BEHREND BEACON
April 30, 2010
www.thebehrendbeacon.com
A look back at the stories that define the 2009-2010 academic year at Penn State Bed .
(AI ORIES PRINTED WITH AUTHOR, THEIR STAFF TITLE AT THE TIME AT WHICH THE ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED, AND DATE THE ARTICLE ORIGINALLY R*o
Anyone who has paid attention to James
Cameron shouldn't be surprised that his
latest film Avatar has become a world
wide phenomenon. Approaching its fourth
week in theaters. Avatar has already sur
passed other movies at the box office and
is coming close to breaking the record set
by Titanic, Cameron's previous feature
film.
A thick haze of harmful contaati
nants often cloud the two mein en.
trances to the Reed Union Building,
Kochel and sometimes many of the
residence halls. But the question is: is
this a problem?
The nation is full of smokers and
ranks second only to China, whose
government sees no issue with how
its population chooses to live.
Compare that apathy to the U.S.
government. Tobacco lobbyists lobtiy
for rights to advertise and sell hekw
they want and to keep regulations as :
lax as possible.
Anti-smoking campaigns nation
wide do just the opposite. In fact, the
latter organizations have• often suc
ceeded in the past - the last television
advertisement for cigarettes aired On
January 1, 1971. Since then, most tvils
have been seen in magazines.
Campus-wide, that doesn't stop** ,
dents from smoking or even Watt*
concern about the availability of 01-
arettes, cigars and other tot**.
products on campus. Nor does it
vent students students of the other end of the
spectrum from championing their
case. against the lax restrictions'f
smoking. While Behrend is Webs
many smokers, just as many (if nOt
more) nonsmokers share the air.
With plans for a convenience atom
in the works, many students wonder
if tobacco products will be sold. HO*
ever, last semester a poll of Students
showed that tobacco salensoVnet
very important."
"I'd be happy about it," said Jevois
Harrigan, a sophomore majoring in
astronomy and astrophysics. "It'd be
convenient. I mean, I don't smoke all
the time, but it's nice."
Harrigan, like mar apkers -
(casual or habitual), apprecltites
The plot is simple. It follows a para
plegic ex-marine who is given a chance to
walk again through the use of a unique
alien body called an avatar. It is his job to
gain the trust of the natives of the planet
Pandora so that a greedy corporation can
steal their precious metal. It feels very
much like a Dances With Wolves-style
story that takes place in a futuristic world.
DAN KINEM
January 15, 2010
Avatar was intended to be Cameron's di
rect follow-up to Titanic in 1999, but with
special effects at the time being much
more primitive than today the budget for
the idea of
on omit*.
WOO.
EVAN KOSER
culture editor
February 542010
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BEHREND BEACON YEAR IN REVIEW
Avatar is being touted as a film that will
change how Hollywood approaches film
making. It has already pushed so many vi
sual boundaries. It definitely set the
criterion for effects-reliant films and is
pretty pointless to examine in any way
other than entertainment. That's what
Cameron is going for with this film and
with all his previous films: he sets out to
push the boundaries of films in a visual
sense but also to entertain the masses and
he is one of the best at doing so.
effects alone would have
been $4OO million. The
film was therefore
pushed back ten years.
The wait was certainly
worth it as it is bound to
take home countless
awards for the effects
alone and is one of the
major drawing points
that keep filling up the
theater seats. It is defi
nitely a theater film, too.
Not even Blu-Ray will be
able to capture the expe
rience. This is the kind
of film 40-foot movie
screens are made for.
While the film
could be easily picked
apart and examined for
all its flaws, such as
generic and cheesy dia
logue and cliché plot
points - Avatar isn't
about that. It is about
being taken and trans
ported to an entirely
new world and being
treated to a visual ex
travaganza unlike any
thing ever put on the
screen.
Here's another
part of Cameron's bril
liance: he manages to
transport people into his
films where the viewer
becomes blind to any
flaws that may be pres
ent. They become in
vested in what they are
viewing and become an
other character them
selves.
Despite the film
only being 40 per cent
live action and the rest
CGI, the live characters
still play a strong role
and all manage to bring
life and believability to
their roles. Sam Wor
thington does a well
enough job playing the
lead, but he may be
there for looks. The sup
portittg cast holds 'the'
filzzether very well,
li. The love titer
est, Zoe Saldana, gives a
very solid performance
as do Sigourney Weaver
and Stephen Lang.
sLdent fl
debts p
From the art galleries all around campus, to The Lake Effect,
students are presented a number of opportunities to produce and
publish their own work.
Big Rock Butchering was written, directed, and produced by
Sean Perry. Perry, a sophomore majoring in economics, debuted
the film Wednesday to a crowd anticipating the blood, obscenity,
and laughs it presented
While the movie may come off as offensive and over-the-top,
Perry explained that he "really tried to exaggerate the cliches."
Of course, with the archetypical horror movie roles present,
the typical revenge-driven killer wasn't far behind.
The movie, an intentionally funny horror film, tells the short
tale of some young teens partying in the woods. While inebri
ated, they face a vengeful, Native American terror.
Throughout the film, audience members were subjected to the
typical horror-movie stereotypes, such as the stoner, sex-addict,
and self-proclaimed "badass." Perry says that it was his intention
to make the film so comedic.
"I think the best horror films are the ones that don't take them
selves too seriously," Perry said. "The ones that can laugh at the
stereotypes are the funniest."
Perry has been working on his independent film since the sum
mer.
"I started writing the script this past June," Perry, said. "Our
first day of shooting was on July 4. By the time I was done shoot
ing and editing, it was mid-August."
Altogether, the process Perry described took about three
months.
"[Making films] is what I love and do," Perry said. "Though,
the beautiful scenery and babes in bikinis didn't hurt either."
Though the movie was made with a budget of under $2O, Perry
hopes that the sales of his DVDs will provide him with enough
funds to shoot a new, higher budget film.
"Looking back now, I feel like I could have done about 20 times
better," Perry said. "It's funny because when I was done with
everything, I thought it was perfect, but that's the journey to be
coming a great filmmaker."
Perry says that being a student and a director is hard, espe
cially in balancing the responsibilities that come with both.
"It's honestly pretty damn tough," Perry said. "I shoot sketch
comedies every other weekend and try to find time to edit during
the week."
While the homework may pile on, Perry says that he has the
process down "for the most part."
, Of,c9urgO) PAllYiPn't thfi osAy student diKector on campus, but
he is the first this semester to premiere his movie. To prospective
directors, Perry says: "Write and make movies all the time."
"It's that simple," Perry said. "The more practice you get, the
better you know the process."
Students on campus can receive the same guidance and sup
port Perry received through particular faculty members of
Behrend.
Though he is an economics major, Perry says that he'll further
his education in learning to make movies.
"I want to go to graduate school for film out west," Perry said.
"I would love to spend the rest of my life making badass movies
with badass people."
Perry's entrepeneurship stretches past the theatre space of
Reed 117 and onto the Internet as well. His You Tube channel, he
explained, also holds a number of videos, including a Penn State
Rap.
Uolture
reed
EVAN KOSER
culture editor
October 30, 2009