FEATURES
Stepping to a different beat
Jonathan House Emerald
Members of the University chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority compete Saturday night at the Black Greek Step Show
competition. In ‘step’ dancing teams, each member uses their hands, legs, chests and feet to create a unified rhythm.
Filmmakers try to make
new ‘Scooby-Doo’ realistic
By Mike Szymanski
Zap2it.com
HOLLYWOOD (KRT) — Warner
Bros, has unleashed the first look at
the official movie poster of the live
action version of “Scooby-Doo” in
theaters and on trailers.
The studio and filmmakers know
that bringing the popular talking
dog to life is a huge challenge be
cause it’s based on a TV cartoon
that has been a multigenerational
favorite since the 1970s. The hip
pie-like Mystery Machine van and
ghost-chasing youths being brought
to life have fallen under early Inter
net criticism even before anyone
has seen any of the film footage,
mainly because fans worry that the
computerized dog in the film won’t
remain faithful to the show.
“We know it’s a tough chal
lenge,” said producer Chuck
Roven, when Zap2it visited the set.
"We’re going to use some anima
tronics with his head and paws, but
we want you to think he’s a living,
breathing, real dog.”
Roven said that 95 percent of the
film will have the Great Dane as
computer-generated, but he hopes
viewers won’t be able to tell the dif
ference. They’re working behind
the scenes on the film footage to
make that transition seem seamless.
“The most difficult part has been
trying to get the four-legged walk to
look realistic because this dog also
gets up on two hind legs, too,”
Roven explained. “But we have to
keep him 100 percent dog.”
“Scooby-Doo” comes to life
with “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”
star Sarah Michelle Gellar as
Daphne, the redhead; Freddie
Prinze Jr. in dyed blond hair as
Freddie; “Scream” star Matthew
Lillard as the beloved Shaggy; and
“Freaks and Geeks” star Linda
Cardellini as Velma.
The story takes place in the
present after the Mystery Machine
team has broken up and gone their
separate ways. Freddie has be
come arrogant and obnoxious, Vel
ma is even more sexually ambigu
ous, and they’re all living on their
past ghost-chasing glory. Then,
Rowan Atkinson (“Mr. Bean”)
brings them all to Spooky Island,
an abandoned amusement park,
for an unscheduled reunion.
Fan reprisals against unrealistic
computer generated images are be
coming commonplace lately. Peter
Jackson, who’s directing “The
Lord of the Rings” movies, says
that he’s concerned about Golem,
a fully computerized character
who’s appearing in the next in
stallment of the movie, scheduled
for next Christmas.
So producer Roven and director
Raja Gosnell (“Big Momma’s
House”) are particularly sensitive
to the concerns of the avid “Scoo^
by” fans.
“I grew up with Shaggy and
Scooby, and to bring him to life is a
dream come true,” said Gosnell,
dressed in a sweat jacket and black
jeans. “And I knew there would be
concern by the ‘Scooby-Doo’ fans,
so I want to remain faithful to the
idea, but give the characters some
more dimensions to the characters
that we all grew up with.”
©2002, Zap2it.com. Distributed by Knight
Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
Firewater
continued from page 6
If I could just hold down a job /
And baby, I could be a social butter
fly / If I wasn’t such a slob") are de
livered with as much seriousness
as comedy.
It’s generally hard to tell what is
and isn’t a joke with this band. Like
the title track, all of Firewater’s
songs here are sarcastic and moody.
The album plays tongue-in-cheek
with suicide, car insurance scams,
suburban shooting sprees and (in
the wake of Sept. 11, gasp!) plane
crashes. Even the heartwarming
love song, “She’s The Mistake,”
takes a downward twist with the
perfect woman: “She’s the jutsfakp
I’ve been dying to make / Since I
can remember / A golden arrow
straight to the marrow / Enfolded in
flame,” These tunes are amusing
and dark, and the choruses have a
tendency to replay themselves in
one’s mind throughout the day. Ac
tually, they repeat in my mind to
the point where I simply must play
the CD again.
There are two small problems
with this album: It’s too short, and
the songs are the tiniest bit repeti
tive. So for those readers who
would rather try before they buy,
songs are available at
www.fireh2o.com, and even better,
the band is coming to the WOW
Hall on Wednesday, April 17.
I heartily recommend that every
one take a Ipefty dose of Firewater
right away. It’s a prescription for
fun, a suggestion that life not be tak
en too seriously, and a summons to
putz around the house with a little
more ennui. This album is the per
fect antidote for a weekend of par
tying— it lays easily on a hangover
and calmly lets one mope through
the “Terrible Tuesdays.”
I’m starting to get the feeling that
I need to play this CD again right
now. I may be becoming dependent
on “Psychopharmacology.” It’s al
most as though it relieves my pain
and depression (although it’s too
sarcastic to do anything for my cyn
icism) and helps me deal with the
real world. Uh-oh.
E-mail copy chief Michael J. Kleckner
, afmikekleckpqr@dailyemerald.com.
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