14 Thursday, June 13, 2013
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Edited and managed by utudents at
the University of Michigan since 1890.
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
tothedaily@umich.edu
Thursday, June 13, 2013
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
I9
KATIE BURKE
EDITOR IN CHIEF
ERIC FERGUSON
EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR
ELLIOT ALPERN
MANAGING EDITOR
Unsigned editorials reflect the official position ofthe Daily's editorial board.
All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views ofttheir authors.
FR UM TN D A LY
The innovative mindset
Expanding entrepreneurial programs would benefit students
Entrepreneurship at the University has strong roots in the College of
Engineering and at the Ross School of Business. Two separate cen-
ters - the Center for Entrepreneurship at the College of Engineering
and the Zell Lurie Institute at the Ross School of Business - have created
strong entrepreneurial communities in their respective schools for students
interested in the field. But these two schools combined only represent about
a quarter of the entire student population, and their programs could be more
accessible to the rest of the University. Although many of the CFE and the
institute's resources are open to all students, the University should make a
broader effort to bring entrepreneurship opportunities to undergraduates
ZAK WITUSI
Textual tension
I'm watching him. He's Flirtatious Female (9:27pm):
doing it right now: forward' Hey, whatareyou doingtonight?
ing the same sexual solicitation Friend (10:00pm): Right now
to a handful of girls. When his I'm at Chi Phi watching the
iPhone lights up his face, I can game. What're you doing?
see his acne scars. The pimples, Friend (11:01pm)i party at Chi
scars-in-waiting, cast grotesque Phi later. You should come.
shadows. If this round of texts Flirtatious Female (11:06pm):
doesn't succeed, my friend Kk, hope ill see you!
will probably lay in his bed for Friend (11:08pm): If you don't
20 minutes scrolling through wanna come, just say so! said in
Twitter or Facebook or whatev- a sassy tone that tells you I'm kid-
er other digital dope he desires ding.
tonight, shooting up the super- Flirtatious Female (11:09pm):
sweet social narcotic 'til he ODs. Haha:)
He disgusts me, yet I love him. (He actually sent the itali-
He isn't usually like this: I cized text, by the way.)
suppose he's always been dif- So the question is, what the
ferent online and over text than hell does she mean? His joke
in person. I remember back in was hilarious, we think. Who
middle school when I was over can interpret this? Seriously,
at his house, he was instant help. She texts him, he responds,
messaging a group of girls, she ignores, he politely follows
trying to get them to send him up, she basically blows him off,
promiscuous pictures (I think he makes a witty retort and she
this kid may have discovered says "Haha :)." I don't know
sexting before kissing). He what to make of it - then again,
miraculously succeeded. But his texting has always been, at best,
cowardly courting habits (i.e., pseudo-communication.
sending flattering and witty It's an odd hookup culture
remarks behind his cyber veil) we mingle in. We don't date,
were to no avail for him during we text. We don't court, we
high school - and they certain- @mention. We don't make love,
ly don't help now. we gawk at photos of that hot
Our freshman year of high theater girl. Someday soon -
school, the hottest babe from and the science fiction writer in
across the tracks told her friend, me says it'll be the day Google
who told me, that she thought introduces the Social Media
my friend was cute. "She thinks Sex Robot 3000, complete with
you're cute," I told, him. He downloadable Facebook profiles
orbited her the rest of the night - someday soon we won't even
like a comet around a planet: want face-to-face relationships.
coming in close, circling her, Many of us are already socially
then passing away into obscuri- inept. I'm nearly certain I don't
ty - trying to flirt by proximity, know how to flirt deliberately
but obviously failing. He didn't - and I'm 100 percent certain
do anything except go home and my friend doesn't. Getting more
Facebook message her the next practice socializing electroni-
three weekends. cally isn't helping either of us,
He's never been on a date. because when you learn to live
I don't think he knows what vicariously through the social
to do on a date. This following network, as we have, you learn
text conversation he showed me to love through it as well.
recently represents the typical
social problems he often faces: Zak Witus is an LSA sophomore.
INTERESTED IN CAMPUS ISSUES?
Check out The Michigan Daily's editorial board meetings.
Every Monday at 5 p.m., the Daily's opinion staff meets
to discuss both University and national affairs and write
' editorials. E-mail opinioneditors@michigandaily.com
to join in the debate.,
SCHOOL OF SCARES
Breathing new life
intoM 'Mntrs'
Dan Scanlon and Kori
Rae talk resurrecting
a Pixar favorite
By SEAN CZARNECKI
Daily Film Editor
Thirteen years ago, "Monsters,
Inc." took us to the world beneath
our beds and behind our closet
doors, where the scary stuff of
our imaginations prowled. Like
most Pixar features, it delighted
us. It fed not fear, but the better
part of our imaginations, turning
that shadowy world into some-
thing whimsical: It made mon-
sters work-a-day scarers.
