The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Friday, October 5, 2012 - 5 * The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Friday, October 5, 2012 - 5 'U' to declare Michigan 'State of the Book' SONY PICTURES ANIMATION "Dad, you never Belieb in me." Sy1 adorable 'Transyvania' By NOAH COHEN best cliche frat boy ever fit into a Daily Arts Writer cartoon chassis: Lovably dense, Celebrating literature with local writers, publishers By ANNA SADOVSKAYA Assistant Arts Editor Known for its mitten shape, automobile industry and Cere- al City, USA, Michigan is State of rarely thought the Book of as a cul- tural hotspot. Saturday at Rather than 10 a.m. mention ackham noteworthy authors, artists Free or musicians, people point to their palms when referring to their home state. In an effort to raise aware- ness for Michigan's wide array of creative contributions, Fic- tion Writers Review and the University's MFA Program in Creative Writing will co-host a literature convention commem- orating the long-standing liter- ary accomplishments of native writers by naming Michigan the "State of the Book." The idea behind the sym- posium began with Jeremiah Chamberlin, Fiction Writers Review publisher and associate director of the University's Eng- lish department's writing pro- gram. Chamberlin's desire for Michigan's creative recognition stemmed from a desire to influ- ence young minds and help them uncover the writers within. "I hope that there's a moment where someone hears one of these 30 authors speak and thinks, as I did as a teenager, 'that's what I want to do with my life,' " Chamberlin said. "I hope it's inspiring." The event will kick off with an introduction from Pulit- zer Prize finalist Dave Eggers, author of best-selling memoir "A Heartbreaking Work of Stag- gering Genius," and co-founder of 826 Valencia, a project devel- oped to help kids and young adults increase their writing skills. Throughout the day, visitors will be able to walk through the book fair in the lobby of Rack- ham, a congregation of writers, publishers and editors promot- ing literature, their works and programs in support of literary acceleration. "It's so rare to have 15 of the most important literary presses, literary journals, editors and publishing houses all in one room together in the book fair," Chamberlin said. "And that's really where people can wander around, and get a feel for what we're trying to accomplish." At 3:30 p.m., a panel of jour- nalists including GQ Features Editor and Knight-Wallace Fel- low at the University, Donovan Hohn, will discuss the future of journalism and what it will mean when everything "goes digital." "They want to talk about not just the practical side of what's going to happen when all this goes digital: is there room for both print and pixel, but also, what'sthe hook, the spark that sends a journalist across the world (in search of a story)," Chamberlin explained. The day-long celebration will culminate in an hour-long key- note conversation with Charles Baxter, award-winning author and former director of the Cre- ative Writing MFA program, and Pullitzer Prize-winning author and Detroit native, Philip Levine. The two, with their combined background and interest in Michigan, will hold a conversation in front of 1,200 individuals, discussing their personal and professional lives. "Both Charlie and Phil have come out of huge generosity," Chamberlin said. "The evening will be a conversation, not a Q&A. We really want to give the audience a rare experience of overhearing a conversation between friends, about writing, about life, about politics, about the state of their careers and the roots of their careers." Throughout the day, special events will be held, such as the revealing of books and antholo- gies, author readings and book signings. The symposium looks to entice individuals into the creative world while encourag- ing and recognizing those that already run in the circle. "You can't get more authors, editors and publishers in one space at one time and have that kind of access," Chamberlin said. "Between the practical side of who you can encounter, what you can learn coupled with the abstract-inspiring element, this should be very interesting." Hotel Transylvania is stupid, lame and, most of all, adorable. It accomplishes its objective of vali- dating cartoon romance, and *** does so with pizzaz. And Hotel though intend- ed for children, the eminently AtQuality16 likable charac- and Rave ters will put a smile on a per- Sony Pictures son of any age. Animation The anima- tion easily hits the marks of cute and light. Selena Gomez ("Wiz- ards of Waverly Place," also of Bieber ruboff fame), the voice of Mavy, puts on an astonishingly good vocal performance for an actress out of the Disney Starlet Factory. Critics may enter the theater very ready to hate her character's guts, but her voice has the shine to win them over. There is little in this movie that is not over-the-top, but if ter- ribad cartoon love stories are your thing, you'll appreciate its excess. The entire plot is short enough to fit in the trailer: Dracula's (Adam Sandler, "Just Go With It") wife was killed long ago by a mob of xenophobic humans, so he built Hotel Transylvania as a sanctuary for his daughter and all monsterkind. Mavy, pre- dictably, does not want to live in safety forever - she wants to interact with humans. Her dad does everything in his power to keep her away from civilization. These efforts explode in his face on Mavy's 118th birthday, when a human named Jonathan crashes her party. Johnny (Andy Samberg, "Celeste and Jesse Forever") is a stereotyped character, there's no getting around that. But he's the adventurous and warmhearted, he is exactly the kind of idiot that a smart girl