s 8 - Friday, April 6, 2012 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com SLICE OF COMEDY 'Pie' cast reunites TV REVIEW Ensemble wins 'Game' 'American Reunion' cast and crew talk humor, new film By KAVI SHEKHAR PANDEY Daily Arts Writer "Hey, do you want to have sex with us right now?" Jason Biggs asked. "I know we just met, brother, but there's a fucking lock on that door, right?" Since it would be a blatant breach of journalistic ethics, this writer for The Michigan Daily respectfully declined, politely pointing out that the windows in the group-study rooms at Ross are in fact, two-way, before pro- ceeding with an interview with the cast and crew of "American Reunion": writers/directors Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schloss- berg ("Harold and Kumar" films), star Eddie Kaye Thomas (Finch), and the apple pie par- amour himself, Jason Biggs (Jim). It's been a long 13 years since the first "American Pie" launched a new generation of teen-sex comedies and nine years since the last non-direct- to-video sequel, "American Wedding." But the original cast wasn't always keen about reunit- ing for yet another installment. "No one thought after ("Amer- ican Wedding") that there was going to be one, and the idea, on the surface, wasn't that appeal- ing," Thomas said. "(Hurwitz and Schlossberg) wrote a qual- ity script, and I know that's what got everybody on board. It's hard to find good movies, period, to make. Whether it was 'American Pie 4' or a whole other film, it's just a good, funny script, which got everybody to say 'Alright, I'll do it.'" Because of storytelling and scheduling issues, members of the core cast were dropped for 2003's "American Wedding," including Chris Klein (Oz), Tara Reid (Vicky) and Mena Suvari (Heather). But Hurwitz and Schlossberg were insistent that they and everyone else were game before "Reunion" moved forward - this meant every- one, including Jim's foreign exchange crush Nadia (Shannon Elizabeth), the MILF Guys and The Sherminator. "You wanted to bring back all thefavorites fromthat firstfilm," Schlossberg said. "The hope was that once you started getting some of the cast, the rest of the cast would jump on board." Hurwitz added: "If these guys hadn't signed on board, Tara Reid would have played every character. It would have been Eddie Murphy style." As newcomers to the "Ameri- can Pie" franchise, Hurwitz and Schlossberg were brought on for their dual-threat capability - not only did the duo create, write and direct the entirety of the legendarily raunchy "Har- old and Kumar" trilogy, they are devotees of the "American Pie" films. "These guys know these mov- ies better than any other human being walking on the planet - to a scary degree," Thomas said. Biggs related an anecdote from their flight to Detroit that explicated the breadth of the pair's fandom. "I looked over, (Schlossberg) puts his earphones into his iPhone," Biggs recounted. "I'm like 'What're you watching?' because I'm nosy as shit. And it's 'American Pie 1.' He was like 'I just wanted to double check the Uncle Mort reference in 'Ameri- can Pie 1' and see what scene it was in.' "When you're doing a sequel, you want to make sure." Schlossberg began. "Yeah, especially six, seven, eight months later, after the movie's already been locked into the can, you want to be able to reference it on the flight," Biggs interrupted. "I was sitting next to Jason Biggs, I wanted to impress him," Schlossberg said. But when it came to writing the story, the duo knew they had to inject fresh material among the recurring jokes and call- backs to the previous films. "When we were first approached with the idea of doing the movie, Jon and I started thinking about differ- ent ideas, and the first idea that came into our heads was that Jim's mom is dead," Schlossberg said. "You sick fucks. You sick, sick, fucks," Biggs exclaimed. "The truth of the matter is, when you have someone like Eugene Levy (Jim's Dad) and you see that he's been put in the position where he's been doing the same thing every movie," Hurwitz said. "We were looking to give Eugene (more to do)." "It's kind of a genius idea - to introduce death into the 'Ameri- can Pie' franchise is conceptu- ally ridiculous," Biggs said. "But it's so smart and so good, it's one of my favorite things about the movie because, first of all it adds some poignancy, which there is a lot of in this movie, despite what you may have gathered from the present company." Though pathos is pumped up, so are the sex-crazed she- nanigans that would make even Tracy Morgan blush. While Jim romancing a pie was boundary- pushing in 1999, Jim running around in a gipii suit for an extended sequence is one of the tamer scenes in 2012. "When we were on set, you shoot those long days and like, on hour 15, I'd have a long con- versation with Biggs," Thomas narrated. "I'm like 'Yeah, I think the country is headed in the right direction, how do you feel about Obama' and he's got leath- er studs on his cock." Now with kids and careers, the hormonal teens from "Amer- ican Pie" have certainly evolved and matured - thankfully, the humor hasn't one bit. By DAVID TAO Senior Arts Editor "Game of Thrones" is rap- idly becoming one of the most intricately plotted TV shows since its HBO counterpart, ** "The Wire." The backstory Game of of the series takes up liter- Thrones ally thousands Season 2 of pages. So premiere before we get Soodaysat 9p.m. this review going, we HBO should get a key piece of background informa- tion out of the way: Ned Stark is dead. Our goody-two-shoes hero and famed Internet meme had his head cut off and mounted on a spike at the end of the first season. That would have been a massive spoiler, but his severed head