Now, Pixar brings us a prequel,
"Monsters University," to that
2001 box-office smash. It's an
origin story of what makes scar-
ers scarers and how our favorite
monster duo, Michael "Mike"
Wazowski (Billy Crystal, "When
Harry Met Sally...") and Sulley
(John Goodman, "Argo"), met in
college, and how an iconic ani-
mation friendship flourished.
To provide their fans insight
into what it was like resurrecting
this beloved work, director Dan
Scanlon, in his feature debut, and
producer Kori Rae shared their
own stories in a conference call
the Michigan Daily recently took
part in.
"We loved the relationship of
Mike and Sulley and we always
wanted to do something with
them again," Scanlon said. "And
that's where we started thinking
about how these guys met, which
led naturally to the college idea,
and we loved the idea of doing
something in a university."
The idea of finding the
film's heroes in a college set-
ting inspired the two filmmak-
ers, who had to perform some
research of their own in recreat-
ing that experience onscreen.
"We wanted to make sure that
since we were doing a university
movie," Scanlon said, "that we
had sort of the great university
archetypes."
"In the end," Rae added, "(We)
5ut them all together to create a
campus that, although it's origi-
nal to Monsters University, hope-
fully it feels familiar to everyone.
I would hope that everyone kind
of feels like, 'Hey, that's my
school!' "
Among the more colorful
dimensions of "Monsters Univer-
sity" would have to be its Greek
system, such as Oozma Kappa,
described by Scanlon as the
"scare rejects" who failed to get
into the vaunted program.
But aside from the humor and
outrageous antics the college
setting may offer, the two film-
makers and their writers also
conceived Monsters University
as .a spiritual crossroads in the
lives of its characters.
"We have a character - a Scott
Squishy Squibbles, who is kinda
classic 18-year-old college stu-
dent that hasn't decided what
they want to be," Scanlon said.
"They're sort of a ball of clay
waiting to be molded. In his case,
he's literally a mushy tiny ball of
amorphous clay."
"That's kind of where you first
are out on your own, you just
figure out who you are, who you
want to be," Rae said. "You can
reinvent yourself."
Both Scanlon and Rae found
they had some searching to do
themselves in creating this pre-
quel. This is, after all, Scanlon's
directorial debut, and Rae has
the awesome expectations of
building upon a beloved 2000s
classic children film that she
herself worked on.
But it's a challenge she's
familiar with, owing to the wild
success of Pixar in the 1990s.
Lucky for her, those seemingly
insurmountable expectations,
imposed- time and time again,
have forced her to learn more
and grow.
"We learn so much on every
single film," she said. "You learn
something different from each
one, because you're working with
different people, different direc-
tors. I used a ton of stuff on this
film that I had learned on 'The
Incredibles,' let's say, in addition
to 'Monsters, Inc.' and even as
far back as 'A Bug's Life.' So all of
that experience rounded me out
and gave me a good base to pro-
duce this one."-
Like Rae, Scanlon has had a
working career in Pixar, which
includes award-winning features
such as "Cars" and "Toy Story
3." But "Monsters University" is
his first opportunity to sit in the
director's chair.
"Being a director, I got the rare
opportunity to see everything.
To see what everyone does,"
Scanlon said. "A lot of people I've
worked with for years and eaten
lunch with, but really had no idea
what they did and there I'd be in
a meeting with them and think,
'Oh wow. You're a genius, like
you're the best person who does
this.'"
But for both filmmakers, the
creation of "Monsters Univer-
sity" gravitates back toward the
same basic principle of every one
of their works.
"We always want to touch
something in people, emotionally
with our films," Scanlon said.
With "Monsters University,"
in particular, he wanted his audi-
ences to experience the char-
acters' transformations that he
himself faced in college.
"You let go of the thing that
you think you absolutely have to
be to be happy in order to find
out who you truly are," Scanlon
said. "That feeling of realizing,
'This is going to be a lot harder
than I thought.' Or, 'Maybe I'm
not the person that I thought I
was.' "
Perhaps, then, it was Scan-
lon who best characterized the
confusion and angst our heroes
endure in "Monsters University"
in his description of the uncer-
tainty of filmmaking:
"Every Pixar movie goes
through an awkward teenage
phase where it doesn't make
sense, or it's bizarre, or it's not
quite working right," he said.
"And you can get terrified that
you're never going to crack it.
And it's just this relentless jour-
ney to keep trying new things."
By KAYLA UPADHYAYA
ManagingArts Editor
When director Joss Whedon
wrapped up last summer's box-
office smasher "The Avengers," he
wanted a vaca-
tion. For most,
this would mean
a few days on
the beach or just
lounging around
with some
magazines.
For Whedon, it
meant gathering
a merry troupe
of Whedonverse
veterans and a
few newcomers
FILM REVIEW
'Much' to love in
Whedon's opus
Much Ado
About
Nothing
In Select
Theaters
Bellwether
Pictures
across the entire campus.
