The Event - Issue 130 - 31 October 2011

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the Wednesday, October 31, 2001

Plus: Whigfield Interviewed The Others Previewed Booker Pr~ze Reviewed

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Picture: Nic ole Kidman in The Others, feat ured on page 12 and reviewed on page 17

It's that time of year again, where everyone dresses up in ' frightening' costumes and trudges a round in small groups, stuffing their faces with sugar and E numbers.

Okay, so most of us have now become resigned to the fact that trick or treating is

03 Bits and Pieces Round up: a new regular article taking a look at the

most interesting things that have been happening in the past fortnight. This issue - how to take down the Taliban using only the pow er of pop. Plus, win a meal for two at Gaffe Uno

' 04 News

strictly limited to those who actually look little and cute in Halloween costu mes and not just plain stupid. But. you might as well get into the spirit of things anyway by doing something that doesn't necessarily involve terrifying old people. Go watch a scary

movie, for instance.

In this issue. amongst other t hings, we have previewed The Others - one of the scariest movies you'll see this year and interviewed the director, Alejandro Amenabar, to get his side of the story.

Happy Halloween!

12 The Others

Listings:

Forget Jeepers Creepers, The Event previews the scari est movie you'll see this Halloween and chats to its director Alejandro Amenabar

Knowledge 13 Inquisitor

Whigfield Spends an evening in with The Event

06 Alfie Talk about their troubled past and a brighter future

Cinefile 07 Shed Seven 08 Therapy?

The Cement Garden

On their new album, and their favourite past times

Prove that you don 't have to be a bastard to be a rock star

09 Booker Prize A retrospective on the short listed authors of this year 's competition, and its overall winner, Peter Carey

11 Changing Rooms We chat to the newest recruit of everyone's favourite plaster'n'chipboard loving home improvement show

The best gu ide to what 's happening in Norwich

Creedence Clearwater Revival

Goldrush

The Event takes a look at how British television news reports are covering the war in Afganistan

05

22 Listings

• Re leWS:

14 Albums Freestylers; Rae and Christian; Tompaulin ; Inc ubus

15 Singles The Strokes; Embrace; Shed Seven; Limp Bizkit ; Matthew Jay

16 Film Osmosis Jones; The Others; The Animal

18 Video Rude boy; Together

19 TV/Radio Back To The Floor; Billy Elliot; Soaps; Meet the DJ

20 Arts Minatour Previews; The Cherry Orchard; Opium; The Return To T.he Forbidden Planet; Kavalier and Clay

Editor-in-Chief · Adam Chapman • Editor • Markland Starkle • Arts Editor · Charlotte Ronalds • Film Editor · Merek Cooper • Assistant Film Editor · Phil Colvin • Music Editor · Anthony Lovell • Assistant Music Editor · Kieren McSweeney • TV/ Radio Editor • Liz Hutchinson • Assistant TV/ Radio Editor · Gemma O'Donnell Picture Editor · Will Benthall Assistant Picture Editor · Ed Webb-lngall Contributors · Metln Alsanjak · Craig Baker • Sarah Barker · Matthew Beaven · Tim Bragger • James Brown · Rachel Cooling · Simon Dorman · Wes Finch · Chloe Garrett · Kathryn Hlnchliff · Greg lvlngs · Paul Joyce • Jon Lawrence · Mlchelle Moore · Mlscha Pearlman · Jlm Whalley · Mark Wheeler · Luke Wrlght Photo Contributors · Clalre Burwell · Slmon Howarth

The Event is published fortnightly by Concrete: .

Post: PO Box 410, Norwich, NR4 ?TB Tel : 01603 250558 Fax: 01603 506822 E-mail: su.concrete@uea.ac.uk Printed by: Eastern Counties Newspapers, St Andrew's Business Park, Norwich

Bits and Pieces 03

Round up: An irreverent look at the events of the past fortnight

it's been a hectic, yet fairly fruitless two weeks for us: amongst other tragedies, 'Operation Enduring Baking,' our campaign to encourage the public to bake more cakes, has fallen at the first hurdle. Phase One involved us sending small amounts of flour to various MPs and celebrities. However, we felt that our gesture had been misconstrued when the chemical weapons experts moved into post office sorting rooms around the country. lt was beginning to look like we were unable to assist the war effort in any way at all when Michael Jackson's first studio album for six years provided us with an epiphany . Whilst it is obvious that Invincible is not referring to Michael's nose, we are also fairly confident, having heard his latest masterpiece, that it does not really refer to his career either. This led us to believe that perhaps Michael is perhaps invincible in a general sense, and if so, why not use 'The King of Pop' to battle the Taliban . Who better to combat a threat to Western civilisation than someone who has threatened Western civilisation for years? And why stop there? it's now a well known fact that Bin Laden sees British popular music as his archenemy: we now believe his original call to arms was 'destroy Dane Bowers,' and not as interpreted. With this in mind we could impose compulsory conscription for anyone who has ever cited Pete Waterman as an influence and the now jobless 5ive could be the first sent in. They could join forces with

Steven Gately and Jason Orange, arm themselves with pre-recorded backing tracks of classic 70s disco stompers and mount a cunning diversionary tactic in down-town Kabul.

Then, whilst the Taliban are distracted with having to dispose of this terrible new affliction, Billy Piper and Chris Evans could mount a surprise ground attack. The mere sight of a pubescent girl with a mouth the size of a Renault Espace, an achingly upbeat persona, and a terrifying ability to withstand virtually any abuse hurled at her (years of media torment has numbed her against the pain) would be enough to have the Taliban reaching for their instruments of genealogical torture.

Couple this with a fondling , pot-bellied, ginger paedophile and all hell will break loose. Once the enemy is sufficiently flustered, finish the war campaign by air dropping various members of Steps, S Club 7, Blue and Al into the remaining military strongholds until the Taliban surrender its command. Finally, to ensure the 'War on Terrorism' remains won, send Sophie Ell is Bextor in masquerading as an aid worker.

Her unbridled compassion would certainly wipe out the threat of a secondary offensive. Not only do the above measures provide a positive and relat ively peaceful way to overthrow the Taliban and Osama Bin Laden but they will also rid us of one of the Western World 's own great evils. George, are you listening?

Luke Wrlght and Paul Joyce

Competition •• . w1n w1n • • w1n w1n meal for • • w1n w1n .

• w1n w1n .

• w1n w1n •

. w1n • w1n two • w1n • w1n . w1n

The very nice people at the Italian restaurant, Caff6 Uno (located In Tombland} have offered up a free meal for two people to the value of £40 to one lucky reader. If you would like to win this prize, Just answer the following questlon:

Q. Who played Mlchael Corleone In The Godfather?

Answers should handed In to the Concrete office (located upstairs In Union House, next to Room 1.33} or emalled to us at su.concrete@uea.ac.uk} with your name, phone number or emall address and favourite colour.

04

World War TV .

Can people really be man1p ulated by what th ey see and . read 1 n the cynical 21st century? Matthew Beaven l ooks at the battle for our consciences.

ike it or not, we are once again at war, (the use of elite troops, to engage into a ground war shows that this conflict has gone beyond the relatively safe standpoint of bombing and is getting serious). Consequently, the outc ome of this war largely depends on maintain ing the cohesion of the U.S led anti-terror coalition wh ich relies on the support of a broad range of countries involved, each trying to ensure and sustain the support of the public for the actions they have taken .

In nations around the world, the media is being pushed and manipulated to present the war in the best possible light to that cou ntries populatio n. Th ere is an ongoing covert battle for your conscience, you just don't know it .

CNN, the supposed 'independent ' news channel , has had a specific slant on the reporting of the attacks, both on America and Afghanistan.

When the attacks on America commenced, sensational ist banners were emblazoned across the TV screen : 'Attack on America'. Reports were given as to how the te rrorists hijacked the planes and how Ameri ca would reta liate but there was little mention as to why the attacks on America occ urred , it was as if the terrorists had come from nowhere and attack ed the worl d trade centre.

News of t he act ual attacks on Afghan istan have been presented w ith t he undertones of U.S might , with emphasis upon the ir sophisti-

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first six or so pages is already taken up with t he 'war against t errorism ' . Save for the Daily Star that is, which dedicated about fou r pages to the confl ict in the first week and then resorted to their usual display of page three mammaries.

Looking at tab loid newspapers, the overall stance is very pro-war with images of explosions and phrases such as 'kill the bastard ', whereas the broadsheets have taken a more detached point of view . Some have even gone so far as to show dissent over military action , though this is often hidden in the middle pages. Consequently, within the majority of the British press, such grievances will be aired but an overtly pro-war stance exists.

AI Jazeera is an independent television station based in Quatar and is viewed around the Arab world. it is based around the ideals of the BBC and staffed by BBC trained employees. it has also been identified by some as being the Taliban's mouthpiece .

This is a claim rejected by AI Jazeera, stating that it is not directly funded by any government and enjoys editorial independence over its programmes. it also claims that it strives to be fa ir in presenting both sides of the argument , including its t reat ment of Osama Bin Laden.

When CNN had Saddam Hussein on their ch annel during the Gulf War, it was never acc used of being an Iraqi mouthpiece - AI Jazeera does as CNN did in th e early 90s, putting forw ard

"As the military war takes place in

Afghanistan a propaganda war is taking place in the worldwide media" cat ed tec hnology, weapons, and suc cessful air ra ids. Yet there is little attention paid to t he destroyed villages and dead civilians. The atmosphere co nveyed is that the war is going relatively sm oot hl y, wi th minimum ri sk t o soldi ers goi ng in to carry out missions as if the pu rpo se for t heir entry to Afgh anista n is merely to bri ng t hem out safely again.

Focus is upon the anthrax cri si s, the pain of the September 11th attacks and vengeance in Afg han istan. There is litt le t ime to portray t o t he American public t he other side of t his war let alone th e possible ca uses of it (American forei gn policy). To do so prominently would risk losing the support of the people.

The BBC, the last bastion of integrity and impartiality, has at times resorted to emotive eloquence such as " lt is a perfect moonless night for our air armada" to bomb Afghanistan.

Far be it though to accuse the BBC of romanticising this war- a re porter for t he channel has already been reprimanded for being too impartial. Images have also been shown on Brit ish TV of the bombing raid successes and failures, such as villages being reduced to rubble and civilian casualties.

However, the BBC has allegedly been asked by the government to show selected footage of the war so as to protect the troops in Afghanistan .

Consequently, the 't ruth' th at is shown, may not be the whole trut h of the events in Afghanistan. Certain elements of the campaign taking place on many fronts (the covert campaign) may never be shown or realised by the public. Since September 11th, the British newspapers have not had to worry about filling their pages up, since the subject matter for the

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Wednesday, October 31, 2001

the view s of the other side. More ex posure is given to the Tal iban cause on AI Jazeera in it s efforts to put across bot h sides, but it is easy to see why , in these efforts , it has been mistaken by some as a Taliban mouthpiece.

These stat ions are all reasonably good at reporting the facts, and t hough t hey have their own slant , t hey are well respected. Contrast this to t he Iraqi, state contro lled , te levision view of t he issues. America here is the enemy, as it blatantly praises the attac ks on America as a fo rm of payback for what t hey see as t he USA 's cowboy attitude to the rest of th e world .

They have al so c laimed in some report s th at America itself is responsi bl e fo r t he anthrax attack s within the US, to create panic to obtain support for its military campaign.

Though the military war is taking place far away in Afghanistan there exists at the same time a propaganda war within media circles around t he world. The media views of the crisis are differing and probably variat ions of the trut h. In World War One, th e Battl e of t he Somme resulted in the death of thousands for the pithy gain of a few miles. The media reports later, grossly distorting the facts, consisted of reports of ground being gained with the expected casualties. More recently in the Afghan war with Russia in the 1980's, training ground footage was passed off as battlefield action and reports of the one day defeat which ki ll ed 800 soviets have since proved to be completely false, as the battle in question had no Soviet troops involved. Accept it - the media interpretation presented to you is going to be a distortion of the truth, it just depends on which channel you choose, and which 'truth' you will be expected to believe.

05

Saturday Night ' s • • ght l r1 •

E-ver fancied spending the evening with your fdvourite one hit w nder? Liz Hutchinson and Kat i e Hind did just that when they met Deramrk's Pop e to Princess, and found out t.,at there her than that dance and that song Whigfield : the weekend stdrts here.

Picture: 1. (directly above, from left to right) Liz, Katie, Whigfield 2. (above right) Whigfield on stage in the LCR

he 'de de na na na' at the beginning of Saturday Night can get even the most macho of boys loosening their wrists for the dance that, for some bizarre reason, everyone seems to know. For many of us, the song conjures up images of school discos and embarrassing renditions by your dad at a family party, but how many of us remember the girl behind that song?

We met Whigfield, real name Sannie, in the most illustrious setting of the UEA 'dressing room' where we sat and chatted before she was due to appear at Now 90s. She didn't look exactly how we imagined, but this was possibly because the image we had of he:r were ancient publicity photographs of a grinning youngster, wearing some strange black clothes and with her hair in plaits. Wearing jeans and a vest top with her hair scraped back, she didn't look as out of place as a one-time top of the popster might.

Several years ago, Whigfield would have had everyone running to boogie along with her, but as we walked through the Hive to get a drink, the token boys who line the walls, snakebite in hand, kept their eyes permanently fixed at chlst level.

Admittedly, this could be due to the fact that we haven't heard a note out of the 31-year-old Danish diva since the early 90s.

We ask her what she has been up to. "Hey, that's a big question because Saturday Night was recorded in 1993 and I worked until about 1998, promoting that and a few other hits that came out after that. Basically I have been touring around the world, because with each song, as it comes out in different countries, you have about a year and half of work. Then we released a third album.· A third album? How the hell did that escape our notice? "Its called Whigfield Three," she offers, looking slightly embarrassed at the appallingly unoriginal name.

