“I have had it with these motherf---ing snakes on this motherf---ing plane!”
Snakes on a Plane Attacks Audiences with Fear, Laughter and Full-on Entertainment Also Inside: Dave Navarro’s New Band Reviewed ASI Production Working Hard for Us Concert Calendar, Web Extras and More
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CONTENTS:
AUG. 21, 2006
Editor’s Letter: Dear Buzz readers,
Welcome to the Fall 2006 semester, and thanks for reading the Buzz. I’m not sure that I will do
03 04
Inside Buzz/Concert Calendar Snakes on a Plane Review
06
Preview Reviews/New DVD
07
Panic Channel CD Review/ ASI Working Hard for CSUF
08 Bootlegging Ripping the Film
a letter each issue, but I will for this one to introduce you to the Buzz and myself. The Buzz contains arts and entertainment information relevant to fellow Cal State Fullerton students. This semester, I hope to focus on a lot of what’s happening at CSUF, such as any band performances, theatre shows, art shows, etc. I’m also going to stick with having movie and album reviews along with some other media-friendly words as well. For this issue, I chose to go big with Snakes on a Plane. Probably not the greatest movie of the summer, but hey, the hype that it received from the Internet and the creative advertising methods they used made it worthwhile. So if you hate it, let me know. If you like it, you can also let me know. Getting feedback from readers would be great. Now that you know a little about what the Buzz is going to be about this semester, I’ll tell you a bit about myself. This is my last semester at CSUF as I’m graduating this December. I’ll be getting my degree in journalism in hopes of having a career at a magazine. I would like it to be a well-known magazine, of course, but who knows what will happen. I love going to shows, although I haven’t been in a long time. I love music so much and have an iPod filled with many different genres. I watch a lot of TV with the help of my TIVO and most of it is reality, but I have been watching more scripted shows more recently like Lost, 24 and Desperate Housewives. Of course, my favorite has to be The OC, although I think it will probably go downhill big this season. I love movies, mostly comedy and horror but pretty much everything else as well. I’m going to try to bring a wide range of everything entertainment to the Buzz this semester and I hope you all enjoy
Industry Apart, One DVD at ATTENTION: Time/love to have letters coming in. Whether you love us or The Buzzawould Snakes on a Plane Theatre hate us,Preview let us know. Tell us about your day, your life, anything.
COVER:
with Samuel L. Jackson reviewed on page 4-5. Check out bonus material online at myspace.com/ dailytitanbuzz
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Kirsten Alto EXECUTIVE EDITOR Julie Anne Ines
it. Thanks for reading! : )
Or tell us if you disagree with a movie review. Maybe you hated Snakes on a Plane and want the world, or at least the school, to know it. Or maybe you’re in a band and you’d like some recognition. Please don’t be shy. Send all of your thoughts to buzz@dailytitan.com or send messages through myspace at www.myspace.com/dailytitanbuzz.
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New Tiki Bar in Town!
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DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING Emily Alford
Happy hour 7 days a week 4pm-7pm $3 Jack & Coke, Red Bull & Vodka, Tiki Bombs, and any beer
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING Lesley Wu
Drink Specials
PRODUCTION Kirsten Alto ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Kat Dela Cruz, Kathleen Cisneros, Stefanie Membrere, Sarah Oak, Scott Macleod, Beth Stirnaman, Lesley Wu The Daily Titan 714.278.3373 The Buzz Editorial 714.278.5426 thebuzz@dailytitan.com Editorial Fax 714.278.4473 The Buzz Advertising 714.278.3373 ads@dailytitan.com Advertising Fax 714.278.2702 The Buzz , a student publication, is a supplemental insert for the Cal State Fullerton Daily Titan. It is printed every Thursday. The Daily Titan operates independently of Associated Students, College of Communications, CSUF administration and the CSU system. The Daily Titan has functioned as a public forum since inception. Unless implied by the advertising party or otherwise stated, advertising in the Daily Titan is inserted by commercial activities or ventures identified in the advertisements themselves and not by the university. Such printing is not to be construed as written or implied sponsorship, endorsement or investigation of such commercial enterprises.