with a helicopter family yearns for. He is an escape, but more than that, he doesn't suffocate. He and Mavy immedi- ately "zing," which is Hotel Tran- sylvania's form for "fall in love at first sight." Again: stupid, lame, adorable. Invite 'Transylvania' into your life. The discrete jokes are honestly bad, and the emotional transi- tion of Dracula from paranoid to accepting is obvious and method- ical. This movie is a bildungsro- man for the father figure, not the daughter: Mavy's father learns, kicking and screaming, that his' daughter needs to live on her own terms, and that the world might be worthy of her presence in it. His role as Count Dracula is an afterthought to his role as a father. The supporting cast, an array of comically animated monsters, is uniformly corny, and their pur- pose as a sort of Gaze, or Greek chorus, is overdone. But their self- referential charm provides a way to forgive them, and this movie, for beingso facepalmingly dumb. Without a readiness to engage, and participate in, whatyou know as idiocy, this movie would have held no appeal. Be this movie's friend, and it will be your friend. Take somneone you're comfortable with and bond via mutual stupid- ity. Genndy Tartakovsky's "Hotel Transylvania" has enough sub- stance to be worth your time, if you let it be. First Independent Korean Film Festival to de but at 'U' By ALICIA ADAMCZYK Daily Arts Writer "Gangnam Style," with its catchy beats and infectious dance moves, has thrust Ann Arbor Korean pOp Korean culture into mainstream Independent global society. Friday at12 But for those weary of the p.m. and7 electro K-pop p.m., and hit who may Saturday and be interested Sunday at2 in discovering p.m., 5p.m. the obscure and8p.m. side of Korean Natural Science entertainment, Auditorium the University Free is hosting the first ever Inde- pendent Korean Film Festival in the United States. The Nam Center and the University's Screen Arts and Cultures Department, in asso- ciation with the Museum of Modern Art and The Korea Society, will run the festival Fri- day through Sunday, Oct. 7 in the Natural Science Building's Kraus Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public. Sangjoon Lee, a postdoctoral research fellow in Screen Arts and Cultures, said the Center for Korean Studies is supportive of any kind of cultural event that showcases the Korean lifestyle. "I decided to go with indepen- dent film because independent film has not been considered important, not even in South Korea," Lee said. "I just want to show the diversity of Korean cinema." Lee explained that an inde- pendent Korean film is produced outside of the three main pro- duction studios in South Korea - CJ Entertainment, Showbox and Lotte Entertainment, which are comparable to Paramount, 20th Century Fox and Univer- sal Studios in the US. Lee said about 90 percent of South Kore- an films are produced through these three studios. "Many people ... are produc- ing their own films with (an) extremely low budget," he said. "But the ideas and scope and the styles and their creativity are many times better than the mainstream film product." According to Lee, similar to the United States, independent films in South Korea are shown almost exclusively at film festivals. That's why he decided to organize this festival for students at the Uni- versity who may have never been expose The films 2009 a he vie worth he sel becaus diversi as acti K are Lee the fes if this "We at leas pender campu worksl discus the Un For time to Lee su film, " Sunda d to the genre. dents to attend "Talking Archi- festival features nine tect" at 12 p.m. on Friday, where all released between a professor of Architecture nd 2011. Lee said though from the University will briefly wed between 20 and 25 discuss Korean modern archi- y films in the past year, tecture before the screening. ected the festival's films There will also be a question and e they displayed the best answer segment after the view- ity and creativity, as well ing and a free lunch. ng and directing skills. Jiyoung Lee, the center administrator for the Nam Cen- ter, said she is excited that the d percent of Korean Center is able to offer students such a rare glimpse orean films into Korean culture. "Korean films are becom- ing more and more popular and being recognized in vari- studios. ous international film festi- vals - this type of film event is very timely," she said. "We are extremely lucky to be able to said he hopes to continue host this type of film event in tival in the coming years collaboration with MoMA and year's is a success. the Korea Society." 're really trying to bring Lee also pointed out the festi- t one or two Korean inde- val's uniqueness - it is the first nt film directors to the and only independent Korean s," he said. "(And) have film festival to occur in the Unit- hops, or masterclasses or ed States. sions with film lovers at "This film festival is indeed iversity of Michigan." ground breaking in that we are students who don't have bringing a number of Korean view all nine of the films, independent films to the Ann iggests attending the last Arbor community for the first King of Pigs," at 8 p.m. on time," she said. "From New York y. He also encourages stu- to Ann Arbor!" I. LOSERS HAVE TO WEAR THE WINNERS' COLORS AND POST A PICTURE TO FACEBOOK. DON'T HUMILIATE US. WE LOOK TERRIBLE IN GREEN. A 1 Attend a Cooley Law School Open House in November and talk to Cooley administrators, department representatives, students, and faculty members at all five of our campuses. Register online for one or all five Open Houses at cooley.edu or register onsite the day of the Open House.You are encouraged to visit more than one campus. Lead Today. Lead Tomorrow. Cooley Law School.- 40 Years of Success