Whigfield and Saturday Night; the two go together like an old couple on a ruby wedding anniversary, but has she come to resent the song that did, in effect, make her famous? "Well, it became a nightmare of course. I mean, you listen to any Westlife song or the best song in the world, even Frank Sinatra, 24/ seven for about four years, and at a certain point, it starts to haunt you. Then you give up and let it become a part of you and you become friends. You end up just saying, okay whatever.· Despite this carefully worded statement, it seems a dispute

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"Well, Saturday Night became a nightmare, of course. I mean, you listen to any Westl i fe song or the best song in the world. even Frank Sinatra, 24/seven for about four years. and at a certain point it starts to haunt you" between friends is never completely dead and buried and rumours abound that Whigfield refuses to do that dance. "The deal with the Saturday Night dance is that I did a photo session in Spain and my record label at the time wanted me to do the moves. I didn't invent the dance, someone else did but I said okay . I mean I was 23 - you don't know at that age. So now I've got these awful pictures of me doing the Saturday Night dance clip by clip.'" And an unwritten agreement to do the dance at every public appearance no doubt. "Eventually, I decided that there is no way I am going to promote this as my thing, so when Top of the Pops asked me to do the dance, I told them to hire somebody. So they did." t would be fair to say that nobody has filled the Euro pop shoes that Whigfield so comfortably filled in our adolescent youth. So while we are still in our cheese-loving student years, does she have any plans to release a single? "I have released some stuff outside England, but the problem with the UK is that there is so much competition, and they are so young .. : she says wistfully, glancing at our Westlife notebook .

At the age of 31, Whigfield is hardly an ageing spinster, but it is evident from what she says, that she is not the party animal that her earlier image proffers. We ask Whigfield about her idea of a good Saturday Night, "Oh, probably spent asleep. I love sleeping, I don't get a lot of it but I love sleeping. I love watching movies because I've been there, seen it and done it a few times, so you kind of cool down after some time. I just like doing normal things like grilling chicken.'' Cooking meat is not exactly our idea of fun but it seems that the only party animals in Whigfield's life at the minute are her two dogs who, she laughs, are constantly having a good shagfest. "They are called Adam and Eve, well Adam and Steve, depending on what mood I am in. They are making love at the moment, 24/seven. They are always practising - really going on at it - and it's really qu1te

I

loud.'' As she skirts around the issue of having a boyfriend by saying "I have two dogs" Whigfield must be pretty pissed off that her two pets are getting more luck in the bedroom than she is.

However, Whigfield has never had a shortage of admirers. On one 'interesting occasion', Whigfield received a letter from someone who asked for her toenail clippings. "That was a letter from a father who wrote this thing about his son and how he listened to my music and then he turned weird and asked me to cut off my toenails to send to him." And did she do it? "No, I didn't! " she exclaimed, screwing up her face, "I cant believe you just asked me that. That's weird too.· We ask her whether it isn't that little bit weird to think that adolescents and married men alike are locking themselves in their bedroom with a grubby copy of Smash Hits. "No, I'm flattered. Its nice to be loved and pursued and looked at but the funny thing is when you are on stage for a period of time you know exactly what you look like. When someone says 'whoa, you're a sexy chick' you just think 'I'm not", and okay they might say it when they see me on stage, but if they say it first thing in the morning when I have just left my hotel, that's a different issue. Do you know what I mean?" Well no, not really; any compliment is generally a welcome one. But I suppose male attention must become a bit tiresome after a while.

After her performance, during which several silly boys embarrassed the whole UEA population by trying to grab her even though she was several feet away, Whigfield decided to go back to her hotel bedroom to sleep, leaving a full case of Smirnoff Ice untouched in the corner. As we said our good byes to our 'famous friend', she made us promise to be at the front - as long as we didn't do the dreaded dance. So we were back to the LCR, minus the blonde former model and with the knowledge that homosexual dogs and grilling chicken for fun is all that a number one hit cracks up to be.

Wednesday, October 31, 2001

@vent

06

Cinefile: -----------------------------------------no.

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The Cement Garden ·

Becoming more like • • •

Si nu) 'eav i nq Andv vot_r• 1· c; 1a~el.

wisted Nrrvt.. Alfic dre on the L1P aC'air. as Jar, L a~vrenL c found c ... t wnen he t i nge;. Lop JOri on

f t he charmingly lazy acoustic folk that Manchester's Alfie deliver has so far failed to warm you . then it would seem fairly questionable that you could be endeared to the ir cheekily charismatic vocalist. Lee Gorton . With a waywardly cocky grin and swagger taken stra ight from his hometown favourite , lan Brown. and the Charlatans' Tim Burgess , Gorton is everything that was right about the mid 90s. Alfie however are not a Britpop resurrection , but the supposed Columbu s of the infamous New Acoustic Movement that lasted all of a month inside the mind of a feeble NME hack.

Formed in Manchester by Gorton and college chum guitarist lan Smith, Alfie sought to produce the very best in instrumental music , but with the additional resource of vocals. More delicately balanced than particularly fresh , but what has come of it is impressive . With three lim ited EPs safely stored on 500 cagoule-sporting kids· shelves, the band re leased If You Happy

I Directed by: Andrew Birkin (1992) Cement Garden? Sounds like the UEA campus to me Well. this film is an adaptation of UEA alumnus lan McEwan 's first novel, so perhaps he got inspiration from the aesthetically astounding beauty of our charming concrete University.

That said, let's lwpe he didn't get the incest theme from his experiences at UEA ...

Incest! So lt's a pervy film then?

Not at all - t he seduction scene is sensual and subtle and refuses to resort to cheap shock-tactics.

How does it start?

Ageing patriarch ( Hanns Z ischler) decides to cement over his garden one summer. However. he dies of a heart-attack before he is able to complete his plan. As the mother (Sinead Cusack) dies slowly of an undiagnosed disease. her four children are left alone in the house for one long summer. Anxious to avoid being taken into care, the eldest two children decide to bury t he body in t he cellar. encasing her in left-over ceme nt. Without any parental guidance , t he yo unger siblings go a bit odd; one deciding t hat he's a boy trapped in a gi rl 's body, and the other becomes increasingly introverted. writing compulsively to her dead mother.

Okay ... but where does the sex come In to it?

Beautifully androgynous teenager Jack (Andrew Robertson) becomes obsessed with his own developing body and masturbation (we've all been there). and encounters massive jealousy when his slightly-older sister Julie (Charlotte Gainsborough) starts dating a loca l construction manager.

And? The brother and sister find themselves growing closer to each other as they adopt the roles of the responsible adults at the head of a household. The clever twist is that a traditional family unit is normally the source of outrage about things like incest - here, however, it is the children's attempt to emulate such a family unit that is the cause of the outrage.

Do say: A masterpiece dealing with the complex issues of growing up without a trace of schmaltz or glorification. Infused throughout with Oedipal fantasies. acted perfectly by a superb cast and sleekly directed. A rare example of a film that's nearly as good as the book .

Don 't say: I've always fancied my sister. too.

Greg lvings

side . "They don 't treat us with respect and aren't prepared to put up any money for anyth ing, wh ic h we didn 't know . We didn't know money matte red. We shoul d have realised, but they just don 't ca re. " Surprising when you consider the streetwise opinions on Twisted Nerve nationwide. Here was a cool, trendy little indi e label, coupled w ith an even cooler little indie band ready t o ta ke on the worl d. Seemingl y not... "The video gave us the most exposure , Twist ed Nerve gave us nothing. They always threatened to cancel the tour support just before we went aw ay. leaving us in a shambles " . Gorton sighs. weary with the weight of such disappointment. "They refuse to speak to us , yet when they do we are treated like kids, little boys that don 't know what they're doing . We wanted decency. but got nothing .

They 're not even run by Andy Votel or Damon Gough , just two amateur businessmen. lt shocked us as much as anyone." lt would seem Alfie have had to go it alone. backed with Steve

"Tw is ted Nerve gave us nothing. They even threatened to caneel t he t our support j us t before we went away , l eavin g us in Lee Go rto n a shambles" With You Need Do Nothing a compilation of the aforementioned EP s with two additional tracks. The album received high acclaim, and having been part of the much-touted NME tour in January , Alfie were becoming a force to be reckoned with.

Upstairs in the dressing room of The Charlotte in Leicester.

Gorton is upbeat, musing on the band's appearance at Scotland 's T in the Park festival, "lt was our first proper festival, and we loved it. We'd been going to them for the past ten years and sneak ing in, but we'd been waiting iorthis for a long t ime and it we nt rea lly well." Indeed , an obvious ra pport with the Scottish audience was developed and the reasonably rammed tent was lapping up the cheekiness of the uber-confident Gorton. Perhaps surprising considering how little the band has been pushed? "it 's bits of everything really that have helped the push - many of the kids on the NME tour were at their first ever gig, and we started being seen as a proper band.

Nobody knew who we were. but it worked to our advantage ...

The tour in question incorporated the rising stars of the time: JJ 72, nu-metal yanks Amen and the now seemingly untouchable Starsailor. Alfi e were quaint, acoustic percussionists wi th Gorton 's irrepressible banter. A tour with Coldplay has strengthened them. an ambitious video for latest single Make No Bones has broadened them in the public eye, but the make or break time for Alfie will be the new album. currently being recorded in a ·cute' village in Lincolnshire. "We 're al l excited about the album, we 've never had a recording stint like this before and it has really made the difference. We didn't worry ourselves. we didn 't need to ...

There 's no doubting that the previews heard live distinguish a much more forceful, more focused sound than the fol k sy, wh imsical predecessors. One could hardly call it a commercial decision. but it certainly needs less of a trained ear to appreciate the hidden intricacies. "it 's stronger, but it 's sti ll us. Bends (Bends for 72 miles, limited to a label compilation release ] needed a good re-working and it 's all odds ·n· ends coming together. it's a typical progression from first to second album ... lt also spells the end of an era with Twisted Nerve . the label that took them on but callously has thrown them by the way-

Wednesday, Octobe r 31, 2001

Harrison Management (home of the Charlatans) and their own dedication to what they want to achieve. Many bands would have failed to overcome this kick in the teeth and laid down and died. but for Alfie it has merely served as one rung in the band's burgeoning confidence ladder. "We 've got stronger and stronger as a band because of it , and got more faith in each other. There's a fight on and we ' re more than up for it due to our faith ...

So, to the futu re. lt certai nly looks brighter when we consider the fest ival appearan ces and the forthcoming album ... Wh at next for Alfie? "Keep on going, keep on truckin'. All we've ever wanted is to have a guitar each and be able to make the next album without starving. More fun and more fans."

Nobody would deny Alfie their fun. and with a suitably convincing attitude to match they deserve the credibility they're so dedicated to seeking. Don't pass them up as merely Britpop hangers-on; if th is is your stance it is safe to say you've not heard a note. Open your ears, relax and , as Gorton would surely plead, just have fun.

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07

•

ang1ng Faces

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Contrary to popular belief, not all of the designers on Changing Rooms have a fasciniation with MDF Liz Hutchinson talks to Oliver Heath about student bedrooms, Carole Smilie and Pogo sticks. ou hear the words 'Changing Rooms'; that cheesy saxophone theme and images of MDF, armless armchairs, animal printed sofas and other monstrosities. come to mind. You also may think of the black mane belonging to the one with the handily alliterated name and a penchant for velvet suits. After watching a particularly 'original' episode, you may also have an anxious feeling that the chintzy living room you know and love back home may be under transformation into a black floored boudoir by your Lawrence loving mother. Panic over, the future of your floral sofa is now in the hands of the latest addition to Britain's best loved makeover show, Oliver Heath, a man with designs for life, literally.

Fairly new to our screens (he trained to be an architect before joining Changing Rooms), Heath is definitely proving to be a popular, if not somewhat controversial, member of Carol Smillies army. 'I was really sick of seeing cheap tacky versions of the African Sahara and French baroque mixed with art deco, that stuff was really doing my head in. I felt that there should be some new young designers on the programme, that it needed a bit of a kick up the backside, so I went to the programme makers and I told them that. I also told them that they needed me to be in it so they turned around and said "umm, alright then, off you go.·

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"I was sick of seeing cheap tacky versions of the African Sahara" Known for his innovative, contemporary and conceptual designs which have, in keeping with the nature of the programme, often proved unpopular, Heath seems totally unfazed by such criticism, a powerful armour for protection against those pink lipped housewife contestants who mourn their black ash coffee table. "it's quite a shock for people because they suddenly walk in and see what they know to be a room in their house and they don't recognise it. Their jaw will drop every time, whether they hate it or they like it. After that, it does take a while for people to get used to seeing their room in a way they have never seen it before. I'm not surprised that people don't like it and I do, there is no point in me going on as a new, young contemporary designer and giving people what they expect or what they have seen before. I'm in it to be a bit challenging and quite often my designs do take a little while for people to live in, and you never see that.· Aft~r learning that prior to the programme, the designers have a month to see the place to come up with ideas and materials, I'm not surprised that Oliver gets slightly annoyed with ungrateful contestants, "What I get annoyed about is people who open their eyes and aren't willing to give it a chance. Nothing is done flippantly, it is all really carefully thought out and I'm annoyed if people don't give that level of thought just a chance.· To be fair to Oliver and Co. surely the contestants should guess that their ' room' is going to 'change ' slightly. "Well exactly" humphs Oliver, "They know what changing rooms is like, people are letting themselves in for something if they let changing rooms into their house.· I anticipate more revelations about Britain's number one makeover show and ask if it is really done in two days. "No we don't do it in two days." Big pause. "We do it in a day and a half," he says in an 'a-ha pulled the wool over your eyes' tone of voice. "Because of the filming you have to end by four o clock on the second day, and all the way through the filming they stop you and say 'ok, do that again but smile and wave as you are falling down the ladder."' Surely they don't need to ask Carole to smile? He either doesn't hear or Cleem my joke worthy of a laugh, so I quickly ask about decorating disasters. I detect slight amusement at my terrible pronunciation of the word disastrous which he quickly covers up with an over camp Oooh, "I'm really clumsy actually. In the next one that is cqming up, I dropped pink paint everywhere. I also tend to get quite injured, I've ended up with stitches in my head and stuff like that. For some reason I do tend to have an accident every shoot. I would like to say it was less than that but I 'm famous for it."