Sunday
Any double for single
Monday
2-4-1 Drink Nite Beer & Jager shots
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2-4-1 Drink Nite Two drinks for the price of one
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Buy A Beer or Drink & get the second one for 50¢
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CONCERT CALENDAR are
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For full concert calender for the month of August, visit myspace.com/ dailytitanbuzz
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August 21
Monday Aventine Chain Reaction Anaheim
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Tuesday The Colour Troubadour Anaheim
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WEdnesday Wednesday-13 Whiskey Los Angeles Thursday Agent Orange Galaxy Santa Ana
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Friday Dave Matthews Verizon Wireless Irvine
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Saturday American Idols Staples Center Los Angeles
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Sunday American Idols The Pond Anaheim
Monday Foo Fighters Pantages Theatre Los Angeles
Inside
Let’s go over the highlights … and lowlights of this past summer: Denise Richards and Richie Sambora were all over the tabloids, and let me just say, “gross.” Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey may make a swell couple but who can stand that many weird facial expressions from one couple? Brangelina’s messiah was born and only People got the photos … woo hoo let’s celebrate adultery even more in the media shall we? Britney gave up the Kabala and Madonna ended the close friendship … good. Vince and Jen’s relationship continued to grow and good for them! Are they engaged or what? Tomkat’s baby was never seen. Or was it? Does it even exist? Katie Couric left the Today show, which meant filling positions on the View, which still haven’t been completely filled, and there’s new people coming and going. I don’t even watch that show. Devil Wears Prada did a lot better than expected in theatres. If you haven’t yet, do. Futurama planned a comeback for 2008. Hopefully it doesn’t go the way Family Guy did. Taylor Hicks won American Idol thanks to all of you voters out there. Aaron Spelling passed away and Tori is left with a smidge of the three million he left behind. Michael Jackson had to sell Neverland because he’s going broke. Don’t hassle the Hoff! What’s happened to Lindsay Lohan’s career? Was it the whole fire crotch thing? Weezer broke up and we only wished it was before the last album ever came out. K-Fed is planning on performing at the Teen Choice Awards and we’re all wondering why. More importantly, why are he and Britney going to renew their vows after less than a year of marriage? Some crazed woman rushed the stage to supposedly attack Colin Ferrell on The Tonight Show. Kid Rock and Pamela Anderson got married … and are still possibly on their month-long wedding tour. And who can forget the most memorable moment in celebrity gossip? Mel Gibson went crazy ranting about how he believes Jews are responsible for everything gone wrong. Not to mention, he was drunk, so that also doesn’t bode well for his career.
For more celebrity gossip, check out The Buzz Online at www.myspace.com/dailytitanbuzz are
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What Do You Think ??????????????????? Do you agree that pornography is too accessable for children?
A: YES: With a click of a button that proclaims “yes, I am over 18,” children can access porn online through Web sites, whether they be just video clips or photos on Craigslist. And children these days can get through any parental controls set on the computer. OR A: NO: Although children can access it, it’s completely up to the parents, not the porn industry, to control their children. Having an advisory warning before enterting porn sites is good enough. ANSWER AT MYSPACE.COM/DAILYTITANBUZZ
eep n ouch
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4 AUG. 21, 2006
Fun, Exciting and as Ridiculous at it sounds. By Joe Simmons
T
Daily Titan Copy Chief
he opening scene of the instant cult classic pans across a beautiful Hawaiian island, replete with bikiniclad beach bunnies and the Jack Johnson-inspired, feel-good track “Lovely Day” by Donavon Frankenreiter. This, of course, is playing to the fact that we’re all in the theater waiting to see snakes … on a plane. The story itself is pretty simple. Sean Jones (Nathan Phillips) witnesses the mob killing of a prominent prosecutor in Hawaii. The FBI, lead by Nelville Flynn (Samuel L. Jackson), rescues him and takes him to Los Angeles to testify against the mobsters’ leader, Eddie Kim, Played by Byron Lawson. Kim’s henchmen booby-trap the plane to release hundreds of vicious, poisonous snakes while in flight. The entire movie refuses to take itself seriously, which is one of its greatest strengths. The entire plot is laid out within the first 15 minutes of the film, and it’s then that we’re seeing the namesake reptile carnage for the remaining run time. Speaking of the carnage – it is surprisingly fairly tame. The movie earns its R rating, however, the gore isn’t even a factor compared to, say, Hostel, or the most recent Texas Chainsaw Massacre. In fact, if it weren’t for the sheer volume of snake attack scenes, the movie’s violence would have likely warranted it’s original PG-13 rating.