At the moment, CFE offers the capital business. It should also pro-
Program in Entrepreneurship as mote cutting edge research, music
a nine-credit certificate program and the arts, educational reform
available to all students, and stu- and even affecting policy through
dents can make appointments to grassroots campaigns. At its core,
discuss their concerns with the entrepreneurship is about inno-
faculty at the institute. In addition vative thinking, taking risks and
to these two programs, there are a creating change. The University
number of student organizations, can incorporate such ideas into an
such as MPowered, that are focused intensive program even broader
on entrepreneurship as well. These than that which it already has -
programs are a good start, but the perhaps in the form of an academic
fact that the University-educated major or minor program - in order
founders and CEOs of such promi- to encourage an innovative mindset
nent companies as Google, Skype, in students of all majors. Along with
Twitter and Groupon attended years adding to the depth of the Univer-
before CFE or the institute's incep- sity's academic mission, this could
tion suggests that there's untapped also benefit Michigan's economy by
potential within the student body. giving University-educated student
But any new program shouldn't entrepreneurs a stake in the state.
simply emphasize launching tech Promoting social entrepre-
startups or getting into the venture neurship and the idea of serving a
greater public good should also be a
priority. The University has already
produced a number of socially con-
scious entrepreneurs such as the
team at Warmilu - a company
making strides at reducing infant
mortality across the world. Social
entrepreneurship has great poten-
tial for making an impact on the
world at large, and a concerted
entrepreneurship push across the
University should look to both
existing academic programs and
student organizations in order to
take advantage of that potential.
The University is already one of
the foremost academic institutions
in the country. Broadening the
entrepreneurship system and giv-
ing the student community access
to more resources would enhance
the academic experience offered.
to shoot a modern-day adaptation
of Shakespeare's comedy "Much
Ado About Nothing" in his home
in Santa Monica. In just 12 days.
The result? An infectiously fun
romantic comedy that captures
the spirit of the original play,
with touches of Whedon's own
genius, including some brilliant-
ly blocked physical comedy that
seems so simple and yet warrants
the huge laughs.
The low-budget aesthetic -
.scenes supposedly taking place in
the local police station look more
like they were filmed in a barely
disguised living room - makes
it feel, at times, like the whole
production is just a bunch of old
friends hanging out, drinking
wine and doing theater together.
But it's exactly this un-cinematic
quality that adds to the whimsi-
cal charm of the endeavor. Shot
on a 35 mm digital camera and
then rendered in black and white,
the production is stripped of the
pomp and circumstance that
accompany many Shakespeare
film adaptations.
The performances, too, are
stripped down. Whedon coaxes
magnificent performances out
of almost everyone. Fran Kranz
delighted as wise stoner Marty
in Whedon's "The Cabin in the
Woods" last year, but here he
makes a 180-degree transfor-
mation to become the lovesick,
clean-cut Claudio. "Firefly"
fans will rejoice at the sight of
Nathan Fillion as the dimwit
local sheriff, who is - it should
be noted - an ass.
But it's reunited "Angel" co-
stars Alexis Denisof and Amy
Acker (as reluctant lovers and
verbal-sparring mates Benedick
and Beatrice, respectively) who
tackle the text most masterfully,
their quick tongues spitting out
line after wit-soaked line dur-
ing their characters' famed quip
wars. Denisof captures both
Benedick's charisma and more
dickish qualities, and Acker daz-
zles with an award-worthy per-
formance.
The script is almost complete-
ly faithful to the original text,
with the exception of an added
flashback that serves as excel-
lent exposition for the Beatrice-
Benedick love battle. Whedon
modernizes with nuanced ease:
One look at the sleek suits worn
by Don Pedro (Reed Diamond,
TV's "Dollhouse") and his crew
reveals that the "war" they've
returned from is one waged not
on a real battlefield, but in stock
markets and boardrooms. Pot,
tequila shots, iPods and Barbies
ground us in our own world.
The dialogue only feels jarringly
anachronistic in a few moments,
particularly as characters chat
of arranged marriages and next-
day weddings as they mill about
Whedon's HGTV-ready kitchen.
But again, the power of the
performances allows for sus-
pension of disbelief. The natu-
ral response to Beatrice asking
Benedick to murder Claudio to
avenge her defamed cousin Hero
(newcomer Jillian Morgese) is
to laugh, but Acker's conviction
in her- subsequent monologue
reveals that Whedon's "Much
Ado" has more to offer than
boozy, woozy fun. Acker por-
trays Beatrice as the feminist
hero she's meant to be, and her
rage-filled monologue is easily
the film's finest moment. "O God,
that I were a man! I would eat his
heart in the marketplace," she
punches with commanding pres-
ence.
Turns out, Whedon doesn't
need slayers or superheroes or
space cowboys to make magic.
Give the man 12 days and a
Shakespeare play, and he'll give
you summer's sleeper sensation.
FOLLOW DAILY OPINION ON TWITTER
Keep up with columnists, read Daily editorials, go on our blogs and join in the debate.
Check out @michdailyoped to get updates on Daily opinion content.