Are we really to believe that Carol sews the odd table cloth here and there or is that also a direction from the production team? "Carols really good actually, she really gets stuck in, if she didn't do that, she would just be standing around and she is actually very talented at sewing. I think we do push her a bit though because my ideas are a bit different and not that conventional so she's often like "I'm sewing this?."

Unlike some of the truly outrageous designs that the show invariably produces, Olivers makeovers do tend to have logical concepts behind them, "For me there is always a concept

behind a design. I'm not interested in turning a room into funky baroque, my concepts are more to do with how people live today. For example, when you go into a family house the bedrooms are often designed by the women so you see these men living in these white and pink flouncy bedrooms. I wanted to readjust that and design a bedroom that was right for both men and women, because a shared room should have a bit of both of those people in it. I based the room on the theme of romanticism because I think to a large extent that men are seen to be

say if I decided to erect a swing in my bedroom and decide to ask for tips on making a box room that we are all so familiar with, less boxy. "When I was a student, what I got sick of was living in other peoples houses with other people's crappy furniture, lurid colour schemes and horrible wallpaper. I've done a lot of travelling, in the Middle East, India and Thailand, so I usually painted my rooms quite bright, far eastern colours and I had all my bits around me that I had collected from my travels, all the things that defined who I was. Because I was studying architec-

"People are letting themselves in for something if they let Changing Rooms into their home." a bit Homer Simpson, that's the male stereotype, within advertising and the media, I wanted to challenge that. Men are romantic and thoughtful and we have romantic thoughts believe it or not."

Oliver's voice echoes res:mantly and I try to imagine his house, but find it hard since all I can now think of is a red love den, strewn with rose petals. I am surprised to hear that, despite his sensitive musings on romanticism, his house is actually very quirky . "I rent a big old warehouse that I have converted. I've got my swmg and my pogo stick and a table that is suspended from the ceiling and a kitchen that revolves. Its just fun , and what I want at the moment. " I wonder what my landlord would

ture, I was always making stuff, I had these suitcases that I turned into my wardrobes and bits of glass suspended from the ceiling. Even if you paint it all out a year or two later, it is worth it because you can be yourself. For me, what a room looks like is as important as the way you dress'."

After doing some work in a garden, Oliver harbours a yearning for the outside, "I'd like to do some more design outside becuase a room is, in a sense, a box of some sorts but with gardens you haven't really got the size restrictions." After talking to Oliver however, it seems that restrictions are not likely to hinder his very bright future.

• Ollver Heath will be appearing on Changing Rooms 12/11/01

Wednesday, October 31,

2oote e It

08 !'

Ever wondered about the ins and outs of the UK's most prestigious literary competition, the Booker Prize? Let The Event fill you in on the details Text· Liz Hutch i nson

Peter• Ca.rey

f you t hought t hat all t he ta lk about books in previous weeks wa s actually your subconscious tell ing you to get stuck into that huge reading list, then panic no more. The reason why t he words 'books' , 'Carey' and 'prize ' have been bandying about like a pair of granny pant s caught in a gust of wind, is because the winner of the Booker Prize was finally announced on October 17.

Never heard of t he Booker Prize? Well , there is a small clue in the title , you know . Essentially, it 's an annual prize giving event for the 'best book of the year ' which never fai ls to bring the literary world and the high brow media close to wett ing their panties with excitement. Let 's calm down a bit though . Surely the Booker Prize isn't that exciting? Well, qu ite frank ly, no, but the pot entia ll y slanderous and del icio usly ju icy gossip that usually surrounds the event each year is. Embroi led in controversy about who's supposed masterpiece has been left off the short

I

Fort unat ely this is highly unl ikely, especia ll y since the judging panel are expected to read all 120 books entered. So for now, the future financial backing of the booker lies in the balance , wh ilst public interest in the prize is gett ing stronger and stronger.

Not suitable for Channel Four because of the lack of teenage angst that seems to be mandatory of thei r programmes, the broadcasting rights for the Booker Prize ceremony were snapped up by BBC Two , who glammed up the awards this year in order to appeal to a younger and wider audience. This comes at a time when authors are no longer thought to be like that bespectacled ashen-haired pensioner from Murder She Wrote, tapping away at her trusty t ypewriter whilst developi ng a severe case of halitosis. Instead , w riters are increasing ly ce lebrated as media personalities. Zadie Smith , the 23 year old author of White Teeth has appeared in a number of glossy magazines,

"The sponsor of the pr iz e, Backer plc ha ve recently been taken over by Icel and food company, leadin g Hooray Henrys to gu f f aw about t he possibi l ity of a ca rtoon pol a r be ar rea ding out t he s hortlist aft e r announcing this week ' s off e rs " list and who has allegedly been included for other non-literary reasons , the prize almost always delivers some sort of scandal.

I'm not suggesti ng, however, that the Booker is as bent as an arthrit ic fi nger . Though accusations have been made by previous judges, author AL Kennedy included, that the final decision is more to do with who is sleeping with whom and who 's been bribing who with the literary equivalent of an everlasting gobstopper, the booker is a highly respectable and significant prize.

More importantly, it hel ps to ra ise the profil e of the author in today's societ y whilst also stee ri ng the readi ng public away from freebie roman ce novels courtesy of Cosmopolitan and FHM and towards high qual ity literature. And this year, the talk is not about who didn 't win , but who did win and th is t ime he truly deserved it .

Known as the Oscars of the book world, the Book er Prize was initiated in 1968 but only came to promi nence du ri ng t he 1980s. The sponsor of the prize, Booker plc have recently been taken over by Iceland food company , leading Hooray Henrys to guffaw about the possibi lity of a cartoon polar bear read ing out the shortl ist after announc ing this week 's offers. However, Iceland have signalled that they want to give up sponsorship of the prize within two years , so what wit h all increasing glamour of the book world , could we be expecting a big name to take over or perhaps a private bidder, the Beckhams maybe , especiall y since Posh and Becks have both made their own foray into the publ ishing world with their 'autobiographies ' .

event Wednesday.

October 31,

wh ilst literary stalwart Salman Rushdie has been photographed frequently at parties in London and New York with his girlfriend, who just happens to be a former to pless model. Oh , and he also made a cameo appearance in Bridget Jones's Diary. Perhaps it is because of this tenuous link between authors and popular cu lture , in a society inc reasing ly obsessed with celebrity, that literary prizes such as the Booker are finally finding the sizeable audience that it deserves.

T

he £21,000 prize was won by Peter Carey for his novel The True History of the Kel/y gang, a fictional account of the notorious outlaw Ned Kelly. it is has also been nominated for a number of awards in Carey 's home country of Australia, which could potentially take his prize winnings to a staggering £50,000. This year the short list featured many yo ung authors early in the ir career, inc luding first time noveli st Rachel Seiffert with The Dark Room, Scottish writer Ali Smith 's Hotel world, Andrew Miller's Oxygen and David Mitchell 's Number9dream. As usual, much of the commot ion centred around those left off the list, Beryl Bainbridge is now unflatteringly known as the Booker Bridesmaid having missed out three times; Melyvn Bragg and Nick Hornby also fai led to reac h t he shortl ist as did Phi lip Pullman, whose work, The Amber Spyglass, was the first ever long listed book for ch ildren .

No less than two of the six short listed novelists this year originate from the acclaimed Creative Writing MA, taught at this

2001

very fi ne institution. And rew Mill er was once here as was Ali Smi t h, who later taug ht on th e programme . Yes, I am blowing the trumpet for all UEAians, but what the hell . lan McEwan also graced our concrete skies, his pole position in the hardback best-seller chart this week confirms that he is rapidly becoming one of Britain 's most esteemed contemporary novelists.

However, despite winning t he peopl e's Booker, a poll of BB C viewers, and being the bookies favourite at odd s of 5-2, Mc Ewan·s Atonement, a tale of class divisions set in the 1930s, narrow ly missed out to Carey, who said in his acceptance speech that he was a good friend and admirer of lan Mc Ewan and would take him out for an 'expensive meal' .

So, with its mixture of secret s, revelations, friends and foes and , this year it seems, a ha ppy end ing, the Booker prize has as much intrigue and interest as a well-thumbed copy of Hello, and not even a Spice Girl in sight. At least for now that is.

Nominee Biographies: • Peter Carey is the author of six novels. He won the Booker Prize in 1988 for Oscar and Lucinda (which has since been made into a film starring Ralph Fiennes) and was shortlisted in 1985 w ith 1/lywhacker.

• lan McEwan won the Booker Prize in 1998 with his novel Amsterdam . His previous novels include The Cement Garden, The Comfort of Strangers, The Child in Time, The Innocent and Enduring Love.

• Andrew Miller grew up in the West Country and has lived all over the world. His first novel, Ingenious Pain, was published in 1997 and won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction, the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and the Grinzane Cavour Prize in Italy. His second novel, Casanova (1998), met with similar acclaim.

• David Mitchell 's first novel, Ghostwritten (1999). won the Mail on Sunday1John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and was short listed for the Guardian First Book Awards. Number9dream is his second novel.

• Rachel Seiffert is the daughter of a German mother and Australian father. She spent most of her life in Oxford and Glasgow and was bullied at school for being a 'Nazi ' so had a strong sense as a ch ild that being German meant being bad.

The Dark Room is her first novel.

• Ali Smith won the Sa/tire First Book Award and a Scottish Arts Council Award in 1995 for her first collection of stories, Free Love. Her first novel, Like, was published in 1997 and her second collection of stories, Other Stories and Other Stories, in 1999. Hotel World, her second novel, was sh ort list ed for the 2001 Orange Prize for Fiction.

Hip? No , Therapy?

Not all rock stars are angry, angst ridden and self-obsessed Some are actually like~ble and interesting human beings . ..

Text: Anthony Lovell

L

et's hear it for some of the nicest guys in music . Therapy? are back again with a new album, and they 're friendlier than ever before . Frontman Andy Cairns and bassist Michael McKeegan are the tw in linchpins of the band and , ever willing to further improve their relations with the press, they 've not only agreed to be interviewed separately, they 're also allowing me access to their rider. As I survey the surroundings of their tour bus, beer within easy reaching distance, I notice the distinct lack of traditional rock 'n' roll apparatus. In fact, everything is really very t idy. Hell, Andy Cairns is even making himself a cup of teal A far cry from their mid 90s hellraising heyday indeed. it's been a couple of years since I last spoke with Therapy?, and despite releasing a greatest hits album, the band have returned to Norwich to play the Waterfront again - they 've failed to make a return to the larger LCR .

Disappointed, Andy?

"What else can we do? it's this country! ", he says, laughing. "We still play to big crowds in Germany, Holland and Belgium , places like that. We 're on a different record label now as well , and we don't have the same amount of money behind us like we did on A+M • (the band 's former label) . Is this to blame then? Is chang ing record label the reason behind the relative lack of progress? Andy dismisses t his. "it was the best deal. We got a worldwide deal. The last two albums we did on A+M , we didn 't even have an American deal. Ark 21 [Therapy? 's current label] have sent us to America twice this year, and we're going to America twice next year.· Do you think that this

spl itting up. I mean, I own two houses and three cars! We 're all tucking loaded. We still love doing it . There 's a good deal of goodwill towards the band too, as we 've never really tucked anyone over to get to the top. We ' re doing a Dutch tour next , and all the venues are selling out. But if we 'd come back and the attendances had been poor, then we'd simply have said that we couldn 't tour the UK again.

There's still thousands of people who want to hear us."

I ask him what the future holds. "I don 't know . The most exciting thing is that we 're actually going over to play places we haven 't played in a wh ile." Any chance of your cancell ing overseas touring because of the international situation? "Nah ," he smiles. " Not a chance.· Andy 's chief partner in crime is a different proposition . Whereas the frontman was instantly warm and talkative, Michael initially seems a little guarded in what he says, although he re laxes quickly . He's lost weight since we last met , and his hair is now free of the blonde bleach that it sported for a while. In fact, he reminds me of a younger, thinner Marc Almond . He is in complete agreement with Andy over the issue of whether they have progressed in the two

"It really isn't bad enough for us to even consider spl i tt i ng up. I mea n, I own two houses and three cars! We're al l fuck -

ing loaded. We still love do i ng l•t . .. will raise your profile again? "We have been getting response from territories that we haven 't played in a long time, like Norway , Sweden, and France. The reviews have been amazing for this record. it's given us a chance to get out and play again."

Therapy? playing again is something which, if recent press reports are to be believed, may not be on the cards for too much longer.

Comparisons have recently been drawn between the band and another member of the Britrock old guard, Terrorvision. The latter have just split up, and you could be excused for th inking that with Therapy? having released a greatest hits package , they were about to go the same way. But Andy is adamant that th is has never been an option. "No. The thing with Terrorvision was that they could only play shows in the UK. We can go and play anywhere in the world and get between 500 and 2500 people. We 've got a bit of a cult reputation . We can tour anywhere and make money . The only comparison that can be drawn between Terrorvision and us is that someone in England could see that in the mid 90s both bands were in the charts and on Tpp of the Pops. We've sold three million records worldwide.

At the moment, it really isn 't bad enough for us to even consider

- Andy

Cairns

years since they last visited. "I think the fact that we 've made another record and played more shows is progress enough. We 're not a materialistic band in that respect. If we can 't play bigger places than the Waterfront we 're not going to cancel the tour.· He's also proud of the record that the band is currently touring in support of (Shameless). " 1 would love it to sell 50 million copies because I think it's good and because I think that what we do is an awful lot better and more constructive than 75% of the music that is out there. But if it doesn 't sell a lot, then I don't think that we 'll lose any sleep over it. We just ex ist in our own little weird way." He is less certain over the answer to why Therapy? are currently seeing a resurgence in their younger fanbase , with teenagers starting to outnumber the twentysomethings who 've stuck with the band from the beginning. "Maybe some of them have heard of the band through their older brothers or friends , or maybe they've heard our name through reading Kerrang! But there was never any set audience for us. You can be 12 and into Therapy? or you can be 70 and into Therapy?. The more the merrier! " Michael also shares Andy 's unwillingness to predict the future of the band. " I'm only particularly concerned about th is tour, to be honest.