By Nicole M. Smith Rachel Blanchard, from TV’s Clueless, co-stars in New Line Cinema’s Snakes on a Plane
This may turn off many hardcore b-movie fans who were expecting the kind of low-budget but realistic and hyperexcessive gore of movies like Dead Alive or Bad Taste. The rest of us can feel comfortable that we probably won’t get sick. Sprinkled among the snake attacks are some hilarious one-liners and quirky jokes. I found myself laughing out loud several times. From Samuel L. Jackson shouting the movie’s iconic line, “I’m tired of these motherf---ing snakes on a motherf---ing plane” to the over-the-top portrayal of Eddie Kim and his gun-happy mob, the movie plays upon its b-movie roots with a mix of glee and reverence. The cast, a motley crew of no names and b-list actors, with the exception of the inimitable Jackson, works well together. The characters are all typical horror and action stock; it would be a stretch to suggest that this is an actor’s movie. Still, it’s clear that a lot of thought went into the casting and writing. While the film never gets bogged down in overwrought drama or character development, the characters are all well-developed enough so audience members will likely find themselves rooting for their favorites and against the positioned enemies. Generally speaking, this is nothing that action movies should strive for. Yet, the movie’s funny, the action keeps moving and there aren’t any dead scenes.
TheWatch Buzz’s Top 3 YouTube Snakes on a Plane at myspace.com/dailytitanbuzz
Snakes on a Plane By: Spikewiggum
Snakes on a Plane-Claymation By:Fansoap
The Buzz wants your YouTube videos! Send links to the Buzz for reviews... are
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Send to buzz@dailytitan.com or send messages on myspace myspace.com/dailytitanbuzz
Snakes on a Plane By: Czaplin
Earn Your Wings Trivia
Thought you knew all there was to know about Snakes on a Plane? In case you were wrong, which you probably were, here are some interesting facts about the movie. --Samuel L. Jackson only signed on to do the film because of the title. When he was told upon walking onto the set that the title was not the intended true title of the movie, he told them that he only picked the script because it was called Snakes on a Plane. --The famous quote from the movie (see Buzz’s front page) was actually spawned online and a fiveday shoot was added just to make that quote a real line in the movie. --450 snakes were used in the making, including a 22-foot long Burmese Python *ALL TRIVIA INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM THE INTERNATIONAL MOVIE DATABASE
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Review a Preview
We didn’t see the movie, but we saw the preview
On DVD 8/22
By Kirsten Alto
Daily Titan Buzz Editor
Lucky Number Slevin Director: Paul McGuigan Starring: Josh Hartnett, Bruce Willis, Lucy Liu A case of mistaken identity lands Slevin into the middle of a war being plotted by two of the city’s most rival crime bosses. Just My Luck Director: Donald Petrie Starring: Lindsay Lohan, Chris Pine Ashley is the luckiest woman around. After an encounter with an unlucky man she realizes that she’s swapped her fortune for his. Poseidon Director: Wolfgang Peterson Starring: Kurt Russel, Josh Lucas, Richard Dreyfuss On New Year’s Eve, the luxury ocean liner, Poseidon, capsizes after being swamped by a tidal wave. The survivors are left to fight for survival.
