A&E

Film group to list top heroes, villians

By Anthony Breznican and Brett Martel · Tuesday, Nov. 12,2002 10:52 p.m.

LOS ANGELES -- The American Film Institute is trying to separate the good from the bad, announcing plans Tuesday for a new top-100 list that will rank the top screen heroes and villains. Voters can choose among 400 nominated characters from American film history and decide which should be considered wicked or virtuous. That may seem easy when considering Kevin Spacey's serial killer from "Seven" or the pure-hearted pig from "Babe" -- but voters may have a tougher time when categorizing nominees such as Robert De Niro's loner vigilante Travis Bickle from "Taxi Driver."

Silent films express more than words can

By Roman Bailey · Tuesday, Nov. 12,2002 10:51 p.m.

Buster Keaton was a creative giant of the silent film era. His subtle, dead-pan humor ranks with the best of comedy. A single twitch of his eye says a thousand words. Last Friday you could see Keaton in one of his best films, "The Cameraman" (1928), which played as part of the City Lights Film Series. The series plays classic movies every Friday at 7 p.m. in Ballantine Hall, room 013. All viewings are free to the public. Keaton plays a sidewalk New York photographer making a grim living taking "tintype" pictures of passersby for dimes.

Modern dance performance tonight

By Britany Ausmus and Brittany Ausmus · Tuesday, Nov. 12,2002 10:48 p.m.

Long held to be the masters of modern dance, the nationally-renowned dance troupe Pilobolus will be performing their gravity and flexibility-defying dances tonight at the IU Auditorium at 8 p.m. The troupe, founded by a Dartmouth College dance class in 1971, has won several eminent honors, including the Berlin Critic's Prize, Brandeis Award, the New England Theater Conference Prize, and a Primetime Emmy for outstanding achievement in cultural programming.

Handel and Bach are monsters of Baroque

By Adam Sedia · Tuesday, Nov. 12,2002 10:47 p.m.

This past Sunday I saw the performance of a very unique and relatively unheard type of orchestra. Yet despite its uncommonness, it was the only type of orchestra that existed for almost a century. That kind of orchestra is the Baroque orchestra, and IU's own Baroque orchestra performed this past Sunday at Auer Hall. The Baroque orchestra is a very up-close-and-personal type of orchestra, having a small number of musicians and a smaller array of instruments. Also, the director plays violin as well, which adds a more personal flavor than the aloofness of the orchestral conductor.

Around the arts

By Alyson Brodsy · Monday, Nov. 11,2002 11:53 p.m.

Science fiction author Jerry Sohl dies at 88 Police reunite for Hall of Fame induction

Web site offers movies for rent

By Alyson Brodsy and Gary Gentile · Monday, Nov. 11,2002 11:51 p.m.

LOS ANGELES -- The anticipated online movies-on-demand venture formed by five major Hollywood studios was launched Monday, marking the first time a large supply of recent, popular films are available legally on the Internet. The effort, called Movielink, allows people to download films over a high-speed Internet connection. It is the industry's alternative to the distribution of pirated films over peer-to-peer computer networks — services such as Napster that threatened the music industry.

Bazaar showcases homemade gifts

By Katie Killebrew · Monday, Nov. 11,2002 11:50 p.m.

Halloween has come and gone. Thanksgiving will be looked over. So come the end of November, that leaves one month, one day until Hanukkah starts and twenty-five days until Christmas. This does not leave much time to go out and buy presents for families and friends.

'Cubic Zirconia' disappoints

By Alyson Brodsy and Brandon Morley · Monday, Nov. 11,2002 6:07 p.m.

"Cubic Zirconia" opened at 10 p.m. Thursday at the Bloomington Playwright's Project following the mainstage show "Kate Crackernuts." Written by Keith Tadrowski and created through the Chicago Dramatists Workshop, the show is satirical in its depiction of what goes on in dysfunctional homes where husbands are physically and emotionally abusive, and the wives are lushes.

Slow beginning hinders 'Wells'

By Rebekah Rankin · Monday, Nov. 11,2002 6:06 p.m.

Trelawny of the 'Wells'" is a play worth seeing, but only if you can make it through the first act. I sat bored stiff through act one, wondering what I had gotten myself into. With no apparent plot until act two, and a complete lack of comedic relief from the bland dialogue, I began to wonder, "So what's the point?" But like I said, if you can make it through the first act, it's worth seeing.

'Liaisons' full of intrigue

By Jane Charney · Monday, Nov. 11,2002 6:03 p.m.