Trying to predict th ings is odd anyway. My concern is just to do this tour and then do a load more touring next year." He is also vehemently opposed to the idea that Therapy? are on their last legs, although he does admit to a period of uncertainty. "Two years ago, we 'd done a huge tour, and A+M disappeared. Graham [ Hopki ns, drummer] broke his arm , and we were in London , it was pissing it down with rain , and we were in London going ·tuck ing hell , no record deal'. That was the only t ime, and we were only thinking of what our options were."

Both men are obviously happy and proud of what they 've achieved .

Despite the fact that they don 't sell as many albums as they have done, and they don 't appear in front of massive crowds, they retain an artistic integrity and a worldw ide following wh ich would be the ~ envy of many other bands. They deserve another hit record , but even if Shameless isn 't the one to do it , the band is far from going nowhere. In fact , were it all to end tomorrow , they 'd almost certainly die laughing.

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11

The Magnificent Seven?

Shed Seven ruled the radio playlists during our GCSEs and were for gotten by most by the time A- levels came around. But now they are back for more.

Simon Dorman went to meet them

H

aving released a new album in May (Truth Be To/d)their first in two years - and over half way through October's 19 tour dates, Shed Seven have arrived at UEA. Tom (bass) and Joe (guitar) are available for a chat just before the gig, and both are in a loquacious mood. High on the agenda is why the band departed from their record label Polydor. lt emerges that High Hopes was agreed by the band and label to be released as a single after the Best Of in winter 1999. However, t he boss of Polydor decided he wanted to re-release old favourite Going For Gold instead, which the band were strongly opposed to - this was one of the main factors which lead to the departure. They also told me that competing with the likes of Ronan Keating for record sales wasn't exactly their scene, and joining Artful Records gave them more freedom and their indie edge back. But whilst the indie edge has been regained, guitarist Paul Banks has been lost. When pressed, the boys seem a little cagey. "Paul left the band main· ly due to musical differences. He was pulling the band in directions we weren't happy with. He said he felt restrained by us, and the songwriting relationship between him and Rick [Witter, frontman] deteriorated, so he left. • What, is that it? No huge bust-ups? No fighting? No bottles thrown; guitars trashed? You're meant to be a rock band, for

"Ou r per f ect day involves s norting cocaine off a su permodels tits and then pl ay ing a really big gig " - Joe Johnson feck 's sake. How rock ·n· roll are you? What chaos have you caused on this tour? Have you got any amusing drunken 1 drug related anecdotes from the tqur so far?

Well, not exactly. They're modest, saying that "Last night and this morning was fairly good - but most of the stuff isn't really printa~le." Okay thert- who can drink the most? Joe is in no doubt, saying "probably Tom" , who agrees, adding • Alan [drummer] can definitely drink the least." Getting into the spirit of things, he adds that "our perfect day involves snorting cocaine off a supermodels t its and then playing a really big gig - which is what we do most days anywaY.." Just as the hopes start to

rise though, he adds "well- perhaps not the supermodel bit so much." Hmm. Funny that.

They're pretty dull really. They don't think that Internet downloads are any threat to them, they're still enamoured with the Stone Roses, The Pixies, and early REM, and they "don't think that Oasis will come back from three bad albums". in fact, th~ir inherent dullness is summed up by the answer which Tom gives to the query as to what the most unusual request they've every had from a fan is. "I've been asked to sign brand new guitars" , he says.

Give me strength.

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Wednesday, October 31, 2001

event

12

13

Knowledge: --------------------------------------- no. 53

Creedence Clearwater Revival

The Unbearable Darkness of Being •• T

The Others a very scary film. Why do you think we enjoy watc hIng films that scare us so 11uch?

Well, I t hink being scared is a very radical and intense feeling and it's a perfect way to ccnnect wit h the audience. In my case it helps me t o express man1 of my concerns on a very primary level.

What do you mean by your concerns?

Well, in the case of my three fi lms I would say there is a con· stant concern with things t1at we can't explain. Things t hat we can 't understand. What is tehind the closed door?

Soul copyists then?

No, although they also covered Screamin' Jay Hawkins' I Put A Spell on You and Wilson Pickett's 99 and a Half (Won't Do). Actually, Creedence's trademark was roots rock, and the band spearheaded the roots revival in the late 60s and early 70s. Despite sounding like a genuine southern swamp band, the guys actually hailed from a suburb of west coast San Francisco. John Fogerty, the band's lynchpin, formed a high school covers band called The Blue Velvets, with Stu Cook (bass) and Doug 'Cosl)lo' Clifford (drums), way back in 1959. But it wasn't until Fogerty's older brother Tom joined that the band started to get anywhere.

Well, where did they get ?

In 1964, the band was signed, but was forced by the label to change its name to the Golliwogs because of the British beat invasion. But t he members stuck to their guns and eventually got the unwieldy name of their choice.

So do you believe In ghosts yourself?

I wouldn't say that. I'm agnostic , but if I had to believe in ghosts I would believe in tlis kind·of ghost [in The Others] . But, in this case r think it gives the excuse to talk about other things like relationships and the dark side of the family, or the way children are taught, whether it's correct or not. And the ghost story is just the excuse.

Nlcole Kldman said that she was really excited about doing this movie with you because she thought she'd be In the handS of a master of the psycholo~cal thriller. Why did you ~oose her to play the part?

Well I didn't have anyone particular in mind when I wrote the script. Actually I wrote it in Spanish and I was t hinking about sort of setting it in South America. Then we decided to translate it into English and Tom Cruise's production company got very interested in the project so I guess Tom passed her the script. I think she really liked the character and I felt it would be a great part for her to perform. Also, when I met her and I saw her eyes, I thought they were so powerful, I wanted to get all that energy into the film.

Do you think the film needed a famous actress In the leading role to make Jt work?

I would like to think that it doesn't need it but it's true that the name Nicole Kidman opens so many doors in the film business.

But do I know any of the tunes?

Creedence is probably best known for the apocaly.ptic 1969 hit Bad Moon Rising, but the band had a string of singles successes in America and here, including Proud Mary { covered by lke and Tina Turner), Have You Ever Seen The Rain and Fortunate Son. The mix of no-nonsense rock, John fogerty's gruff voice and catchy tunes made the band hugely popular, and t he sheer energy of their songs keeps them memorable today. While their seven albums are not the most varied you 'll ever hear, they're certainly worth a go.

And some of the songs even have a social conscience. Try the anti-Vietnam melancholy of Who'll Stop the Rain?.

Do they live on?

The band finally disbanded in 1972, but several members went on to solo success, notably John Fogerty, who won a Best Rock Album Grammy in the 90s for Blue Moon Swamp.

You can also follow their progress on some shockingly gushing fan sites, one of which includes sections devoted to "The 20 Greatest Creedence Bass Lines" and "The 10 Most Lyrically Unintelligible Tunes." Nice to know .they have a sense of humour, anyway.

In retrospect..• Left a good job in the city 1 Workin ' for the Man every night

and day I And I never lost one minute of s/eepin' 1 Worrying 'bout the way things might have been

Tessa North

event Wednesday,

on the up , in t he c hair

At just 29 years-old, Alejandro Amenabar is the prodigy of Spanish f i lmmaking . The Others, his fir st En g 1 i's h 1anuag e f i 1m, i s an awesome display i n chilling psychological te r ror, which opened to huge success . in America Merek Cooper talks to him about Cruise, Kidman and very scary movies .

he Others is a filrr that no-one could forget in a hurry.

Set in Jersey shortly after the Second World War it tells the story of Grace and her two children. Anne and Nicholas. Unf:>rtur ately, both children have an extreme allergy to sunlight and therefore the house they live in must always be shro'uded in perpetual darkness. Both mother and children are essentially prisoners in this gloom and it's not long before strange events make them question whether they are the house's only inhabitants. The plot may seem like a run of the mill haunted house flick, but in Amenabar's hands it become a skillful exercise in tension and suspence, a film in which t he traditional roles of darkness. and light are reversed: in The Others it's not the dar~ that you're afraid of but the light.

I bet that's a high Scrabble score ••.

Don't be daft, you'd run out of letters. Still, they weren't a band known for being succinct · try their ten-minute plus ver· sion of Marvin Gaye's I Heard it Through th~ Grapevine.

Inquisitor:

October 31, 2001

But the key to a film's success is if the fi lm is in English or not.

You have two different completely different markets; one is the English language market and the other is the subtitled fore ign market. To shoot in English really makes the main difference.

There were rumours that Nlcole Kidman found making this film very stressful. Is that t rue?

What happened, I think, is t hat she had a very hard time doing Mo'ulin Rouge and she picked up this injury to her knee. Then w ith almost no rest, she came to Spain t o do this film about a woman who was living in fear all the time. Suddenly she felt the all the stress her character, Grace, was experiencing, mainly because she always insisted on playing the character from inside, from her heart. So my task as a director was to alleviate some·of this stress · I just sent her a bunch of flowers and {laughs) told her that not in a million years would I find such a . great actress to play Grace.

-

Tom Cruise produced this film and Nicole Kidman is quite obviously the star actress, was lt quite awkward for them to work together after their split?

They were very professional and they always said they would be devoted and supporting to the fi lm, and they were. The fact that they showed up at the same screening in LA proves that. Tihe media attention is inevitable. People are just obsessed with Tom and Nicole's personal life unfortunately. But it didn't affect their work and it didn't affect their relationship towards me.

Whether they were single, or separated, or together, they have been very respectful.

This is your first English language film?

Yeah, I had to learn English to do this fi lm.

Were there any major changes when lt was translated from Spanish to English?

Well,-there were a lot of things I insisted on keeping when I changed it into English. I wanted to keep the religious aspect Because Catholicism was very important t o me. I was brought up in Catholic family and I wanted to keep that. Then I said, "How are we going to make it work in England?" So we hired a history consultant and he found Jersey, which has a strong catholic heritage and so it was perfect. But I didn't have to change many things, which only proves that the film was more suited to an Anglo-Saxon setting.

Are you planning any more films In English?

Actually I haven't thought about it yet. lt will depend on which project I decide to do. But· it's not a priority, I wouldn't say now I have to make a film in England, or I feel t hat I have to make a film in Hollywood. In fact I was talking to a Spanish director a few weeks ago and I said, "I 'm a great fan of English movies and Hollywood pictures but at t he same t ime I think directors

Tipped f or stardom by the NME , Oxford band Goldrush are a lot more than just Elbow' s s upport. need to protect the variety and diversity of cinema. • We directors shouldn't run to do a film in Hollywood if we can make it j ust as well in our own territory. But, if. I find a story that needs to be shot in France I would learn French and I'd do it there.

Did you tailor the film to be saleable internationally and did this Involve a lot of compromises?

Not too many really. I think if we consider the final result and the film I originally had in mind the two are very similar. What is scary is t hat when you release a film in The States, you have to first face the test screening. And t hat was shocking because I didn't real.ise that there was going t:o be like five hundred people taken from the streets, when the fi lm hasn't really been finished , and they were going to give opinions and everything. The director has to keep a cool mind and really know when you should pay attention to opinion and when you shouldn't. Actually we did three test screenings and the worst reaction we got was here in England, which was surprising because I thought t his country would be the natural market for the film. I did take out one scene, but it ~as obvious. I mean, we tested the fil m and that scene always got the worst reaction. So I j ust took it out.

How did the Idea for the surprise ending come to you?

I don't know. I just wanted to do a fi lm in one single location because my second film (Open Your Eyes) takes' place in so many places and 'periods of t ime with jumps in t ime and everything, I was so sick of that kind of thing that I wanted to go in the opposite direction. When I heard a story about some children who couldn't be exposed to sunlight, it occurred to me that it would be perfect to explain the isolation necessary in this story.

And t hen to give it a religious dimension, I had the idea of the woman teaching the children her very strong beliefs in Catholicism.

Yeah, the film deals with a lot of Important religious Issues. Did your own experience In this area Influence the film?

In my case. I went to a boarding school and although it was a Catholic school, my family wasn't practising. So I think I was able to have quite an objective perspective tov.ards the Catholic discipline. And I started to think that it wasn't only unfair but also very cruel, the way children are taught, and this dichotomy between good and evil and heaven and hell anc punishment, and the way they split into not only heaven and her but limbo as

On filming with the chi l dre.n: Their medical condition in the film [an extreme allergy to sunlight] required them to look as pale as possible. so as we were in Spain, we only allowed them out at night .

What did that scene Involve? it was a scene between Grace and her husband, and what people couldn't cope with was seeing this woman enjoying herself in such a frightening situation.

The two children In the movie, Alaklna Mann and James Bentley do a great job considering it's their first experience of film actIng. Were you Involved In the search for them?

I was actually there the day they found the little girl, Alakina.

This was my first time working with children • I was quite scared because the casting is very important. lt. took us two months to find them both and you have to make sure that these children would be able to underst and what happens in the script. lt was also quite hard for them as they couldn't actually go out during the day. Their medical condition in the film [an extreme allergy to sunlight] required us to make them look as pale as possible, so as we were in Spain, we only allowed them out at night. Which was hard for them as Spain is a country that they didn't know and a language that they didn't know. So I tried to help them and be as close a friend as possible.

Old they pick up any Spanish when they were out there?

Yeah, just bad words, I t hink. {Laughing)

well, I thought that was really annoying. So there is a kind of denouncing of t hat kind of teaching in The Others.

I noticed that the film played a lot on childhood fears. Do they reflect your childhood fears?

Well, as a child I was always I scared of everything - of corri- · dors, of darkness. I had to be wit h people all tt<e time. But at the same t ime I liked writing.t hese stories about ghosts and houses. Then I stopped, I don't know why and my first film was about violence. the second· was about dreams. And this was like going back t o my childhood and, yeah, I just tried to put myself in that position, to· get back all those childhood feelings. '

Which direction do you want your future films t () take?

Honestly, I don't know what I want, but I do know what I don't want, which would be directing Planet of the Aoes 2 or something like that. I have three ideas, and t he tricky thing is deciding which is going to be the one. Once I have started I will write quite fast , almost compulsively, but·I have fi rst to decide which one. And I always need to get a project out of my mind in order to think about the next one.

