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Saturday, May 7, 1983
The Michigan Daily
Opportunity knocks
Ready to throw away your studies for Press International's "Top Ten" best-
fame on the silver screen? Well today seller lists, is a saga of destitute ear-
may be your lucky day. This week Los thlings raging a rebellion against
Angeles literary agency announced the tyrany of a 3000 A.D. world.
their plans to inaugurate a nationwide So all you aspiring screenwriters are
contest among college students for a advised to contact B.E. Screenplay,
screenplay or detailed screen treat- Author Services Inc., 6464 Sunset
ment based on the best-selling science Boulevard, Suite 900, Hollywood,
fiction novel, Battlefield Earth, by California 90028 for more information
Golden Age science fiction master L. on how to test your talents and see if
Ron Hubbard. you can really make it in the glitzy
Battlefield Earth, which has already world of fame and fortune.
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Roy Schieder stars in Blue Thunder as a helicopter pilot devoted to stamping
out terrorism in the 1984 Olympics.
Thunder roars
By Kevin Walker
T HUNDEROUS clouds have been
raining on our parade all week
long, but the biggest storm is yet to
come. Tonight Ann Arbor audiences
will be among the first to witness the
masterful special effects of Blue Thun-
der, a Columbia Pictures release
starring Roy Scheider.
The premiere showing of Blue Thun-
der will benefit the University
Hospitals. Proceeds, donated by the
sponsors of the premiere (the Friends
of University Hospitals), will be used to
help purchase playground equipment
for the Childrens Psychiatric Hospital
as well as library materials for
physically handicapped patients and
their families. Another beneficiary in-
cludes the Learning Resource Center at
Holden Prenatal Hospital.
Prof. Frank Beaver, a member of the
Benefit Planning Committee, says that
Blue Thunder may put its director,
John Badham, in the same league as
Steven Spielberg in terms of special ef-
fects.
The plot of the new motion picture
revolves around Los Angeles police
helicopter pilot (Scheider) who must
protect Olympic athletes from terrorist
threats during the 1984 games. But the
real star of Blue Thunder seems to be
the helicopter. It contains a machine
which is fascinating because it can not
only spot terrorists, it also immediately
calls up data on them, and ultimately it
can destroy them.The frightening thing
is, however, that this machine can do
all of this to ordinary citizens, too.
These menacing monsters produce
some suspenseful and nail-biting
moments.
In Blue Thunder Badham emphasizes
the wonders of high technology as it ap-
plies to weapons, helicopters, and the
traditional battle between good cops
and the evil anti-establishment law en-
forcers.
Early screenings of the film have
been enthusiastic, to say the least.
American Film Magazine was so im-
pressed with Blue Thunder they
honored Badham with the title of
"director of the month" for May.
Roy Scheider doesn't escape without
lauds of praise, either. A gifted screen
veteran of such features as The French
Connection, Jaws, Marathon Man, and
All That Jazz, Scheider nearly shied
away from appearing as another movie
cop. The French Connection and Jaws
were both police roles. But after
reading the script for Blue Thunder,
Scheider realized that the unique com-
bination of terrorist drama and
mechanical special effects made the
film not only a very commercial pic-
ture, but one with a message also.
Blue Thunder will be premiered at 9
p.m. this evening at the Michigan
Theatre in specially-installed Dolby
sound. For those of you who want the
full Hollywood treatment, wine and
hors d'oeuvres will greet you in the
Michigan Theatre lobby. Tickets are
available at the Michigan Theatre box
office ($25, $12.50, $5), and at the Frien-
ds Gift Shop in Main and Mott
Children's Hospitals. And just think,
you'll not only be helping the University
Hospitals, you'll also get a tax deduc-
tion for each ticket purhcased. Only in
Ann Arbor could you get such a deal.
Susan Makuch filed a report for
this story.
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