The decadent society of the late 1780's could not be better portrayed than in Christopher Hampton's "Les Liaisons Dangereuses." The play, based on the novel by Choderlos de Laclos, premiered at the John Waldron Arts Center Friday. It is a story of intrigue, jealousy and, most of all, the constant search for pleasure.

Whale has new home

By Alyson Brodsy and Doug Mellgren · Friday, Nov. 8,2002 12:04 a.m.

HALSA, Norway — After a playful, 90-minute swim Thursday, Keiko the killer whale arrived at his new winter home in a remote Norwegian bay that his trainers hope will attract more wildlife and fewer people.

Local potter sells wares

By Katie Killebrew and Kent Burns · Thursday, Nov. 7,2002 12:46 a.m.

A beautiful stoneware dish, delicately painted by a local Bloomington artist, stood out in a sea of clay works Friday to an eager consumer who stood in line to buy it.

Ryder found guilty on 2 of 3 counts

By Linda Deustch · Thursday, Nov. 7,2002 12:37 a.m.

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Actress Winona Ryder was convicted Wednesday of stealing $5,500 worth of high-fashion merchandise from Saks Fifth Avenue last year.

Personalized Pottery

By Jane Charney · Thursday, Nov. 7,2002 12:31 a.m.

It's a kingdom of light and bright colors. The atmosphere gets the creative juices flowing, and the end result -- a personalized vase, plate or picture frame -- breathes with the spirit of The Latest Glaze. Bill and Mary Jo Benedict wanted to try something new and different. She has been a first and second grade teacher for the past 26 years. He worked with adults with disabilities for 25 years. The result of their joint venture are two locations of The Latest Glaze, a paint-your-own-pottery studio that gives young and old, IU students and not, the opportunity to paint various pieces of pottery as gifts or just because.

Thousands mourn DJ Jam Master Jay

By Brett Martel and Michael Weissenstein · Tuesday, Nov. 5,2002 11:20 p.m.

NEW YORK -- Run-DMC star Jam Master Jay, his killer still at large six days after he was shot in his recording studio, was mourned at his funeral Tuesday as "the embodiment of hip-hop." A fleet of white stretch limousines was parked outside the Allen A.M.E. Cathedral in Queens, the borough where the rapper, whose real name was Jason Mizell, first met up with his bandmates, Joseph "Run" Simmons and Darryl "DMC" McDaniels. "Jam Master Jay was not a thug," McDaniels told the overflow crowd inside the church.

Sharon Osbourne rethinks MTV show

By Brett Martel and David Baulder · Tuesday, Nov. 5,2002 11:20 p.m.

NEW YORK -- If she had to do it over again, Sharon Osbourne says she wouldn't have invited MTV's cameras into her home. At least, that's what the cancer-stricken matriarch of television's favorite dysfunctional family told ABC's Barbara Walters when she talked to her earlier this fall. Osbourne said, in an interview to air on a special "20/20'' edition Wednesday, that she's calling it quits after an upcoming, 10-episode season is through. "We can't do it anymore," she said.

Simple symphonies are stressful

By Lee Ann Chan · Tuesday, Nov. 5,2002 11:14 p.m.

While many of us are cracking the books for history, biology or business exams, the students in the music school are preparing for their big recitals. The amount of rehearsal time and effort they put into their recitals is immeasurable. Almost any student can perform a recital, but it must be done with the approval of the major professor. Most students are required to do a recital in both their junior and senior year for the undergraduate degree in music, but they must first pass a recital "hearing" where teachers from their department listen to the song excerpts for the recital.

Around The Arts

Tuesday, Nov. 5,2002 12:01 a.m.

Arts news

New Potter films debuts

By Ed Johnson · Monday, Nov. 4,2002 11:58 p.m.

LONDON -- Dressed in wizards' hats and witches' robes, hundreds of screaming fans greeted the stars of the new Harry Potter movie at its glitzy world premiere Sunday in London. "Daniel, Daniel, Daniel," chanted a crowd of teenage girls, as Daniel Radcliffe, the young actor who plays the boy wizard, arrived for the screening of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets."

New Potter film debuts

By Brett Martel and Ed Johnson · Sunday, Nov. 3,2002 11:53 p.m.

LONDON -- Dressed in wizards' hats and witches' robes, hundreds of screaming fans greeted the stars of the new Harry Potter movie at its glitzy world premiere Sunday in London. "Daniel, Daniel, Daniel,'' chanted a crowd of teenage girls, as Daniel Radcliffe, the young actor who plays the boy wizard, arrived for the screening of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.'' "It is really strange, but very exciting,'' Radcliffe said of the enthusiasm that greeted him upon his arrival at the Odeon cinema in London's Leicester Square.