ACCEPTED Starring: Justin Long
THE ILLUSIONIST Starring: Edward Norton
MATERIAL GIRLS Starring: The Duff Sisters
Not that there hasn’t been a fair amount of b-movie classics out there, especially in the genre of teen comedy. However, I doubt this film will do well, especially when up against Snakes on a Plane. The idea is just idiotic. Why wouldn’t these kids just go to a community two-year college like everone else who doesn’t get accepted to the college of their choice? I don’t get it. Grade: D
If Edward Norton is in this, it’s bound to be a good one. Jessica Biel doesn’t have the best reputation as an actress, but oh well. I think coming out in the summer may not have been the best move for this film, but it will do well either next weekend or make up some profit in rentals and DVD sales. The plot seems intriguing. Who doesn’t like a magician after all? I know I do. Grade: B-
This is surely going to be a hit with teen girls, like the film Mean Girls. Though Hayle Duff may not be the prettiest thing out there, I think the sisters are decent enough to make a cute chick flick with the rest of ‘em. The story sounds a bit lame: rich girls turned poor. But for some reason, I think it will be an OK flick. But what do I know? I love Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen films. Grade: B
Silent Hill Director: Christophe Gans Starring: Radha Mitchell, Jodelle Ferland After Sharon’s continuous sleep-walking episodes, her mother decides to go to the place mentioned in her dreams — Silent Hill.
are
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Web Poll of the Week:
Log on to www.myspace.com/dailytitanbuzz to vote on our weekly poll. The question this week is What TV show’s fall season are you looking forward to most?? Is it The OC? LOST? Desperate Housewives? Dancing with the Stars? Something Else? You tell us!
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Don’t foget to check out the backpage for Bootlegging: Ripping the Film Industry One DVD at a Time. Next week in The Buzz Movies, we’ll take a look at the new movie, Invincible, starring Mark Wahlberg. We’ll also be looking at other preview reviews, new DVDs, and we’ll have another Web Poll of the Week. Be sure to check out Myspace.com/dailytitanbuzz for exclusive photos, music and more!
Navarro’s New Band Stays Away from the Trendy Sound The Panic Channel, the new alternative rock foursome, features Jane’s Addiction’s Dave Navarro, Stephen Perkins, Chris Chaney and former MTV VJ Steve Isaacs, would have been better in the ‘90s. But, the sound is quality, and at least it isn’t the same indie sound heard from so many bands these days, considering most new bands breaking out in that genre aren’t very good. We have been hearing a lot of fake classic rock around also, though, and Navarro did tell Rolling Stone that some stuff off of the album sounds like a cross between “Led Zeppelin and punk rock.” Dave Navarro’s been around the block in this business so we can expect good things from his new band. Isaac’s vocals sound familiar, a mix of Dave Grohl in certain Foo Fighter songs and a grunge sound. I’m not hearing too much of that Zeppelin sound in anything off of this album, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In the slower songs like “She Won’t Last,” we can really hear that the guy has some talent, unlike many lead singers out there. The band even put two of their slow songs on their Myspace page instead of having the all powerful songs on main focus. The group ended a small national tour in June, which hopefully hyped some of the other stuff off of the new record as well as the slower, more melodic material. Judge the album on “Why Cry,” the best song on the album. I’m not sure I can recommend buying the album versus just downloading the few good songs off of iTunes, but either way, check it out. are
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Listen to new music from The Panic Channel at Myspace.com/dailytitanbuzz
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ASI Planning Ahead to Entertain CSUF Students
A
By Julie Anne Ines
Daily Titan Executive Editor
s some students opt to hit the ground running at the beginning of this fall semester by hitting their books, they may also want to remember to enjoy the entertainment that Cal State Fullerton programs have to offer. To paraphrase a line from Jack Nicholson’s character in The Shining, all work and no play can make for a dull college experience.