• The Others is out on November 2 and is revie.ved on page 17 Pictures: (Above) Nlcole Kidman as Grace {Left) Fionnula Flan~gan and director Alejandro Amenabar

How did the band first come together?

Robin (lead singer): I fi rst met Garro (guitarist) in Oxford, when my brot her and me were doing a covers night. After that Garro came in and played guitar with us. In those days he used to j ust stare at the floor while he played. Act ually he still does that now. This current line up of t he band, with G on bass and Jeff on keyboard, started playing togeth·

er about a year and a half ago.

How would you describe your music t o people who haven't heard it before? it's just the five of us bringing our own influences into the pot. I write the skeleton of the songs and the others flesh it up. We probably all have our own ideas of what we sound like. I suppose most people would describe it as mellow indiejrock.

You played at the Readlngjl eeds fest ival this year. What was that like?

Reading was really good. We saw SOf\le great bands there, Elbow obviously being one. The Strokes are really good, worth the hype they 've created. They' re pretty sexy as well.

They're good looking blokes aren't they?

Whom would you say has Influenced you musically?

For me personally I would say Jack Carra, the writer. I suppose even Elvis. I was influenced by Spiritualized and Neil Young, Hank Williams, and one Radiohead .B side I used to listen to quite a bit: Garro was influenced by Stevie Wonder.

We have loads of different influences reallY..

Tell me a bit about your label Truck Records and the Truck festival.

They were just things we did to pass the t ime. Most people walk the dog; we set up our own label. Truck Records was just an excuse to release records by my mates. Some were really good!!! The festival was just an excuse to put bands on we liked and also so that we could headline it. it' s been.

• going for four years now. The first year it was just local bands but now they come from all over.

What has it been like touring with Elbow? it's been great , yeah. The lads in Elbow are really nice guys, laid back and funny. They're all a bit mad but mostly quiet.

Guy has a funny Northern routine. We tried to mimic it but pretty much failed.

Anally, what is In the Immediate future for Goldrush?

We've just started recording an album so once we've finished the t our with Elbow we'll concentrate on that. We 're releasing a single in January called Landscape. lt was mixed

by Dave Fridman, he produces the Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev. He's going to add a bit of American magic to it.

Klreil Mltra

Wednesday. October 31, 2001

@vent

14 Albums

Freestylers •• Pressure Point The new album from the Freestylers, released on October 29, continues their attempts to break new grounds in dance music, combining elements of reggae, drum 'n' bass and breakbeat.

When first listening to the album, it proves somewhat difficult to categorise its genre. lt is heavily complimented by tight scratching, courtesy of the band's DJ, Jay Rock, who is currently on tour in the US promoting his own album Chi/lology as Mad Doctor X. Yet the distinct and totally diverse sound that the Freestylers have cultivated provides something new and exciting in t his seemingly constant wave of manufactured bands and artists. This is as much to be credited to the band's label, Freskanova Records, who have released an album that is concerned with making music and not money!

For further recognition of Pressure Point's status look no further than Pete Tong, who named both Now is the Time and Blowin ya Brainz as his essential tunes on Radio 1 in the run up to the album's release. · 14 tracks of alternative dance music make this an album that may well prove that there Is life for dance artists beyond the Ministry of Sound compilations, which are not truly representative of the current global dance scene. If you've never been inspired by dance music, then this Is t he chance for you to engage in something original and alternative. Produced by band members Matt Cantor and Aston Harvey, numerous tracks from this EP have been already been tested and played to crowds across the world on their DJing tours. The current single, Get Down Massive, has been causing a stir in the clubs, a trend that looks set to continue with Bad Boy Love featuring MC Navigator, bringing a very live feel to a track not too dissimilar to the work of breakbeat dons, Stanton Warriors.

Pressure Point combines strong vocals from the likes of Valerie M, with 80s electronic drums and keyboards, most noticeable on Broadcast Channels, to bring a lively and upbeat sound to your flat or living room. lt ends nicely with Signs, a reggae inspired t rack, which provides a chilled out finish t o a positively influential album.

The Freestylers continue to make an impact on the dance music scene, and this album has struck a note with industry official~. that is, illustrating the constant search for new sounds in the dance scene. A well produced CD, but it will simply fail to turn enough heads in the direction of original material in a vastly competitive musical market. If you get the opportunity to listen to it then take up the offer, but be oper;.minded in your Mark Wheeler approach.

8/10

Rae ·and Chri·sti an: Incubus:

Tompaulin:

Another Late Night

Morning View

The Town ano the City

Mancunian hip-hop artists Rae and Christ ian were initially lauded as the late 90s successors to Soul 11 Soul and Massive Attack after t he critical acclaim surrounding their album release Northern Sulphuric Soul in 1998. Northern Sulphuric Soul featured contributions from NYC's· Jeru Tha Damaja, The Jungle Brothers and Texas, and gained considerable critical acclaim due to the melting-pot.approach of musical and production styles, with a mixture of upbeat spiky funk samples, and pure hip-hop intermingled with slick orchestral passages. Their 2001 remix album Another Late Night again features a mixture of musical sources- a mix album that reflects their musical inspirations and favourite chillout tunes, with each track remixed to suit (presumably to sleep or 'smoke to', post party) .

Fila Brazi llia, and Howle B, both renowned circuit DJs offered us their Another Late Night concepts earlier this year to considerable critical acclaim, and this album represents the third instalment of the after-hours mix series.

Copenhagen Claimin' Respect (The Boulevard Connection) is carried along by a pulsating Blaxploitation-era funk bass hook, whilst 100 Million Ways {Nash) Is A Tribe Called Quest par excellence.

The only serious criticism of Another Late Night is that as a chillout mix, the music tends to lurch violently between fast and slow, with disastrous consequences for those trying to 'chill out'. Strudel strut (Aromadozeski Therapy) is funky enough to be heard at MojO's on a Wednesday, whilst Faze Action's Samba in comparison Is docile enough to sleep to. The album finishes with a rather rum version of The Mamas and the Papas California Dreamin' by Jose Feliciano, which sounds surprisingly fresh alongside all the new talent on offer.

Definitely worth a look if you want an interesting chillout mix Cralg Baker with an eclectic choice of old and new artists.

Formed by four guys when in their mid-teens, Incubus is a band whose sound, like its members, has noticeably and steadily matured over the last ten years. If that means their blend of · funk, metal and hip-hop sounds more commercial, then so be it, because, compared to their very earliest recordings, the music has also become listenable.

There are certainly elements of the earlier Incubus sound on Morning View, but the experimentation with turntable loops and other weird noises has been given much more of a background role. Have You Ever is almost nu-metal {but not quite) , and the gorgeous, acoustic Mexico is surprisingly straight alternative rock, with singer Brandon Boyd's vocals at times sounding a lot like Eddie Vedder. ' Pearl Jam t hey are not, however, and the variety of musical styles present on the album is proof enough of this. Are You In? is soulful funk, complete with Jamiroquai-esque vocals and turntable scrathes. That it's also one of the weakest tracks on the album is probably not coincidental - the metal/rock sound on the album is generally more successful than the funk/hiphop aspects. which is no doubt why the large majority of the tracks follow the trend of the former rather than the latter. Nice To Know You, the album's superb opening track, demonstrates this perfectly. lt has a weird, ambient introduction and a breakbeat driven... beat , but these ar~ only heard through the guitar and the vocals sparingly, and it works a treat . And while the songs are more grunge, rock and metal than funk or hip-hop, it isn't enough to be able to categorise Incubus and label them as one particular style of music. In this day and age of shameless packaging and labelling, even among the corporate Limp Bizklt nu-metal scene, Incubus must be given credit for continuing to do their own thing and making it worth listening to. They can kick Fred Durst's arse any day.

Mlscha Pearlman

like a mini van on the down hill run, tompaulin come out of one of the 4000 holes in Blackburn, Lancashire to take you on a drive that is their first album the town and the city. lt's a sunny start when Jamie, Amos, Ciaron and friends pick you up and tell you about a life at the movies. They then take you around the town and almost into the country with the guitars on track two.

You hear mention of dead American poets and it all sounds a little breezy and harmless.

The edge however, isn't in the vocals or the arrangements - it's In the strings and the lyrics. The ride isn't fast or loud either, but you feel uneasy; they're always talking about something or someone, and you must understand: it ' s grim up north. There's stories about a girl from Westholm, a good doctor, a severe beating and one about travelling on buses. A viola is heard later on in the lamenting tale of the boy hairdresser (a definite "no go" in a town like Blackburn) .

Alf ·the great writers and me is the dirty gem of t he whole piece and the jaunty rhythm of partisan almost sounds like the Stone ·Roses if they dabbled in French.

The record closes with the lonesome sounding, second-rate republic, with its.sad and lovely melodies subtly coming from cello, clarinet and flute.

The whole persona of tompaulin is an unassuming one {even the name and titles are all in lower case lettering), but the wryness, confidence and urban angst of tompaulin are lying low there too.

Somewhere between swooning and growling, it's a ride down an interesting runway, but the plane never takes off.

The album is out on November 5, so if you're more into talking around the bonfire than venturing onto the fair rides, this could well be your soundtrack.

Wes Finch

6/10

7/10

7/10

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October 31, 2001

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Singles 15

Strokes •• Last Nite/When It Started Taken from The Strokes' is This it debut album, Last Nite is already revered by fans. A delirious high melody, full of spiky riffs, it will make everyone within hearing distance bounce.

Every flat party, radio, CD player blasts out its fast~paced spleen in a celebration of no one knows what.

Julian Casablancas' voice can be described in two words: dirty sex. He howls drunkenly into the microphone in~ way reminiscent of The Longpigs' Crispin Hunt, except American (obviously). Considering the blunt, fed up lyrical content ("Oh baby I don 't care no more/ I know this for sure/ I want you out the door"). the single is curiously uplifting.

Written and recorded during late summer, it puts in mind a trip to the beach; all warm sunny skin, fast cars racing along the coast, and skimpy clothing. When it Started is not such an instant hit but nevertheless is a fresh-faced wave of emotion.

Laid back and buzzing, it's worthy of accompanying Last Nite and will also be replacing the excellent New Yorr City Cops, which the band removed from the US album in light of the recent tragedy.

The Strokes have confirmed their arrival with this single - out November 5. Take it or Leave it? Grab it while it's still on the shelves.

Sarah Barker

Embrace:

Make It Last

Taken from the hugely underwhelming If You've Never Been album, this latest cut from Embrace will inspire absolutely no new converts to their increasingly insipid cause. At least their early material had big intentions.

Make it Last is just a stodgy lump of dreary meat 'n' veg indie.

The tune is reminiscent of The Verve at their most nauseatingly average, the production of Oasis at their most hideously bloated. Most annoyingly. the singer could be reading from a cookbook, such is the lack of passion in his voice.

In the post-Britpop musical vacuum, Embrace probably could have got away with this, but in a world where Coldplay are making spines genuinely tingle, and The Strokes are kicking the flabby butt of British indie all over the place, it isn't good Tlm Bragger enough.

Shed Seven:

Step Inside ...

Matthew Jay:

Call My Name Out

This is his third single from the album Draw. lt starts with a promising riff and shaking of maracas, which could kick-start into a great song. However, 'tis not to be. Instead, the pleasant noise continues for a good four minutes. The song is simply and smoothly put together, but it's unchallenging. Matthew Jay fits snugly into the early thirties, dinner party music scene alongside Turin Brakes and David Gray. So, Call My Name Out is not a groundbreaking, inspirational masterpiece but rather a tune to curl up on the sofa to. The song is promoted as being a "breezy, summery pop song·, but it fails on two counts. Firstly, it's definitely not ·pop". and secondly, I can't help but feel he's rather missed the summer season! If you're eager to settle into suburbia, then this is a record for you, for those of us not quite ready to pull on our slippers, forget it.

Chloe Ga"ett

Limp Bizkit:

Boiler

--------------------------------- --------------------------------Undoubtedly my finest hour of this year was in Bedford 's 'Premiere Music Venue'. when Shed Seven's singer Rick Witter passed me the mike during Going for Gold and my painfully offkey vocals boomed out across the PA . Albeit briefly, I was an indie God. A truly magical moment for all concerned.

Melodic and anthemic, this is the first single from the new album The Truth Be Told. As with their other recent singles, this will hardly sell as guitar-based indie bands with talent are so unfashionable. Hook-laden and riff-based , the song is excellent live and a great sing-along track. No one will care that the Sheds have released another single and nobody will buy it.

Nonetheless, Step Inside Your Love is some top indie, amongst the best stuff that Shed Seven have ever done. Not that anyone will, but get this and party like it's 1995...

Greg lvlngs

Supposedly returning with this, their fifth single to affirm their position as the "Kings of Rock", Limp Bizkit's latest release has been chosen by their fans. lt is meant to reflect the band's desire to show their darker roots musically, An unsurprising track, Boiler will no doubt be enjoyed by real fans of the group but unfortunately it offers very little in the way of a more inter· esting or varied sound . Perhaps it is a song that will grow on its listeners but with similarities to Next Generation it lacks originality and therefore could easily become tiresome. Worth a listen, even if just out of curiosity, is the other track on the single- Limp Bizkit's infamous version of George Michael 's Faith.

Yes, it is as bizarre as it sounds! Out on October 29, whether Boiler is received as well as Rollin' and Take a Look Around depends on the fans.

Mlchel/e Moore

LOOKING FOR AN EVENING JOB TO SUBSIDISE STUDENT LIFE? ANGLIAN HOME IMPROVEMENTS COULD BE THE ANSWER. OUR FRIENDLY CITY-CENTRE OFFICE IS ALWAYS ON THE LOOKOUT FOR EVENING TELEPHONE MARKETING STAFF. WITH FLEXIBLE SHIFTS AND FULL TRAINING, AN HOURLY RATE PLUS A TARGET-RELATED BONUS, THE BETIER YOU GET, THE MORE YOU CAN EARN. WORK AS FEW OR AS MANY SHIFTS PER WEEK AS YOU WOULD LIKE, AND START MAKING SOME BEER MONEY NOW!