currently decorates a mild- ly polarizing "Game of Thrones" promotional poster that screams "Look at us! We killed our lead in the first season, which means we're edgy and shocking and unpredictable!" The poster is a bit much, but its message holds true - in its second . season premiere, the tale of political intrigue and deception that captivated audi- ences last year wastes no time in bringing the explicit horror of George R.R. Martin's dark, cynical fantasy world to life. Our first minutes back in Weste- ros feature fights to the death staged for the amusement of Jof- frey (Jack Gleeson), the realm's new king. They're soon followed by a character that "marries" his daughters and fathers his own personal harem. Round- ing everything out are several instances of infanticide, as well as typical "Game of Thrones" material: attempted poisoning, plenty of topless prostitutes and, of course, medieval torture. While these scenes lose some shock value for die-hard fans who've pored over the books and visualized these scenes count- less times, it's certainly flinch- worthy material. Yet, beneath all the horror and blood and crimes against nature lie the things that make "Game of Thrones" the best drama any- body has made in avery long time. There's the wonderfully devel- Damn, it feels good to be a Lannister. oped - and. cally to has co Ned's den), w battle victorii els ago Ned's Fairley her soi from h of adul murde: boy kin and tas most e recenti Th rea. ti Btut tal of F show r charac able a who r Ned'sE tenuou ly is,a frustra insolei ity is ensemble, which despite the arrival of her dwarf-brother in many cases, due specifi- Tyrion (Peter Dinklage, who - Ned Stark's beheading, won an Emmy for his perfor- me into its own. There's mance last season), whom their son Robb (Richard Mad- father has sent to babysit. Ridi- oho returns as a seasoned culed and underestimated due commander, with three to his stature, Tyrion delights es under his belt as he reb- in his newly acquired power, ainst the crown. There's pointing out his sister's mistakes widow, Catelyn (Michelle with glee and swiftly consolidat- ), looking on helplessly as ing control. Sitting among it all n is prematurely snatched is Littlefinger (the perpetually er by the responsibilities underrated Aidan Gillen), the lthood. And there's Ned's kingdom's self-made master of rer, the aforementioned coin, who pragmatically plays all ig, whose love for opulence ends against the middle. :te for sadism make for the The performances them- asily hateable character in selves are leagues beyond even memory. pay-cable, but the characters' interactions are the show's most fascinating element, as we track le W esterosi the machinations of the titular "Game." In one particularly pow- il1y, really like erful scene, Littlefinger reminds Cersei that "knowledge is power." heir sisters. Cersei responds by ordering her guards to seize him and slit his throat, changing her mind at the last second as Littlefin- it's in the Westerosi capi- ger squirms. "Power is power," King's Landing where the remarks Cersei as she orders her eally picks up, giving us guards away, earning herself a ters at their most vulner- moment of smug satisfaction. nd most devious. Cersei, She doesn't seem to know ose to Queen Regent at that she's earned herself a long expense, reveals just how winter's worth of Littlefinger's s her grip on power real- enmity, but as we jeer (or cheer, as she reacts in constant as the case may be), we know for tion to her son's spoiled a fact that we're in for a long sea- nce. Her mental instabil- son's worth of exceptional enter- further exacerbated by tainment. EVENT PREVIEW METAL to host poets ByJOHN BOHN occurr Daily Arts Writer Ypsila decrea In 1933, Black Mountain Col- lege was founded, guided by its progressive educational agenda of interdisci- plinary artistic One Pause learning. P The col- lege had many Tonight at notable fac- 7p.m. ulty members,M including John METAL Cage, Robert Free Creeley and Charles Olson, among others, and it was also the birthplace of the renowned poetics movement Black Mountain Poetry. While the college has since disbanded, its legacy remains. Influenced by the college's model, the nonprofit organization Copper Colored Mountain Arts seeks to bring similar educational opportuni- ties to the Southeast Michigan area. "Black Mountain was trying to have innovation in education and create a new way of looking at learning, a holistic approach, which didn't involve just sitting in a desk in a classroom," said 'U' alum Sarah Messer, director of One Pause Poetry. One Pause Poetry is an orga- nization within Copper Colored Mountain Arts, and this year it will be the focus of CCMA's artistic agenda. They will kick off their 2012 season tonight with readings by three poets. The organization was estab- lished in response to multiple literar for a versiti gan U down, Drum, readin the coi nizatio POE its "We thing commi Sinc Pause ebrate area fc ings a and wi attemp public, divisio "We quality "There and we ple fro Poet matath Jennife work a Mat the Un ences in the Ann Arbor/ Writing program, has published nti areas that were multiple volumes of poetry, sing the public's access to which most recently include y events. A lack of funding "Amorisco" and "Tocqueville." series of readings at uni- He has received multiple awards es such as Eastern Michi- including a Guggenheim Fellow- niversity and the closing ship, a PEN American Center of bookstores like Shaman Poetry Translation Prize and which have their own three Pushcart prizes, among g series, created a need in others. mmunity for such an orga- Chang and Nezhukumatathil in. were recently declared "Poets Under 40 to Watch For" by for- mer Poet