That’s where Associated Students Inc. Productions comes in. Each semester the members of this small production team put together programs for CSUF students to enjoy to encourage student participation and enliven school spirit. This semester’s team is headed up by Connie Moreno, the new administrative director. The administrative director oversees all the events that ASI Productions produces from concerts in Becker Amphitheatre, to events in the OffCampus Pub, to movies screened in the Titan Student Union Theatre to special events and workshops. Each event, Moreno said, will be planned by one to two CSUF students in ASI Productions. This semester Veronica Esquivel is charged with Pub Monday’s, Francis Sanchez with Pub Tuesdays, Dan Lower and Lauren Seipel with Wednesday concerts, Jessica Travis and Francis Sanchez with Pub Thursdays, Anthony Galleran with Films Thursday, Natalie Alvidrez and Jenelle Amparano with Union and Special Programming, Dyani Halpern with publicity and Oscar Martinez with the newly added end-of-the-year concert. Planning for each of the events can range anywhere from a week to a month to book bands, or to a year for the end-of-the-year concert, which will take place at the end of the spring semester, Moreno said. “[ASI Productions staff ] work really hard coming up with new ideas just to entertain the campus and make the most of the student fees,” Moreno said. Ultimately, though, the goal of ASI Productions is not just to entertain students, but to get them involved and make them part of the university community, she said. To find out when ASI events are taking place, refer to the free Fall 2006 ASI Calendar of Events now available at the information and services desk in the Titan Student Union and the Pollak Library.
8
Bootlegging: Ripping the Film Industry One DVD at a Time ers to members of the Motion Picture of Academy and Sciences.
By Adam Levy
The screeners are circulated to bolster their film’s chances of
Daily Titan Head News
award consideration or for promotion.
AUG. 21, 2006
You or
CSUF Theatre Preview
someone you
people who get early releases, access to warehouses or [motion
emblazoned on a blank DVD. Bootlegged movies are
picture] Academy members. If a movie is gonna get Academy
everywhere, available at swap meets, liquor stores, the
Award attention we have connects everywhere — and those are
backrooms of some mom-and-pop video stores and on
the best ones to get.” Once contacts are found, the films are then duplicated and
The business of copyright infringement is a booming one, evidenced by the estimated $6.1 billion loss
returned in the blink of an eye. “The whole thing takes less than 24 hours, I throw them $200 to
incurred by movie studios last year, according to a
borrow it, then I rip the DVD which takes 30 to 40 minutes,” Ortiz
study conducted by the Motion Picture Association of
said.
America. The study also revealed that college students
In hopes of quelling the epidemic, the MPAA stopped issuing
account for as much as 44 percent of the piracy in this
screeners altogether in 2003 but later resumed dispensing them
sophisticated wireless age.
with a new policy and contractual agreement. The FBI launched
Dave Bruemmer, a 34-year-old computer science major, has
an investigation in January of 2004 based on a screener copy of
amassed a collection of over 20 bootlegged DVDs. He enjoys the
a film that was circulating the Web with identifying earmarks.
mystique of having top ten films without the hassles that accom-
Subsequently, actor and Academy member Carmine Caridi was
pany a trip to the cinema.
fingered as the source and expelled from the academy. Still, Ortiz
“There’s sort of a perverse satisfaction in having something exclusive that others don’t,” Bruemmer said. “I can watch something others can’t — there’s something to that.”
and bootleggers have little trouble acquiring their goods. Another risky element to the business is timeliness, as the bootleg movies have the shelf life of french fries with a brief window
As Hollywood continues to churn out bigger and better block-
from becoming “must-have” items to a shoddy throw-away ver-
busters, there is an underground industry of bandits looking to
sion of the much higher-quality DVD released by the studios four
have the films in the hands of consumers before their theatrical
to six months after the film’s theatrical release.
premieres.
“Without timing, you’re done in this market,” said Ortiz.
“The money in this business is so good that I never hesitated
CSUF Media Law Professor Genelle Belmas believes the movie
once,” said Ortiz, a 33-year-old bootlegger in a phone interview,
business needs to adapt to the surging technology to stay com-
using a pseudonym out of concern for legal repercussions. “I
petitive with the pirates.
turned a $25,000 profit off Star Wars: Episode III.”
