Next Sunday-.
"Three Seasons" became the first film
to ever win both the grand prize and
the audience award at this year's
Sundance Film Festival. Catch it start-
ing Sunday at the Michigan Theater.

ARTS

Monday
August 9, 1999 IQ~

DIA strikes gold

courtesy of Universal Pictures
Eddie Murphy (doing double duty) and Steve Martin join forces to make a movie in the new comedy "Bowfinger."
owfinger proves a big thing

By Neshe Sarkozy
Daily Arts Writer
Showcasing at the Detroit
Institute of Art (DIA) is an exquis-
ite collection of amazingly well
preserved gold and silver dating
back to 4000 B.C. and going all the
way to 400 A.D. "Ancient gold" is
an collection of artifacts that
belonged to the Thracians.
Interestingly enough, the
Thracians were a people mostly
out of Bulgaria that spread all
throughout the south of the
Danube.
Predominantly a nomadic peo-
ple, the Thracians eventually were
found in all parts of Eastern
Europe. The Thracians built no
major cities and were ruled by a
warrior aristocracy.
Because of rulers' and
chieftons' total control over small
villages, wars were continually
breaking out. Fierce battles were
waged by the Thracians against
Macedonians, Persians, Celts and
the Romans.
The influence of such wars are
apparent in the designs of the gold-
en urns and pots.

"Ancient Gold" has more than
200 carefully crafted gold and sil-
ver objects that not only capture a
time in history but are also unique
in their splendid beauty.
Most of the gold jewelry and
hand-crafted treasures were found
in burial sites, suggesting that the
Thracians considered their designs
to be an important part of who they
were, otherwise they would not
have been gone into the afterlife
with them.
From intricately carved golden- 4
leaf necklaces and horses silver
bridles to larger gold vessels and
drinking horns - all of which are
alluring to the eye - these are just
a few of the highlights that are at
the exhibit.
If you get a chance, beat the heat
and the rain, and visit the DIA
before the August 29th. "Ancient
Gold" is definitely something that 1
makes an important contribution
to the arts and shouldn't be
missed.
"Ancient Gold" is alreadr at the
Detroit Institute ofArt and contin-
res through August 29th. For more
informtation call (313) 833-7900.

By Erin Podolsky
Daily Arts Writer
Freshly sardonic about the
moviemaking process from start to
f i n i s h,
"Bow finger,"
(formerly
"B ow finger's
Bowfinger Big Thing")
written by and
** starring Steve
Ar erarwmod and Martin, offers
AhoBraswond20 an amusing,
w accessible look
at the hell that is
Hollywood for
the smaller
names in the
business.
Down and
out producer Bobby Bowfinger
(Martin) would be running his ragtag
LAST
This is the last
edition of the
Spring/Summer Daily...
can you believe it?
The Michigan Daily will
resume publication on
September 8, with
our annual
back-to-school issue, the
New Student Edition.
Thanks Aaron, rin,
Roberto and Steve for
all of your hard work

production company on a shoestring
if he had one to spare. Unfortunately,
he doesn't. When his accountant
comes to him with a brilliant script
entitled "Chubby Rain" (unlike regu-
lar rain, chubby rain contains aliens
that float down to earth; naturally,
the studios all jump at the chance to
make the film. Not.), Bowfinger
decides that he's going to make it a
reality come hell or high budget
overruns.
He enlists his buddy Dave (Jamie
Kennedy), who has a job on a studio
lot, to "borrow" expensive film
equipment, expensive vehicles and
expensive information that
Bowfinger parlays into a distribution
guarantee from bigwig Jerry Renfro
(an unusually bland turn by the usu-
ally unimpeachable, but often
indictable Robert Junkie, Jr.) - but
only if he can deliver one of the
industry's biggest stars, Kit Ramsey
(Eddie Murphy).
Bowfinger's bright idea is to put
Kit in the movie without his knowl-
edge through a series of random,
one-take incidents on the street. He

also lucks out by finding a stunt dou-
ble for Kit who looks exactly like
him, nerdy Jiff (also Murphy).
"Bowfinger" features a strong
female support line in sleeping-her-
way-to-the-top Daisy (Heather
Graham in a huge improvement from
her turn in "The Spy Who Shagged
Me") and camera-mugging Carol
(Christine Baranski), as well as a
killer subplot involving a
Scientology-like cult called
"Mindhead" led by guru Terry
Stricter (Terence Stamp). Murphy,
playing two roles, inhabits too dis-
tinctly funny characters without
missing a step.
For however hilarious the concept
of "Chubby Rain" is, though, the
film's apex is reached not with that
movie-within-a-movie's premiere but
in the closing moments as Bowfinger
and Jiff star in the Far East produc-
tion, "Fake Purse Ninjas!" Along
with scene stealing work from
Baranski, this first time collabora-
tion between Martin and Murphy is a
splendid Hollywood insider movie
for outsiders.


i

.EUKUE . EU M .~JMLLJ
} I
ad e n
S =a e made of. 1
- 101.00 off Meal Size'
TRT Smoothie or Fruit Shake
.50 off Snack Size1
PRINTING I Smoothie or I
U " " Fruit Shake I
LOWEST PRICEI * I 'e'8319
HIGHEST OUALITY! IE/
FASTESTSER VICE U I1I
1002 PONTIAC TR. N'x522CE. WHams )
994.16?(Next to Cottage Inn)
4 Business Hours
U... U .m8pm

E

A Very Strange Trip
Dan Wolverton (based on
an original story by L.
Ron Hubbard)
Bridge Publications
Time travel, we've all heard the
stories before: Complex journeys
through space and time with far
reaching consequences seem to be
the norm in this subgenre of science-
fiction.
And although this ideal for follow-
ing fictitious scientific theory is nor-
mal, many very unique and original
works emerge. This ranges from fic-
tion meant for adult to even those
stories meant for children.
L. Ron Hubbard's latest opus from
beyond the grave (channeled through
novelist and children's book writer
Dan Wolverton), however, deviates
from this norm - though surely
unintentionally - in a very frighten-
ing way.
And we are talking frighteningly
bad, in case you weren't sure.
An adult novel, "A Very Strange
Trip" is anything but strange.
Perhaps more deserving titles like "A
Very Cliched Trip," or "A Very Silly
And Simplistic Trip" should have
been used instead.
The main character is a moonshine
running man named Dumphee. After
being caught Dumphee is enlisted in
the Army to make restitution for his

crime.
It gets better.
The army fancies Dumphee sinc
he proves to be one hell of a driver,
based on his police records. As a
result, the Army gives Dumphee the
top secret assignment of transporting
a Russian time machine to Colorado
driving an experimental ORV (Off
Road Vehicle).
Yeah, okay.
To make a long story short
Dumphee and accompanying Armo
brass Lieutenant Fugg accidentally
set off the machine and end up at a
fort sometime during the French and
Indian War.
The Native American women fawn
over the men's gold buttons and
other trinkets while Dumphee clash-
es with his conscience about killing
a buffalo. They're doomed to
become an endangered species, you
know, and who would want to be
responsible for something like that
The character's bouncing back ant
forth throughout time and conflict
resolution meaning an M-16 and
grenade launcher leave the reader as
entertained and challenged as watch-
ing a bad B-flick would.
Hubbard and author Dave
Wolverton have shown two things
with this book: That two heads are
most definitely not better than on
and that L. Ron Hubbard, even U
death, should stick to Scientology.
Lynne Blasius