. The
guilds argue that their members are
not paid enough for work that is
aired in syndication, on cable or
pay-per-view, or sold on home
video or DVD. Also, the issue of
Internet rights is at stake, as the
Internet did not exist in the form it
is in now when their last contracts
were signed.
Another problem is that actors
and writers feel that they should be
paid just as much when their work
is shown overseas as when they are
shown in the U.S. One of the
biggest issues with the writers is
the "A Film By" credit that the
Directors Guild of America negoti-
ated into their contract many years

ago. Charged as a "vanity credit,
writers feel that it does not giv
them their proper due. The pro
lem with this issue is that the DG
would have to approve this change.
The WGA also wants to be more
involved with the creative prscess,
be guaranteed access to the sas
well as the dailies (the shot it
are processed immediately after
filming), participate in cast read-
ings and other creative issues.-'The
DGA is against all of these and
will have to approve them as well.
This puts the studios in a
quandary, since they alreadylhave
a contract with the DGA.
According to the Writers Gfila,
the total cost of these concessions,
including the actors' stipula ,
would be $725 million over ib
years. Spread out among AOt
Time Warner, Vivendi Universal,
Viacom, Disney, Sony, NB,
Dreamworks and the dozens of
smaller entertainment companies,
this is not unreasonable. However,
the Alliance of Motion Picture anil
Television Producers (AMlA )
See STRIKES, P

I

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