“The music industry is just now finding ways to use the online
The go-getter has gradually become a major player in the business since selling his first bootlegged film, the 1998 action movie Blade.
environment to its benefit rather than just being kicked around by it. The film industry has to follow suit,” she said. Of course, the most hazardous aspect shadowing this business
Lured away from the legitimate commerce of video stores by
is the hand of Johnny Law, as copyright infringement standards
the fast cash of bootlegging, he deals on a macro level, buying
hold those in question to a high level of culpability, with punish-
thousands of illegally copied motion pictures with a legion of un-
ments including incarceration, fines, and a Pandora’s box of law-
derlings who venture out in the trenches to sell them. The movies
suits from the studios who produced the films originally. Though
come to him at a cost of 12 cents a piece and sell for around $10
acknowledging its risks, Ortiz seemed cavalier about the inherent
once they hit the black market.
legal repercussions of his trade.
“People like to show [the movies] off when they have friends and family over,” Ortiz said. “And who likes waiting in line at the
“I know how this business works and the money’s too good to let that stop me.”
movies, to pay ten or fifteen bucks to bump elbows with strangers and get ripped off at the concession stands? With me, they get the movie for ten bucks, the end.” Bruemmer, though he owns a lot of bootlegged films, knows the quality isn’t the best. “At best you have some kind of message that runs along a ticker at the bottom, at worst its real dark and grainy, you can see the boom microphones hanging from the rafter--sometimes they’re unwatchable.” In an industry where innovation is pivotal to stay ahead of the curve, the bootleggers have many tricks up their sleeves to acquire the copies of the films long before you are standing in line waiting for the next sold-out show. “There’s a big network of piracy groups all feeding off each other,” Ortiz said. Prime sources bootleggers have are industry insiders. Studios routinely release advance copies, known as screen-
For The Daily Titan
“A lot of these [piracy] groups invite people in [to the business],
know may have a pirated copy of a hot new movie,
the street corners of major cities across the globe.
By Alicia David
KIRSTEN ALTO / Daily Titan Buzz Editor
Bootleggers use blank DVDs and screener copies of new releases to make cash.
The theatre department will be hard at work this semester providing several productions to entertain everybody’s taste. The first of five plays to take place on campus is “The Sea Gull” directed by Svetlana Efremova and co-directed by Joseph Arnold. The play has various shows beginning Sept. 29 to Oct. 15, performed in the Young Theatre. The play was written by Anton Chekhov and explores dreams of fame and glory and the desire for love, art and freedom. The next production is “Seussical” directed by Patrick Pearson with musical direction by Mitchell Hanlon. The show will be performed from Oct. 13 to 29 in the Little Theatre. According to the department calendar listing, it is based on the works of Dr. Seuss and discusses the power of imagination as The Cat in the Hat leads audiences through Dr. Seuss’ magical world of characters and adventures. “Spring Storm” is the third production of the semester and will be performed Oct. 27 to Nov. 12. The play was written by Tennessee Williams and will be directed by James Taulli. “Williams is one of America’s most famous playwrights,” said Taulli via an e-mail interview. “He also wrote a “A Streetcar Named Desire” and “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. “The play is a steamy story primarily concerned with four young adults who feel trapped in a small provincial southern town in the late 1930s,” he said. The fourth performance is “The Fall Dance Theatre” coordinated by Gladys Kares and will be performed in the Little Theatre Nov. 10 to 19. According to the theatre department’s poster listing, the production is inspiring, eclectic and oftentimes riveting. Cal State Fullerton’s choreographers and dancers weave compelling stories, capture life’s frail, frantic and most precious moments and remind us why spending a brief time in the theatre sharing the joy of dance should be one of life’s mandatory experiences. The last play for the fall semester is “The Man Who Came to Dinner” directed by Eve Himmelheber. The comedic performance will be held in the Young Theatre and run from Nov. 17 to Dec. 10. Tickets for all shows can be purchased in advance at the CSUF performing arts center box office. Single tickets are also available for purchase online at www. tickets.com. FOR UPDATES ON WHAT’S GOING ON IN CSUF THEATRE GO TO WWW.MYSPACE.COM/DAILYTITANBUZZ
