0 Thursday October 10, 2002 michigandaily.com/arts mae@michigandaity.com ARTS 8A THE 'RULES' OF ADAPTATION: SECOND ELLIS NOVEL FINDS WAY TO BIG SCREEN Avary's adaptation of 'Rules' both a delight and a letdown By Luke Smith Daily Arts Editor The uneducated, unknowing or unconscious will look at the straight-from-the-WB cast of "Rules of Attrac- tion" coupled with the MTV-gen fast cutting in the offi- cial trailer and desperately claim "Rules" is a dark response to light-hearted teen trash films, instead of the black-comedy, adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' ("Ameri- can Psycho"), 1987 novel of the same name. Both the book and film satirize the American upper-crust of white-bread bourgeoisie at the small, very private, fic- titious liberal arts-oriented Camden Col- ** lege. Avary fast-forwarded the film's THE RI period, contemporizing Ellis' decrepit dis- ATTRA enfranchised '80s into a debaucherous, disheartening present. This decline into At Sh< moral bankruptcy is the intention and Quality Avary's script holds fairly true to a novel Mad with a branching, multi-framed non-linear narrative. Lion's Sean Bateman (James Van Der Beek, "Dawson's Creek") is the campus representative/emis- sary (salesman sounds so pedestrian) of the local drug kingpins. He deals coke at a 50-percent mark-up, hasn't been paying his bills and he's also been receiving anonymous love letters. Lauren (Shannyn Sossamon, "A Knight's Tale") is virginal, quaint and practical - she convinces herself not to go out by looking through a book visually cataloging sexual diseases, and she's in love with Victor (Kip Pardue, "Remember the Titans") - who is criss-crossing Europe, clubbing, partying and sightseeing. Paul (Ian Somerhalder, "Life as a House") is the bisexual ex-boyfriend of Lauren Hynde who has fallen hard for Sean. Through rewinding bits and pieces of film from points where narratives intersect, Avary allows the principal characters to show different sides of the same event; a facet adapted surprisingly well from the novel. The plot here is of minimal importance, there is no central action driving the film along, everything leads up to the "Dressed to Get Screwed" party - if a film can lead up to the event shown in the long opening credits. Sean believes that Lauren is writing him the notes, and being the sexual predator that he is, begins to awkwardly pursue her. Somehow Paul manages to fall for Sean; all while Lauren is waiting for Victor to get back from Europe. Just like it sounds, the plot of "Rules of Attraction" is a giant mess. It is within this mess of plot (conceived by Ellis, adapted by Avary) where the technological merits of Avary's direction emerge. The film's best sequence is unquestionably Victor's European excursion. Shot entirely with digital cameras, Avary followed Kip Par- due around Europe, demanding that Pardue be "Vic- tor" for the trip's duration. Consequently, Avary shot nearly every waking minute of Pardue's life during the span, edited it together, had Pardue record a voice over and he slapped it in the last half of "Rules." Avary's handheld stumbling through Europe with Pardue is not a cinematic recreation of a European vacation, it is a European vacation. The authenticity is palpable during this sequence. It is always problematic when adapting an incredible novel to the screen, (though Ellis' "Rules" barely regis- .U. 's1 tered on the cultural radar in '87) but Avary's adaptation is an excellent one. However, it is also fitting to point that an excellent adaptation of an excellent novel does not necessarily make an excellent movie. The acting in the film is what is expected. It is sur- prising for a moment to see Van Der Beek doing some- thing other than Dawson - especially when that something involves preying on college freshmen as opposed to pining over Joey, but the surprise wears off fast enough. Shannyn Sossamon and Jessica Biel don't even need to act to play college students. "The Rules of Attraction" certainly poses few challenges to its actors. The script doesn't require ter- rible amounts of emotion out of the charac- ters; Sossamon gets raped and puked on LES OF early in the film, but even that is played easy. In Sossamon/Avary's defense; Ellis 2TION downplayed the rape of the virginal Lauren in his novel, but the rape is harder to brush 6 and aside onscreen, than Ellis's novel allows, one and intends. When reading "Rules," it becomes diffi- Jate cult to imagine the lives of Sean, Lauren, Paul and Victor appearing in color; they are bleak, hopeless and easy to hate or love. Ellis' satire is simultaneously hilarious, biting, sad and pathetic. Avary's "Rules" has elements, moments and scenes fea- turing the aforementioned qualities, but as is often the case, it is difficult to adapt a literary masterpiece. Avary could've done nothing to improve "Rules," the film's head is bumping into a glass ceiling and in some ways, therein lies the problem. Courtesy of Lions Gate Roger Avary on the set of "The Rules of Attraction." up iction' co-writer Avary talks about new 'ttraction 4 By Luke Smith Daily Arts Editor . . ,: : '' rr: : . Y+ { 5 Director Roger Avary's "The Rules of Attraction" almost wasn't made. At a lull in his career, the writer/director woke up in the middle of the night with an idea for adapting his favorite Bret Easton Ellis novel, "The Rules of Attraction." He wrote the script franti- cally and locked it away. It wasn't until his producer demanded to read and subsequently loved the draft that "Rules" became anything more than a script. Coincidentally, the rights were available, and "Rules" began its voy- age from Ellis' mind to Avary's mind and, this Friday to theaters. Even with a quality script and the rights to the film, Avary's "Rules" encountered problems at the, produc- tion level. It was