Pictures {clockwise from top): 1. The Strokes; 2. Embrace; 3. Limp Bizkit; 4. Matthew Jay ; 5. Shed Seven

Ang~~~

CALL NOW ON 01603 616391 DURING SHIFT TIME FOR FURTHER DETAILS AND AN INTERVIEW, OR LEAVE A MESSAGE ON THE ANSWERPHONE.

Wednesday, October 31. 2001

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16 Film

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Osmosis Jones ••

Directed by Farrelly Brothers Starring: Bill Murray, Chris Rock and David Hyde Pierce

Mixing live action with animation in film has had a long and chequered history. Osmosis Jones sees the crown princes of gross~out comedy, the Farrelly brothers, making their addition to this much maligned genre. But how good is this body of work?

The last time Bill Murray worked for the Farrelly Brothers, in Kingpin, he walked away with the movie. In Osmosis Jones, which sees the Ghostbusters star re-teaming with the There's something About Mary directors, he is out-acted by his insides.

The plot is incredibly simple. Murray plays Frank, a slovenly zookeeper who contracts a potentially fatal virus. We then get to watch as his symptoms become worse. What stops this from being the most boring and depressing fi lm ever made is that the internal events are shown in a cartoon of Frank's cellular workings, where white blood cell/street cop Osmosis Jones must team up with fast-acting cold-relief pill Drix to stop the virus from destroying Frank City.

Because of the vast differences in scale between the two parts of the story, unlike Roger Rabbit the animated and live-action sections rarely mix, frequently giving the impression that you're watching two separate films. The sensation isn't helped by the fact that the animated parts are fantastic while the bits out in the real world are, quite frankly, crap.

Perhaps because the cartoon aspects meant the Farrellys had to restrain their usually crude sense of humor to keep a family audience, none of the live action scenes are actually funny. Far too much time is given to Frank's irritating health and environmentally conscious daughter, presumably to make us care whether daddy dies or not. Any chance of that, however, is dashed by Murray's utterly wretched performance. Someone needs to tell him that not bothering to shave isn't enough on its own to create a fully rounded character. Osmosis Jones, together with Charlie's Angels, seems to indicate Murray is no longer

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interested in comedy. He turns up, takes the money and reads the lines, but clearly wants to be somewhere else. If he's happier doing his critically acclaimed projects like Rushmore, Cradle Will Rock and the forthcoming Royal Tenebaums he should stick to them, because this kind of shit is an insult to his adoring audience. Thankfully he can't be around all the time to spoil the entire movie a_nd what goes on inside his body is far, far more fun. Whoever designed Frank City wasn't interested in scientific accuracy. The whole place is a mass of color and movement, with thousands of veins weaving around the fat-based buildings, taking single-cell citizens wherever they want to go. Imagine a cartoon lnnerspace with millions of Oennis Quaids and you start to get the picture. Whoever did the voice casting also deserves a great deal of credit. Instead of taking the Disney route of signing whichever huge star happened to be free that day, here there is evidence of intelligent thinking; therefore the white blood cell is played by blacker than black Chris Rock, and the hulking Drix has the nasel, prissy tones of David- Niles from Frasier- Hyde-Pierce. Lawrence Fishburn turns the virus into possibly the most terrifying screen villain of the year.

Osmosis Jones is half of a brilliant movie. Go expecting to see 50 minutes of first-rate animation and hear some truly inspired bodily-function gags ("this place stinks", says one germ while hiding out in the bowel) and you won't be disappointed. Just remember to take a book or magazine to get you through the J/m Whalley rest.

5/ 10 2001

Film 17

The Others:

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Directed by Alejandro Amenabar Starring: Nichole Kidman, Fionnula Flanagan and Christopher Eccleston

Close the curtains and lock a 11 the doors ... Spanish director Alejandro Amen abar gives Hollywood a lesson in the art of suspense fi 1m making.

I thought I'd be the last to say it, but versatility: thy name is Nicole Kidman. In the space of a month the former Mrs Tom Cruise has not only wowed us with her song and dance whilst dressed up to the nines in Moulin Rouge, but she now has turned In an equally absorbing performance whilst clad in nothIng more outrageous than a rather fetching piece of purple knitwear In The Others. A film so perfectly executed around the central support of Kidman and her knitwear that it manages to put her more flamboyant recent effort In the shade along with most of Hollywood 's horror output from the last ten years.

Kidman is the solitary mother of two children, who all live in a large, darkened mansion surrounded by mist in post-war Jersey.

The dingy atmosphere Is not, however, merely for dramatic convenience. As Kidman explains to the three servants who come knocking on her door seeking work at the film 's opening, her children have a condition which makes them react so badly to sunlight that the house must be constantly kept dark and the multitudes of doors locked to protect them from exposure. In such an environment it's only a matter of time before Kidman's family and the hired help begin hearing strang~ noises in the oppressively darkened corners ...

In any lesser film, all these contrivances to put five fairly creepy people into a spooky old house and then start shaking the floorboards would seem trite. But The Others manages to pull it off by not adhering to any suspense or horror conventions. Lesser films would splatter the walls with blood at the earliest opportunity. The Others lets Kidman, her exceptionally creepy children (where do producers keep finding these weird ~ids?) and the servants simmer together slowly In the locked house to build up an atmosphere of dread and unease. Teen horror fans will no doubt winge that it's all too slow and doesn't have a great deal of scares. Well , tough. This is a horror film not for the Scream crowd, but for The Turn of the Screw or The Shining fans who'll appreciate the beautifully murky visuals and careful and genuinely clever use of stereo sound. And, of course, will be treated Kldman's second career best performance on the trot.

There are a few minor problems with this cinematic feast, namely the wasting of the excellent Christopher Eccleston in an out

The Animal â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;˘

of place sutrplot involving Kidman's husband. But there really is too much to enjoy to be overly concerned with quibbles. lt comes as no surprise to find that such an exceptional take on the genre didn't come from Hollywood. This debut English language film from Spanish writer/director Alejandro Amen{lbar is one of the cinema going experiences of the year if you're pre-

pared to give it a chance with the right attitude. Don't go hoping for a cheap scare, but for a piece of genuine quality suspense cinema. And, even if none of this excites you, I implore you: at least see it for Nicole's knitwear.

Ph// Colvln

9/10

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â&#x20AC;˘

Directed by Luke Greenfield Starring Rob Schneider, Colleen Haskell and John C. McGinley

Rob Schnieder's new film is indeed a mangy beast. Arriving at the cinema this month, it's about as welcome as a rabid blood-thirsty hound scratching at your back door. Co~e on, join the call for humane destruction.

Not long into watching the new Rob Schneider 'comedy ', The Animal a terrifying fact becomes horribly clear: the filmmakers didn 't set out to make a film at all - they set out to make a trailer. There is only two and a half minutes of funny material in

the entire movie, and all of it has been used in the advertising campaign.

Every aspect of the film has been designed to be easily sellable to a mass audience. The plot (a wannabe policeman has his

insides replaced with animal organs and starts to take on the animals' characteristics) could not be more high-concept. This in itself is not necessarily a bad thing - as an Idea it has the potential for some laughs. But Schneider and his eo-writer Tom Brady refuse to stray from the obvious, gross-out humour that has made Schneider's friend and mentor Adam Sandler one of the biggest stars in the world. That Sandler has a credit as executive producer on The Animal gives 'some indication of the level of hilarity it has to offer. Over the course of the film 's 83 minutes (at least it's mercifully short) Schneider's character gets to piss all over his girlfriend's door while marking his territory, screw a post box and attempt to make out with a goat.

With this and his previous opus Deuce Bigalow, Schneider has carved a career as the actor who descends to levels even Sandler finds deplorable. Watching him degrade and humiliate himself repeatedly you might almost start to feel sorry for him, if he hadn't just cheated you out of the price of the cinema ticket.

The choice of the actress to play the girlfriend is another of The Animal's cunning marketing ploys. The name Colleen Haskell might mean little to us in Britain, but In America she was hugely famous at the time of the film's casting for her appearance in the original series of reality TV show Survivor. Thankfully her acting Is more that adequate for what the movie requires. She certainly has more of a future ahead of her than any of the Big Brother housemates.

Perhaps the most annoying part of the film is that there has to be a love interest at all. On the few occasions when a couple of reasonably amusing gags appear back to back , the rhythm is immediately interrupted by the need for romance. The scene where Schneider wins Haskell's heart by regurgitating worms to save some baby birds is more than a step too far. The look of embarrassment in both participants' eyes is painful to watch.

Rob Schneider might be an evil genius. He and Adam Sandler have created a comic movie formula that only wastes four or five jokes per film. While The Animal and films like it continue to make money the formula will be refined. Please, for the sake of your children don't watch this film, or the comedies of tomorrow will have no jokes at all.

Jlm Wha/ley

2/10 Wednesday, October 31. 2001

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18 Video/DVD

Together ••

Directed by Lucas Moodysson Starring· Li sa Lingren, Gustaf Hammarsten, Ola Norell, Michael Nyqvist Free love, football and fumbling first times, Together weaves all these concerns into a frank yet tender depiction of 70s Hippy liberal values.

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We have got a lot to thank Sweden for. A year ago, England had lost to Germany, drawn in Finl and and looked an out side bet at best for World Cup qualificati on. Now , under t he control of Sven Goran Erik sson, and wit h t he small matter of a 5-1 win in Munich under our belts, England are going to the World Cup, while Sven has bagged a top ten single in his honour.

And anyone watching David Beckham's spec tacular injury time free kick to rescue the game against Greece will have realised just how football can bring a country together.

Which, in an admittedly roundabout way, brings us to Lu kas Moodysson's wonderfu l picture of a 1970s Swedish commu ne, Tillsammans (Together). Yes, there's a bit of Abba, but that is where the cliches stop; all that remains is for this group of mismatched people to realign all views and beliefs on how to live life - while reaffirming a desire to do just that.

Filmed in something close to a documentary style, the camera veers from left to right or zooms suddenly rather than dealing with cuts. adding an element of rea li sm that compli ments the perfec t , touch ing performances that Moodysson teases from his cast. And this is a picture in which you notice the people, not the film.

Take Elisabeth ( Lisa Lingren), an abused w ife who leaves her husband for her brother's commune, taking her children, Stefan and Eva, with her. Her brother, G6ran (beautifully played by Gustaf Hammarsten), then welcomes them and tries to keep everybody happy while being ripped apart himself. "You want to please everybody," Lasse ( Ola No reil) tells G6ran.

"But you 'll only break in two yourself."

The film rolls along in an uncomplicated way, moving chro nologicall y t hrough day after day, as gradual cha nges t ake over everybody. The abusive father, Rolf (M ichael Nyqvist), should be a black and white bad guy; he isn't.

Audience reaction ranges from anger to sympathy. Moodysson also skilfully brings out the fee ling of the time, raising issues of sexual freedom and radical politics.

These are debates that are ragi ng for some whil e others - mainly the newcomers to the commune are apathetic. This is a film of complex relationships - Ro lf, a plumber, is helped back into his life by a lonely customer, Birger ("Don't turn out like me. My life is just shit .") Commune members Anna and Lasse flirt with homosexuality; G6ran discovers the dangers of an open relationship and Elisabeth learns there is life beyond the housework. But most touching is Eva and Erik, two fourteen year-old neighbours, whose burgeoning relationsllip is just as awkward as

things are at that age. And whi le a Swedish commune circa 1975 isn't a well-known lifestyl e, th is certa inly fee ls like real li fe; real people mak ing real mistakes.

Ult imately, as things so often do, it comes together over a game of football, tying up a touching, heart-warming story that really does

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make you feel quit e glad to be alive. And while it may not have t he blunt impact of t hat David Bec kh am free kick, t he warm glow is prett y simi lar. Yo u know, we could learn a t hing or two off these Swedes.

Will Halsey

8/10

Rude Boy: Dire cted by Jack Ha zan and David Mi nga y Star r ing: Ray Gang e and The Cl as h

The Cl ash rock and the beer bot tle s rol l i n this DVD r e -1 ssue. Rude Boy tells t he sto ry of roadie Ray Gan ge.

Sunday 4th November - Top Tribute Bands Steps Beyond & Pure Britney 3.30pm W edne sday 7th Nove mber -7.30pm

The Spectacular Rockin'

Originally released in 1980, this DVD is a bewildering muddle of documentary, concert footage and Mike Leigh style kitchen sink drama . lt 's set against the backdrop of the Brixton race riots and anti-nazi demonstrations and traces how Ray Gange, the Rude Boy of the title. became a roadie with The Clash .

The trouble is Ray Gange doesn 't really do anything except a lot of drunken staring, can of Carlsberg Special Brew in hand. He progresses from working in a dingy adult bookshop to being a useless roadie. He sets up the band's equipment all wrong, and kicks the manager out of bed so he can sl eep with punk -rock chicks that there seems to be no end of. On the other hand the concert scenes are awesome. One of the most memorable performances is of I Fought The Law. Shot at a huge venue in London, Joe Strummer, angry and intense as ever, shakes and spits with such vehemence it gives you a tingle down your spine. Fantastic stuff.

The documentary element of the film, a muddled political history, is nevertheless very interesting just because it 's so in-your-face and honest. Opening with footage of a National Front demonstration complete with "You're rubbish, you 're scum" being screamed out of a megaphone, we later see a group of young blacks targeted by the police and having evi dence fabricated against them. A clear politi cal message, though not given out in the subtlest manner. More confusing is Ray Gange's

On Heaven's Door Music from Elvis Presle y, Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran

W ednesda y 14th November- 7 .30pm " Rnd a Star" 2001 Grand Final - Karaoke Com petitio n 10 Finalists and Guest Singers p lus T.V.'s Popstars 'lan Harvey'

•

Thursday 6th December - 7 .30pm

Rock Explosion!

Queen and Bowie Tribute Featuring Queen B and Jean Ge nie Sunday 9th December - 6 .00pm

S Club Heaven with Kylie Ukely

•

Monday 17th December - 5 .00pm

The Magic Toy Box Xmas Show Theatre Box Office Ope n Daily 2pm to Bpm

B OOK N OW TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT

.

