Thursday, February 15, 1996
Slater blossoms in “Bed of Roses” role
Life Is "Bed Of Roses" These
Days For Christian Slater
By lan Spelling
College Press Service
Soon enough, there will be no
escaping Christian Slater.
The enigmatic star of
"Heathers," "Pump Up the
Volume," and "Robin Hood" has
been rather busy of late.
Currently, he can be seen as the
king of plants in the romantic
drama, "Bed of Roses," and later
this spring, ift the high-stakes
action film, "Broken Arrow."
Slater, chatting as he smokes a
stogie during a conversation at a
Manhattan hotel, comes across
much like many of his characters.
He's bright but cagey, talkative
but elusive. But considering the
fact that it's been a while since
the New Yoik-bom and -bred
actor has faced the press, one can
be thankful that he's talking at
all.
In "Bed of Roses," which was
shot on the streets of New York,
Slater plays a floral shop owner
who sees a damsel in distress,
ACRO6B
1 Change purse
Hem
S Bnw>ehoot
10 Equivalent
14 The Bard’s river
15 Rub out
16 Banyan. e.g.
17 Country
18 Poison
10 Kind of number
20 Curiosity
22 Regular date
24 Part of the
famly
25 Covered
colonnade
26Exoept
28 Spectators
33 Athwart
35 Long, tong time
38 West or Murray
37 Entranceway
38 Commonplace
40 Muses'number
41 DeLuise
42 Cleaning doth
43 Enthroned
Broken Arrow
by Sarah Melchiorre
Collegian Staff
I really wanted to like “Broken
Arrow.” It stars John Travolta
and Christian Slater in an action
adventure movie.
The action sequences were
amazing but the chemistry
between the cast lacked
something. Humor was laced
throughout the film but the
acting as a whole was terrible.
Vic Deakins (Travolta) tries to
kill his flying partner Riley Hale
(Slater) in a B-3 Stealth bomber
crash. Deakins and Hale were
really good friends before the
incident occurred.
Deakins plans to steal the two
nuclear bombs on board.
However, the two bombs are
missing after the crash. The
search is then on to recover the
lost nuclear weapon. A broken
arrow is what a nuclear
comes to her emotional rescue
and then falls in love with her,
her being Mary Stuart Masterson.
The actor, who is all of 26,
reports that the film reaffirmed
his belief in the notion that even
in this competitive, men-and
women working era, people can
still be romantic.
"I think people are capable of
romance. I think of myself as a
pretty romantic person," he says,
smiling the kind of sly smile one
might expect from a guy who has
dated actresses Samantha Mathis,
Kim Walker and Patricia
Arquette, as well a s model
Christy Turlington.
"I always want the best to turn
out no matter what the situation
is, or no matter how ugly things
get. I always want the most
romantic thing to happen, too.
I'm an optimist."
While it may take a kiss from
the movie gods for a film as
sweet and simple as "Roses" to
arise from box-office obscurity,
big things are expected of
"Broken Arrow," which pits
Slater against John Travolta. "It's
an action movie about two
OtmiMmUMe Santa* ha
weapon that is lost is called.
Hale meets up with a Utah
park ranger, Terry Carmichael
(Samantha Mathis). Together
they throw a wrench into Deakins
plans.
The role of Carmichael was
meant to be a strong woman’s
role but Mathis butchers the role.
It becomes an obselete role that
is totally unbelievable. Slater
gives a lackluster performance.
Travolta is the only saving grace.
He plays the nut role very well.
John Woo directed “Broken
Arrow.” He is known for
directing “Hard Target”, starring
jean-Claude Van Damme. He
proves his talent in action scenes
once again.
Basically, if you like action
and don’t pay attention to action
skills go see this movie. If you
want to see something
worthwhile, rent a movie.
Entertainment
fighter pilots who were buddies,"
he explains. "John turns bad, and
I have to stop him.”