Laureate Rita Dove. One Pause Both have published multiple volumes of poetry, including etry kicks off Chang's "The History of Ano- nymity" and Nezhukumatathil's 2012season. "Lucky Fish," which won a gold s medal in poetry from the Inde- pendent Publish Book Awards and the Eric Hoffer Grand Prize wanted to make some- for Independent Books. happen for poets in the Tonight's reading will be One unity," Messer said. Pause Poetry's first reading at its e the fall of 2010, One new location: METAL, a combi- Poetry has brought cel- nation art gallery and workshop d poets to the Ann Arbor featuring metal work. Previ- or free and public read- ously, the group held readings in long with conversations a restored barn, which led to the orkshops. Not only do they current precedent of One Pause t to unite poetry and the Poetry's season mainly taking but also unite the many place in the fall and spring. ns within poetry itself. "It's an active metal shop really honor diversity and where they restore cars, make 'in our poets," Messer said. metal sculpture and do all sorts 's a lot of camps of poetry, of metal work and design," Mess- e try to really include peo- er said. "But then they also have m all types of camps." events like poetry readings and :s Aimee Nezhuku- performances." il, Khaled Mattawa and Those who go may find an er Chang will read their atmospheric mixture of poetic t the event. recital as well as see the metal tawa, who teaches at monoliths that decorate the back- niversity's MFA Creative ground of the event. PERFORMANCE PREVIEW Sahana presents 'Swaranj ali' By JONATHAN ODDEN is associated with a particu- of dance. For example, there is DailyArts Writer lar emotion and it becomes the Pallavi, which is the purest form responsibility of the musician to of the dance like the steps and Since its inception in 2003, bring that emotion forward to the footwork, and there is also Abhi- Michigan Sahana has brought audience." naya, which is expression and the diversity and complexity The opening piece, "Alaipa- how the dance narrates its story." intrinsic to the yuthey," is a Carnatic Kriti: a Ravi also explained that there classical tradi- Swaranali: southern style, often in three are distinct subsets of Abhi- tions of Indian parts, that tells a narration naya, like Vachika Abhinaya in music and A Night of through changing refrains. In the Andhra Pradesh dance form dance to Ann Music and the piece, the composer imag- Kuchipudi. Vachika Abhinaya is Arbor. Focusing Dane ines himself as Lord Krishna's spoken narration by the dancers on appreciation lover, unable to stop thinking and these lines make the dance and perfor- Tonight at about Lord Krishna as he melo- into an almost play-like drama. mance, Sahana 7p.m. diously plays the flute, expained This facet of the Kuchipudi style is holding its UMMA Engineering senior Nikila Ravi, can be seen in the performance's spring concert, co-president of Michigan Saha- second piece, "Jugalbandi." "Swaranjali," Free na. "A Jugalbandi is a piece that comprised of shows two different classical four classical dances and five forms, either music or dance, classical ensembles that show- Classical India and in this concert we're doing case the extensive performance Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam," art of India. on the stage Ravi said. "Both are popular, "In classical (Indian) music, t southern Indian dances that real- there are two very distinct ly demonstrate the intricacies of styles," said Business junior Vish the forms." Srivastava, co-president of Saha- "The piece is blissful and Another element of the show na. "There is the northern style, happy, as Krishna fills his lover's will be the third piece, "Shi- Hindustani, and the southern heart with joy," Ravi said. "And vae Shivae Mallari," which is a style, Carnatic. Whereas Hin- this is reflected in the Tala Adi, Bharatnatyam dance backed by dustani music has become heav- which is the quickest Carnatic classical Indian music. This piece ily influenced by Western styles, tempo, and in the Raga Kanada, showcases the most authen- the Carnatic traditions remain which has a lighter melody." tic classical experience where unchanged for centuries." After the opener, the concert dancer meets musician with col- Srivastava explained how this introduces dance, the other art laborative energy, explained Sriv- division makes it quite difficult formperformedbySahana. There astava. to find common ground between are over eight distinct forms of "What is really cool about the styles, and most pieces filter dance still widely performed in Indian music and dance is that into one of the two types. Yet, India today. Sahana will pres- there is ahuge element of impro- Srivastava clarified that there are ent dances from the Kuchipudi, visation that is built into every underlying traditions that unite Kathak, Odissi and Bharatanaty- classical structure," Srivastava them as "classical." am styles. But even with these said. "The piece is literally cre- "In all classical Indian music, forms, all classical dances share ated together onstage during a there are three main concepts: a single point of departure, Ravi performance, and you can get Tala, which is rhythm, Raga, explained. a group of classical artists who which is melody, and Bhava, "Classical dance is based on have never collaborated before which is the overlying emotion rules," Ravi said. "Each style is and give them only a scale and of a piece," Srivastava said. "The derived from the Natyashastra, rhythm to work within and three define the way all music which is a book detailing all the they will create a whole perfor- functions, so any particular song guidelines and different aspects mance." 6 0 0 ^' - -r r v A 1 1 4 ;