·~ever.lt . .., . ,,

Wednesday,

0

October 31,

2001

politics. Seeing as The Clash are his favourite band and seem to be the only thing that has any meaning for him, it is a little surprising that he is so against the band 's chosen politi cal stance. In the Ra ilway Pub, Ray is talking to Joe Strummer. "The Left Wing is going to fuck everybody up" he tells Joe. "At least it's not the many slaving for the few " Joe replies.

Ray retorts "My idea is to make sure I become one of the few ... I want lots of money, a Rolls Royce, a country mansion, a house in Beverly Hills, servants running round doing what I want". Needless to say , Joe Strummer isn't impressed . The dramat ic scenes aren 't al l bad though, their redeem ing point being the very warped humour. For instance, Ray is talk ing to Topper Headon (the drummer) , who is hitting a punch bag in a garage. He's telling Ray how bassist , Paul Simonon, and himself got arrested t he night before after shooting pigeons from t he roof of the rehearsal studio.

"Next thing you know, all these heads pop up over the roar· he says. Then without warning Topper turns on Ray and kicks him in the groin . Ray runs out the garage , and Topper fo llows him out and giving him an onslaught of punches and kicks. Ray lets out a nasty groan and the scene cuts. Unusual and perplexing stuff, but sadly, only entertaining some of the time.

Metln Altlanjak

5/10

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TV/Radio 19

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Essential Soaps· If I asked you all who is most likely to become a whore in Albert Square , whom wou ld you suggest? Kat, possibly? Janine , definitely. Laura? Well , sorry but it 's true . What with the rent increase on the chippy and the fire damage after the chip fryer incident she's got to start look ing for some ex t ra cash . And what better way to earn it than by seduc ing pervy landlord Mr Davis. lt had always puuled me why he was so determined to screw her financially then offer a shoulder to cry on. Now we know , he is desperate to get into her Primark JDanties and it soon becomes apparent that adultery is the only solution to her mult itude of problems. I'd be careful if I were h\m; she is M inder's daughter after all. Rumou rs of a torrid affair are soon all over the square like wildfire and with I an 's imminent arrival things can only get better. Party episodes of Ekstenders always provide amusing opportunities, and the rivalling Halloween fest ivit ies at E20 and the Queen Vie w ill produce a blackout that puts a stop to all this pettiness. Over in the darkness of E20, Beppe is paying for his naughty ways, he is a cad, and a bounder, and it 's to his credit. However, a visit to Mark and then the hospital w ill perhaps force him to mend his ways. Kat returns home sans makeup, shortly followed by Zoe sans soap, and yep, you've guessed, it the drama continues.

Over to Chester, and this fortnight Hollyoaks is try ing to come to terms with Lewis's death- Helen decides to scatter his ashes and Mandy decides to air all his dirty laundry in public. Not advisable, rea lly, because th is week she seeks solace in the arms of Max , yes, that 's HER STEPBROTHER ! Do Channel Four real ise that we 're about to eat our tea?. Artful Alex , as I have dubbed him (alongside Foxy Finn and Turd-faCEf Tony), has let it sl ip that he is dating Becca, and it's not long before Anna is on the case, and makes it her mission to inform the unsuspecting new girlfriend of his character, and potent semen . Jodie dec ides to make an indecent proposal to Nick after being introduced to the new arrival on campus, then gets turned dpwn by the football team. Les finally allows Lisa to join band practice, thank God, because if he'd let this silliness go on for much longer my sanity wou ld suffer. What is so wrong w ith Brian 's 'God Squad ' band anyway, its not like they 'd cause much controversy with a nu-metal cover of Kum-by-yah is it?

I Now over to Neighbours, where I really didn't believe that Darcy and Tess wou ld actually get married . Only this week , the event t akes place, and as I suspected , Tess gets cold feet . Darc y's dastardly deeds are uncovered in spectacular fashion and it all ends with Tess proclaiming a move from Erinsborough to be the best possible option. Flick is becoming increasingly uncomfortable around Tad after his fantastic deathbed confession, but expect it to be short-lived, as it 's all resolved by the end of the week when they kiss and make up. Ahh, we love a happy ending.

Gemma O'Donnell

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Essential TV 01: The Billy Elliot Boy-Omnibus Special BBC 1 6 November Now I know it 's wrong but I've got something of a crush on Jamie Bell. lt could be the same th ing that attracts me to Harry Potter and I know its not right, but that boy is fit and there 's no denying it . The BBC have obviously come to the same conclu- · sion as me and are dedicating Omnibus Special-The Billy £1/iot Boy to the boy wonder with magic in his shoes. Like the film, this special will explore the rags to riches rise of Bell from the streets of Billingham, Cleveland to the hallowed tarmac of Hollywood Boulevard. Minus the cheese, I hope, because if it turns into another 'gritty Northern 80s drama' I will throw up.

They were poor and they hated Thatcher, we get it . This show will include snippets from a video diary fi lmed by director Stephen Daldry and Jamie himself, we are promised 'rough and ready' footage by the BBC, but hopefully not so rough that we

Essential TV 02: Back to the Floor-Burger King BBC 1 November 6 10.00

Meet the Livewire DJs: Mark Wheeler What sort of music are you Into?

I'm really into garage music, especially UK underground garage. I first heard garage tracks on Kiss FM in London, and then in the clubs when I started going out .

How did you start DJ/ng?

I used to play a lot of football, but then I had an injury so I had to give it up for a while. it was then that my music interests really picked up and I got a full DJ kit about a year ago for about £500. Then I started collect ing records, I've spent loads of money on those as well!

see young Bell squeezing his spots. This will track Jamie 's journey from comprehensive school to his role in Billy Elliot and later the Baftas and the Oscars, where the glitz and glamour is a far cry from the surroundings he is used to. After these ceremonies we see Jamie try and readjust to life at school where he is greeted with a mixed reception from his classmates-, I imagine the girls will love him and the boys will loathe him. More interesting than this perhaps, will be to watch the bond between the child star and his director develop, Daldry has been in almost daily contact with the star since the first auditions. Alongside these video diaries will run footage from the February onwards and personal films of Jamie as a child, and I pray to God that we warm to him because we don't want anoth· er Shirley Temple on our hands.

Gemma O'Donnell

TSN to usual. I haven't been able to get many tracks on vinyl here and it takes about a month for the latest stuff to come from London.

There are some good websites though.

What's your ultimate record?

One Thousand Years From Today originally by Beloved but re-mixed

by Todd Edwards. I like the way it fits together and it 's very meaningful.

Where do you DJ? I started off DJing at friends' parties back home in London.

Since coming up here I've got my own show on Livewire on alternate Fridays. My next one will be on November 2. I played at both the Livewire party and the TSN party.

However•.• I do have a Victoria Beckham song on Vinyl, it only cost me £3! But I'm not keen on the garage tunes on the charts, they've been too commercialised.

What's the garage scene like here?

Fairly non-existent! I represent a different side of Li vewire and

Mark can be contacted r via email on M.Wheeler@uea.ac .uk His next sh ow is on Friday Nov 11

The BBC series Back to the Floor continues with Eric Bonnot taking a week 's work experience at the firm he now owns. Braving foot and mouth, BSE and McDonalds, this is perfect timing for the French businessman to take over the helm of Burger King. Bonnet agrees to work in a newly opened restaurant in Liverpool. His week begins with the firm's basic training, which emphasises the need to serve customers within two and a half minutes whilst grinning inanely. "I can't get my feet, my hands, my brain and my smile to work at the same time, • says Bonnot chirpily . His colleagues, wh ilst helping him , also make him aware of the real it ies of work ing at Burger King . These real ities inc lude the kitchen being too hot, the staff being unaware of the companies award scheme, and a demand for better pay . However, the threat of a worker 's revolution passes peaceably despite eo-worker Mara's question of whether Bonnet would take a pay cut in order for the workers to have a rise . Eric Bonnot, now smi ling inanely, survives Mara's grilling and the rest of the week . Following his experience. he now has plans to improve staff training and the reward schame for Burger King employees. The programme ends with Bonnot waving a tearful goodbye to his staff, before sprinting away from Liverpool to return to the comforts of Head Office. Rachel Cooling

We dn esday , October 31, 200 r ·~

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20 Arts

Rev Antony and Cleopatra

cV

Beauty Parlour and Reflecting Flesh

The aim of Antony and Cleopatra boxed in was an attempt to answer the questions of life whilst being enraged to distraction by a looming face. As the lights opened on Anthony and Cleopatra one was transported to a setting that was austere; a setting that dissipated to the memory of a post-war Kibbutz as soon as the principal actors entered the stage. The immediate impact owed much to the recent direction of Brecht 's Good Woman of Szechzuen that the National Theatre commissioned, and toured, earlier this year. The work, under the aegis of Sarah Bailey, employed a diverse array of techniques that brought momentum and verve to this adaptation. One sensed that the bravest part of the play was the reduction to just three charac ters, two physical , but unfortunately th1s prem1se, however eclectic, effectively served to undermine the performance.

The main characters, played ably by Anita Suchdew and Jennifer Tang, were seemingly overwhelmed by the nuance entertained within the reduction and, unfortunately, were unable to impose any individuality into the situation. For 90 minutes the audience felt compelled to watch a series of monologues that were broken by lower level latent sexual intrigue and the very occasional menage a trois with the third charac ter , Octavius Caesar, who entered the stage via a series of video extracts at choreographed moments. A by-product of such an approach is to pay minimal attention to the heuristic nature of a play and can alienate some sections of the audience.

Although tile company must be congratu lated in approaching the stage with unique and inventive ideas, typical of university drama, they should do so with caution. Occasionally the concentration on the style, the concentration on ideas, can become cumbersome , and to a greater extent compromising, if the substanc e· the story · has greater difficulty in filtering through. lames Brown

There seems to be a trend across the country that university drama productions need to have that slightly 'arty' edge to them, with Beauty Parlour and Reflecting Flesh proving not to be exceptions to the rule . Beauty Parlour was a contemporary Indian play addressing the issues faced by Indian women, yet explored within a western context.

However, it really remains to be seen as to whether this was fully achieved. The performance consisted of one actress, adopting different personas to portray the inequalities in life between men and women. Anna Helm , the performer, put on a gutsy performance, though at times was distracted by the numerous props that frequented the stage and often drew attention away from the performance.

There were parts of the performance that were wel l thought out, including live background music of a guitar and violin, which added a touch of subtlety to the piece and enhanced its theme . This piece had the potential to be promising, yet lacked the intent to take it to the next level.

In contrast to Beauty Parlour, Reflecting Flesh was based on a Sylvia Plath poem, Mirror and used minimalist scenery (a hoop and a curtain) to interpret its content. The adaptation was writ· ten by Jessica Smerin, who has had much success in the past with both plays and short films. Indeed the script was of a high quality and the performances did not let it down . Eerie lighting and a clinically white, almost institutionalised looking studio, also helped the piece move along and managed to add humour to a performance that may otherwise have overwhelmed itself.

Yet the performance could not really go wrong as Plath 's poem contains a certain edge that inevitably comes though in li ve theatre.

The evening's performances highlighted the potential that UEA contains and that will keep on improving.

Charlotte Ronalds

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the

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Wednesday,

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October 31,

2001

Minotaur Productions

UEA Drama Studio

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Arts 21 I

Theatre Preview:

Return to the Forbidden Planet Theatre Royal My shame-faced admittance of being a Forbidden Planet virgin was greeted with shocked cries and taunts of "oh, and I suppose you've never seen Grease either?" from cultured friends.

Forbiqden Planet is one of those essential childhood experi· ences: nobody ever remembers when they saw it, they just know they've seen it " loads of times " and thus digested it via osmosis. lt was, therefore , always bound to be a disappointing experience for me, approaching it at the cynical and worldly age of 20.

The Queen Theatre Hornchurch 's production of Return to the Forbidden Planet cannot be faulted on any technical level.

Through the use of video screen narration (a la Rocky Horror') and zealous body language, the cast did an admirable job of conveying the story of what is basically a plotless musical.

Originally conceived as a method of combining everyone's favourite rock 'n' roll classics into the form of a legitimate stage play, Forbidden Planet pretends to be a 1950s rock 'n'roll version of The Tempest, something it's best not to think about for too long unless you want to get very annoyed with the liberties they 've taken with the script, plot and characters.

The songs, on the other hand, are truly excellent, especially Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood, Go Now and She 's Not There.

The cast were staggeringly multi-talented, with nearly all of them able to sing and play at least three instruments each.

Even Ariel (played by Nick ~ashbrook ), the infuriating robot (think a camp, pilled up Jar Jar Sinks) redeemed himself in the second half, giving a fantastic rendition of Monster Mash.

Whilst Return to the Forbidden Planet was enjoyable and slickly performed, there is no escaping the fact that it is very much a family show, aimed at little kids and their parents who have a nostalgic bond with the music. If I had been nine, I would probably have loved it, but I feel 20 is a little too old to be forced to pat my head to 'aid the spaceship's fuel capacity.' Audience participation should be illegal.

Astrld Goldsmith

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Theatre Review: The Cherry Orchard Maddermarket Theatre Before writing The Cherry Orchard, Chekhov exclaimed: "The next play I write will definitely be funny, very funny - at least in intention.· Having written the play, he then declared: "lt hasn't turned out as a drama, but as a comedy, in places even a farce and I'm afraid I may get into hot water," adding later, "the whole play is gay and frivolous.· The play focuses on the struggles of Vary a as her irresponsible mother carelessly flitters their family fortune away in France, forcing them to sell their family home and beloved cherry orchard.

The Maddermarket proved to be the perfect venue for such a performance, with the trust clearly spending a lot of money on scenery and authentic Russian props. Attention to detail also paid off concerning the music, which corresponded to the 'famous Jewish band' mentioned by one of the characters in Act Two, and was played in the background during scene changeovers.

Perhaps the only criticism with the performance is the actual translation by David Gwyn Harris, who wanted to render the lan1 guage natural and speakable for the actors and credible in the characters' mouths. He succeeded in giving the actors English voices, with the class distinction determined by whether their accents was northern or southern. Such a blatant lack of subtlety undermined what Chekhov was aiming to achieve and such lines as "Oh my god" and "Get the hell out of here" did not seem to represent 1902 Russian cultu ~e.

