1994_10 Insight October 1994

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LIFESTYLE
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY. FRESNO
October 5,1994
INSIGHT
of the Week
Hollywood's Johnny Angel
Johnny Depp is Hollywood's most popular rising star. Depp's most
recent film Ed Wood proves that he has what it takes to be a permanent
pan of Hollywood greatness.
Depp was born in Kentucky in 1964 and raised in Florida. He began
his career as a musician at the age of 13. He had his own rock band, in
which he played lead guitar, called "The Kids." By the mid-1980s Depp
turned to acting. His first role was Tom Hanson in the television show
21 Jump Street.
Depp has had an unusual career, starring in many obscure roles in
films such as A Nightmare on Elm Street and Private Resort. Depp
finally received popular attention as Edward in the film Edward
Scissorhands.
Depp also grabbed serious attention as the star in a Tom Petty video
for the song The Great Wide Open. His private life caused more publicity than his career when it was publized lhat he and Winona Ryder
were engaged and living together. The couple's life was lived in the
media. When Depp got a tattoo that read 'Winona Forever.' it was
reported immcdiatly. as was the couple's break-up. Depp now dates
Kale Moss. The happy couple spend time creating media bliss and
trashing hotel rooms.
Depp is also part owner of a Hollywood night club called the Viper
Room, which is well known for being the bar that actor River Phoenix
overdosed in front of. The club is a popular night scene for the twenty-
something Hollywood brat pac.
Depp's films include:
A Nightmare on Elm Street 1984
Private Resort 1985
Platoon 1986
Cry Baby 1990
Edward Scissorhands 1990
Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (cameo) 1991
American Dreamers 1992
Benny and Joon 1993
What's Eating Gilbert Grape 1993
Ed Wood 1994
He Wood If He Could
Edward D. Wood Jr. is often regarded as the worst director of all
time, but he has accumulated a huge cult following. Wood was an independent american filmmaker of the 1930s who often directed, produced, wrote and acted in his own films who were usually financed
with almost nonexistent funding.
Wood is more recently known for being a transvestite with an Angora sweater fetish.Wood was an attractive man who had that Hollywood mystic of the time. But directing was his muse.
His movies can only be clasified as "cheesy horror flicks." He often
used Beta Lugosi in many of his films until Lugosi's death in 1959.
Wood was personable and loved by his cast of com dog Hollywood
freaks, that regularly appeared in many of his movies.
By the early 1970s, Wood, an alcoholic, was reduced to directing
pornography until his death in 1978. His best known film. Plan 9 From
Outer Space, pervails in film history as the worst film ever made often
studied in film schools across the country.
Wood's film include:
1953 GlenorGlcnda
1954 Jail Bait
1955 Bride of The Monster
1956 The Violent Years
1958 The Bride and the Beast
1959 Plan 9 Fron Outer Space
1960 The Sinister Urge
1960 Revenge of the Dead A.K.A Night of the Ghouls
1963 Shotgun Wedding
1965 Orgy of the Dead
1969 1,000,000 AC/DC
L971 Take It Out in Trade
1973 Class Reunion
1974 Fugitive Girls
1974 The Cocktail Hostesses
1975 Necromancy A.K.A. Necromania
THE CATHOLIC STUDEHT ASSOCIATION
INVITES YOU!
COLLEGE STUDENT MASS
Sundays, 8:00pm
BIBLE STUDY,
Wednesday, 7:30pm, Newman Center Lounge
FUN FRIDAYS,
As schedualcd.
|FREE WEDNESDAY COLLEGE STUDENT SUPPERS
. 6:30PM, Newman Center Cafeteria.
The scene begins with a stripper
wearing gold pasties, fishnet stockings, a garter belt and high-heels. She
has soft, golden blonde hair, long luscious legs and bedroom eyes. The
group of men that surrounds her
cheers and whistles with ecstasy. As
she uncovers the veil from her face
the person revealed is ... Johnny
Depp!
Tim Burton's latest film Ed Wood
is the kookiesi biographical film ever
made. Ed Wood is the story of Hollywood director, producer, screen
r Edward D. Wood Jr.
Ed Wood features an all star cast including Johnny Depp (Edward
Scissorhands). Sarah Jessica Parker
(Honeymoon in Vegas), Martin
Landau (Crimes and Misdemeanors),
Bill Murray (Groundhog Day), Jeffrey Jones (Ferris Bueller 's Day Off),
Patricia Arqucttc (True Romance)
and many others such as Model Lisa
Marie. George "The Animal" Steele
and Juliet Landau Martin Landau's
daughter.
Describing Depp's performance is
not easy. But this particlualr piece of
acting is the best performance of his
career. Depp, along with the other
actors, do the entire film in a 50s style
of acting with a 90s style of sarcasm.
Wood is known in film history as
the worst director of all time. He independently directed really bad B-
movics in the 1950s, which were always on shoe-string budgets. However. Wood has gained a loyal cult
following throughout the years. He
made such films as Glen or Glenda,
which was about a man struggling
with the fact lhat he likes wearing
women's clothing, especially
Angorra sweaters. Glen or Glenda
was also written by Wood as an autobiographical piece.