during the making of "The Rules of Attraction," Avary was competing with the Screen Actor's Guild strike and all of the movies being made at the time were shutting down. "We were literally one of the last films being made in Los Ange- les," Avary told The Michigan Daily. Once the film was in the can, Avary and his editors went to war against the censors. "The Rules of Attraction" was rejected for an R-rating from the MPAA countless times. An R-rating needed to be received in order for "Rules" to make its way into wide-release - Lion's Gate (the film's distributor) would take a huge loss if the film opened with an NC-17 or the equally damning Unrated tag. Avary posted on his website (www.avary.com) regarding the rat- ings fiasco. "I had to trim some trimmed snatch - I had to modify some of the dialog." And after all was said and ddne, early press screenings were of a slightly unfinished film. The sound wasn't completely mastered, announcements were made after the film that the opening scene with Shan- nyn Sossamon was being re-worked and the credits had yet to be added. With "The Rules of Attraction," Avary said he "wanted to make a film that wasn't falling prey to normal Hol- lywood lines, while simultaneously adapting Bret Easton Ellis' novel." Given Ellis' scorn for the majority of what he writes about, viewers of "Rules" shouldn't expect to see the film tie up too neatly when the credits roll. "There is no false justice at the end of his (Ellis) books," Avary said. "I didn't want there to be some sort of false justice or false happy ending at the end of this film." Instead of false justice and happy endings, "Rules" viewers will be treated to a cheerless glimpse into the ''condemnation of the luxurious debauchery of the ruling class," said Avary. The nihilistic college students of Camden (a fictitious college somewhere in New England, but it could be Anywhere, USA) sleep around, do ridiculous amounts of cocaine, oozing more apathy than the pounds of cocaine snorted, sold or traded during the film. Avary's own "Animal House" for the heartless is a complicated mixture of characters whose basic desires are far more primitive and depraved than the Pinkerton lyrics. - Katie Marie Gates contributed to this report. I *1 THERROF ATTATON Courtesy of Lion's Gate The controversial preview poster from the film. Living in the present, Tamango incorporates work into his life 4 I By Lynn Hasselbarth For the Daily Tomorrow, Tamango, an artist, dancer and cultivator of the unexpected, will bring his group of wildly creative dancers and musicians to the Power Center for three performances of live dance theater. His group, founded in 1993 as Urban Tap, is an innovative ensemble combining freestyle tap-jazz and TAMAN street-smart hip-hop, expressing the life of URBA New York City, where the company resides.A Tamango was born in Cayenne, French At the Po Guiana, and later discovered dance in Paris, Tomorn adding a global flair that defies all cultural Saturday boundaries. Audiences will see African stilt Sundaa dancing as well as Brazilian capoeira, a fasci- U nating dance style derived from martial arts. Audience members can expect to hear live musical accompaniment that is also a fusion of cultures. Tamango brings in Haitian drummers and the sounds of Africa and Cuba as accompaniment for his dancing. There will also be the Australian didgerdoo, a large bamboo or wooden trumpet, and the more familiar sounds of the cello. Human "beat-boxing" complements break dancing, jazz and bebop. Thus, the trademark of Tamango and Urban Tap lies in its eclectic combination of dance and music. This perform- ance is the ultimate jam session. "Full Cycle" is the title of Tamango's newest work. This creation can best be described as dance-theater, a melting pot G LN w *roi a at 8-3 lM of art forms and cultural influences. In addition to the ener- gizing blend of sounds and movements, audiences will expe- rience high-tech visual effects. Picture a live music video set to movements improvised on stage. "It's like a DJ scratching on the big screen," says Tamango. The beauty of the group's creations is in a style that is wholly improvisational. All per- formances are new and unpredictable, "97 per- YO AND cent improvisational," Tamango notes. It is a TAP wonder that a group so diverse can collaborate when so much is left up to chance. When asked er Center how the performers prepare for a show, Taman- w and go coolly replied, "We just gather and talk - t 8p m. get our energy fields together." 234 "The core of art is to live in the present," IS Tamango believes, a philosophy that he incor- porates into his life and work. Nothing about this man or his friends in Urban Tap is premedi- tated or planned. This laid-back way of life is what makes Tamango's art so appealing. He does not seek to please others, but invites them to join in a whirlwind of spontaneity on stage. In addition to his work with Urban Tap, Tamango has col- laborated with such celebrated dance legends as Gregory Hines, Buster Brown, Jimmy Slyde and Chuck Green. He was also a guest artist in the original production of "River- dance." However, despite the global success of Urban Tap, Tamango maintains a humble appreciation for life and his art. "Everything is subject to change," he says, "I'm concerned with life today." 0 4 SCHOOL OF INFORMATION Connect with SI An Event for Prosoective Students, Enhance your skills to meet the challenges of the Information Age by earning the Master of Science in Information. Tailor your own program or spe- cialize in Archives and Records Management; Human-Computer Interaction; Information Econom- ics, Management and Policy; or Library and Information Services. Cae' eAmbrosia f e ."A'Ia y n a rd tfi- - melon -Thur Sat 7am - 12am 7am 8am - 1lOym - 10opm - 12am Sun 8am .... .. ...... .