Travolta's character threatens
America with a nuclear weapon
he has stolen, while Slater's guy
is the voice of reason. "I'm the
good guy," he says. "It's kind of
interesting how all of this stuff
happened. Bed of Roses’ and
'Broken Arrow’ are definitely two
very different films and roles. I
don't know if I did that
intentionally or not, but I'm
happy about it. It's important to
stay versatile."
Slater says he doesn't concern
himself too much with making
hit movies, and his track iqcord
bears him out. His flop list, like
many actor's, runs long and
includes "Gleaming the Cube,"
"The Wizard” and "Mobsters."
Even though "Pump Up the
Volume" and "Heathers" are
among his most popular films,
they're more cult favorites than
money makers. His biggest hit
remains "Robin Hood: Prince of
Thieves," in which he, not to
mention Alan Rickman and
Morgan Freeman, stole Kevin
?Sis. n i^ll2^ : J2L n a f Vic Deakins and Christian Slater as Riley Hale are top
and close fnends- who are about to become engaged in a no-holds
barred race against time and each other to recover a lost nuclear weapon.
45 TwinMng
1. ,7i.
ongntness
48 Stratagem
50 Tope
51 Ptontpait
53 Spa
56 Moat fuddled
80 Thug
61 Explode
63 Fingerprint, e.g.
64 ■Woe —T
65 Man of rank
66 Bunuwaand
Vigoda
87 —do-well
88 Woolen fabric
69 Allow*
DOWN
1 Painter Salvador
2 Pavlov or Lendl
3 Neighbor of N.
Dak.
4 Attempt
5 Playing card
6 Direction in
music
7 Declaim
8 Equal: pref.
Costner's thunder. The film
earned $3OO million worldwide.
"I never really worry about the
success of a movie. I’ve never
gone into anything thinking, 'I
hope this does really well,"' he
notes. "Of course, I want people
to see the movies, but so far I've
just done movies where I related
to the character and enjoyed the
script. I haven't even thought
about who was directing them or
who was in tnem. In the future,
I'll pay more attention to those
things and the other elements
involved. But, in the past, I just
hadn't been too concerned about
all that.”
Slater doesn't seem to worry
about much at all, which
probably accounts for a good
portion of his appeal as an actor
and a public personality. In the
past few years, Slater has made a
splash in the tabloids for his
romantic and gun-toting exploits.
He denies that he's dating
"Friends" star Courtney Cox. His
favorite star is, not surprisingly,
Harrison Ford, another guy who
acts in film after film but tends
to keep his private life as private
9 Lapidary Hama
10 Strfpa
11 Fiald
12 Fermented
honey drink
13 Wriggling
21 Regrets
23 Overly
25 Opening for
coins
26 Go quickly
27 Bouquet
28 Whinny
30 Gives off
31 Hindu queen
32 Farming need
33 Does sums
34 Severe
39 Craze
40 Pertaining to
ships
44 Love god
46 LA. player
47 Actor Chaney
48 Hit in baseball
52 Chose
us possible. Even the tabloids do
not unnerve Slater, who loves
nothing more than to read them
at every opportunity.
OK, so what’s the best thing
he's ever read about himself?
Slater cracks up, then peers into
the air as he contemplates his
answer. "What's the best thing
I've read? That I'm hung like a
horse!" he says, grinning like a
Cheshire cat "That was good. I
was very happy.
It was a girl I went out with
who was saying that about me,
and I was really happy to hear
that.”
As "Bed of Roses" and "Broken
Arrow" head into theaters, Slater
will be at home in L.A.
Contemplating career moves.
There’s no next project ready to
shoot, but after having directed
"Museum of Love,” a short
subject film for Showtime, don't
be surprised if Slater tries his
hand at bringing a small feature
length film to the screen.
53 Leg part 57 River in
54 Affectation Germany
55 Georgia city 58 Fat
56 Toothpaste 59 Hardy name
holder 62 Quarrel
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