Yes, Wood was a transvestite too.
He also had an Angorra sweater fetish. He would often direct films in
women's clothing, which didn't seem
to bother anyone. His best known
work was a film entitled Plan 9 From
Outer Space, which is often said to
be the worst film ever made, and why
shouldn't it be? Il was made by the
worst director.
Wood surrounded himself with
people who were a little on the weird
side. He oflcn used these people in
his films. Some of the people were
Bunny (BUI Murry), Dolores (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Ed (Johnny Depp) star in Ed Wood.
Bela Lugosi, who was Wood's best
friend, and Vampira, who is often remembered for her double Ds and 17
inch waist.
Burton filmed Ed Wood in black and
white, which is an excellent choice
for this particular film. Not only does
black and white help to associate the
film with the time period, it also creates a Wood-like atmosphere of film
making.
Here's the breakdown. The film
begins with Criswell (Jones) giving
an ominous but corny introduction to
the film. From the beginning, Ed
Wood has all the makings of a midnight show cult classic. Wood (Depp)
is immediately introduced. Boy, this
guy is strange. Wood was a WW II
hero who apparently wore a bra and
panties under his fatigues. Nice to
know not much has changed in the
army since the 40s.
Wood soon meets Bela Lugosi
(Landau), whom, by this time, is an
addicted heroin user. Wood befriends
Lagosi and stars him in many of his
movies, which is how he gets any
funding at all.
Wood hears that a movie about a
transsexual is being made and he figures he would be the perfect guy to
direct it. After a bit of begging, he
gets the job. He has to write the script
and direct it in five days. Delores
Fuller (Parker) is introduced as
Wood's girlfriend, who stars in many
of his movies, although she couldn't
act to save her life. She is bothered
by Wood's cross-dressing but toler
ates it for a while. Until she leaves
him to write songs for Elvis Presely
and later becomes country western
singer Tanya Tucker's manager.
The film then follows a steady
stream of unusual and interesting
characters who add tantalizing color
to this outrageous display of film
making. The remainder of the film
chronicles Wood's relationships with
these characters and his "normal"
girlfriend Kathy O'Hara (Arquette).
The climax of the film is at the end
when Wood directs Plan 9 From
Outer Space. The film stars a slew
of the oddest individuals ever compiled for a film. Wood uses his ensemble of regulars such as Bunny
Brekinridge (Murray), who is a want-
to-be transsexual; Vampira (Lisa
£|0*e) who refuses to speak because
she doesn't want to be noticed;
Loretta King (Juliet Landau) who
didn't drink liquids because she
didn't like to and Tor Johnson
(Steele) who is an ex-wrestler who
has more hair on his back than a
llama.
Wood may have been arguably the
world's worst director, but Burton is
one of the best and he pulls this one
off in a blaze of glory. The film drags
in some places, but Depp's performance saves the film from falling
into the realm of grotesque. Some
may find Ed Wood to be a bad film,
but remember the actors were trying
to act like the original characters did
in real life, and since they were in
Ed Wood films, they were obviously
not very good at the craft of performance.
If you like dark comedies, cull classics, overacting and Johnny Depp
wearing high heels and tight Angora
sweaters, this film is something to
experience.
Guru Says
A
-Worth the 7 bucks
-Worth the matinee
price
-Wait until it's
video
- Don't waste your
time, study instead
MOVIE TRIVIA CONTEST
Every week Insight hosts a movie trivia contest. The winner will receive two movie tickets. Just answer each
question, go to the McKec Fisk building and drop your slip in the box right outside Room 238. A winner will be
drawn every Friday and notified thai night. If you don't answer all the questions, that's O.K. Drop it by anyway.
1 Which film stars Johnny Depp as a singing juvenile deliqucnt?
a. Edward Scissorhands   b. Cry Baby   c. Benny and Joon   d. Private Resort
2. Who was Johnny Depp's co-star in the low budget film Private Resort?
a. Richard Grieco   b. Rob Morrow   c. Brad Pitt   d. Christian Slater
3. In 1930 Bela Lugosi freaked the world in his most memorable performance. Which character did he play?
a. The Wolf Man   b. The Devil   c. Frankenstein   d. Dracula  e. A Ghoul from hell
4. In the film True Romance starring Partricia Arquette, who played her Elvis loving husband?
a. Brad Pitt   b. Christian Slater  c. Denise Hopper  d. Gary Oldman
5. Which Ed Wood co-star was also in the 1984 smash hit Footloose?
a. Patricia Arquette   b. Martin Landau  c. Lisa Marie  d. Sarah Jessica Parker •»
Congratulations to last week's winner Alan Hay!
Last weeks answers: 1. b. Gabriel Bym and c. Joanne Whally-Kilmer. 2. c. Cher and Dennis Quad, 3. c. And Justice for All. 4. a. Gleirh Close
6. b. an oar, 6. c. Paul Newman, 7. d. a hammer
BANKt^eWEST
Bisscll &  Bit
Wesley E. DeBusk
Vice President
Area Manager
515 EmmI Shaw Avenue
Fresno. CA 93710
(209)221-4300
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