Yet ignoring the language issue, the performance was highly entertaining and kept the audience engaged throughout , with its powerful social comment and realistic Cjcting.

Chekhov was too hard on himself. The Cherry Orchard is not a farcical comedy, but an exploration into the socio-political life of Russia, portrayed through an emotive story.

The Cherry Orchard will be at the Maddermarket until November 3.

Charlotte Ronatds

Book Reviews· Opium: A Portrait of the Heavenly Demon Barbara Hodgson

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay Mi chael Chabon

The Victorians. When not indulging in a spot of self-flagellation or inventing underpants, they were also susceptible to the attractions of opium. And really, who can blame them?

Barbara Hodgson's small volume presents a concise history of this exotic drug of choice of many 19th-century artists like Thomas De Quincey (author of Confessions of an English OpiumEater') , and Irish batty-boy Oscar Wiide. it charts the drug's growth and spread across the world, the wars fought for the rights to trade it, and the laws passed to ban the opiate. The book covers such details as the methods by which opium is grown and turned into a useable narcotic, the equipment that every opium smoker needs, and the various reactions of writers throughout the ages to the powerfully addictive panacea-poison .

Hodgson has been especially careful to avoid demonising or glorifying the drug, as the paradoxical title might suggest. She records how various crusaders have written about the horrors of opium and its derivatives and how various governments have repeatedly tried to ban the drug and reduce its use. She also gives voice to those who have extolled its virtues, the highs and visions that writers across the world have experienced .

The book is lavishly illustrated throughout with woodcuts, drawings and early photographs of illicit opium dens and opium smokers. Short , at around 135 pages, and heavy on colour plates and marginalia, this book will not take anyone long to devour; but it is probably the interesting illustrations to which a reader will return. One wonder about this book: who will actually buy it? Perfect as a Christmas present for your Gran, if your Gran 's a monster crack dealer, that is. But other than that , I can 't imagine a huge audience for this. Fun and informing nonetheless, wh ic h is always a good thing.

Greg lvlngs

Michael Chabon 's latest novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay is his most ambitious yet. Ostensibly a book about the American dream, it takes the subject matter to a higher plateau, elevating Kavalier and Clay above his earlier novels- The Mysteries of Pittsburgh and Wonder boys (both of which were critically acclaimed) and confirms Chabon's position as one of America's most talented writers.

Kavalier and Clay is a 636-page tour de force, which tells the story of Sam Clayman, an American Jew, who dreams of making it in the burgeoning comic industry of 1940s New York. With little illustrative talent but a knack for storytelling Sam is languishing in a lowly position at Empire. Comics until his cousin Joe Kavalier is thrust upon him one night signalling the beginning of an unlikely friendship and an extremely lucrative partnership. As well as being a talented drawer, Kavalier is also an escape artist who has escaped- Houdini style- from Nazi-invaded Prague to start a new life in New York .

In Kavalier and Clay, Chabon uses the world of magic and comic books to evoke the atmosphere of 1940s New York so vividly that the events he describes seem real. The cameo appearances of Orson Welles, Salvador Dali and Houdini help to create the feeling that Kavalier and Clay are actual people. lt is almost a disappointment when at the end there is no footnote saying , "This was all true" . The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay won a Pulitzer Prize and was also a finalist for many other literary awards, which is testimony to the power of Chabon 's storytelling. As with his other books, the style of writ ing remains cosy and comforting; the main difference is the sheer scale of Kavalier and Clay; it deals with love , war, friendship and the American dream of success. The only criticism of this book is that it just wasn 't long enough.

Kathryn HlnchiiH

Wednesday, October 31,

2001 ·~\l~flt

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22

lS Film: Campus All films start at 8.30 pm and are shown in Lecture Theatre One

Music:

Brotherhood of the wolf UC/ Fri-Tues

Gigs

Cats and Dogs Ster Century Sat-Sun UCI Fri-Thu Hollywood Fri-Sun Crazy 1 Beautiful Ster Century Mon-Thu

The Croupier

Tuesday Nov 6 (9pm start) Tomb Raider

Thursday Nov 8

Driven Ster Century Sat , Sun, Thu

City A Knight 's Tale Ster Century Sat-Thu UCI Fri-Tue

..

Clubs

Jools Holland

Enigma Ster Century Sat-Thu UC/ Fri-Thu Hollywood Fri-Sun, Tue-Thu Help, I'm a fi sh UCI Fri-Thu Hollywood Fri-Sun

Nov 2 LCR £12 (NUS)

Jeepers Creepers UC/ Fri-Thu

Saturdays

Mojos Funk and hip-hop £3

Jools Holland

Meltln' Pot

The Alibi Jazz, funk and soul

Nov 3 Arts Centre

£6

Moulln Rouge Ster Century Sat-Thu UCI Fri-Thu Hollywood Fri-Sun, Tue-Thu

A.l.

Ster Century Fri-Thu UCI Fri-Thu

Mummy's Return Hollywood Fri-Sun

Amelle UC/ Fri-Thu

Sherlngham on film Cinema City Nov 5, 1.00

American Pie 2 Ster Century Fri-Thu UCI Fri-Thu

The Man Who Wasn 't There Cinema City Oct 31-Nov 1,

My VItriol

Nov 4 Waterfront £9

America 's Sweethearts Ster Century Thu UC/ Fri-Thu Hollywood Fri-Sun , Tue-Thu Atlantls UC/ Fri-Thu Hollywood Fri -Sun Tue-Thu

The Others Ster Century Sat-Thu UCI Mon-Sun

Jitterbug

I

Jam

Po Na Na Funky drum 'n'bass 1 house Free b4 10pm. £2 after DJ Jam

Hys Charts and Dance £1

The Manfreds

Nov 11 LCR £15

Ikon Charts and Cheese £2 b4 11pm

Fridays

Underground

Delirium

Mojos Lo-fi and non-commerical lnd ie £2 .50 (NUS)

The Concept House, garage and R n· B.

Play Hy Times

Hys Dance ant hems £3 Hot

Tuesdays

Ikon Pop and commerical dance £4 b4 11pm

Owens cafe Bar

lt's the Business

Slinky

Liquid £2 b411pm

Hys Club anthems Free with student ID.

Nov 11 Waterfront

1 Gas Station

The Loft Hip hop, funk £3 b4 11pm, £4 after .

Manhattans Hardhouse and Trance £5 b4 11pm

Students Only

Liquid Commerc ial dance and pop £1 b4 10pm Life

Time Commercial dance £1 (NUS)

Mojos R n' B

Arts:

Thursdays

Saturdays

Theatre

Parkslde

£6

70s Night

Meltdown

Mondays

Hys Retro £2 (NUS)

The Waterfront lndie

£41£3

Isotonic

Satisfaction

Kafe Da Progressive trance and house Free

Hys House and Sw ing

Howard Marks

Nov 5 LCR £11.50

Nov 12 Arts Centre £5

Status Spank

Time House £1 b4 11pm (NUS)

DIVA HAIR No 7 ST BENEDICTS ST

Ikon £5 b4 11pm

Mojos Chart, dance , garage

lt was Henry Fonda 's Fault

UEA Drama Studio Mon Nov 5-Sat Nov 10 7.30pm

Bassment

Mojos R'n'B and hip hop

1 Bottom

Butter Me Up

1 Underdog

Playhouse Fri Nov 9-Sat Nov 10 7.30pm

Sundays

Mise.

Sunday Service

Manhattans £2 .50

The LCR disco

LCR (duh) £3 Charty Handbaggy

The Loft Gay night

Nlcholas Nlckelby

Po Na Na Funky house I jazz beats £3 after 9pm

Mondays Flockln' Sheep

1603 767854

The Pirates of Penzance

Theat re Roya l Wed Oct 31-Sat Nov 3 7.30pm; mat Thu and Sat , 2.30pm

Playhouse Sat 3 Nov

Refresh

Saturday Rewind

Discofide Breakbeat 1 funky breaks and beats and Latin grooves.

Free b4 10pm , £2 after.

20%

The Concept Chart and retro £3 b4 11pm, £3.50 after.

The Cherry Orchard

Maddermarket Wed Oct 31-Sat Nov 3 7.30pm

DiverSIFy (Drama Soc Festival)

Liquid House £2 b4 11pm

Twisted Skunk Heavy Po Na Na

October 31, 2001

Funk Friction

Manhattans

WeRK

Value for Money

event Wednesday,

Po Na Na Disco , funk Free

Po Na Na House Free b4 9pm, £3 after.

Electric Soft Parade

•

Liqu id Retro £2

Elegance Flockln ' Sheep

[Spunge)

2 .30 5.45 8.15 Nov 2, 5.45 8 .15 Nov 3, 2.30 5.45 8.15 Nov 5-8, 2.30 5.45 8.15 Ster Century Mon-Thu UC/ Fri-Thu

Funky Jam Carwash

Bedfords Crypt Deep t ech tribal house Free entry

Gorgeous

Sundays

L'Age d'or and Zero de Condulte Cinema City Nov 4 , 5.00

DJs

Marvel

Sure Shot presents Scuba

Legally Blonde Ster Century Fri-Thu UCI Fri-Thu

Wednesdays Superfly

Nov 3 LCR £12 ( NUS)

Bread and Roses

Tuesday Nov 13

Nov 1 Ferryboat £4.50

Fridays

Or Dollttle 2 Hollywood Fri - Sun

Ginger Snaps

Friday Nov 9

Nov 6 Waterfront £8

Miss Black America

Dracula 2001

Friday Nov 2

Silver Ginger 5

Th ursday s

Pearl Harbour

Thursday Nov 1

Tuesdays

Ikon Charts and commercial dance £2 b4 11pm

TVP Tue Nov 6 8pm John Mortlmer

Tue Nov 6 UEA LT1 ?pm £2 .50 (NUS)

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Livewire Schedule: Monday: 8-iOam: The 8 foot _Pigeon Show lOam- 12pm: Monday Brunch 12-2pm: The Lunchbox 2-4pm: Perrito Cal iente 4-6pm: The lan & Joe Show 6-8pm: B.E.A.T.S. 8-lOpm: Shadow Cabinet 10pm - 12am: D 'n' B

Tuesday: 8-lOam: The Little Chicken lOam - 12pm: The Outsiders 12-2pm: Steven Rolfe 2-4pm: Ben and Jonny 's Radio Show 4-6pm: Welcome to 12 Monkeys 6-8pm: At Large ... with Dan and Craig 8-lOpm: Daydream Nation 10pm - 12am: Flying Home

Wednesday: 8-lOam: The Little Chicken lOam - 12pm: Choose or Die! 12-2pm: Milk and Cookies 2-4pm: The Untitled Show 4-6pm: The Good B.J. Guide 6-7pm: The Creeper 'n Mama 9-lOpm: Evening Please (Evening ... ) 10pm - 12am: Tea with the Vicar

Thursday: 8-lOam: Col's Show lOam - 12pm: Cheese!

12-2pm: The Magical Mystery Tour 2-4pm: Ally B in the Afternoon 4-6pm: Vanishing Point 6-8pm: The Mental Institute 8-lOpm: Rebel Lion Roots 10pm-12am: Poetic License

Friday: 8-lOam: The 8 foot Pigeon Show 10am-12pm: The Narch Buffet 12-2pm: Tasti 2-4pm: The Musical Excursions 4-6pm: James 6-8pm: The Rock Show 8-lOpm: Fusion Latina 10pm-12am: Underground Sessions 10pm-12am: Mr. Meaner

Saturday: 9-llam: Mark Boutros 11am-1pm: Dancing Round the Borders of the Curfew 1-3pm: The Jam Norman Show 3-5pm: The Groove Bus 5-7pm : Sports Frenzy 9pm-12am: T_S_N Drum and Bass

Sunday: 9-11am: Madge and Julia Go Shopping 11am-1pm: Good to You, Good for You 1-3pm: Sunday ,Review 3-5pm: Not Simon Mayo 5-7pm: New Music 9pm-12am: Turntable Society

The Directory: ABC Taxis All Star Taxis Beeline Taxis Bettacar Taxis Five Star Taxis Loyal Taxis

01603 01603 01603 01603 01603 01603

Canary Cue Club Cinema City Hy's Ikon Liquid Maddermarket Theatre Mojo's Manhattans Norwich Arts Centre Norwich Playhouse Po Na Na · s Ster Century Theatre Royal The Loft The Waterfront Tourist Information Time UEA Studio UCI UEA Union Ents

01603 627478 01603 622047 01603 621155 01603 621541 01603 611113 01603 620917 01603 622533 01603 629060 01603 660352 01603 766466 01603 619961 01603 221900 01603 630000 01603 623559 01603 632717 01603 666071 0870 6078463 01603 592272 0870 0102030 01603 508050

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WE CUT THE PRICE YOU CUT OUT THE VOUCHER BRING THIS ADVERT WITH YOU, AND GET

£1

OFF OUR ONE HOUR DEVELOP AND PRINT SERVICE, PLUS A NEW FILM FOR ONLY SOp!*

BONUSPRINT S' 616831 3 White Lion Street (30 seconds from Virgin Megastore or 2 minutes from the market) • 35mm film nnd APS only . Offer not avrulnble in conjunction with any other offer.

Offer on ly valjd with lhis voucher. Offer expires on June 30, 2002.

Picture: John Mortimer, author of Paradise Postponed. The Summer of a Dormouse. He is holding a lecture on Nov 6. For details see Arts Mise . (opposite page)

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*IT

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House Doubles

Wine -

Food f rom 11 a

on ards every day

£2

Press

Snacks available from the bar including sandwiches, salads and jacket potatoes.

Buy one restaurant main course, get one free. (after 7p m)

House champagne only £15.95 Half bottle £10.95

Buy 2 large glasses of wine, get the rest of the bottle ee (a saving of £2.05)

Wednesday Live music Open mic set

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Your paper without you. We need writers, photographers, proof-readers and web designers to contribute for your award winning newspaper.

Meetings every Monday in Room 1.33 at lpm and 2pm, Union House.

All welco me .

CONCRETi