<Tl»v Ravilani» ©bseruer August 4, 1999 Focus Page 3 Çiimmet Öf £ It d id n ’t get any hotter th an the sum m er of 1977 in new York City. As tem peratures soared well into the h undreds for endless days, the city was seared by its own heat, sweat and energy. With the unrelenting swelter, things started to change in the city and it made everybody a little tense and crazy. Looters poured into the streets as a blackout plunged New York into d ark ness and fear; a m ysterious psycho path began gunning down strangers in the night at random . D ubbed “Son of Sam " by th e tab loids that luridly rep o rted his killing spree, the .44-caliber killer te rro r ized the city w ith a steady streak of grisly slayings. W ith the m ed ia play ing an in tegral role in fueling th e fear and p aran o ia, the w hole city becam e a h o tb ed o f suspicion and p an ic, c a p tiv a tin g n o t only New York, but also the e n tire w orld. W ith tradem ark virtuosity, film maker Spike Lee goes into the throb bing heart of the Bronx during this unbelievable sum m er to paint a por shot alm ost entirely in the C ountry C lub section of the Bronx in New York City where the first of the m ur ders took place. T he production was very careful to m ake the families and the neighborhood as com fortable as possible with the film’s locations. Lee explains further, “O u r film is not just about Son of Sam. Yes, Son of Sam is a large part of it - we’re n o t trying to duck that - but it’s not everything. It’s about the Sum m er of 1977 in New York. It was one of the hottest sum m ers on record; consequently you had the blackout with all sorts of people looting. Also, during this tim e, the Yankees won the W orld Series; Reggie Jackson hit three hom ers in game six against the Dodgers; it was the first sum m er of disco; punk rock was going strong; and there were places like Studio 54 and Plato’s R etreat that epitom ized all that was going on. - •.. ? •« . ;, Z- . > : As serial killer Son of Sam terrorizes New York City, four friends from the Bronx, (left to right) Ritchie (Adrien Brody), Ruby (Jennifer Esposito), Vinny (John Leguizamo) and Dionna (Academy Award winner Mira Sorvino), find their relaitonships tested by pressure, infidel ity and paranoia, in Touchstone Pictures' drama, "Summer of Sam." ...... ............. t Photo by David Lee ■ CCTi L cljj ORTLAN *• ■ T his is a great story. Come and experience Portland's premiere Hot Tubbing By-The-Hour We feature private Hot Tubs complete with shower, towels, and music tra it th at is both intim ate 80th sc Stark • 256-4TAN and pan oramic. Jo h n L eg u izam o , A d rie n Brody, M ira Sorvino and J e n n ife r Esposito lead an ensem ble cast in “Sum m er of Sam ,” Photo by David Lee h i c _ _ h c h r o n i c l e s While filming "Summer of Sam," director Lee (right) how Son o f discusses a scene with star John Leguizamo (left). SAVE 25% Off j Sun-Thursday Expires 9 /3 0 /1 9 9 9 Sam ’s plague ofterrordisintegratedaneigh- b o rh o o d , tu rn e d frie n d s against each other and trans formed trust into dread. T he process started with a conversation between direc- to r/w riter Spike Lee and Michael Imperioli, an actor who has appeared in several of the filmmakers’ previous films. Imperioli and his friend Victor Colicchio co-wrote the script and approached Lee to be involved as executive pro ducer, rather than as a direc tor. Lee agreed. Imperioli and Colicchio searched unsuccess fully for a director who might be able to help them realize their vision. T heir fortunes changed when Lee decided to take a second look at the project himself. “Sum m er of Sam ” was ■» * T H EATER M ovies N ightly W IT H W E E K E N D M ATINEES For schedule & information call: 2 8 8 -2 1 8 0 *Z> -V4 McMenamins Kennedy School 5736 NE 33rd • Portland, Oregon (503) 249-3983 www.mrvnrnamins.i <»m • £ /*. / ’.r • 5 * p,” ». ' >, • ■